3rd Granite, 775:
I have come to the hell fortress, Deathgate, hoping to loot this tomb of a mountain, and it's treasures, for my own. Imagine my surprise when, as I reached the lower levels, where it seems anything of value is kept, I found living dwarves! I'd heard tales of ghosts and demons, yes, but few believed that anyone could be living in this hole. In fairness, I knew I was getting close to the fort when I began to pick up the smell of death. Traders come but don't return. What would you expect?
The citizens of Deathgate, such as they were, were less surprised than I when I ran into them. They simply told me that there was hauling to be done, and set me to work. After a few frustrated minutes of questioning, I managed to get one of them to accompany me on my rounds, that he could show me the most important parts of the fortress.
Apparently, the top levels aren't in use anymore. Everything is done just above hell. I don't know that I see the wisdom in keeping so close to demons, but I suppose it means a shorter walk to the workshop.
It seems that aside from trade goods, the most abundant things in Deathgate are goblins and corpses. I was shown into the hellbunker (I needed to see such a thing with my own eyes, after all), and the way down was strewn with coffins, not a single one unoccupied. Worse still, when we reached the bunker, dead militia dwarves were seen around a different room filled end to end with coffins. I heard another dwarf calling for more to be set up, to accommodate the last bunch of casualties.
Even more strangely, there are about as many caged goblins living in Deathgate as dwarves! It's nothing if not bizarre. But it gets stranger still.
Apparently, the fortress is in need of an overseer. And, as I am apparently a piss poor hauler, the dwarves seem to think I'd be better off leading. I don't know what kind of logic that is, but there you have it. I came to make off with a few trinkets, and swiped a mountain. I suppose the first thing to do is try to get their military up to snuff...
OOC: Okay, things aren't as horrible as I expected. I've got close to 15 FPS, and aside from the agonizing amount of time it's taking to set up coffins for our little grave-stuffers, things are alright so far. Maybe it's because I've had two runs with it already, but for the most part, things aren't too nuts.
I have a few goals in mind for Deathgate, primarily cleaning up, getting the military up to snuff instead of getting snuffed, and see about drawing migrants back to the fort, because we need them.
Just one question: Where is the barracks?