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Should I start a new world so the gulag can have sieges, or not?

Yes, make a new world and start the story over!  It's not a true Dwarf Fortress without Goblin Claus!
- 4 (30.8%)
No, it's fine.  I prefer to see the story as is run its course.
- 9 (69.2%)

Total Members Voted: 13


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Author Topic: The Gulag (Dig Deeper GOLD Community/Story Fort)  (Read 5747 times)

Cheveux

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #15 on: June 20, 2011, 04:52:44 pm »

I demand that if you have a guard confront my dwarf or a group of dwarves that my dwarf is in about what they're doing, he must answer : "Just chilling."

Great work so far, I'm really enjoying the story and the concept of the fortress prison.
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Urist_McArathos

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #16 on: June 20, 2011, 07:51:53 pm »

The sound of hammers thumping nails into wood could barely be heard over the howling wind.  Another snowstorm was blowing in, and the prisoners hauled timber from the permafrost tundra to various places around the perimeter before adding to the wall.  It was nearly complete, progress having been slowed by frequent badger maulings.  Although no one had died, there was scarcely a prisoner in the gulag that didn't bear scratches or bite marks from an attack.  Leaning against the nearly-finished bridge, Dohon peered to the north for any signs of the caravan that was coming.  Like the other guards, he now wore a fur cap and a woolen scarf wrapped around his face, veiling everything but the slit for his eyes to look out upon the world.  The prisoners were not so lucky, and had to make do with gloves and hats.  They frequently took breaks to warm their ears and noses to ward off frostbite, and bemoaned constantly the lack of proper clothing for this bitter cold.

A few months back, as the biting fall was just starting to get frigid, another party had arrived.  This one had two guards, one of whom was married and had to bring his wife and toddler child with him.  Dohon and Dishmab had found this dwarf, Conan, to be an odd addition.  Why would they send someone with a family to this outpost?  No one was certain, but the odd circumstance was going to have to be dealt with, as always.  The other guard, MacDuggan, was also an aspiring mechanic.  It was when he arrived that they decided to get to building the bridge, since they would have someone capable of rigging it to raise and lower on command.  This group had only brought two more convicts with them, both of whom were quickly assigned to help build the clay buildings and get the place in working shape.  Dishmab was upset to learn these two guards also had no gear, and so she resorted to ordering the guards to practice sparring and close-quarters combat until they could get their hands on some weapons.  It had not been a good start to the fall.

Now, Dishmab stood guard over a massive pit in the ground; she had decided to expose the aquifer to the arctic winter, and freeze it.  Afterwards, they would dig into the ice, put up walls, and plunge through the aquifer into the ground below with a massive stairwell.  If the plan worked, the stairway would stretch to the surface, and double as both a mineshaft and entrance to the guards' quarters.  Dohon saw something on the horizon, and watched warily.  Soon, he could distinctly see a group of pack animals being led by handlers towards their crude gate.  He turned and went over to Dishmab, his voice muffled through his scarf.  "The supply convoy's here!  I'll watch the diggers,"  She nodded and handed him their only axe before going to the depot on the tundra.

Snow blew and whipped across the clay floor as the haulers unloaded the supplies.  The trader extended a thickly gloved hand to Dishmab, shouting over the cold wind.  "Lovely little slice of hell you've got here, soldier!  I'm Olin; the queen's authorized a credit of 1,000 rubles for you to resupply.  Anything over that, you'll have to buy or trade for."

"That's it!?  A thousand!" she yelled back at him.

"Sorry, there's a shortage of supplies back at the mountainhome.  We're constantly fending off attacks and trying to fund new outposts.  You get what you can.  The liaison is here as well; maybe he can help you out with a larger stipend next year, I'm just a merchant.  I don't have that kind of pull."

"Just give me all the ore, stone, food, booze, and seeds you've got that I can buy with that, and let me talk with the liaison!"  Her voice struggled over the wind, and another dwarf stumbled towards her, his hand gripping a fur hat that the wind threatened to kidnap with each gust.  She figured he was the liaison, and motioned for him to follow her.  They made their way into the tunnel, and a few yards from the entrance she sank into her chair, motioning to the other one across the simple wooden table with a bag beside Dishmab's chair.  A firepit beside them provided heat, and the two guard dogs were leashed ahead of them, guarding the way in.  A little further in and closer to the fire were a few rough beds, a pony keg and some scattered mugs, and some toys.  Otherwise, it was bare earth as far as the eye could see.  The dwarf pulled off his hat and pulled down his scarf while Dishmab left hers in place; no point in getting undressed when she'd be back outside in a hurry anyway.  "Pleasure to meet you, mister...?"

"Ethmor, Mayor Ethmor."

"A mayor?"

"Formerly," he shrugged, taking a deep breath.  The slow exhale was marked by a stream of cloudy air as his humid breath froze in the tunnel.  "Anyway, you must be Warden Dishmab.  Sorry we're so late; I know it's almost winter and all-"

"Spare it, with all due respect Mayor.  We're just glad you survived the trip."  She opened the bag beside her chair on the floor, and pulled a plate free while stacking a few odds and ends on it.  "Care for something to eat?"  The plate was set on the table, bearing fresh blackberries and raspberries, hard boiled eggs, hard tack and salted pork.  "Or a drink?"

"Oh, some fruit and eggs would be nice.  We're living on salted pork for the journey, and a beer would be great."  A few moments later the Mayor was eating his first fresh meal since they departed, and sipping his beer while Dishmab merely waited.  "So," he began after popping another berry past his lips, "Oh, these are great.  Wild fruit out here?  Amazing.  Sorry, anyway, so we've brought a bit of everything.  Didn't know what you might need,"  His fist rapped the table and the clay platter in turn.  "I'm guessing stone, then?  You haven't dug deep enough to get to any?"

"There's a salt water aquifer below us; we have no drinking water, and no stone until we bypass it."

"Oof, that's bad.  I hope nobody gets injured before you get some drinkable water."

"That makes two of us.  I need any metal you can spare: ores, bars, toys and cages we can melt, anything.  Charcoal and fuel for my smelters and forges to boot, and some flux if you can spare it.  After that, seeds and plants, and booze.  Beer in particular."

"Mm.  Some of that will be hard to get."

"What?  Why on earth are those difficult requests?"

"Well, we're in a crisis here, Warden.  Anything with value for the army or new colonies has to get priority.  We're trying to bring our civilization back from its deathbed."

"What about clothes," Dishmab sighed, "I've got barely anything to keep these prisoners covered up."

"You want more clothes for them?  Why?  Their comforts aren't a priority for the queen, and frankly shouldn't be for you either."

"This isn't a matter of comfort," Dishmab sat up in her chair, looking him hard in the eye.  "This place is arctic, Mayor!  A few yards south of where we're sitting is permafrost clay and loamy sand; it's like digging through solid rock!  I'm not trying to cushion these dwarves, but they're useless to me dead.  They won't survive a second winter in the clothes they're in now, if they even survive this one.  I need clothes, or the means to make them.  Even a few sheep would be good enough.  To say nothing of keeping my own guards properly clothed and protected from the snow and wind."

"Alright," the mayor nodded, "I'll see what I can do.  I know 1,000 rubles isn't much in the way of purchasing power, but the queen is adamant about this place being self-sufficient, even helping support the kingdom.  Just, keep that in mind.  I will try to help, but the official view is that we need you to help us, not the other way around."

A week later, after the purchasing was done and the business of meetings and the like was handled, Dishmab saw the convoy leave for the mountainhome.  She was soon interrupted by shouting from the pit.  She raced over to see a very happy Conan and Dohon.  "What's going on in that pit?"

"We're through the aquifer, and there's limestone and magnetite."  Dohon chuckled.  "We've got steel."  Although her face was entirely covered by a woolen scarf, it was still obvious that the Warden was grinning.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2011, 10:41:38 pm by Urist_McArathos »
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Cheveux

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #17 on: June 20, 2011, 08:30:25 pm »

Great writing and interesting setting are making this story extremely entertaining, can't wait to see what will happen to those little freezing beards.
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Conan

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #18 on: June 20, 2011, 11:36:03 pm »

YES, I HAVE ARRIVED.

WITH A FAMILY.


As soon as you can, send me out to kill some random wild creature for meat. Maybe for once, you can make an exception for meat.

Dohon

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #19 on: June 21, 2011, 03:48:08 am »

Oooh, I'm liking the development of this story a lot! You can almost feel the artic cold when reading the updates. Keep up the good work!

Minor niggle though: it's Dohon, not Dohan. ;)
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kerlc

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #20 on: June 21, 2011, 07:25:40 am »

good story. shame there aren't any screenshots, though.
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Conan

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #21 on: June 21, 2011, 10:33:09 am »

Also, can I see my character stats?
Hopefully I'm some random grizzled guy. If so, get his shirt off, so he's somewhat like a barbarian (lols).

Urist_McArathos

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #22 on: June 21, 2011, 11:24:39 pm »

The mining was slow going, since the guards refused to leave the miners unsupervised.  Below the aquifer, the cold was a slightly distant memory; though they were by no means comfortable, the cool air of the tunnels beneath the earth were far better insulated than above, and the heat of their bodies in the tight quarters kept them much warmer than the freezing conditions above them.  Weeks went by before winter finally began to abate; the prisoners' first winter in Ushiloggez was over, and barely survived.

The chink of picks against stone rang out over and over again, muffled only by the shuffling of feet as other prisoners periodically made their way down the long shaft to fetch granite for work on the surface.  MacDuggan walked in, patting Dohon on the arm.  "Warden says it's time for day's end.  Let's get 'em upstairs."

Dohon nodded.  "Alright, back to the surface, boys!  There'll be plenty of rocks for you tommorow."  The prisoners walked single file up the long, winding stairway with the guards behind them.  After a few solid minutes of steady walking they saw light through cracks in the ceiling above them.  The crude wooden floor hatch was thrown open, and the three tired miners came out and face to face with Conan and one of the stout war huskies.

"Turn in your picks, then you're dismissed."  The dwarf's voice was thick and deep, commanding their attention.  Wearily, all three picks were surrendered and the prisoners given a quick pat-down before Dohon gave the okay, and they were off.  The sun was low on the wintry horizon, barely sinking above the treeline and turning the sky a purplish red.

Ahra was the first to open the door, falling into the nearest bed with a long sigh.  He and the others that came with Dishmab had claimed the beds closest to the doors for themselves purely so they could rest sooner after being worked for a full day.  Cheveux was propped up in his bed, while Brickt and Neyvn were playing dice for something, though nobody could be sure what the stakes were when they had no money, property, or anything really.  The13thRonin, or "Ro" as they called him for short, soon followed with Shorast.  The doors were shut, blocking out the winds.  The wooden walls had helped block some of the milder winds, but the fiercer snowstorms laughed at such paltry obstacles and often blew snow through the cracks in the doorframes, leaving them to dig their way out for breakfast.  Cheveux shifted and yawned.

"How's the mines going?"

"You've been down there to haul rocks, haven't you?" Ahra snapped, kicking his boots off and onto the floor.  "How do they look?"

"It's just a question, don't be so touchy.  Warden's got us up here working on the foundry; we've been spending the past few weeks hacking trees down and building a huge warehouse for it.  Word is we're clear-cutting most of the forest soon, to make charcoal."  Cheveux glanced to Brickt, who nodded and walked to the door, pressing his ear to it.  After a while, he gave a thumbs up while keeping his head to the door.  "They'll have iron, then steel afore long Ahra.  We won't stand a chance then if we try anything."

"We don't stand a chance now," Ro interrupted.  "We're overworked and exhausted, and those dogs are huge.  We've got no armor; one axe to the neck is all it takes, and they can handle us well enough to make that happen if we try.  We need weapons, not plans."

"I've got an idea," Ahra began, but then Brickt hissed and rushed back to his spot on the dirt floor across from Neyvn.  Moments later the door opened, and in filed five more dwarves, some nursing the fresh tattoos on the backs of their right hands.  Ahra watched the last walk by him without turning his head.  "Must be spring,"

Dishmab peered in at the group while the new prisoners made their way to the furthest bunks, noting to herself that they were almost out of beds now.  "That's right; over a year since you lot came here with me.  Happy anniversary, traitors."  Cheveux snorted, and Dishmab looked at him.  "There a problem, #6?"

"Me?  No boss, I'm cool."  He smirked at her before she frowned and shut the door.  Her voice could be heard through the wood.  "Latrine duty for him tomorrow, and I want him done with it in time to join the others cutting wood by sunup.  No excuses."

"Well, shit," Cheveux sighed, then smirked.  "Hey, there's another one.  Not bad, huh?"

"Oh, shut up and get some sleep."  Ahra pulled the covers up to his shoulder and tried to relax.  It wasn't long before the rest were doing the same; life in Ushiloggez Isholräm was brutally tiring for an inmate, and only marginally less so for a guard.

Oooh, I'm liking the development of this story a lot! You can almost feel the artic cold when reading the updates. Keep up the good work!

Minor niggle though: it's Dohon, not Dohan. ;)

((Consider it fixed; I've edited the old entries, will be more careful in the future ones.  My mistake :) ))

good story. shame there aren't any screenshots, though.

((Ask and ye shall recieve!))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

((There isn't very much to see yet; the top left building is the workshops, where the masons and craftsdwarves do their work, along with a jeweler's and mechanic's.  South of that, the narrow building is the prisoner dorm.  The square building with lots of tables and chairs is the dining hall, and in the bottom right is the entrance to the mineshaft, and future guards' quarters.  The two brown-ringed areas are a pasture (the large one) and farm plot (the small one) with wooden fencing.  The buildings between them are the agricultural warehouse (the one to the top right) and the butchery/tannery (the one kittycorner to it on the bottom left).  At the very far south is the (under construction) heavy industry warehouse.  Forges, smelters, wood furnaces, kilns, the bowyer and siege workshop are all located in this building, or will be once it's done.  All buildings except the unfinished one are single-level with complete fire clay roofs.  The bridges are both granite, and controlled by levers inside the mine entrance.  The pasture also has a small roofed area at its north, just three tiles thick.  This is the barn, where the animals can retreat from the extreme cold and the hens nest.  It serves no real gameplay purpose, but I figured it made sense for there to be some sort of barn for them.  Underground are just a few barren, short dirt tunnels and the mineshaft.  I'll post pics of it as it develops.))

Also, can I see my character stats?
Hopefully I'm some random grizzled guy. If so, get his shirt off, so he's somewhat like a barbarian (lols).

((But of course!))

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

((Sadly, you're a hugely fat dwarf at the moment!  Don't worry, I'm going to add some pumps to the guard areas, and a little exercise and sparring will burn that fat right off!  We'll make you a shirtless barbarian yet, Conan.))
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Conan

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #23 on: June 21, 2011, 11:35:46 pm »

I'm not a grizzled guy  :( but I am perfect for a baron  :)

double braids ftw.

The13thRonin

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #24 on: June 22, 2011, 01:39:23 am »

I'm not a grizzled guy  :( but I am perfect for a baron  :)

double braids ftw.

You're afraid of ladybugs LOL! Nice barbarien :D!
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kerlc

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #25 on: June 22, 2011, 01:50:29 am »

neat fortress!

it makes me want to do this.

 :P
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Cheveux

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #26 on: June 22, 2011, 02:55:17 am »

"Me?  No boss, I'm cool."  He smirked at her before she frowned and shut the door.  Her voice could be heard through the wood.  "Latrine duty for him tomorrow, and I want him done with it in time to join the others cutting wood by sunup.  No excuses."

"Well, shit," Cheveux sighed, then smirked.  "Hey, there's another one.  Not bad, huh?"

Hehehe, "Well, shit" would have the exact thing I would have said. Also, nice pun!

Really getting into this Fort, fantastic writing.
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kerlc

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #27 on: June 22, 2011, 04:21:41 am »

it's too bad that i haven't seen any action, but the story is very good.
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QuakeIV

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #28 on: June 22, 2011, 01:39:45 pm »

This is entertaining.
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TapeNoot

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Re: The Gulag (Dig Deeper Community/Story Fort)
« Reply #29 on: June 23, 2011, 12:10:25 pm »

Really great read so far, looking forward to seeing more ^^

Any chance of being dorfed? Name of Tape, being one of the guards. Preferably in the military, armed with a scourge of lasher once you can get a hold of one, spear until you can. Prone to loosing himself in thought, especially when staring across the vast fields of ice. Kind of a brooding philosopher, with a hidden past :P
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