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Author Topic: For Glory and Adamantine: The Story of Steelbeard (epic succession, .25)  (Read 12596 times)

ImBocaire

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Ooh, it's starting! Steelbeard ahoy!

If you don't mind, can I download the save and post some of the more story-relevant information from Legends mode? Things like interesting figures from our civilizations, megabeasts/titans in the area, and our deities?
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aussieevil

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Ooh, it's starting! Steelbeard ahoy!

If you don't mind, can I download the save and post some of the more story-relevant information from Legends mode? Things like interesting figures from our civilizations, megabeasts/titans in the area, and our deities?

Please do! It will make it all the more interesting!
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Henry Freeman no get out of here fast as you can...

ImBocaire

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Awesomesauce. Prepare for flavor text, oh... tomorrow.
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aussieevil

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Quarynn's turn was skipped by request.

Next up is nogoodnames.
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Henry Freeman no get out of here fast as you can...

nogoodnames

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Alright, I'll probably get my first post up sometime in the evening.
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Life is, in a word, volcanoes.
                        - Random human lord

ImBocaire

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For The Eyes of His Majesty, Kol Losiszuntir, King Faintanvils of Nomingish, the Godly Bodices
From the desk of Royal Scribe and Record-Keeper, Tekkud Zuglarid
On this day of Fifth Granite, Year Two-Hundred Fifty-Two of the Everseeing Domain, Xesorsuza

Your most august Majesty,

Since your ascent to power after the all-too-brief reign of Her Majesty Queen Lorbam Urdimkerlig, whom starved to death in mysterious circumstances after a scant year of rulership, I have endeavored to serve you as my clan has for generations served the royal house of Nomingish. Since the late Queen left behind no heir, you were chosen to be the King by acclamation of the High Council, and have ruled us capably and, dare I say, in a most distinguished manner for these seventeen years.

You decided two years ago to found a new city for the glory of our mountainhomes, and formed a party to strike the earth in the Jungles of Competing, seeking mineral wealth and a chance at finding a deposit of the true metal, adamantine. In the time since this group, the settlement, dubbed "Steelbeard" by its founders, has begun to show the signs of success that all look for in a growing dwarven outpost.

To better serve both you and our fledgling mountain halls of Steelbeard, I took the liberty of compiling a great deal of information from the royal archives, in addition to seeking out and recording some of the myths and legends of the common folk as well as the royal family. I enlisted aid from our two neighboring human civilizations, The Realm of Confusion and The Confederation of Slipping, as well. They put their vast information networks the world over to work for the purpose of compiling a useful resource on these realms. This resource was completed yesterday, and I now transmit it to you.

I shall begin my account with a bit of our early history; though it may be known to you, not all the salient details are common knowledge. You no doubt know that the first great hero of this region, the one whom blazed the trail for Nomingish to become a world power, was the great general Stakud Fortressdwellings. Twice he ventured to the depths of the earth, and tamed the giant toads and rutherers that lived there. Twice he escaped unscathed from combat with deadly foes, including the bronze colossus Bardum Lordarrow the Earthen Punch of Apogees, the greatest of our civilization's enemies. He was struck down in the year 56 by a cowardly cyclops, Budam Daysilvers the Blueness of Hardiness.

Our first king, who came to power on the mighty shoulders of Stakud Fortressdwellings, was the great Unib Zuglarustuth, called Shipfences.  His reign brought prosperity to our fledgling nation, until he was tragically murdered after fifteen years by Bardum Lordarrow, who first came to our attention around this time. His daughter Solon Gatebear ruled after him for five years, until the foul colossus murdered her as well.

As a nation we were able to get past the tumultuous early years of our history and we have grown tremendously. Certainly we are able to draw great power and comfort from our patron gods; you yourself, Your Majesty, are an outspoken worshipper of the great goddess Asen the Bronze Rocks, mother of mountains. I myself am a fervent disciple of the god Maskir, who brings balance to all things. The great dwarf hero Stakud Fortressdwellings was known to espouse the worship of Shin the Rock of Greenness, the god of jewels and minerals. Our first king was a worshipper of the goddess Limar, she of fire, wealth, and trade. Ber Ravenwound, a known confederate of King Unib, worshipped Toral Coveredloved, the lady of mercy and forgiveness. There are other gods known to us; Etar, god of war and fortresses, and Azmol the Deep Fountain, goddess of fertility and mist, are two of the more prominent.

Other countries in this realm have their own gods, some of which are more unusual than others. You may perhaps forgive me for raising an eyebrow at those in The Confederations of Slipping who prostrate themselves before Atal Suntwig, who is a halibut-god of nature; likewise, I doubt that Ushmal the Hag of Rocks, a soldier ant goddess of muck, has much of a cult even in the far-off Incidental Confederacy. Ceshshed of the Humid Empire, a cardinal-god of sky, wind, and rain, is a far more reasonable object of worship. Still, who is to say what is plausible in the realm of the divine?

Finally, and most importantly, I wish to chronicle various threats to the world and to our civilization; these beasts are not to be trifled with.

First among these dread horrors is, of course, the bronze colossus, Bardum Lordarrow the Earthen Punch of Apogees. This foul beast is still at large, unpunished for his brutal slaying of our first king and his daughter. This much is known; he has been reported to be wandering the Steppes of Glazing even as recently as the year 246. His rampage of murder goes unabated; as far as I can tell, he has murdered sixty-nine people of note, with uncountable victims who were never recorded for lack of deeds to their name; he can rightly be said to be the enemy of all who live. Even the goblins curse his name. He is rumored to have taken the abandoned temple of Jewelrulers as his lair, though few who venture there live to tell the tale.

Second of these beasts is the great dragon Thali Goldsweltered the Sparks of Treasure, who is dangerous for a different reason. Whether due to his prodigious strength or his instinctual cunning, this dragon has managed to become the object of worship for several human civilizations. Though much of the world sees through his schemes and considers him an enemy, he has still managed to avoid capture and execution due to his cults. He sleeps in the great cave known as The Diamond Silver, where he hoards treasure from the world over.

We must also consider the curious forces of nature called titans. These beings, as you are no doubt aware, have no known origin, no known motivations, and are older than time itself. Each one is totally unique and alone, and often they are possessed of bizarre biology. There are some that I know enough about to make a report on, but there are many who are barely known except in rumors.

Stez Passforests is known to be a tremendous four-legged beast made entirely of ice that stalks the hills. It is relatively peaceful and sedentary, content for the time to lie in its lair, the temple called Birdsberry. Only one person has ever been recorded to have attacked this creature, the human Ustra Filledblankets. Ustra was struck down easily and quickly.

Lema Gullyfin the Leafy Pine is perhaps more dangerous; a great skink-shaped monstrosity with no eyes, it apparently can shoot webbing similar to the giant cave spider.Bright blue in color, it is more proactive than Stez Passforests, attacking human, elven, and dwarven settlements with impunity. It lives in the great savanna called The Steppe of Partners, and has sixty-one notable kills to its name. It has received the worship of some, though not so many as the dragon Thali.

The most disturbing of these threats to our world are not so kind as to make the entire world their enemies. These beasts, who speak in tongues unknown and possess powers unnatural, are as old as the titans, but display clear intelligence, and even sentience. Rather than recieve the worship of creatures, they instead conquer entire civilizations by force and become their kings. Though I am loath to use the word, they are usually simply called demons. I know not whence they come or what their existence means.

One of the less harmful of these demons is called Emepe Ransackedgleamed. In form he resembles nothing so much as a tremendous cyclopean rabbit standing on two legs. He has fiery breath similar to a dragon. He became the leader of a gang of petty goblin bandits, but by great effort and sacrifice he was captured and imprisoned by The Councils of Lulling, a human civilization. He has made no attempt to free himself from his bondage, and is seemingly content to stay a prisoner, though what dark designs he has on the world I dare not guess.

Perhaps the most dangerous of the demons known to us is the monstrous humanoid iguana known as Ulash Webthief the Seducer of Plagues. He conquered the fledgling goblin civilization called The Brilliant Fly and made it a powerful warrior nation. He is the perennial foe of our fellow dwarven nation The Blanketed Urn, personally leading sieges and raids on its fortresses; those who have survived against him in battle say that he is an overwhelming opponent. Even if one manages to scratch him, his blood is certain death to anyone it touches. The war mounts of the Brilliant Fly answer only to his voice and touch, as if he tamed them all personally.

I pray, Your Majesty, that you do not lose heart in the face of such overwhelming power that is aligned against us. Dwarven walls are strong, but the dwarven spirit is stronger. In the name of King Unib, in the name of Nomingish, in the name of the shining suns of Steelbeard and the mighty dwarves of The Godly Bodices, we shall not surrender even the smallest of our outposts to the evils of the world; rather, we shall defend them with all our souls.

Always your loyal servant,
Tekkud Zuglarid
Royal Scribe and Record-Keeper

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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nogoodnames

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Ah, the overseer! The most stressful job of any burgeoning fortress. It's no wonder why most give up their positions after the required year of service. Keeping everything moving, making sure the food piles are kept stocked, balancing the physical and emotional needs of dozens dwarves, the pressure must be unimaginable! Oh look, here comes the overseer now!

“Hello Aussieevil, what do you want me to do today? Cut down some trees, or maybe make some barrels?”

“I quit, you're the overseer now.”

Shit.


Overseer's Log: 1st Granite, 252

Well I've completed my initial assessment and noted several problems that are now my responsibility to fix.

The fortress has no defences whatsoever, we'll have to do something about that before the goblins take an interest in us.

Our booze stocks are alarmingly low right now, and I sure as hell won't be leading this fortress sober. While investigating our booze shortage I also noticed that our farm had been ordered to produce dimple cups year round. Apparently no one told our previous overseer that dimple cups are inedible and only good for making dye. I quickly told our farmer, Quarynn, to start farming plump helmets and brew up what we have. I also ordered the construction of a secondary farm for other crops to provide variety. Unfortunately we also seem to have a bit of a vermin problem in the food stockpile. Hopefully a migrant will bring a cat somewhere down the line, until then we'll just have to live with it.

The workshops and stockpiles are a little disorganized right now. Useless stone is cluttering up everything. We do have a stone stockpile but it's kind of useless seeing as it was dug out of stone and therefore full before we even started using it. I've heard of a method of storing large amounts of stone in a small space, I'll have to implement it here at some point, as well as get the workshops a bit more organized.

All these things need to be looked after, and they will be in due time. However, there is one issue too intolerable to be delayed. I have set resolving this issue as the fortress' highest priority. Too long have I been sleeping in a cramped bedroom!

What? If I'm going to be stuck as overseer the least I could get in compensation is a modest upgrade to my living quarters.



Okay, maybe not so modest.

While they're at it I'm also going to have the miners dig out a new tomb for me. It's not like they have anything better to do, and I refuse to spend my eternal rest in the communal catacombs, stuck between  statues of Conan admiring a piece of cheese and Billybobfred being terrorized by fire snakes.



It'll only be accessible from my room to deter potential grave robbers and stop people from trying to claim my bed after I die. I like to think of it as symbolizing how we are all equal in death, but how that doesn't matter because I get an awesome tomb while all the unimportant people get pauper's graves.

Maybe I'm going to like this job after all.
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Life is, in a word, volcanoes.
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JacenHanLovesLegos

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Good-looking fort. Nice design, etc, etc.
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As it turns out, the pen was in fact a poor choice for melee combat in comparison to the sword.
So I just started playing this game and I accidentally nuked the moon.

Conan

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I'll go attach my bedroom next to yours when its my turn...

aussieevil

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Oh you  :P
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nogoodnames

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Overseer's log: 8th Slate 252

Billybobfred says he was bringing some logs inside when he saw a group of migrants coming over the hill. Hopefully there are some useful dwarves among them and they won't all be murdered by the nearby elephants.


10th Slate

There were quite a few migrants, twenty-two in all, along with a few pets and livestock (no cats, unfortunately) which brings Steelbeard's total population to thirty-six. We'll need to expand the residential sector in order to house them all, further delaying my other projects. Fortunately for me the previous overseer has done some preliminary work and planning for expansion.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of the migrants had useful skills. Of course there were the unavoidable bums who move to fledgling fortresses in order to live rent free, but fewer than I was expecting. Notably there were a few carpenters and woodcutters, no doubt drawn here by tales of my success. As for the less skilled dwarves, they will likely fill the ranks of the militia once it is established. But I am loath to make an army of peasants, armed as such (as we have no iron) without even a competent leader. The most skilled fighter among them described his training as merely “adequate” and he was apparently never given any training in the proper use of a weapon. I think I will postpone forming the militia until I have someone I can trust to lead them.

Work on my bedroom is progressing slowly, but it should be ready for me to move in by the end of the season as long as the miners aren't distracted by other tasks. Smoothing and engraving will take longer. Hopefully our engraver and the migrant stoneworker will be able to smooth it all before year's end.


17th Slate

A migrant cheesemaker started acting strangely today. He took over our only craftsdwarf workshop and refuses to allow anyone else to use it. I tried talking to him but he just kept on muttering something about Bumalsholeb needing bones, whatever that means.



I've heard about moods like these. The dwarf becomes obsessed with making some legendary object, refusing to eat, sleep or drink until it is completed, and going mad if they fail. Thankfully bones are well within our means to provide. We had to slaughter our yak and our mule to provide all the bones he wanted but he finally started working.


2nd Felsite

Well the cheesmaker has finished what he was working on. It turned out to be a bone throne.



Not bad, but I certainly wouldn't want to sit on it with those pikes jutting out everywhere. I think I'll leave it in the dining hall so everyone can admire it, at least until the torture room is built. The cheesmaker says he has no recollection of the incident and has never worked bones in his life. Odd.. I shall have to watch for any more of these moods.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2011, 09:10:01 pm by nogoodnames »
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Life is, in a word, volcanoes.
                        - Random human lord

nogoodnames

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Overseer's log: 13th Felsite

My master bedroom is finally finished! Well, everything still needs to be smoothed and engraved and the furniture needs to be brought in but still, I can finally move out of that ugly little room the previous overseer stuck me in! Some migrant can have my old room, and I'm giving my old tomb to Billybobfred, who's been very helpful as a bookkeeper.

With the miners free I can finally get to redesigning the workshops and stockpiles and expanding the fort's housing to accommodate new migrants. I've also been trying to get our metalworking industry up and running, mainly to give our furnace operator and a few useless migrants something to do. The only ores we have access to right now are garnierite and tetrahedrite, but it's something. Until we dig to magma we'll have to rely on charcoal for smelting. Fortunately for us the jungle has plenty of trees.


16th Felsite

I can see some elves coming in our direction. A caravan most likely, they usually make their visit around this time of year. The first thing they'll see as they come up the hill is me hacking away at their beloved trees. Probably not the best way to start our diplomatic relations, but it's not like we weren't going to rob them anyway, and I'm not going to stop clear cutting just because those pansy elves don't like it.


22nd Felsite

The elves brought their usual assortment of worthless cloth. At least it will keep the clothier busy. We took everything, even their useless crafts which will only take up space until we can shovel them off on the humans. We don't need any of it really, it was only done to spite the elves. It's a pathetic sight to see them come all this way only to be robbed blind. I might have even felt sorry for them, if they weren't a bunch of annoying, snub-nosed, pretentious, cannibal treehuggers! They did bring something interesting though, a nice tame rhinoceros. I bet that thing would be amazing in a fight! I hope someone here knows how to take care of a rhino...
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Life is, in a word, volcanoes.
                        - Random human lord

aussieevil

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It seems that nogoodnames has gone mad with power. Not being content with the Temple of the Founders and his own comfortable cabin, he's gone and ordered the creation a large bedroom and tomb that rivals that of the Royals back home! I will dare not say anything about it to his face, though. He is assembling a militia and I sure as hell don't want to be conscripted into it. Also, what the hell are we supposed to do with this giant gray horned thing?
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Henry Freeman no get out of here fast as you can...

nogoodnames

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Overseer's log: 28th Felsite, 252

The rhinoceros has been put in a private pen, but Quarynn still worries that it will starve from lack of proper food. Hopefully it can subsist on whatever is growing outside in the jungle.

I've ordered all the waste stone be moved out of my quarters, that should keep the haulers busy for a while.

Everyone keeps asking for a well, so I've told the miners to dig one out. The river is fresh water right? Must be, because we have a couple dozen carp swimming in it at all times.


20th Hematite

The fortress welcomed its first locally born resident today. A little girl, daughter of a fishery worker and a small animal dissector. The parents must be a couple of loners because I haven't talked to anyone who had more than a passing acquaintanceship with either of them. They were probably drawn together by their mutual fascination with cutting up dead things. I hope they don't mess up the kid too badly. I was talking about the girl to Conan earlier and he said she looked like a religious type. No idea how he could tell that from a gurgling pink newborn.


23rd Malachite

The miners seem to be taking a long time to dig out the reservoir, especially Aussieevil. Right now he's gathering plants from the farms, despite the many other dwarves capable of doing so. It's almost as if he is doing it on purpose, but I have no idea why he would want to delay the well.


27th Malachite

A group of migrants has been sighted. Hopefully there's a skilled blacksmith among them so I can get some nice nickel items for my room.

This group wasn't nearly as large as the last with only eight dwarves and no animals. No blacksmiths sadly, but we did get a talented doctor and a high master mechanic.


14th Galena

Well the resevoir's done, I'm just waiting for someone to link up the floodgate to the control lever. I'm going to have the miners dig down to see if they can find any ore while I get the blueprints for the redesigned workshops ready.

15th Galena

The miners had only dug down a few layers when they broke into a huge cavern. It looks like it's mostly flooded with water but there is a muddy shore off to the northwest.



There's something big moving around down there but I can't make it out through the darkness. I may have to block off the original access point for now to prevent some clumsy dwarf from falling in.
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Life is, in a word, volcanoes.
                        - Random human lord

tryrar

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we get any good axedwarves yet?  :)
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This fort really does sit on the event horizon of madness and catastrophe
No. I suppose there are similarities, but I'm fairly certain angry birds doesn't let me charge into a battalion of knights with a car made of circular saws.
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