25th Sandstone, Year 53, Mid-Autumn
It was a joyous day, a day where two of our kind, Atir, the fort's only farmer, and Basque, the doctor, had gotten married. Though no 'formal' celebrations of any kind were organized, multiple parties were organized by their friends in honor of the occasion, as well as to celebrate the continued survival of Rocktouched. The parties will most definitely last for months. Alcohol of all kinds flowed freely, and there was much dancing to be had.
One dwarf who didn't join in the festivities was Flandre. Although not the de-facto leader of the fort, she had recently been given the task of managing the day to day activities of the fort; keeping stockpiles, managing work orders, and counting the worth of the fort. Not one of the most glorious jobs, but it was one she did well at. Numbers and organization came naturally to her, and she was best fit for the job.
Meanwhile, UristMcHuman, also not attending the parties, had been busy planning an expedition deeper into the caves. Although a large portion of the topmost layer of caverns had been thoroughly explored and mapped, rumor had it that there were caverns even deeper than these. Though no passages of any sort were found, he had been mapping a series of artificial tunnels to be dug out soon. He, along with Vucar and the newest addition to the fort's miltia, a crossbowdwarf by the name of Fievreux, would be the ones to venture forth if the caverns were discovered.
To defend the fort while it's guards were away, the fort mechanic, Crustypeanut, had been devising a series of simple traps around the fort entrance. Though they consisted of nothing more than cage traps placed strategically, they had already caught a number of elk bird, naked mole dogs, and a troll.
4th of Timber, Year 53, Late Autumn
Blood was everywhere. A beast of monstrous proportions was discovered, lurking in the depths. It was called Lathi. It was a large, towering eyeless lizard. The creature's dark, pink scales were wide and round, and it had a pair of long, thin wings of stretched skin. On it's tail was a wicked stinger, whose poison could fell the stoutest of dwarf.
Luckily, however, it's stinger was unable to penetrate the rather roughly made iron armor that the three militia wore. UristMcHuman and Vucar were first on the scene, and they charged bravely towards the beast. Fievreux was not far behind, and she had began to rain death onto the beast from afar, using her trusty crossbow.
After a short, but vicious battle, the dwarves were victories. Not only that, but they were unscratched. UristMcHuman had landed the killing blow, ripping open the beast's throat with his axe.
24th of Timber, Year 53, Late Autumn
Praise be to the Miners! By digging the artificial tunnel that UristMcHuman had commissioned, they had discovered not just the second cavern, but the third as well! Not far from the tunnel exit was a large, deep pit that linked the two. While Fievreux stayed behind to guard the fortress, Urist and Vucar went to explore.
The caverns were massive – they made the previous cavern look small. The second cavern level contained a huge underground lake – nay, with how far it stretched on, it could have only been described as a small sea.
Looking down into the pit, the cavern below was just as massive. They had also discovered a THIRD magma tube and... wait.. what is that? It can't be.. there's no way..