From the Journal of Morul Rigothimesh, Knifemurders Overseer. The 1st of Hematite, 104
Ye know the old saying, "Time flies when you're having fun"? Well, based on my experiences in Knifemurders, time flies when you're suffering, too. I was planning on recording what happens in this thrice-damned Elf-hole on a monthly basis, but before I knew it, it was Summer already. I suppose until things get settled down, future historians won't mind if I write down our records seasonly.
So we arrived in this place the night before New Years. We didn't have much, just two brass axes, three brass picks, and a bunch of turkeys. An old drinking buddy of mine from the Mountainhomes swears by 'em; said that if I took eight turkeys, I wouldn't have any food problems for my entire life. I took his advice, although in retrospect, his record isn't that great. His last fort was razed by Orcs, which is why the fool was in the Mountainhomes in the first place.
So I took one of the picks and with two other Dwarves who claimed to know a thing or two about mining, I started clearing a hole in the hill. I sent two of the others to chop wood for us, and the last two to gather plants.
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ImageShack.usThat stupid hill was made of sand, which made digging easy, but meant we'd have to go deeper before we found some good old Dwarf-worthy stone. I decided to mine a wood-crafting chamber up in the top level. Wood has to be brought in from outdoors, so it should be higher up; and the damn Elf-sympathizers who work with wood in the first place probably wouldn't mind. Wood may be a necessary evil, but I certainly don't have to like it.
Digging down, we found some nice, rich soil. I decided to make this level our farming level. We mined a huge farm, and a nice, safe pit for the turkeys. When we start training fighters, I figure we'll put them here too, so they can get to the surface to face any threats as quickly as possible.
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ImageShack.usI suppose I should describe my fellow Dwarves. Well, even though we've been here for a few months, I only really got to know the two other miners. I've been digging nonstop since I got here, which doesn't leave much time to talk to others. The first miner is named Bojangles. Darn bastard is hyper as a Gnome, and always happy. He won't shut up for a minute.... I can see why he was sent on a mission to a far-away land from which he may never return. Why, last week, when we were mining out a bedroom, he picked up one of the broken rocks that landed on the ground and went on happily about how much it looks like my face for three whole hours. The bastard works well though, so I'll just have to send him off to mine far-away areas.
The other miner is Wypie. She doesn't talk much, so I don't know much about her. I think she's still embarrassed over the Tree Incident...
When we first got here, it was night. Wypie, in fact, was asleep on the cart. We parked the cart and started digging right away, before any nasty forest critters, or even nastier Elves, showed up. I woke Wypie up and ordered her to dig before she could look around much, so the next morning when she stepped out of our hole was the first time she saw the Outdoors around our outpost. I was digging the farm area at the time, but I could hear her screams all the way from the surface. She dashed down the stairs and ran to me, screaming "They're everywhere! We're completely surrounded!" I ordered Bojangles to barricade the stairs (which he did while whistling... Damn Gnome-hugger, we thought the others were dead at the time!) and calmed her down.
"What is it? Goblins? Orcs? Gibberers?" I asked, fearing the worst.
"They're everywhere! They're huge!" was her only reply.
"Ogres? Giants? Trolls?!" I yelled, but she only sobbed. Finally, I slapped her.
"What is it?! Get a hold of yourself, Dwarf! You're acting like an Elf!"
That did the trick. She took a deep breath, and said, "The trees! They're everywhere!"
It took me three hours to explain to her that trees were inanimate objects, which is why we made beds out of them.
"But that's when they're dead! You would wear a turkey leather hat, but would you put a live turkey on your head?"
She still hates going outside the fort. Still, I don't judge her too harshly. We all have our flaws... Like rambling. That's one of my flaws, and what I am doing now. Back to business!
Around mid-Spring, I realized that the ponds around us and the nearby stream would all freeze in the Winter. To ensure we had water during the Winter, we dug a huge reservoir.
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ImageShack.usAt first, we channeled the water from one of the nearby pools, but we realized that we didn't have enough. So we connected the reservoir to the nearby stream instead, and it is now completely full. It is twice as deep as our tunnels are high, and very long and wide; we should have no water problems.
By Late-Spring, we had dug down to the stone levels. It is here that I ordered the construction of a huge dining hall, a series of bedrooms, and a large rooms where we will make stone objects and mechanisms, and cut jewels.
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ImageShack.usAnd that is all that happened in Knifemurders this Spring. I have drawn the plans of our current Outpost, and they are attached to the next page of this journal.
Glory to The Granite Glaze and to Knifemurders!
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Topic: Knifemurders: A Dig Deeper Community Fort (Read 6162 times)