Uggi's journal: Year 8, Granite 1We had one of those mandatory draw-a-ticket-from-a-sock-lotteries to get "volunteers" for random suicidal jobs. My hand shaked as I reached for the sock filled with tickets describing the insane jobs and picked one. I slowly opened the ticket and it stated
"Fortress overseer of the year 8". I panicked for a second, then I realized that I'll be safe from these lotteries for the rest of the year! The next dwarf in line drew his ticket and had to walk outside into the glacier and drag the frozen remains of previous volunteers into the refuse stockpile. I doubt we'll ever see him again.
The first day was all about paperwork and trying to figure out how the fortress runs. For hours I stared at the fortress map and the incomprehensible sidenotes left by previous overseers and various architects. Then I took a break from it and did more paperwork. Some dwarf came with a bunch of forms and wanted to change his name from Rakust to Sirian.
While I was signing his forms and stamping them with official stamps of dwarven bureaucracy, I thought I might as well change my name too. I never liked my birth name anyway.
While I'm in charge of things here, I have to make sure my future is secured. I'm going to promote myself to a noble position. The only vacant noble positions are the manager and the sheriff. I don't handle stress well and the manager's job is all about insane bureaucratic paperwork. Sheriff's job however is straightforward and easy, just go and punch someone in the face every now and then. Also, we have no known criminals in this fortress. And the sheriff gets his own quarters, perfect! Now I just have to get the lazy miners to dig me some rooms.
Speaking of nobles, we're close to becoming a village here and Nix will soon be promoted to mayor. I better make sure she'll get her office and quarters before she starts making mandates.
Granite 10This place is a logistical nightmare. Everybody's hauling random items back and forth. Every stockpile here seems to have all possible kinds of items assigned to it.
The main corridor from the front gates to the living area is narrow, long and filled with debris and stairways that go nowhere. I heard Oddom the planter had to walk for FOUR DAYS from the dining room through the corridor to the surface, just to pick up a trinket from this pile of junk what appeared to be the remains of a former trading depot. Then she used another four days walking back to the stockpiles!
Surface level:
Z-2:
Z-4:
Z-10:
Granite 14We have some useless stray dogs wandering in the halls. I've ordered kennels to be built. The miners are almost done with my quarters. Our engraver, Sirocco II has already started smoothing the walls and floors. I sent an useless peasant, Olin Tadshem, to work as his apprentice. Maybe he'll learn something from Sirocco II.
Granite 16Because everybody's just hauling crap back and forth, the kennels will never be finished. I saw it better to construct the damn thing myself. Hell, maybe I'll train the dogs too.
Granite 18The miners should have already dug out the magma forge areas, but I see the work has been delayed. Mormota is all alone down there digging. I heard the other miner, known as Shaft or something, is having his break OUTSIDE instead of our warm and cozy dining room. Which means he has wasted Armok knows how many days just to walk there. He's standing motionless near the front gate, under the nauseating bright daylight, staring out into the glacier. Creepy bastard.
While he's outside I might as well take an advantage of it and order a new corridor to be dug through the ice, to shorten the route a bit. When he gets back from his break, he can start digging right away.
Granite 21Now he decided to have a drink before he can start digging the new corridor. HE'S WALKING BACK DOWN. That walk will take AT LEAST A WEEK. And he is not even thirsty, I can tell! Oh I wish he breaks the law somehow, so I can give him a proper beating!
Slate 2Finally he started to dig again! Also, 20 migrants arrived with shocked look on their frostbitten faces. I'm sure they've been told the old lies about this being a warm and calm mountain resort without elven neighbours. Along them was a weaponsmith with some skills in engraving. I sent her, Datan Tekkudlimul, to help Sirocco II and Olin to smooth the floors of my dining room. Also some very talented healthcare specialists came. Now we just have to get the hospital running.
Slate 9We have a few workshops in the surface level that are causing majority of the hauling traffic through the long corridor. I'm having them deconstructed. I'm also considering moving the trading depot deeper down in the fortress.
Slate 13I just realized something. We have no barracks. And only a few weapons. There are some silver and steel bolts laying around outside in the glacier, perhaps we could melt them and get just enough metal to forge some war hammers. It looks calm outside today, only a few reindeers there. And a huge polar bear. We need some volunteers, time to organize a new lottery!
Felsite 10Days and weeks go by and it seems nothing gets done here. The new corridor was half done until both miners decided to have a break again. Sirocco II and his two dim-witted apprentices are still smoothing out my quarters. I've ordered exceptional furniture for my office, but the masons are unskilled slackers and they only produce low quality furniture.
Felsite 11Mining is continuing. That creepy miner, Slade or Slate or something, is deep down there opening channels through the roof of the magma sea. I've already ordered magma smelters to be constructed.
And then the damn hippies showed up. Elves!!! I'm not letting them in. Let them freeze to death! Oh wait, they're carrying some logs. On second thought, let them come in, I think we can arrange a deal.
Felsite 21One of the kids snapped today. And a damn cat give birth to kittens. Better slaughter them right away, we don't need catsplosions here.
Felsite 22I had a word with the elves. Told them to drop their logs and booze and get the hell out of here. I don't negotiate with hippies.
Our trade goods are too far away from the trading depot anyway. Even worse, there are no bins to store the all goods. I can't have the whole fortress hauling trinkets one by one for weeks. The trading depot really has to be relocated somewhere deeper in the fortress.
Meanwhile, the kid claimed a craftsdwarf's workshop, grabbed some rocks and started building something.
Felsite 24The elves are still here. I told them to go away and play with the goblin snatchers outside.
Felsite 26The kid created an earring. She calls it Korrilem, "Cavernyouth".
It's quite simple and not worth much, but it has an image of Kol, the deity of trade and wealth, and some dwarves. Dwarves, not elves! This must be a sign! I have to make sure we can give great offerings to the caravan arriving from the mountainhomes next autumn. The kid's now a legendary stonecrafter. Too bad she's still too young to do any actual work.
Felsite 27The elves finally left! Good riddance!