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[Lordraymond]

A dwarvenly tear shed for those lost.

I'm almost tempted to erect a monument in my own world, if I was a good enough builder to do this fort justice.

[DS]

An attack by two topazolite fiends is repulsed by Ézum Openeddoors and Érith Minedtribe. Nomal Biglabors, it seems, is often absent due to his glacial speed, and the long distance between the food stockpiles and his station in the abyss. No matter - the monument nears completion.

In the spring of 233, Edëm Portalceiling the merchant was scared to death, another victim of the murderous ghost Ilral Visioncloistered. Luckily for the fortress, Edëm had recently finished forging the remaining adamantine wafers left in the stockpiles into exceptional and masterwork statues. Her contribution will not be forgotten - indeed, should any woeful traveler find their way into the abyss, they shall find her masterworks enshrined inside a steel and iron mausoleum atop a mossy hill in the abyss.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A road, at first marked by engravings in the slade, but then by a steel paved walkway, leads from the curtain wall to the metallic structure. The opsidian door is an artifact, which oddly enough appears to have been given a first name in the dwarven fashion: Ézum Gladnessbridges. It is encrusted with obsidian, encircled with bands of llama wool, goblin-cap, and yak leather, and menaces with spikes of nether-cap. There are three images on the door: two giraffes in two-humped camel bone; Ducim Laborpatterned surrounded by dwarves on the day of her ascension to queen of the Merchant of Echoing in year 7; and Cog Pastmachine striking a menacing pose and rising from the dead as a murderous ghost in the late autumn of 136 (oddly enough, no sign of Cog Pastmachine has ever been noticed). When the mausoleum is complete, the door will be forbidden and sealed, and the statues inside protected from the demons.

At the center of the room will be a memorial to and a statue of the duke Kogsak Murdershot, patriarch of the royal family and visionary of the dome of Weatherwires. Though he died over a century ago, it was the duke who planned the excavation of the dome and the construction of a subterranean utopia - it is his vision that shaped the fortress, and ultimately his dream that has been crushed.

I'm almost tempted to erect a monument in my own world, if I was a good enough builder to do this fort justice.

It just takes practice, man. I used to be terrible at constructions of any kind, but in doing this fort I've learned quite a bit about the logistics and execution of megaprojects.

Some pictures in Stonesense:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The curtain wall, with surrounding mossy area. The walkway leads away to the upper-right (east). Ézum and Érith stand on the hillside, standing watch and forming the first and last defense against the demons.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The monument, nearly finished. A steel and iron structure, sealed by an obsidian artifact door. I sincerely hope that once the door is forbidden and kept tightly closed, the demons will simply ignore it.

[DS]

As the final touches are being placed upon the monument, four wraiths of snow appear just to the west of the curtain wall. They strike fast and hard - a merchant is slain as the Urns of Work scramble to the defense. The fiends fly overhead, confusing the warriors, while sending the civilians into disarray. In the chaos, Érith and Ézum are separated, forced to defend against separate foes.

Érith Minedtribe is attacked from behind by two of the wraiths of snow as they descend upon him in a surprise attack. He slashes back with his exceptional adamantine shortsword, and manages to destroy one of the horned demons before a lucky strike from the other shatters his left arm. With his shield arm useless, and in great pain, he falls back, parrying blow after blow. The fiend lands another blow upon his leg, breaking the bone and sending him to the ground. The desperate struggle continues - and Érith's left arm is broken again in three more places. Just as he begins to pass out from agony, commander Ézum (who has already slain three of the demons) charges the beast and decapitates it.

As Érith crawls to safety, the commander stands alone in defense of the curtain wall as two more wraiths of snow attack. The fiends swoop down against him and knock him to the ground. The commander scrambles away from the beasts, blocking and dodging blow after blow as they attack. He parries one strike and counterattacks, cleaving one of the demons in two pieces. Nearby, just outside the curtain wall, Érith faints from pain. The commander charges the remaining demon with ferocity, and the battle rages to and fro - until it reaches the base of the curtain wall. Seeing a moment of opportunity, the demon lands a killing blow on the unconscious swordsmaster, goring him in the head and tearing apart his brain with such force that the body is sent flying.

The fiend is dead before the body of Érith "Gearguild" Minedtribe falls back to the slade floor, cut down by Ézum Openeddoors the Robust Stoker of Lances.

The bell tolls for Weatherwires. The only remaining dwarves who can be inducted into the military are about to die of old age. 18 dwarves live to see the completion of the monument, the final task left to them. Only two segments of the aqueduct remain to be deconstructed, and the dwarves can return to the dome and live out their remaining years in relative peace.

[ArKFallen]

This is intense.

[Mapleguy555]

* Mapleguy555 plays sad, sorrowful music as Erith "Gearguild" Minedtribe falls...

[ledgekindred]

"Mad World" by Gary Jules is playing in my head while I read this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3N1MlvVc4

[Mapleguy555]

Add a dome made of ... Whatever rock was used..., and the children moving quicker, and you have yourself Weatherwires.

[DS]

The monument is complete. The dwarves retreat back to the safety of the dome, the lever is pulled, and the obsidian hatches that cap the stairwell grind back to a closed position once more.

It seems that, deep in hell, the demons are confounded by the structure. They are apparently unable to breach the door so long as it is forbidden. The statuary inside is safe.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Remalle]

The monument is complete.

*applause*

[Mapleguy555]

Dwarf1: "Armok's beard! It's finished!"
Dwarf2: "Aye, good we didn't die out he-"
*Recall bell rings*
*Dwarf1 and Dwarf2 sprint as some demons chase their beards*

[DS]

Based on the fact that the memorial is an extremely (apparently completely) protected area, combined with it's secluded location, I have decided to load as many artifacts as possible into the memorial chamber. Anyone who had been keeping up with Weatherwires is aware of how many damn artifacts there are in the fortress - a few more have been crafted since those screenshots were taken.

Any adventurer who delves into the depths of the fortress will find the treasures of an entire civilization, the wealth of a hundred fortresses, here in this room.

[Lordraymond]

Just out of curiosity, and in case you somehow have a not-dead Record Keeper handy, what's your created wealth?

I'd imagine it would be in the billions at this point, I got up to 10,000,000 just by making a bunch of candy trade goods and statues.

[DS]

Unfortunately, determining fortress wealth requires a dwarf skilled with appraisal, not record keeping. I have no brokers left in the fortress, and since the only way that a dwarf can become more skilled at appraisal is through trading with merchants, I can't train one. I can't even get Runesmith to add Appraisal to the surviving dwarves' skills in an alternate save. The wealth of Weatherwires, it seems, shall remain a mystery.

[Ieb]

You could always cheat a little in the end to appease curiosity.
Also, is that an artifact door leading to Hell?
That's why the demons can't pass. They'd need to break the door down, but artifact furniture can't be knocked over so it'll stay there forever, keeping the horde from passing into the overworld.

Just like in all those stories I've read!

[DS]

Well, I actually tried using Runesmith - but either it can't add new skills to a dwarf, or my Runesmith-fu is just weak. I suppose I could make an alternate save after all of this is over, return to the surface, give a dwarf appraisal, and then check. But that'll come later.

Also, the artifact door only seals off the memorial chamber, which isn't attached to the surface in any way - in order to reach the monument, one must descend pull the lever to access the stairwell and then pass through a portion of the abyss itself.