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[DS]

Overcome by hunger, Solon crawled about the lever room, desperately trying to find any vermin that, by some chance, might have gotten lost in the tunnels and been trapped in the map room with her. Of course, there were none - the room is sealed in all directions, hewn out of solid rock, and has no weaknesses. Just as Solon had sealed herself in, safe against the goblins, she had sealed her fate. She had known, when she locked the heavy, steel doors, that she would suffer a slow death by starvation.

But, at this point, she must figure that it can't hurt to look.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

About her, a morose audience of ghosts hold a silent vigil during the ultimate crumbling of the Merchant of Echoing. A dozen spirits still hang about in the smoothed hallway, studying and judging Solon's final, graven testament. It is likely that these restless spirits are doomed to be the only entities who see these disjointed images - oddly fitting, as the ghosts of Weatherwires will have all of eternity to consider the mysterious pictogram.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In her final hours, Solon grows increasingly unhappy. Undoubtedly made unbearable by the catalyst of her withering hunger, the weight and stress of bearing the entire Merchant of Echoing upon her shoulders begins to grind down the merchant's mind. She knows that the ghosts, gathered in an audience around her, are only here to witness her slow and inevitable death.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

What thoughts run through the head of the last dwarf in her final moments? Does she consider how things might have gone differently - if mayor Tun had not engineered their ill-fated escape attempt, or if the adamantine spire had never been breached, or if she had never agreed to submit to the Diamond Cloisters in the first place? Perhaps she contemplates the nature of the myriad curses, laid thick upon the dwarves of Weatherwires, which had began even before she had joined the fortress? Did some malign intelligence intend for her to suffer with the Diamond Cloisters, or was this long, agonizing demise in the dark simply a grand accident, set off when she first arrived at the fortress decades ago?

The answers escape her. Like so many of her fellow dwarves, gathered around her even now, Solon Townclenched will have all of eternity to consider the doom of Weatherwires.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The ghosts watched the last dwarf crawl slower and slower, and then finally stop. The sound of labored, exhausted breathing gradually faded into a heavy, crushing silence, and the merchant's body moved no more.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Shininglight]

Thank you DS for giving us dwarf fortress personified, sadness, death, and horror. That coupled with your storytelling, Bravo sir, bravo indeed.

[DS]

The goblins knew immediately that they were alone in the dome. The sealed passage through which they had come, however, was now closed to them - although, not because of the efforts of the late Solon Townclenched.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Far above, in the chamber that, until recently, been filled with magma, the trolls had wreaked havoc upon the dwarves' masterful designs. The steel grates, which had once covered the floors and allowed the molten rock of the nearby volcano to easily flow in and out of the chamber, had been mostly torn apart.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Of course, the trolls, in their infinite stupidity, neglected to leave an escape route for themselves, let alone their goblin overlords who they had unwittingly trapped in the deeps. As the lava of the volcano gradually rose to its former position, the chamber was slowly flooded. The dwarves claimed one more tiny victory as magma splashed across the feet of Song Sinfulpraises, the troll that indirectly slew Èzum Openeddoors the Robust Stoker of Lances. The beast howled in pain as his lower legs burnt away, and then collapsed into a shallow pool of molten rock.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As the only exit slowly filled with magma, the goblins stood idly atop the guildhall. The remains of the plump helmet men had rotted away to nothing, but still, they did not move. The enemy was defeated, but also still remained, after a fashion. The only dwarves left in the fortress were a scattered army of ghosts, wielding incorporeal weapons and armor, mutely defending spectral citizens - a grim mirror of what the Diamond Cloisters once was, or might have been.

In the beginning, the duke Kogsak Murdershot ordered the construction of the dome so that it might one day be a utopia, a perfect home for the dwarves to reside in until the end of time. Neither the duke nor his family, who rest safe in their coffins, will ever witness the final state of his beloved dome - unlike the spectral masses who still inhabit the fortress. For those who were immolated in magma or fell into a swirling vortex of abyssal light; for those whose bodies lie forgotten in walled-off tunnels or sealed chambers; for those who suffered any of the innumerable fates which befell the fortress in those last few decades, yet were honored with no memorial and forgotten by the living; for these unfortunate souls, their unlife in the dome, amidst the various triumphs and tragedies of their once-great race, is an endless torture from which there will be no relief.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Perhaps they would eventually find their way out through the caverns, or would perish as they are beset upon by nameless things that still lived in the deep of Weatherwires. It is possible, still, that the goblins might remain in the fortress, hoping for a rescue led by the mace lord and his squad. Captain Kutsmob and his hammermen were, in the entire history of their conflict with the dwarves, the only invaders to have seen the dome with their own eyes and lived to escape.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[DS]

Ultimately, it is not important whether or not the goblins escape the caverns. Whatever occurs after 235 falls solidly in the realm of speculation and imagination, as it is in this year that the last and final mountainhome of the Merchant of Echoing, the accursed fortress known in horrific legends and whispered myths as Weatherwires, ultimately crumbles to its end.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 - - -

And so, despite the dwarves' best efforts to go out in a blaze of glory, fighting nameless demons in the depths of hell itself, the story really ends with a crippled merchant who hides from a goblin siege, and slowly dies of thirst in a dark, hidden corner of the fortress.

Is it a disappointing ending?

For some, maybe.

It might have worked better (i.e. had a better sense of closure) if Solon had had the opportunity to give a tragic monologue in her final, parched moments, before dying - but unfortunately, I am only slightly better than the dwarves themselves at dramatic speech-writing, so what I gave to you was (with a little mixing around) the actual ending, as I perceived it.

So, uh, thanks for reading. Writing these updates was entertaining, if a little depressing at times. I did my best to chronicle the important events that occurred throughout the slow fall of the fortress, and I hope you (the reader, whenever you read this) enjoyed (or will enjoy) it.

I will be frank. In the beginning, I did not plan on the thread turning into what it is now. It just sort of happened. Also, I had doubts at the time that narrating the slow decline of a hundred or so dwarves would be any fun at all. Because, hey, at the time, I saw what I was doing as staving off eventually losing - and "Losing is fun!" About halfway through, I realized that I was not, in fact, staving off losing. In fact, as anyone who has read can confirm, there has been quite a bit of losing going on in Weatherwires.

I soon realized that what I was doing here was losing very, very slowly.

So, that's basically it. I'll begin setting up saves as an adventurer so people can actually explore the fortress. Also, if anyone has any questions concerning the fortress itself, I'd be happy to answer them. There are a few amusing anecdotes, completely unrelated to the main plot, that I have yet to post, as well. Thanks again for reading.

[Lordraymond]

A picture of the "Your fort has crumbled to its end" screen would punctuate the end of that post nicely.

But anyway, allow me to put this in DF terms:

This is a masterfully crafted story thread. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality. It menaces with spikes of invasion and depression. It hangs with rings of awesome. It is encircled by bands of amazing. On the item is an image of Weatherwires is adamantine. On the item is an engraving of dwarves and demons in slade. The dwarves are laughing. The demon is being struck down by the dwarves. On the item is an engraving of Kogask Murdershot in gold. Kogask Murdershot is being struck down. This image relates to the fall of Weatherwires to time in 235.

[Panopticon]

Congratulations sir, this has been one of the more entertaining reads I've seen in a while. This includes actual novels. If this isn't up in the hall of legends it really should be.

[Lordraymond]

I sent a PM to the guy who made the HoL thread, so he might maybe add it sometime.

[Poindexterity]

I almost feel as though i shouldnt play DF for a while now.
sorta the way a halfway decent guitar player must feel after listening to the entire jimmy hendrix collection.

this was my favorite thread on any board in my entire internet life.

i am sad to see it end.

keep us abreast of your next project, eh?

[Cellmonk]

I almost feel as though i shouldnt play DF for a while now.
sorta the way a halfway decent guitar player must feel after listening to the entire jimmy hendrix collection.

this was my favorite thread on any board in my entire internet life.

i am sad to see it end.

keep us abreast of your next project, eh?

I felt the same way. But we should carry on! It is our duty to be inspired by this, and make our own *fortress*, for the sake of all of B12! I think my own threadfort hit a dead end, but maybe yours will turn out different. Maybe my next shall. When the next update comes, we should each form a separate thread, each linked to one another, all embarked in the new terrifying region. Each of us will grow ours, and we can compare our forts. Is anyone in?

[Poindexterity]

I almost feel as though i shouldnt play DF for a while now.
sorta the way a halfway decent guitar player must feel after listening to the entire jimmy hendrix collection.

this was my favorite thread on any board in my entire internet life.

i am sad to see it end.

keep us abreast of your next project, eh?

I felt the same way. But we should carry on! It is our duty to be inspired by this, and make our own *fortress*, for the sake of all of B12! I think my own threadfort hit a dead end, but maybe yours will turn out different. Maybe my next shall. When the next update comes, we should each form a separate thread, each linked to one another, all embarked in the new terrifying region. Each of us will grow ours, and we can compare our forts. Is anyone in?

i DID just have a similar idea... think ill start my own thread for that though.

[starshard0]

Did anyone ever figure out what bug was preventing new children from being born?

[DS]

A picture of the "Your fort has crumbled to its end" screen would punctuate the end of that post nicely.

That screen never comes - the game freezes the instant I unpause after Solon dies.

Congratulations sir, this has been one of the more entertaining reads I've seen in a while. This includes actual novels. If this isn't up in the hall of legends it really should be.

The thread was nominated last week, but it's not eligible for voting until March.

Did anyone ever figure out what bug was preventing new children from being born?

Not yet. Filing a bug report is just one of the loose ends I need to tie up.

[starshard0]

I mainly ask because I might have run into something similar. DT lists my population as 254 currently, while DF lists it as 251. I think it might have something to do with severed parts of children remaining on the map after they've been kidnapped by goblins.

[Indricotherium]

I finally looked at this thread 3 or 4 days ago on a whim, starting with the newest post, which described the final goblin assault and the massacre of the plump helmet men. I immediately realized I had stumbled over something grand and jumped right back to page 1. Since then whenever I have had a chance (married and young twins, not a lot of free time) I have plowed forward through one of the most amazing depictions of Dwarf Fortress I have ever read.

Thank you for all your hard work in design, fortress management, record keeping, screen shot-ing, posting and restraint (in the use of utilities as well as letting the story unfold as it would). The result is phenomenal.

And while I understand you saying that you are not a storyteller honestly, if the music career doesn't pan out, consider writing.

[DS]

As was requested, I've used dfhack's mode changing utility to render Weatherwires explorable in adventure mode. Since, by the time the end rolled around, there wasn't much left in the fortress besides goblins and ghosts, I've decided to present these as well as future playable adventurers as part of possibly multiple alternate timelines. The following two adventures begin on the same day in 235, immediately after the first attack upon the plump helmet men.

The first adventurer is Solon Townclenched, the last dwarf. She's paralyzed from the waist down, has little to no combat skill, and wields nothing except a wooden training axe - escaping the fortress or facing any foe at all will be a challenge even for seasoned adventure mode vets. At this point in the save, Solon has already pulled the lever that will eventually reseal the surface exit, so if you wish to attempt an escape, time is limited - and you start out hungry, to boot. Good luck.

The second adventurer is one of the nameless plump helmet folk. This particular mushroom woman is legendary in all social skills, and possesses a dabbling combat skill, thanks to the recent skirmish with Kutsmob the goblin captain. If you wish to survive, you must flee the top of the building you start upon; two squads of goblins, led by weapon masters, are already converging upon your position. If you desire a weapon, there is a silver flail near your starting position which was dropped by Kutsmob during his retreat (actually, his hand was torn off by a rutherer).

Oddly, the game has given the plump helmet man a name. Even though it doesn't appear in game (I gave the plump helmet woman a nickname of '...'), according to the save, the adventurer is named Vucar (Urn or Urns) Rakustråsh (Tombdeath). A rather grim title for any creature - especially one who, in the actual story, was slaughtered by goblins minutes after this save.

I plan on arranging a few more adventurers, so you're not so completely hosed from the start (like you are in these two). I've already got a couple scenarios in mind (playing as the prince or a legendary warrior during the centennial, or on the other side as a demon, for example), but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them.

Thank you for all your hard work in design, fortress management, record keeping, screen shot-ing, posting and restraint (in the use of utilities as well as letting the story unfold as it would). The result is phenomenal.

You're very welcome, and thank you for the encouraging words. I'm glad people are managing to make it all the way through this cluttered monstrosity of a thread and still enjoy it. It might be worth it to condense the story down somewhere else, or at least transfer it into a different format, eventually. In any case, thanks again for reading.