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[IcepickTrotsky]

I think I'll wait until all the story stuff is done before Balnash officially rejoins the narrative with speech. Seems like I wanna react to the whole thing, I'd guess.

[varnish]

((That's fine. And yes, this is what happened before (or long after, etc) the current fort. And it's all text!))

Back in the Future, Part Two:

Wilberforce sighed. "Sacrifice. Well, I can assume that you don't mean a tasteful little ceremony involving small ceramic statues of goats."

Rakust, (or the spirit of the god, or whatever it was they were talking to) shook Remalle's head. "NO."

"Of course. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk this over with my colleagues for a moment." He looked at the others. Neo was watching him, though he kept glancing nervously at the growing waterfall that had been the stairs. Derm was just watching. "Well, what do you think, friends? Can we make a sacrifice?"

"Sacrifice what, Wilberforce?" Neo said. "I've already sacrificed everything possible for this bridge! I've come back just for this... hell, I don't even know if there are words for what I've given up. What else can I sacrifice?"

Derm spoke up, at last. "Your life."

"I've done that, damn it. More than once."

"No. I mean all of your life. Never come back, again. No ghost. No return. Nothing."

Wilberforce coughed and said, "That... that would be quite a sacrifice." His eyes narrowed. "You sound very certain about this, Derm."

Derm nodded, but said nothing else.

He looked back at the apparent god, saying "And this... sacrifice would be enough to somehow change things? Even if it was only one of us?"

Rakust looked uncertain again. "YOU MUST SACRIFICE. END THIS."

"Just answer my question, whatever the hell you are. You want things to be right as much as I do, right?

"SACRIFICE YOURSELF, THEN, AND YOU AND ALL OF YOUR PEOPLE MAY HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE. TOO WEAK TO GIVE MORE. TOO MUCH PAIN TO GIVE MORE."

"Ah. Myself, then."

The rumbling from the upper levels was getting louder, and water began pouring out of yet another tunnel nearby. Rakust smiled through Remalle. "DECIDE."

Wilberforce shrugged. "I want this thing fixed. That's why I came back in the first place. In order to make things right. If this is the way to do it..." He glanced at the magma pit, which was boiling away not far from where he stood. "And you, Rakust. You think you can find a way for us to change things?"

"YES. I KNOW. I GIVE YOU ONE CHANCE."

"Well then. That's enough for me. I know I don't want to keep building this damn thing endlessly myself." Wilberforce took Neo's hand, to the latter's surprise, and shook it firmly. "Neo, thanks for everything. I hope that you survive this, at least."

"Wait, Wilberforce, what are you thinking about doing?"

"I'm not thinking at all. Good luck, friends!"

With that, Wilberforce took off at a run. Before anyone else could move, he had reached to edge of the magma pit. Before any of them could catch up to him (and at least one of them tried), he had jumped over the edge.

There was a brief, terrible silence.

Then the bridge, far above them, began to collapse. That was what Neo guessed was happening, at least. Something huge was falling to pieces on the surface.

One other thing changed. Rakust was gone, and Remalle had come back, from wherever he was. He stumbled and almost fell as the floor and ceiling began to shake. Remalle looked around, stunned and breathless.

"What just happened? What's going on?"

Neo paused near the lip of the magma pool. It was far to hot to get any closer. "Wilberforce is gone." He said. "As for the second part... I don't know. I just hope to god that god knows what he's doing."

Then the ceiling of the cavern cracked, and the ocean came rushing in.

...............................

((Now that I've probably hopelessly confused everyone reading! The conclusion of this story part is next))

[Mjattie]

((Well, it seems like this whole coming back from the dead thing is about to end, so I'd like to redorf myself. Yes, I have been away for quite some time, but now, MrAnderson comes back. For the uhh... 2nd time I think. Please forgive me if I'm getting current-fort and future thing confuzzled.))

The Spirit of Anderson had laid dormant for time immemorial. The fortress had been abandoned, and unlike the other times, it wasn't being re-secured, if secure could be any way to describe the way they lived.

So he waited. Through cycles of chaos death, and then resettling. He didn't see any reason why he should come back - if he was lucky another year or so of life, but that didn't matter. That was, until he felt a strange thing, something that he hadn't felt before; it was an aura of power unlike any living creature he had saw or even heard of. It wasn't mortal, that much was for sure.

Summoning up all his concentration, Anderson felt the bond between spirit and body grow stronger. In a last burst of concentration, he returned to it. crawling out of some rubble, he was too weak to do anything but collapse. Regaining conciousness after slightly less than a day, he stood up, pressing his hand against his spine. This body had suffered alot of wear and tear, but now it was time to find what he had sensed back in his more corporeal form.

((In relations to job, he's Mr. Anderson, marksman, and Master of the Arena. The Arena is still there, right? Heh, heh. heh. By the way, happy 2013/1 year 3 month anniversary of the fortress!))

[varnish]

((That's just fine, and thanks. Mr. Anderson will return in the next update. This update is connecting things. Last text-filled one is... now))

From the Memoirs of Wilberforce Amber Ropenourished

Well, dear readers, this will likely be the last time that I address you in such a manner. Whatever happens today, I don't expect to do much in the way of writing afterwards.

I need to write down why I'm about to attempt, well, the thing I'm about to attempt. I first began to suspect that the hand of the god Rakust was behind our suffering shortly after the first siege of giants, which took place during my tenure as leader of Oceanbridge. Mainly, it was the fact that they themselves named Rakust as their god, and said that he was the reason for the attack, that made me suspicious. Subtle clues.

And of course, there was the whole mess with ghosts and constant reincarnations. People coming back from the dead, occupying whatever body happened to be free... Not normal, I thought. I eventually reasoned that those things would not be happening if something had not gone seriously wrong with the world. Of course, before I could figure out what it was, the fortress fell, and we all perished. The end of the story, you might think.

Wrongly, of course. We all did return, and to a world that was in far worse shape than the one we left behind. The dead rising from the grave, not as spirits, but as mindless killers, and so on. You've read this far, readers. You know what I'm talking about. The link between life and death completely broken, just like our bridge. And I noticed that the dwarfs of this time and place have stopped worshiping Rakust, and have all but forgotten the name, but that there is a god of the dead. And curiously enough, one of this god's symbols is, in fact, a bridge.

No, It was clear to me that Rakust was still the main cause, and that he had gone quite, quite mad. Clearer still that it may have been our building of the bridge that did it, though I'm still not clear on how. Clear, because at the time I write this, the fortress is being torn apart by hordes of zombies and the ocean itself. What else besides a mad god could cause all of this?

There's only one solution, and it's quite a dangerous one. I don't expect to return. I just hope this book might survive as a record of what we did. We tried to make things right. I think we can get one last chance to do it.

Goodbye, my readers, from Wilberforce Amber Ropenourished, your friend.

...................................

Meanwhile, Now

Aban Brothertreaties closed the ravaged, battered book and placed it gently on her desk. She had been reading for a long time, and she rubbed her eyes, hoping it would make things look clearer. It didn't.

To Neo, who was sitting in the chair across from her, she said, "So. So that's how it ends. Do you know what any of that means? Did all that, or I guess will all of that, happen?"

Neo thought for a while before answering, and when he did, his voice was hesitant. "I don't know. I think it did happen, for me. And for some others... Aban, I don't know. Until you showed me that book, I thought that I came back to finish the bridge. And I did. But I think that I remember all of that too. Where did you find that thing?"

"It was buried in one of the old abandoned chambers near the magma pumps." Insistently, she asked, "But the book really describes what might happen to the world? And it might all happen again? Unless we get this "one last chance" just right?"

"It did happen, though! Or it will. I remember it, damn it!" He stood up, and started to pace the short length of the room. "

"Well, maybe that's our way out. You know what the world will end up looking like, if this really strange book is right. So maybe you can find a way out. I don't understand half of what's happened since we founded this place, but I do know that I don't want to live in the world my cousin describes in here."

"You didn't, if that's any help."

"Um, no. That's not much help, Neo." Aban sighed. "Well, we've got to try. Or I've got to try, anyways. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm going to do it as hard as I can, and hope that it's right." She smiled. "Only the gods can stop us now, right?"

....................................

Next: Back to Building

((So exhausted. Please tell me this makes some sort of sense))

[varnish]

((There's a picture in here, it's something other than text. The narrative section is done!))

From the Journals of Aban Brothertreaties

I don't even know.

I found a book about a week ago. A journal, which isn't that surprising. A lot of us keep journals of some kind! But this one was different. And yes, I read it. It isn't every day that I come upon a journal written by my supposedly dead cousin, in the distant future. Not even most days. A book filled with horrifying things, that are going to happen, so I'm told. If we don't do things just right. What are those things? I don't know.

Well, I do know that we're going to finish this bridge, come hell, high water, hordes of goblins, and everything else. If it's the right thing to do, great. If it's not? We'll find a way to make it the right thing.

In related notes, I happened upon an unfamiliar dwarf near the entrance to the old "arena". He was looking for the lever that opened the gate, he told me, because he wanted to inspect the cages. I explained to him that the cages were gone, and that the place was filled with goblins, who might or might not want to kill the first dwarf they saw. He seemed pleased by that.



I'm honestly hoping we have an election soon. I wouldn't mind being overthrown.

............................

Next: You Know...

[IcepickTrotsky]

Balnash's Writin':

I sure didn' like bein' dead.

First of all, there was the dyin' part. That was pretty damn painful, even if I realized afterwards that considerin' all the other ways everyone else bit it, mine was practically friendly-like. At least I got to die in battle to them little bastards, instead o' getting shanked by one o' my fellow dwarves.

But then after that there was the floatin' part. And that lasted a long time, got t'think about things for a while. A long while. Too long, really. WAY too Armok-damned long.

Now, with a shock, I found m'self yanked right outta the aether or whatever ya wanna call it, and into some poor sop's head. I guess it's okay, he wasn' usin' it that much. Barely at all, really, guess he had a weak willpower. But why, o'all places and times, do I have to come back to Armok-damned Oceanbridges?

Well, best make a good situation out o'a bad one. Gotta get this body used to the spear again, at least up to m'normal standards. Feel kind of bad for the guy, really, but he was going to Oceanbridges. This is probably the best possible result for 'im.

Best get to trainin'.

[Mjattie]

The Memoirs of Mr. Anderson, Arena Master

After coming back from the dead, I'd of atleast expected Oceanbridge to still be around. After all, I was only floating about for a few years, guess everyone else died again aswell. I was walking about outside, so many lovely goblins to practice on! I sadly couldn't seem to find the bloody lever to the Arena, if only I'd been the one to build it... either way, I managed to jump up and poke my head over the walls, and boy is it a peice of work; the fighters'd probably die from the debris before they managed to fight, and all the cages, gone!

I'm going to talk to this Aban guy again, see if I can get him to open up the Arena again. Our fine warriors need the practice of a few goblins without the worries of gettin' their eyes gouged out!

[Nathail]

I've just caught up, and would like to request my first ever dwarfing.

Name: Nathail
Profession: Animal Trainer
Personality: Largely ambivalent towards everything, but prefers to stay away from stabby or smashy things. Develops an immediate dislike of anyone who hurts anybody he knows, including any tamed animals.

Also, thus far the narrative has made sense to me. At least, as much sense as one can expect of anything related to Dwarf Fortress.

[varnish]

((good to know! you shall have your dwarf.))

What's Going On:

Now Oceanbridge was filled with the sounds of building. In the lower levels, miners led by Ishar and Di-III were digging out large chambers of microline and limestone, then quickly filling them up with coffins. There were a lot of unburied bodies in the fortress. The stones themselves were needed for blocks, mechanisms, and, of course, more coffins. It was a busy time.

........................

Remalle led the engravers in the endless work of memorializing the dead who could not be buried. That was most of the dwarfs, as the great fire had burned many old skeletons down to ash. He had to explain to a confused young engraver that there was no need to try to identify any bodies in order to decide who needed to be memorialized. He just needed to find and talk to their ghost.

...........................

Those who had arrived as refugees spent most of their time hauling boulders up the stairs to the "masons", ie: anyone who wasn't working. That was how Neo met Naithal.



The latter was groaning under the weight of an impressive block of limestone. Neo helped him carry it up to the bridge, and then down to the under-bridge "fortress", which was still under construction.

Naithal had never seen anything like it, and said so. He asked, "This is how you want to live? Out in the open, hanging over water? It seems unnatural."

Neo shrugged. "It'll be safer than the place we live now. And if you want to see unnatural, just stay here a year or two."

"Oh." Naithal watched as a pair of ogres walked by, waving cheerfully at the dwarfs. "I see. By the way, I'm Naithal, an animal trainer by trade. Is there anything I can do to help out, you know, with my profession? I know how to train tigers, elephants-"

"Yes." Neo said, interrupting. "Get us a war yak."

...........................

Mr. Anderson had found a way into the old arena. During the last fall, someone had dug a tunnel through a still, up through the floor of the arena. When he made his way up into the light, and looked around, he saw why.

There were over a dozen elkbirds, two trolls, and a few of the stranger creatures that lived in the depth. The cages were full, and contrary to what Aban had said, there were only a few frightened goblins huddled together in the center. The whole place was nearly ready for a show, with only a few cages lacking mechanisms. Clearly, he wasn't the only one thinking about bringing back the old training regime.


Movement near the arena wall caught his eye, and he found himself staring at something even stranger than a gorlak. (Whatever that was.)



........................

Next: Trade, and News

[Nathail]

Excellent! I find it funny how most of my dwarf's psychology and attributes match mine. Also, do you actually have the raws modded to allow war yaks? If not, I can give you the code.

[peregarrett]

Hooray! war yaks!!! A tribute to Peacespray, if I remember his name correctly.

[Nathail]

Excerpt from the Journal of Nathail, Animal Trainer of Oceanbridge

...Anyway, today I met one of the dwarfs who is apparently in charge. Went by the name of Neo. Seemed nice enough, if a little jaded. He helped me carry a big block of limestone to the Bridge, and then basically ignored the pair of Ogres who seem to think this whole thing is some sort of zoo.

Speaking of which, turns out that they want me to train some war yaks. I've heard stories about bands of adventurers brought down because they tried to kill yaks in melee combat, so it seems like a good idea. I have no idea how to train one, though. Herbivores are always tricky; they usually lack the bloodlust that makes 'em really deadly. Although, it does keep them from trying to protect the fresh meat from the dwarf in charge of hauling it to the dump. Still, if I had a tiger or two...

[varnish]

Excellent! I find it funny how most of my dwarf's psychology and attributes match mine. Also, do you actually have the raws modded to allow war yaks? If not, I can give you the code.

I think I tried once, but I don't remember if it worked. So, I would be glad to see the code. There's nothing this fort needs more than a good herd of war yaks.

An army of Peacespray's, and the fortress will never fall again.

Working on an update, hoping things will actually happen.

[peregarrett]

open creature_domestic.txt of your save folder, locate [CREATURE:YAK]
Add [TRAINABLE_WAR] after [PET] (or TRAINABLE for both war and hunting yaks)
For more epicness remove [BENIGN] and add [LIKES_FIGHTING] and [PRONE_TO_RAGE:1] (or higher number, not sure how that affects its behavior. 1 is the rage rate of badgers)
That's for vanilla DF, but I guess Fortress Defence mod doesn't change much.

[Nathail]

Code: [Select]

[CREATURE:YAK]
[DESCRIPTION:A large mammalian herbivore.  It has long fur and curving horns.  It can be found in the mountains.]
[NAME:yak:yaks:yak]
[CHILD:1][GENERAL_CHILD_NAME:yak calf:yak calves]
[CREATURE_TILE:'Y'][COLOR:6:0:0]
[TRAINABLE_WAR]
[BIOME:MOUNTAIN]
[POPULATION_NUMBER:15:30]
[CLUSTER_NUMBER:3:7]
[PETVALUE:200]
[PREFSTRING:shaggy hair]
[LARGE_ROAMING]
[COMMON_DOMESTIC][PACK_ANIMAL][WAGON_PULLER]
[BENIGN][MEANDERER][PET]
[GRAZER:85]
[BODY:QUADRUPED_HOOF:TAIL:2EYES:2EARS:NOSE:2LUNGS:HEART:GUTS:ORGANS:THROAT:NECK:SPINE:BRAIN:SKULL:MOUTH:TONGUE:GENERIC_TEETH:RIBCAGE:2HEAD_HORN]
[NATURAL]
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:STANDARD_MATERIALS]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:HOOF:HOOF_TEMPLATE]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:HORN:HORN_TEMPLATE]
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:STANDARD_TISSUES]
[USE_TISSUE_TEMPLATE:HOOF:HOOF_TEMPLATE]
[USE_TISSUE_TEMPLATE:HORN:HORN_TEMPLATE]
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:VERTEBRATE_TISSUE_LAYERS:SKIN:FAT:MUSCLE:BONE:CARTILAGE]
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:BODY_HAIR_TISSUE_LAYERS:HAIR]
[SELECT_TISSUE_LAYER:HEART:BY_CATEGORY:HEART]
[PLUS_TISSUE_LAYER:SKIN:BY_CATEGORY:THROAT]
[TL_MAJOR_ARTERIES]
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:STANDARD_HEAD_POSITIONS]
[BODY_DETAIL_PLAN:HUMANOID_RIBCAGE_POSITIONS]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:SINEW:SINEW_TEMPLATE]
[TENDONS:LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:SINEW:200]
[LIGAMENTS:LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:SINEW:200]
[HAS_NERVES]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:BLOOD:BLOOD_TEMPLATE]
[BLOOD:LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:BLOOD:LIQUID]
[CREATURE_CLASS:GENERAL_POISON]
[GETS_WOUND_INFECTIONS]
[GETS_INFECTIONS_FROM_ROT]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:PUS:PUS_TEMPLATE]
[PUS:LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:PUS:LIQUID]
[BODY_SIZE:0:0:70000]
[BODY_SIZE:1:0:350000]
[BODY_SIZE:2:0:700000]
[BODY_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:LENGTH:90:95:98:100:102:105:110]
[BODY_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:HEIGHT:90:95:98:100:102:105:110]
[BODY_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:BROADNESS:90:95:98:100:102:105:110]
[MAXAGE:10:25]
[ATTACK:KICK:BODYPART:BY_CATEGORY:HOOF_FRONT]
[ATTACK_SKILL:STANCE_STRIKE]
[ATTACK_VERB:kick:kicks]
[ATTACK_CONTACT_PERC:100]
[ATTACK_PRIORITY:MAIN]
[ATTACK_FLAG_WITH]
[ATTACK:KICK:BODYPART:BY_CATEGORY:HOOF_REAR]
[ATTACK_SKILL:STANCE_STRIKE]
[ATTACK_VERB:kick:kicks]
[ATTACK_CONTACT_PERC:100]
[ATTACK_PRIORITY:MAIN]
[ATTACK_FLAG_WITH]
[ATTACK:BITE:CHILD_BODYPART_GROUP:BY_CATEGORY:HEAD:BY_CATEGORY:TOOTH]
[ATTACK_SKILL:BITE]
[ATTACK_VERB:bite:bites]
[ATTACK_CONTACT_PERC:100]
[ATTACK_PENETRATION_PERC:100]
[ATTACK_FLAG_EDGE]
[ATTACK_PRIORITY:SECOND]
[ATTACK_FLAG_CANLATCH]
[ATTACK:HGORE:BODYPART:BY_CATEGORY:HORN]
[ATTACK_SKILL:BITE]
[ATTACK_VERB:gore:gores]
[ATTACK_CONTACT_PERC:100]
[ATTACK_FLAG_WITH]
[ATTACK_PRIORITY:MAIN]
[DIURNAL]
[HOMEOTHERM:10068]
[SWIMS_INNATE][SWIM_SPEED:2500]
[TRADE_CAPACITY:1500]
[MUNDANE]
[CASTE:FEMALE]
[CASTE_NAME:yak cow:yak cows:yak cow]
[FEMALE]
[MULTIPLE_LITTER_RARE]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:MILK:MILK_TEMPLATE]
[STATE_NAME:ALL_SOLID:frozen yak's milk]
[STATE_ADJ:ALL_SOLID:frozen yak's milk]
[STATE_NAME:LIQUID:yak's milk]
[STATE_ADJ:LIQUID:yak's milk]
[STATE_NAME:GAS:boiling yak's milk]
[STATE_ADJ:GAS:boiling yak's milk]
[PREFIX:NONE]
[MILKABLE:LOCAL_CREATURE_MAT:MILK:20000]
[USE_MATERIAL_TEMPLATE:CHEESE:CREATURE_CHEESE_TEMPLATE]
[STATE_NAME:SOLID:yak cheese]
[STATE_ADJ:SOLID:yak cheese]
[STATE_NAME:SOLID_POWDER:yak cheese powder]
[STATE_ADJ:SOLID_POWDER:yak cheese powder]
[STATE_NAME:LIQUID:melted yak cheese]
[STATE_ADJ:LIQUID:melted yak cheese]
[STATE_NAME:GAS:boiling yak cheese]
[STATE_ADJ:GAS:boiling yak cheese]
[PREFIX:NONE]
[CASTE:MALE]
[CASTE_NAME:yak bull:yak bulls:yak bull]
[MALE]
[SELECT_CASTE:ALL]
[SET_TL_GROUP:BY_CATEGORY:ALL:HAIR]
[TL_COLOR_MODIFIER:BLACK:1:BROWN:1:WHITE:1:GRAY:1:LIGHT_BROWN:1:DARK_BROWN:1:TAN:1:AUBURN:1:CHESTNUT:1:SLATE_GRAY:1:CREAM:1:CINNAMON:1:BUFF:1:BEIGE:1:CHOCOLATE:1:CHARCOAL:1:ASH_GRAY:1:RUSSET:1:IVORY:1:FLAX:1:PUMPKIN:1:GOLD:1:GOLDEN_YELLOW:1:GOLDENROD:1:COPPER:1:SAFFRON:1:AMBER:1:MAHOGANY:1:OCHRE:1:PALE_BROWN:1:RAW_UMBER:1:BURNT_SIENNA:1:BURNT_UMBER:1:SEPIA:1:DARK_TAN:1:PALE_CHESTNUT:1:DARK_CHESTNUT:1:TAUPE_PALE:1:TAUPE_DARK:1:TAUPE_SANDY:1:TAUPE_GRAY:1:TAUPE_MEDIUM:1:ECRU:1]
[TLCM_NOUN:hair:SINGULAR]
[SET_TL_GROUP:BY_CATEGORY:ALL:SKIN]
[TL_COLOR_MODIFIER:BROWN:1:BURNT_UMBER:1:CINNAMON:1:COPPER:1:DARK_BROWN:1:DARK_PEACH:1:DARK_TAN:1:ECRU:1:PALE_BROWN:1:PALE_CHESTNUT:1:PALE_PINK:1:PEACH:1:PINK:1:RAW_UMBER:1:SEPIA:1:TAN:1:TAUPE_PALE:1:TAUPE_SANDY:1]
[TLCM_NOUN:skin:SINGULAR]
[SET_TL_GROUP:BY_CATEGORY:EYE:EYE]
[TL_COLOR_MODIFIER:BLACK:1]
[TLCM_NOUN:eyes:PLURAL]

Just put this in place of the yak entry in the save's raws. I think the tag I used even means it can only be trained as a war animal, so I won't have to come up with some explanation for yaks having hunting instincts.