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[metalmouth7]

Journal of Metalmouth Amostshorasts

Entry 1:
Usen-damned guards! Why should I be imprisoned for such a petty crime, while those cursed nobles sit about in their fancy quarters, while I'm fighting to keep Kobolds away from their blasted "Treasures," and keeping their quarters Elephant-free. Destroying a workshop is no reason for me to be executed! It's not my fault I've been in such a poor mood. These new "laws" are a joke! Made to imprison and disenfrancise innocent, hardworking Dwarves like myself. And... And.... Ugh. My head hurts.
Oh well, writing about it seems to have actually calmed me down. At least the Booze they're feeding me is half decent, and the music coming from the nearby Meal Hall is nice. I'll.... I'll just have to rest.

Entry 2:
Heard some yelling last night, then got yanked out of my bed. The Hammerer grabbed hold of me, tied me up, and threw a black bag over my head. He dragged me halfway across the Armok-damned fortress, and the damned fool threw me down at least 3 flights of stairs. I swore that I was dead. Then, the cloaked fool tore the hood off my head (Literally, I still have a collar from it on my neck that I can't seem to get off,) and I found myself in the Kings throneroom. The pompous fool himself was standing there, looking down at me, as I sat there on my knees. He stood there, and went on for ages about how the Mountainhome's economy was failing, and how the land we work is beginning to fail, and how society's "lesser elements' (and he gave me a real strange look when he said that,) need to be found productive means of contributing. After droning on about all this for about an hour, I finally just asked the old fool what he wanted of me. The King simply told me that I could have my sentance completely pardoned if I left. Apparently some fools think they can form their own "Dwarven Empire." I don't really give a damn what they're trying to do, as long as I don't die, and get to lop off some heads. Without thinking, I simply said yes. Any way to not die is a good option for me. They're currently processing me, and helping me get my personal belonging together. Soon enough, I'll be out of this dammned hole, and I can finally be free of the shackles of the Mountainhome.

Entry 3
Met with the others I'm to travel with. Bunch of pompous fools, if you ask me. That "Imperator" Belik is the worst of them, with his so called "rules," and his need to command us about. At least that Urist knows how to work, although I have trouble trusting a Dwarf whose family history revolves around being without a beard. That Councilor seems friendly enough, but so did those guards who tossed me into prison, and planned to lop off my head. The one named Magma has been silent so far. I don't trust her. I suppose time will tell who among these fools I can trust. Oh well. We're setting off now, so I'll write more when I get the chance.

Entry 4, 1st Granite, 322
Well, I finally found my journal. I'd really like to know how this thing ended up in the booze stockpile. Finally reached the site, according to the great "Imperator." An Armok-damned swamp. A bug filled, disease riddled, creature-infested swamp. Belik "Delegated" to me (Goddamn "Noble" word,) the task of chopping enough wood to began production of supplies. Meanwhile, that Councilor fellow was complaining to me about how we settled in a swamp. I agreed with him, and we discussed how difficult working in this environment was going to be. Then that damned Belik pulled him aside, no doubt trying to "explain" to him why we settle in a swamp. Some nonsense about being able to hide better here. I'm a warrior, and hiding isn't my way. If the damned wilds want us, they can come get us. Oh well. These trees wont cut themselves down. I should probably get back to work.

[belik339]

Imperator Belik's Journal, 14 Limestone 322
Judging by the slowly decreasing temperature, Autumn has arrived. I check with Magma and she confirms my suspicions.

I have just finished my designs for the Great Hall and for the drawbridge. The drawbridge will be the only entrance to the courtyard now that the palisade is complete. I will need to break down part of the palisade in order to ensure that traffic still continues as normal when the drawbridge is being installed, as there will be a channel in the ground there. Perhaps I will eventually have it expanded into a full moat.

The Great Hall will truly be great; the fools from the Old Kingdoms will detach their mandibles in awe. It will have several gigantic pillars and will be many, many heads tall. I will fill it with masterwork tables, chairs, and engravings, as well as my throne, which will be passed on to Imperators that reign after me. There will be a balcony overlooking the great hall which is where the throne will reside.

I haven't given much consideration to my successor at this time, but I do have some thoughts...

[belik339]

Imperator Belik's Journal, 21 Sandstone 322
Today, more travelers arrived. I observed them as they approached the stronghold. I had them fill out the papers with their names, ages, and professions. Only five this time.

Every day, I walk down the stairs of the entrance to see the progress on the Great Hall. Magma and Beardless (as she's come to be known) are fast diggers - much of the rock on the top level is already mined away! I'm going to have our migrant stoneworkers smooth and perhaps engrave the perimeter while the inside is finished, and then we will be ready to mine the next level down. This will continue until the Great Hall is complete. However, I fear that it may not be completed while I reign, as it is such a massive project.

I also submitted my plans for a butcher's shop. It should be constructed shortly.

[armeggedonCounselor]

Journal of "The Counselor" Litastatol, doctorExpedition Leader

9 Galena 322
Honestly? We're here because he hopes our enemies won't find us.

Not only is that the most, if you'll excuse my parlance, ELFISH thing to say, but it's also astonishingly foolish! If we can have migrants find us with little to no problem, what in the world makes him think our enemies will have any problem?! Not to mention, dwarfs do not hide. It is said by the founders of dwarven psychology that a dwarf who hides from enemies is not a true dwarf, and should be hammered until morale improves! Granted, those founders wrote in a different time, but it still holds true!

AND RUNNING AWAY FROM RATS DOES NOT COUNT AS HIDING FROM ENEMIES! Those things are filthy, disease-ridden... things! Any dwarf with a lick of sense knows to keep away from those things, and to keep at least one breeding pair of cats in the fortress, to catch and kill them all. Also because kittens make for a fairly decent meal, in a pinch.

14 Limestone 322
Okay, so here's another thing I don't get. Our leader claims, in his emigration papers, to enjoy natural beauty and art. Why, then, does he have to check with a miner, of all people, to find out that the month of Limestone is, indeed, the start of Autumn? Frankly, it's hit or miss with miners on anything to do with surface. Miners are wonderful with rocks, they can tell you not only what type of rock it was that was thrown at you, but also where it was originally mined from and what use it is to a modern fortress. Not much help to a bone setter trying to get the patient to lie still, or a suturer who has, due to the patient not lying still, sewn their own thumb to the patient. I hated the patients we'd get back at the Mountainhomes, always trying to act all tough and walking around on a broken leg. And then the guards got upset with me when I amputated their commander's leg! I told them, "It was infected, he would have died!" But did they care? Nooooo. Ingrates.

And that's how I ended up here, as I'm sure you were wondering, journal.

[metalmouth7]

Journal of Metalmouth Amostshorasts

Entry 5, 23 Sandstone, 322
Fell another couple of trees today. The forests around our home quake with fear at mere mention of my name, and sapling's roots curl at the thought of my ax's sharp edge.
I'm beginning to worry about the defensive state of our new home. Our "Imperitor" has been so busy building his beloved "Grand Palace," he appears to have neglected the matter of our fortresses defence. Obviously, if a bunch of Dwarves with no idea where we are can just up and find us, we would be plain stupid to expect our foes to have any trouble locating our settlement. Therfore, I've sent Belik a proposal to form a small 3 man militia squad, and begin production of weapons and a militia barracks. Unless we begin preparing for defending ourselves, we will not survive into the next summer. I did not come here to die. I think I might talk to Counselor about my proposal, and see what He thinks. I think I can trust him at the moment, and he seems to hold a similar opinion of Belik.

[belik339]

Imperator Belik's Journal, 26 Sandstone 322



Progress comes along well on the Great Hall. I order the walls on this top level to be smoothed before we move on to the next, but I fear that this will delay the construction even more than necessary to complete digging the Great Hall. Tradition dictates that I should give up my title as Imperator to another able-bodied dwarf when my term expires.

*mumbles* Perhaps I could usurp a second...

I've also inspected the palisade today and ensured that it is in tip-top shape. I'm still waiting for those miners to channel the ground where the "moat" will be so that I can order the drawbridge installed.

[belik339]

Imperator Belik's Journal, 17 Timber 322
A trade caravan has arrived! This is great news, but it also worries me. It appears that our location must be common knowledge by now, which means an attack by the greenskins or those tree-hugging hippie bastards will come soon. I shall begin training an army. I personally built some training weapons at the shop some time ago, so it looks like it is time to put them to good use.

I designed a room with a trade depot to be mined out near the Great Hall in preparation for a day such as this. The room was completed only a few days prior to this writing, but it appears that the trade depot has not yet been installed, and we also do not have a broker to trade with them. I could expedite the creation of one and appoint a broker today, but I'm not sure it would be much use: focusing so much on getting the fortress set up, we haven't produced any trade goods. We have a surplus of rock tables and chairs and rock coffins (for the planned Tomb of Heroes), but those are heavy and made of common stone, so I doubt the traders want them. At least their guards will protect us while we get the bridge and the military set up.

[belik339]

Imperator Belik's Journal, 15 Moonstone 322
Winter has been upon us for about two weeks now. It doesn't feel any different in this damn swamp...

I recall when I told the Counselor why I decided that we should settle here... I don't think she bought it. And that Metalmouth fellow is a bit suspicious at times. I wonder if they will find out the real reason anytime soon...

...

The merchants left today. I ended up pressing for the completion of the depot (which was very fast!) and I appointed the farmer HorridOwnage as the broker. We took two masterwork rock items to trade, as well as some gems. We acquired some foodstuffs, ale, and some other supplies. Nothing fancy, as we didn't have much to trade. We should be better prepared if they ever decide to come again.

The second level of the Great Hall is almost halfway mined out. Ramps on either side of the balcony will lead up to it when it is completed. Hopefully whoever I choose to succeed me does not horribly contort my plans. I AM the architect, after all.

[metalmouth7]

Journal of Metalmouth Amostshorasts

Entry 6, 23 Moonstone, 322
Belik has been behaving unusually. I consider myself a good judge of character, and tend to be able to pick up on somebody's intentions within a few moments. Not Belik. At first, I thought he was merely a pompous fool, trying to eke out a pitiful existance in the middle of nowhere. However, at other times, he makes statements that make me question that judgement. He seems..... paranoid. From the way he handles himself outdoors, and the time I spent with him on the journey here, he obviously has some experience as an outdoorsman. However, even I know that fall starts during the month of Limestone. Why would he need to ask Magma, a miner of all trades, about it? I think he's attempting to hide something, and play dumb. Or perhaps, he and Magma are working together, attempting to stab us all in the back. Belik does claim to be a skilled architect.... perhaps this "Great Hall" is actually a trap. And maybe Magma is working with him! Maybe the two of them have been luring souls such as myself into the wilderness for years, killing them with complex trap systems and taking their belongings! Then they could sell them for a great deal of profit!
On the topic of the Great Hall, Belik has been acting more and more absorbed in the work on the Hall, like a miner at an Admantine vein. I can understand a structural planner caring about the creation he has penned, but this is just too much. He stands in the cavern, barking orders all day, like some kind of Royal Guardsman. The miners have been worked nonstop, and the new stonesmoothers and engravers have had their hands worked to the bone with their constant work.
Perhaps Belik knows something we don't, and He's trying to protect us from it?


Or maybe exploit it......?

[belik339]

Imperator Belik's Journal, 28 Obsidian 322
Well, this is it. My final day as the First Imperator of the Dwarven Empire. Under me, this festering swamp has become closer and closer to a true home for dwarves. Under my rule, the Great Hall has not yet been completed, but the foundation of the fortress is ready for the torch to be passed on to the next Imperator. In this way, we avoid becoming stagnant. It keeps us strong. Of course, at some point, some will come to pass who are not the best leaders, and some may even be feared or hated, but they will all mean well and strive to keep ImpaledFlags alive.

I leave the position of Imperator to Metalmouth. I think that Metalmouth is a capable ruler, although I have not known her long. She shall be given the following letter from myself.

May our fortunes be bountiful under her reign.

[belik339]

Belik's Letter
TO: Metalmouth
FROM: Imperator Belik

Metalmouth,

I do not know you very well. We have not spoken much. However, I can see that you are a strong dwarf, and I trust in you that you will lead the Empire well. I hereby name you the Second Imperator of ImpaledFlags. This is an immense honor.

As you already well know, you were drafted into a fledgling military force with three other dwarves. This is still insufficient for our defense. I ask in you to complete the following tasks, although these are completely at your discretion.
-Finish mining out the Great Hall. If you haven't been there yet, you'll find that there are no stairs going down or up, just ramps. After each level is channeled out, order the miners to cut the resulting ramps away, but make sure you leave the ones at the edges that are needed for movement up and down. There is one main ramp at the entrance going down into the floor of the hall, and two small ramps on the opposite end going up either side of the balcony. I recommend you stay true to the designs and extend the Great Hall by another two or three levels down.
-Relocate the fortress activity to underground/within the palisade. As you know, we do not currently have proper housing for the residents of the fortress. In fact, all of the fortress' business is conducted out of the makeshift shelter. This all needs to be moved within the protected area before an attack comes, which it eventually will.
-Render the drawbridge operational. Mechanisms have been produced, but a lever still needs to be built and linked to the bridge.
-Build a proper barracks. The military does not yet have a proper barracks. Once one is created, it will prosper and ImpaledFlags will be much safer. The soldiers should be treated to the best because they are the best.

If you complete these tasks (by no means do you have to, but I believe it behooves you to do so), you may very well go down in history as the greatest dwarf to ever reign over ImpaledFlags and the Dwarven Empire. I trust your judgement in choosing a successor after your term has expired.

Good luck to you, my good dwarf, and may you enjoy your term as the Second Imperator.

Very sincerely,
Imperator Belik



Oh, and you'll need this sealed box. I believe it will be necessary for you to rule.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

SAVE FILE, 28 OBSIDIAN 322

[geeko55]

Hey man, I'll take Naidrukat Mckheledtuddnus, or if that's too long, just Naidrukat.

[belik339]

Hey man, I'll take Naidrukat Mckheledtuddnus, or if that's too long, just Naidrukat.

Will do.

[armeggedonCounselor]

Journal of "The Counselor" Litastatol,doctorExpedition Leader

28 Obsidian 322
HASPY NEW REAR! holy shiadf I am so drunk right now

(The rest of this page is illegible and scrawled with obscenities, including a very short, shockingly coherent section dictating precisely what Belik enjoys doing with Water Buffalos)

1 Granite 323
I have yet to decipher exactly what I said yesterday. I tend to get a little excited about the New Year. It used to be, when I was a younger dwarf, because of the religious significance to the great god Kebul, who renews the sun every year, so that it can bless the few crops dwarfs grow on the surface, and scorch our enemies with it's horrible rays. The truly devout worshippers of Kebul will travel to the poles in the winter, to last through the periods without sun that occur every winter at the poles. Supposedly, this makes them feel closer to Kebul. I'm not that crazy. And I've become a less devout worshipper of Kebul as time has gone on anyway. The gods never talk back to me, and I find myself unable to keep up that old faith. So mostly now, I get drunk at the new year because I've always done so. And then I always feel terrible the next day.

In other news, my friend Metalmouth, the commander of the militia (also known as the dwarfs I'm going to be practicing my craft on the most), has been appointed to the position of Overseer. What could this mean for our humble hole in the ground?

Well, hopefully he will ACTUALLY APPOINT ME AS CHIEF MEDICAL DWARF SO I CAN PRACTICE MY TRADE! Seriously, I signed on for this colony because they would need doctors, and then my skills are completely ignored! Not to mention our prior overseer spending more time on his damn Great Hall than on giving anyone proper rooms! I don't particularly enjoy spending time around other dwarfs if I can avoid it, so why the hell would he make us all sleep in the same room?! I don't think he's even set a still up yet, though I don't intend to go into the food production area and find out.

Which does mean that my drunkenness last night might be a worse thing than it normally is.

((OOC: I hope my dwarf's lamentations aren't bothering anybody. I figure since she's quick to anger and low on patience, it makes sense for her to be a complainer.

Also I downloaded the save, just to get some basic info on friends and gods.

It's also how I found out I'm not the chief medical dwarf. Fortunately, no combat reports (or hunting reports), so my dwarf would have been bored and pointless anyway.))

[metalmouth7]

Journal of Metalmouth Amostshorasts

Entry 7, 1st Granite, 323
Woke up this morning with a really bad hangover, and a dwarf - I think his name was Naidrukat - standing over me. I immediately began looking for injuries to myself, and then to Naidrukat, but found that we were both intact. The Dwarf merely handed me a letter, than ran off, muttering something about tending to his crops. Opening the letter, I found out that Belik has stepped down, and given me the title of Imperator. He wasn't so pompous after all. Alot of what he suggested I do over my term sounds like things I would have done anyway, although progress on the main hall may stagnate slightly while a proper barracks and living quarters is mined out. The drawbrige is one of my first concerns, and I will have the lever readied, and placed in an intuitive location. I've began examining the fortress plans and some of Beliks official documents. From what I'm reading here, it appears that we have no Chief Medical Dwarf. From the way Councilor talked, I thought he was. Hell, he seems to have the training. I guess as my first act as Imperator is to make him the offcial CMD. I'll allow him to remain in the position of Expedition Leader, as it seems he is rather good at discussing issues with people.