User:Dark T Zeratul/TreatyflamesPart1

JOURNAL OF ONUL OTHOSSHEM OF THE TWINKLING SPEARS OF BECORROVOD
EXPEDITION LEADER OF ILRALKESHAN, THE FORTRESS OF TREATYFLAMES

Year 206

First of Granite, 206

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At last, we have arrived at the site of our new home, at the edge of the Forest of Calm in the shadow of the peaks of the Beak of Direction. I must admit, it's nothing like I was expecting from the information we received from the Becorrovod officials. The flowing water is little more than a brook, and the lush vegetation consists mainly of shrubs and bushes. Rather than a fertile valley, it appears to be a desolate gulch. Still, there is no turning back now, and we must make the best of what we have: two miners, one woodworker, three farmers, a bookkeeper, a dog, two oxen, an anvil, an axe, two picks, five seeds, and whatever food and ale we managed to avoid consuming on the journey through the wilderness.

...By Rimtar Katthirduthnur's ever-long beard, we are all going to die out here. I know it.

Second of Granite, 206

Perhaps the situation is not as hopeless as I had feared. I have consulted with our miners, Reg Morulothos and Sazir Idenodom, and I believe we have come up with a viable construction plan for our fortress. It will take a long time, but I am determined to survive, if only to spite those thrice-damned officials back in Becorrovod.

Twenty-First of Granite, 206

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The first phase of the digging is complete! We've managed to survive for three weeks now, and despite the initial hopelessness of the situation spirits remain high. Our next task will be digging downwards to begin work on the fortress proper, while also shoring up the supports in the entry hall. That sandy clay loam just doesn't look very sturdy; we'll need to get some proper stone in there. And all those rocks just litering the ground... It simply won't do at all! There is much to do, but if things remain as they are we just might live long enough to succeed.

Second of Slate, 206

We TRIED to begin construction of the trade depot today. Apparently, Tulon Abodlikot doesn't like where I planned to place the Depot. Something about it being too close to "the edge," whatever THAT is. Personally, I think our herbalist has been spending a little too much time with some of her "private stash," if you know what I mean. Unfortunately our two farmers, Sakzul Stinthadgen and Dishmab Delervush, agreed with her, saying they didn't want their farms so close to those dirty trade goods. I finally relented, but Reg and Sazir were definitely not happy about the extra work. Barely a month in and already we're fighting amongst ourselves. What's next? Rampaging elephants?

Seventeenth of Slate, 206

Well, my room is mostly finished. The walls and floor still need to be smoothed out, but I have a door, and I have a bed, and I've put in an order for a desk and a chair for my office. The rest of the dwarves aren't happy that I'm the only one with a bed, but until that fool carpenter Rimtar Amostduthnur gets around to making some more they're just going to be out of luck.

They've dug out most of the space for the farm, as well as the first few chambers of the fortress, but they still haven't even started on the new room for the depot. The miners are probably still pissed about that. I'd pay them, but first we need that depot finished so we can trade for some money when the caravan arrives in autumn. Hm, come to think of it, I don't think we actually have anything to trade. I should get someone started on making some of those trinkets and baubles that are all the rage back in Becorrovod.

In other news, Reg has just informed me we struck sapphire while digging out the clothing storage room. This just might turn out to be a good day afterall.

Nineteenth of Felsite, 206

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At last, the depot is done! No, Reg and Sazir didn't do it. I got sick of it not being done a MONTH AND A HALF after I ordered the construction and did it myself. On top of that, the sapphire vein ran out, there are still rocks and uncarved stone in our entry hall, and it's been raining for two weeks. At least our farmers didn't waste any time planting plump helmet spawns once the farming cavern was dug out. Oh, and our exalted carpenter? In the two months since I set him to work on making beds, he's made three. Three! In case he hasn't noticed, there are SEVEN of us. I do hope this attitude of his doesn't persist, or we are never going to get anything done around here.

Twenty-First of Hematite, 206

We're making headway! Slow, invisible headway...

I told the miners to demolish a nearby hill for raw materials. We'll see when they get around to it.

Twelfth of Malachite, 206

I've given the order to carve out the dining hall, kitchens, and food storage areas. In other news, it seems we're digging our fortress into a massive deposit of bauxite. I sure hope the rest of the dwarves like red, because we're going to be seeing a lot of it.

Fourteenth of Galena, 206

Excavation of the dining and kitchen areas is going well. Moreover, we've begun moving our wood stores inside to the new storage area. We also hit another small sapphire patch, which will be useful if any of us ever become any good at cutting gems. Work on the fortress in general progresses at its usual pace: slower than molasses going uphill in mid-winter.

First of Limestone, 206

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Well, summer came and went, mostly uneventfully. The migrants that Becorrovod promised to send never came, which I suppose shouldn't come as much of a shock given what they promised us about the location. I just hope that caravan gets here; we're running short on food, and a fortress full of starving dwarves is a terrible, terrible sight to behold.

On the plus side, the dining hall is finished, and Sakzul almost immediately set up a still in the back room, proving once again that our farmers, at least, are both competent and timely - two qualities the rest of the dwarves seem to be sorely lacking.

Sixteenth of Limestone, 206

So the merchants finally arrived. No wagons, mind you, just two merchants and two guards. They tried to tell me something about their "wagons bypassing our inaccessible site," but since no wagons ever came in sight of our fortress I have a hard time believing their tale. Of course, once they arrived, I discovered that in all the months that we've been operating, we've managed to churn out a mere eight crafts. That's all. Now, one might be tempted to say that the dwarves have been so busy getting the fortress built that they haven't had time to make any crafts. Unfortunately, I know our dwarves better than that.

Third of Sandstone, 206

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It took me two weeks to get those lazy dwarves to actually MOVE those eight measly crafts to the depot. And once they did, the merchants told me that the stonecraft fad is over. Of all the luck! Moreover, it seems these merchants came all this way just to bring us cloth, leather, armor, and weapons, none of which we have a particular need for. And so I asked them, what about food? Seems the only food they brought were a few slabs of elk meat and, joy of joys, MORE plump helmets. I took them, of course - we need the food and I couldn't trade the crafts for much else - but I think these merchants need to get their priorities straight. I'll be having a very stern talk with their liaison about our needs, for all the good it's likely to do...

Twenty-Seventh of Timber, 206

Progress has been slow these past two months. We started digging down into what will eventually be the living quarters, with space for thirty-six dwarves, if we ever see those migrants we were promised. They're now two seasons overdue; either they all died or they were never sent, and given Becorrovod's track record thus far I'm leaning towards the latter.

Reg and Sazir have been chipping away at that hill in their spare time. It's slow-going, but I'm sure they'll get through it eventually. Now that I think about it, I'm not entirely sure why I asked them to quarry it in the first place, but oh well. I'm not the kind of dwarf to stop a job halfway through!

Twentieth of Moonstone, 206

Winter has set in, and while it's cold at least the brook hasn't frozen over. Progress in the fortress is as it always is. No more, but fortunately no less. Not that it could be much less...

After the initial groundbreaking on the living quarters level, the two miners have halted work entirely for nearly a month while they finish demolishing that blasted hill. I think I need to call an outpost meeting to have a little discussion about priorities around here.

Twenty-Fifth of Opal, 206

Nothing much to report, really. Construction on the living quarters has ground to an absolute standstill. Sakzul has been trying to brew beer for a month. He keeps telling Rimtar to make him a barrel to put it in, but Rimtar, rather than doing carpentry like a carpenter should, is instead doing... I don't know. Every time I check on him, he's either sleeping or "on a break." How one can take a break without ever doing any actual work is beyond me. What is he doing all day, picking his nose?

Twenty-First of Obsidian, 206

I finally had to scream at the miners to stop tearing up that damned hill to get them to start on the living quarters. Unfortunately, no one seems the least bit interested in moving their beds down there. I swear, the Becorrovod officials must have handpicked the laziest, most ineffective bunch of dwarves they could find. Who did I piss off so badly that I had to manage these misfits and social rejects?

Year 207

First of Granite, 207

Well, it's been a year. A very, very, VERY trying year... But we're still here, and we aren't at each other's throats yet, so I guess that counts for something, even if Tulon and Reg have been glaring daggers at each other for the last three weeks. Still no migrants, of course. I suppose they expect us to sire children and have them work to build the fortress? Then again, I think Dishmab and Sakzul may already be working under that assumption. I suppose it's a good thing, though, that our two farmers have found love in each other. At least someone has around here...

Oh yes, and Rimtar mentioned to me very matter-of-factly today that perhaps the wagons could reach our fortress if we cleared away all of those boulders. Those hundreds and hundreds of boulders littering the ground everywhere that make wagon passage nigh impossible. My rage at him for not mentioning this six months ago is tempered only by my irritation that I never thought of it myself. And, of course, it's almost certainly going to be up to me to clear them away.

Sigh... Yet another year here at Treatyflames.

Twenty-third of Slate, 207

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Finally, the migrants have arrived! In all, we got twenty-one migrants, not a one of which is any useful. Peasants, dyers, weavers, and cheese makers, the lot of them. As well as an armorer and a blacksmith, though without a forge they may as well be more peasants. Though I suppose there is a bright side: that's a lot of dwarves that can help with boulder-clearing duty!

Eighth of Felsite, 207

Something has happened to Sakzul Zegoltar, our new jeweler. He was in the middle of smoothing out the floor in the entry hall when he suddenly dropped his tools, stood up, and staggered downstairs. He's been stumbling around the dining hall for the last few hours, eyes glazed over and muttering about gems and a "great master work" that he must complete immediately. I'm not sure what he's on about, but he's beginning to creep everyone out enough that I'm going to have a jeweler's workshop built, if only so he can do whatever he wants to do and get back to work.

Seventeenth of Felsite, 207

It looks like my instincts about Sakzul the jeweler were correct. The moment the jeweler's workshop was complete, he grabbed a chunk of sapphire and set straight to work on something. For days on end he toiled, working the same piece of sapphire, until, a week later, he had crafted... A window. What in the name of Rimtar Katthirduthnur's blessed beer is he going to do with a window? What would ANY of us do with a window? We live underground! There's nothing to look at but rock! By the great Dwarven Father he even NAMED the blasted thing: Atekablel Otiledtul, "Borebusts the Jade Groove." No, I don't have any idea what it means either, or what it even has to do with anything.

In any event, his little episode seems to be over. Once he finished the window, he placed it in the store room and then calmly returned to work as though nothing had ever happened. Perhaps I could sell it to the merchants from Becorrovod when they return in autumn. That is, if we ever finished clearing all these boulders!

Third of Malachite, 207

Five months later and, Reg and Sazir assure me, we've cleared enough boulders that the caravan should be able to reach our fortress. Perhaps all these seemingly-useless migrants are good for something after all. With the boulders out of the way, I've set them to work smoothing and detailing every inch of the fortress. That should keep them busy while I figure out what our next construction project will be. Maybe I should tap the brook for an indoor well...

Seventh of Galena, 207

It's official: we're out of food. Today I saw one of our woodcrafters, Rith Astelgoden, chasing after a rat with a hungry look in his eyes. Curse those traders! Curse those boulders! And curse those foul Becorrovod officials who've sent us here! At least the merchants will be back next month, and we have plenty of things to trade... I just hope no one starves to death before then.

Thirteenth of Galena, 207

It's happened again. Rith the woodcrafter was down by the stream when his body suddenly began jerking involuntarily. A distant, unearthly look filled his eyes as he headed straight for the craftsdwarf's workshop, a purposeful look on his face. I just hope it's not another window this time...

Eighteenth of Galena, 207

Well if he's making a window, it's going to be the most disturbing window I've ever seen. He picked up a plume agate and a log right away, but since then he's been sitting in the workshop muttering, "leather... skin..." over and over again. I do hope someone finds some animal hide to tan, because I'm worried about the lengths he'll go to obtain it otherwise.

Twenty-Second of Galena, 207

I ordered our pack animals killed. They've spent the past year and a half wandering around, eating our food, and being generally useless. Well, now they're going to BE our food, as well as providing the leather that Rith keeps muttering about. I certainly hope it's what he wants, because frankly the glances he's been giving me when I walk past are rather frightening.

Tenth of Limestone, 207

Rith has finally finished his macabre work... And I must say, it's nowhere near as bad as I expected. For how desperately he needed it, the leather really played a very small part in creating what appears to be a very fine wooden amulet. It's decorated with an image of tower-cap mushrooms, only instead of carving them he made them out of leather... Somehow. I'm still not quite sure how he attached it, but he did. He calls it Igestelis Lorbam Kesham, "Glossthin the Standard of Curiosity," continuing the tradition of giving bizzare names to these strange unearthly works. At least this time there seems to be some logic to the name, even if that logic escapes me completely. He was curious about... Skin, maybe? At least it was muskox leather instead of dwarven.

Anyway, he's gone back to work now, and the ox meat has done wonders for our food shortage, so perhaps things will return to normal again. Even if "normal" means half the fortress isn't doing their jobs.

Twentieth of Limestone, 207

I love how small all of these crafts are. We've made dozens of the things, and yet they all fit nicely in two small bins for ease of transportation. They're still not worth much, but at least the sheer quantity allowed me to obtain a considerable amount of food, which should do quite well for the next year.

Twenty-Seventh of Sandstone, 207

More migrants showed up. There's not as many this time, but once again they're more or less useless. Due to the sheer number of dwarves we have now, though (thirty-seven in all!) I have appointed Stinthad Fikodanil, former a cheese maker, to the position of sheriff.

Well, no one had any real qualifications, and I figured that since we're not making any cheese anyway I might as well pick him. I'm sure that with some training and dedication he'll make a fine sheriff. Maybe. Hopefully. I pray. Fervently. Oh, who am I kidding. A fight's going to break out, and he'll end up missing an arm.

Fourth of Moonstone, 207

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Construction on the storage rooms and workshops is nearly complete! In other news, some inattentive dwarf (it could have been any of them, really) left the remains of whatever creature he ate in the dining room, and now it and the hallway are completely filled with miasma. I guess I'd better settle in for a week of depressed nauseated dwarves.

Oh, and in the two months since I traded with the merchants? Not a single scrap of food has been moved down to the larder. Nope! It's all still sitting in the depot. I swear, these dwarves must have been raised by wolves or something...