User:Dark T Zeratul/TreatyflamesPart1

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

Year 206

First of Granite, 206

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

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 littering 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

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

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

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

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

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...

Twenty-Eight of Opal, 207

I want to murder something. Apparently the reason the dwarves have been leaving all the food in the depot and all the stone just lying around is because they thought they were supposed to. When I screamed at Shorast Ustuthsanreb the engraver about what could possibly have convinced her she was supposed to do it, she just muttered something about how she heard from someone that "it was just that way and always had been," and she never thought to question it. I made sure to let every single dwarf in this blasted fortress know that they had damn well better move things to their proper place. Oh, to be back in Becorrovod sipping dwarven ale and running my hands through some dwarven woman's lush full beard...

I'm sure somewhere in this fortress is a dwarf who's been laughing about this for the past two years. If I ever find him... The sheriff would never convict me for my actions.

Twenty-First of Obsidian, 207

Stinthad came to me to talk about fortress defense. Sizal thought he saw some goblins skulking around while tearing down that hill, and while we haven't been attacked yet they feel it's only a matter of time. After much deliberation I agreed, and have begun plans for defense. At least to begin with, we'll be installing a gate (which we should have done anyway) controlled by a lever at the bottom of the stairs, a series of stone fall traps outside the entrance, and a catapult at the end of the hallway. With any luck, this will halt any goblin war parties in their tracks!

Year 208

First of Granite, 208

The start of a brand new year! After the aggravation of the last two years, I think I'm going to try a little optimism for a change. You never know, it just might work... It certainly hasn't been tried so far. Well, I suppose a brief report on the state of the fortress is in order.

We've completed the armory, dining hall, workshops, and living quarters. Our farm is doing well, our trade depot is secure, and offices for myself and Stinthad have been set up. We now have thirty-seven dwarves. Thirty-seven of the laziest, most insolent, most USELESS dwarves I've ever had the displeasure of working with... No, Onul, optimism. We're trying optimism now. Well, we have thirty-seven dwarves. I'll leave it at that. The big hill across from our fortress entrance has been almost entirely demolished, and the smaller hill to the south is next. We've cleared away enough boulders outside that caravans can reach us, and we've begun preparation for the defense of the fortress if need be.

All in all, I think we have what it takes to succeed. Now all we need is an easy source of metal and we should be set.

Seventeenth of Granite, 208

The goblins have attacked! And our defense aren't nearly ready! If only we had staretd sooner! Well, it's too late for that now. I've given the orders for every able-bodied dwarf to fight back and repel the invaders. Let us pray that it is enough...

Twenty-Second of Granite, 208

We made a valiant stand at the stairs into the fortress proper, and succeeded in slaying the foul goblins! Unfortunately, we were not without casulaties; six dwarves lost their lives in defense of the fortress. I've designated a small graveyard outside, but it has demonstrated that we have not yet constructed burial chambers. It is truly a tragedy that we need them so soon, but it would be an even greater tragedy not to give the fallen the honor they deserve.

Twenty-Fifth of Granite, 208

Barely a day after their last attack, the goblins returned. I myself was nearly slain, as they came at me while I was drinking from the brook. Were it not for the valiant actions of the engraver Tekkud Batokmeng, I would now be dead. He held them off as I escaped to safety. We found his body torn apart by the side of the brook. In the end, it was Sazir who saved us all, pummeling one of the goblins to death with his bare hands and chasing the rest of them away. Still, we lost another five dwarves to their ambush, including our old herbalist Tulon. While we never truly got along, she was there from the beginning, and will be missed dearly. Also lost was Sakzul Stinthadegen, one of our two original miners. His lover, Dishmab, retreated to her room in tears at the news of his death... They've been together since the beginning, and I don't know if she'll ever recover from the loss she has suffered.

We must not let such an atrocity happen again. We will redouble our efforts and creating an effective fortress defense, and slaughter any further goblin incursions. Their deaths must not be in vain! By Rimtar Katthirduthnur's ever-long beard, by Her most blessed beer, by Her mighty hammer and axe, we will survive and thrive here! THIS I SWEAR!

First of Felsite, 208

Nineteen migrants arrived today. Mostly rangers, metalsmiths, woodworkers, and peasants. Clearly news of the goblin attacks has not reached Becorrovod yet. I'll be putting them to work immediately on digging out the rest of the burial chamber for our fallen comrades.

Sixteenth of Felsite, 208

I have called a great feast to honor our fallen dead, now resting below in tombs of stone. Today is the beginning of a new era for Treatyflames. An era of survival, of greatness, of justice, of unity! Treatyflames will grow to become the greatest dwarven fortress for miles around! Our names will be legend, our deeds mythical. We will persevere! For Tulon Abodlikot, for Sakzul Stinthadegen, and for all the others who died so that we could live! We will go on to glory throughout the ages! For THIS... IS... TREATYFLAMES!

Twenty-Eighth of Hematite, 208

Another goblin attack, this time with archers. Though we emerged victorious in the end, our losses were devastating. Twenty-one dwarves in all were slain by the goblins, including our sherrif Stinthad. Though he heroically stood against the goblins atop the stairs and fought hard, in the end his head was rent from his shoulders. As before, we pushed them back at the bottom of the stairs. Unfortunately, this event has thrown into sharp relief the shortcomings of our defenses. I do not know what we could do to improve them... And unless I can figure something out, I am beginning to fear that we will meet our end at the hands of a goblin raiding party.

In any event, though, live or die... We're going to need more coffins.

Fifth of Malachite, 208

With all that has happened lately with the goblins, I failed to realize that we have once again run out of food. Ducim Kolimush the fisherdwarf has been hunting racoons, and today our weaponsmith, Rimtar Godenavuz, actually passed out briefly from hunger. I've ordered some of the animals slaughtered for food, but with most of the larger animals (like our cows) having been adopted by some of the dwarves as pets, I fear this will be insufficient. At least the merchants will be arriving soon... I hope.

Sixteenth of Malachite, 208

One of our engravers, Sodel Degelurrith, starved to death today. Most of the dwarves now spend the better part of their days hunting vermin for food. Rimtar Godenavuz is still passing out at random. There is a general feeling of depression amongst everyone in the fortress, as well as an overall thinning of our waistlines.

Have we endured marauding goblins only to die of starvation? Truly, Rimtar Katthirduthnur is as cruel as She is great.

Twenty-Second of Malachite, 208

Zefon Tiristgisek the planter starved to death. A planter! When the people capable of ending our plight die from it, it is time to face facts: we are all going do die, and there is nothing we can do but pray for a swift, merciful death at the hands of another band of goblins.

Eighth of Galena, 208

In the past two weeks, ten dwarves have starved to death. There is nothing to eat... We are done for... I feel so weak... I can barely see the paper to write on... We're doomed. Done for. It's over. All of it, over. Within a week, there will be nothing but corpses to greet the merchants. I know I won't last much longer... But... Perhaps I could see the sun... Just once more...

Continue to part two