1st Granite
This has gone on for too long. I gave much freedom to Benjamin and Joshua in the runnings and tunnelings of Phantomdaggers as I secretly worked to complete my book, “On the Use of Slag in Smelter Temperature Control.” Now, these two being founding members of the Secretive Brunch, our governing council, I had high hopes. What I have re-inherited is a state in disarray, a lack of social hierarchy, and worse still--disorganized stockpiles! Why, the other day I went in search of floodgates to complete my inventory, and I found them piled among mountains of chert by the new forges!
The first thing I did today was begin to take practically every dwarf into my office and advise, nay, insist that they reconsider their career path. Peasants, as I always have believed, are the key to a functioning society. We have none. I also noticed that some reason we have seven farmers. It is my experience from my time in Hammerbreads that three are enough for even a large fortress. Four of them were the first to be demoted. I combined all handlers and hunters into a fraternal order of rangers to patrol lands. I then took one of the least skilled from practically every class of workers and told them that they were barred from acting in their former capacities from this day forward. We now have a healthy peasantry of 13 dwarves! The 13 wrestlers, once peasants themselves, were too set in their ways. These “Champions of Phantomdaggers” say they need not work, and I know that they must not work. Being so set in things of war, they would only cause chaos in the workforce.
Joshua I told to work less on mining and more on crafting masterpieces. To entice him, I had to convince him that I would open up the gold stores for his craftshop, and only his craftshop. This is best for all of us.
Lastly, since I be the finest weaponsmithand armorer in these halls, I replaced Onul as the head metallurger and gave up pointless mining. Harhar! Despite the rest of the miners' claims that iron is nowhere to be found, I saw today that the rest of the old hematite vein had not even been followed through its arc. The fools must not know that hematite yields iron, and so is necessary for making steel. Granted, it may be more difficult to extract from, but what other choice do we have?
3rd Granite
I found several tons of goblin iron in the dump pit by the main entrance today! The equipment is brittle and all the wrong size for us to wear, but it be the perfect stuff to melt. Now that the magma has filled the chambers beneath our smelters, we can do so at no cost of fuel.
6th Granite
Joshua's last mining duty was to mine out some rough golden beryl. His skills led him to locate perhaps 500 ducats worth. An excellent send-off I must say.
8th Granite
I ordered mass slaughters of the livestock today. The horses are doing us no good mucking up the halls. I had nearly all of them marked to be killed, as well as most of the flea-ridden cats which roam our halls. They breed like the rats they stalk.
My first craft is complete: Finely crafted Steel Plate mail, worth I’d say, oh, 9000 ducats.
I feel empowered, and I vow never to leave the forges again so long as I live. I decided to designate a new hoardmaster sometime later, though I shall have the time to serve as mayor still.
10th Granite
I had a subordinate miner break into the bottomless pit's chamber in earnest today. The troglodytes within stood no chance against our mighty wrestlers, standing ready behind the miner and led by Ducim the Killsmith. I vow to arm them, now that the first stage of their training is complete. As I have always said, a fully clad and armed dwarf is mightier than a heavy cavalryman, and twice as stalwart.
11th Granite
The elven caravan from Olova Emino has arrived. All they carried was a bloated tuber, 12 boxes of cloth, and 5 logs of wood. Useless, stinkin’ elves! I moved a number of goblin cages up to the trading room.
When I had calmed down, I designated a place in the mushroom farm for sand collection.
22nd Granite
Chrobogopeerbis the goblin thief tried to steal a sock from the cook Vabok today. The poor dwarf. He dropped a turtle he had been carrying and started a chase around the countryside, but it was a trap! The thief led him directly into an ambush sneaking down from the mountains. We could offer no help, as a second ambush tried to sneak in through the gates. It was repelled by the Reputed Bolts. Ducim Solonust, having shown his worth with 5 kills, is the new sheriff of Phantomdaggers.
1st Slate
I decided not to release the goblins in the trading hall, as it would endanger the peasantry running about, hauling goods uselessly to and from the depot. Instead I hatched a devious plan, which I shall write of later.
2nd Slate
Huzzah! More Hematite! The vein runs deep. Soon I shall have the entire fortress outfitted with fine dwarven steel.
Migrants arrived late in the afternoon after this blessing. One of them is a renowned dungeonmaster, who lives to tame savage beasts. For such an auspicious event, I decided to have a dungeon built, deep in the bowels of Phantomdaggers. He arrived clothed in only mittens and a fine cloak. His cloak is generally enough to cover his frame, but I find I cannot carry a conversation with him while he is sitting.
In his entourage were a potash maker, seven peasants, two fisherdwarfs, a weaver, an armorsmith, two metalcrafters, a craftsdwarf, four rangers, a child, a woodburner, and finally a butcher. That brings our numbers up to a mighty 86. Soon Phantomdaggers shall rule this county!
6th Slate
We tried to drop a goblin maceman three stories down onto a ledge in the pit, but he escaped, and began terrorizing the group of dwarves dumping stone. He was summarily put down by the sheriff Ducim. The peasants complain only mildly about having to dump waste stone which has been littering the great hall and stockpiles.
13th Slate
Two more suits of Plate mail, and three cruel looking steel discs were this week’s work. I decided to start having the traps re-engineered with better weapons and mechanisms. Some of them haven’t had maintenance since our first year! There are far too many cage traps. Though a few prisoners make good sport, hauling them about wastes our valuable time.
20th Slate
The butchering goes well. Last I looked into the shop, it was cluttered with entrails, skin and bone, and stinking with miasma.
3rd Felsite
I began forging enough weapons to equip an army today…crossbows, warhammers, and the like. I forged a superior crossbow the other day, and realized that we had no marksdwarves.
8th Felsite
Benjamin began creating arrow slits by the well so that we may one day clear out the pool beneath.
15th felsite
Joshua completed a masterful golden crown today worth 3600 ducats. I am in awe.
We are desperately low on booze once again.
17th Felsite
The masons are being truly lazy, though Urist has of late become a true mason. They do not take well to the smoothing of walls and floors I have assigned to them.
Athel the Killsmith has taken to hoarding the armour, but there is little I can do. He is now dressed in an excellent suit of plate, superiorly crafted chain mail underneath, excellent greaves, and the best gauntlets we have.
23rd Felsite
Joshua built a craftshop in the storage level amid a pile of obsidian and began turning out rock short swords at an amazing rate. What's more, they appear to be sharp as steel...
24 Feslite
Joshua’s swordcarving has in fact been using up a great deal of wood for handles. I had to put a stop to it.
Eral Osustusthuth the Chippy gave birth to a girl today while dumping stone into the pit.
The spittin' image of her mother.
1st Hematite
Today two construction plans were put into action. The first I shall not speak of yet. The second is a tower cap mushroom farm. It shall be 25 by 25 screllings in either direction, with a small antechamber. The key is to allow enough water in to muddy the cave floor, while keeping the level low enough so that it evaporates naturally on its own. I have ordered a number of new floodgates made for both projects.
3rd Hematite
I realized today that poor old Soxgaspa the faithful wardog has been struggling from the pain his broken left leg is given him, and I had him replaced with a younger dog.
5th Hematite
The rangers organized a party today in the great hall, complete with mountain goat from their most recent kill. I may need to take a few off of hunting duty, as they tend to depopulate the surrounding area of game and then lounge about on the mountainside.
11th Hematite
The humans arrived from the south with four wagons full of goods. We have an obscene amount of stonecrafts to trade, even with the temporary stop in production. When I looked out, I saw that Benjamin had trapped himself high on the crenellations of the fortress by walling from the wrong side. By the time he realized his error, he was too weak, and so young Urist was sent to help. The castle is coming along nicely.
Among the humans’ goods were nearly twenty tons of wood of all sorts! There also were a surprising number of finely crafted barrels, which shall soon hold delicious dwarven brew. If only we could have gotten some sun berries off of the filfthy elves, we might have had the finest in the land…
I saw a fine bronze whip lying to the corner near a great barbaric scimitar, and I thought to myself what a fine torture weapon it would make against the goblins. It was a natural purchase for me, along with an absolutely beautiful iron piccolo.
17th Hematite
I was re-elected today. Clearly the people’s faith in me is boundless! Mosus finished work on a glass screw pump as part of my secret project. I thought she was trapped next to it just like Benjamin was, but instead she was just staring at her work. I fear she is starting to go mad. Benjamin's increasingly morbid engravings do nothing to lighten the mood.
12th Malachite
I banned the export of piccolos today. I have been learning much in the way of music lately, and I must have more examples on which to learn and practice!
18th Malachite
The tower cap cave is nearly done. We hit a large amount of Orthoclase, a kind of fool’s gold. Joshua has been going down to marvel at it often lately when he has no work to do.
1st
A giant bat struck down two of my peasants in quick succession. The dwarves are calling him Katakesdor, “Scalysold” in the old tongue. It brutally killed Adil and Likot the peasants on the rim of the Pit. I have dispatched both crossbow and hammer to strike him down!
2nd
Degel Oltartulan struck the batman upon its head in a spirited chase down the bloodstained hallway leading to the Pit, just before Ducim gave it such a blow that it was knocked from the air at once. He now has seven notable kills.
4th
Today is a sad day. Ducim stood on the brink of the underground pool, triumphant in victory. To show off, he grabbed a snakeman and mangled its upper body. A frogman too, jumped out of the pool, only to be dealt with likewise. He crushed its filthy arm with his warhammer and it toppled into the water. Unbeknownst to this hero, one of its vile appendages dragged him under with its last hateful might. He fought bravely, but the pool was deep. He battled the creatures for a day and two hours until his strength began to run out. We stayed our bolts from above from fear to hit him as well. He died there in extreme pain, drowning, surrounded by more and more of the sinister watery kin, but Ducim never released his chokehold, even as he sank beneath the black surface. This I saw through the obsidian well, and now commit to memory.
20th
Three more rangers immigrated at some point in the last week. The fortress was still depressed about the recent deaths and the lack of alcohol, and I was too busy consoling the citizens to notice. The alcohol must go to the dwarves of legendary status. Some of the poor who do not merit booze simply do not understand that their labour is not worth as much as those who have skill.
It seems that the peasant Vabok has some skill with mechanics that I overlooked. Since Stukos is turning out to be a lazy oaf, I may have found a great replacement.
1st Limestone
At last Autumn came. Another thief was spotted outside the walls. So much has happened this summer. Steel production halted for a time, until I realized that the smelters had run out of flux. There is plenty of marble below for this, but it had not yet been excavated.
13th Limestone
A dwarven caravan from Ezum Cenath of five wagons arrived today and began unloading goods. My hand is pained from designating so many rock crafts for trade.
20th Limestone
I had to pull myself away from the Limefall Festival in the great hall in order to attend upon the caravan. We invited their guards to the party, but they prefer to stand in quiet vigil in the depot. No matter. Once we got down to business, the traders became very excited about the goblin garb we offered. I thought them mad until I recognized the incredible tensile strength of giant cave spider thread in a number of the items. This enabled us to send a grand sum of offerings to the king, while still making a volume of trade exceeding thirty thousand ducats. The greatest prizes of the day were the finely crafted pieces of armour and beautiful gems. Some of the items bore images of our most prized artifacts, such as Crossimpale the Prestigious Shadows, our prized steel chain leggings.
Benjamin incidentally carved a fine rendition of the leggings in the depot the day before.
22nd Limestone
Early in the morning, Kubuk Morulsazir the metalsmith hung a holy symbol of Omer above a magma forge. His passion for the craft has taken his senses from him and I fear it may consume him. He seized steel immediately, and made a cursory examination of several stockpiles. Afterwards he gathered no more, sat quaking in the forge, and began carving pictures all over the ground. A quarry, shells, a forest, and pelts! I realized that he had been stricken mute by his fervor, and was showing us what he required. Checking the books, I saw that we had no shells in the refuse piles. I had to forbid all foodstuffs but turtles for two entire days in order to procure what Kubuk needed. He is now rushing about, picking up valuable goods right and left. If he require anything further, hopefully it may be purchased from the caravan.
3rd Sandstone
We began construction on some new apartments for the nobles and other dwarves of high standing deep in the fortress today. They shall be heated by the nearby magma chambers, and will enclose the finest furnishings. Already I see the outline of my glorious new chambers next to those of the dungeonmaster. We are the only true members of the noble class in this fortress, and we naturally deserve special attention. However, I am noticing an acute housing shortage for the middle class--all those who can aspire to greater privilege through their labours. Perhaps I shall rectify that when the tombs are complete.
18th Sandstone
The dungeonmaster is demanding a silver table in his tomb. His tomb is nowhere even near complete, but I understand his frustration. His rooms have only just now become furnished (albeit with some of the finest goods available). I myself am particularly proud of my golden dining set. Benjamin carved a lovely picture of me ascending to mayorhood in my bedroom. The dungeomaster has a finely rendered image of a kobold being hacked to pieces.
17th Sandstone
Kubuk Emerged from the forges carrying a fantastic steel drum, “Tustzalrazmer,” or “The Malign Violator” in the old tongue. I have ordered a music room dug to celebrate the occasion. I can barely even place a price on his beautiful artifact. He is now a legendary metal crafter after the ordeal.
20th Sandstone
Today I received the message that migrants were too nervous to make the journey this season. Their trepidation is no doubt due to news of the recent bat trouble in the depths, or perhaps the frequent goblin ambushes.
Our alcohol production has ramped back up. I discovered that the butcher had been preserving the horse fat after each slaughter over the summer and spring. Now over one hundred units of it are dumped; the rest was rendered so that more barrels would be free--and that did the trick!
Several peasants were complaining about having to sleep in the barracks, among the scuffling soldiers. I was far too busy managing the forges and pacified the complainers with the offer of a bit of my swamp whiskey. Those elves’ bloated tubers had some use after all!
14th Timber
Eshtan the hammerdwarf entered a martial trance in the lower class bedrooms, wounding his training partner Sodel in the arm. I have decided to disarm these dwarves until I have proper armour suits fashioned, or there will be more casualties.
15th Timber
We’re out of hematite, alas! There is enough iron to continue steel production for a little while.
I found out why the mechanic Stukos has been so lousy lately at the craft. She gave birth to a boy in her quarters this morning.
3rd Moonstone
Thob organized a roaring party in the great hall. I unveiled my new housing plan to the residents of these grand fortifications. The refuse pit is to become a pleasant outdoor statue garden, and all about on the upper levels there shall be apartments for those who show their worth. The mason's guild was quick to throw in their support when I mentioned the possibility that they could secure some of the new quarters. Dwarven ale all around!
4th Opal
We started planting in the plump helmet cave again due to dipping food supplies and plentiful alcohol stores.
23rd Opal
There was a scuffle in the tower cap farm as we opened the floodgate to irrigate the new lower level. Two lizardmen were ripped limb from limb when they tried to interfere.
6th Obsidian
As my last project this year, I had a massive maze dug beneath the dungeon. Here I plan to release goblins and let them know the fear of the whip and a tantalizing but impossible escape. The mechanics are starting a series of pressure plates that will open and close doors to the exit as our prisoners wander the tunnels.
19th Obsidian
It has been an unusually cruel winter. The earth is so hard that we cannot even grow plump helmets any more. The outer garden is useless as well. A thick layer of snow has fallen all about.
25th Obsidian
A snakeman got into the kitchens somehow. He killed one of our puppies with his wicked spear and then began to chase the fishermen who had been dipping into the drink stocks. Lor Esdolorath the swordmaster defeated the beast. I hope one day that that cauldron of evil where they come from will be emptied of its evils. I berated the cowardly peasantry for not saving the puppy. At least when grown, a wardog would prove more useful than they.
26th Obsidian
The smoothed walls of Phantomdaggers shall be a bastion of dwarfdom for all time. I am leading the fortress into a shining new era and none shall stop me.
Note To Self: In the old arms storage room, the upper lever (alunite) opens the floodgate and closes the drawbridge, the lower lever (obsidian) drains the depot afterwards. MAKE SURE TO CLOSE THE HATCHES BEFORE OPERATING.
