Here goes some fiction writing! I haven't tried anything like this in at least 11 years, so bear with me.
Volume 2: Survival and Other Futile PursuitsPrologue: A Sad State, at the ArchivesFrom the Journal of K'veep Thosbutashtesh, Scribe and Acolyte of the Royal TongsIt took eight years as an apprentice to the great Archivist of the Royal Tongs before our rapport started to sour. I had been as close to contentment amongst the stacks of parchment in the old libraries of the Worshipful Corridor as I had ever been. My mother and father were nobles (though dare I say, minor nobles) within the great Mountainhomes and I was brought up with only an academic understanding of the traditional dwarven work that was so beneath my family, and I was listlessly shuffled about as a child, between architectural schools and merchant houses, even spending a stint in a diplomatic procession to nearby elven lands. But my true passion was for the histories, and for the great legends of our people reaching back to the earliest days of myth. So it was most gratifying when I leveraged my way into the apprentice position within the library, named for that order which had slain the fearsome hydra Thelo Clodooze the Right of Apes and given dwarfkind its first triumph over overwhelming adversity.
My master, however, was a different sort of dwarf than I. He had been raised on the same legends as I was, but he was a common dwarf, and lived his life as so many do, covered in soot, eking out an existence under some frostbitten colony. Over the years I came to fear that he did not value the tales as I do. I'm told he has done important things, but I'm not entirely sure the position of Archivist ought to be given to a dwarf of such low blood! The hardships of his life have sapped the reverence and the passion from his work. He says that I hold no concept of real dwarvenness dear, when he is sitting on mountains of stories from the very best of our people! I brought the histories of The Diamonds of Patterning and their wars and said "Here is our glory!" and his eyes hardened in such a way that I had not seen before. I know now that I should not have challenged him. Low-born as he was, my family was unconcerned with my "petty squabbles" and without their leverage I was fully under his bootheel.
Last week I rose from my slumber to find a letter from the Archivist containing a goodbye, and a challenge. In it he wrote of his grand-nephew, some sod named "Buttfranklin", who had recently embarked on a journey towards a fledgling Vushite colony at the Western foot of the Tiring Mountains, a settlement by the name of Gorgeconfined. It was the Archivist's wish that I follow this Buttfranklin, and live amongst the Vushites for a period of one year. During this time, the Archivist claimed, I would learn that true Dwarven Glory was not the supremacy of the master axedwarf, but the struggle of the common settler, and I would see "History as it happened". Upon my return, the Archivist promised that he would retire, and I would take his place as the grand Archivist of the Royal Tongs. Naturally, I was ecstatic at this offer... A year of menial work to fulfill my greatest ambition? I thought my master a great fool.
With my destiny laid plain before me, I gathered what I could carry, and set off towards the Tiring Mountains.
Chapter 1: In Which I Discover the Breadth of My Impending Misery2nd Granite, 1052After a week of hardy travel of which I was not accustomed (though my dwarven blood proved enough of an asset to see me through) I came upon the site of Gorgeconfined. A small, two-story stone cottage on the side of the mountain barely registered, but I made my way to it and found the door unlocked, surprisingly.
As I made my way downwards into the structure, I began to hear the deep bellows of dwarves at work (which I would only hear infrequently in the Worshipful Corridor, from the common dwarves in the streets) and found Gorgeconfined in a state of full vigor. Fascinated, I tried to get the attention of the dwarves at work but they paid me no mind. They were single-mindedly carrying large stones, likely the byproduct of some mining operation, down through a hallway into a large chamber. I finally caught the attention of a sturdy-looking dwarf at rest, a fellow who goes by the comical nickname of "Danosaur", and he unfurled upon me the unfortunate tale of what had unfolded these last few days.
It turns out that Gorgeconfined was not some simple Vushite colony, but the compound of a fringe Vushite doomsday cult! I had arrived shortly after the time at which the cult leader had prophesied the end of the world, and his error of clairvoyance was but one reason in a litany for the state of disorder in the fortress. Of more pressing concern was the accidental breaching of an aquifer, which flooded much of the lower level of the fortress! Luckily for the assorted residents of the compound the only real loss was the flooding of a few modest bedrooms, and the unfortunate drowning of a dwarven woman, leaving the total number of dwarves at 14 (not including myself).
I have decided to fulfill the promise of my bloodline and take control of this situation and this rabble. I can't go back to the Worshipful Corridor before my year has passed, or I will surely face disgrace. At this point the fortress is in a state of weak equilibrium - we are not at a point of no return, nor are we at a place of strength. What follows is my read of the problems this fortress faces, drawing upon the input of many of the more experienced residents, and of course my encyclopedic knowledge of settlements built in the past.
1. Labor EfficiencyWhen I arrived, despite the sorry state of the lower levels, it seemed as though a majority of dwarves were inexplicably hauling random stone debris into an earthen storeroom on the fifth floor of the fortress. To better utilize the talents of our population, I have decreed that half of the room is to be undesignated as "stone pile" territory. I figure we're going to have so much extra stone from excavating rocky layers of earth that designating even a cavernous room would, to use an old Human expression, be akin using a bucket to scoop up an ocean. With the cancellation of mindless, pointless busywork, perhaps we can get somewhere.
2. Chain of CommandWhile the colony maintained a skeletal, informal crew of administrative officers when I arrived, in the course of my efforts to improve work efficiency I found that there had been no designated work manager, a vital role insofar as prohibiting and emphasizing variant forms of labor are concerned. Since it appears there are no dwarves present with relevant skills to do this job, I am defaulting the position to the most all-around capable dwarf on site, who turns out to be...
3. The KharBevNor Problem...KharBevNor Mengrubal, the founder of the colony, who as it turns out, has suffered a bit of a nervous breakdown as his doomsday prophecy has failed to pan out, so to speak. He has not left his room in the time since then, which surely means he is slowly dying of thirst in his quarters. I briefly gave thought to leaving him to rot, but to be perfectly honest, at a population of 14 we are not even close to a position in which individual dwarves can be considered expendable. Besides, he is not untalented, even if he is colossally unwise in some respects (colossi are not known for their wisdom). He did a surprisingly competent job designing the fortress, especially in terms of traps at the entrance to the compound, and his mining skills will be invaluable. He is not very sociable at this point (he is near-catatonic in demeanor and is likely to drink to great excess) but he seems to be capable of following basic orders. The residents are not fond of the idea of letting this KharBevNor go completely unscathed for his follies, however. A dwarf who wished to remain anonymous suggested a change in name and title for the former leader, and it has gained a fair bit of traction amongst the populace...
A fitting name, I think. The lies that fell from his mouth have a foul stench indeed.
4. The Workshops / The Outside WorldNow that the dwarves have stopped doing pointless busywork (for the moment) I have drafted a mockup of our workshop level and what we have planned for it.
a) I'm curious about the designated digging areas left by my predecessor, as before they were unreachable... I have told the miners to dig straight in there to investigate. I'm hoping for pleasant surprises. We could use a lucky break.
b) I'm having blocks and stone mechanisms crafted, for trap use as well as other purposes we may need down the line. We've got plenty of material for this work.
c) I can't say the same for the carpenters, though. This fortress turned out to be more extensive than I expected, which means interest from loathsome and murderous forces can't be far ahead of us. I've ordered the construction of wooden practice weapons and wooden battle shields. Also
d) I have ordered the burning of wood to create charcoal for our smelter and blacksmith. I'm not aware if we have alternate forms of coal, but we're going to need a lot of charcoal if we're going to make legitimate weapons and armor, and a lot of charcoal means a lot of burnt wood, which brings us to
e) Locked doors. In his fevered anticipation of the apocalypse, my predecessor sealed the door to the outside world. In theory this might be a grand idea, but at present we're going to run out of wood at a fast pace, and we can't find wood underground. Also our food supplies are bound to start running low soon, and the water management system being planned has obviously had disastrous consequences. It might be easier just to wall off an area on the surface and start growing. Perhaps the inevitable wave of immigrants that comes next will give us a ranger to track down and domesticate / kill animals for food. For now, I've unlocked the door and have ordered a large swath of the landscape to be picked clean of wood and plant-based sustenance. We'll figure out farming a little bit further down the line.
5. Building a WellA local dwarf pointed out that the minor devastation of the flooding below us has carried with it an unlikely opportunity... We can dig down to that level and create a well with which to fetch drinking water. Food may be a problem but water almost certainly will not be.
6. Replacement DwellingsI have endeavored to construct new doors and a few new beds to fill out an alternative sleeping area for those dwarves who had their rooms submerged in river water. With a little more preparation and perhaps an influx of immigrants, a military barracks will be placed on the first proper level of our fortress. I'll have to dig some protected rooflights to keep our troops adept for sunlit combat.
7. Brew alcoholThis goes almost without saying. However we will need more barrels and plant matter to ferment, distill and brew with. All the more reason to start scouring the surface for materials.
8. Miasma!Unfortunately for us, the dead body in the flooded stairwell has rotted away, leaving a stinking cloud of miasma in the heart of our fortress. I'm not entirely sure if there's a way to rectify this situation, short of forcing all of our stubborn dwarves out of the way and letting it pass. For now I'm letting work go on as planned and hoping the time the workers are forced to spend in the cloud are not enough to do any real damage to their health.
For now, that is all I have planned. More is sure to come in the near future.
