YEAR 6 (Y.105) – Dusaro

1st of Granite, Early Spring.

It Is I, Dusaro Forgebeard who has been chosen to stand this year as leader of this fort. This wonderful Mezdurad! What wonders we have in store, if only we were to truly use them. The Signs have long been given by Armok. Three artifacts of Bituminous Coal. Even if no one else knows, I know. We must burn the fires of industry. We Must Forge Steel. This alone shall bring prosperity, safety and riches to the people of Mezdurad! But first, we must produce coke. And for this, we need more coke and pig iron! To this end, I have submitted work orders for both the processing of bituminous coal into coke, increased pig iron production and steel bar creation. Let the fires of the forge Burn Bright, praise Armok!

12th of Granite, Early Spring.

We have had a new citizen to join our Metropolis. One Lusko Tongsoil, a human bard who is an exceptional thresher. An… Odd job to be sure, but one we could certainly use in our Fort. Perhaps he shall prove himself useful. I shall keep an eye on him.

16th of Slate, Mid Spring.

Upon closer inspection of the upper cavern layer, we have found what our mining explorations on the upper floors couldn’t. Tetrahedrite, bearing Copper and Silver. But more importantly, Hematite and Limonite. How did this not get reported sooner! We must begin excavating at once, and organize the squads! They must be on patrol and ready to defend the miners at once!

20th of Slate, Mid Spring.

This layer of the Upper Caverns is… Oddly Quiet. We have found bones, but naught else. Perhaps our luck shall hold for my tenure as leader.

3rd of Hematite, Early Summer.

A terrible series of events has occurred. We had a Kobalt Thief get spotted by a Dwarven child. Before our squads could catch the rascal, he fled. Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends, as due to a clerical error I… Ah. Well. I disbanded the military. Listen, how was I to know that is how the order would be interpreted!? I told them to ‘go back to their old jobs’ as in to resume their duties they were doing, not disband our forces!

13th of Hematite, Early Summer.

Thikut Fathtatlosh, our Animal Caretaker, has been taken by a fey mood. We must watch closely to see where this leads…. They have not yet taken over a workshop.

15th of Hematite, Early Summer.

He has begun his construction, claiming a Clothiers shop… Let us see what wonders shall be rendered!

20th of Hematite, Early Summer.

The Artifact is complete! Maskirudib, the finest wool turban in all the lands! A marvel to be sure. And another sign, as it is decorated with spikes of bituminous coal! Our progress into Steel pleases Armok.

9th of Malachite, Mid Summer.

An Artifact, Nefastdur, has been stolen! We must find the theft AT ONCE!

13th of Malachite, Mid Summer.

It is time to rid ourselves of the horrendous Titan underneath our walls. For too long has it lingered, scratching on the walls, its wails of pain terrifying young and old alike. We shall end this beast. Murder holes have been cut in the walls. It is time to lay the beast low. Crossbowdwarves, Prepare for Battle!

20th of Malachite, Mid Summer.

I am beginning to see why this foul beast has been untouched by others for so long. In these days, it has been pelted with no less than fifteen crossbow bolts and it still lives! At least it shall make fine target practice…. Yes. That’s it. We will call it ‘Target’!.

11th of Limestone, Early Autumn.

It has been some time since my last entry. A caravan has finally arrived, bringing with it Nobles! This shall be a glorious day for our Fortress, should we be able to provide what they want. While our Steel Industry is in its infancy, we shall soon begin producing plenty of metal! Perhaps we can even turn the tetrahedrite we have mined into finished goods of Silver…. Perhaps I should see about this. They have a strong desire for Footwear and Yarn Amulets. Perhaps we could make some kind of fancy footwear… A matter for my successor to solve me thinks.

17th of Limestone, Early Autumn.

We have traded for a great many bags of seed, along with a few more bars of steel and a fine shortsword that caught one of our Dwarves’ eyes. It will make a fine addition to our armory, I am certain.

23rd of Sandstone.

We have discovered an expansive, underground cavern! This is both a great opportunity, and a grave risk. Should we close it off…. Or explore? We also found Giant Cave Spider silk and…. Blood of a Reacher. Troubling. Yet no sign of the truly precious metals one might seek so deep.

3rd of Moonstone, Early Winter.

Another Kobold Thief! This time, paying close attention to orders and phrasing, our troops have been sent out to run this cur into the countryside! I doubt we will catch him, but we may get lucky.  But more importantly…. A child has been possessed! Ushrir Vabokineth… What wonder shall he construct?

10th of Moonstone, Early Winter.

Construction has begun, and at a Craftdwarfs Workshop. Soon, this masterpiece shall be ready for all to behold!

18th of Moonstone, Early Winter.

We have completed the construction of a drawbridge that will allow us to manage access to the cavern layer. I shall hold back on delving its depths myself, perhaps my successor will find the Troops well trained and equipped enough to do so.

22nd of Moonstone, Early Winter.

A child just punched Digs The Mad Bear in the foot while throwing a tantrum. I have been informed it fractured the bone. Surely this is all just a silly prank, right?

27th of Moonstone, Early Winter.

An attack! Bat Men in the Caves, To Arms Soldiers, To Arms! Defend our Miners!

28th of Moonstone, Early Winter.

The attacker has been driven back. It appears our losses will be a single child, who took a likely fatal spear thrust. Such are the dangers of the Fort.

4th of Opal, Mid Winter.

The decision has been made. We can no longer allow these Batmen to skulk in our caves. The men have assembled and are ready to begin the battle. We shall drive these creatures out of our caverns! To Arms Men, To Arms!

9th of Opal, Mid Winter.

The Batmen have all been killed. Slain to the last one. Eighteen of them there were, and we only lost one Dwarf in the fighting. Another two are likely to fall from their wounds, with another possibly never being fit to fight again. But we won. And a glorious victory it was, Praise Armok!

24th of Opal, Mid Winter.

We forgot about the child. The one in a strange mood. As things were getting settled back down, he went berserk. There was nothing we could do…. Armok forgive us.

18th of Obsidian, Late Winter.

Darn it all, a damned human has set his sights on one of our items! Soldiers, Gather and Get Him!

19th of Obsidian, Late Winter.

The Human is dead, slain by our speardwarf Sibrek Kolmat. He did well, though we lost one of our number who the human fought and killed.

1st of Granite, Early Spring.

My time as the leader has come to an end. And well it has, though I think I have brought progress to the Fort. We have steel weapons and armor for our squad of melee fighters, along with plenty of iron to continue smelting. I wish my successor the best of luck in these trying times.