This space reserved for Update 4, which I am writing in the edit screen here and will thus edit in within an hour. DAMN YOU SCHATTEN, YOU BLEW IT UP! YOU BLEW IT UP YOU DAMN DIRTY DWARF!
Okay, when we last left off, Spanky had gone insane. Since then, between his insanity and his death, the following happened:
I am sorry for not taking screens of this time but nothing really happened.
IMMIGRANT ARRIVAL to AUTUMN 1052
The masons all got to work smoothing out the rough walls and floors of the bedrooms. In addition to the barracks/armory, we now have a second unaffiliated room in the residence hall. It will either be nobility quarters or something else like an infirmary, I don't know.
Enclosed bedrooms were set up for every person in Palelabors, smoothed with 1 bed and 1 chest for each person. We have 32 of those, which will help when the Second Wave arrives next year.
An expansion over the bridge added a Jeweler's shop, to cut the turquoise and rock crystals we found. Additionally, while digging Spanky's tomb (he was not dead yet but we thought it a good idea to start beforehand. In a macabre twist, he watched as Stark produced his coffin.) we found some diamonds. Truly, fortune shines upon us for our honorable treatment of the soon-to-be dead.
The defense of Palelabors rises with the installing of a door for the main entrance. This was long overdue, I can't believe I forgot. HSTRG also carved some neat art into the door and the entryway.
Nothing exciting really happened compared to the saga of Spanky. Lonestar got a kitten, that's about it. War Dog production continued. Now we have 3 highly trained killing machines to support our military.
Speaking of military, using the corpses of Jaguars (officially), we made 4 sets of leather armour for our dwarfs. HSTRG and Uts also cooperated in the Over-The-River's section for military manufactury making an equal number of Crossbows with tons of ghetto ammunition (sharpened animal bones) for bolts. Meanwhile, Stark carved 4 obsidian blades, either for the shooters if I want them to switch to close combat or the future Fire Team Bora who will come into existance, er, later, since we don't have the numbers to make that many into drains on the economy.
Why does it say Jaguars, officially? Because we only had enough leather for half of the unit to be made of jaguar leather. And enough mule leather for another suit. So, in order to make the final suit, a Final Solution for the Pet Question was adopted.
The relevant text of the proclamation is as such: All animals would be allowed 3 offspring per spawning, to grow with the fortress. Any children of pets over this limit would be... donated... to the fortress' stocks. Cats, by virtue of cuteness, were exempted from this prohibition, as are any pets of citizens of Palelabor. Among the Dogs of Palelabor, in recognizance of their usefulness as war dogs, the quota was lengthened to 4 offspring. This policy does not apply to Mules, naturally.
You may also be wondering why is it you see no metal in the military goods mentioned despite us having two good metalsmiths? Well, that's a long story. General Schatten, incompetant miner extraordinaire, was ordered to expand the workshop hall's west end to make room for a wood furnace near the forge, so as to produce charcoal with which we can forge bronze (which is by far the most available material so far).
He did just that. There was a deep rumbling, and the workshop hall's west end collapsed. The first wave hit it when it was unmanned, destroying the forge and the furnace. Stark, attempted to bravely shore up the construction by building a pillar near the carpenter's shop, was right in the middle of it in the aftershock.
Amazingly, despite being thrown bodily across the room by the collapse and a scary-looking billowing cloud of dust covering half the fortress, he managed to avoid injury. A rock hit him on the head, knocking him out, but he was completely unharmed. Not even bruised.
But as he rose a few minutes later amidst the scattered shards of wood and rock, he sighted the most catastrophic event to occur to our beloved city in the mountain.
"WHERE'S THE FUCKING ANVIL AND TONGS?"
The collapse had destroyed the anvil. We could no longer forge metal to a reliable degree. Getting a replacement would be both difficult and expensive. If the humans could not bring one, it would take a long time for the next dwarven caravan to arrive with news that we need metal forging equipment.
So, my friends. Palelabors is now a metalless society. Miner General Schatten was excused of any wrongdoing (what with there being no criminal law in Palelabors yet), and concern over Spanky (who was seen in the area running naked babbling about cave spiders in his beard) dominated.
Just as Spanky attempted to commit suicide and died of unrelated causes, trying to avoid the spiders only in his hair, in his clothes, and in his mind (see prior post), the dwarven traders arrived.
We carefully avoided showing them the collapse. The Dwarves of our liege lord's state traded food and cloth to us again for stone adornments. They expressed approval of our town's growth, gave their respects to the newly dead Spanky, and stated they would reccommend that since we have over 20 people in our society we should be made an official unincorporated village.
With this, in addition to the normal dozen or so migrant workers and colonists, would come a Noble in the next year, officially styled the Manager, to manage the settlement. He would be accompanied by a Sherriff, who will make sure Dwarven Law is, if you will allow the phrase, set in stone.
Hurrah for Palelabors!
