A Shattered World: Dwarf Fortress Tales (LP/Narrative)

Prologue, 5 years ago:

The sky of the Old World broiled with fire; it would appear the end times long prophesised were indeed here. The priests of Armok talk of a great cycle of life and death, they claim that every eon the Gods awaken to remake the world, casting the old world to the fire and letting life begin anew. It would appear that time has arrived.

However, this time it would be different. Ordinarily civilisation would have been scoured from existence by the End of Times. However, factions within the intrepid races of the Old World, the Dwarves, the Elves, the Humans and alas even the foul Goblins and Kobolds all sought a way to survive this prophesised destruction. A clan of Dwarves, named Morul Lerom, carved a mighty fortress deep within the earth, housing several thousand of their kin and, in exchange for vast riches, several thousand humans who could afford the price of safe harbour.

Meanwhile a group of Elves weaved a great tree of enchanted oak to shelter within. The forest of Avelon, knowing it’s time had come, poured all its energy into this one tree to give the gentle elves, who had long since guarded its grove, one last chance of survival.

Not much is known about the Goblin and Kobold’s operations. To this day it is unclear how they survived the End Times. Perhaps they didn’t, perhaps the Gods seeded the new world with their foul ilk to spite the survivors. Some scholars theorise that their tribes may have sheltered in deep caves and caverns underground, much like the Dwarves. The truth of the matter is unknown.

Regardless, these races all found shelter from the terrible fires which began to erupt in the skies. Several months the flames danced above before finally judgement arrived. Great plumes of flame stripped the lands of all life and the continents themselves shifted and remade. The world changed, it grew larger and more expansive, the seas evaporated in an instant and all was made barren. Then, as huge clouds of water vapour rose into the atmosphere, a great tempest flooded the planet once more and the oceans were reborn.

Eventually the cataclysm grew to a halt. Dwarves and humans deep underground breathed sighs of relief as the great din above quietened and it became clear they had survived. However, soon with a crash of crimson thunder the God’s began to unleash life anew on the world. However, as any Dwarf will tell you, the age of legends at the dawn of time was no time of peace. The God’s in their madness unleashed the basest forms and most terrible creations known to Dwarfkind. In the Old World they had been known as Forgotten Beasts, terrifying entities that had survived the dawn of time and roamed the deep darkness in search of prey. The millennia had whittled down their numbers in the old world to but a few, now; however, their numbers were legion.

Eventually, once more, the sounds of creation above ceased as the God’s withdrew to their shadowy existence. Beneath the Earth the Dwarves solemnly acknowledged their survival. They were the Last of their kind yet in this new world, they were now the first of their kind. The King of the new Mountainhomes immediately ordered the removal of the Humans, their refuge in the Fortress was a business transaction which had now expired. They took the space many other Dwarves could have filled and were it not for the Dwarves’ love of riches they would have been turned away. The humans were expelled into the terrifying new world to build their new homes.

The Dwarves, however, sealed shut their doors and waited. The world above was filled with horrors and it was not safe yet to leave. For five long years the Mountainhomes existed in solitude, waiting for the beasts above to massacre each other. When the time arrived that the King deemed the landscape above less perilous he gathered the Fortresses great army to carve himself a realm above. However, not even the martial prowess and masterwork equipment of the Dwarves were a match for the multitude of Forgotten Beasts above. The army was smashed by all manner of terrifying beasts and all hope seemed lost.

However, the King has now called for volunteers. Small groups of seven Dwarves to cast out in secret and forge new kingdoms for the Dwarven race. One such group has received the king’s blessing. Led by a hammerdwarf named Unib Emetstakud, this group has been dubbed Erlinnil, “The High Hammer”. They cast out in the night and find a secluded stream far from the Mountainhomes. The group convenes. This is where they shall carve themselves a home.

This is the dawn of creation, this is the age of legends. The Dwarves have survived the end, but now they must survive the beginning.

Unib Emetstakud nods and solemnly gives the command.

STRIKE THE EARTH!

Arrival:

The Expedition:

Listed are the seven Dwarves of the Erlinnil, “The High Hammer”:

ETUR NILBIDOK, THE MINER

Etur Nilbidok:

Etur Nilbidok is a Proficient Miner, he worships the deities “Dostob” and “Anriz Udaranriz Dasel Gigin”. He is good friends with his fellow miner Mestthos Tholtirist, however he bears a grudge against the Mason, Atir Lolokgebar. He is long-term acquaintances with the rest of the expedition.

MESTTHOS THOLTIRIST, THE MINER

Mestthos Tholtirist:

Mestthos Tholtirist is also a Proficient Miner, but unlike his friend Etur he worships Tobul and Otthat Ekurkodor. He is long-term acquaintances with the rest of the expedition. A fat, sombre fellow, he is rather lazy and tries to avoid extra work. However, he has a natural ability with music, often keeping his fellows entertained with a tune.

ERUSH SILASMEL, THE CARPENTER

Erush Silasmel:

Erush Silasmel is a Proficient Carpenter, she worships the same gods as Mestthos, Tobul and Otthat Ekurkodor. She is long-term acquaintances with all of the expedition but holds no special relationships with them. She looks rather peculiar, being rather fat and bald, but her fellow Dwarves don’t mind due to her easy-going, philanphropic nature.

ENDOK MUTHKATINEN, THE WOODCUTTER

Endok Muthkatinen:

Endok Muthkatinen is an adequate woodcutter who worships Sostet and Tobul. She is long-term acquaintances with the rest of the expedition. Although she is quick to anger, generally she can handle stress well and reacts with deliberate control when exasperated. Oddly enough she too is bald, perhaps it is the fashion in Morul Lerom.

ATIR LOLOKGEBAR, THE MASON

Atir Lolokgebar:

Atir Lolokgebar is a Proficient Mason. He worships Thol Dorenzim and Sostet. He reciprocates the grudge held by Etur Nilbidok, but apart from that he is merely acquaintances with the rest of the expedition. Although we do not know the origin of the grudge, it seems safe to conclude Atir was the antagonist, or he is quick to anger and hates rules, whereas Etur loves organisation.

RAL DUCIMTHEDAK, THE FARMER

Ral Ducimthedak:

Ral Ducimthedak is a Proficient Farmer and an Adequate Brewer. She is friends with Unib Emetsakud and worships Dostob and Tobul. Ral is a shy, self-conscious and anxious dwarf. Again, her head is clean shaven.

UNIB EMTSAKUD, THE HAMMERDWARF

Unib Emtsakud:

Unib Emtsakud is a Proficient Hammerdwarf, a Novice Striker, a Novice Shield User, a Novice Armour User, a Novice Fighter and a Novice Teacher. She worships Otthat Ekurkodor and Anriz Udaranriz and is friends with Ral Ducimthedak. Perhaps as a more confident member in the expedition she felt drawn to the shy and anxious Ral. She is long-term acquaintances with the rest of the expedition. Contrary to the rest f the women she has very long hair arranged in double braids. From this we shall conclude that hair on women is a sign of rank in the clan of Morul Lerom.

LIVESTOCK

2x War Dogs
2x Cats
2x Horses

CONCLUSION

Our expedition is centred around its leader Unib Emstakud. She is perhaps the most important member of the group as she is the only fighter (apart from the two war dogs), armed with leather armour and a Bronze Warhammer. The world is extremely dangerous and if the Dwarves are to survive they must make haste to establish a secure holding in the earth and pray no dangerous enemies discover them. Although she is a proficient hammer dwarf, it is unlikely Unib will be able to defend the group from anything more dangerous than a wild beast. Luckily the group is low-profile enough that they have avoided most of the more dangerous creatures lurking in the foggy darkness of the new world.
The miner friends Etur and Mestthos will carve out holdings in the earth, their role is vital as the group stands little chance on the surface.
Endok and Erush, the woodcutter and carpenter, will be responsible for the wooden constructs of the group. The Dwarves, after all, need beds to sleep on and barrels to store their food. Endok must make haste and harvest as much wood as possible whilst the landscape is free of enemies.
Atir will be responsible for stoneworking. He will in particular need to create doors to keep out foes.
Finally Ral will be responsible for farming mushrooms deep within the earth. These mushrooms will provide food and alcohol for the Dwarves of the High Hammer. Fitting for someone of her shy demeanour, she will spend a lot of time alone in the cavern farms. Until more dwarves arrive, she will also have to brew ale.
The most popular gods are Sostet and Tobul. May they guide the High Hammers to glory!

THE EMBARK

The Dwarves have reached a mountainous region of the new world. They can only be described as Haunted. The ground is littered with fleshy tendrils which wriggle and squirm as the Dwarves trudge past. Growing like bushes around these tendrils are eyes on stalks which watch the party as they proceed. Luckily these freakish features seem harmless enough.

Spoiler:

Thankfully the only creatures nearby are the two cats, two war dogs and two horses the Dwarves brought with them. The party remains alone for now. Nearby a grove of healthy looking forest is growing, populated by Willow trees, Alder trees and berry bushes. The Dwarves did not expect this. However, unbeknownst to them, the Elves have seeded the new world with species of fauna that would not have otherwise evolved for millennia.

Spoiler:

This grove will provide wood for the Dwarves.
The landscape consists of several hills with some flat, low-lying forests to the south and some rugged ravines to the north. The tendrils and eyeballs cover the top half of the map and are represented by the purple lines and white spots.
Truly a disturbing place.

1st Granite, 6, Early Spring

STRIKE THE EARTH

At Unib’s command the Dwarves spring into action. Immediately the miners select an appropriate place to dig, a slope on the hill facing out towards the forest. This place will serve as the entrance to the fortress. As much as the Dwarves distrust nature, it seems infinitely better than making an entrance among the writing flesh to the north.

Spoiler:

Endok also begins to fell trees in the forest outside the fortress, the wood will be made into vital furniture and equipment.
However, as soon as the Dwarves set to work a cacophony of hideous groans is heard to the north. Five Undead Yaks have arrived, although thankfully they have not yet noticed the expedition. One is pictured below.

Spoiler:

This could spell disaster, so the Dwarves hurry to their tasks.

Spoiler:

The miners finish their digging, they now begin to dig deeper underground. The horses are pastured just outside, as they will starve to death indoors.

Spoiler:

The brown represents where the miners will dig. The Dwarves will need an area to sleep and eat relatively early, however it’s not always convenient to assign permanent bedrooms and a dining room shortly upon digging into the earth. So, these rooms will serve as a temporary dormitory and dining room until the miners have time to dig out a more permanent bedroom and eating area. In future these rooms will serve as barracks to guard the entrance to the fortress.

Whilst Etur and Mestthos mine out this area it is time to assign Unib as a military dwarf. Gracefully she steps down as acting expedition leader, it would be unwise for the leader to risk her life regularly. She led the High Hammers to their new home and now seeks to guard it full time. She is promoted to Militia Commander and dons her leather armour and Bronze War hammer whilst Endok, who seems most suited, takes command of the expedition. Unib names her one-dwarf squad “The Dreamy Swords”; there’s no accounting for a Dwarf’s taste in names.

As the Dwarf miners dig they realise the entire area is made of magnetite and limonite, both of which are an ore of iron. This is extremely fortuitous as it means the fortress will have a large supply of iron from which to make crafts, weapons and armour. They have also happened upon low-value gems such as citrine. It would appear the earth is rich in this new world.

Spoiler:

Just as the dwarves finish digging out their temporary dorms the sky thunders and rain begins to fall. Luckily none of the dwarves are inclined to do much more than grumble at the weather. However, the mason and carpenter eagerly head indoors to set up their workshops.

As soon as the workshops are complete the carpenter is immediately tasked with crafting some beds for the dwarves to sleep in. The mason, however, cannot start building anything until we discover some more suitable stone material. The miners extend the corridor further into the hill before building a staircase further down into the earth. This yields some blocks of rock salt which Atir the mason uses to create some stone doors. Erush the carpenter also knocks up a few beds from the wood gathered by Endok the wood cutter, who still labours in the forest.

Before long the beds and doors are placed by the other Dwarves and the dormitory and dining room begin to take shape. The dining room, designated as a meeting hall, is quickly filled with nervous Dwarves eager to get underground and away from the roaming horrors above. The animals also carried into this small room. This should make it less likely that a Dwarf or animal stumbles upon a hostile creature, for example the Zombie Yaks.

Spoiler:

Sadly there is still not enough stone for more furniture, but now is an ideal time to dig downwards anyway. We need space to designate stockpiles where we can haul the goods sitting in the wagon outside.

Spoiler:

Above are the plans for the Craftsdwarf District. The right hand side will be used for workshops and industry, whilst the left will be used to store the many goods the Fortress will (hopefully) produce. This will be the heart of the fortress.

As the Dwarves get to work on this new excavation they realise the undead have left the vicinity. This is fortunate, but they must not get complacent. Worse creatures could arrive any moment.
Several weeks of heavy labour pass. The mason and carpenter churn out many doors, beds, barrels and other assorted furniture. The mining is heavy going; the rock is difficult to cut through and takes some time. Eventually the left wing is completed and the Dwarves begin to haul goods inside. They designate areas to store furniture, gems, finished goods, leather, food, drink and bars/blocks. The food storage is temporary, however, as later it will be located closer to any farms they might make. The miners begin to procrastinate by joining in with the hauling, but they are quickly told to focus on mining to the exclusion of all else. The wagon the dwarves’ goods arrived in is torn down; it is too large to bring indoors and so shall be salvaged for wood.

Spoiler:

After another few weeks much progress has been made. The Craftsdwarf district has been completely dug out and stockpiles have been designated. Workshops begin to be built, the old Carpenter and Mason workshops are demolished and taken downstairs. And now the Dwarves look to their food supply. They shall need to seek out clay or sand in which to sow underground mushroom farms. These mushrooms will provide the fortress with food and will also be brewed into alcohol, which Dwarves need to get through the working day. They drink alcohol to all exclusion by preference; they will drink water if there is no alternative though it will grieve them greatly. No wise overseer lets his Dwarves run out of booze. By looking at the surface, the dwarves determine that there should be sand deposits to the Northwest of the central shaft. So, the Dwarves dig down another layer and dig a passage towards (hopefully) clay.

As Endok labours outside, he wipes his brow, staring up at the sky.

Summer has arrived.

1st Hematite, 6, Early Summer

The Dwarves find what they are looking for, a large deposit of red sand. They quickly excavate a medium sized area for farming.

Spoiler:

Ral gets to work sowing the field with plump helmet seeds, I queue this crop to be grown all year round. These are a very basic sort of mushroom which can provide the fortress with all its consumable needs. The miners now need to dig out an area for the food to be stored. Ideally this will be in close proximity to the Meeting Hall, which the Dwarves will be spending their free time in, so that nobody has to walk far for their food. So, we shall plan out the main and most impressive section of our fortress. The Meeting Hall has to be large enough accommodate any future refugees which may make it to the fortress, whilst the food storage area should have some areas for brewers stands and kitchens to process food.

Spoiler:

Shown above are the plans for the Public District. It’ll take a while to dig out but we need the stone anyway. Hopefully there are no clay deposits in the planned meeting hall area, so that in the future we can smooth out the stone walls and floor, later engraving them with artwork. We shall want the meeting hall to be as grand as possible, fit for a Dwarven Fortress!
Ral is exempted from hauling so as to farm without being distracted. The first batches of plump helmet are quickly planted.

Spoiler:

And just in time too, as shortly afterwards Endok bursts into the temporary dining room and announces joyous news.


Eight ragged-looking migrants and a Water Buffalo calf are ushered into the fortress, giving the fleshy tentacles outside nervous glances. Sadly three of them are children, unfit for work and the other five have meagre skills, unfit for all but the most basic of labouring tasks. Perhaps they had started out into the primeval wilderness with more, but lost them due to the evil beasts above. They do not appear willing to talk about it.

Regardless, though they do not have any particular talents we shall assign them unimportant jobs which they can slowly improve their skills at. One dwarf named Doren Kemsoruzol is made a stone detailer and is commanded to smooth out all of the stone walls and floors in the fortress. It will take time, but eventually he should become an expert in this task, as it’ll be his only job.

Unib inspects the Dwarves for any military talents. The only one who shows any aptitude at all is a female dwarf named Amost Avuznefek, who is a Novice Dodger. She is drafted into Unib’s squad “The Dreamy Swords”. We shall need to find her a weapon though, as currently we have no spares.

One of the migrants is an amateur fisher dwarf, although he has no great skill at it. There are several ponds in the strange tree grove so hopefully he shall be able to provide at least a few fish to the fortress. Another has minor skills at farming, so shall help Ral in the mushroom fields. The others will help haul things and do minor tasks around the fortress, like cleaning, as there is currently nothing better for them to do.

Some months later the digging is complete. The Public District is completely dug out and now the next priority is furnishing the Great Hall and digging out some bedrooms so that the Dwarves can move out of the cramped Dormitory upstairs.
The plans for these bedrooms are shown below.

Spoiler:

This will provide medium-quality rooms for 44 dwarves. When the fortresses population exceeds this we shall create an identical format on the floor below, creating a deep hive of dwarf rooms. It looks like the miners have more work to do!

Meanwhile our new stone detailer begins the mammoth task of smoothing out the fortress and our mason works non-stop to produce tables and chairs for the Great Hall. A pack of wolves wanders about on the surface, but luckily, like most of the other hostile creatures, they stick to the foul north among the tendrils and eyes. It would seem we made the right choice in locating our fortress to the nicer south. Just to be safe the miners are ordered to remove the slopes leading up the hill around the fortress entrance. This way any hostile forces will not be able to descend too close will make it easier to predict where they will come from (all slopes to the right of the entrance are removed, so enemies can only come from the left now).

The dwarves pray it makes them safer.

Autumn has come.

1st Limestone, 6, Early Autumn

Autumn arrives and brings with it several more undead yaks above land. They’re nowhere near the fortress so we needn’t worry. The bedroom district is full mined out and several beds are in place, however none of the rooms have doors yet so we cannot assign individual bedrooms. Atir begins to make plenty of doors to meet this demand; switching production from tables and chairs. The Grand Hall has a full row of tables and chairs so no-one should get irritated by a lack of seats.

Spoiler:

Unib and Amost begin to spar and train full time, one of the barracks entering operation. Hopefully they will hone their skills enough to deal with any intruders. However, the Dwarves still suffer from a lack of equipment. Sadly there is no way to remedy this for the time being, all Dwarves are doing vital tasks and we cannot afford to spare some to try their hand at metal working / furnace operation, labours necessary to process the ores we’ve mined out. We have plentiful amounts of limonite and magnetite, which will smelt into iron so it’s simply a matter of waiting for more migrants.

One of the cats gives birth to a kitten, increasing the number of cats to 3. As any Dwarf Overseer will tell you, cats can multiply exponentially when left to procreate freely, affectionately known as a “Catsplosion”. I, however, have not the heart to kill spare cats and kittens so we shall have to hope the numbers don’t grow out of control.

This reminds me, we have two war dogs growing fat in the Meeting Hall doing very little. So, one is chained just inside the entrance to the fort. Hopefully it will keep away any stealthy invaders that might seek to enter the fortress.

Speaking of entering the fortress, joyous news!



Six dwarves are discovered venturing through the wilderness above and are quickly led indoors. Lucky for us one of the Dwarves, Tobul, is a novice armour smith, so he shall be designated our metal smith for the time being. Another is a mere novice miller, he shall become our furnace operator. Two others have no discernible economic talents, but are novice armour and shield users, so they shall be drafted into the army. This brings us up to 21 Dwarves, 6 of which are children.

The metal smith and furnace worker immediately construct their workshops. To work metal the Metal Smith requires fuel, which the Furnace Operator creates. Sadly we have not, so far, found any bituminous coal or lignite to process into fuel, so we shall have to burn wood to create charcoal. This is a bit more awkward. We shall need to order an increase in our woodstocks.
One of the Dwarves approaches and informs Endok of some troubling news.

This is a strange tendency of Dwarves. Oftentimes they will get ideas for a grand artifact and pursue an all-consuming desire to create it. This can be very good for the fortress, however, it can also be disastrous; if they cannot fulfil this desire they will go insane.

We shall have to hope we have the materials Tobul desires to make his artifact out of. He claims a metalsmith workshop… this is awkward because we’ve only just made it and have yet to get any materials necessary for metalworking made. If Tobul manages to succeed in his task, we will have gained an extremely skilled metalworker. He sketches pictures of “shining bars”, indicating that he wants metal bars to work with.

Spoiler:

GET THE DWARF WHAT HE NEEDS LADS!

Sadly some discrepancies with labours means the Dwarves argue for some time over just whose job it is to build the wood furnace. The mason doesn’t think it’s his job because he isn’t assigned the wood burning or furnace operating and the furnace operator doesn’t think it’s his job because masonry isn’t HIS job. Dwarves can be very obstinate sometimes.

After the initial confusion EVENTUALLY the wood burner is constructed. Immediately some charcoal begins to be produced, but now we need a smelter to be built. This time no-one seems willing to shift a bit of rock that’s blocking the build site. When time is of the essence Dwarves seem to like procrastination. The rock is moved into the hall after some arguing. The female war dog chained up at the entrance to the fortress gives birth in the meantime.

With some fuel readied and the smelter finally constructed Unib Libashathel, the furnace operator, begins to smelt some limonite into iron. Tobul sits muttering in the Metalsmith’s forge, seemingly oblivious to all the drama. But, as soon as the first of the iron bars cools, he immediately springs to his feet and snatches them. Several of the Dwarves peer over his shoulder and it soon becomes clear:


Endok shoos people away though, it will take some time to create the artefact and Tobul needs his space.

Around a dozen bedrooms are now completed, but some doors are still needed for the other rooms. Some time passes but eventually a Dwarf arrives, announcing in a reverential tone that the new artefact is completed.



Gakizaran Risen Edol, roughly translated as “Boardsculpt the Coal of Weathering”, is a gauntlet designed to fit the right hand. On it is a picture of itself. Tobul emerges from the Metalsmith’s forge looking thoroughly pleased with himself. By crafting this artefact he has risen to the rank of “Legendary Armour Smith”. This is the highest rank of skill a dwarf may attain in a task, we are extremely fortunate to have such a skilled blacksmith at such an early stage in the fortresses’ life. With such a plentiful supply of iron we can begin to create a large stock of high-quality armour. As militia captain Unib is given Gakizaran to wear as a symbol of the fortresses’ might.

Our male cat takes a liking to one of the new migrants, Kol Mosusuzol who proceeds to name the chocolate coloured, gigantic and muscular beast Tholtig. Shortly afterwards the other cat takes a liking to Kol as well! He names the cat, who is “very fat and enormous overall”, Unib.

Meanwhile a merchant caravan from the Mountainhome arrives. However, not expecting any trade caravans in so hostile a world, the Dwarves have not yet created a trade depot. One is quickly put together and the caravans unload their goods.

The outpost liaison meets with Endok.


We have little in the way of goods to trade, sadly, so negotiations will be short. The liaison explains that he trades with the various budding fortresses in the new world and asks what goods we’d be interested in buying for next time they arrive (in a year’s time). We have no particular needs, however it’d be nice to get some egg production rolling so we ask that they bring some live poultry that we might farm. In return the liaison informs her that they will pay extra for backpacks, anvils, sceptres, meat, windows, musical instruments, footwear, prepared meals, toys and amulets, as these goods are in short supply at the Mountainhome.

As the caravan leaves the liaison calls, “Farewell Endok Muthkatinen, I look forward to our meeting next year. Our fortunes rise and fall together.”

As Endok sees the caravan off she rubs her hands; a chill is in the air.

Winter is upon us.

1st Moonstone, 6, Early Winter

The caravan leaves and as the new month begins Erush the carpenter creates a Masterwork Bed, she is improving! We also now have personal bedrooms for everyone, including the children. Our miners have been idle for a while now and although it isn’t a pressing matter I hate to see them idle. So, after expanding the stockpile and workshop areas a bit, it is time to create a designated mine. So, the Dwarves designate an area off the central shaft to dig down far into the earth.

We also build a crushing device so that we might pulverise any excess refuse. It is constructed by creating a large stone platform that can be raised and lowered (much like a drawbridge!) but is apparently far more powerful and will pulverise anything beneath it into dust. This is good for disposing of any huge build-up of dead bodies etc. As Atir finishes the “drawbridge” we are informed it is a masterwork drawbridge. At least it’ll look impressive as it grinds rubbish to dust. Also worthy of note is that Doren the Stone Detailer has finished smoothing out the Great Hall, which now looks rather more impressive than it used to, though it still requires more furniture. When his stone detailing skill is better we shall have him engrave the smooth stone with images to further the quality of the Grand Hall. For the meantime we’ll have him improve the fortress entrance and then any other stone rooms.

Spoiler:

On the subject of refuse, we need to designate an area to place refuse whilst it waits to be pulverised. The refuse will be kept in this stockpile until it is full, then it shall be hauled into the pulverisation room. This place should ideally be outdoors, otherwise it will generate a large cloud of contained miasma, which will disgust any Dwarves who go near it.

This situation is not ideal, as the outside is perilous. However, there is little else for it without huge micromanagement. So, the Dwarves begin to sheer away the slopes of one section of a hill to the north side of the fortress. We shall create a shelf on the hillside that will be unreachable from outside the fortress where we can safely store our rubbish. Given that the north is plagued with zombie yaks, however, this shall be a perilous task for the miners. Hopefully they go unnoticed.

Spoiler:

Progress is well underway and the chill of winter begins to abate.

Spring has arrived.

***************************************************************************
A horn blew in the deep, signalling an end to the working day. Breathing a sigh of relief, Etur clapped his friend Mestthos on the shoulder, grinning. They’d made it. Not just through the day, but through an entire year. None of them had expected to survive the first week after setting out from the Mountainhome, let alone month or year. This was not simply a triumph of Dwarven perseverance; it was a confirmation of what they thought they’d learnt six years ago. They had survived the end times! There had been doubt amongst all of them about what exactly they had survived to see, the horrors which were unleashed in the re-birthing made many wish they’d died with the rest of their race. But now the reality struck home, Dwarves could survive in this new world. They could thrive!

Etur and Mestthos descending through their new home, into the torch lit Grand Hall. True, it was largely empty and unfurnished, but there would be time to remedy that later. Gathered around the table sat the rest of the Dwarves, pounding the table raucously, the children playing underneath. The turn of the year was normally celebrated with a festival, but this year was especially significant. Upon entering the hall a huge cheer rose from the table, the miners being well-liked. Even Atir managed a smile, despite his grudge with Etur. As they sat Ral entered from the kitchen, smiling shyly and bearing a tray heavily laden with freshly brewed Plump Helmet Ale. With glee every dwarf man, woman and child took a large flagon.

Before anyone could take a sip, Endok raised her drink before the entire fortress, who dutifully went silent.
“Lads an lasses, I speak now not as yer leader but as yer dear, dear friend. It’s been a year since we first arrived tae Limuloslan, a year since we made th’ dread march through the lands above. Truly we’ve been favoured by our ancestors an’ gods, tae stay hidden from th’ dread beasts and found our thriving new home. It’s been a long road an’ not everyone has made it here.”
Several of the newer arrivals exchanged glances, tears in their eyes as they remembered the comrades which fell on the journey. Endok continued, welling passionate tears of her own.
“An I knoo they’d be proud of all of ye sittin’ here today, along wi’ all our kin who’ve fallen, not only in th’ last few years but in th’ history of dwarfkind. Make nae mistake, they’re lookin’ up from th’ heavens an’ they’re joining us as we drink tonight. In this new world we are buildin’ new Mountainhomes, we are th’ first of our kind and our children will sing in th’ deeps of all that was lost. An’ I’d just like tae say ah’m glad ah’m here tae do it all with ye, mah dear friends. Join me now in celebratin’ this new year, this new fortress an’ this new world! Fer kith an’ kin! Fer hearth an’ home an’ fer the king under the mountain! Huzzah!”

Each Dwarf stood at this, adding their voice to the chorus. For the first time ever in the new world of Roth Lum, the hills echoed with the sound and mirth of Dwarves, shouting their defiance at a world of despair and misery.
“FOR KITH AND KIN.”
“FOR HEARTH AND HOME.”
“FOR THE KING UNDER THE MOUNTAIN.”
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1st Granite, 7, early spring

The year starts with a bit of incompetence. Mestthos, whilst smoothing out the refuse shelf, climbed atop a block of dirt and tried to remove it whilst standing on top of it. Naturally this causes him to fall on his arse and results in the bruising of his right hand and left upper arm. These injuries aren’t severe enough to make us worry about medical attention, let it simply serve as a reminder to lay off the stronger ales during manual labour. Our female cat gives birth to another kitten. Cat count: 4. Meanwhile the first of the silver bars are being produced from Galena ore in the smelter, up until now the furnace operator has been producing charcoal using wood, however now that a large stock of charcoal has been collected (we’re not sure how much, we really could do with a bookkeeper to take inventory of our stock) he uses the charcoal to smelt bars from ores. This silver ore is quickly used to create several Silver Warhammers. Silver is perhaps the best metal to craft warhammers with, as it is exceedingly heavy and thus great for bludgeoning,

Whilst further working on the refuse shelf Mestthos is surprised by a shuffling in the red sand. He looks closer, narrowing his bushy eyebrows. He quickly regrets his curiosity. Out bursts a moaning “Hoary Marmot Zombie”, terrifying the miner and causing him to flee in terror. In his panic he runs straight past the open, welcoming fortress entrance and into the infested hills. Some would say this was a poor decision. Regardless, the military is quickly mobilized to the scene, stopping mid-training to rush out the back entrance. Although only several of them have equipment, I’m hoping these glorified guinea pig corpses will prove little issue.

Spoiler:

As expected, the combat is over quickly. With two strikes of the hammer dwarf Amost’s newly acquired silver war hammer the first marmot zombie is slain. Another shambles towards Amost and is quickly crushed in the same way, succeeding only in bruising the dwarf in the left lower arm. Crisis averted it would seem, though it could have been much worse; if it had been one of the large yak zombies we may not have succeeded. The miners work with renewed vigour to seal off an approaches onto the shelf.

Kol Mosusuzol adopts ANOTHER cat, one of the kittens this time. He now owns three cats out of four of the Fortresses’ felines. For what fell purpose he is hoarding these creatures remains unknown for the time being.

Finally the refuse shelf is completely sealed off, there is no way for any ground-dwelling creature to enter this area from any other direction than within the fortress. Unless any flying creatures arrive. We shall place several doors in the path into the mountain so that we can lock it in any potential emergencies. A refuse stockpile is immediately designated and a large supply of rodent remains are carted out of the fortress; at least the cats are doing their jobs, looking fluffy and eating pests.

It would appear the relative prosperity and success of Limuloslan has travelled back with the merchant caravan that arrived last year. A large party of 19 migrants arrives from the north! Fantastic news, though it means we’ll have to hurry up furnishing the extra bedrooms.
Looking through the migrant’s skills immediately several useful Dwarves are visible. One is a talented metalsmith, which is good because although Tobul, our prodigy armour smith, can work wonders crafting armour he is useless at all other metal working. Another is an adequate blacksmith, which crafts slightly different goods to the metal smith. So, we now have three Dwarves that can create their respective goods effectively. Another dwarf is a talented furnace operator, this means our existing furnace operator can specialise in wood burning (refining coal), which he is better at anyway. Our metal industry, which thus far has been rather sluggish and produced only several warhammers, is now much more streamlined. Division of labour HO!

Other notable migrants include:

• High Master Cook, he will be useful later
• Another novice farmer (we’ll need more food)
• High Master Soap Maker… of course I am joking. I’ve never actually troubled myself with setting up soap production. It makes the Dwarves happier and can help prevent infections in hospital, however it requires our wood burners to burn our valuable wood to make ash when they could be making coal. It also requires Tallow, which can only be made when you have a supply of meat. Which we currently lack. Still, it is something to consider in the future.
• Two are proficient wrestlers, armour users, dodgers and fighters. They will go straight into the army!
• One of the migrants brought a tame pet Goose with them, hopefully we can get some eggs from it.
• A High Master Presser, although he is essentially useless. He will become our bookkeeper because he’s as qualified as anyone i.e. has no idea how to do his job. He will take stock of all the goods the fortress owns and display it on the status page, telling us approximately how many of each good we own.

So, with these jobs all designated it’s time to get down to business. The new bookkeeper is given a pre-prepared office and left with the mammoth task of taking inventory to a high-precision. Some nest boxes are quickly knocked together and placed in a new room just off the food-stockpile area. Our goose quickly lays several eggs! How fortuitous.

Spoiler:

We’ll order our stone detailer to smooth out the bookkeeper’s new dwellings. He’s probably feeling a bit dejected at being given such a demanding task. Oh well, at least he’s got plenty of booze. Speaking of which, I order a large supply of brew made. Sadly the level of migrants is not yet at a level where I can justify assigning a full-time brewer and so need to manually assign Ral to this task every so often when stocks get a bit low.

Several dwarves approach bearing great news. Amost Avuznefek, currently serving in the military, has given birth to the Fortresses’ first baby! A victory for dwarf-kind indeed. It would appear she was pregnant as she bludgeoned those zombies to death. Interesting.



A few minutes later a party is organised, perhaps in honour of this event. One of the first babies born in the new world! But for some it’s all work and no play as several production orders are issued for 5 iron breastplates and the furnace operators are commanded to smelt ores and create coal indefinitely. We also order a large section of the forest cut down. At least there are no elves in this new world! (As far as the dwarves know that is.)

Amost grows attached to her silver warhammer, which is good as it’ll mean she hopefully grows more proficient with it! In celebration there are around 8 Dingos which have turned up in the grove, the Dwarves order the military to enter combat with these creatures to increase their skills. It should be relatively risk free.

Several of the Dingos are quickly dispatched. However, whilst hunting down the rest a groaning is heard from behind. It appears several of the killed beasts have returned as the undead! That’s troubling news. Perhaps if anything dies it’ll return? If our soldiers die, will they return as zombies?
As the last of the Dingo zombies are dispatched the Dwarves head home. However, suddenly a Yak Bull corpse emerges from nowhere and knocks down one of the hammer dwarves and begins to kick him repeatedly. Damn! The rest of the Dwarves rush to help. But, alas, they are too far away. The dwarf Stodir Ethurmuthkat is surrounded by several of the bulls, their incredible muscles powerful in excess even in death. He is gored to death after several minutes, his body broken and shattered. Cursing, the dwarves are ordered to stay back. We don’t yet have the equipment or numbers to take on such a formable foe and charging in now will result in pointless casualties, if not the death of all our soldiers. The dwarves are ordered indoors and the gates locked. There shall be time for vengeance later. The zombie that landed the killing blow is named Isanmangrod and his image remembered so that it can be singled out in future for retribution. The dwarves do not forget.

As the Dwarves go about their business the battle horn sounds once more and the military are assembled. A lookout on the shelf informs them he has seen something impossible, Elves, approaching. The dwarves don’t know what to think, they are supposed to be dead. Heading up to the shelf, they watch as two Elves leading several pack animal approaches. Apparently they are merchants. Rather amusingly, however, the Elves are instantly set upon by dingo zombies and seemingly having no guards they are chased around the wilderness by the undead. Any other race would have felt obliged to help, but the dwarves simply laugh. One of the merchants gets to trade depot and immediately begins unloading her goods, but the dwarves are not inclined to go out and trade just yet; the yak zombies are still lurking. Not to mention they can watch the second merchant desperately running in circles to the north. It would be fortunate indeed if the merchant’s pack animal dies, they will have no way to take them home and so we can simply claim all the goods for ourselves.

Spoiler:

Yet, incredibly, the dingo is slain by the horse, who kicks it and crushes it’s fragile body! Damn. However, the show isn’t over yet. Heading towards the fortress looking very ragged the merchant happens upon one of the zombie yaks which makes short work of the poor packhorse. Excellent, we shall enjoy those trade goods later. The Elf, no longer leading the heavily laden animal, now sprints off as fast as he can, the yak trailing behind. The second Elf hears her friend’s anguished cries and quickly packs up her animal and makes a break for it. Heading east, away from her friend, it seems she is leaving him for dead. Typical elf. The dwarves cheer, though they shan’t be getting any answers as to the elves’ presence, they have seen their ancient enemy humbled and have gained a large supply of goods, if they can but reach it safely. Below is a list of our acquired goods.

Spoiler:

The metalworkers go into overdrive to try and equip the military for battle. The heat in the forge is stifling, more so than usual.

Summer has arrived.

1st Hematite, 7, Early Summer

There is some minor confusion. Having ordered 5 iron leggings created I check back to see how progress is going several moments later. The orders are gone! I check the worker’s log for cancellation announcements but see none. I queue up another legging and keep close eye on what’s going on. It would appear Tobul, our legendary armour smith, is simply creating them so fast that he created 5 iron leggings in about 10 seconds. He is a boon indeed. More armour pieces are ordered. Five helmets are created in several hours (mere game moments), two of which are “masterpieces”.

We order highboots made, but as Tobul begins a dwarf pokes the overseer on the arm. The mason, Atir Lolokgebar, one of our original 7, withdraws from society. It would appear another strange mood is upon us. Hopefully we have the materials he needs. He locks himself in his mason’s workshop and begins drawing grand sketches of “stacked cloth” and “skeletons”. He has already procured some rock. This is awkward. We have neither bones nor cloth, though bones can easily be obtained. This reminds me to designate a bone depot and forbid bones from the main refuse pile. Bones are a common request during strange moods and it’s handy to have some around. We go to the book-keeper who informs us we do indeed have two sections of cloth! Perhaps he only needs bones.

One of our buffalos is ordered to be slaughtered. They shall provide the bones we need. We might even make some soap from the tallow! When the bones are delivered he takes one, however, it would appear he does not have the specific type of cloth he desires as he will not accept what cloth we do have. Oh dear. We shall have to hope the merchants arrive before Atir goes insane. He waits impatiently in his workshop.

I order some easy meals made by our high-master cook in residence, who quickly churns out some “masterwork” biscuits. It’ll be a change from eating raw plump helmets, at least. Eight more migrants arrive from the Mountainhome, though most have no real talent, except for one accomplished weapon smith. They are assigned rooms and told to help out with any chores that need doing, except for the weapon smith who is now our designated weapon manufacturer, not that we need any at the moment.

Spoiler:

Outside the number of yak zombies has increased to seven, though they all remain to the north. It will be tricky to take them out. Numerable iron gauntlets are ordered produced, which Tobul begins to dispatch with godly speed. All that remains after the guantlets are shields and our current military will have a full iron armour set with silver warhammers.

I am alerted to fighting in the fortress. Somehow a yakbull zombie has made it onto the shelf and has entered through the secret entrance. The military is alerted by the screams and makes haste to the scene. The soldiers arrive to the narrow exit and behold a scene. The corridor is splattered in flesh and gore and the remains of a dwarf lay on the floor. It is identified as one Rith Tulonishlum, a recent unskilled migrant. Bellowing with rage the soldiers first on the scene, Amost (carrying her newborn baby, oddly enough) and Unib, charge straight at the lumbering zombie.

Spoiler:

The battle is over quickly. Amost reaches the zombie first and strikes it with her warhammer. But, sadly, it is not enough to halt the charge of the zombie. It rears and kicks Amost in the face “with his left front hoof, bruising the muscle, jamming the skull through the brain and tearing apart the brain.” Amost Avuznefek, Hammerdwarf has been struck down. Her child falls to the ground, unnoticed by the zombie. Roaring with anguish, Unib begins to strike the yakbull repeatedly with her bronze war hammer. The yak bull zombie gores the militia captain with his left horn, bruising the fat through her leather leggings (Unib has yet to be equipped with metal armour and is still wearing leather, an oversight on my part). However, this is all the zombie manages as Unib strikes it repeatedly, shattering the creatures bones until it is a useless heap of wreckage.

Spoiler:

With a cry of grief Unib jumps past the corpse and falls to her knees, cradling Amost’s dead body. The two dwarves had been close friends and the sudden, grisly manner of her death has struck Unib hard. Despite her satisfaction in taking revenge she goes into a deep depression.

Unib loses control for a minute or two, thrashing and writhing in anger. Unib Emetstakud, militia captain is throwing a tantrum!

Luckily she calms down quickly before harming herself or another Dwarf. It might be a good time for the military to take a break from training, they’ve been on active duty for almost a year now and it’s having a negative impact on their moods, especially Unib. They are exempted from training for a while.

This is a mistake. The miltary dwarves head downstairs for a well-deserved break as some other Dwarves start to clean up. We will need to designate a tomb area to lay the dead dwarves’ bodies to rest. However, as someone bends over to retrieve Amost’s body it begins to stir. With terror,a dwarf named Shem Nishkadol recoils. She has risen! With a groan the zombie sprints at Shem, who screams out in terror. The military is immediately called to the scene once more, though they have just been told to disperse. The corpse relentlessly pursues Shem onto the shelf and they begin a bizzare chase around in circles. Several inexperienced soldiers arrive on the scene and join in this pursuit, our most qualified soldier, Unib, is nowhere to be seen. It appears she is too busy drowing her sorrows in a plump helmet ale and who can blame her?

Spoiler:

Sadly for poor Amost she is quickly dispatched again. Her risen corpse is smashed to pieces by the soldiers, their heavy silver war hammers crushing the zombie until it can no longer operate. Not only did the yak zombie kill her, but forced her to turn against her fellow dwarves and leaving her body so mutilated there is little left to bury.

But there is no rest for the wicked, seconds after putting down Amost’s corpse there are more screams from below. Atir is sitting at his workshop desk, still sketching the materials he needs for his grand design when, all of a sudden, inspiration leaves him. Shocked, he looks down at his sketches which moments before he knew, had the creation been successful, would have been legendary among Dwarves. This would have been the turning point in his life that would sat him foremost at the table of great dwarves. But now, it was all gone. With a roar of despair and rage he flipped his desk into the air, but it was not enough. His mind snaps, leaving him totally insane and he immediately goes beserk. Those incompetent bastards couldn’t even bring him some silk! He spies the nearest dwarf and immediately starts punching him, murder in his mind. He will kill them all. He will kill everything.

The dwarves know the signs, there is no saving poor Atir’s shattered mind. He must be down. Poor Unib, who was drowning her sorrows, is closest and goes to see what the screams are about. Seeing the insane Atir attempting the murder another dwarf, this seems as good a target as any to take out her frustration. Atir spots Unib and immediately punches her, bruising her guts. She still isn’t wearing her iron armour. However, he still stands no chance against the experience and equipment of the militia captain. Unib strikes the Mason in the chest, bruising his heart, then swings the hammer back around and shatters the bone in her left lower leg. The Mason falls over. Unib begins to strike Atir, who lay helplessly on the ground. There is no mercy. They travelled to their new home together and had known each other for many years, but Unib knows Atir is no longer her old friend. His mind has snapped and there is nothing left but a mad wreck, who snarls and drools even as his old friend stands above him, hammer at the ready. There is nothing for it. The bronze war hammer comes down again and again, breaking the mad dwarf’s body. Eventually, Unib completely crushes the Mason’s head leaving it a messy pulp. Atir Lolokgebar, Mason, one of the original seven has been struck down.

Today has been a disaster. Three dwarves dead, one a skilled mason and the other a promising soldier. Could it have gone better? Well, for a start the dwarves have no idea how the yak zombie got onto the inaccessible shelf, there appears to be no way up. We shall have to investigate this. However, sadly Atir could likely not have been saved. There was no way for us to obtain silk in the time scale he needed. These deaths were likely unavoidable. Fortunately, however, these deaths do not impede the fortresses progress. We have an equally talented mason who arrived among the immigrants and, though Amost was one of the better soldiers she still was not very skilled. Let us hope there are no more disasters. Work is solemnly started on a tomb where we can bury the corpses that have collected and the carpenter is set to producing caskets.

Our head cook, Cerol Vaboksolon, decides that there is still good eating on the zombie yak and drags it very slowly it to the kitchen for butchering. It appears Dwarves aren’t fussy. However, as this happens Atir’s body rises from the dead. I can see a theme developing. It arises and the military instantly jump upon it, forewarned that this might occur given Amost’s resurrection. The zombie manages to do a lot of damage to one of the military dwarves before being destroyed, enough that he shall requite medical treatment. This is particularly annoying because we have very few medical supplies. Damn. A space is dug out in the main district for this purpose, south of the Grand Hall and beneath the office areas.

The stress of recent events has gotten to Unib, who continues to tantrum intermittently, though luckily refrains from hurting anyone. Meanwhile, up above, flocks of zombie Keas fill the sky. In fact the zombie population seems to have exploded, perhaps attracted to the blood shed the hills of Limuloslan has seen recently. The doors are locked lest any civilians be set upon. Meanwhile the tombs are completed and several caskets dragged down. The bodies of our fallen civilians, smashed and broken, are scooped into the caskets to rest. They have joined their ancestors in the halls of paradise.

Spoiler:

The tomb will be built much like the bedrooms; when one section (picture above) is filled the Dwarves will dig down a level and repeat the structure, creating a hive-like structure beneath the earth.

Looking across the fortress I notice something strange. The barracks, which is supposed to be evacuated, has an occupant. It is Atir! We interned him downstairs! I go to investigate. He is gone! The corpses are leaving their caskets and heading into the fortress! I order the foul beast, which is currently standing around aimlessly in the barracks, destroyed. However, the first soldier which turns up is quickly overwhelmed! The zombie savages the poor soul, scratching and striking at him with inhuman strength, breaking bones and ripping flesh even under iron armour. The dwarf lies down dead and the zombie moves onto another dwarf. It seems chases one upstairs, to the entrance hall of the Fortress. It is put down by one of the military dwarves. However, there is still another to dispatch. It stands idly outside of its casket, blank eyes staring into space. The army (now a mere three Dwarves) is ordered to assemble outside of the tomb, which now appears to be completely useless. There can be no use for a tomb as long as bodies continue to rise from the dead. We shall dispose of bodies a different way.

However, before the soldiers assemble Erush, our carpenter, heads down there himself! For what insane reason I cannot fathom, he saunters in and is quickly assaulted by the zombie. It makes short work of him, the military does not arrive in time and Erush is slain as the zombie strikes him in the head, jamming a fragment of skull into his brain with the force of the blow. The zombie is struck down in short order afterwards. Quickly the dwarves designate all dead bodies to be placed in the crusher room. There is no time to contemplate the ethics of such an action; if we do not stop this cycle now the fortress will be lost.
En-route to the crusher Atir’s corpse rises AGAIN. It is little more than a mangled skeleton with scraps of flesh hanging off it. It’s terrifying visage strikes the dwarves with fear and coupled with the fact it has now slain several dwarves is given a name. The zombie, and whatever fell spirit now inhabits poor Atir’s body, is named “Omathser”. Upstairs another zombie is risen and assaults the wardog chained at the entrance. It kills it and chases another fleeing dwarf. The dog then rises from the dead.

This is quickly spiralling out of control. The original seven, now the original five, are all drafted into a militia along with Tobul, our legendary armourer. They will, hopefully, have time to equip the armour and weapons that are available. All becomes chaos and a lot of the corpses are put down. However, it all becomes too much for Unib who was unbalanced from the start. She goes out of control and begins to strike nearby Dwarves, unable to tell who is friend and who is foe. Eventually she succumbs to a rampaging zombie.  The remaining corpses are slain in the confusion, although this means little. More rise.

Autumn has come.

1st Limestone, 6, Early Autumn

All is madness. The fortress writhes as the dead slay, are slain and then rise again. Those that are slain rise in turn and begin to kill more. The military cuts down swathes of the dead, but it is no good. The dead are too many and are nigh invulnerable.

Spoiler:

It is no good. There is no hope left. It as if Armok has become incarnate in this land. I know enough to realise there is no hope left for Limuloslan, the High Hammers have failed. The military are ordered to break away from the fight and head to the surface. However, the narrow corridors confine the Dwarves and trap them behind a wall of undead. In the madness the last of the original seven are slain. Tobul breaks away from the confusion and heads downstairs, finding his room he locks the door. Other Dwarves follow and each one locks themselves in their room, locking the slaughter outside and entombing themselves within the earth.

Upstairs the slaughter continues. Not even the cats, kittens, dogs or puppies are safe as every moving thing is savaged to death.

Spoiler:

Those sheltering in the hall flee to the food stockpile as the dead pour in through the door. However, there is no salvation here.

Spoiler:

From the Great Hall to the right pour in a multitude of zombie dwarves and several zombie dogs. From the right more zombie dwarves approach. The dwarf Zefon Aludasob and two children in his care can only watch as the dead swarm into the stockpile.

In one last desperate attempt to save some Dwarves I designate an area on the surface for every remaining Dwarf to flee too. That’s 12 remaining Dwarves, three of whom are children. Most have been locked in their bedrooms for safety, however I order them unlocked so they can chance running for freedom. However, most of them are bleeding and have broken bones so I am not optimistic.

Spoiler:

Poor Tobul and another dwarf called Id, however, are far too injured to get out of bed. I order their doors locked so that their deaths can be peaceful, at least. The dwarves run as fast as they can towards the exit. Luckily the coast is clear in the Public District, although behind them in the great hall a dwarven child is being savaged by 4 zombies. Nobody tries to save him.

Spoiler:

However, just up the stairwell are five zombies which immediately swarm down as the first dwarf goes through. The zombies in the great hall hear the commotion and charge out. The escaping dwarves are surrounded. They stand no chance. They are killed in a frenzy of blood and gore.

The fortress goes silent. All that remain are the two dwarves locked downstairs, too injured to get out of bed and without food or water and bleeding profusely. They face a long, painful death.



But wait, there is another! Looking at the civilian roster I see one other survivor, one Tekkud Kollistat, a Dwarven Child!

Spoiler:

Somehow he made it to the surface rally point, unnoticed by the undead! It would seem fate has a cruel sense of humour. Tekkud is none other than the son of Amost, whose death triggered the chain reaction which killed everyone.

Spoiler:

He has lost everyone he knows, his mother, his father, his siblings, his friends. He is three years old, born to this world. He is the last survivor of Limuloslan. He is too young to swear vengeance and probably too young to survive the journey back to the Mountainhome.

There is a pastured horse nearby. Climbing atop the animal, the child gazes back at the fortress entrance. No. It is no longer a fortress. It is a tomb.

There is nothing left here.

ABANDON THE FORTRESS.

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Tekkud Kollisat gazes with emotionless eyes back towards Limuloslan’s entrance. In the past it had been a portal through which Dwarves travelled to reach safety. Now it was a doorway to a nightmarish realm of decay and carrion. The Dwarf spots one of the fortresses pack animals, a horse, whinnying nearby. No doubt alarmed by the sounds of slaughter which had abruptly stopped several minutes past. The Dwarf Child reaches down and tears a clump of grass from the earth, offering it in an open palm for the animal. The horse takes the offering and kneels down, as it has been trained, to allow the young child to climb atop it’s back.Both Dwarf and Beast are keen to leave and waste no time cantering off into the distance, leaving the tangy smell of blood far behind them. The horse knows the way home.

And so ends the tale of Goldenwind. Less than a year past it was the pride of the Mountainhome, the Dwarves believed it signalled a new era of colonisation and prosperity. The hills had rung with the sound of merriment and all had seemed bright. From the Dwarves came masterworks wrought of metal and stone. The great Tobul Kololon, whose name will be remembered in the halls of legend, forged a legendary gauntlet named Gakizaran Risen Edol. It’s loss will be a mighty blow when the Mountainhome comes to learn of the Fortresses’ fall. The King Under The Mountain will send brave adventurers to enter the dungeon of Limuloslan to retrieve this great treasure and many will die in the attempt, bolstering the ranks of undead wandering the deep darkness under the hills.

However, though Goldenwind has fallen many brave Dwarves will not be put off. There is a world out there ripe for the taking and there are many areas where the dead do not rise from the grave. The Dwarves do not give up easily, their race is compelled to gather wealth and the earth beneath the Mountainhome has yielded all its minerals. Sooner or later, a new set of colonists will set forth from the Grand Gates of Morul Lerom and another tale will begin. There shall be no hesitation. The Dwarves will find a new land and, make no mistake, they will…

STRIKE THE EARTH.

Well, that went very wrong very fast.

Despite a very good start the Fortress went the way of FUN very quickly. This I believe was due to several factors:

1. My Inexperience of Reanimation Biomes
Yes! I had never actually played in a reanimation biome before and so did not know that a single dead dwarf (well, ok, two dead dwarves) would spiral so quickly out of control. I did believe that the Atom Smasher would solver the problem if I could get the corpses there quick enough, but by the time I'd tried the fortress was largely full of the undead and I was pretty sure the corpses I DID crush didnt actually get pulverised the way I thought they would have...
(UPDATE: I believe I had set the bridge to retract rather than raise, so it wasn't slamming down as intended. Oops.)

2. The Ascending Yak
Honestly to this day I have no idea how that Yak managed to get to what I thought was an inaccessible shelf. All slopes to it were removed and unless certain creatures can climb Z levels I'm not sure how it materialised up there.

3. The military.
Granted, I was expanding the military at the time of the first outbreak but it was still pretty small. 5 iron-clad Dwarves would normally be enough to survive any threats so early in the game but the reanimation factor meant that no matter how many they killed more arose. TOADY NERF PL0X.

Still, it was a very Dwarf Fortress ending to the tale. Hopefully future tales won't end quite so quickly.
If I was any good at or understood Adventure Mode I might have been tempted to try a "Grand Quest" to retrieve the Artifact Gauntlet that was left behind, but I have no idea if it would even still be there. Ah well. So ends the first Fortress, may the poor Dwarf's souls rest in piece.