☼Dwarves☼ - Year 4, Spring
Spring starts amazing, with almost every Dwarf miserable and complaining of foul water. Realizing this means we're out of booze, I wisely save us from the threat of shitty water and order the expansion of our glorious Dwarven plump helmet farms. Sadly we're running low on room and I don't wish to start on the huge hallway that the last overseer ordered prepared, so I have us make them between the main floor and the beds.
I also finally track down the lever and order a Dwarf to kick it before we're murdered by th monster rampaging outside. As I realize the mechanics are not doing it, I tell everybody that they're all honorary mechanics now, and that they can all play with levers.
Nobody goes for it though, and I watch in horror as the werewolf takes step after dreaded step in to the glorious confines of our fortress. I'm bracing for a massacre when...
He promptly transforms back into a Dwarf.
I quickly have him dragged off to his quarters to await his cure via starvation and then settle into the day to day monotony of trying to make this glorious example of the Dwarven spirit not crumble in on itself with the flick of the hand. In the meantime, several citizens go berserk and we lose several more in the ensuing battle. I also realize the water is so bad because some poor sod's head is sticking in it, and I have our watersource moved outside, as we can't use this one any longer.
Several of the more useless Dwarves are also drafted into the Corps of Miners and ordered to get at the farms, as our only miner is currently screaming about how much he hates his life in the halls.
As the fortress continues collapsing, I order the masons to begin creating statues en masse to hopefully appease the masses. As I walk through the halls, looking for good spots for statues, I pass an ominous door marked
'DO NOT ENTER' from which I hear nothing but screaming and roaring.
I could swear that was the werewolf den, and then I realize that his wife refused to not join him in his room. I quickly check the lock and then speed walk way.
We are down to 36 Dwarves, I'm at my wits end trying to keep the rest from dying, but as they battle in the halls they're making it fairly hard. Only three or so residents have told me their mood is positive. I'm not sure how accurate my survey was, cause the rest are screaming and beating each other, so I didn't have a chance to ask. Among the pile of corpses is our militia commander, and I really don't have anyone to replace him.
Some Leprechauns dance around on the other side of the river, suspiciously, but I ignore them.
As I'm observing the dancing wannabe-Dwarves, a Dwarf also runs up to me, complaining about the water again, which makes no sense as I ordered the drinks to be from the river. I go to check what's wrong when I realize we can't leave the damn fort! The bridge is gone!
Seriously what the HFS.
Regardless, things continue going well.
We now have 21 able bodied Dwarves, Qorthos is the only surviving member of the original expedition.
Some migrants do arrive, a whole lot, but I'm not sure if all 24(!) of them are enough to recover the fortress. I quickly assign them jobs and hope we can find a way to do so however, hopefully they can make us some nice statues. Drastic times call for drastic measures, and I basically ignore all of the migrants skills in favor of giving them jobs we need. We need to work harder, not smarter.
Qorthos, who had a broken neck and was left in the halls, soon dehydrates and dies. The original party is gone, and only 8 Dwarves are not members of the most recent migrant wave. At some point, as I'm dealing with six or so snatchers, a pack of Elves arrives at our door for me to pointedly ignore.
And before I know it, Spring is over.