Lovecrafted
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The Concerns of the DeepSpring of 677:
Report by Pho Ondelso
The chambers of Lovecrafted carry a dreadful union of desolation and awe. The halls harbor a strange beauty; the beauty of a hawk skillfully slaying the hare. Conglomerate layers rise in harsh, irregular formations, seeming to twist and contort into agonized visages that leer from the stone, as if the very earth itself were tortured. Is it a trick of the eye, or an articulation of the stone's warning? The halls - desolate, abandoned, forsaken - make not a sound except the faint droning of a distant hum. The surface, only visited by strange birds on occasion.
The marble layers below those conglomerate faces...their surfaces marred by impurities and shadow, seem to writhe with a sentient menace, as though an unspeakable entity slumbers just beneath the pale façade, yearning for release. We, the unfortunate investigators, felt an uncanny kinship with serpents entrapped within the suffocating embrace of bleached linens. We, in this doomed place, walked on. We jumped at every shadow.
As we navigated the rough-hewn pathways downward into the cavernous abyss, the very stairs heaved and swayed beneath our feet, an unholy rhythm in keeping with the faint, ominous echoes of creatures that lurked beyond the barricade of ancient timber and stone. Yet, it was upon the main level where the marble writhed in an abominable ballet, that we encountered the low, insistent hum—a disquieting susurration that seemed to entice us to delve ever deeper into the stygian depths.
One can scarcely fathom how the dwarves, subjected to the maddening whispers of this baleful sanctuary, managed to retain their sanity. Their very souls must have danced on the precipice of despair, forever haunted by the sinister call to unearth that which should remain undisturbed, buried within the bowels of Lovecrafted.
[report continues]
As we dug through to the caverns, maybe Ol' Rakust's words got under my skin more than I'm happy to let on. We boarded up and kept on moving - building a perfect tunnel through the caverns and deeper down into the stone.
Below this, we found a marble layer, which we decided is as good a place as any to call our home. Like I said - first up was the dorm.
And wouldn't you know it? It seems the stones are smiling on us today!
The grey-beards say you can see a fortress's future by staring into a polished cat's eye. Fooey, I say, toss it in the stockpile and maybe Kadol can carve it into something valuable later.
Speaking of which, the mountainhalls should be calling soon, best to get the Depot up now.
Gonna need a better place for that later - but we don't even have a workroom yet. I ask the miners to dig out a suitable space for both stockpiles and workshops.
Well...now what are we supposed to do with all that extra wobbly bit? The miners say the same thing happened up top - but if you ask me, they're just terrible at planning.
Just in time, too. I think some of these newcomers might take up the pickaxe...Atis and Logem aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, so to speak.
Well hang on a moment.
What an exotic name. Seems our friend here was raised among some of those freaks out there. Somewhere with a lot of trees, it seems. He seems like a normal guy, all told - in fact, I'm quite happy to have him. Maybe those
things out there aren't all bad, if Ugburroc is just a normal dwarf.
Along with Ugburroc came Dr. Zas. I'm not sure what sort of medical school she went to, because the first thing she did was fill a crossbow with scalpels and perform 'exploratory surgery' on a chinchilla. Never seen a dwarf happier. Glad she's on our side, I guess.
It looks like some of the migrants brought pets. Ah yes, a keet, a poult, and...what the hell is that?
I'm being told this thing is quite the ratter, so we'll keep it around - just uh...not too close to me.
Our population is growing nicely and it's reminding me of some of my duties. I'm not just here to keep everyone alive, I'm also supposed to keep them happy. Seeing that freak of an owl reminded me about something very important:
Praying. Hmm. Our dwarves should also set up a guildhall - for everyone to socialize and also share skills. This ought to do.
It's a bit tight down here, but we're making progress. Most of the things from the surface were dragged down to the marble layer. Food and drink are sorted out for now and everyone seems pretty happy overall.
I'm not that bad of an overseer, if I do say so myself.
You won't believe this - today when the caravan arrived, they seem to think so too!
Of course, in my excitement to hear the news, I forgot to give them an answer - so...I hope they offer it again. Besides, we don't even have bedrooms yet. You expect me to form a barony like that?
Excitement abounds here at Lovecrafted! Ol' Rakust should be ashamed of himself - trying to scare a youngin' like me. I only just turned 73.
I would say it was all good news, but there was something odd. This lot are all normal dwarves, but their coming marked the first time I heard it. The humming.
Tobul heard it too and it set her off weird.
Not all the dwarves hear it, at least not now. But there's a hum out there - a palpable hum. Almost like I got hit in the head in training - but it's not just me. And heck, if this is the results we get...
...then what's the harm!?
In fact, I think I want to get closer to it. It comes from the caverns - I can feel it in the walls. Of course! We'll build out bedrooms where the humming is strongest!
See? All straight lines, this time.
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OOC:
A bit disappointed /nothing/ wild happened. Just some interesting wildlife - but no raiders, no overpowered wild beasts, and no misplaced stairwells getting most of the fort killed. It's truly a shame. I don't think I even scared a dwarf.
That said, I can't express how good it feels to be back in 47.05. It was hard to imagine creatures as anything other than little blue beans - but now, without the graphics at all, the imagination takes hold.
The guildhall I set up is too small, but I recommend digging out a bigger one so that dwarves can get work satisfaction (during demonstrations) without needing to have tons of workshops and meaningless work. We've got no industries set up, just the basics plopped in the stockpile. I figured I'd leave some of the base-designing fun to others. Food is sorted and we have a few extra bedrooms - maybe enough to cover the next wave of migrants. There are two identical dormitories and the lever for the gate is right by the stairs.
Save is
HERE! dikbutdagrate! These earthly concerns rest upon your shoulders now.