1 Granite.

So here I am having just graduated with an advanced degree in dwarven beard growing, ready to lead a life of luxury and style as one of the few dwarves able to competently wear a bear longer than they are tall when the economy tanks and suddenly beard measuring competitions don't bring in the money that they used to. Well since I was broke I went and signed up for government service expecting to be able to work in the capital as some mindless grunt. Instead because of my degree I get bumped to the officer class(being an officer is a rip, too much work not enough gold and jewels) and assigned to lead an expedition to start some new colony.

WHAT!!! can you believe it? I am the guy that would be happy if I had never seen the sun in my life and I have to go traipsing overland in a WAGON!!! Well anyway I don't see anyway out of this so here I am. Hopefully we can get a pretty good place dug in so I can quickly revert to proper dwarven underground dwelling ways.

So Today we arrived and wow I have to say that I am actually fairly impressed with this place. We scouted around a bit and I can see visible veins of mangetite(one of the Iron ore) and coal. Sweet I can set up a pretty sweet little steel industry here.

There is also quite the amazing waterfall here. We have a little brook running through the area and it drops a massive ways and then for the remainder of the local area it has sheer walls for many hundreds of feet. Wow that is amazing.

Well we are digging down and making camp. It looks like we have a couple of fairly tip-top shape miners and a grower to start us growing some nice plump helmets to brew for some brew.

So I forgot to draw any maps before I got started but here we have the beginners of the fortress.



Well we have been making fairly good and smooth progress it is now the middle of summer and I figured I would add some more drawings to send back to the capital about our progress.

A couple of levels down we are doing some exploratory mining and ripping out huge amounts or magnetite and coal. I built a wood furnace to jump start the smelting process, since nobody thought to bring any fuel.(Gee who packed our bags?) I also have a smelter going full steam using coal to make coke. Once I get a good chunk going I want to starting making Iron and then Steel. You can never have enough steel. Especially if it is shaped into pointy objects.

So here is the 1st level(well 1st large level we drop a few levels at first so we can cut under the brook). It has grown quite a bit. We have a barracks, quite a few little workshops setup and a couple of big stockpiles. That reminds me I think I need to make a refuse pile outside.

I have also started on some nice bedrooms several layers down. Gotta keep away from those miners. Man they are noisy.

Here is what I think might become the main level of the fortress. We have a kitchen and a still as well as a pretty sweet little dining room. I think in the back there I pulled a chair up against a wall to make a little office for the recordkeeper/expedition leader.(ME) Originally that large room was going to be the dining room but it kept getting larger since the walls were made of magnetite. It still could be quite the room once we smooth those walls and floor out. It will be legendary.

We have picked up a couple of immigrants. One really sweet and talented engraver that is hard at work smoothing our walls. We also picked up a slick little brewer.Although I am having problems juggling everyone and keeping everyone active. I have never really been much of an admintstrator.(Competitive beard grower remember?). Anyway. I will check back in when the caravan comes and maybe when we hit winter as well.