First steps towards recovery

1 Granite 140, Continued

Like any good doctor, I know that triage requires dealing with the most pressing matters as quickly as possible, to prevent further damage.  Right now the front of the fortress is relatively secure, except for the possibility that fliers could come through the roof.  As none of their building-destroying trolls can fly, a simple locked door will suffice to protect that.  Thankfully, amid the thousands of items the masons have churned out, two doors can be found.  I would have torn the one off my own bedroom if necessary.



The breach into the caverns is worrisome.  While our entry point looks relatively secure, being at the end of a cul-de-sac, the large empty hole heading west into darkness (at the edge of the map) could belch forth forgotten beasts at any moment, within 50 steps of the stairs. That hole stretches upwards for 25 stories, precluding sealing it. On the other hand, the floor of that cavern has several dozen desperately needed trees.  I decide to venture into the cavern to harvest all the wood that is easily grabbed, and then seal the entrances for now.  I consider sending the military down to guard the lumberjacks, but decide against it. A forgotten beast at this point would probably doom us, military or not.

I order the miners to stop enlarging our exposure to the caverns. Closer inspection shows that several of the cavern breaches are dead ends, and do not need to be sealed, but the ones on levels 63-62 do indeed open into the cavern.  I order the masons to construct a wall on the upper entrance, and designate fungal trees to be chopped down. When that is done, I will seal the lower level as well.

With the miners released from their spelunking, I send them up towards the surface to search for precious coal. I briefly consider ordering all dwarven children to act naughtily, in the hope that Urist Claus would bring them all coal in their stockings for Uristmas, but my practical mind comes up with three solid reasons to reject the plan before I even fully formulated it.  (1. Urist Claus is a myth 2. Dwarven Children do not follow orders. 3. Uristmas is far away during next winter, and we need that coal NOW.)

Looking for coal near the river source, I see a screw pump pointed towards the overly large field.  The field built on loam.  Loam, a type of soil that does not need to be irrigated before being farmable.  I wonder why the water delivery is there, but then I remember that water is where fish live. With visions of a large stocked pond in my head, I simply shake my head and walk away.  The workshops may feel horribly arranged, but we simply cannot afford the time needed to fix them now.  (I have to admit, having multiple farmer's workshops, each set to repeat the various Process Plants, is a good idea to avoid having to micromanage the quarry bushes.)

Continuing to review the workshops, I see we have ten smelters sitting empty.  Those will be great, once we have any lignite to process, but currently we have none whatsoever. The metalsmith's workshop has been siezed by a possessed weaponsmith. Fortunately he seemed to have gotten everything he needed before I was given command... a pity he won't skill up from being possessed, but hopefully he will give us a powerful weapon. I see he has taken copper bars, hematite, cloth, leather and zircons; why oh why couldn't he have grabbed some steel? Oh right, it had all been used to make weapon trap blades.

The craftsdwarf workshop, currently set to do nothing but musical instruments, is cleared and set to make rock pots. I smile at the wealth of items we have available for trade, and wonder how many years it will take before we have a clear road for another caravan to arrive. Another, unused craftsdwarf workshop is found near five wood furnaces and an almost depleted wood stockpile.

The trade depot is packed with items awaiting hauling. Looking at what was traded for, I am slackjawed anew at the utter wastefulness of my predecessor.  Clay was purchased, when we have no kiln or fuel to fire it... in a trading depot BUILT ON CLAY? Kaolinite, when we have entire clusters of the stuff, awaiting merely a pick's caress to be freed? Galena, when we have veins and veins already mined? Above, four butcher shops and two tanneries sit, far far away from our food and leather stockpiles, surrounded by the festering refuse pile.   Our livestock wander the surface.  I do not know why the flying goblins are not already slaughtering them, but I am thankful they have survived so far. I wonder if the fortification built on the surface has shielded them from the goblins sight.

The fact that the goblins have not yet attacked cheers me greatly.  A plan starts to form: under the hills to the north, I will dig out a large area, to obtain any coal that may be there. Then, a long, narrow winding path will be channeled, the top of which will be covered with traps. Any foe that falls off the path while dodging will have to walk all the way back to the beginning, and face all the traps again (if they even survive the fall).  Cage traps will be built, to capture the flying mounts, and hopefully the goblins that were riding them. Any goblins that make it through all that will then dribble one at a time into the midst of the soldiers, who will be stationed at the end of the line.

A new lever-controlled bridge will be built, to allow a small number of foes in at a time, and a miner will be given the dangerous task of opening a portal to let the goblins into our abbatoir, then running back behind our defenses.

That miner will be Miranda.  I hope she can run quickly.