Strike the earth!

Rather than trundling way over to the cliff face, or go down the nearby hillface towards the river sources (both looked like they would be difficult to fully wall off), I elected to dig a channel down into the flat area next to the wagon.  From there, a short tunnel was dug, and an underground trading depot was built.  Then, a central staircase was dug down several levels. We have two soil levels, so I dug out some farms (and set up a nearby farmer's workshop) in the loam just below the entrance level.  While the diggers dug, a wood stockpile was marked, and the woodcutter was issued a war dog and ordered to start murdering those evil, evil trees (get them before they get you!).  The farms were finished early on, so the two farmers made plots and got plump helmets into the ground as soon as possible.



A level with workshops was started (carpenter, mechanic, craftsdwarf and mason).  Then, going down several levels, Marble was struck. A food area was set up in the marble (kitchen, still, butcher's shop, tannery, food storage and dining room/meeting area), followed by small bedrooms and an office.  Smelters and workshops for the metal industry were postponed, to get basic living needs up and running first, but I did get our stonecrafter started on getting some stacks of Fullpacked the Cavernous Pants of Power Commemorative Mugs made, to pay for supplies when the caravan eventually arrives.

Once the workshops were built, I turned out a bunch of furniture (doors, tables and chairs for the bookkeeper's office and dining hall, beds, cabinets and coffers for the bedrooms) as well as a bunch of barrels (wooden and rock pots) and wooden bins.  A dump for the rocks was set up in the center of the stairs next to the workshop, and once cleared stockpile space was available, the wagon was broken down and everything was moved inside.

Once the mechanic's office was built, a bridge in the entrance tunnel was constructed, and a lever in the dining room to seal off the entrance in case of emergency was made.  Three cage traps were also made behind the bridge to handle potential incursions.  One of the two war dogs was placed in a 1-space pasture in the entrance hall, to stop thieves from coming in.

By the time Spring was over, the fortress had some functioning workshops, plenty of wood, food and booze starting to come in, bedrooms, and even a thin bit of defense.  I think I managed to stay at 0 idlers for about the entire time.