Channelswallowed - by protobob

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Points of Interest

• Δ 17. Oh yes, I told you about the waterfall?
  We had had no success reaching the western shores and we had tried everything. We had tried to dig in many places but every time at some point the pick would hit the wall with a slosh and water would come seeping into the chamber. We had made it to the east! Yes, we had gone east and found magnetite and and platinum and copper, but we wanted to go west where an enter forest sat patiently waiting to be cut down and turned to charcoal.
  
  Finally we settled on making a pumping system, and work as begun, we smelted copper into pipes and corckscrews and Cilob crafter blocks of stone and the rest of us began to lay down sandstone walls and digging channels. It was a lot of work, but finally it was ready. We finished the windmill, and the steady wind of the sea air spun it as fast as it could go and water spat out into the sea. We rushed down to see how it was working. The water in our aquifer hole was shallow, I climbed down and began to dig, but as I dug more and more water poured in and soon we knew that we would not able to go this way.
  
  So we made waterfalls, two of them, one that spilled into the pond, and then from the pond we had built a pipe that would spill water down into an open aquifer channel we had dug. It was misty. We liked it.
  
  There was a serious deconstruction accident as we took down some scaffolding, and little Dodok and my lover Obok both sufferent spinal injuries. They will probably never be the same again.
  
  Yes, that really is how we spent the first year of the siege. - protobob
• Δ 1. Landfall! Raft hits shore and the waves are beating us!
  Here it began, on the beach, with the surf crashing, the waves threatening to pull our meager supplies out to sea. We scrambled to up the beach, where Morul and I quickly grabbed our picks and dug a quick hole into the bank of a of a peat embankment, quickly securing a few safe chambers to stash our equipment.
  
  For the record, here are the names of the seven founders:
  
  Morul (M)- Miner
  Domas (F)- Carpenter
  Cilob (F) - Mason
  Obok (F) - Farmer
  Kogsak (F) - Fisherdwarf (Now drowned)
  Meng (F) - Axedwarf (Killed by Kobolds)
  
  And, myself, Lolo Aristbestmar (M), Miner.
  
  
  
  - protobob
• Δ 19. Success
  We had made it. As Morul and I climbed out on the earth we quickly built a small keep to afford some protection. We would bring the rest here. We would harvest the trees, turn it into charcoal underneath us, and forge iron weapons and armor right here to take back with us. We quickly sent word with one of the children for the others to bring food and drink and join us with their axes. We would camp here until every tree was turned into fuel for our forge.
  
  But there was a very real sense of danger here. The ocean was close, and the memory of zombie fish was still vivid in my mind. We would have to be quick, and on our guard. - protobob
• Δ 5. Defense
  After we had food well in hand, some of us went up to the peat bank and began to build walls. We had earlier already built a bridge to the beach and took pick to earth to remove the slopes so as to only have one point of entry that we could control. Now we beat walls, fortifications, and a draw bridge for even further protection. The waterfall, the pumps, the fishing dock, all of that would come much later.
  
  Soon our wood cutters had cleaned out all the trees, and we could only look across the river to the west with lusts in our hearts, for all we could see is but trees upon trees...but that would come much much later.
  
  But yes, it felt good to be safe, did I tell you about the zombie fish that crawled out of the sea and tried to eat me? Yes, this is a strange place, but we call it home. - protobob
• Δ 15. A brief, sad aside before we get to our little problem.

  ( 201 Late Summer to 207 )
  This chamber, now sealed off, is where Meng died. It happened like this...we had spotted the wreckage of a dwarven wagon (we didn't do it, I swear!) and before the raccoons made off with all the steel gauntlets we though it best we go out there and claim it for ourselves. It was decided that we would dig up from our meeting place (which was under the hill where the wreckage was), Meng would guard the hallway with her axe while the rest of us went up and scavenged it was going well when three kobolds jumped us. Meng killed all three off them almost instantly, only to die from a copper arrow embedded in her chest. She was a good dwarf and the first one of us to go. - protobob

• Δ 15a. The second death was sad and regretfull.
  Kogsack wanted to build a docks to fish from, she was missing the catch she had been getting from the sea (it had been deemed too unsafe, with kobolds and goblins crawling around.
  
  Sigh, let us just say that her construction was faulty...she fell in the river and drowned. We were not able to recover her body, but we set aside one of Cilob's coffin's for her anyway.
  
  It sits down now in the blue tomb with Meng's pierced heart. Who next. - protobob
• Δ 16. The Larger Problem

  ( 201 to 207 )
  Ah yes, we are under siege, did I mention that? It's been at least a year. First it was a small group of bowmen and other troops, but after a year they went and three small armies on horseback arrived to take their place.
  
  Here is the thing...it's really no big deal. We don't like going outside! In fact when we went out to build the pump most of us got sick, vomited and and in general felt nauseated by the sun....Yes, the first year of the seige we built a pump and two waterfalls, but we'll get back to that later...
  
  It's the principal of the thing! Standing out there, as if we need the rest of the world--we have food to last for years! Seeds enough to drown in! Live stock enough for a feast for three kingdoms. Bah! The arrogance. The stupidity.
  
  We refuse to be held under anyones thumb. That's why were came here, to be free! - protobob

• Δ 2. Our first shelter
  Here they are now, mostly empty and unused, but these were the holes we first found shelter in. Our earliest plump helmet plot, our early food and drink stores, now nothing more than a place for old wood, plumbing and a stack of ore. You can see here a scar from a much more recent construction accident (but more about that later).
  
  But the early days, yes, I remember Meng going out and promptly slaying two dear. We began a farm, Kogsak went out and found the shores bountiful...why, we even set up a still and began to brew the plump helmets straight from the earth! - protobob
• Δ 21. The reckless and insane plan.
  1. Turn all trees to charcoal.
  2. Smelt lignite for extra fuel.
  3. Smelt Iron.
  4. Smelt what little pig iron and steel we can.
  5. Forge weapons and armor.
  6. Train, if not for a year at least.
  7. Cram every tame beast we have into this room, break out and charge into the human scum with a frenzy of crossbow volleys, axe swings and jaguar screams.
  
  Perhaps we will meet again?
  Perhaps not?
  
  Best wishes,
  
  Founder Lolor Aristbesmar
  Expidition Leader of The Blotted Tongs
  Channelswallows, Late Summer, 207.
  
  
  - protobob
• Δ 6. Trade (And Theft!)
  Ah yes, the trade post. We were reluctant to build one out first. We figured that however these people were on these new shores, we didn't want to meet them. Ah, but we gave in. People were traveling far to just be with use, bringing expensive things and not complaining to harshly when we stole it all at crossbow point. Yes, that's why we added the tower, you see: 'Defense.'
  
  I remember Zaneg would always follow me to the trading post to make a 'steal.' She was a bright girl, and when she came of age she took over the job, why, she was already as good at it as I as. Ah, I assume there are repercussions to everything...such is the trouble we are in.
  
  
  
  
  - protobob
• Δ 11. Our meeting place.
  At first it was just the place where the magnetite ended and the silt began again, but soon we made it our place to gather, and set statutes up that Cilob made. Later we tried to dig down across the river here at these steps in the magnetite, underneath we found more copper, and sandstone, but then we hit a wall of loose silty clay loam and the water seeped in, flooding the chambers. We were able to make a well out of it, so it was not a horrible loss. - protobob
• Δ 12. Elf Business

  ( 201 Late Summer to 207 )
  One of the benefits of steal...I mean DEALING with elves is that wonder wild life they brought us. Here we are breading tame cougars, jaguars, war dogs, horses and cows! We had no animal when were arrived. Now we have many. We even have wolves, but not a mating pair, sadly.
  
  But yes, the elves: strange folk. We stole from them time and again, but they always returned. Humans, on the other hand...well let's just say that if you help yourself out to a wagon full of anvils, steel armor and other assorted items...well, they take it as a personal affront.
  
  Humans! We stole from them the first time, and what did they do? Ask us what they want they should bring next time! Fools like that deserve to be robbed. Hmmph.
  - protobob

• Δ 20. The Flux Problem
  The flux problem is simple: we only have twelves chunks of flux. We bartered that from some dwarven merchants. We always asked them to bring more...now they might never make it. Yes, we traded with the dwarves. Kin is kin.
  
  Twelve flux makes twelve pig iron, plus twelves iron (and charcoal), makes twenty four bars of steel. We will have to use it wisely...unlike our first batch of magnetite.
  
  Did I tell you about that? There was a communication mix up. I asked for doors. Rock doors, but instead I got IRON doors. So we have iron doors, and for a while we had very little iron, but I think we have more than we need, now. - protobob
• Δ 3. The first dig down.
  Yes our first dig down brought us a good omen! magnetite! copper (See that north east diagonal hallway, it's floor are still covered with copper)! and lignite at the tip!
  
  We've tidied the place up a bit, smoothed the walls, but we didn't try and force our selves on the rock, too much. We let her show us the best ways. We left the gems were they stood...they seemed to us most beautiful that way, not stashed away in some pile.
  
  By the time we first dug here we had already been joined by a few immigrants. They seemed like fine enough people...none of that 'noble' uselessness, so we let them stay. They were:
  
  Alath (F) - Potash Maker
  Ushat (F) - Butcher
  Goden (M) - Herbalist (Uvash's Husband)
  And Goden and Ushat's two chidlren: Zasit(M) and Zaneg (F)
  Kumil (F) - Wooddcutter
  
  Since joining us Ushat and Goden have had five more children: Nomal, Shorast, Edem, Aloth, Dodsk, and Uvash (the most recent, still just a baby).
  
  Of the children, only Zaneg has come of age, and so she has been giving the title 'Citizen.' Let me explain. The first seven from the raft, we have elected to refer to ourselves as "Founders." The immigrants carry the title immigrant, but we will grant their children (and any future Founders children) as Citizens as well if they come at age here at Channelswallowed.
  
  Right this all now makes it seem so formal. Truly they have all become like family to use, the the children have grown on us. Occasionally I give my lover Obok that look, but marriage is not for us yet, she says.
  
  
  - protobob
• Δ 4. Into the silt and the sandstone.
  Much of the soil under the peat bank that we had first made our home was silt and easy to dig. We dug it all out, finding it a good, clear place to set up our store in an efficient manner, while the sandstone afforded the perfect place to dig in nooks and crannies for our workshops.
  
  The process went something like this: grow plants, brew the plants, catch fish, clean the fish, cook the fist with brew (while saving some for drinking) and then used the fish bones to make bone bolts for archery practice. Sadly, only I became a good shot before we ran out of bone bolts...perhaps we should take up fishing again...sigh, poor Kogsak...
  
  But yes, we dug some small, intimate chambers for eating, nothing impressive. Soon we had more food and drink than we could eat.
  
  Now we don't plant, or fish, or even brew. It's there, all we need for many years if we are lucky. We busy ourselves with...other things, but now is not the time for that ominous tale. - protobob
• Δ 5a. Barracks, Armory and quick Access to Guard tower.
  Yes, we have all trained here. I was the first. I trained on the crossbow until I was a fairly good shot. The rest trained in unarmed combat. The problem is that, except for a few small bits that we have scavenged, we are woefully underarmed and ill-equiped. - protobob
• Δ 7. The Shaft (A Tight Squeeze)
  Yes, we knew we needed to dig deep. but with all the water in the area we were worried that we would hit an aquifer. I took some time to look around the site, and then decided to go with my gut. Down Morul and I went, our picks splintering the rock...first, more sandstone (yes thats, good), and then further down gypsum, and things begin to get tight...you see, the rocks were damp. We slowed down, part of the shaft was abanoned for a few layers, but we were able to slip down past the aquifer! It was a good guess and Morul and I were both pleased. We digged far, far down, and then began to build our homes... - protobob
• Δ Appendix A: The Underground Kingdom
  An overview of the major digging. - protobob
• Δ Appendix B: Thankfully the zombie fish leave me alone.
  They are out in the corners where I don't go. It suits me, it suits them. - protobob
• Δ Appendix C: All these iron ore and no flux stone!
  It sure is making things interesting. - protobob
• Δ 14. Zoo (Or, More Gifts From Our Elf Friends)

  ( 201 to 207 )
  Ah yes, the zoo. Lets, see, we have a big black bear, an elk, a wolf, both kind of camels, a donkey, two raccoons, a jaguar, cougar and a rhesus monkey.
  
  We will soon be adding a giant aquarium, with walls of glass and water from the aquifer. Well, I SAY soon, but the truth is we are delaying this project for the foreseeable future while we deal with our little problem. - protobob

• Δ 8. And then the dark earth opened up into realms of color.
  Highways of bright green Garnierite traced through the earth, patches of bring pink and blue tanzanites and opals.
  
  Here we found more damp rock, we weren't sure if it was more aquifer, or just it's traces from above. We traced it out, gently, trying to get a picture of what was above us. I was almost beginning to feel...claustrophobic. Can I admit that? Each pick mark was like finding a new world hidden away from the rest of the world. It was our world. We were going to treat it with care. - protobob
• Δ 9. Tombs in blue.
  Later, when Meng died (so brave) and we were in a rush to find a place to lay her to rest, I thought of this place: Vivid greens, dark blues, gems sparkling in the darkness. We put her coffin here. It seems fitting, now, so in the nooks and crannies we will place our bodies. - protobob
• Δ 10. Down further we made our home.
  We were deep, now, having past through what seemed like endless layers of Gabbro, Olivine. We dug until I could FEEL the weight of the earth and the waters above me pressing down. Yes, this would be a save place. We dug out a chasm to put our beds behind. At night when we sleep we can pull back the bridge and feel as secure as one ever can in this world. - protobob
• Δ 18. Down in the rock we were growing bored.
  Yes, many times we tried to up from the very bottom. We reached the top, several times, only for the stairs to start flowing with water and we would have run quickly back down to stay alive (or worse, stranded). I lost my war dug and one of her pups to such as this. It was horrible.
  
  After the failure with the pumps, I went back down again for one more try. I had already started the first stairs (even before the pumps) and had a door set so that we could close it against flooding. I went back down, again, thinking, "I might as well try," So did. I dug up, and up, even finding damp rock, but water did not come. As a dug up threw a layer magnetite, I smiled. Yes, it would work this time. We will not need to attempt a bridge. (Note, yes, I know building a bridge would be easy, but also seems tacky and unrealistic to me, and much less fun). - protobob
• Δ 21a. What will happen to the children?
  What will happen to the children, running down corridors of olivine and platinum? Will they die to cruel man's steel? Will the live long and fill these halls with their own children?
  
  Find out next time! - protobob

Related Maps:

Channelswallowed

• 207 Late Summer [R]

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Map details:

• Fortress Name: Channelswallowed
• Fortress Year:
• Author: protobob
• Submitted by: protobob
• Date Added: 10/04/2009