A human caravan came to trade, and had a variety of interesting items. We didn't have a whole lot to offer in return, but with our meager bins of semi-precious stones and carved nicknacks we managed to secure some fruits and vegetables...as well as a bar of silver.
No sooner had our trade negotiations with the humans concluded than one of our dwarfs entered a strange mood. He promptly claimed a workshop and after gathering up quartzite (plus that one bar of silver), got to work on a mysterious construction. As it turned out, the object was just an earring. I had it placed on a pedestal just outside the entrance to the temple area. Even though it's nothing special in terms of value, it is the first artifact made in the fortress.
More migrants...and a lot of them! We now have a much wider range of skill sets in our labor force: a planter, a lye maker, an armorsmith, a milker a beekeeper and a butcher. I'm going to have to expand the housing accommodations...since our fort has over twenty dwarfs, I decided to build a tavern too. The meeting hall just isn't big enough anymore. The craftsdwarf is hard at work whittling wooden goblets, while the carpenter puts together chairs and the mason carves some stone tables. We've stocked up quite a few barrels of apricot wine, perry and (of course) beer in an adjacent room. As for someone to run the place...I decided on the Milker since there aren't any milk producing livestock around anyway.
Our fort now has its first baby boy, and it was the tavern keeper who gave birth. She must have been pregnant before arriving here. Less than a week after the little was born though he almost ended up being the first death. A wolverine spotted him while he was "helping" his mother pick peaches. The animal must have thought he would make an easy meal. What followed was a frantic struggle between mother and wolverine while the militia leader rushed out from her newly completed training hall to help. Incidentally, I gave our military commander the nickname "Blue Bell" owing to her blue pet peacock and the name of our community" (The Bells of Color). Anyway, Blue Bell still didn't have a proper weapon at that time. In fact, all she had was a wooden shield. Apparently, that was all she needed though because she bashed that wolverine to a red paste before collapsing from exhaustion. Thorin Oakenshield would have been proud. Among the dwarfs there were surprisingly no injuries. I should feel relief, but a disturbing thought crept into my head...what if that wasn't an ordinary adult wolverine, but rather the young offspring of something far larger?
More migrants have arrived, and after trading with some dwarf merchants, I've decided to add two more citizens to the militia: a hunter (armed with an elven bow) and the Beekeeper (who has some talent with an axe). Hunting is unnecessary at the moment, what with all the fish we're catching, and the Beekeeper has been unlucky with the six hives we placed outside for him. It's my understanding that wax and honey aren't especially lucrative industries at the moment anyhow so perhaps military service is for the best.
Humans have come to visit in the past (no doubt to sample the booze). However, two in particular wish to join The Bells of Color. I agreed despite some unspoken reservations on my part. One of them is a bard with a beautiful singing voice and a knack for telling interesting stories. The other is a soldier armed with a warhammer so big it would make a troll blacksmith blush. Speaking of trolls, there's a bridge going over the stream now that would make a good home for one. I also decorated it with a few horse statues in various poses. It seems to have gotten the attention of some real horses.
Sometimes I really hate being right. A giant wolverine attacked a fisher dwarf as he was returning to the fort with his catch of the day. It bit his leg so he punched it in the head. Then it bit his arm. So he punched it in the head again with his uninjured arm. That gave the beast pause. Although the fisher dwarf was too badly hurt to make an escape his ferocious defense bought enough time for the militia to come to his rescue. The Hunter put at least a half-dozen arrows in the giant wolverine before the Beekeeper closed in and dealt it several harsh blows with his axe. Once again though it was Blue Bell who got the kill, this time, with a bronze sword. Overall, everyone seemed more upset by the rain (which began falling) than the vicious animal attack. Dwarfs....
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