Alrighty, never done this journal thing before. Don\u2019t know why not, really. It\u2019s real helpful, real\u2026relaxing, like, real nice to be able to just sort of go on about things. Funny, if it wasn\u2019t for the fact that tradition demanded I make one, I never would have thought about it.<\/p>\n
I still haven\u2019t gotten used to the fact that everything I write here is recorded for posterity, though. To think of the dwarven sages, entering this journal into the Grand Archives, up there with texts recorded by the greatest leaders of all time. My story will be up there next to the story of Dhzerka, of Khamadinias, of Botematas. These words\u2014these very words–will be read by the oversages of the Dwarfazim for millennia to come.<\/p>\n
Hi there!<\/p>\n
So, here we go\u2026yeah, let me introduce myself first.
\n
\nName\u2019s Kahdzbar Drinkollt, from the Drinkollt Clan, and I just think I should let all you dwarfsages know that this colony, right here? I\u2019ve got the drive and the determination to make it the best colony of all recorded history. And you\u2019ve got my family to thank for it.<\/p>\n
See, the Drinkollts haven\u2019t exactly had the greatest <\/em>run of all the dwarven noble families. There was that issue with the accidentally misappropriated construction funds, and that little misunderstanding at the ceremonial feast, and, okay, the thing with the giraffes was frankly disturbing. Things have been going badly across the board for a couple dozen generations, is what I\u2019m been saying.<\/p>\n So I guess I felt like I had a lot to answer for, ya know? Like it was up to me to bring back the family honor. I mean, it wasn\u2019t going to be my grandfather, who disappeared during a cave-in years ago. Or my da, who was killed by food poisoning. Or my uncles, who all disappeared during a\u2014<\/p>\n Oh, I\u2019m rambling\u2014sorry, guys, I do that sometimes! Anyway, point is, I realized that it was pretty much down to me to straighten out the name of Drinkollt.<\/p>\n So for the past few decades, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing. Whenever new issues have been brought to the floor, I\u2019ve spoken my mind loudly and clearly, making sure every noble on the high dwarven council knows how I feel. I\u2019ve been putting myself on the ground floor of every project–even if I don\u2019t think I\u2019m 100% qualified for it, it\u2019ll show I\u2019m not afraid of taking responsibility. I\u2019ve been ingratiating myself with the king, the king\u2019s wife, the king\u2019s daughter\u2026basically, I\u2019ve set myself up as the most dynamic and personable noble on the floor.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, these haven\u2019t been encouraging decades. In fact, I was beginning to think all my jockeying, my schmoozing, my can-do attitude was going to go to waste entirely. Some nights, when I lay awake and alone on my spartan cot, I’d wonder if I was even wanted at all. But then, a few months ago, my hard work finally paid off.<\/p>\n After a particularly rousing speech against the rampant corruption among certain <\/em>noble families, I was summoned (for the first time in my life) to the council\u2019s royal chambers. It was there that I learned that I had been selected by the king himself <\/em>to be the leader of a brand-new fortress project!<\/p>\n I could hardly believe my ears\u2014finally, an opportunity to etch the name of Drinkollt into the very bedrock of Dwarven history! In, you know, a bit more of a favorable way.<\/p>\n Not only was I to be the lead manager, I was given absolute control over the project. I was allowed to hand-pick my own crew from a list of about 50 names (I\u2019m guessing it\u2019s a list of available employees, but it was pretty out of date\u2014a few of the names on it were crossed out, including the names of some of my late relatives). Nobody insisted that I take certain gear, nobody suggested certain livestock over others. Heck, they even let me pick the spot and name the fortress! Sitting there in the control room, putting things in order while the nobles watched and smiled, I don\u2019t mind saying I came close to shedding a tear. They trusted me, they really did.<\/p>\n Anyway, I made it a point to interview all potential employees to find the best of the bunch. I was asked to pick seven dwarves\u2014I pointed out that this was a bit of a small crew to build a fortress with, but I was assured that no more people would be required. They\u2019re right, of course. No crew is too small, if managed properly.<\/p>\n \u201cSparky\u201d Aliladil: This guy\u2019s a real firecracker, and no mistake! He worked in the Dhazb\u2019ar mine for 2 years before being dismissed for \u201crowdy and unbecoming behavior\u201d. If I know one thing about management, it\u2019s that a little bit of energy is essential to any crew, and this guy has energy in spades. I\u2019ve nicknamed him Sparky to reflect his spicy nature–he seemed to like it. He even gave me a nickname, although I\u2019m not sure I should print it here.<\/p>\n \u201cRocky\u201d Zonlogen: A mason and stoneworker, he\u2019s a real whiz with a chisel! He\u2019s got a nearly flawless record with erecting stone structures\u2014there was a bit of bother with an arch collapsing on a sedan chair a month back, but he assures me that was a one-off deal. A real steadfast, sturdy guy, I thought. Since he\u2019s a rock <\/em>of strength, <\/em>and he works with rock, <\/em>I decided to nickname him–get this–Rocky<\/em>! He said it was clever.<\/p>\n \u201cEasy\u201d Storlutsodel: I love this gal. She\u2019s folksy, she\u2019s even-tempered, she doesn\u2019t sweat the small stuff. She\u2019d previously been employed as a clerk, but an honest mistake with some figures meant she got the boot\u2014not fair at all, given the circumstances. If a couple barrels of water were so important to the captain, he should have double-checked the cargo bay himself. That kind of oversight, he would have been fired as soon as he set foot on the pier anyway. I did bring it up to see how she\u2019d handle criticism\u2014she just shrugged, gave me a warm smile, and said, \u201cWell, that\u2019s the way it goes sometimes, don\u2019tcha know. Nobody\u2019s made perfect.\u201d I could tell she was leadership material, so I made a note to stick her in a management role once work got underway.<\/p>\n \u201cTwitch\u201d Rithedim: Another real character! An excitable guy\u2014he\u2019s got the sort of mind that\u2019s always focusing on the next obstacle, always preparing for the next pitfall. For example, he talked my ear off for 2 hours about the possibility of our caravan being devoured by wolves en route! A little excessive, I guess, but you can\u2019t be too careful, right? I asked him if he had any experience working as a mason. \u201cI guess,\u201d he said, and started talking about cave-ins. Heh heh! I like this guy. Hired!<\/p>\n \u201cFishy\u201d Rovodarian: ((SCRIBE\u2019S NOTE: THIS SECTION IS MOSTLY UNREADABLE. THE INK IS BADLY SMUDGED, AS IF SOME SORT OF GREASY OBJECT WAS LEFT TO SEEP OUT ONTO THE PAGE, AND PORTIONS ARE SMEARED WITH A CONGEALED BROWNISH SUBSTANCE. THE ONLY LEGIBLE WORDS ARE \u201cGift,\u201d \u201cKind,\u201d and \u201cTangy\u201d. THE SMELL CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY ARTICULATED WITHOUT RESORTING TO LOW DWARVEN, AND WILL THUS GO UNDESCRIBED.))<\/p>\n \u201cSmiley\u201d Vucarlium: I knew ol\u2019 Smiley from early on in my noble career. She\u2019s a real go-getter, much like myself\u2014always gunning for that new opportunity, always putting herself on the floor. She signed onto this mission voluntarily, claiming, \u201cI always wanted to see\u2026you know, like, over-see\u2026the operation of a new fortress.\u201d She mentioned that she didn\u2019t even care what position I gave her, that she was capable of \u201cmanaging any role in this production of yours\u201d. I told her we needed a cook, and her expression just lit up!<\/p>\n \u201cShe-Wolf\u201d Sazirukosh: She\u2019s a really dedicated, powerful warrior who is capable of defending all of us from any threat. She is mighty and competent and an undisputed master of the battle-axe. It was my decision to direct her release from prison and assign her to my team, and I am immensely happy with her presence. Even now, as I write this, she is practicing axe katas and providing an imposing physical presence. I feel very, very, very safe.<\/p>\n As of this writing, we are all on a wagon to the fortress construction site. The team seems to be getting along splendidly\u2014the team members banter and joke with one another, making jokes about the mission and about each other. For example:<\/p>\n TWITCH: What do you mean, grandchildren? Yeah, right. Like I\u2019m going to have grandchildren. Like I\u2019m going to have children<\/em>. Like I’m going to ever know the touch of a woman.<\/p>\n SMILEY: Why not? You seem like a charming guy, I don\u2019t see why you couldn\u2019t get a family going in our new fortress.<\/p>\n TWITCH: Me. Start a family.<\/p>\n SMILEY: Yeah, why not?<\/p>\n TWITCH: And attract a mate.<\/p>\n SMILEY: Well, of course.<\/p>\n TWITCH: In the fortress. The one Drinklots over here is going to build.<\/p>\n SMILEY: That we’re going to build, yes. What?<\/p>\n TWITCH: You realize the green mushrooms aren\u2019t for eating, right?<\/p>\n TO BE CONTINUED.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alrighty, never done this journal thing before. Don\u2019t know why not, really. It\u2019s real helpful, real\u2026relaxing, like, real nice to be able to just sort of go on about things. Funny, if it wasn\u2019t...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[188],"class_list":["post-1259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lets-play","tag-dwarf-fortress"],"yoast_head":"\n