Goblinite Filtration & Combat Drops

Pop. 122, Spring of 291 (Year 40)

Now in its 4th decade, the fortress has undergone major changes to its military configuration and hauling infrastructure. Additional troop stations were created in the trade tunnels, with the squads closer to the hub focused on training, and the ones further out tasked with escorting visitors and providing the first line of defense.

The increase in goblin hostilities necessitated quicker handling of the spoils of war, which often took more than a season to fully clear. To that end, a new 2-route, 1-track minecart system was constructed to filter the goblinite, with pure ore deposited near the trade depot and impurities sent to the particle accelerator on the surface. The new track was Relicshield's first multilevel one and confounded the builders for quite some time. Everything came together once it was finally realized that every track ramp required a supporting wall behind it on the lower level.

While effective, word has come from the Mountainhome of a far more efficient magma-powered goblinite filtration system. Duke Phyllite has considered another mining expedition to uncover the lower caverns and magma sea, but ever since the mining-related death of his wife Cinnabar, much greater oversight has been a firm requirement. For the time being, all mining below the first cavern has been postponed, as much of the fortress's attention is on a prototype tower-to-tunnel combat drop system.

A dwarven scholar by the name of Di remarked on the ability of smaller creatures to fall from great heights with only minor injuries. Preliminary testing is now underway in Relicshield on a tower above the southwest trade tunnel, where Edem II and other tiny soldiers will enter battle by falling directly onto foes. Currently, the biggest issue is soldiers being momentarily stunned from the fall. Thus this method will not be used when facing goblins wielding blunt weapons due to the risk of fatal head strikes. However, the dwarves are cautiously optimistic on the efficacy versus other enemy types.