Arena Escape!

Pop. 178, Late Autumn of 365

While attempting to trade captive goblins and trolls to the dwarven caravan, several escaped. After the fighting died down, there was a change in plans, as dozens of goblins were thrown into the arena. Unfortunately, so many goblins were thrown in at once that they overwhelmed Etog and two of Ibmat's hatchlings.

The goblins broke out of the arena and were engaged by armed civilians, along with members of the Trade Watch and Fortress Guard. Bomrek Galleygild, Goden Blockadetempted, and Lorbam Pearmansion-Skullpage were killed in the fighting, possibly due to friendly fire from the dragon Luto, who had been set loose by mistake during the chaos.

Unreasonable Demand

Pop. 181, Late Autumn of 365 (Year 114)

Mosus II Lanterngaze-Anguishedpages, once universally popular, has fallen out of favor due to her recent greed. When her demands for a GOLD BED were ignored, she had Datan Goodhatchet-Dippedtowers and Asmel Channeltree beaten by the Hammerer, Stakud II Roughwhips-Lanterngaze. Datan and Asmel both perished as a result of their sentence. With the deaths of a highly regarded military captain and a member of the prominent Channeltree family, King Urist II stepped in. While Mosus II was allowed to keep her position due to her otherwise stellar record, the position of Hammerer was removed.




Leadership of Datan's squad, the Trade Watch, passed to the hammerwidow's young lieutenant, the macedwarf Besmar Graniteright.

Fissuretour Tragedy

Pop. 185, Late Spring of 364 (Year 113)

Tragedy struck the Fissuretour family when young Sakzul went berserk from an unfulfilled strange mood. Unfortunately, this was entirely preventable. Due to the threat of snatchers, all children are sequestered in the kindergarten burrow. When Sakzul was taken by the mood, she wasn't released from the burrow restrictions and was unable to gather the materials she needed. A terrible coincidence had her father nearby when she became enraged. As a military reservist, he had no other recourse but to use his crossbow and help subdue her before any harm could come to other citizens.

The Forest Titan

Pop. 186, Early Winter of 363 (Year 112)



The titan was no match for the South Watch! Cog Slingriddles, slayer of the Forgotten Beast Dusak and the Mountain Titan Slesat, struck down his third megabeast with his axe, Swelteredhaunts.

Queen Mother

Pop. 186, Early Spring of 363 (Year 112)

The Queen Mother, Thikut Freeoil-Shootwondered, passed away peacefully in her sleep. Six decades ago, she arrived at Relicshield with her husband, the late King Urist Shootwondered, when the fortress became the new capital of the Ancient Gravel.

Caravan Pair

Pop. 187, Late Autumn of 362 (Year 111)

Tekkud Swifttongs, a dwarven merchant, was attacked by a goblin master thief while visiting the capital.



Luckily, Deler Anguishpages, Captain of the South Watch, took care of the thief and saved Tekkud's life.



With health care only provided for fortress citizens, an emergency migration waiver was signed, granting immediate citizenship to Tekkud. Unlike the last time, the new citizen survived her injuries.



While Tekkud rested, one of the caravan guards, Zulban Bookpacked, refused to leave her side.



Mayor Mosus II Graniteright petitioned King Urist II Shootwondered and was able to grant citizenship to Zulban, as well.



(Be careful with tweak makeowned! While Tekkud's change in status was fine, Zulban caused Dwarf Therapist to crash. Confirmed with a copied saved game where I removed him from the fortress. The current version of DT doesn't work, but luckily an older one does.)

Mace vs. Mace

Pop. 185, Late Winter of 361 (Year 110)

The Evils of Spray tried to ambush the North Watch with a mace goblin squad. They came face to face with Commander Dishmab, Daughter of King Urist Shootwondered and wielder of the artifact lead mace, Drumseer the Contemptible Loot. The outcome was a foregone conclusion, as Dishmab increased her kill count to 360.

Gloomytamed

Pop. 185, Late Summer of 361 (Year 110)

Six year old Sakzul was possessed by an unknown force!  The youngest member of the prominent Channeltree family, he created quite a work of art.

The Golden Jewel

Pop. 185, Mid-Spring of 361 (Year 110)

The father of Ibmat and Mistrum has been captured! While not as large as mighty Istrath, Luto is the largest dragon currently living in Relicshield.

Went It Alone

Pop. 185, Early Spring of 361 (Year 110)

Kadol Pagemountains-Rimrams passed away peacefully in her sleep, found by the marksdwarf Logem Graniteright. Kadol came to the capital 4 years ago, without friends or family. While she remained a passing acquaintance to all, she was a hardworker and an asset to the Mountainhome.

Drowning in Excess

Pop. 186, Late Spring of 360 (Year 109)

The dwarves of Relicshield have been a sluggish lot as of late (30 FPS).



With the Mountainhome bursting at the seams from an overabundance of food, ammunition, blocks, and other sundry items, a temporary halt was placed on all workshops. From the surface lumberyards to the Deep Forge far below, production has ground to a halt.



Meanwhile, to bolster the hauling workforce, all reservist militia members have been returned to civilian duty while the fortress prepares to rid itself of the excess it has been drowning in.





Hopefully this will help lift the temporal morass plaguing the kingdom.

The Mahogany Roses

Pop. 186, Early Spring of 360 (Year 109)

Hammerdwarf Rith Earthennourishes passed away in the middle of a training session with the North Watch. As the patriarch of the Earthennourishes, he updated the spelling of the family name once he settled in Relicshield.



Rith was stalwart defender, and defeated 227 foes, the majority of which fell before his steel war hammer, Sezomistbar, "The Mahogany Roses."

By the Numbers

Pop. 187, Late Summer of 359 (Year 108)

The human caravan arrived from the northwest. Their faces were full of fear as they urged their beasts of burden to move as fast as possible. Before they had uttered a single word, the dwarves knew what was coming. Commander Dishmab and the North Watch escorted the humans into the safety of the underground trade network just as a great clamor arose from the western hills, heralding the arrival of the Evils of Spray. At the head of an enemy archer host was an elite crossbow goblin, causing the dwarven reservists on the wall to tremble in fear. Still, they stood their ground and began to rain bolts upon their foes.

Asmel Fissuretour and the West Watch took the fight to the goblins, exiting the West Gate shouting for the blood of their foes. While reservists shot into the fray, the elite soldiers pushed toward the goblin squad leader. Axedwarf Mosus Graniteright and speardwarf Nomal Socketinked kept the elite enemy busy, while frontline archers Ast and Ast II Bustcrystals shot at the goblin, with the elder landing a headshot.



Meanwhile, in the southern trade tunnel, Deler Anguishepages and the South Watch halted a troll advance. He and his 2nd-in-command, Stakud II, were quite the duo, attacking trolls in concert and dispatching them with grim efficiency.



Everything went by the numbers, with this siege's defense the best in decades! All merchants were safe and accounted for, far fewer goblins made it into the trade tunnels, and an elite enemy archer was slain without any dwarven casualties.

A New Leaf

Pop. 187, Late Spring of 359 (Year 108)

For the first time in Relicshield's history, elf merchants who were offered wood by mistake didn't refuse further trading! All the dwarves who were about to haul away their rejected goods were stunned when the elves still showed interest in the mountain of copper toys on display. Trading recommenced, with the elves quite pleased once all the goods had changed hands. Perhaps the immortals have turned a new leaf. And to think, such solemn creatures utterly enchanted with mere children's toys! Will wonders never cease!

Dragon Instinct

Pop. 187, Early Spring of 359 (Year 108)

Correspondence with scholars of the Mountainhome brought up the possibility of using dragon hatchlings as guards in the trade tunnels. However, given their proximity to civilians, they would require training to curb their instinct to breathe fire. Testing didn't go so well, but fortunately this was discovered with a goblin prisoner rather than a dwarf!

Marksdwarves in Mourning

Pop. 187, Early Spring of 359 (Year 108)

The marksdwarves of the fortress lost the greatest among their ranks, Litast Twinkledurns. One of the first steel-clad marksdwarves of Relicshield, he fought right alongside the elite melee soldiers of the Mountainhome, rather than behind the safety of fortifications. Aside from the occasional headshot, most marksdwarves have been known more for their suppressive ability,with ranged kill counts generally between 10 and 30. Litast slew 74 enemies of Relicshield before passing away peacefully in his sleep. Early in his career, he wielded the artifact chestnut bow Fameclefts, but took down most of his foes with the artifact chestnut crossbow, Mountaindeclined.

Silver and Copper

Pop. 188, Late Spring of 358 (Year 107)

The Mountainhome is now dabbling in silver and copper crafts. Though less valuable than gold and platinum goods, the ore goblinite is a renewable resource. Plus, it gives the workers of the Deep Forge something to occupy their time when they're not producing steel.

Pass in Peace

Pop. 188, Early Spring of 358 (Year 107)

Better records are now being kept for when citizens pass away. The news of death is now flagged for immediate perusal, whereas before, it was usually buried under a heap of non-essential correspondence ([CITIZEN_DEATH:A_D:D_D:UCR_A] was changed to [CITIZEN_DEATH:A_D:D_D:UCR_A:BOX:P:R] in announcement.txt so that citizen deaths cause the game to pause).



Catten Workmyth and Unib Flagblaze passed away just a few yards from each other. Both were well-known in the fortress. Catten worked for decades in law enforcement alongside the late Captain of the Guard, Urdim Channeltree, while Unib Flagblaze, who officially started the Centennial Games, was the fortress's best miner. Both died peacefully of old age, with Unib falling in the middle of brewing booze, a truly fitting way for a dwarf to pass on to the afterlife.

Dwarfettes in the Military

Pop. 190, Late Winter of 357 (Year 106)

Relicshield has a long and proud tradition of females serving in the military. From 2nd Commander Olivine of the Original Seven to current Commander Dishmab, their contributions have been vital to the success of the Mountainhome. However, the recent baby boom has necessitated some changes in policy.

Normally Relicshield has about 2-7 children at any given point. Over the past year, though, over 20 children have been born, bringing the current total to 28. The number and sheer frequency of dwarves taking maternity leave was disruptive to military scheduling and planning. The order for reservists to patrol the walls was even forgotten amongst the spree of new births, allowing the Evils of Spray to push further than normal into the trade tunnels.

King Urist II and Mayor Mosus II Lanterngaze-Anguishedpages discussed possible changes with input from the citizenry at large. It wasn't long before a satisfactory compromise was struck. Henceforth, married dwarfettes are no longer eligible for military or reservist duty. However, unmarried females and widows remain more than welcome.

The Sieges of Shocking

Pop. 190, Late Winter of 357 (Year 106)

The Evils of Spray launched a major offensive, spilling into the trade tunnels from all directions.



While not the largest attack from the goblins in pure numbers, the coordination, speed, and sheer ferocity was frightening. A war grizzly was the only casualty, but had this happened earlier in the year, the dwarven caravan would've been completely destroyed.