Background Checks

Pop. 169, Winter of 334 (Fort Year 83)

The population of the Mountainhome has continued to surge. Migrants were welcomed with open arms and the usual background checks were completely forgotten about. Disaster struck when a toddler was found drained of blood in the middle of the kindergarten! There were no witnesses, but Urdim Channeltree, Captain of the Guard, immediately checked through the written histories of every recent migrant. He found inconsistencies with a spinner named Atis. She was arrested and jailed without food or water.

Seasons passed and when Atis showed no signs of hunger, it was confirmed that she was the vampire. The kingdom's previous vampire was executed on the spot, but most residents of Relicshield felt this was far too kind. The creature has been placed in a secure prison until such time as a fitting punishment has been devised.

Meanwhile, Zefon III of the noble Taxeddagger clan was recently inducted into the military. His great-grandfather, Phyllite I, was the a member of the Original Seven and was the Duke of Relicshield before it became the capital of the Ancient Gravel. The young soldier performed well during his first siege. Though surrounded by legendary soldiers who led the battle in a crimson tide, Zefon III managed to get a killing blow before all the goblins of the Evils of Spray were vanquished.

Farewell to the Seven

Pop. 73, Spring of 327 (Year 76)

Commander Olivine passed away peacefully, the last of the Original Seven, who were all named after their favorite mineral. Seven decades ago, they laid a firm foundation for the little outpost that later tamed dragons and became the Mountainhome.

Sphalerite: axedwarf, 1st commander, #1 in total kills
Olivine: hammerdwarf, 2nd commander
Phyllite: miner, duke
Cinnabar: miner, duchess consort
Dolomite: chief medic
Selenite: armorsmith, weaponsmith
Gypsum: woodcutter, carpenter

Dishmab Shootwondered-Vesselbrain, the legendary macedwarf and heiress apparent of Relicshield was named as Commander Olivine's successor.

Last of the Seven

Pop. 73, Winter of 323 (Year 72)

Duke Phyllite died of thirst, too depressed to drink from the plentiful alcohol all around him :(. Now Commander Olivine is the only living member of the Original Seven.

Trouble Brewing

Pop. 134, Spring of 323 (Fortress Year 72)

Tragedy struck throughout the fortress when 2 well-liked citizens, Mayor Onol Lanterngaze and Ingiz Neutraloiled, passed away from old age. With the deaths so soon after the loss of Dewboy II Lanterngaze to troglodytes, Bembul Earthennourishes went insane and was promptly slain by nearby soldiers. The majority of the fortress became quite upset at these developments, forcing the nobility to halt all major projects. Dragon tamer Meng Roughwhips was elected as interim mayor during this troubled time. Time will tell if he can help King Urist and Duke Phyllite calm the masses before riots break out.

Contemptible Loot

Pop. 131, Winter of 315 (Year 64)

Mosus II Anguishedpages was blessed by Armok, producing Drumseer the Contemptible Loot, a lead mace! Duke Phyllite bestowed the weapon upon Dishmab Vesselbrain, the first legendary macedwarf of the fortress and current 2nd place in notable kills.



Meanwhile, another forgotten beast received a warm welcome from the dragon hatchlings guarding the second cavern's entrance :D.

The Mountainhome and the Secret Princess

Pop. 134, Spring of 314 (Year 63)

King Urist Shootwondered declared Relicshield the new capital and Mountainhome of the Ancient Gravel! The announcement caught many dwarves by surprise, including Duke Phyllite, who had yet to prepare royal accommodations. Another surprise was the discovery that Captain Dishmab the legendary macedwarf was a princess! King Urist and Queen Thikut Shootwondered were skeptical when their daughter struck out 6 decades ago for a little known outpost far to the west. However, their pride grew as they heard tales of Dishmab's valor and the rise of Relicshield over the years. Now also the City of Dragons, the king and queen could imagine living nowhere else.

Taste of Fire

Late Autumn of 312 (Year 61)

After much debate between Duke Phyllite and Meng Roughwhips the Dragon Trainer, Relicshield fielded a dragon in battle for the first time! Edem II volunteered to be the dragon's battlemaster and led mighty Istrath forth. The Evils of Spray received their first taste of dragon fire and soon fled!

Watch Istrath in action!

Dragon Breeding

Pop. 135, Autumn of 312 (Year 61)

The duchy's dragon breeding program has succeeded! After one egg that failed to hatch after a full year, a second clutch was laid in the Summer. By Autumn, the fortress welcomed 2 more dragons!



Work continued on the largest cavern security wall to date, this one covering an area 28 across and 38 levels high. With so much attention on the dragon breeding program and the cavern walls, the odd mumblings of the brewer Tulon Dippedtowers were overlooked. He went berserk near the farm complex, which recently merged with the kindergarten.

Tulon charged at Mosus III Anguishedpages, the first 3rd generation citizen of Relicshield. He struck her twice before the axedwarf Vucar Graniteright struck him down. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, having named his axe "The Pale Hammer," Vucar has still managed to be a reliable fighter.



Duke Phyllite has urged all citizens to please report any strange activity at once and to stay vigilant even in the midst of large projects!

Trolling Trolls

Pop. 122, Spring of 296 (Year 45)

A year earlier, Kadol Meshpapers-Graniteright the hammerdwarf was caught outside alone during a siege. Her fellow soldiers rushed to her aid, but a group of trolls intercepted them right as they emerged from the fortress. While the majority of Relicshield's defenders were forced to engage the tusked monsters in battle, Captain Dishmab rushed toward the lone hammerdwarf. Second only to Commander Sphalerite in total kills, Dishmab smashed into foes with her mighty mace. Together, she and Kadol routed the goblin squad, while their compatriots decimated the trolls.

Once the siege was defeated, attention turned back to preparations for the second cavern expedition. Scaffolding was taken down from the walls securing the first cavern to regain blocks, but there were two fatal accidents. Atir Kissochre the clothier and Chief Medic Dolomite, one of the Original Seven, fell to their deaths. Scaffolding had been taken down before, one level at a time, without incident, but Duke Phyllite demanded the procedures be placed under review.

The Spring brought renewed hope in the form of Ibmat the Dragon, who was lured into the trade tunnels and captured in a cage.

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.

Tree Huggers

Pop. 78, Late Spring of 273 (Year 22)

Trade continues smoothly with the humans and elves. The pointy ears have even seen fit to send a diplomat. Duke Phyllite agreed to a tree preservation treaty while laughing off the thinly veiled insults and general lack of courtesy.



With all the logs the elves bring each year, there has been little need for wood cutting. The elves also brought another grizzly sow, though the military has been slowly phasing out the use of war grizzlies. While helpful in the beginning, the goblins have been sending better equipped troops who have been more than a match for the bears. Meanwhile, multiple tunnels are currently being mined, though no natural caverns have been found so far.

Mad Mandate

Pop. 78, Late Winter of 269 (Year 18)

8 citizens faced justice for defying Duke Phyllite's mandate forbidding the sale of all bolts (oops). With only 7 (very posh) jail cells available, justice was also served with fists. Shorast Earthenbreaths, a speardwarf, thought she was relatively safe, since she was still in her armor when the sheriff marched up to her, but he then gave her compound fracture in her left hand :(. Meanwhile, Lokum Meshpapers, Relicshield's 2nd best weaponsmith, refused to drink or eat due to being separated from her newborn baby, Tulon. Thankfully, Sheriff Urdim Channeltree was in a merciful mood when he released her from the cell. She suffered some bruises, then brushed herself off and went looking for her child.



Meanwhile, the general malaise that seemed to slow time itself has finally been lifted (Thank you DFHack "clean all" function! Goodbye 80 fps and hello 100).

Fashion Forward

Summer of 267 (Year 16)

After seeing the latest sartorial trends of the humans and elves, Duke Phyllite swore that Relicshield would not only become the new Mountainhome, but also the fashion capital of the world! To that end, he decreed that all clothing with even the slightest bit of wear be thrown out. All industries in the fortress came to a screeching halt as cabinets and coffers were emptied and thousands upon thousands of threadbare clothes, socks, and rags that somehow passed for shirts, were thrown out. Known as The Great Purging, only time will tell if Duke Phyllite will realize his ultimate goal...

(I finally got around to using DFHack's cleanowned function. 16 years worth of clothes is a LOT. It took forever for the dwarves to get rid of all that stuff!)

Party Time!

Summer of 261 (Year 10)

As promised, Duke Phyllite bestowed a private statue garden to his son, Phyllite II. For his 5th birthday, a party was held in the garden. Apparently the concept of chaperones is foreign to dwarves, as the party proceeded without any adult participation.

Child's Play

Early Summer of 260 (Year 9)

Phyllite II, the four year old son of Duke Phyllite & Duchess Cinnabar, ran right past the guards stationed at the southwest trade tunnel entrance.  A bit of panic ensued as the headstrong child headed off to parts unknown.  However, he suddenly appeared on top of the half-built courtyard roof, revealing a single dirt ramp that had been overlooked.  For over a year, there had been a secret path into the fort that no one knew about!  Pending punishment turned quickly to praise, with plans for Phyllite II's very own statue garden in the works.

Unexpected Visitor

The first few years went by without a hitch. Before the settlement was even five years old, Relic, the Ancient Gravel sent news that it had been elevated to status of barony. Phyllite Taxeddagger was chosen as Baron. News spread quickly to the surrounding civilizations, prompting a visit that raised quite a bushy dwarven brows!

"A blind demonic diplomat from Nabsizpesor has arrived."

Phyllite, the Baron of Relicshield was reluctant to meet with this so-called emissary of the humans. After a bit of deliberation, it was decided that the baron would meet the diplomat outside of the fortress proper, but still within the safety of the underground trade network. However, two goblin ambush parties attacked the visitor before the meeting could take place. Sphalerite, the champion axedwarf of Relicshield, led the charge, cutting a swath of destruction and saving the demon's life. The things dwarves do for good trade relations...