The Diary of 'bghvgjdh' Osustrith, baroness of Siegedcraft.
It's been five years since I was last in charge of this mess of a fortress.
In that time, overseers have come and gone, lived and died according to the whims of their gods. We've become the mountainhome, and serve directly under the queen. I don't particularly care about all that.
What I DO care about, is that for some godforsaken reason, all the hydroengineering I did has been disabled.
It all started when I stepped down and some green looking elf traipsed into the fort claiming they were our new overseer. I don't remember their name, all I remember is that they APPARENTLY couldn't figure out how my fountains worked, claiming they "just stopped working," as if I didn't set them up to operate perpetually. And if that wasn't enough, they spent time and effort disengaging my power plant to install their own power source and take credit for my work!
Not to mention later overseers that disabled them entirely, all in the service of some god named "Eff Pee Ess" or somesuch nonsense. I've never heard of such a god, but any god that wishes to deny a dwarf of the simple pleasures of mist isn't a god I wish to serve.
It's been eight years since Siegedcraft was founded. Currently, there's an opening in the overseer position. I'm taking it back, and I have a mind to finish it.
I'm in control again.
I must confess, the one feature I am impressed by is the quality of the static defenses - if I had had these during my rule, we would not have had nearly as many problems with goblins as we did.
That being said, this "drowning trap" is somewhat pathetic, and doesn't even work as designed. If only they had consulted an expert in aquatic engineering, someone who had successfully engineered multiple projects already...
I think I'll fix it for them.
I can't believe nobody has mined this in 5 years... I think the time is ripe.
Seriously? Again? At least I have defenses this time...
hue hue hue hue
*squish*
Deleting those trolls inadvertently let a few others into the maze. Time for some fun...
Hehehehehehe. Sorry, visiting scholar.
The goblins foolishly circle the banks of the fort, searching for any gap in our defenses. They will find none.
Or, apparently they found a gap, but only enough for a single troll to make it through? I'm not sure how this happened, but I dispatched him swiftly with the military.
Eventually the rest of the goblins got bored and left, and I kept the tap running on the trolls trapped in my drowning maze to entertain myself. This proved to be a mistake, because shortly after the raid...
We had another uninvited guest, as the trap corridor was occupied drowning trolls.
A visiting marksdwarf has decided to be brave, in an... unusual location.
For some reason this collosus found it prudent to steal the marksdwarf's mitten and savagely beat him with it. For a month straight. This, thankfully, allowed me time to get all my citizens inside the fort walls. What an idiotic creature.
Finally, I can't hear those godawful trolls splashing around inside the maze anymore. With some creativity, I should be able to use this to trap the colossus...
Oh. That's a problem. It seems a previous overseer left a gap in our defenses. My fault for not seeing this sooner, I suppose. This could be bad.
Thankfully, while previous overseers apparently slacked on static fortifications, they've done an admirable job training the military. We escaped quite literally unscathed from this fight, and gained a nice new statue of a squid in the process.
I have a mind to fashion a new spear for the hero who slew the colossus.
Some time has passed uneventfully since the colossus attack. I've dealt with an ettin and some werebeasts that tried to invade. The ettin borught a lovely gift which I've installed in my bedroom.
Our sources tell us the world has become less wondrous as the years progress. No worry. I shall provide wonder enough for all the world to witness...
Finally, our populace has produced an artifact of note using the adamantine I've so generously procured.
Yes! This artifact, the light of our civilization, finally gets it right and gives me the homage I deserve! I humbly accept this tribute, and pledge to do my best to aspire to its lofty, cress-based expectations.
We have another visitor in the caverns. I've come to regard our first forgotten beast, Oquari, as a guardian of sorts, as it seems to have a knack for dispatching forgotten beasts for us.
And Oquari performs its job with brutal efficiency.
I have promoted the dwarf that slew the bronze colossus to the role of champion, given her an excellent new bedroom, and commissioned a suit of armor and a weapon befitting her station. May she serve us well in the fights to come.
A flier that can breathe fire. This is problematic. The fort is nearly sealed from fliers, but... not quite yet. I'll have to mobilize quickly to beat this threat ASAP.
We're gonna have a hell of a time rebuilding these roads.
After much unsuccessful combat, I've somehow managed to confuse the beast and get him stuck within the drowning chamber... plans are underway to seal him inside, and discover if titans can drown.
I think it's finally time to unveil my secret weapon.
Behold! Despite our world bearing the name "The World of Dragons", it's said that the last dragons died ages ago. I've decided to give the world a new dragon. The ONLY dragon. Our dragon.
But this dragon isn't only for show.
My predecessors attempted to make a cistern-driven drowning trap before. While their intentions were admirable and good, they didn't have the proper, ah... sense of scale to get the job done. I've installed a second drain to help the water enter the trap faster, as well as carving fortifications within to facilitate faster filling.
I've also increased the size of the reservoir. It now covers the entire fortress.
This is my legacy to the World of Dragons and the fort of Siegedcraft. My final task will be to drown this damned titan, upon which I will abdicate my throne and retire to the chambers I've prepared for myself within the dragon's head.
The new filling mechanism works beautifully. The entirety of the maze filled instantly with a floor to ceiling wall of water.
But alas, it seems the beast cannot drown. I suppose it's only fitting that my grand mad plan end, ultimately, with futility. No matter- I have fulfilled my promise, I have fixed the drowning chamber of this fortress, and in doing so granted Siegedcraft invincibility.
Henceforth, I abdicate the throne. This land is for others to do with as they wish.
Armok bless you all.