Let's Give NaNoWriMo A Chance!

Tomorrow marks the start of the most magical month of the year, National Novel Writing Month, where each of us are challenged to produce a short, hastily written piece of fiction! The guidelines calls for writing a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and November 30th. That may seem like a bit, but it works out to just less than 1700 words a day.

I've dabbled in fiction writing before, but this year, I've decided to take up the challenge with a short hastily written novel of my own: Roller Disco of the Damned, where a masked wrestler must save a town from the curse of it's abandoned (and evil) roller disco.

More updates to follow(?)...

Tales from Overguilds, part 10

Mid Autumn 1053

Lost pants mid-battle! How?

My valiant militia commander and her subordinates are fighting the troll who had taken up residence in my pastures. But with three of them being unarmed, they are taking their sweet time at it. Perhaps that's for the best, my raw recruits need the practice, the fact that one of them managed to loose their trousers mid battle is evidence of that.

Strangely, I seem to have acquired 2 axedwarves during this battle. On inspection, I discover that my dwarves are armed with wooden training axes. No wonder that troll is taking so long to die.

And having repaired my legendary miner's compound fracture, my chief medical dwarf is now a dabbling surgeon! When my miner recovers, we'll celebrate by building a hospital!

Hear that, our works are LEGEND!

Even better, the dwarven caravan has arrived. For some reason, their wagons refuse to travel over the cage traps at the fortress' entrance, but I still have a line of mules laden with goods heading into my fortress. Hopefully, one of them will bring me the metals that I have been longing for. 

Oh, and as the caravan begins unloading their goods and my broker makes his way towards the depot, my militia has finally hacked the troll to death.

In exchange for a handful of highly decorated trinkets, I manage to acquire all the metal bars the caravan brought, miscellaneous weapons, a mountain of leather and cloth, various food items, and a broker with the appraise skill. Not a bad haul, if I might say so myself.  

  

 An here's what I've got as of late autumn:

More Tales From Overguilds

Tales From Overguilds, Part 9

Early Autum 1053

I've been a way for a while so, for a refresher:

• I have a population of 52.
• Plenty of food for the time being.
• Three newborn dwarven infants.
• No military to speak of.
• A cave that spews out dangerous angry creatures.
• The immigrant waves I've had have all been large, I'm probably two immigrant waves away from seeing my first goblin ambush. 
• Plenty of flux, but no ores on my map.

 Obviously, my most important concern is getting my fortress able to defend itself, both from goblin invaders and from the cave full of troglodytes that have killed two dwarves and a blue peacock.



My plan to secure Overguilds consists of two parts, first to construct a danger room and begin training a military to be equipped with weapons and armor made from metals acquired from the caravan.

The other part of my plan is to remove most of the stairs and ramps on the surface so I can force hostile creatures and invaders  into cage traps. I also plan on walling off my above ground pastures.


The second part of my plan is where I ran into my first problem with that plan, while my legendary miner was removing the slopes near my bee hives, he was accosted by one of they previously mentioned troglodytes. You might think that an legendary dwarven miner armed with their trusty pickax would be able to kill a troglodyte with ease, I know I thought so.

My wounded miner.

Well, now I have a wounded miner on resting in bed waiting for my newly appointed chief medical dwarf to diagnose his injuries.

My militia commander (the sole armed dwarf in the fortress besides my woodcutter) is dispatched and makes quick work of the troglodyte. 

Her first kill... I hope it's the first of many.

But my militia commander only commands one other dwarf. For her to be a true militia commander, she'll need to actually have dwarves under her command, so it's up to me to see who I can assign to her command...

But what's this? A dwarf has been possessed and has claimed a workshop. Just when I was occupied by more important things, too. Typical of Dwarf fortress, really. Degel Tashemolin,  for your sake, you had better make a diamond axe in that jeweller's workshop you just claimed. Degel immediately runs to the gem stockpile across the hall and grabs some rough amethysts before beginning construction. Looks like I am gonna be saddled with an amethyst earring or sock... And it's an earring, big surprise! It'll go well with my other artifact earring.

Now back to setting up my militia. I've added a few useless dwarves to my militia and now I set up a barracks for them to train in... 

Let's hope he's just here to say irritating things.

What's this? A TROLL is harassing the masons who are trying to wall off my pastures.  Well, I guess I'll dispatch my militia again....

More Tales from Overguilds

Back Home & Other Random Little Things

I'm back home from my trip to Oklahoma City where I visited my sister's family. She has two young children and while I enjoyed seeing them it was very exhausting trying to keep up with an infant and a toddler. One of the highlights of my trip was getting to see a three legged jaguar at the Oklahoma City Zoo. 

Upon returning to work (I work in retail), a random creep tried to pick me up. Which happens fairly often, but this one was a random married creep... He was staring at me over his wrap-around sunglasses and asked if I had a phone number (which I don't give out as a rule). And he casually explained that he was "married but curious". Ugg. But he did take "No I won't give you my number" as an answer. I just feel sorry for his poor wife... 

And at least I don't have that blind trucker with a dent in his forehead after me still.

Oh and seeing as how I am home now, it would seem that I owe you that Overguilds update that I promised last week....

Out of town this week. (I hesitate to use the word "vacation", since I have been spending it in a house with two small children!)

So, my next Overguilds update will have to wait until I get home, but i did manage to find time to make this red and white striped sock monkey for my three-year-old nephew. I'm sure he will hug it and squeeze and love it forever... then pull it's arms off.

Well, I hope he waits for a few days to pull it's arms off! And I made extra sure to reinforce the stitching on the arms and tail, so here's to hoping...