Spring 1052:
New leader DaveShack has an insatiable yearning for magma, and an intense phobia of cats. Quickly new orders go up to build a butcher shop and dig deeper. The steel production line grinds to a halt as the pig iron / steel smelter uses up the last of the iron bars, so the smelter is put on a cycle of coal / iron for a while. Not knowing the full trade situation he alters the craftshop production schedule to include toys, instruments, and mugs, but after being informed by Double A that the dwarven traders had requested crafts specifically, the ratio was returned to a craft heavy load that still produces some of the other goods in case the elves and humans have different tastes. Unlike some other dwarves, DaveShack does not hate the elves. He feels pity for them that they cannot stomach the use of trees by others than themselves, and contempt that they are willing to give in trade the same things they will not accept from others. They are still a valuable source of logs and the area is a bit short of land and heavy on water so we are likely to outstrip the local supply. And making endless supplies of stone trade goods is a fabulous way to keep the fortress' craftsdwarves busy. Busy dwarves are happy dwarves, as long as the booze holds out.
Speaking of booze, we have plenty for now but are running out of barrels. More barrels are requested, and it is noted we're almost out of wood. Fine, our woodworker can go chop some trees after the barrels are made. But what's this, woot7 still doesn't have a job?? Oh, right, only one axe and someone else is holding it. Well, we found some malachite while digging the deep exploration shaft, so it's a minor thing to smelt a little copper and forge another axe. But by the time that's done a huge party of migrants arrives, 22 in all. Nice, the immigrants brought 2 axes. I didn't notice if there was already a crossbow or if they brought it too.
The deep exploration was pretty eventful. The miners found damp stone a couple of layers under the lake, so they stopped tunneling sideways and went deeper, and breached a cavern. The hole was quickly floored over, and using a quickly sketched map of the area they dug towards a rock column that passed undisturbed through the center of the cavern, and then down through it. A short time later they nicked the edge of another cavern. Walling that opening as well, they shifted the shaft location a bit and continued their exploration of the deeper realm. Finally warm stone was found 28 levels below ground, in an area abundent with granite and containing veins of cassiterite. Surely there will be additional ore, even more valuable.
Going back up several levels for safety, the miners then worked sideways again, over the location of the warm stone, and then began digging down. Soon the exciting news flashed throughout the fortress: We have found a great magma sea, raw adamantine, a magma pool, more raw adamantine, and yet another great cavern! The area is perfect for magma smelters and forges, and all these new immigrants need jobs. Once an area is cleared for stockpiles and smelters, we can go into full steel production and start a well equipped military. It won't be long before the goblins discover we have a very rich fortress and they are sure to come in numbers.
Noting that the butcher shop is ready, and there is a kitten which has not deigned to choose an owner yet, our first slaughter is scheduled. The bookkeeper is asked to firm up the numbers on the stockpile, as we do not yet know exactly how many of each type of plant we have. And some plant processing (to thread) is ordered, gotta stay ahead on that and we'll need bags eventually. Beds for the immigrants are queued up, and our wealthier dwarves will someday need to store their owned objects in their bedrooms, so a bunch of coffers and cabinets are ordered. Looking around some more, we don't seem to have a designated hospital, so an area for that is dug (in the kaolinite area so the blood blends in better) and some extra beds are ordered. A sand collection zone is designated, might as well build a magma glass furnace and churn out some terrariums for use as animal cages and cage traps.
18 Felsite - an elven caravan arrives. While not exactly welcomed with open arms, they may be a useful supplier of wood, booze, barrels, bags, and powders including sand and dyes. We want to avoid trading them scepters and earrings, as those will get a better price from the fall dwarven caravan. The elves brought no wood, but we do acquire some booze, barrels, sand, bags, and plants & seeds for variety. They are pleased with a small profit, and we return our remaining goods to the stockpiles. The food stockpile is expanded, as it was bursting at the seams already. Maybe we should turn some of the raw foodstuffs into finished meals so they take less room and are easier to deal with. However the chef (well, cook right now, maybe he'll become a legendary chef one day) is known to go overboard on putting alchohol in his meals, so booze is put strictly off limits for cooking! Note: part of the food stockpile is designated no barrels, prepared food only, the rest is designated as no prepared food. Since prepared food does not spoil when not in barrels, this will let us get by with fewer barrels than we might otherwise. And every dwarf knows, the best use for a barrel is booze.