Spring 252
They came within a week after the change of seasons: a presser, a furnace operator, a wax worker, a brewer, a wood burner, three bowyers, a stonecrafter, a mason, a dyer, two farmers, a pump operator, a marksdwarf, a trapper, a bee keeper, a potash maker, a carpenter, a glassmaker, a surgeon, a siege engineer and a blacksmith and a weaponsmith.
Twenty five migrants send directly from the mountain homes, all of them with basic military training - a fact they where told to keep secret until needed. They easily outnumbered and outskilled they resident dwarves and marched into the fortress as if it rightfully belonged to them.
Cerol was to surprised to order the gates shut and once they were inside, they quickly replaced the current working staff with skilled professionels. Lorbam Cerolinal proved an asset to the undying king once more, as she quickly stepped in and advised Cerol to make use of the new workforce, instead of resenting having to cope with this "invasion". Wispering praise and flattery she assured Cerol of her role in leading the fortress and succeeded to convince her, that the influx of migrants was purely a sign of her success as a leader.
Cerol upon hearing these words grew proud of her work and dispersed the concerns of the other "founding members" of Riverwatch. Within a couple of days, the fortress was essentially run by the new dwarves and led by Lorbam, who had been granted the position of manager in addition to her other duties.
Cerols first order to the new dwarfes - other than keeping the fortress supplied with food and booze - was to expand and furnish the living quartes, a decision wich would prove most beneficial, as it led to the discovery of another rich gold vein. Also Cerol issued the order to smooth the quartes floors and walls in preparation of engraving the whole area.
Summer 252
Of the "founding members" the Miner Mebzuth Lededem was most outraged about the "invasion", as he perceived the influx of new, supposedly more skilled dwarves. He struck the earth as if it was the skull of another dwarf everytime, until he was struck himself, not by a pickaxe, but by inspiration. Dropping all his tasks, he scared the mason from his workshop and claimed it for himself, creating a work unmatched by anything seen in Riverwatch as if to mock those had come and thought themselves to be of higher skill.
Thus Zirilokon "The Fiery Burdens" was conceived. A millstone made from tetrahedrite, menacing with spikes and being encircled with bands of rectangular cabochons of the same, it stood as a memorial to the hard work put into the foundations of the fortress.
Cerol was very pleased with his work, as it indeed prompted the new dwarves to keep the founders in higher esteem. Just after it had be unveiled, she ordered it built in the main dining hall.
Attracted by the wealth accumulated at Riverwatch and the lively trade depot, kobold thieves quickly became a nuisance, though the never even got near the stockpiles, as the never weary war dogs kept watch at the fortresses gates, scaring away any kind of filth the dwellers did not permit to enter.
Amidst the summer months a human caravan arrived for the first time. Lorbam greeted them, closely observing wich kind of wares they carried. A few animals and some barrels of different types of booze, cloth and leather, finally a collection of battered, humansized armor made from iron and obviously "battle tested". Asked about the state of affairs between the Behal Uvno and Ebbakpesor, there faces turned sour.
Grave was the situation of the Kingdom of Fortifying, as the Confederecy had taken it's capital and burned it to the ground. They'd killed the king and his heirs and even the most splendid general known to human kind found himself merely keeping the forces of Behal Uvno from collapsing.
Still, neither the Lords of Ebbakpesor nor the people of the Kingdom of Fortifying thought of ending the war if not in victory and as such, the fields would lie waste for another season and another thereafter and the goblins would not have to fear to be hindered in their raids and plots.
Lorbam listened and kept silent. After the humans finished telling their stories, she ordered the haulers to bring forth the finest provisions the fortress could provide to their human peers in order to strenghten the ties with them, as she knew the time to take their lands had not yet come, even though she deemed the news promising and worth reporting them to her master.
To Cerol she said: "As you can see, the humans won't be able to defend us against the goblins, for they war each other. We must stand firm and defend the fortress on our own." and Cerol unterstood and she agreed. Returning to the fortress, she ordered her miners to dig deeper, to find the blood of the stone and kindle the forges, for the land had not enough trees to smelt the riches found below.
And as they dug deeper, the dwarves of the Moist Schields opened caverns long forgotten, hidden deep within the earth, and the tune of their work echoed through the ancient halls and tunnels, waking the unnumbered terrors bound therein. The dwarfes of Riverwatch awed at the sight of these caverns, the walls littered with native gold and unnumbered gems and the floors clad in webs of the finest silk and giant mushrooms. Only to Lorbam did occur the danger of these new findings and she urged Cerol to at least build hatches to safeguard the settlement.
With a few more migrants - civilians most of them - the summer came to an end as the leaves turned red.
Fall 252
Cerol, driven by curiosity summoned the forts best hunter - a legend named Durin Alathikal - and ordered him to explore the caves and prospect its riches. He complied, as he was very fond of her, despite being counted among those who Lorbam had brought with her. The latter did not like the idea of sending one of their best to his death, but she figured to better risk his life, than to leave the caves and its dangers unexplored.
Light footed as any dwarf could be, Durin delved into the depths of the caves and explored its wonders. Gigantic clusters of marvelous jewels, rich veins of precious minerals and even a platinum deposit he stumbled upon. All the while the caverns remained awkwardly silent, as if the rock itself lay in wait to ambush him.
It didn't, but the giant bat - wich would later become known among the dwellers of riverwatch as "Vathsithamid Kezatasmel" wasn't made of stone. Mighty its wings and sharp it's claws it attacked, but the hunter heard it swoop down upon him and raised his crossbow in defense.
The bat hit him hard, but as hard did it hit its head against the block, tumbling. QUickly Durin recovered and pounded at the beasts head, until it finally stopped movig, it's head fractured and blood sprayed about.
Durin, content to have killed it, continued his exploration of the caves and little did he know of the terrible cost his haste would have.
The hideous "Vathsithamid Kezatasmel" was not dead, it had merely fainted. And even though it bled through many wounds and its skull was all but shatterd, the hatred burning within became even more fierce and it liftet itself into the air by sheer force of will, to take revenge on the one who tried to kill it.
But as it followed his scent it did so in the wrong direction, because its brain had taken many blows. Before long it found its way into the fortress, wich had - after the discovery of another level of caves even deeper down - still not properly been sealed.
Still fainting from time to time, it scaled the staircase leading upwards into the main dining hall and as it reached it, the terrible sight of the bloodsoaked bat drove fear into the hearts of the dwarves. They scattered, and it followed some of them further upstairs into the chamber of stones, the place from wich any furniture or stone craft made in Riverwatch emerged.
No description will measure up to the terror its claws brought. Without mercy or hesitation the giant bat clawed into its victim - one of the masons - and ripped it guts out, all the while biting a farmer it had chased up from the dining hall in the leg and shaking him around like a toy until the body flew away, while the leg remained with it.
It continued to thresh away at more dwarves, using the farmers pants like a lash as it continued to shake its head.
By the time Durin returned the bat had killed or dealt life threatening injuries to no less than eight dwarves and was still ravaging the halls.
Durin confronted it within the confines of one of the depleted gold mines. But its eratic movements made it hard to hit by bolts and once more he found himself beating his opponent. "Vathsithamid Kezatasmel" raged, but its life started to wane and soon enough it seemed, that Durin would defeat it again, and this time for sure. Suddenly, an unexpected blow struck the hunter and send him flying against a wall and everything around him went dark.
Nobody knows, what exactly happened afterwards. But it is known, that as Druin wakened, another dwarf was beside him and the bat had been literally hacked to pieces. "Batslayer" Oddomudist they called him ever after and his real name has been forgotten long ago. That dwarf, one of the woodcutters, claimed to have killed the bat. Durin thanked him, still dazed, and everyone else did as well.
Still under the impression of the slaughter and amidst a blood stained craftdwarves workshop the second artifact of Riverwatch was born. Named Tomefilled, it was a diorite Miniforge menacing with spikes of hematite and oak and encrusted with various jewels, made by the hands of Etur Amkolerith, the stonecrafter who travelled among the original seven and had taught all his craft to himself after they arrived.
Cerol, recognizing the danger her curiosity had brought upon her fortress, had the cavern entrace walled of at once, planning to construct a safer entry way later. Also she ordered floorhatchtes constructed in order to seal the lower sections of the fortress if need be.
And as if all this hadn't been enough to make the Moist Shields miserable, the yearly caravan from the mountain homes was ambushed just as it entered the borders of the Fortresses lands and while the caravan guards drove the merchants away, not a single trader survived the initial onslaught.
Winter 252
Cerol, severely depressed by the death of two of her original companions drowned her sorrow in any kind of brew she happened upon and this gave Lorbam the chance to seize complete control of the fortress, even though she did not dare to revoke Cerol as expedition leader officially.
It also was Lorbam, who decided to send out dwarfes to gather the wares from the ambushed caravan, much to the dismay of some, she conviced most it was better to take them, than to leave the to the thieves who killed fellow dwarves.
But her luck betrayed her all to soon. As the dwarves emerged to claim the freight, their hounds made them aware of another ambushing party of the goblins. They rushed back and only by sheer luck all of them returned unharmed, but with the goblins on their heels.
Lorbam had the fortress sealed and tried to think of a solution, but she could find none, until the Batslayer stepped forth, a daring plan in his mind. He urged her to allow him and his hounds to emerge through the tunnels dug for Cerols trapping shemes lure them into the cage traps, seeing how the very first had already trapped their leader. Lorbam was unsure of the consequences, hence she did, what every politician would've done, she sought out Cerol and made her decide it.
Cerol, drunk even beyond the dwaves standards and probably unaware of the unfinished nature of her trap-systems decided to do as the Batslayer had suggested. The moment she said so, Cerol stepped back in and ordered a makeshift militia rounded up, just in case anything went wrong, intend on blaming it on Cerol if it were to happen.
The Batslayer and his hounds emerged with glory, but the Lord of Blood had marked them for his pleasure and the goblins speared the hounds in mere moments. The Batslayer still managed to lure the goblins into the trapped maze, yet another flaw in his plan revealed himself. The drawbridges, wich if lowered allowed for easy access to all parts of the maze, had not been raised, and even though he through himself into the enemies spears, he only managed to contain all but one and this one stormed the halls with laughter, thrusting his silver spear into dwarfes left and right.
Durin, most skilled of the remaining dwarves in combat, took the challenge and gravely wounded his foe, but he also had bore the mark of Armok and it led the spear to its target without fail.
In fact, the spear was thrust through his eye and head, and before he even had time to die, the goblin twisted his spear in such a way he ripped of Durins head and it flew away in an ark. For such is the nature of glory, that it is ended in tragedy.
Again, eight dwarves fell before the invader, until he was overwhelmed by the militia and horribly murderded, for goblins are no exception to Armoks rule. As such, a sword cut his throat, so he might not scream, a spear was run through his chest and both his lungs and as he fell, the blow of an axe cut him into two.
Victorious stood the dwarves, but they rejoiced not, for Cerol Besmirlaltur, Head of the Moist Shields, Founder of Riverwatch and beloved Leader of her people lay dead. Nobody had seen her amidst the confusion - in fact, some even today claim she was not slaughtered by the goblin, but indeed murdered by her rival - but it is suspected seeing her decisions again putting the fortress in danger, she could not bear to stand aside and assailed her foe with her bare hands.
Upon Cerols cold corpse Kulet, last female of the original seven, pledged to carve a tomb worthy of her friend from one of the mined out halls with her own hands and Etur willed his stoneturned vision of the magma forges be layed to rest with her. And the masons agreed to work their finest craft from the blood of the stone to house her remains, and the jewelers vowed to encrust it with the most precious of gems. For she had been the soul and heart of the fortress and never disappointed her people, even though she might have thought so.
And until this great work would be done, she was rested within a masterwork coffin of phyllite, for it was her favorite stone.
Thus ended the second year of mighty Riverwatch and many things would change in the future. Lorbam took the title of expedition leader without contest and through her, the plans of the undying king would commence. But think not she was pleased on how it was achieved, for even if they often disagreed, she harbored deep love for her rival, so deep in fact she named her first child - born just a few days after the tragedy - in her honor.
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Topic: For all Glory must End in Tragedy - The Rise and Fall of Riverwatch [v0.34.11] (Read 990 times)