Chapter 1: Embark
Melbilorrun.
A name not often heard in the Mountainhomes since the incident.
Melbilorrun.
The lost expedition of 127.
Melbilorrun.
Our destination.
We, the 7, will reclaim what was lost. Reclaim the honor of the dwarves, discover what happened that fateful day, a decade ago. Why a once flourishing outpost is filled with nothing but empty corridors and the whispers of the wind. What happened to the inhabitants? We will find out.
It lies in the center of our great kingdom, untouched from the relentless assaults of the goblins on the northern and eastern fronts. No humans from the west have set foot there, nor did the uneasy truce with the elves break. Right in the center of our kingdom, yet ignored and shunned, avoided by all caravans, traders and mercenaries alike.
A thick fog lies in the air on our arrival.
Before us, the great hall. Empty, except for the trade depot, with wares intact, covered only by cobwebs and dust. Nothing touched it hence. No disturbance in the dust, no imprints...
No plants either, as if nature itself avoided the place. No greenery, no bush, no tree in the vicinity of the former fortress. A small trail leads to the forest pond, never to be finished. To the north, the great merchant road leaves the fort, the only entrance.
Curiously, a small path to the west leads to the second road... yet it ends in the solid wall. No hidden pathway, as far as our mason could detect. And he is a Dwarven mason after all. We know our fortresses.
Someone must have bricked it shut. But was it to keep something out, or lock it in?
We, the 7, stopped our wagon at the north-eastern corner, next to the former doorway. First order of business will be exploration, sealing the potentially dangerous path that leads deep into the bowels of the former fort, and filling the hall with... anything, really. Anything is better than the silence.
We will build and labor. We will drink and eat and be merry. We will let the voices of dwarves be heard again.
And then, we will muster a great militia and reclaim what was once ours.
(OOC: Embarked with 7 dwarves, lifestock, 3 picks, 1 axe, 1 sword, on a dwarven ruin.)