Journal of Erumara Anamiteb, Manager, 10-02-32WAR IS UPON US!
SOUND THE ALARM, ALL CITIZENS TO THE BURROW!
The civilians scramble for cover and the military begin their warm-up routine. Only one squad of the filth, suprisingly well-armed, has been spotted so far.
The military had just received a full complement of gauntlets and the order for boots is sitting in the queue, only the breastplates remain to be smelted and forged.
I nod to Cilob,
"Wait just a little longer to see if any more are spotted, make sure none of the vermin survive to regret their greed."
"Yes overseer," replied Cilob "today The Axedancers will make our nation proud."
As an afterthought I added,
"Make sure to keep them clear of the livestock."
An update arrives from the gate,
"Commander! 4 more goblins have been spotted. They're quickly making their way over the south shoulder of the mountain, we believe all of the dwarves have been accounted for!"
"Good work!" Cilob shouted as he ran full speed to the trade depot, his Axedancers close behind.
Several of the soldiers run full speed to the armory, because naturally they haven't gotten all of their new equipment yet, and run back down to the trade depot as the goblins slaughter our watchdog.
As the goblins regroup, only 3 soldiers stand at the depot, I watch 3 others run past the depot to the armory.
"Shake the rust out you freeloaders!"
Meng Holdcudgel runs past yelling about an empty waterskin.
What perfect timing, as the goblins rally inside the gate.
4 dwarves stand at the depot....
6 dwarves stand as Ustba Arul the axegoblin charges down the ramps!
And the battle is over far quicker than it began.
Our military stands without a scratch, the invading army reduced to largely headless corpses in a matter of a few strides. All hail The Axedancers!
Journal of Erumara Anamiteb, Manager, 10-11-32No sooner had the dwarves resumed gathering wood when a cry is heard across the fortress;
"IT'S COMING! BY ARMOK IT'S ALIVE! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
I dash to the barracks,
"Cilob! By Armok's Beard, I hope your boys have stocked up!"
I explain the situation as we make our way to the antechamber.
"There's only one thing for it, by the gods I have to go it alone, seal the gate behind me and if I don't return, you engrave me a nice slab and try and wait it out."
I stopped dead in my tracks, awestruck, but it wouldn't matter what I had to say about it, I had to hit that lever.
I heard a shout from above,
"RUN ITON! For the love of Armok, you can outrun the damn thing!"
Iton picks up the pace and makes his way back up the mountain, but he never had it's full attention. The Beast has it's sights set on Stodir Mountaininks, one of our legendary masons!
I see a cloud of dust go up between the trees and I quickly lose hope, our salvation lies with Cilob now.
I see Cilob running back towards the barracks, and realize the gate has been closed too quickly! They will have to rally and try to kill it in one shot!
The military gathers in the antechamber.....
Meng and Morul immediately volunteer to help Cilob, he nods in agreement and I head to re-open the gate....
I stand by the lever for what seems like an eternity, waiting for the signal to unleash dwarven hell and..........
........... what?
I'm sorry could you repeat that?
I stare at the messenger for a few seconds.
"This is no time for some kind of foolish joke you Armok-be-damned elf-lover! You expect me to believe it's just GONE!?"
All hail the Legendary Mason, and Slayer of The Titan Cana Cimathiniya!
Etur Fightmirrors!It pains every dwarf to know that her victory will be short lived, already she shows signs of The Malady that pains her every step. Truly, The Titan was merciful when it caved in Stodir's head. Meng Ozkakservesh lays dying in a pool of blood near the pasture.
The doctors will do what they can to make them comfortable.
I lift the alert and lower the bridge so that someone can retrieve Meng and allow her to expire under the earth.
Several hours later, Meng Carryfurnace lays in the well-equipped hospital, her right false ribs have been completely smashed in and she is covered from head to toe in blisters. The doctor is in the midst of stitching up her inujuries. I take a moment to remind the doctor of proper protection when dealing with a legendary beast, he quails and grabs two more pairs of gloves.
He turns to me as he finishing stitching up Meng, and reminds me not to lose all hope so soon.
I notice that Etur is not in one of the beds, I inquire where exactly our hero is buried, and Taupe informs me she left of her own accord some time ago. A quick search finds her outside helping to construct the main entrance. She too is covered in blisters but seems to be managing just fine.
A search for the corpse of The Beast quickly begins to tell a story quite different from the one everyone had gathered
The dwarves may have been trapped outside, they may have climbed out of a hole, the only thing for certain is that The Beast may as well had an invitation.
We are immensely fortunate the goblins didn't find the same way in. I relay orders to immediately cover over the holes.
Those blasted woodcutters! The trees sat marked for cutting for months, and they finally cut them down in perfect time to leave us exposed! The damn beast could have easily wiped us out. As I examine the beasts remains I make note they are still covered in poisonous extract. I can only hope that the dwarves manage not to spread it around.
Journal of Erumara Anamiteb, Manager, 11-05-32Etur and Meng seem to have recovered completely from The Beast's sickness. Praise be to Armok! The double siege cost us but a single dwarf and some livestock.
With the two large magnetite deposits having been mined, the smelters are in full production making us useable metals. The masons still have another years work ahead of them, they have nearly completed smoothing the first bedroom level even as the second level is being excavated.
Journal of Erumara Anamiteb, Manager, 12-20-32
Sodel gave birth to another bundle of booze today,
Welcome to the world, Pencil_Art Wonderedurns!
Journal of Erumara Anamiteb, Manager, 12-28-32Another year ends at Axedanced, our progress can only be described as monumental.
The military stands nearly armed to the teeth, and hungry for war. Our stockpiles fill to the brim faster than we can manufacture containers and the raw resources in this mountain will keep us busy for at least a decade.
We gather in our wondrous dining hall, despite the noticable lack of chairs everyone is able to quite comfortably attend.
As we tap yet another barrel of booze the party begins to get raucous, dwarves are toasting the fortress, each other, the Mayor, and even a couple of the dwarves offer a toast to my visions as overseer.
As the party winds down and the dwarves slowly file to their bedrooms to recover, I find myself sitting alone, pondering the events of the last year.
Only 1500000* in this fortress and the Titans are already finding us.... we know these lands contain dragons and gigantesses. Though noone has heard or seen tell of them in a few decades... what could next year possibly throw at us?
We must get our main entrance finished, the framework and supports are complete and soon we can move our livestock closer to the entrance, perhaps this year we shall dig into a cavern layer, only then can we move the pastures underground and have this fortress cut off from the surface.
But what terrors wait for us under the earth?
I quaff my dwarven rum and set out to my bedroom, still lost in thought.
End of Year Three
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Topic: Cadenianenu Chapter 2: The foundation of Axedanced (Read 3116 times)