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[Gaulgath]

To whom it may concern:

With the Queens latest initiative to form an offensive force against the nation of Shinfeb's enemies, all squad leaders are now hereby required to become active in the frontlines of our mighty military for an indefinite amount of time. While this may seem a rather cruel measure, it is quickly becoming more of a necessity as the goblin hordes continue to pillage our great lands and fortress. We trust you will be able to quickly meet the Queens demands by taking your squad around the nearby lands and mountain ranges, giving help where it is needed, and commencing the slaughter of all goblins you shall come into contact with.

May Armok be with you,
Rig Fabok, General of the Queen's Army

"Queens latest initiative" my stout dwarven arse! All of those stuck-up nobles can kiss my ass, for all I care. She wants me to abandon my home, march into whatever frozen hell-hole those little green bastards live, and then come back and pull all those arrows out of my ass and then continue this "crusade" for an "indefinite amount of time"

Very well then, but when I return with the riches the goblins have stolen from us after all those years, you can be sure it isn't touching any of their soft-skinned palms. I scout the smoothed halls of our fortress and recover my squadmates, then explain to each of them our mission. When we were all done drinking ourselves into a stupor, we all embarked and stopped only to take one last look at our home.

Lokum Rigothimketh (yours truly), Swordsdwarf
Besmar Idlikot, Hammerdwarf
Ber Lolokdakas, Hammerdwarf
Vabok Udibniles, Axedwarf
Cog Kolceral, Speardwarf

Let's get this the hell over with.

[ October 01, 2007: Message edited by: Gaulgath ]

[Gaulgath]

So... goddamn... hungry. We've been traveling for several days now, though I can barely keep track of the time anymore. Everything aches, and every step I take it feels like I'm falling into some sort of hell. We barely even stop for a rest, however, such is the dwarven way! Strong as the mountains we delve in!...

Besmar laughed at Lokum. "Hehehe, still recording our every move, Lok'? Well, I just took a shit in that bush back there. Why don't you wright that down?" The rest of the squad laughed heartily. Not that is was very funny, but because laughter helped get their minds of off their current situation. Lokum didn't say anything, but dipped his quill into the ink fountain and continued writing.

Vabok reports having seen movement in the bushes during one of his scouting expeditions. He's convinced that we're being watched. Hah! Like there would be people in this Armok-forsaken wasteland.

"Wait, what was that?" Belmar suddenly questioned. "There's something in the bushes!"
Lokum sighed. Belmar enjoyed hearing his own voice. Hell, he thrived on it! Ever since they had left sight of their home, he would not shut his goddamn mouth.
"Goddamnit! Listen to that! Don't ignore me! I know I heard someth-" Ber suddenly slapped his gloved fist over Besmar's mouth and leaned to his ear.
"For once, will you please just shut your bleeding trap!" he screamed it incredibly loud, and Belmar was quite shocked for a moment, and then didn't say anything. Ber chuckled, and went back to the tree he was sitting under.

The rest happened suddenly. It was a sudden shout of "Don't move!" and then there was an elf, pointing an arrow right at Lokum, who had wandered away from the rest of the group to look for a more silent place to write.

The rest of the squad quickly joined his side, however, and the elf suddenly took a step back, shocked.
"DWARVES IN THE FOREST! IT'S AN ATTACK!" They could all hear the fear in the young elve's voice.

Vabok sighed and stepped forward as calmly as he could manage. Then said (very quietly) "We aren't here to kill you. We're just passing through. Now if you don't mind-" he motioned for the Elf to lower the bow. He kept the string taut, but aimed towards the ground in front of him. After a few moments of silence, he put the arrow back in the quiver and motioned for the five dwarves to follow. They walked for a few minutes, and then saw them: more elves! Lots of them, running around and climbing the trees. Children watched anxiously as the iron-clad warriors marched through their retreat.

They were all kept a close eye on as they walked, but eventually they were free of the retreat's perimeter.

Then Cog, who hadn't said a single thing since they left, muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear: "Tree-hugging bastards."

It felt good to laugh, Lokum decided, as everyone burst out into it - loud and rumbling.
//////////////////////////////////////////

Right then. Moving slower than I had hoped, but we should be getting into the action pretty soon. Comments and criticism are greatly appreciated, of course. Would be nice to know someone has read it, after all!

EDIT 2: Forgot a picture. Sorry 'bout that.

[ October 03, 2007: Message edited by: Gaulgath ]

[ October 03, 2007: Message edited by: Gaulgath ]

[Armok]

68% good story. The God of Blood hazt reed thiz!

[Fourth Triad]

I've read it, I like it so far, just keep up the good work.

[Gaulgath]

Thanks for the replies! Things are going to get relatively interesting now, methinks...
///////////////////

The elves, as was expected, gave us no food. We didn't ask, of course. It would be a sad day if a dwarf had to ask an elf for any kind of assistance.

The dwarves had continued marching for weeks now, and not a single greenskin had been found. Every day it looked more and more hopeless, like they were all being sent to their deaths rather than to become heroes. Yet none of them said anything, but rather continued along the mountain range, looking for anything that would tell them of a goblin dark fortress near the area.

Besmar, who had remained quiet for quite some time after the run-in with the elves, had got back to talking again, much to the disdain of his squadmates. He would talk about anything that crossed his mind, be it another vulgar joke about the queen or hearing another sound in the dense woods around them...

Lokum suddenly stopped, and reached for the hilt of his sword.
"Lokum? What is it?" Vabok asked, worry in his voice.
Lokum quickly unsheated his blade, and yelled to the rest of the group: "Everyone! Form up around me! Weapons, now!" they all stood silent for a moment, but then quickly began marching towards their leader, weapons drawn.

'Too late.' Lokum thought. And he was right.

A pack of snarling, drooling wolves came charging through the brush, cutting each one of the shocked dwarves off. Cog had charged ahead to the front, and Belmar was far in the rear. The others were out of Lokum's sight.

Looking at the nearest wolf, Lokum could clearly see its ribcage against the creatures thin midsection. These creatures were desperate for anything, even a dwarf!

"Belmar! Over here!" was all he managed to yell before the white hound was upon him. The wolf jumped into the air, its claws landing on Lokum's thick shoulder plates. Lokum suddenly lost his balance, and him and the beast fell forward.

The squad leader looked up towards Belmar, who was holding the shaft of the hammer, desperately trying to hold back the teeth of a wolf. The rest was a blur, Lokum was still on the ground, the wolf near him, and Belmar... the wolf he had been holding back suddenly lurched forward, and its teeth closed around
his neck.

Lokum cursed, and quickly attempted to get to his feet. "Belmar!" he yelled, hoping for some sort of confirmation that his longtime sparring partner was alright.

Moments. Nothing. Lokum swung his iron sword, slicing the downed wolf in the leg. The blade cut deep, and stuck in the wound. Through the forest, he could hear the rest of his team fighting.
             
Lokum twisted the deadly blade deeper into the wolves leg, and it slowly bled to death. The rest of the squad formed up around him, and they quickly began their final assault against the beasts. One by one the wolves fell, their blood spattering on the grass around them. They stood around the corpses for a moment, gathering their breath.

"Where's Belmar?" Ber suddenly asked, though his voice showed that he knew the answer. Lokum looked pointed near a tall oak, his eyes pointing towards the ground in grief. The group remained motionless, no one saying anything. After a few long minutes, Lokum muttered a curse under his breath and slowly marched to Belmar's bloodied corpse and knelt down to it.

He put his iron-clad hand over his friends missing throat and whispered one last prayer.

Belmar would never speak again.

[Bingbing]

RIP, hammerdwarf. May Armok send you to a place where dwarves get set on fire.

Wait, that doesn't sound right.

[Gaulgath]

I shall not let this story die... yet. Besides, its getting interesting.
///////////////////

Lokum woke with the scent of smoke wafting into his large dwarven nostrils. The moon was setting now, and Cog and Ber were pacing anxiously among the thick foliage. Through the leaves and branches of the trees the imposing silhouette of the great mountain range they had been following could be seen, a great stone beast looking over the surrounding forest.

Lokum wearily stood, and looked about the surroundings. Everything was wrong here: there was not the close comfort of the stone tunnels they had all grown up in, there were no great statues or marble pillars. Shaking his head, Lokum picked up several small sticks from the soft ground and set them in the dying fire.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the leaves, and the dwarves looked into its direction, suddenly alert.

Fortunately, it was Vabok who stepped out of the bushes. As he stepped towards the fire, Lokum could see that something was wrong, that Vabok had something to report. And after taking a few long breaths, he did: "There's a cave in th' mountain! Th' entrance was smooth stone, not natural- I think I saw movement too - scatterin' and rushin through th' bushes! Goblins!"

All traces of drowsiness suddenly fled from the faces of the dwarves. There were a few moments of silence.

"Alright men! We're moving out. Let's show these little green bastards some fine dwarven iron! Vabok, lead us there, quickly!"

With Vabok at the head, the squad embarked with a quick pace towards the towering mountain. The moon was setting behind it, and the sun was peeking up from the east.

Well, at least we aren't going in complete darkness... Lokum thought. Could this really be it? He knew that his squad was depending on his leadership, but his encounters with the goblins had been short and with little real bloodshed. And just how many were there going to be? More than ever, Lokum feared for his squad.

Through the receding darkness, they could see it: A symmetrical opening cut into the mountainside. Lokum suddenly halted, and crouched down to the ground.

"Wha? Sir- you alright?" Ber said, a bit apprehensively. Lokum knew something here was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Sh!" Cog hissed. "You'll give us away, damnit!" Then Vabok muttered something- a quick curse, then turned to the rest of the squad. In the continually brightening sunlight, he gestured around.

"Vabok? What is it?" Lokum whispered as strongly as he could. But it only took him and the rest of the squad a few more moments to notice it.

Bodies! Dwarven corpses, impaled through upright pikes, forced to rot here as food for the flies!

Lokum cursed, and began marching towards the entrance his squad quickly following. Justice would be dealt. The goblin's will choke on their own blood and bile! Never would such a disgrace go unpunished: The dead shall be avenged!

[AlanL]

If that's what I think it is, nice use of an easter egg  

I've never seen the impaled-on-a-spike easter egg before XD

I like how this is turning out  :p

[ October 13, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Turgid Bolk]

How did I miss this story before? This is great, keep the updates coming! I fear for the dwarves' lives. Here's hoping they stay together and avoid the marksmen.