The Story of Toursizzle & The Cursed VolcanoWatch my full edited playthrough here:
https://youtu.be/AbdmbIIpe2U (Contains Spoilers)
This is the story of how 7 dwarves established an outpost, that would grow into a thriving metropolis, it is the story of their journey to becoming one of the most wealthy and revered civilizations in the realm it is also the story of the curse that took hold of the dwarves from deep within the mountain they now call home. Witness the rise and fall of toursizzle, the fortress cursed by the gods.
There was a darkness in the mountain that nobody could quite explain. There was an ominous force at work here, and as time went on this force became more and more malevolent.
The dwarves were drawn to the mountain in search of wealth, little did they know this insatiable hunger would slowly corrupt the fortress from the inside out
The dwarves did a quick survey of the area, unsure of their surroundings they immediately began hollowing out a small section of the mountain in order to establish a base of operations. They worked tirelessly, three dwarves were assigned to mine while the other 4 gathered plants that could be brewed into booze, and logs that would be used to craft beds and other furniture.
They constructed workshops and immediately began crafting wooden crossbows and bolts.
A few dwarves were assigned to hunting duty, and at first they struggled, with little skill and nothing but wooden bolts at their disposal they were unable to actually kill anything. One fisherdwarf who was assigned to hunt was overcome by terror because of… a bird… she climbed up a tree and lived the rest of her life there until eventually she died of severe dehydration and starvation, what a loser.
It wasn't long before word of the outpost's successful establishment reached the homeland, and the first wave of immigrants arrived in search of wealth and prestige.
With the migrants came a legendary weaponsmith, she was tasked with using the small stockpile of silver the dwarves had collected to craft bolts for hunting, allowing the hunters to finally actually kill some things.
Was the mountain always cursed, where these dwarves destined to fail or did they somehow anger the gods?
It wasn't long before the dwarves became obsessed with wealth, as animals were killed their mangled bones were taken and immediately crafted into crowns, necklaces, earrings and other trinkets which would be stockpiled and used later for trade
The dwarves were so obsessed with building their wealth they spent all of their time and energy working, the expedition leader was so busy she would regularly conduct her meetings while hauling vomit and blood covered camel corpses back to base. She was a VERY important person
The fortress was bustling, metal was being smelted, furniture crafted and the mangled corpses of every animal they could find were being processed into scepters and butt plugs.
The dwarves sealed off the entrance in preparation for the dangers they would surely face in the near future
A tavern was built were the dwarves could hang out, get absolutely wasted and recite poetry.
The dwarves also built their first temple, where they could meditate and pray on wealth. The strangest thing happened, the animals in the fort, disturbed by the blatant disregard for the wildlife in the area, huddled together in fear, the temple quickly became their refuge.
The renovations where completed just in time as a trader from the homeland arrived with another wave of prospective citizens, they mingled in the tavern while the trader unloaded his goods, the dwarves of toursizzle traded the bone crafts for essentials like seeds and booze.
The dwarves began mining ore and gemstones from the mountain face, the mountain was incredibly rich in resources, they began searching relentlessly for iron as they knew that soon they would need to begin training a militia in order to protect their wealth, they were filled with a strange sense that they had been chosen, but were they chosen by the gods or another malevolent force beyond their understanding?
They dug a tunnel underneath the valley separating their stronghold from the adjacent volcano. They understood that the volcano would become one of their most valuable assets, and the tunnel would allow them to travel back and forth without fearing the dangers on the surface. They carefully constructed magma fueled furnaces and metal forges on the edge of the lava, this would be a massive boon for their growing metal industry, it would allow them to smelt everything from gold to steel without the need for charcoal as fuel, allowing them to focus less on chopping trees and more on mining, smelting and crafting.
It wasn't long before they faced their first mortal threat, an army of the dead marched on the fortress from the north. The dwarves had been here just a year and they were experiencing their first siege. Fearful but determined, they hollowed out another large section of the mountain to be used as their first barracks, a few of the more violently inclined dwarves began training immediately.
Worker dwarves began mining and smelting as much iron ore as they could get their hands on to be used to forge armor, they even managed to craft a few bars of steel which would be forged into weapons for the militia. They could only spare a few dwarves as soldiers for now and it was important that these dwarves were as prepared as possible. The undead forces outside the fortress were small but formidable.
The dwarves were incredibly lucky that they had a legendary weaponsmith living in the fort, but their greed led them to overwork her like a Walmart employee on christmas eve. she spent much of her time in the extremely hot metalshop, the sound of lava became her only friend. But she took pride in her work regardless and the weapons she forged were of the finest quality craftsmanship.
The metal armor and weapons were delivered to the training soldiers, still hot from the heat of the forge.
In the search for ore the dwarves dug deep, it wasn't long before they discovered an expansive underground cavern. The cavern was sealed off as they had other priorities like the army of the dead on the surface and they knew that dangers surely lurked in the darkness below.
And they knew that there were surely all manners of strange and dangerous creatures lurking in the darkness below
The zombies on the surface murdered everything in their path, thankfully they had no way of penetrating the well crafted defenses separating the fort from the outside world. They eventually marched away from the mountain, leaving a wake of death and destruction behind them
In order to try to manage the evergrowing pile of mangled corpses littering the valley outside the fortress doors, the dwarves built a large lava pit, allowing them to dump refuse, corpses and unusable bones into the lava below.
The muscular metalworkers were masterfully and meticulously refining their skills of metallurgy and a large stockpile of armor and weapons was assembled, it was decided that the bones of their enemies would be used to decorate the equipment before it was given to the soldiers. This was one of the first outward and blatant signs of the corruption slowly taking hold of the fortress occupants.
Decked out in their beautiful bone adorned equipment, the soldier dwarves slaughtered an elven caravan in cold blood, I mean to be fair the elves refused to trade and insulted the dwarves by saying that and i quote “i see your low race still revels in death” How could they spout such blasphemy? Low race? Revels in death? Elves are the worst.
This is when things began to take an unexpected and dangerous turn, the wildlife in the area became aggressive. All manners of generally peaceful creatures turned violent in an instant, any dwarf caught outside risked being slaughtered.
It was unclear what caused this sudden shift in the wildlife, was it due to the destruction of the forest? The fact that animals were being killed for bloodsport without prejudice and their bones used for trinkets and decorations or was it the coldblooded slaying of the peaceful elven caravan? The world may never know
A large section of space close to the volcano was hollowed out to create space for bedrooms Due to the growing body count, the dwarves also built a crypt consisting of individual rooms complete with a coffin where their fallen comrades would be put to rest.
Soon, a massive wave of immigrants would arrive, even with all of the death, dwarves came from all over the realm. Fueled by dreams of gold, gemstones, beautiful dyed silks and priceless artifacts
More of the mountain was hollowed out for storage while large sections of rock were removed on the surface to create room for dwarven fields where they would plant the seeds they had brought with them on their journey as well as the seeds stolen from the elven traders.
The valley between the volcano and the mountain fortress was carved out, it was walled off and a rooftop was built across it to give the dwarves a safe way to access their fields.
The growing population and success of the fortress brought much unwanted attention. One day without warning a minotaur came charging up to the front door of the fortress, easily slaying all of the most well trained soldiers, but as soon as he got inside he was bum rushed by a group of civilians using nothing but their picks, fists and teeth as weapons, there were even a few children involved in the violence.
Very shortly after the minotaur attack the sound of goblin horns could be heard in the distance, with little time to prepare the remaining warriors rushed outside to greet the goblin scourge on the field of battle, cutting them down with ease.
As the external dangers to the fortress mounted, the dwarves inside focused on expanding the metal shop in order to increase their output of smelted ore as well as weapons and armor.
The surface became a warzone littered with carnage, death was a constant and unavoidable consequence to the dwarven conquest for prosperity. The wildlife in the area seemed overcome by some kind of dark and malevolent force, the dwarves were no longer hunting the animals, the animals were hunting them.
It was a nonstop struggle for survival. And the dwarven warriors couldn't get enough, it became an excuse to murder anything and everything in their path with impunity, this is when the dwarven society began valuing strength and the ability for violence above all else, was it a means of survival or something more sinister?
Death became a perpetual and inescapable certainty.. There was not a day that passed without violence and it was becoming a way of life for the citizens of toursizzle. It seemed that the waves of bloodthirsty animals and undead warriors would be never ending. There was a ceaseless massacre that did not discriminate. This ultra violence greatly influenced the dwarves, it shaped them, for better or worse, they became a nation solely focused on the art of war. Were the elven traders right about them? maybe they really did revel in death.
The fortress separated into two castes, the soldiers and the workers, neither cast could continue thriving without the other. The dwarven warriors depended on the workers to craft them equipment and the dwarven workers relied on the warriors for protection.
It felt like an impossible task for the workers but out of respect for the fallen heroes they did their best to craft coffins and expand the crypt in order to lay every single fallen dwarf to rest.
The mutilated bodies of their enemies did not demand this same respect. The workers were constantly hauling the corpse to the lava dump where they were disposed of.
The citizens became convinced that the volcano was the home to a benevolent god, and dump became their way of making daily sacrifices to the powerful and ethereal forces that seemed to pulse through the fortress walls.
Unexplainable things began happening to the dwarves, but these occurrences were never more apparent than they were with the children. It has been argued by dwarven historians that the children of toursizzle were the first to be truly corrupted. Some even argued that the children could be described as demented. They would spend their time playing make believe with toys made from the bones of their exterminated enemies, often without explanation they would be found playing in the death pits surrounded by half decomposed carcasses, or on the field after a bloodbath. They had become numb to death.
This brings us to the discussion of the most noteworthy dwarf in the entire fortress, her name was ingrish, she had a penchant for violence from a very young age, at just 9 years old she had already murdered 4 of her fellow citizens, she was constantly being reprimanded and sometimes even thrown in the dungeon for her violent crimes. She was charismatic and incredibly violent, traits that would due her well in toursizzle
The adults feared and respected her, they even began lovingly calling her “bundy '' named after the famous dwarven cereal killer who also shared her ultra violent and charismatic tendencies. The nickname stuck. And Bundy was born. Over time she became a leader to the other children, together they would play in the death pits and cause all kinds of trouble throughout the fort.
One day there was a violent and chaotic riot, many dwarves died in the process, the tavern floor was soaked in blood, vomit and other unsavory bodily fluids. The hospital was completely full of survivors. It was unclear why this riot started and who was to blame, but after a particularly intense investigation, where many of the dwarves involved were violently interrogated in the dungeon it became clear that Bundy had been the cause of it all. Bundy held a dark and mysterious power over the other dwarves, many having become transfixed with her. They revered her, they worshiped her. She drunkenly started the brawl and her corrupted followers joyously joined in on the bloodbath.
By the age of just 13 years old Bundy's body count had risen to a staggering 6 kills of her fellow citizens. To this day it is still unclear why she was not more severely punished for these actions.
While bundy was slowly gaining influence, the dwarves of toursizzle went to work, they rerouted the nearby river, this new dwarven made river flowed through the mountain, giving the dwarves the ability to create a fishing hole sealed off from the outside world, giving the wimpy and elderly dwarves something to do all day.
The fame of the stronghold grew, and they soon attracted the attention of the queen from the capital, drawn by some invisible and mysterious force she decided to move in to toursizzle along with a couple other nobles. There was immediate tension in the fortress with the citizens. The queen made strange and frustrating decisions, like banning the exportation of bins, making trade incredibly difficult.
The banning of bins became a regular occurrence, any time traders came the queen seemed to impose yet another ban on their export. I mean what the heck.
The queen's actions infuriated the citizens of toursizzle that had built this stronghold with their bare hands and now they were forced to obey the wishes of this needy witch!?
The queen's arrival did more than just frustrate the citizens, it brought even more attention to the stronghold. There were constant skirmishes on the surface. One day a large demonic beast arrived, this beast was different than the others, its presence was strangely exciting to the dwarves, the elders in the fortress where certain that the beast was speaking to them, it rampaged across the mountain range, it loved to spew its hot sticky webs on any dwarf insolent enough to cross its path. Eventually the beast fought off an entire siege on its own, only to bleed out moments later. The presence of the beast had awakened something in the volcano, voices could be heard at all hours of the day, whispering strange and ancient secrets to any dwarf who would listen.
The massive increase in threats from the outside led the dwarves to permanently seal off their original entrance, they built a long and treacherous labyrinth of weapon traps, cage traps and drawbridges suspended over magma. The underground labyrinth was complete with a fully functional barracks where the best soldiers were stationed, any threat to the fortress would be forced to funnel through this dangerous labyrinth to reach the heart of the mountain, the stronghold was becoming impenetrable
Around this time most dwarves stopped doing any type of work outside, instead they dedicated their time and energy to expanding the great halls inside the mountain. Large temples were built and valuable dwarven made artifacts were placed on display. The dwarven workers also constructed beautiful bedrooms, crafting furniture from gold and platinum mined from deep underground. More and more of the mountain was hollowed out.
The dwarves reluctantly built the queen her very own bedchamber and throne room to try to please her in an attempt to hopefully stop her from punishing them by banning bins over and over. They filled it with beautiful well crafted furniture.
It wasn't long after she moved into her new chambers that she was heard complaining about it, she considered her new chambers horribly, it seems there was no pleasing her.
The next caravan of traders arrived from the homeland and AGAIN the queen had banned the export of bins.
The voices in the magma seemed to be screaming, this is when the growing darkness and corruption of the dwarves reached a tipping point. They were filled with rage. Seeing red.
The queen sat alone in her chambers, unaware of the atrocity that would soon befall her.
The warriors rushed into her throne room, and forced her at knifepoint out into the great hall, they dragged her screaming across the length of the mountain, down to the mouth of the volcano, she was forced along with her nobles onto the drawbridge.
Before they even had a chance to beg for mercy the door was locked behind them, the lever was pulled and they plunged into the magma, the smell of their burnt flesh filled the air, and the warriors drunk with bloodlust cheered.
At that moment, they all felt something deep inside the volcano, calling to them, it wasnt just the elders this time, it was everyone involved in the sacrifice of the queen.
They all heard it, they all felt it. There was no denying that the sacrifice of the queen pleased the powerful spirit in the volcano, and in that moment the spirit forged an unbreakable bond with the dwarves of toursizzle
After the sacrifice of the queen came an incredibly prosperous period for toursizzle. As the years passed the dwarves expanded, they built temples, libraries, and guildhalls throughout the mountain, as well as bedrooms for every citizen. Engineers designed water pumping machines that generated mist above the more trafficked hallways and above the main tavern, the mist had a magical calming effect on anyone who walked through it. The tavern was filled with treasures and artifacts on display.
They built a second entrance with a pit below it and they filled it with zombies they had captured with cage traps. The pit was not only a great first line of defense, it was also another sign that the dwarves had begun selling their souls to the entity in the volcano. It became another means of sacrificing their enemies, the zombie pit was incredibly effective. To outsiders the pit was terrifying, how could the citizens of toursizzle keep a pit full of zombies so close to their tavern and temples? From the main tavern screams and howls of the dead could be heard at all hours of the day, this did not seem to bother the citizens in the slightest. Yet another sign of the corruption spreading through the fort.
With the queen's sacrifice came promises of riches as the dwarves turned their sights to the caverns below them. They dug out large sections of rock in search of gemstones and ore, but it wasn’t long before they realized the caverns may be just as dangerous as the surface. A large force of snake people, aware of the dwarves' presence, took the dwarves' subterranean exploration as an opportunity to lay siege to the fortress.
This time the dwarves were prepared. The military was quickly growing. The workers dug towards the army of snake people, and the warriors prepared for battle. The tunnel towards the invading army was completed, workers knocked down the cavern wall separating the two armies and the dwarves rushed into battle, hungry for carnage. It was a bloodbath, a massacre, and it was glorious.
There was something within the caverns calling to the dwarves, it seemed like their destiny to explore even deeper. In order to protect the fortress from the dangers of the cavern another barracks was built, separating the stronghold from the cavern and warriors were assigned to train and sleep here. Any threat to the fort would be forced through this barracks.
Under the barracks a large section of the cavern was sealed off and fields were planted. The cavernous soil was incredibly rich, and it was a massive boon for the citizens.
The dwarven miners began exploring the caverns with the protection of the militia. And they quickly discovered that there were untold riches here, deep within the subterranean wasteland.
They found platinum, gold and large gemstones in a seemingly endless supply. But as they dug
they encountered strange and demonic entities, as their picks struck the earth, these demons encased in stone would often break free and attack anything in their path. The dwarven warriors were almost as busy as the miners, dealing with a constant stream of ungodly and ultra violent monsters in the depths.
It was becoming apparent that they had been mistaken about the caverns, while they did hold untold riches as well as ancient secrets, they were also incredibly dangerous, much more dangerous than anything the dwarves had faced thus far in their quest for glory and wealth.
Down here in the caverns there always seemed to be something dangerous to fear. But the insatiable hunger for riches had corrupted the dwarves to the point that they were willing to risk everything in exchange for wealth. Little did they know the danger was far greater than they could have ever imagined.
The miners began uncovering what could only be described as treasures of the gods, artifacts lost to time, buried in stone. These artifacts were far more valuable than any gemstone. These new discoveries drove the dwarves to a level of obsession nobody could have predicted. They couldn't get enough.
Their stockpile of gemstones and artifacts was growing at what seemed to be an exponential rate, nobody ever expected to achieve this level of success in such a short period of time. They were convinced they had been chosen, blessed by the spirit of the volcano.
The demonic entities should have served as a warning, but the dwarves saw them as just another obstacle in their quest for prestige. As the dwarves dug deeper the riches grew more abundant, the juice was fresh and plentiful.
As the riches grew so did the dangers, soon they were faced with giant apocalyptic creatures, many dwarves died in the caverns, but this didn’t slow them down. The dwarves believed these more dangerous creatures must be protecting something incredible, and it fueled them to keep going.
Somehow it never occurred to them that these apocalyptic beasts were a warning or a punishment from the gods, they were blinded by their ambitions. Soon they discovered large veins of adamantine, the most valuable resource in the realm, their wealth skyrocketed as they dug out and hauled the adamantine stone out of the caverns.
One day while mining one dwarf broke through a wall and opened up what could only be described as a supernatural portal to another realm. The smell of sulfur filled the air. Fear and madness fell upon the dwarves nearby. They peered into the cavern below, and what they saw horrified them. The cavern appeared to be alive with vortices of purple light and dark, boiling clouds and a seemingly bottomless glowing pit. The miners, overcome by terror fled and the warriors prepared themselves. They could hear the most ungodly noises coming from the opening.
It wasn't long before wave after wave of demonic creatures poured out from the portal. The warriors had plenty of practice fighting all manners of foul beasts, but this was different, they felt unimaginable terror as they fought for their lives. The warriors understood if they didn't stop these creatures the stronghold would fall.
The stream of beasts seemed to be limitless, never-ending. They killed so many, but it wasn't enough, it became apparent that this portal would never close so the warriors fled, and walls were constructed to block the creatures from entering the fort.
Everyone knew these fortifications would only last so long. The dwarves gathered and discussed their options. This could be the end for toursizzle and everyone knew it.
They became convinced they had angered the gods by digging too deep, their greed and insatiable hunger for wealth had to be the cause.
They also remembered their sacrifice of the queen and how the spirit of the volcano seemed to bless them for it.
The corruption of the dwarves had reached a boiling point, and together the warriors concocted a plan. A foul and wicked plan, that would end up being the downfall of them all.
This plan just so happened to be hatched the same day the famous Bundy turned 18. She was immediately drafted into the militia and she was hungry for bloodshed. On the surface the dwarves faced the largest siege in the history of toursizzle, and Bundy got to be a part of it. Toursizzle had become a nation that valued wealth and violence above all else. By this point every single citizen was required to have military training, and this fact made them feel invulnerable. But nobody could get the screams or the smells from the cavern portal out of their minds.
After the battle it was decided that their foul plan should be set in motion and the dwarves wasted no time. While the military was busy training and risking their lives. Visitors got drunk in the tavern, they were not warriors, but academics, artists, singers, dancers and poets and the warriors of toursizzle despised them for it.
A large golden temple was commissioned over the mouth of the volcano, the warriors set down their weapons and together they built the most stunning and glorious temple the realm had ever known.
As soon as the temple was completed the warriors went to the tavern, they rounded everybody up, these academics and artists were told they could either do as they were told or be thrown into the zombie pit, they were brought to the temple where they begged for mercy, the warriors felt no empathy, the corruption had completely erased any humanity they had left.
This was the only way the gods would forgive them. A massive sacrifice. The warriors were convinced that today they would surely appease the gods that had forsaken them. It worked when they sacrificed the queen and today it would work again.
A lever was pulled and in an instant the gentle academics and artists that the warriors despised so much were gone, leaving nothing behind but the smell of burnt flesh and gurgling magma. There was a moment of stillness, and then the warriors celebrated, the gods would surely smile on them today.
Before they had a chance to realize what was happening the volcano they spent so much time worshiping erupted, an explosion of fire and death rained down on everyone for miles in every direction. The warriors of toursizzle had no time to process what was happening, the lava came pouring over them, they screamed in agony and cursed the gods that had forsaken them, they couldn't believe that the volcano they had revered for all these years would be the downfall of them all.
Author
Topic: The story of Toursizzle & The cursed Volcano (contains spoilers) (Read 472 times)