== About the game ==I'm using
Rhenaya's drow mod and
Shukaro's Dwarven Higher Learning Mod v2.1 (for medicare only tho). The embark dimension is 1x1, I've used
Jifodus's nanofort to enable this option. 1x1 forts are brutal for the enemies are spawning right on top of you. Embarking in terrifying settings and waging war to all races available is a lot of FUN.
Please leave some feedback or comments if you like the story. Even if you don't. I feel this fort won't have a long history, so I might continue anyway
And please point out typos, I'm a grammar nazi myself (altho I'm not native english speaker so there might, and will, be mistakes).
Special notes are placed inside {}
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story!
NOTE: I was copy-pasting from my local wiki, where I did the editing. If there's wikimarkup somewhere, I'll try to fix that asap.
NOTE2: this is not finished, just the "part one". I might or might not continue, but probably will
NOTE3: the dates are somehow edited to account for more natural schedule then in-game. I'll stretch the updates as the events will start to be less interesting.
== 20th Felsite, 1050, Late Spring ==I've had enough! Today I've finally decided to do it. I'm going to leave the mountainhomes and travel to the far reaches of Kenomorid. And I won't come back without something special. We've all seen human crafts and elven rubbish, that's not going to impress anyone. No. I'm not coming back with something inferior. Senior traders always ridicule me for the goods I bring back (which I'm usually able to sell anyway). This time, they jaws will drop and never return back! I'm so excited I've spent whole night over maps, deciding over where to go.
== 21st Felsite, 1050, Late Spring ==Finally, some sleep. I've slept whole day, exahausted from the prep work. I'm a bit slow to think about such things and this was a very elaborate plan indeed. I've decided to head for the ancient deserts of the south. Many travelers and adventurers reported strange, even magical things happening there, on the edge of the world. Tombs and ruins of cities old as the world itself, remnants of the civilisations long gone. There was something that always drawn me to those places. Even as a kid, I've read all the great works of fiction, about dwarven heroes of the past, surviving in the harshest conditions possible. Well, the Age of Myths is just a memory now, and I'm confident we'll find just what I'm looking for, tombs with skeletons and a lots of shiny shiny gold, maybe even some precious Adamantine! Altho, if the rumours are true, other, more bloody destiny might be awaiting us...
== 27th Felsite, 1050, Late Spring ==Preparation is in full motion. I'm still finishing details of the schedule and the route, while peasants are filling the wagon with all the supplies. I've hired some mercenaries to keep us safe from wild animals, goblins and kobolds, those pesky little bastards. I don't trust them much, but they have army training and the equipment seem well preserved. One of them even pet the hammer as if it was alive! I'll keep an eye on her.
== 3rd Hematite, 1050, Early Summer ==Not much going on. We're still waiting for the last caravan to return from the nearby villages. I've orderd some fresh meat and booze, as well as some seeds, bags, barrels and all the other things we'll need on such a long journey. Meanwhile, I've been spending some time with the mercenaries, and they aren't so odd after all. Except that one who calls her hammer Betty. It's creeping me out!
== 5th Hematite, 1050, Early Summer ==The caravan has finally arrived. We're packing the food and getting last things done. I've almost forgot to get ourselves a ceremonial pick, one of the great symbols of our race. Altho I don't believe much in talismans and occultism, I'm a man of tradition. This one is made out of copper, and even so it's a bit fancy, you could crack a goblin's skull open with it. We're be leaving tomorrow! I'm so excited...
== 6th Hematite, 1050, Early Summer ==We're leaving! It seems like a big event, because roumors spread I'm leaving for a ''legendary'' journey. Many of my relatives, but also strangers, are waving on the streets as we go by. I can imagine they will even celebrate my departure (in the good sense, heh). Pretty much anything is worth a party. That's the dwarven way! Next few days we'll be crossing valleys and mountains, and I'm preparing myself for boredom of sitting in a wagon, doing nothing. But after the hectic days of the last two weeks, I think I deserve some rest...
== 25th Galena, 1050, Late Summer ==We met a caravan today! We've finally left the mountains behind and were heading towards the forests. I hate forests. I hate elves. I hate fairies. As I was getting in the right state of mind to cross this ''cursed land'', a scout knocked on the wagon, rather disturbingly, shouting:
- "There're some people ahead!"
I was confused. It couldn't be some of ours, not this far out this time or the year. It couldn't be elves, for they rarely leave their precious trees (damn treehuggers). I was quite eager to see who this might be, but also a bit worried. I've ordered my guards to get ready and practice their intimidating looks.
I've ordered the wagon to be hid over the little hill. We've climbed up and watched them from a safe distance.
What I've seen took my breath away for a while. They were much alike the elves, but with snow-white hair and rather dark skin. As if they were living undergrounds all the time. One of the peasants whispered these are drows, the old mystical caste of elves, who digged themselves to the ground, much like we do. Nonsense, I said, they only exist in the fairytales. Altho, I can imagine my voice wasn't very convincing. Could this really be? For the time being, let's just pretend they're sick elves or something...
They probably haven't seen us yet. Well, that's what I thought until they stopped their mules and started unpacking the stuff. Are they crazy?
- "You can come down," one of them shouted, "we're here to do business!"
How did they? I've looked down to the scout to lecture him, shouting lightly: "You could've got us all killed!" He must've left trails behind. With us being revealed, there was little meaning in staying hidden, pretending. Drowes or not, business is business. I've orderd one of the peasants to go get the wagon and stepped out from behind the hill. I was holding the pick menacingly, ready to smash their bones on any suspicious move. They are elves, after all...
- "Who are you? What can you offer?" I shouted from a safe distance.
- "Fear not, mighty warrior, we're at peace with all living things", the same one spoke again. Mighty warrior, flattering. But I have to keep myself focused.
- "We're drows, cousins of the elves. We live underground, dig for the precious metals and forgotten treasures. Much like your own people. We, in particular, are travelers and traders, peaceful, interested only in profit. When you roam the world long enough, you grow tired of all the violence. And violent race we are..."
- "Oh, uhmm... Let's see what you've got there", I said, little frightened.
These are indeed drows! I'm only weeks from mountainhomes, and I've run into THEM. There were no recorded encounters between our people in any of the documents I've had access to. It seems peculiar these - I can't believe it - these drows are this ''close'' to home. I've sent the other peasant to help with the wagon, while discussing and examining the goods. And the drows. The leader, tall and rather large and muscular female, wearing hood, fancy trousers and a mail made of shiny metal. Could that be the legendary mithril? She had long, snow-white hair covering all of her back, almost like our beards cover our bellies. Oh, the analogy. I've slightly grinned. She must've noticed I was looking at her and grinning, so she ''looked'' back. I stopped immediately. She was at least twice my size and I'm no dwarf! Her pitch black eyes were in a strange contrast with the hair. When I looked into them, I've seen the ages passing by. She must be old, indeed, roaming the world for millennia. There must be more to them then just simple traders...
When the peasants arrived with the wagon, I was already picking the stuff we'd take. I've immediately noticed the barrels of what must've been booze (or... blood). She said that was the exceptional drow wine. I didn't even had to ask for a sample, she poured some into two mugs and offered me one. I was a bit suspicious, but when she drank hers, I didn't hesitate and finished mine in one gulp. It's wine, after all! And it wasn't bad! We traded two barrels for some golden nuggets. It was a pretty good deal, they even thrown in some seeds, saying we can plant the crops ourselves. The rest of the stuff we bought wasn't so interesting, you know, it was no booze.
While we were packing the stuff, the drows were already finished and ready to set off. Their leader came by, looking uneasy, as if she had to tell us something disturbing:
- "There's something I have to tell you", she started. "There's terrible plague reigning to the south, the direction you're heading. They say it came from the far south, a plague, magical in it's nature. We didn't believe much, because magic isn't common in this world anymore. But one night, we've encountered terrible creatures, half alive, half dead. They fought furiously, and we barely escaped. We've heard that the plague fades as quickly as it spreads tho. After the infested wildlife consume everything in the area, they die and rot on the scorched land. We were able to outrun it, traveling lightly, leaving most of the supplies behind. Hidden in the caverns underground, where no mortal dare to enter. Take my advice, when you reach the plagued land, find a nice place and dig deep, wait for a week or two until it calms down. Don't try to fight it! For one bite and you might get infected as well."
- "Aren't you just trying to scare us? Magic is long gone. Even elves, I mean, the usual kind, can't perform it anymore. I'm sure this can be explained in a natural way."
- "Do as you deem appropriate, mighty dwarf. Farewell, may the Armok help you in your endeavours!"
She left me standing there, puzzled. Surely she wouldn't make fun of us in this such a manner?! If I were thousands of years old, I'd grew tired of silly jokes like this. It was getting dark, and we did ''sampled'' the wine more then we were supposed to, so I've decided to stand here for night, think this through and continue in the morning. With the idea that these drows aren't bad at all (unlike the damn treehuggers! I hate them), I've fallen asleep...
== 27th Obsidian, 1050, Late Winter ==Not much happened since our encounter with the elusive drows. The months went by and we didn't encounter anything strange at all. No traces of plague ever reigning this regions. That was until the events of today...
While we were having lunch and resting, I've sent one scout ahead, on the nearby hill, to look for any suspicious trails. We passed a human village a week ago and they were all scared about goblins. The village elder told me they raided the neighbour village and that it's not safe out in the wilds. He came back soon, terrified:
- "I've seen... something... Large pack... running towards us..."
- "Calm down! What did you see?" I was a bit worried about him.
- "They... giant ogres! But not regular ogres, these seem... dead... walking dead! They're still far away, I could only see them for their size!"
Zombies? Plague? Curse? I've recalled the drow encounter vividly. "But one night, we've encountered terrible creatures, half alive, half dead" I've heard ''her'' voice in my head.
- "We're leaving!" I shouted and rushed to the wagon to pack our supplies. Soldiers tightened their armors and belts, peasants gathered animals, putting out the fire...
We left within 5 minutes.
== 1st Granite, morning, 1051, Early Spring (the in-game story starts here) =={everything up to this point was a backstory, sort of =)}Spring is here! But we didn't enjoy any celebrations. The raging dead is still after us, we can hear them howl during the night time. I was thinking maybe we should dig ourselves in, as the drow advised, but with the only pick being the ceremonial one, made out of copper... it would be impossible to dig to the rock. Soil, maybe, but rock, not a chance.
The trees in the area undergo the same transformation as the wildlife. They seemed dead, without leaves, dry... We stopped at the pond to catch our breath and give the horse a while to rest. We had a half day, maybe slightly more on the ogres. I went to the pond and to my surprise, the fish were not infected, not at all. I've called the rest, and we quickly catched some. Raw, but delicious. With the supplies low, and the source of food and water nearby, I've decided we stay here and build ourselves a shelter. The ground was soft around the pond, a little oasis of life, we should be able to dig rather quickly. With some hasty made tools, we stroke the earth!
I've marked our position with the yellow X. You can see the mountainhomes far to the north. The surroundings of our current position are on the map at the middle. You can see the raided human village {Yellow "micro" sign, editor's note}. The plagued land is represented by the vile purple. On the left is the scout's report, showing plague all over the place.
I tried to draw the ponds and surroundings the best I could...
{Our hero}== 1st Granite, evening, 1051, Early Spring ==We've finished digging the entrance ramp and few rooms to hide food and booze into. I think the smell of blood might attract the vile beasts lurking in the woods. I've set 2 out of 4 of our hammerdwarves to patrol the vicinity. The other two are helping with digging operations. I and one of the peasants are trying to catch some fish and haul the supplies from the wagon to the shelter. This night won't be calm, not at all. So little time and so much to do. We will have to hit some rock under the soil to construct doors (or, well, baricades) as well as some temporary furniture.
== 2st Granite, early morning, 1051, Early Spring ==The ogres striked! We rushed inside, some to grab their gear, some to hide. I ran outside with the soldiers, only to face three giant beasts running right towards us. One of the soldiers didn't have the time to pick up her hammer, and she was looking rather desperate. I hid in the shrubs to watch the battle. It was brutal. I made a good choice to hire these guys. Etur with her Betty charged towards the beasts, waving the hammer in the air, screaming some old dwarven curses. The rest followed. The first ogre didn't have a chance, his head was legs was broken the second they collided. Soon after I had the pleasure to examine his brains in details. While the two was beating the second ogre, Urvad, without hammer, was wrestling the third beast. She was looking sick, as if the beast had infected her. She was covered in vomit, but didn't lose the grip. She was in some sort of trance, chanting and vomiting and chanting. Soon, the ogre was lying near her feet, dead. I ran towards her only to find her lying in a pool of blood and vomit. I called the rest and we carried her down into the shelter. She was trying to say something, but the extreme pain didn't let her. I was feeling like carrying a hero from legends, trying to utter the last words... We can't lose her, we can't...
The sketch of the battle field, with the list of Urvad's injuries.== 7th Granite, 1051, Early Spring ==So far, no more attacks. We still hear the howls every night, but the ogres stay back. They probably fear us! But one never knows, maybe they just wait for their numbers to grow stronger. We were able to set up pretty decent hideout in the past few days. We have working kitchen, some beds, a little primitive hospital for Urvad, as she was still recovering from the fight with the ogre. We had to deconstruct the wagon, but I figured we're not moving anywhere anytime soon...
== 9th Granite, 1051, Early Spring ==While I was outside fishing, I've seen some groundhogs running nearby. While not the most delicious meat, they will be great alternative to the fish we're all full of already.
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Topic: The story of Claspwanes, the smallest [and most violent] fortress ever. (Read 1433 times)