Entry III:
Tragedy on the Wing
Doren CudisfahDoren looked over the work she had accomplished.
Not very Armok-damned much she muttered, biting her lip. The incessant glare of the harsh sun made working above ground slow, furthering the time it took to complete even the simplest of tasks. With that in mind, she reasoned, perhaps their efforts were less pathetic.
Abandoning their old site, Doren had selected a more appropriate location for the construction with which she would soon be struggling. It was close enough to the river so as to have easy access for irrigation, but far enough away that it would not encroach upon her fortress's expansion.
A few days had passed. Felsite was nearly expired, and the summer neared.
We haven't done all that badly, Doren mused.
Better than I'd expected anyway. The ale stores, while still lacking any new source of supplies, were enough to hold out until the farms were underway. The seven of them had ample food, their original stocks supplement by Anderz's hunting, and the low-growing plants foraged from around the camp. The old camp was slowly being dismantled, and their was now a burgeoning stockpile by the entrance to their new home.
I best get everything underground soon. She thought.
I don't know what the heat will do to them. She surveyed the camp.
I wonder how our miners are doing. If those idiots have almost breached a pool again I SWEAR I'll- Doren was interrupted from her thoughts by Kol Rigòthcatten, the camp's lumberdwarf, carpenter, and architect.
Kol Rigòthcatten "Leader!" she cried out, panting and out of breath. "You
must come quickly!" Doren gave the dwarf a quizzical look. Besides minor personal squabbles, the camp had been pretty peaceful. She wondered if she was being tricked. Doren
hated being tricked. However, there was something in the lumberdwarf's manner that convinced Doren of her urgency.
"Yes, Kol? What has disturbed you from your labour?". Kol's eyes looked around wildy in panic. She was clearly distressed. "There isn't any
time, Overseer! They were coming this way!" Doren's interest was piqued. "They? Show me."
Kol took the Overseer up to the site of her work. A tree lay half-felled, and the air still hung with the heavy aromas of sap and freshly broken wood. She walked up a small hill, so that they were overlooking the river where the ground began to slope upwards below.. "There!" She said.
Doren recognised them instantly from her studies in her bestiary.
Vespoids! She hissed. She watched as the swarm slowly buzzed towards them, hovering and shimmering in the desert air. What odd creatures...
The majority of them looked like great flies, crossed with a particularly menacing wasp.
However, in their host flew also several fat Queens. They were a great deal larger than their surrounding minions, and their perversely bloated bodies exuded an insectoid menace. Both varieties packed a deadly sting.
What queer creatures... Beautiful in a way, really...
Doren snapped to attention.
Moldath's guts!, she cursed. Now was no time for idle comtemplation. Harshly grabbing Kol's shoulder, she shoved her towards camp. "GET MOVING!" she roared, pushing them both into a sprint. They both emerged from the stand of trees, arms waving. "Dwarves, to my side!" Doren shouted, now out of breath. She needed to think quickly. If the vespoids had spotted them, they would be upon the camp in minutes. She thought hurriedly for a place to hide, quickly deciding upon the old campsite. It was close, and had a large space dug out which she had originally intended for farming.
"Everyone, get back to the old camp and go below ground! I'll explain later! Take the animals too. NOW!" The camp briefly plunged into chaos, but soon nearly everyone had abandoned their works and tools and were streaming towards the abandoned stairwell. It was almost too late for one straggler, who still tarried as the vespoids carapace-clad bodies began to hover over their heads, but at Doren's urging, the lagging dwarf managed to make haste with the others to the makeshift shelter.
(OOC: The vespoids are the 'V's)
The dwarves sat about the damp room, originally intended for a farm. Most had a expression of vague relief; all apart form Doren looked confused. The overseer cleared her throat. All attention was on her "If anyone is still in doubt was to why we're currently down here- we've been attacked." Terse mutterings of shock passed between those who had not witnessed the beasts. "Vespoids. Glorified honeybees, really. Still, to a fortress of our size, they pose a threat. We're safe so long was as we stay down here. We'll just have to wait it out, but at least we'll be together." She attempted a weak smile.
The awkward silence was broken by Zuntir Zokunast. A wiry, nearly senile old miner and the group's only male, he was profane in his conversation and near-universally unliked. "Behspoids, eh?" His snaggle-toothed mouth and accent frequently obscured his speech. "Ef' seen behspoids once. Get a stinger on dem 'il slice a dwarf arse to 'ead! An' a benom to melt up anyfing in between in a bwink of yer eye! Ye woon't citch me goin up der again!" "Shut up, Zuntir" Doren snapped. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were frightened of honeybees too." The rest of the dwarves chuckled. Easy conversation began to break out amongst the dwarves, and normalcy began to creep back in. The threat seemed more distant by the minute.
Doren strode across the room to where Anderz and Litast were talking. They both stopped when they saw here approach. "Ladies, I didn't think I'd have to be doing this so early, but there is no sense in avoiding it now. We need a militia". She turned to the dwarf nearest her. "Likust, you'll take overall command." She nodded. Her gaze shifted to the hunter to her right. "Anderz, you'll take command of the first crossbow squad. May your bolts fly true." "It's an honour, overseer." "I might be be needing the both of you in an hour or two. Make any preparations you will need to operate effectively." The two dwarves immediately resumed their conversation as the overseer drew away.
Doren removed her head from the passage for the tenth time that hour. She still, as hard as she tried, could not see a sign of the vespoids. And as much as she strained her hearing, she could not hear the buzz of their wings. She was finally forced to accept their safety. "Alright everyone, all clear! Your break is over- time to catch up on your missed work!". The tone of the dwarves was jovial as they emerged from the stairway and resumed their labours. The experience had brought them closer; solidified them as a unit. The newly-chosen members of Tombhero's military were the last to emerge, and Doren stopped them. "I have an initial assignment for Tombhero's finest. Take point over there" She pointed towards the centre of the Dwarf camp. "Take up station. I won't be surprised by the vespoids again." Doren turned and began to trudge back towards the camp.
Anderz was proud of her new role. Fitting that she would lead Tombhero's first marksdwarf squad- after all, she thought, her abilities were unparalled amongst her fellow dwarves. She took point, surveying the land for interlopers. Not seeing the creatures the first time - she had made for the burrow immediately at Doren's urging - she did not really know what to look for. But her keen hunter's eyes were returning nothing at all - the land was still. After an hour of this, she began to get impatient. Likast stood, just as staid as before, steadily regarding the other side of the encampment. Soon Anderz didn't take it anymore.
Surely Doren wouldn't mind if I did some reconnaissance, she thought. Slinging her crossbow over her shoulder, she quietly slunk off. Navigating the trees and shrubs, she soon found herself at the top of a tall hill, overlooking the camp. From here, her vantage point allowed her to see the lay of the land for miles around. Peering out over the plains, however it still looked as if they were al - no!
There they are! She said with a grin. Her happiness was interrupted by an increasingly loud buzzing from behind her.
Two things happened in the next few seconds. Firstly, Anderz saw the vespoid queen flying at her, full of animalistic rage, and second, she reached into her quiver only to find she had not brought any bolts.
The buzzing was almost unbearable when it was upon her, rushing at her like an obscenely overgrown wasp. It first jabbed with its cruel, barbed stinger. Anderz flew to one side, turning a savage impalement into a glancing blow. The beast's jaws snapped at her, but again she managed to dodge out of the way. Now it was her turn. Raising her crossbow like a cudgel, she slammed it into the creature's legs, smashing one of them irreparably. The vespoid backed up, then flew again directly at Anderz, tangling her up in its limbs and sending them both rolling down the hill. They crashed into a thicket in the bottom, rolling in the dust and sand. Anderz's tried to right herself, but the vespoid now had the upper hand, enabled by its large body and keen instincts. It quickly righted itself above her, attempting to plunge its stinger deep into her flesh. In her squirming, she was able to turn its first series of jabs into merely glancing blows, and seeing an opening, rolled out from under it.
Anderz wouldn't let the opportunity go to waste. Howling savagely, she dove forward, gnashing one of the creature's legs in her jaws. The chitin crunched underneath the might of the dwarven teeth, leaving the creature now with two useless appendages. The creature darted away from her grasp, but she would not let up her onslaught. Possessed with a fiery rage, she ran at the insect, swinging her crossbow with abandon. Charged with emotion, Anderz screamed as the injured queen evaded her first series of blows. She readied to lunge raising her crossbow, now stained with blood and ichor, above her head. Yet, she never got the chance. In her bloodlust, the approach of one of the queens drones, drawn by her pheromones, had gone unnoticed. That paused was all it needed to tear its black, savage stinger straight into her head from behind.
It smashed out the other side through her jaw, spraying foul, sizzling poison across her body. It, coupled with the pain, acted quickly, and Anderz immediately lost grib of her crossbow and keeled over into the dirt.
Her body, now paralyzed, was wracked with tremors as the vespoids stabbed into it again and again, injecting her again and again with the foul poison. The pain was excruciating, yet she let loose no scream, her jaw locked firmly in place, chattering with spasms. The creatures began to tear and bite at her body, before the queen finallly ended her life by inserting her stinger directly through the top of Anderz's skull.
Doren saw the swarm flitting over the hill, barreling down upon the camp. She began hollering immediately. "They're back! Everyone inside!" The dwarfs ran as fast their legs could carry them to the narrow staircase, shooting downwards into the safety of the cavern. There was no joking this time, as most dwarves sat by themselves, shocked at yet another attack. Litast approached Doren with a concerned look on her face. "Yes, Commander?" Doren addressed her by her new title. "It's Anderz, Doren. No one's seen here." A frown briefly crossed the overseer's face. "Wasn't she at her post with you?" Litast shook her head. "I had already been looking for her when you started screaming." "Well," Doren Said, "I wouldn't worry about it." She beamed. "She probably went to squeeze a few shots off at the bugs. And Armok knows that if any of us could manage alone, she could." Litast nodded. "I guess you're right. I only hope she turns up soon."
[Caption]: The Camp, one z-level above: the vespoids swarm(OOC: This is the first of these I've done, so your input is invited. Am I writing too much? Should I
it? More/less screenshots?)