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[Tehsapper]

After hours of consultations and walking around, Aran finally figured out what was happening.
Basically, dwarves cut down the entire beatiful mountain forest of The Prime Crest to fuel their monstrous smelters and sick forges over the years. With no trees to support the soil, it quickly started to erode away, and soon there was only bare obsidian. Aran persuaded the dwarves not to chop anything down in next three hundred years at least. ('That hippie went stark raving mad! This cursed land isn't going to grow anything anyway!')
To top this off, some human who have received the secrets of death from gods thought that it would be a great idea to build there a tower and assemble a cult of necromancy from other fools, corrupting the pure nature of this place in process. There were also some vampires and werebeasts, created by clueless mortals defiling the temples of omnipresent gods.
Such perversions of nature must be exterminated, along with those who adore it, to preserve the natural beauty and balance, and protect the future from the mistakes of past.

'Perhaps someday I'll see the world restored and as good as on the day of it's creation'

That why he packed his things, bade farewell and moved further into the dwarven town of Clinchedarrows, in hopes of gaining some able-bodied companions on his difficult path, no matter how he and his folk hated towns.

'Towns are a demonic creation of a mortal perverted mind, consuming the lives and resources of everyone around and inside it.'

The city was in a disasterous condition, even an elf would feel that. Almost every house was empty, severely damaged and rotting down. What's the point in building what you can't maintain, if it is going itself to return to the pristine state? The so-called seweres were full of corpses and disgusting filth, not water. The streets were absolutely empty, and only some stray pigs roamed around.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Until he found the bazaar. A place where dwarves or humans bring the butchered, maimed and tortured parts of poor animals to trade for other tools, created by careless exploiting of their lands. Several dozens of dwarfs, scattered around on an uneven ground, all sleeping and shaking the ground with their thunderous snoring. Aran had no need in them, so he moved forward.
The town hall, where the High Council should be residing, as the hill dwarves told him, was just plainly abandoned. Somehow there were only corpses lying around. Aran took his time to get some steel armor that was there in a pile of other goods, all covered in especially old dust. It was obvious that Aran was on his own in this cruel world, as no dwarf would help him in his 'crazy' task. He couldn't even find a single warrior fit for his journey.
He started out with vampire removal in the sewers. Despite his disgust, he did what he must, and there were two vampires less in this world. The miserable citizens said, that both beasts killed like a thousand of dwarves and their animal folk together, a really big number. Three more remained, as they hid in the deep, unaccessible parts, filled with water.

Seeing that he could do nothing more there, he moved away into Callbrockades, where one more vampire was located. Little did he know how this place is going to greet him.

[kesperan]

Can we unretire Dishmab to see where he is, or does the unretiring bug affect him, too?

This won't work. Scrolling to the third page when choosing your adventurer crashes the game.

If I did manage to find Dishmab on the list I assume I'd get a nemesis unit load error as the client would open the zone it expects him to be in (the necromancer town Pinescamp where I retired him or Sunkengem where he last lived) and wouldn't find him.

I guess he's lost to history.

[Argonnek]

Wouldn't legends mode know where he is? If he's taken to living in one area, it'll be recorded there.

[Kromgar]

Wouldn't legends mode know where he is? If he's taken to living in one area, it'll be recorded there.

He is lost to time. Aco's death was a sacrifice that banished Dishmab from this world sending him to the heat death of the universe where he is the only living thing and his magma entrenched form is the only thing stopping the heat death of the universe for he is now an eternal source of energy

(I checked Legends the last entry says he raised Aco as a zombie... which he didn't do)

[Timeless Bob]

It's obvious if you think about it: Dishmab took the final step past mortality into self deification.  Pretty much, I'm thinking that he finally transcended the mortal world altogether and became a new god. (Associated with Death, War, Metals and Magma).

All hail Dishmab, newest deity of the Portentous Domain!

[Argonnek]

I'm sure he'll be more of a hands-on deity, though. Not like those other jerks who just occasionally curse someone or pass down a slab. I mean, what's a death god without a rampage every now and then?

[kesperan]

Liking your stories so far Tehsapper and Atomic Chicken, keep them coming!

[Tehsapper]

Finally, after hours and hours of walking over the mountains and admiring the dull landscape of the Prime Crest, at night Aran arrived to the hamlet of Callblockades, barged into some crude dwarven shack and immediately went into the world of dreams.

He had a strange set of dreams, something he has never experienced or, rather, that never really bothered him: he recalled the days of his childhood, when the world was brand new and promising something, and the new race was finding its way in peace. Then he recalled the days he spent gazing onto the Ashen Ocean, hoping to find something interesting in the dark, endless waters. Aran recalled the dim images of his friends, killed ages ago, be it a minotaur rampage or goblin assault. He even catched her glimpse, before everything fading away...

And so he woke with a terrible fever. He swore his skin was lava-hot,  and that his head was going to explode. Some of the most poor and dirtiest dwarves he had ever seen had that grave fever too, moaning from time to time in their sleep

'Where did I end?'

The Fatal Wastes opened before him as he opened the door. The red, furious sun was rising up, illuminating the boring wastes of bones and brown filth and grime. If only it could purge the evil...

He heard a soft cracking in some of the houses. He opened the door to see the most shocking picture: a rotting body of some dead dwarf was mauling other, living dwarf to death. And then the freshly-killed body would stand up too, and maim the living, spreading the disaster. Aran had no choice but to put those monstrosities down, to no awail, as they kept raising up and up. Soon the citizens woke up, and with terrible screams they started to fight.

'Could the vampire be the source of this?' - he thought as he ran off from one house to other, seeking the rogue miner vampire.

It was standing in a corner, smirking at the despair of others. Aran called him out on his depraved nature, and the enraged townfolk, that before might've been scared or not, quickly disposed of the vampire, while having to deal with newly raised corpses.

The outbreak had no brakes, and Aran did not want to end up like the zombies, forever doomed to wail around in this cursed land. He decided to flee, as he couldn't help them yet, and frankly, it wasn't his personal problem. The agonizing screams were pretty horrifying anyway.
There was an other place to check, some werebeast cave.

'This shouldn't be a big problem' - he thought, but something wasn't quite right.

And indeed, when he approached the beast, it was killed by Aran with no much effort, with swift and precise stabs of his trusty dagger. But as he ventured further into the dug out lair the creature called its home, he heard strange sounds. The massive bleeding body, partially covered in fur, which was partially plucked out, stood up behind him.

Aran tried to stab it with his hefty steel spear, but it merely tore some muscles. Immediately he received a bone-shattering punch into his right shoulder, causing him to endure the pain he has never known before. He tried to run away, but the steel clench of the beast was unbreakable, and Aran was too weak and soft, and already bleeding out, and he was losing his conciousness under the strikes...

'Did it really have to end like this?'

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I will upload the turn save later today, sorry for the inconvenience

[Timeless Bob]

killed by an undead were-creature.  Wow, that sucks.  However, it's also a few places where the God Dishmab isn't hanging out, so that narrows the list down a bit

[kesperan]

Dishmab surveyed the landscape grimly.

The rancid corpse of the thrall-fiend Aco Knitadmire was spattered over a good half mile of terrain, a mess of teeth and limbs and bones. Dishmab had methodically hacked at the traitor, ensuring the husk suffered slowly and in unimaginable pain.

Dishmab sank to his knees. Aco Knitadmire had slain demons and dragons and was an unmatched warrior in combat, and Dishmab had cleaved through him like wet paper. The Deathlord realised there was no challenge left in the Portentous Domain for a creature such as him.

YOU HAVE DONE WELL MY CHILD. The voice seared in his skull again. The same voice Dishmab heard at the edge of death and sanity deep in the magma of Sunkengem.

IT IS NOT OFTEN THAT I BLESS A MORTAL WITH THE GIFT I BESTOW UPON YOU NOW.

Dishmab felt… different. A strange knowledge filled his mind. He was eternal, immutable. The mortal world was no place for a being of such strength and power.

WELCOME TO THE PANTHEON, MY CHILD, spoke Armok.

***

With a thud, Dakost Stonegleam the Dark Bishop slammed his masterwork microcline gavel into the electrum slab on the plinth above the faithful brethren and spoke thusly:

“This is why, we the Cult of Dishmab, have founded Northmanor the Unholy Cathedral,” his voice like gravel through spit-flecked beard.

“We will swear fealty and bow in reverence to the dwarf who became the Fist of Armok. And we will cleave untold skulls in His name.”

The hall of the Unholy Cathedral erupted in a great cry, and the devout knew they were blessed.

[TheFlame52]

ALL HAIL DISHMAB

[TD1]

ALL HAIL DISHMAB

[Tehsapper]

killed by an undead were-creature.  Wow, that sucks.  However, it's also a few places where the God Dishmab isn't hanging out, so that narrows the list down a bit

Yeah, that was pretty unfortunate. That thing was just a werebeast on steroids, I had no problems killing millenia-old vampires and so on, but it was just too strong.

So because I had more time for fortress-building than usual, I decided to build a really big world tree, named Evertree, in honour of upcoming version where we will have real trees with climbing and coconuts. That took more time than I thought, because it was pretty complex to build. It has an unusual sort of treasure, which I won't spoil. If I messed something up, please contact me.

Here is the save: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vgkilv43vrou9wu/museum66.rar

[kesperan]

If it's anything near awesome as your last fort, I'll have to explore it immediately!

[Bralbaard]

  However, it's also a few places where the God Dishmab isn't hanging out, so that narrows the list down a bit

There's no longer a valid reason to complain when someone runs into one of Eric's mummies. After all, the person was lucky not to run into something far, far worse.

I've send Plancky a PM, I'll update the map sometime later with the new fortress..