In the far north-western corner of the world is a jagged mountain range called the Wall of Fears. A dark wall of rock, with dark towers and goblin fortresses scattered among it, sloping down to the southwest into the utterly inhospitable Acrid Mire. Foul slime and disgusting mucous rain from the sky, and horrifying clouds of ash and dust craw over the indescribable filth that blankets the valleys between the treacherous peaks.
Here among the rocks is found the dark fortress Ostospusbu - Rooterevil in the common tounge. The architecture is twisted and nonsensical, a collection of obsidian cubes full of twisting, senseless corridors and rooms. Goblins, trolls, and worse creatures live and work here, along with a few humans, elves, and goblins stolen as children and raised among the goblins.
Deep under the fortress, tunnels twist randomly through the rock. Some join to other towers, some connect small clusters of randomly scattered rooms, and some simply dead-end, having no apparent purpose.
In a cluster of rooms, hidden far and deep in the ground, six horrible and twisted figures have gathered for a meeting.Ezuk Dustdreamed, a vile grey-furred raccoon monster, was the Law-giver of the Exaulted Dungeons, the local goblin civilization. Ezuk's lands had been chosen for the location of the meeting, as being the only one of them to have a major fortress in a properly evil and remote mountain range. All of the gathered fiends had agreed that it wouldn't do to have the meeting in a pleasant or sunny land, so Eauk was decreed to be host. Despite this, Ezuk took little interest in the meeting, preferring to instead crouch in a corner, gnawing on goblin bones, and periodically scratching and shaking itself, throwing off clouds of toxic dust.
Camaba the Putrid Raunch, an eyeless fox reeking with eye-burning toxic gases, murmered to itself constantly throughout the proceedings. With no eyes, hearing only its own muttered curses, and smelling only its own toxic gases, it wasn't clear how or even if Camaba was aware of the others.
Nuwetha Poisonfiend crouched in the corner, shiftly looking from figure to figure. Looking as if it expected the others to attack it at any moment, it picked nervously at its feathers. Of all of them, Nuwetha had the most experience with the dwarves who the meeting had been called about, being located just to the west of the capital of the Imperial Pick.
Viyo Holeblockades The Superior Mirror was one of only two figures who seemed at place at the meeting. With neatly arranged, long vermillion hair, he sat in the center of the room, swaying rythmically and humming to himself as he waited for the others to arrive.
Zongosp Hamerampart paced around the room, watching as the others arrived and settled in. Viyo's duplicate in many ways, she had called this meeting of all the escaped demons in the world, claiming to have information relevant to all of their goals.
Gor Serpentcoil arrived last of them all. She had the furthest to travel, being the Master of an obscure goblin civilization far to the south. Mostly invited out of courtesy, as she had no direct connection to the matter or significant troops to loan, she stomped in, glared at the others, then crouched in a corner where she muttered constant curses at all of the others and the world in general.
Viyo smiled, opened his eyes, and stood.
"Honored fiends! Wretched demons and cursed nightmare-beasts of the underworld! Thank you for attending this meeting. I know some of you have come quite far, but I assure you this is relevant to all of our interests..."
"Cut the crap, Viyo." snapped Ezuk. "What is this about?"
"arrogant blowhard, may your fur fall and skin be riddled with boils" muttered Gor.
Zongosp spoke melodiously, as she swayed rythmically across the room. "You may be aware, should you have cared, that the dwarves of the center-mountains, the fortress near Ezuk, have created a new fortress. An ocean-keep, they call Brightwater."
"too far for my troops, carvans kill my goblins, may they perish in the cruel sun!" muttered Camaba.
"They have a trade-agreement with the humans of the Confederation of Church-" continued Zongosp.
"Pious hypocrites, fathers of necromancers, hoarders of secrets..." muttered Gor.
"- and I have had spies among those humans for some years now" Zongosp grinned toothily. "This last year, they brought back news of rumors spread by the traders. The dwarves of Brightwater have grown fat and prosperous. They make steel in great quantity, produce wealth unmatched, and this year they have even pierced the third layer of the caverns, and are seeking the hated bluemetal spires."
A murmer of curses arose from all the assembled demons.
Camaba spat at Nuwetha Poisonfiend. "You! You are closest to their home. Yet you have failed to raid them once!"
Nuwetha whirled and hissed. "Their caravansss and ssscoutsss passs through your landsss. You should have ssstopped them from ever esssstablissshing the fortressss."
Viyo stepped between the two of them. "Now, there is no need to be angry. This is good news!"
Ezuk spat out half a goblin. "After how many of my best fodder they kill? The fortune of the dwarves is no good new to us."
Viyo chuckled. "Nonsense! The dwarves are the greatest ally of the demons! Who else can pierce the cursed bluemetal to release our kin from the underworld? For all our efforts, the goblins have never mastered the pick or the metals. They cannot dig so well or pierce the hated god-seals plugging the passaged through the stone foundations of the world. Even the dwarven children we have raised among the goblins cannot manage. So only by the dwarves , and only the dwarves raised among dwarves, can we release more of our bretheren."
Camaba muttered, "Senseless master, speaks of the dwarves of allies, yet orders soldiers to kill them. Mindless!"
Zongosp spoke again, in a singsong voice, "The dwarves must be scared! They are complacent behind their steel and their gray stone walls. They know what lurks beneath the bluemetal well enough to be cautious. They will not touch the bluethread metal unless they have the need. They will open it slowly and with care if given the time. We must press them! We must make them need the bluemetal and dig without caution."
"Ezuk Dustdreamed", spoke Viyo, "You have provided the strongest goblins. Send your strongest mace-goblins. Give them flails and whips to cut the dwarves. Camaba the Putrid Raunch! It was your archer who slew a dwarf at Brightwater last year. Send another group with Ezuk's goblins. Kill another dwarf, or more if they can manage! They dwarves must know fear and pain."
"We must hurt and scare them, but we must also isolate them. We can drive their greatest allies away from them." continued Zongosp.
"The humans?" asked Ezuk.
"No! They trade with the humans, but the hmans have never protected them. Nuwetha Poisonfiend! What has stopped you from attacking the dwarven fortresses directly?"
"The Elvesss, the cursssed elvesss! They sssurround the dwarves and ssstop my goblinsss from reaching them."
Camaba laughed. "The Elves? The greatest allies of the Dwarves? But the Dwarves hate the Elves!"
Zongosp spoke, "Foolish racial prejudice. The Elves have protected the dwarves. The elven forest holdings are an invisible fortress around the mountain valleys where the dwarves make their mountainhomes. The dwarves sit in their stone fortresses and sneer at the elves, while the elves kill the raiding parties we send at the dwarves."
Nuwetha scratched at his feathers. "Ssshall I asssk for a treaty with the elvesss, then? Asssk them nicely for permissssion to sssend goblinsss through their land?"
Viyo shook his noseless head. "Of course we would never ask such a foolish things. The Elves like us less even than the Dwarves do. No, we must instead merely drive them apart. Make the Elves enemies of the Dwarves. The Dwarves will fear them too. It shouldn't take much. Though the Elves protect the Dwarves, they do not do so out of love. It will only take a little push to make them war."
Author
Topic: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming (Read 154868 times)