Hey can you give my smith a foreign weapon of some sort? 
Flail, maul, or morningstar?
The events of early August, year 54As soon as the caravan was spotted, the militia of Brightwater were called out to stand in front of the fortress walls. On the northern side of the entrance road stood Morul Cattendoren, militia commander and experienced hammerdwarf, along with a second hammerdwarf who was training under her. Atop the fortress walls, behind the granite fortifications, stood Alath Athellogem and her backup marksdwarves. Having recently received a stern talking-to by her own daughter, she wasn't going to let any civilians be hurt by invaders. To the south were stationed the guard captain Phones Delerled, along with two more swordsdwarves - Ceilan the apprentice animal trainer, and Daenyth the weaponsmith - and one more dwarf, an axedwarf who had yet to make much of a name for himself.
The dwarves were stationed out front more to give the impression of a strong military to the caravan, than for any actual protection. They hadn't seen any goblins in over a year, since the human leader of the local raiding groups was killed. They weren't expecting any to show up, especially with the caravan guards also present.
Underestimating the goblins was never a good idea.
These goblins had been cautious. They had carefully followed the trade caravan, and had watched as the dwarven soldiers emerged from the fortress. The militia commander they knew well. Her insane ferocity had made her known, from the tales told by the few goblins who had survived previous ambush attempts. Her they would steer well away from.
The swordsdwarves to the south were much less known, less experienced than the hammerdwarf. A group of goblins crept through the forest towards them.
Captain Phones heard the goblins first. A snapping twig, and a scattering of ordinary, normal-sized sparrows out of a tree. Not waiting for orders, he ran south towards the noise. There, between the highwood and the palm, six goblins - a hammer-wielder and five with crossbows. The goblins realized they were spotted, and began firing on him. Bolts sped past him.
Then something happened, something that nobody except perhaps Doctor Cain had expected.
Time slowed down. Bolts crawled through the air past Phones in slow-motion. He easily blocked one, then was face-to-face with the goblin commander.
A slash to the leg, then a bash to the head that tore the goblin's ear off. Stunned, the goblin reeled, but only for a moment as Phone's next strike smashed in its skull.
Behind him, the caravan guards were struggling to keep up. One of his soldiers, an axedwarf who had more enthusiasm than skill, was right behind him, hacking at the hammer-goblin leader as it fell, then landing a blow on another goblin, before taking a bolt right through the hand.
The remaining goblins, taken completely by surprise by this dwarven whirlwind of steel, tried to fall back through the forest. They fired wildly at the dwarves, those of the fortress and the caravan guards both.
Still in her battle trance, Phones fell among them, slashing left and right with his sword. Stabs to the feet to stop a goblin from fleeing, blows and slashes to the arms to disable their weapons, and then a final strike to decapitate the helpless enemy.
The last two goblins fled through the forest, pursued by the caravan guards. Phones found himself standing among a remarkable spray of goblin fragments, as time returned to normal, the world speeding back up. It was only then that he noticed the crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest.
The soldiers walked back through the forest, leaning on each other for support. The goblin ambush had been driven off, through at the cost of injuries to two of them.
Back at the entrance gate, Phones was surprised to see the wagons were headed back out of the fortress. For a moment, he wondered how long he'd been fighting the goblins. "What, leaving already?"
One of the traders pointed at the cage traps at the entrance. "Your trap caught one of our animals. Passed out after a stray bolt clipped it. We're leaving."
"What? You can't be serious. You traveled all the way from the Mountainhomes, who knows how far, traveling for months, and now you're leaving because you lost a single yak?"
"Union rules. You lose a single animal, you turn around and head home."
"But - your wagons are already at the depot! You're already here! Just trade with us and then go home, we'll pay for the lost animal."
"I don't make the rules, buddy."
You just can't argue with traders.
Medical notes:
Phone's injuries were relatively minor, needing only cleaning and dressing of the wound, once the bolt was removed.The other injured dwarf was also not badly injured, although he may lose some mobility in the affected hand. His mind may have been somewhat affected by the experience, as he is now insisting on calling himself 'Jacen the Soap Crusader" and is insisting on taking up soap-making when not on military duty.
Author
Topic: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming (Read 155539 times)