a reclaim you say? alright. let what happens, happen. heres my write up for that section of the turn then.
Brodich thought the dreams were the worst. every night since BP had taken control of the fort, the dwarves of gateivory had nightmares of strange crawling things in dark places, and a great grey fortress deep in the earth. most of the dwarves living in gateivory hadent been around when IT was discovered in the depths. Brodich had been there. he remembered the slaughter that insued when the cavern was breached. he remembered the horde of undead. he had even seen the walls themselves, and even to this day, the memory of it haunted him. he moaned in his sleep and rolled over, pulling the covers up over him as he did so.
the next day, was the first day of autumn. "back in the mountain homes, they will be picking apples and pig tails." Brodich thought as he tucked into another drink. the call came up that an artifact had been made, but Brodich didnt hear it. his thoughts of drunkencaveogre had brought on thoughts of other friends lost. that and the stink of the rotting reindeer corpse wafting up the stairs from the level below was enough to make him almost melancholic." could someone take care of that armok damnit!?" he shouted. he was incensed to find that though the corpse was quickly hauled away, the smell lingered. He ordered another drink, and pulled at his beard. these weren't the only things bothering him. on top of everything, his 96th birthday was coming up. "I think its time for some better rooms..." he thought, lifting the mug to his lips.
"hows it going mac?" said a familiar voice to Brodich. He had been in the process of preparing some paper work to eliminate the danger room when this voice came to him. he spun about and was shocked to see the apparition of his old friend drunkencaveogre grinning at him. "you still got more work to do Brodich. that colossus stuff was a bad idea. you could have used that! oh well, its already gone. but hey, theres something else that needs dealing with." Brodich sat down, "and whats that old friend?" the smile left caveogres face. "that place under the fort. I wasnt alive when it was found, but mac, you gotta take care of it. there is no way the dead around here can stay rested forever with that down there. dont you remember what came out when they dug it up?" Brodich did, he also remembered the bodies that lay down there, probably nothing but shreds of clothing and metal wrapped around dusty bones by now. "and theres another thing, you seem to have a snake infestation mac." brodichs arched his eyebrows, "what? have you gone soft? maybe I have, im seeing hallucinations now... and even asking them if they've gone soft in the head!" caveogre shook his clearly spectral head. "no, you have gone soft in the head. and before you ask, yeah I do rest quietly. a couple years ago, something from another world touched you. it made you sensitive to the presence of the dead." Brodich rubbed his chin thoughtfully. thinking of the odd sensations he had when he was last overseer. "so what do I do about that place then?" he said. "and the snakes?" caveogre tapped his foot, "gateivory has a military doesnt it? I shouldent have to lead you by the hand." Brodich was instantly irritated, "I dont need you to lead me by the hand!" he shouted at the apparition. caveogre was gone though, and had been replaced by a plank faced sergeant. "I would gladly lead you by the hand sir, all the way to battle if necessary." Brodichs cheek went a bright red. "how much of that did you hear?" he asked. the sergeant did not frown or smile, simply said "all of it. gateivory will taste the blood of the dead within the month." his face changed, and Brodich wasnt sure the smile that replaced this dwarfs previously impassive face was one that he liked.
later that day, Brodich was putting the finished touches on the river bed, blocking up all the holes in it. he'd had all but one wide trench plugged so that the river might flow again. or at least fill the reservoir that it had become. deep below though, the military was ready. as the walls fell down, the rank cavern air rushed into the room. they waited patiently for the undead to rush in, but it didnt happen. "alright maggots, move up." the sight that greeted them, even they had not prepared for. none of those present had been around when this structure was discovered, and they hadn't known what to expect. what stood before them was a huge nonsensical structure of black stone covered in glowing blue images in a strange dialect. some of the runes weren't letters at all but images of huge creatures burning things, or other huge things whipping dwarves, men, elves, and goblins. "move up men, we have orders to take this thing under our control. the feral tombs will take to the fort and map it out. the shattered knees will patrol the perimeter and see whats what."
no sooner had the feral tombs entered the fort, when they were set on by ranks of undead.
one level up, the shattered knees found themselves sorely taxed by a pair of huge winged worm creatures. these two were finished off quickly, but at what cost? while the military goes unharmed, many others are coated in disgusting forgotten beast extract.
a farmer who had traveled down to the caves to collect some of the thins left down there slammed his fists against the newly constructed wall. "BRODICH YOU BASTARD SON OF A BITCH!!" he shouted. he had seen what happened to those caught in the blasts of ichor, and he didnt want any of that on him. "GODDAMNIT BRODICH, GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" something threw itself against his back, he smashed his face into the wall, and he felt the warmth of the blood running down his face from his newly broken nose. he turned and what he saw shocked him. it looked like a dwarf, and at first he thought it had been a zombie from inside the evil fortress. but it gurgled and the farmer suddenly realized it was sayin something. it crumpled to the floor, still gurgling. "kill me... please kill meeeee." the farmer looked at the backs of his arms where the dwarf has touched him. he saw deep bruises flowering there, and they itched and stung. he spun about an renewed his pounding "GOD DAMN YOUR EYES BRODICH BRIDGECAVERN! YOU BASTARD!!!"