Prelude: brief history of Udirdatur, in the fourth and current founding, page 2 of 3.
Year 181:
The rumors of the hidden fortress reached the ears of Sarvesh, the King's Chancellor. While all other officers of the realm were quick to dismiss the story as a tall tale told in inns and taverns, the Chancellor recognized the possibility that it could be true. For he rose to his position for his services in destroying the Dragon Cult, and was familiar with its history. He knew how the Prophets sent wave after wave of their followers to that place, and how the Loyalists of the second founding told of the Cult's obsession with excavating a huge hole, the 'Great Pit', that served no observable purpose at all. He also knew all too well that the Prophets were never identified, and were never captured. Ever since they ran away to the Imperial domains to the north, the kingdom lost track of the elusive group. If they were still at large, it was possible that they returned to Nicazsudir to continue digging that pit, and the rumors could be their way of obtaining new laborers. Wanting to test his theory, he had some of his officers sent to the abandoned fortress. He had his most promising lieutenant, Catten Rämmebzuth, lead the team.
On arrival at the abandoned fortress nothing seemed amiss at first. In the many years since the fall of Nicazsudir its halls had been looted countless times, and its stores were bare of anything but debris. But Rämmebzuth was a cunning ranger, and she knew how to spot signs where others found none. He pointed out that while some of the stone figurines remained, none of the metal stockpile was to be seen. If the disappearance was indeed the work of looters, then they'd have taken away the valuable scultpures before the steel and bronze bars; whoever removed those items did so with an eye for utility, not monetary value. She then told his officers to look for maps and excavation records, so that they could learn which cooridor was sealed and which was new. So they came to notice that the sole entrance to the Great Pit was walled off, whereas it should be clear, and thus began work on removing the barricade.
What they discovered behind the wall was beyond their wildest imaginations. A full-scale dwarven settlement was built on precipices lining the walls of the pit, and great stairwells descended hundreds of feet into the bottom, where scores of dwarves were hard at work digging up the stone. Great machinery were erected here and there transporting dwarves, supplies, and stones cut into neat blocks up and down the depth of the pit. Then one of the workers hauling a crate near the top spotted the scout team, and ran away down the stairs to notify the others. While her subordinates wished to chase the runner, Rämmebzuth told them their mission was to verify the presence of a hidden town, not to destroy it, and ordered the retreat. Quickly they escaped the ruins and made their way back to the mountainhome.
When King Asob I heard of the discovery, he was pleased. Although he had convinced himself to concentrate on other matters, he had not forgotten how all his efforts of controlling the outlying settlement had been foiled, to his great embarrasement. Now that some fools have made the place habitable once again, it was only a matter of re-establishing control. He awarded the scouts greatly, but for Rämmebzuth he had other plans. He had his marshals choose a small cadre of soldiers loyal to the King and assigned them under the ranger's command. On being asked what the unit was for, he matter-of-factly stated "to watch over and guard my newest prison."
Year 182:
On one hot summer day, Catten Rämmebzuth arrived at Nicazsudir with a hundred dwarves-at-arms, and raising the King's banner high she proclaimed her intention to conquer the renegade fortress for Rimadtholtig, and announced that the inhabitants have one day to surrender. She reminded them that once surrender was refused she was fully willing to slay every single one of them. Her army made camp at the entrance hall and prepared for siege.
Within, the fugitives of the haven asked the Prophets what to do. Some of the more eager dwarves suggested they send runners out to their contacts amongst the elves and humans (their secret trading partners), and a significant minority voiced their approval of such a plan, but the Prophets remained silent and simply looked upon one of their number, a wizened and very long-bearded one whose name was known only to the Prophets and was simply refered to by the fugitives as Dumat. Dumat sat silent in thought for a time, which seemed like an eternity to the gathered others, and then after a determined nod, told them to accept the offer and surrender the fortress. The eager one who suggested the runner idea immediately protested, pointing out that they are defended by a mountain and the besiegers are surrounded by undead hosts of the Cold Hills. But he fell silent, for Dumat in his answer simply pointed his finger to the south, and they all knew what he meant. There lay the long dormant main fissure of the volcano, which magma was rather easily accessed; all the defenders had to do was to breach the great pit and channel the hot molten rock onto it, burning the fugitives within.
Indeed, Catten was planning exactly such an assault plan and was briefing her combat engineers on what path to use, when the seven Prophets appeared with a flag of truce. Many of the soldiers had faced the zealous Dragon Cultists before as part of crackdown operations, and were awed and troubled by the presence of the Prophets, whose mystique and near absolute authority over the Cult was well known amongst them. They simply made way as the unarmed seven dwarves slowly walked up to where Rämmebzuth was waiting in front of her tent. The ranger-captain made no show of welcome and merely signalled someone search the parleying party before initiating negotiations. Someone did, albeit reluctantly, and the seven were allowed to speak. Again, it was Dumat alone who spoke on behalf of his brethren, and his voice carried authority.
A mere ten minutes they talked, for both were dwarves of great wisdom, and knew what the other intended and wanted before one had to explain oneself. Rämmebzuth outlined what the King wanted Nicazsudir to be, a prison labor-camp where criminals be made to mine ore and make steel for the kingdom's armies. Dumat said he and the Prophets could help the King, that their influence over the fugitives holed up within the Pit meant that they could pacify their resistance attempts and turn them into docile workers. As a hundred and twenty skilled labourers was not an asset lightly thrown away, and as Catten knew that keeping mere 7 dwarves under leash was easier than trying to control the whole mob, she made her decision. She accepted the conditions, and gave the Prophets a month to prepare for restructuring the fortress into a prison. Her army would in the meantime take position in the abandoned above-ground portions of Nicazsudir. She wrote her letter explaining the situation to the King.
Asob I was mightily pleased to hear of the surrender of Nicazsudir, and was more so when at the end of the year the dwarven caravan sent there returned with crates of steel bars and a report of the pacification of the inhabitants. He appointed Rämmebzuth Warden of Nicazsudir and gave her authority to kill any prisoner on her own volition. Of the hundred soldiers sent there, forty remained to keep watch over the fortress and put down any insubordination that occur. Criminals convicted of the most heinous crimes were given a choice of either death or perpetual labor at Onol Insél, and many chose the prison, to their great regret later.
At Nicazsudir, some old corridors were closed and new ones opened, to contain all traffic inside the chokepoints kept under active watch. The above ground halls were cleaned and refurnished to house the guard, while all underground workshops unrelated to steel manufacture were repurposed into barracks for the inmates. Steel and bronze picks were confisticated and copper ones issued instead, so that if the miners were to rebel the inferior metal would be useless against the armor of the guards. Booze and food stockpiles were moved into the guards section, so that the prisoners would always be at the mercy of their caretakers.
The hidden haven told in tavern tales was no more. From it arose the vast prison mines of New Nicazsudir, which would soon gain a reputation as the most brutal punishment a dwarf could be put to (other than being deprived of all alcohol, but that is way over the line and no dwarf King would consider it however cruel he be). It is said that by 190, more than half the convicts chose execution instead, and so the King changed the legal system so that the prison was unavoidable.
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Topic: Journal of Udirdatur, Prison Fortress. (story) (Read 3082 times)