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Journal of Thrakha'zaguul.
Chapter 18: Beast Slayer
Moonstone, 256.
While the warbands recover from the Dwarven assault, a flying forgotten beast finds its way into the tree-farm and wolfram mines of the Mossy Cavern. Several peasants get very nasty poisoned bites. Talata's new militia squad was not committed to the main part of the dwarf-battle, so her troops are fresh: they are the first to arrive and put the monster down. Talata was the migrant who survived the first elven ambush years ago, by strangling the would-be elf assassin. Now a scarred and veteran warrior, she wields the claws and blade of the Jaguar Society and leads our newest warband "The Lost Corruptions".
Shortly after: another beast, a tough one with an amber carapace, in the Deep Cavern. It quickly kills a miner and a peasant gatherer, and begins to pound on our sentry-golem. Unfortunately, it has hidden away in a tight corridor where it is hard to bring ranged weapons to bear on it, and the beast's webs are effective in these quarters. One orc warrior is killed and Huscarl Dohon suffers an ankle injury. Talata strikes the killing blow on this second beast as well.
Opal, 256
The hospital is overwhelmed. Several peasants affected by the poisonous-beast, and orcs wounded in the great Dwarven battle have critical injuries. They are unlikely to survive, but their care is slowing the shamans' response to Dohon and other treatable injuries. An expanded hospital and multiple extra wells are being delved. The shamans will at least have the supplies they need. We add a apothecarius: to empty used water-buckets. We add an anatomical theatre: to dispose of extra elf-skeletons while somewhat training the diagnosis skill. The Sorcerers are relieved from military duty for some time so they can focus on shaman-work.
In the meantime: the clanmates construct a Hall of Trophies to commemorate a few of our great victories.
Obsidian, 256
After a month of diagnoses by child dreamwalkers: finally Huscarl Dohon is attended to by an actual medical professional (Mystic) and soon after is up and about. His ankle is repaired with adamantine sutures, of course. I personally bring water and food to the patients, which is a much more important duty than meeting with the home-clan liason. He has been here over a year: he can wait for one more week, or another year for all I care. The liason was amazed at the titanium-inlay damasc amulet we send home last year, and jokes that if we had made two such princely crafts then the clanfather would move here himself, an Ghoshash Snazaga would have been made the new great clan-holding. Ha! I laugh: there is actually a whole pile of those useless trinkets here somewhere, in a bin along with the dwarf sternum scepters, or perhaps they are at the jeweler's shop being encrusted with sapphires. He thinks I am not telling the truth, but he is not sure. I remind him that he is free to go down to the Deep Cavern and visit the titania mines at any time.
The war-council orders the Plague Gunners to switch from flachette guns to bayonetted muskets. We have acquired these weapons by looting elite guards among the human and automaton invaders for several years. This should increase our gunners' effectiveness against armored foes and their ability in close combat. Musket ammo is expensive whether from travelling caravans or from the Freelancer's Guild, but we now have plenty to barter.
Scribe Keita withdraws from society! ... and crafts an artifact chert didgeridoo. We put it in the pile with our *other* artifact chert didgeridoo.
The Rangers have a mastodon hunting competition. Firehawk and Bolugd each take down two of the massive beasts. Bolugd with his deep-bronze mechanical crossbow was sniping them through the heart at over sixty paces, but Firehawk was judged champion since he did not resort to use of any shadowleaf poison.
Granite, 257
We trade with the Drow for wood, and for a supply of bulletspikes for the muskets. I finally conclude my meetings with the liason, and the lands of Ghoshash Snazaga become recognized formally as a true clan-holding. I am elevated to the rank of Hersir, and am now authorized to assign Tomia to the rank of Battlemage. She and Gwathlobal each now captain a separate squad. Eight sorcerers in one place tended to overkill a single target anyway. Now they can overkill two targets simultaneously.
Slate, 257
There is a dangerous flaw in our magma forge: the furnace channels connect directly to the open caldera above the Great Magma Sea. To keep the forge safe when we eventually assault the underworld, I think we have no choice but to floor over the caldera. The masons and miners must also secure several other locations to keep our foothold in the Deep Caverns. Architects place orders to build walls, remove ramps, lay traps, and add some more towers carved into natural stalactites. The archer's towers are connected to the fortress interior separately and are intended to be secure against flying enemies as well. Firehawk and Shrishak issue station orders to keep a small garrison of soldiers in these towers at all times.
Felsite, 257
The work goes slowly, and the Deep Cavern entrance still remains dangerously unsecured. With about 70 of our 130 adults either in the military, medical, or noble position, there is a limited work force. The 80 kids will be able to work at five years, so they should start growing up soon.
A raptor attack topside! Some idiot children wander out of burrows, which has at least the benefit of drawing the raptor warriors into range of arrowfire from the walls. Once the raptors' formation begins to break: the warbands charge out and attempt to save as many of the peasants as possible. These raptors carried decent bronze and steel axes and helms, but it was still good practice for the newest recruits. The orcs are finally heavily armored enough to face live action, at least against an inferior foe.
Talata announces that she has become attached to her Jaguar Warrior society arms kit.
Malachite, 257
A toxic forgotten beast got in through the Mossy Cavern. Engineers! I speak: why was this cavern not locked down after the previous incident? We have stripped all the wolfram ore and all the cavern plants that we need! There was a not-obvious flaw in the archer's tower, and the beast may have snuck in through a fortification with no floor above. Luckily a miner with a pet golem intercepted the beast in the stairway. The direwolves that joined the fight all have a bad fever. Although the plague does not seem too deadly, we make a lot of soap, and destroy and rebuild the contaminated stairs and walls.
Galena, 257
The bloodiest week by far in Ghoshash Snazaga.
Ilena, on patrol in the eastern Deep Tower, spots cave dragons! She hamstrings one of them with a few well targeted arrows. The creatures aren't moving in aggressively, but several dozen of arrows are not finishing the beast off either. The security walls are still not complete, so the warbands rally to the quarry to deal with the threat. Just at this time arrives a forgotten beast, composed of green glass, with poisonous vapors! With all the warbands already on station a retreat would end in disaster, so we are committed to battle and warbands stand and fight in the shadow of our archers' covering fire. The three cave dragons charge to join the fight as well. The battle goes in our favor although: the archers are now out of arrows, the elite warriors are tired and bloodied, and one veteran mace-orc was struck down.
Animated armors appear immediately when the dragons are destroyed. None of us had ever seen such a foe. Our strongest veterans had left the field to grab a drink and rest, so our great champions were not among the defenders. Still, all of our warriors are heavily armed and armored: none are mere dabblers in the art of war.
Eight orcs fall, including six of the warchief's personal guard, the Malignant Dances. Two of them were veterans of many campaigns: blasted with corrosive acid, and their skulls crushed by gruesome blows even through their deepbronze and adamantine helmets. Arrows and spells glance off the monsters with no effect. Finally through sheer numbers, and bravery, the warbands prevail. The creatures knew neither pain nor fear and needed to be hacked into fragments to stop their assault. A dark day, but it remains a victory over foes that would have destroyed a weaker fortress.
I suggest: It really would be better if the masons actually build this wall at some point.
Less than a new moon passes before we are attacked by a huge elven army, with trained war elephants, and unicorns. Their ranged squads were absolutely obliterated by our archers, but it was a mere diversion! the treacherous elf calvary slipped through the back door and emerged from ambush already inside our courtyard. Luckily the elephants are wounded greviously by our barbed-wire traps, but their great mass prevents our gate from closing, and they delivered the elves in undamaged condition for battle. Fortunately all squads other than the warchief's Dances are recovered to fighting shape. Even with our numbers depleted, elves in a melee are no match for the strength and fury of a well-armed horde of orcs. One peasant and one green recruit are killed, but about three-dozen elves and their war pets are slaughtered.
Timber, 257
Miners finally complete an alternate passage to see into the eastern part of the crystal cavern, where we can clearly see the hordes of strange Hiveguard invaders. They are not worth the attention of the warbands at this time, but Tomia volunteers to station nearby and thin out their ranks somewhat.
Our homeclan liason arrives, but the caravan is ambushed by automaton sharpshooter riflemen, and turns away immediately. There was no chance to stage a rescue. We do dispatch the two squads without too much trouble. The Plague Gunners use the chance to test their new muskets against some worthy targets.
While defending the miners and masons: Talata kills a third forgotten beast. In this fight, she gets a big assist from the Sorcerers and Ilena who immobilized it from their stalactite-tower. Finally the walls of the Deep Cavern stronghold are made secure. Engineers begin the final preparations to encase the New Quarry in obsidian, after which we should be able to extract another three-dozen adamant stones.
Poll
5 (38.5%)
Author
Topic: Ghoshash Snazaga, "Cleaver of Ignorance," a ¤MDF Orc Fort¤ tutorial (Ch 22) (Read 105224 times)