The dwarf gestured wildly, clearly in the grip of a strange mood. "Mph grmph mmmph."
Page leaned on his pick. "What's going on? Did a puppy fall down the well again?"
"Mmmph!"
"Then speak up, Bane! What do you need?" Page asked.
The masked dwarf pantomimed something vague and mumbled loudly.
Shadow shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't get what you were looking for, but I think I saw some of those by the magma forges."
Bane nodded and dashed off.
"What was he looking for?" Page asked.
"I have no idea, but I hope he finds it. It'd be good to get
something done here."
"We're digging out dwarmitories. That's a good task, isn't it?"
"Yes, but I have the sneaking suspicion that things aren't going to get finished. Like the project in the caverns."
Page faltered. "It's...it's a nice idea, isn't it? Caverns rendered safe for all of us?"
"That's all it is. An idea that's going to keep getting us killed."
"But it's mostly done. The north, south, and east sections have been walled off; there's just the lake left."
"And how many have died?"
Page mulled the question over before responding. "Fewer than expected, honestly. Only a couple of soldiers..."
"We ran out of coffins."
He looked up, startled. "Did we?" No, no, it couldn't be. The new overseer had been so happy-go-lucky, and there were more dwarves in the fort than ever before.
"Yes. Twice."
Page hefted his pick and made a decision that seemed unimportant at the time, turning left to dig out the room instead of continuing down the hall.
"That's awful. But considering the surface, we're not doing that bad, are we? I mean, we've fought back goblins, warlocks and the like. We've even taken enough hostages to ransom some back, maybe."
Shadow worked on the hallway as she talked. "One goblin thief. Three gnolls. That's it as far as things that can think. Three of those cave crawlers the warlocks rode in on, six nasty undead
things that got roasted when that idiot wizard torched the grassland, a disgusting giant bug which is also crispy-fried, and most unwisely, four Xen infestors. What's the reasoning behind keeping four members of a hive minded demonic species in cages like they're part of some kind of zoo? The others will be seeing the inside of our defenses!"
"Sounds to me like the new cage traps work. And with the cages being made out of glass, we can make however many we want!"
"Trusting traps to save us is a losing proposition." Shadow hewed loose another boulder and pushed her way into its place. Page was around the corner now; she couldn't even see him.
"That's why the overseer's been getting a steel industry in place."
"Perhaps, but he's not that good of an armorer yet, Guild Diploma or no. And we're a little low on hematite."
"So ask him to send us looking for some."
"You know what I think about him. He's some kind of...I don't know. I think it's a form of strange mood."
"Not that again!"
"Mark my words. He'll be gone in the spring, or at least stepped down, and nobody will know what happened. And some other funny-named knucklehead will...will..." She trailed off. The stone in front of her was unfamiliar to her.
"Will what?"
"I don't know. Could you come take a look at this?"
"Gimme a minute, finishing the room. Gotta square the corners."
She leaned in at the strange metallic surface. It was smooth in a way that fresh-hewn rock shouldn't be. And it seemed to be faintly reflecting her image. She raised her hand and waved.
What she had thought was a reflection opened its eyes and locked gazes with her as she realized her mistake.
"Metalwraith! Run!" She yelled the warning as she lunged, striking the suddenly hostile earth with newly-born desperation.
****************
The service was small and quiet, although echoes from the far reaches of the fortress were always audible in the tombs. Page stayed afterwards and ran his hand across Shadow's tomb. There was a small notch cut into the top of the tombstone's slab, for keepsakes and memorial offerings. He laid his friend to rest with the tiny obsidian figurine that had been Cathy the office weasel, Shadow's favorite character.
He stepped back and brushed his beard. The moment was briefly spoiled by Bane running past, stark raving mad. Page did his best to ignore the lunatic and whispered quietly to his lost friend. "Maybe you were right. Maybe the overseer..." Could he have known?
He heard something heavy being pulled up the ramp into the graveyard and turned to look. More coffins, no doubt.
Instead it was the overseer, Talanic, dragging something heavy behind himself. It took Page a moment to realize what it was.
Sinewhold Weirdrasp. The impossible pick made of slade. Too heavy to wield effectively but at the same time technically priceless. Page watched, not understanding as the overseer used a stone block to create a pedestal next to Shadow's coffin and propped the pick up such that it leaned against the lid. He shook his head, wiped his eyes, and spoke. "I didn't know you, but I saw you many times. I wanted to know more, but the fort needed me. I didn't...didn't want you to get hurt. I wanted to meet you, talk to you, maybe learn to play that game with you. I got the impression that you could tell. That you knew that the fort had me, that I wasn't quite myself. But the year...the year's almost over, and I'm gonna be free. But it's too late."
The overseer turned away, never having seen Page.
*****************************************
So with that melancholy end, my year comes to a close. Pure coincidence that one of the miners I used to open it died late in the year.
We're in a very strong position right now. Food and drink are over a thousand each. Trinkets for trade are perhaps a little low. I've built a few extra mason's shops to crank out furniture for the dwarmitories, of which I've dug enough rooms for one for each dwarf, and ordered enough furniture for a bed, door, armor stand, weapon rack, two cabinets and two dressers for each. If the next overseer sees fit, most of that can still be canceled. If not, I have quickfort files for placing these items and can provide 'em on request.
The army took a pounding this year, but they gave back an utter mauling. Dagger SeduceBand Whirl Glide (yes, that whole thing is her name) is the deadliest we've got right now, at 49 kills - didn't check at the start but most look like she got them in the cavern. I think she's faster than most of the others, which explains a lot - the armor they're wearing already was enough to protect them from most things down there, which made their mobility (or lack of it) the biggest factor in what they could individually kill. Meph is carrying three Bloody Axes of Armok and wearing Bloody Armor of Armok and moves at a glacial pace - one kill for him. A military overhaul is definitely due. Next governor should probably try to get some of 'em to use the fountain of youth, as it'll heal the injuries that I couldn't, and expand the size of the military overall.
Speaking of military and caverns, I've nearly sealed its edges, and within it I acquired us a well that should be infinite, clean, and safe - unless the enemy can slither through three fortifications and three wall grates. I've been so preoccupied with this task that it ate most of my attention this year, preventing me from finishing any other goals. There's currently frogmen down there bothering the masons who are trying to floor over the lake (leaving a grate open for fishing, although it shouldn't be needed there) and finish the western wall.
I used the guildhall to get us some smiths, identified by the profession GuildSmith. I was going to do some of the same for soldiers but the building responsible didn't finish. There are enough gold coins to make quite a few attempts, though. Good luck.
I've made steel breastplates forged for thirty soldiers, although most haven't equipped them yet and I didn't forge anything else out of steel yet. You'll want to expand the army a lot. Things seemed to be getting tougher, and while I was absurdly lucky at times, the invaders aren't going to keep suiciding.
I'd intended to build a gargantuan concrete dinosaur footprint and hand it off to the next overseer telling them "That's the start of the Chompy memorial" but I didn't even get that started.
Oh, and Bane didn't actually die due to failed mood - instead he went insane on exposure to an Armok's Ward. I have no idea why, but I thought this writeup would be funnier.
The save.
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Topic: The Banners of Heart: ☼Masterwork the Fortress☼ (Read 34660 times)