Time marches onThe goblins of The Carnal Worker-Witch, normally so consistent in their raids on Battletrials, had been conspicuously absent. Their last major raid, which the dwarves were still cleaning up months later, had carved a significant chunk out of their standing army. Atu the Law-Giver was in the middle of a recruitment drive to bolster soldier numbers but, for the meantime, Battletrials was left to its own devices.
The dwarves didn't rest on their laurels, not on the slightest. They continued the massive clean-up job, with other 80 corpses worth of clothing, armour and weapons to gather. The job was made easier by the arrival of a fresh load of migrants.
Jester and Shorast met the newcomers at the gates, welcoming them to the fortress. They then gave each new arrival either a hunting bow, seed bag or mason's chisel and set them to work on the three things the fortress needed the most: meat and bones, plants and coffins.
With each new coffin, another dwarf was laid to rest. For each dwarf, a small memorial service was held, honouring their memory and swearing swift vengeance on the captured goblins and trolls.
But there was also important training work to be done. Jester met up with the fresh volunteers who had signed up to be part of the Battletrials militia force. Each soldier, bar the squad captains, was decked out in leather armour and handed their assigned weapon.
Jester addressed the crowd of eager soldiers. "This weapon is your new best friend. Live with it, love it, so that when the time comes, it will keep you alive and bring you glory!" The troops roared. "Now, to training!"
Constructed worksWhile Jester played soldier with his recruits, Shorast kept the craftsdwarves and masons busy in the workshops. They all rallied around Rimtar, who triumphantly put the finishing touches on her masterpiece work. It was proudly displayed on the workshop wall to inspire the other masons.
One of the new masons had been transfixed by Shorast's stories about the history of the fortress. She was especially interested in the tales of Lalasa, a well-liked dwarf who unfortunately died after a single blow to the head. In her memory, a statue was carved of the heroic dwarf.
While a debate raged about the best place to put such a statue - the barracks or the fortress exterior being the frontrunners - the architects and masons got to work on an even grander project: an archery tower for the marksdwarves.
Shorast selected the location, just to the east of the corpse stockpiles. There was enough spare land so as to not crowd the ridge, while also covering the eastern and southern approaches to the fortress.
Quick as a flash, the foundation of the tower was complete, a strong granite wall to hold back any invading goblins.
Shorast sat down with one of the architects to plan out the second floor, as well as the access stairway which would lead from the fortress.
"I think the second level should be a solid wall of fortifications on all sides," Shorast said. "This way the marksdwarves have a full 360 degrees of vision."
The architect ordered the masons to get to work, and before long, the second floor started to take shape.
The stairwell was also dug, which would lead from the second level of the fortress straight to the inside of the tower. Ustath the marksdwarf captain inspected the stairwell, after which he declared himself pleased with the progress.
Winter fellThere was one final project which Jester had asked Shorast to oversee... the diversion of the river. As winter had engulfed the area, the river iced over, then straight through, becoming a solid block of ice meandering its way through the landscape.
Shorast and the mining crew ventured down to the river edge. The miners started dragging their picks through the soft sand, marking out a long channel which would connect two points of the river.
As the mayor watched on, the miners got to work. As most of them had been a part of the fortress since it was first founded five years ago, their digging skills were legendary throughout Battletrials. Even Shorast was surprised, though, at just how quickly they completed the new channel.
The masons wanted to dig out the ice near the new channel and build a wall to dam off the old river path, but as it was approaching the end of winter, the last thing the fortress needed was to lose dwarves down a flooding river. Shorast therefore ordered the masons to focus on the archery tower; they would wait until next winter to finish off the river diversion.
The dwarves strike backAs construction work continued around the fortress, the dwarven activities attracted the attention of some unwanted guests. Goblin and kobold thieves had tried to sneak into the fortress, desperate to get their hands on whatever trinkets they could.
Unlucky for them, the cage traps surrounding the front gates were more than ready for intruders. The dwarves celebrated the capture of even more enemy scum for the arena's eventual re-opening.
One of them managed to escape the cage trap, but the roll they performed landed them right next an axedwarf.
The axedwarf attempted to strike out at the goblin thief but, unfortunately, it deftly parried the blow and managed to escape towards the north.
But this was nothing compared to what came next... The goblins sent an ambushing party!
The three archers and the solitary mace goblin stalked their way around to the northern approach to the fortress, lying in wait for foolish dwarves to try and cross the bridge to the other side.
Meng the axe squad captain and one of his recruits were on a training exercise in the dunes. They were caught off-guard by the goblin ambush. Cut off from the fortress, they had no choice but to try and fight their way through.
In a savage display that shocked even Meng, his recruit slapped the mace goblin in the upper arm with the flat of her battle axe blade. The goblin's arm bone splintered and bruised under the blow, which was made worse then the recruit tackled the goblin to the ground. With three swings of her blade, the recruit sliced off most of the goblin's arms and one of its legs. But the final blow was delivered not with an axe swing, but a swift kick to the head.
The recruit, covered in drops of blood, charged towards the other goblins. Meng, still blinking in amazement, followed suit. The ambushing goblins, stunned by the loss of their mace-wielding comrade, turned and fled towards the west.
Upon returning to the fortress to deliver the news, Jester and Shorast declared a rest day for the whole fortress. They celebrated as only dwarves can... raucous drinking.
Getting seriousSeveral days passed without incident, with construction work and training continuing unabated. The dwarves, taking advantage of the frozen river, had started to build a channel underground to deliver fresh water into the fortress.
Floodgates were set up near the channel, which led on a long path towards a selected area underneath the fortress. Once the right mechanisms were set up, a lever could raise the floodgates, send water flooding into the channel, before being closed again.
Shorast the mayor, who was consultation with the manager, was interrupted by one of the Hunters, who had come running into her office.
"Shorast, great news! The dwarven liaison has arrived with a caravan!"
The mayor clapped her hands in excitement, standing up and moving towards her office door, leaving the manager behind. "Get your colleagues out there and guard the caravan," Shorast said, "Last thing we need is another dead liaison at the hands of an ambush."
The dwarven merchants and the Battletrials broker split off into the trading post. Supplies were carted into the depot then back out again as the merchants traded all of their wood, weapons, bars and armour for the fortress' supply of crafts and gems.
Shorast took the outpost liaison to her office, then sat down to make herself comfortable. "Welcome to Battletrials, Vabok. It's good to see a liaison survive the journey to our humble fortress."
Vabok smiled, putting his vestments down onto the tabletop. "Yes, we heard about my predecessor's fate. As well as yours."
Shorast nodded her head. "Yes... terrible business, vampires and all that." Vabok clucked his tongue in sympathy, then unfurled several pieces of parchment and laid them out onto the table. "Let's get to business, shall we?" he said.
"The leaders at The Massive Helms have taken a great deal of interest into your efforts out here in the desert," Vabok continued. "How do you think the fortress is going?"
Shorast considered her response. "Better," she said finally. "It was touch and go for a while after the goblin sieges, but the dwarves are in high spirits. Our militia commander has re-organised the military and we are putting the finishing touches on our first construction projects."
Vabok wrote down a few notes on his parchment as Shorast spoke. "That's great to here," the liaison replied. "The Massive Helm's leadership group was hoping you would say that. They have given me leave to deliver this news to you."
Vabok picked up a piece of parchment. It had a royal seal. Vabok opened the letter and read it aloud.
Shorast's eyes widened as she took in the liaison's words. She sat back in her chair, momentarily stunned. Vabok finished reading, walked over to the mayor and shook her hand. "Congratulations," he said, "But do you want to accept?"
Shorast looked Vabok in the eye and smiled broadly. "Of course! And at the risk of sounding self-centred, I can think of nobody who can do a better job at being a baroness than myself.
Vabok smiled and clapped Shorast on the back. "Excellent. Welcome to a new era, for yourself and for Battletrials, land of the ream of The Massive Helms."
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Hurray! We've gone legit.
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Topic: Battletrials - Wayward Warriors (Community) (Read 27848 times)