Somewhat unexpectedKivish was not what you'd call 'spritely', 'young' or 'over-emotional'. She was an old bat of a dwarf, set in her ways, ridiculed by the young and ignored by the adults of The Massive Helms purely for being old.
So trekking through a vast sandy waste-land in the middle of the summer season was - putting it mildly - slightly unexpected for someone like her.
Yet there she was, her and a bunch of other sorry wretches from the Mountainhome, trudging through the sandy dunes. She stumbled several times as she struggled to traverse the unforgiving landscape, yet each time she fell, she got up and powered on.
Finally she reached the imposing granite doors of Battletrials. The dwarves cheered in exhausted ecstasy as their long journey had finally come to an end.
Their cheers faltered as they came closer to the main gates. Their welcoming party wasn't what they were expecting.
"Hmmm," Kivish clucked softly to herself as she strode through the ghost, which was sitting on the steps of the fortress, sobbing quietly, staring intently at its own corpse rotting on the stockpile outside.
Kivish pushed open the mighty doors to Battletrials and, blinking her eyes to adjust to the low light, made her way into the fortress. Her fellow trekkers followed after her, readjusting their heavy packs as they looked around the polished stone hallway leading from the entrance, talking excitedly amongst themselves.
They had arrived at mighty Battletrials, the rumoured bastion of brute strength, combat prowess and... blood-soaked walls. The evidence from recent violence which had beset the fortress was still strewn across the main hallways. The newcomers stepped gingerly around blood pools and crumpled clothing as they walked towards what looked like the main dining.
Two dwarves emerged from the gloom at a run, rapidly approaching the group of migrants. One of them, a bald male with a ludicrous beard, tripped and landed flat on his face, sliding several metres along the smooth floor, coming to a rest against Kivish's foot. The other dwarf, a female, also fell over, but from the force of her laughter.
"Ahem." Kivish coughed, looking down at the swearing male dwarf. He got up, straightened his copper breastplate and addressed the group as though nothing had happened.
"Hello newcomers. You can ignore what just happened. My name is Jester and the giggling idiot behind me is Hatchy. Welcome to Battletrials. Ignore the blood."
ReliefKivish was a guest in Jester's rather sparse office. The two of them and Hatchy had excused themselves from the inevitable newcomer party in order to discuss the recent events within the fortress. Kivish listened intently as Jester, leaning forward heavily in his seat, recounted the conflicts between himself and Fikod, the brutal death of Meng and the violence which ensued that nearly destroyed the fortress. His voice turned dark as the story turned towards the continued disappearance of the former expedition leader and his crony Cog, before breaking as he told the tale of the two melancholic dwarves who still wandered the fortress, inconsolable, wasting away before the eyes of those who were left.
When he finished, his head hung low. Hatchy came over and kneeled beside her friend, putting a reassuring arm around his shoulder. Kivish, who had remained silent throughout the story, spoke up.
"Can I offer an opinion?" she asked. Jester nodded, still not meeting her gaze. She hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "I think you two messed up."
The two dwarves looked up at her, shock evident on their faces. "Excuse me," Hatchy growled, "But what gives you the right to-"
"Shut up," Jester interrupted, shrugging off Hatchy's arm and burying his face in his hands. "She's right. We got so caught up in training that we let Fikod go mad with power."
Kivish smiles faintly and shook her head. "That's not what I meant. You messed up because you didn't kill him right away. The
moment a dwarf thinks he's better than the fortress, you crush him. You went soft and were punished for it."
Jester and Hatchy looked at each other, then at Kivish. The two dwarves realised immediately that Kivish, despite her appearances, wasn't a dwarf who should be messed with. Everyone was silent for a few moments, letting Kivish's words sink in.
Finally Jester broke the silence, his voice low. "I understand if you don't want to stay here." Kivish laughed, then got up and made her way over to Jester, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking him squarely in the eye. She let a grin creep across her face. It wasn't one filled with malice or mocking, but a conspiratorial one.
"I'm not just going to stay. I'm going to run this place with you.
Jester and Hatchy exchanged glances again, with Hatchy snorting derisively. "You? What makes you think that you have what it takes to run Battletrials with us?"
Kivish looked at her. She let her eyes narrow. "I have no use for gold or trinkets, I get enough of that from my idiotic friends. I came here to get away from backstabbing politics, so I am hardly going to start trouble." She took a step closer to Hatchy. "I also know you two don't have the wisdom, experience or the heart to run this place
and train your gladiators," she said, nodding her head in the direction of a still-desolate Jester. "I, on the other hand, am an old woman. I know a thing or two about getting people in line." She cracked a smile. "Also, unlike Fikod, I like the two of you. You're cute, in a pathetic kind of way."
Jester looked despairingly at Kivish, while Hatchy looked torn between laughing and tearing the old woman apart. She chose the former, letting a chuckle escape her lips.
"You're a bitch. I like that," Hatchy declared, reaching out a hand. "You're hired."
PrioritiesIt didn't take long for Kivish to make her mark on Battletrials.
She firstly appointed a new manager and put them to work on what this fortress needed most of all right now... coffins.
Once she was happy with Catten's management of work orders she immediately asked Jester to take her on a tour of the mine shafts, which had been the pride of Fikod's achievements while in charge of Battletrials.
She shook her head as Jester showed her documents outlining planned expansions to the mines.
"This is completely unacceptable. Your people just avoided killing each other over these mines. Shut them down." Jester shook his head. "But we have found no metal veins, we can't stop digging!"
Kivish glared at Jester. "So are you saying you don't have trade caravans? From the Mountainhomes? Who carry metal bars with them?"
Jester hesitated. "We do, but-"
"But nothing. We will revisit the mines after we re-adjust some priorities back towards the arena. You need to give Battletrials a battle to lift their spirits. You have a goblin, don't you?"
"Well yes," Jester said, "We captured him after she tried to kidnap one of our children."
Kivish smiled. "Then that's what you need to focus on. Get the goblin, get her to the arena, and put on a spectacle."
Jester returned her smile. "Alright... but what about the mines?"
Kivish simply tore up the expansion plans, handing them back to Jester. "These people are fighters, not miners," she said simply. "Except for Sloth. He's special."
Change of plans and change of fortunesKivish ordered the miners to get to work on the arena. Dismissing the pre-dug prisoner area she directed them to build a drop over the main arena itself.
"This way," she had explained to Hatchy at the time, "They can't just run away the moment the doors to the arena open. You drop them directly into the main battle area, right next to your gladiators."
"But what if they break a leg? Then they're sitting ducks," Hatchy countered.
Kivish shook her head. "Goblins are tough little bastards. They may bruise a little but they will be in fighting shape. Worst case scenario, we build a ramp one level down from the drop point and build hatches to prevent them climbing back up."
Hatchy started to object, then thought the plan through and stopped. She gave Kivish a strange look. "How do you know this, old woman?"
Kivish laughed. "I used to have a pet gorilla. That's how I fed him."
Let training resumeWith the arena nearly finalised, the two gladiator captains set about expanding their teams, ramping up for the first battle.
The two teams welcomed the changes, relishing the chance to get back to what they did best.
Rimtar, one of Jester's original recruits honoured the occasion by changing his name to "Crusoe".
Sloth was formally welcomed into the team, having been hastily recruiting just before the attempted rebellion.
Edum, still wearing the dwarven earring made from Kosoth's skull, had also been drafted (at her request). She had also taken on the name "TokimiDwarfy". She joined her husband, Nix.
Lastly was a cheery female by the name of Lalasa. Everyone loved her, especially as her missing front teeth meant every breath produced a soothing melodic whistle with every exhale.
Introductions complete, they resumed their training in earnest.
At last!Jester asked Kivish to call a town meeting in order to make an announcement. The town's spirits, buoyed by the recent arrivial of Kivish and the learning that she wasn't a complete psychotic like Fikod, were further lifted when they were told to not enter the main dining room until they had a barrel of booze with them.
With the town appropriately outfiited, Jester got up on a table and looked out over the sea of dwarven faces.
"Hello everyone! Today is a glorious day for it marks the beginning of what we came here to do... put dwarven toughness to the test!"
The dwarves cheered as Jester unfurled a large parchment banner.
"One week from today, we will witness Battletrials history as ShadowHammer becomes the first warrior to prove their worth in the arena!"
Again the dwarves erupted. Jester jumped down off the table, headed over to the rear wall of the dining hall and hammered the notice into the stone with a large peg and the butt of his sword. "Now raise your booze barrels, to ShadowHammer and to Battletrials!"
The dwarves cheered a final time and started drinking, moving their way over to the poster. On it was a picture of ShadowHammer, sword at the ready. On the other side of the poster, a snarling goblin.
Battletrials Arena ScheduleArena 1v1ShadowHammer vs Ngoso Zolaktosnak
Strike the flesh!===========
Phew! That was a big one but now I'm all caught up.
Time to make cage-traps and increase fortress value like crazy to start attracting more goblins.
Sloth, apologies if gender isn't what you wanted. Just picked one that was a fresh arrival.
Also I have manually set your weapon to be a pick, so you aren't fighting with a spear.
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Topic: Battletrials - Wayward Warriors (Community) (Read 27854 times)