Not enough time to play today so for now there will only be a
Interlude - The Tower of Budding, beneath the Dark Fortress of Ghoulcontest
It wasn't a good day to be Song. He had long ago lost count about the number of rulers and their petty temper tantrums that he had survived, but this was different. She wasn't just another goblin, to dependend on his skill and experience, build in the countless years of his life. She wasn't at risk of being assasinated any moment. Before her, the time a goblin ruled was mostly counted in days, not years. Hers had entered the fiftheent century a few years ago. For the first time in quite a while, Song felt his age. He had always understood how to divert blame away from himself and his prestige among his kind had ensured that even she accepted his presence as necessary and vented her anger on others instead of him. No, it wasn't a good day. Otub Seerbrass the Fog of Days, Empress and Goddess of The Elder Vice had personally asked for his presence to answer a few questions about some rumours that had reached her ears.
With heavy steps, he walked down the sheer endless stairs into the bowels of the earth. The constant cold that marked this world for so long now, was slowly replaced by the suffocating heat from the depths. Idly he let his fingers trace along the wall. The warm and familiar touch of rock was already behind him. Instead his fingers felt only the cold and heavyness, the crushing pressure of the vile substance that made up her fortress that radiated from it and seeped into his very core. It felt like he had walked forever before he finally reached the towering gates to her throne room. Cut from the same unnatural material as the walls and interwoven with macabre decorations made from the flesh, blood, bone and as some claimed maybe even the very souls of those who offended the misstress of this palace. The gates opened on their own and for the first time today, he walked with haste into the huge chamber. It wouldn't to do make her wait even longer.
The glowing gaze of familiar crimson eyes greeted him as he stepped in front of the throne and kneeled down, his forehead touching the floor. "Misstress. You called and I have come." His ears nearly burst from the sound of Otubs claws effortlessly digging deep groves into the stone that no mortal tool even managed to chip. He idly thought that she always did that when she was annoyed and his mind helpfully supplied the further thought, that this might be a bad sign. "It took you long enough Song. Rise servant." He slowly stood up and looked into the face of the creature that had ruled him for so long. She had the head of a goat and a fur in the color of freshly spilled blood and he thanked whatever gods where listening, that she kept wearing long and flowing robes. He remembered what her body looked like from the first few years of her rule and the thought managed to still make him sick all those years later.
"You are aware why I called for you?" The silky voice she usually used never fitted her appeareance. Only in rage did it fall into a range that seemed to fit the beast. "Of course misstress. You wanted to hear about the rumouers about..." "Silence! I haven't called you for gossip! I called you to explain to me how one of my best generals was unable to quell a few slave uprisings!" "Misstress... I can assure you..." "What can you assure me Song? That you did your best?" Otub rose from her throne far faster then her size should have made possible and after only two steps, she towered over her general and her long claws closed around his skull. It was a firm grip, but the razor sharp nails didn't dig into flesh. Yet.
"Your best seems to be not good enough anymore Song. Tell me a reason why I should let you waste my time and my army any longer." "It was the location misstress! The laws forbade as from searching in the Unspeakble Axe and no one thought that these dwarves might even think about settling there. Even if they went there, our allies should have taken care of them. Once I learned of the location I immediately send a squad to kill them, but..." "Say that again Song." For the first time since the start of his hasty explanation, he noticed the puzzled look of his empress. "They are settling in the Unspeakable Axe. I don't know how, but it seems they are building a fortress there." Just as quickly as they came, the claws where drawn back from his skull. A fell laugh that made Songs bones rattle echoed through the chamber, while Otub sat back down on her throne. "If you allow me to misstress, I will send a full army to drive... " A quick wave of her hand made him swallow the rest of the sentence.
"This won't be necessary. Send word to the armys in the north. They shall stop the pointless raiding and begin to invade." "Invasion? But misstress, our allies..." "Will do nothing." Song wanted to protest, but the cruel smirk on the demons face made him pause and slowly he noticed something that he had missed the entire time. "The covenant... it's void..." "It is indeed. By the very oaths that bound our hands all those years, our allies are now forced to watch while the armies will march. Nothing is left that could stop them, we took care of that." "And the dwarves in the Unspeakable Axe misstress?" She waved just dismissevely. "They have forgotten long ago. Their presence there is a mere coincidince or we would have noticed by now. No, these fools have no idea what the results of their actions will be. Go now General Song. Rally the troops and send word to the outposts to arm everyone able to hold a weapon. We will finally finish what we have started."
Notes: Lòr was a Trampled Hatchet. Immigrated with novice hammerdwarf and sadly that wasn't enough.
Anyway, stuff is happening and while Igrishilrom is digging around for a few meager bits of iron, the is far more going on in the rest of the world.
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Topic: The Fell Peak [Community Fortress] - platinum blunt weapons for everyone! (Read 13036 times)