Dorsidwarf and most of the other milita dwarves arrive topside and he starts giving orders.
"Ok, all three squads, get ready. The Mechanisms of Perplexing, take the left side. The Heat of Gloves will be with me on the right. The Fortress Guard can cover us from the south."
"Here they come!"
Half of the goblins charged ahead of their comrades, their screams of bloodlust echoing off the walls.
"Reg, no, wait!" Dorsidwarf shouted as the crossbow dwarf near the bridge rushed out onto it. But he was no longer listening.
Ducking and whirling his crossbow became an instrument of broken bones and dazed goblins. But as arrow after arrow embedded itself into the warrior his movements slowed. "MOVE YOUR BEARDS!" Dorsidwarf shouted to the rest of the squads. No dwarf was going to be left out to die under his command!
The dwarves surged out, pisskop and icefire in the lead. Goblin after goblin fell before them as they rushed forward. pisskop in particular was a whirlwind of death, her spear lashing out like a bronze ray of death. The archers pinned down the enemies long enough for the warriors to catch up to the final group, and no goblins escaped that day.
"Good job, everyone! Good job! Sound the all clear, Tiruin!" shouted Jim as they walked back over the bridge. "And tell them we have wounded! We need these dwarves into the hospital NOW!"
11th Moonstone"Mephansteras! Preparations for the tree cavern project are complete!" Shakerag marched into the forges with his pick slung over his shoulder. "Ready for us to collapse soil?"
"Ah! Excellent! Yes, yes drop away! It'll be a while before we get any lumber out of it, but having a secure growing chamber should help out the long term resource problems we've been facing."
19th MoonstoneThe populus was crammed onto the upper levels of the crannog and craning their nexts to view the ceremony taking place inside the Council Chamber. Inside stood pisskop before the assembled worthies of the Barony as Zan addressed her and the assembled dwarves.
"Today is a momentous day. Today we recognize a dwarf for her unceasing efforts in the protection of this fortress. A dwarf who has
earned the title of Spearmaster through long days of practice and time and again in the defense of us all. pisskop, it is therefore my great honor as Baron of Pricemines to declare you our
Champion!"
pisskop could only stammer out a thank you as she looked down at the medallion around her neck.
The assembed dwarves roared a cheer loud enough to startle the camels grazing near the banks of the lake. They had a Champion, and even the most pessimistic dwarf could find nothing negative to say against it that day.
14th OpalUzol and Mephansteras walked through the newly finished jail area.
"Well, Captain, what do you think?"
"Good! Excellent! Thank you, Cousin, this is exactly what I was hoping for! It could use some more chains and beds but...we can finally have justice in this fortress!"
"Justice. Yes." Mephansteras frowned. "Too many deaths lately, too many worried dwarves. I can only hope this helps allay their fears a bit."
"It will, it will. Once we're able to punish a few of the wrong doers, people will calm down."
"I suppose. Better if we could stop the deaths in the first place, though."
"Every guard's dream, cousin. Every guard's dream."
16th ObsidionThe sound of crashing rock reverberated throughout the fortress. Screams of panic and pain echoed throughout the expanding dining hall.
"What happened!?" shouted Mephansteras as he walked up the stairs to find a scene of chaos. Dwarves were huddled around the prone forms of several dwarves while one of the doctors hurridly checked each one.
"Get these two up to the hospital now. And...get a burial shroud. I'm afraid that Nomal is dead."
Nomal Akrulfarash, Mafia Miner, has died."Will someone
please explain what's going on?"
One of the miners spoke up. "Well, something went wrong with the carving out of the upper floor of the dining hall. The wrong floor section got channeled out too early and...well, there was a major collapse."
The smith put his hands over his face. "I...I can't do this anymore. I'm done being overseer! Someone else can have the job." he sat down heavily.
"What?" Radio Controlled looked aghast. "But...you're accomplished so much! You can't quit now!"
"Exactly! I finished all my projects anyway. Now I just want to go back and work in the forges in peace."
"Are you sure about this?" Asked Shakerag, concern for his friend obvious in his voice. "You could take some time and..."
"No." Mephansteras cut him off. "I've been thinking about this for a while, now. At the start of the new year, I'm stepping down as Overseer!"
Final Fortress Status
And that's my turn. Lots of stuff for the next overseer to do! And I've left a bunch of nebulous potentially sinister things for people to run with. If they care to, at least. For now, I'm curious to see what happens next!