Continuing the story of Ingish, now in full overblown story mode:
Every single dwarf from Ingish Outrageorb's former crossbow squad volunteered for mission to recover the body of their cursed but brave comrade. A melee squad of fellow graduates joined to support the crossbowdwarves; Ingish had been their friend and brother as well. They all knew they would also have to kill Cuthabe Spasmprowl the Untoward Loot, the beast before time who had given Ingish his release from the were-curse. With this in mind the two squads began their long descent to second cavern level.
The beast was still stuck in the same gully as before, standing beside the mangled corpse of their friend. It looked like it was guarding the body, somehow. The monster still bore wounds from its fight with Ingish; clearly there were limits to its outlandish healing power. That meant it could be killed. Good.
Upon closer examination it became clear that a fungiwood tree was blocking the only way to the gully. A woodcutter was called in; while she cut down the tree the crossbowdwarves kept the beast distracted with a steady flow of bolts. The bolts seemed to rather annoy and enrage the monster than injure it, but it was enough. When the tree finally fell down the dwarves swarmed together through the narrow gap and charged towards Cuthabe.
The fight was very one-sided. If Cuthabe had had trouble with the naked and unarmed Ingish, it didn't have a chance against a score of his brethren, equipped with the finest steel and adamantine gear from the fort's master smiths. Enraged, it tried to tear at the tiny forms flitting at the edges of its vision but every time they seemed to be just a little bit out of its reach, ready to stab and smash at its vulnerable parts.
In the end it was a speardwarf, Inod Citydiamonds, who landed the killing blow. She was one of the first who reached Cuthabe, stabbing rapidly with her masterful adamantine spear and dodging the beast's attacks. After tearing the monster's both lungs and heart she stabbed deep into Cuthabe's lower spine, causing the it to fall down and writhe helplessly under the dwarves' onslaught. A final strike to the abdomen opened a large artery, and with its steaming poisonous blood spilling to the ground Cuthabe Spasmprowl the Untoward Loot finally drew its last breath.
It was done. Inod looked at her spear, still coated with hissing and steaming gore and gave it a name right there and then: Nòmnêcik, "Godsinges" in the common tongue. It felt right, somehow.
The dwarves gathered together, many with tears in their eyes. They all straightened up and saluted, no longer as mere students, but as warriors. Then they slowly started their long trek back to their barracks, fifty levels up from the cavern. A peasant collected Ingish's corpse and placed it unceremoniously into an obsidian coffin, as is the dwarven way. A slab was carved to commemorate the deeds of Ingish Outrageorb, the one who was cursed but who redeemed himself with valor.
Later, Cuthabe's carcass seemed to vanish from the cavern, and the forts kitchen and bone industries were suddenly flooded with fresh raw material. Ingish's tomb got decorated with one more addition: an exceptional forgotten beast skull totem.
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Topic: What's going on in your fort? (Read 6230996 times)