Strange MoodsThis year, we had a grand total of three artifacts produced at Breadbowl.
The first was created by none other than Litast, wife of the legendary armorsmith Onul - she who has seen and worked with sacred metal before. Litast claimed a craftshop, and by two weeks, we bore witness to the first true artifact crafted in this humble settlement.
Value = 8400 Urists
She called it Atorerush, the Perfect Handles. It was remarkably simple; to the untrained eye, it may even pass as merely another masterwork craft. But look closer, and one notices an engraving of unparalleled detail and fineness, etched on a ring of perfect circle.
From that day on, nobody could deny that Litast was a legendary stonecrafter. Rumour circulated that she had created Atorerush for the renewal of her marriage vows with Onul; even more rumours claimed that Onul had created an artefact iron ring in return as well. Soon, they became known as the Legendary Couple.
The second artifact was created by an aspiring engraver, Inod Silverrouts. Reports claimed that he experienced fey-like attributes, such as having glowing white eyes and levitating his chisel. This time, the artifact was far more decorative.
Value = 36960 Urists
It was declared to be Splatterstroke by the fey spirit, who abandoned Inod’s body upon the completion of the artifact. Adorned in almost every dwarven decorative style imaginable, from circular bands to menacing spikes to image depiction, all the while adhering to the spacial confines of a simple hood, it was truly a marvel of leatherworking.
Ironically, Inod was an atheist who flatly denied his fey mood and claimed that Splatterstroke was just another ‘tacky costume headwear’. His creation was promptly wrested away from him before he could consider doing any further harm towards it. It wasn’t long though before Inod demonstrated a skill with tanning that even he could not deny.
Continuing the trend in excessively-decorated headwear, the next artifact came from an unassuming farmer known as Ilral Plankdrilled. He too claimed to have been possessed by a great spirit, and bestowed upon his creation the inexplicable name of Yearrub the Contingent of Splattering.
Value = 21000 Urists
Yearrub soon became a controversial matter as some felt that Ilral had merely copied the methodology and design of Splatterstroke. This, compounded with the fact that Ilral demonstrated no supernatural talents after his possession, lead many to denounce him as a fraud. Later investigations by expert craftsdwarves have managed to clear Ilral’s name somewhat, as the craftsdwarfship on Yearrub was found to be far too delicate for a dwarf of zero leatherworking skill to simply make on-a-whim.
The Rampage of Isha Alucisli in BreadbowlElves come forth during the bloom of spring. Humans prefer the steadfast heat of summer. Dwarves enjoy autumn, probably because they get to see trees dying so much.
But in winter, only dark things come out of the wood.
Rakust Dikestabbed swings her axe towards the bark of a lychee tree. This got her nothing more than a couple of wood splinters, partly because she hadn’t done this for a while, but primarily because she was using a training axe. Afterall, it was bloody impossible to get a real axe nowadays thanks to that darn Total Armament Project. She hefts her axe for another try, and blinks. Was that the emergency alarm bells going off?
Rakust shrugs. Don’t know what the big deal is this time, probably just another giant hamster that got into the dining hall. Rules are rules though. Better get into the fortress before she got another tongue-lashing. W-
If it makes you feel better, a real axe really wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.
Issha strikes with blinding ferocity, crippling Rakust on the first strike. The wereskunk then proceeds to wail on the dwarf with all the tooth, claw and fury she can muster. There is no time to waste – the bridges must be retracted as soon as possible, lest Issha makes it into the town of Breadbowl!
By then, Rakust has become no more than a gory chunk of mass on the ground. The wereskunk hardly cares; so much is its lust for blood that she tears at the bloody carcass nonetheless. Breadbowl holds its breath, praying that the beast is sufficiently distracted that she does not attempt to cross the bridge.
Success! With the beast safely trapped on the other side of the moat, SQman’s neighbourhood watch program is called into action. Once they reach there, they will be able to snipe at Issha with little fear of retaliation.
Hang on a sec, werebeasts can’t swim, can they?
God damnit.
The part-time marksdwarves are hurriedly called off, and the real military is summoned. They arrive just in time to see the wereskunk rising from the river - it was now or never. With an air of trepidation, the kill order is issued and the Shafts readily advance in a spear phalanx.
Issha’s first few strikes are wild and powerful, yet the Shafts stick to their plan with discipline. They target her limbs and joints specifically to prevent her the liberty of movement. The wereskunk growls in anger as she falls to the ground, but Taupe drives a vicious stab through her right hand, and the growl turns into a howl of pain. Pinned to the ground, Issha dies a painful death as she sustains multiple severe puncture wounds. The battle ends as Kubuk Bannersnarls stands high above the prone Issha and beheads her with a single, merciful slash.
The dwarves of Breadbowl breathe again. In time, what is left of Rakust will soon be brought back to Breadbowl to be properly buried. Ironically, she is the first actual corpse to occupy the tomb area. The military will rejoice today in the wake of their success - but not by too much. It is afterall still winter.
But in all seriousness Taupe, you’re getting rather paranoid all the same. This crab did nothing towards yoouuuu… and I was planning to trap it.
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Topic: Breadbowl: a Succession Farm [42.06] - Breadbowl Ends (Read 445090 times)