Yar! It be an eventful month!
I be coming to Murderflood a few years back now, after I heard the tales. Legends tell of a warrior fortress between evil waters and dark sand, where dwarven steel and magma hold the hordes of evil at bay. They say great spires of metal and stone rise from the shore, ruled by cactii, beset on all sides by vile mist husks, crundle zombies and bugs of love and good. There even be tales that the dwarves there would flood their entire fortress in magma rather than fall to their enemies, so as to burn by thee own hand, and face Armok with honour rather than face the shame of defeat!
If even a fraction of the stories be true, Murderflood's saga would make an excellent tale for me next book. I'e always preferred to be writin' true stories anyway.
And Aye, indeed, the place be impressive to behold! A great brass tower rises above a river of magma, and behind it tall spires and impregnable walls. But I quickly learned the tales were naught but tales. The great brass tower be a recent construction. The dwarves of Murderflood occupied themselves with training and hauling while letting weapon traps do the work of warriors. The Vile Mist from the lake be contained, staying to it's waters, far from us. And perhaps most damning of all, the plan to flood the fortress in magma be naught but the fabrications of fools and liars! The magma in the dikes around Murderflood be quiet, safe and contained: hardly a befitting namesake for a dwarven fortress!
But I had come this far, so I decided to at least stay for a few weeks. Weeks became months, months became years... and now they've made me overseer.
Yar, it be a good decision. I know what needs be done. The tales must be justified! And I shall author the greatest tale of a dwarven fortress ever told, and I shall tell it not in words but in action!
Ye know it to be true! Let this year be the year Murderflood became worthy of the name!
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First things first: from now, the military are to work alongside the civilians. We have too much to do for half our dwarves to be wasting their time with training.
I took one look at the insanely complex chart of labors, cancelled them all, and streamlined them. Only essential labors be essential: everyone else is on construction and dumping.
Hmm... what be those three be doin' out there?
"I got 'im! I knocked 'is teeth out! 10 points! In your face!"
"Oi ye scallywags! Stop pissing off the immortal ragebeast and git yer asses inside!"
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Alright, time to do what a dwarven fortress should've been doin' from the start. Ye there! Be openin' the trap corridor! Let's kill us some zombies!"
Hehe, lookit 'em come in and die. Again. Double die. Heh, this be fun, but it be time te' get te work. Someone close the gate and we'll clean out the trap corridor.
Hang on, what's that?
Oh, this be bad.
Risen! Risen ye idiot, come back! Wh'd ye go out there, there be zombies! Dammit, someone open the gate for the daft sod! Oh no, no... don't go out further into the caverns! Risen, ye fool!
What're ye tryin' to prove? Ye don't even have a weapon! The dead be closing in! Run, Risen, Run!
Oh no! There be a monster in the trap corridor! It must be the foul beast that drove Risen to flee into the caverns!
Risen ye're goin' to have to fight it! THIS BE YER MOMENT, RISEN! PROVE YERSELF WORTHY O' THE NAME "DWARF"! TAKE UP ARMS RISEN, TAKE UP A TITLE, AND DESTROY THE BEAST THAT PLAGUES YE!
Truly, it be a battle for the ages. Dwarf against Crundle Left Upper Arm. How could he maintain hope in the face of such insurmountable odds?
Yet somehow, Risen rose to the challenge, and prevailed against the beast. But then...
Bigod, another foul beast! Turn, Risen! TURN AND FIGHT, BRAVE WARRIOR!
A great hero has been born this day. Or possibly an idiot, it be a fine line. Now can we please be closin' the trap corridor and cleanin' it out? Thank ye!
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Yar, that's our dump tower? It's got flippin' holes in it! What idiot thought that was a good idea?
One o' ye useless lubbers go and deconstruct those fortifications, right now. We'll replace them with walls so the magma mist can't be gettin' in.
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Ye fools! I told ye to deconstruct the fortifications! Now someone's dead and it's all ye're fault!
Anyone know who it was? Nay? Oh well, I guess we'll know when they don't show up for dinner. I be cancelling that dump zone completely until those walls are built.
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Wait, ye three still be out there? It's been a fortnight! Dammit, I told ye to get back in 'ere! What're ye doing? Why ye just be staring blankly at 'im like that?
Okay, this be kind of creepy. Seriously, you lot stop staring at Zuglarkun. Ye not be vile mist husks, stop pretending ye are.
This is strange. Be Zuglarkun... doin' something to them?
... I may have to be takin' drastic measures.
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Elves. Well, I have no quarrel with them. I know some who do, but I've never really 'got' why exactly.
Besides, they be admirable animal trainers, and bring with them fearsome beasts, like this Double-Muskox:
A terrible beast. They also bring another grizzly bear. Nice of them to
finally bring us a female to go with our 5 males! I'll have her pastured immediately.
The diplomat wants to talk about tree's. As always, Ilral hashes out an agreement. I doubt we will have much use for wood this year. I be havin' other plans.
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Okay, it's been the better part of a month, and those three fools still be out there. This not be right. This be something unnatural.
I won't be havin' them starve to death on my watch, or killed by goblins, or captured by the mists. Nay! We need to be rescuin' them. We need to destroy that what be havin' a hold on their mind.
We need to kill Zuglarkun.
Again.
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Topic: 'Murderflood: (Ardentdikes IIIv3) You, there, grab this save! (Read 228991 times)