mapMy dwarves set out in the winter of 1046 to found a new output far to the North, where it's always warm. The goal was to found a great glass-making city, with both magma and a thick layer of sand. [EDIT: apparently, I was way off on the chronography. Landsdiamond was actually founded in *1053* -- all this stuff happened in only 8 years!]
The dwarves wasted no time setting up farm plots, clearing land for bedrooms in the clay below the ground, and some workshops in the sand. They channeled magma and built glass furnaces deep underground. By the time the first caravan came, they had enough green glass goods to buy it out.
This excited the mountainhomes; immigrants left for Landsdiamond in droves. The great caravans came full of food, cloth, leather, and other items; they returned home laden with glass and top-quality clothing from our farms. A first attempt was being made at breaching the aquifer. Soon, the population was almost enough to support a barony.
The success also intrigued some local denizens. First to visit, in 1049: Obsar Xosposmumu, the dragon of legend. The fortress was only lightly defended at this point; the great walls on that map were not yet built. Luckily, the dragon greedily attacked the point of the fortress that had the most goods: namely, the dwarven caravan, with its several axedwarves. It made a dramatic entrance, but the guards made short work of the dragon. However, fire took hold in the trade depot, and spread throughout the fortress. 53 dwarves died in the conflagration.
The two surviving founding members rallied the other 9 survivors; they spent the winter building coffins and burying their fallen breathren. They also butchered the dragon, tanned its hide, ate its meat, and made bolts of its bones. A convoy of immigrants arrived in the spring, and while they were surprised to find the fortress devastated, they pitched in, and by summer, it seemed that the setback could be forgotten.
Next to visit, in 1050: Odata Eviamala, known as Ladeinori Amiya. Without the benefit of the dwarvish guard to help us, Odata was able to wreak much greater havoc before succumbing to the traps at the entrance of the cave. However, the dwarves had learned not to fight the fire, but instead to avoid it; and much that could burn had already burned. This time, only half of the 22 colonists died.
The early 1050s were a time of hard-fought growth. The King wished to make Landsdiamond a great city with which to extend his power; the goblins resisted and sent increasingly large armies. By 1057, it seemed that the King would succeed. Zakosp Kestangot Oxsazon, a magically animated bronze colossus, visited in that year. It destroyed the guard, but over the years the traps had been upgraded, and the colossus was vanquished. Its corpse was placed in the great dining hall as reminder to the glory of the dwarves. Shortly afterwards, Landsdiamond was named a Barony.
By now, plans were afoot of making a great palace for the King, all in clear glass. This construction would also be a more secure fortress to defend against the frequent attacks. The population almost reached 100 in 1058. But then came a series of blows, each harder than the previous one. A goblin attack killed the legendary miner Kel Ritasdatan, one of two surviving founders; it also killed a well-liked legendary clothier, and a human diplomat driven mad by being unable to leave due to the siege.
With the colony still mourning, Sporro Radirtuthid Udirudul, a second bronze colossus, attacked. It smashed through the masterpiece doors, placed to impress traders upon entering the fortress. This led the legendary glassmaker 'Glassy' to throw himself into the magma river. Facing a mutiny, Baron Meng gathered the entire populace and ordered it to attack. This succeeded, but at great cost: dozens died, either immediately or later of their wounds, or from a lack of caregivers. Once again, the dwarves stopped everything and only built coffins.
As soon as he heard that his enemy had been so weakened -- to just over 60 dwarves, almost all civilians -- the goblin king hired the human axe lord Stozu Stustodostngosp to lead almost an equal number of well-trained soldier goblins to finally crush the colony. They suffered greatly from the traps (Stozu himself was among the first to die), and found themselves unable to penetrate. But Baron Meng once again displayed his monumental stupidity: trying to break the siege, he allowed the enemy to enter through the trade depot entrance. With the colossus having destroyed the gates, this allowed the goblins to scale the walls and control every entrance. Seeing this, Baron Meng tried to flee; he and his consort were cut down in short order. Staying under the ground, the populace mounted a brave last stand, and persuaded the goblin army to lift its siege and run back to the hills.
Half the colony had died during the battle. Nearly half the rest would die of their wounds: from nearly 100 before the colossus, to over 60 afterwards, they were down to a mere 17. 'Arch-cutter', the sole remaining founding member, argued on his deathbed that the colony should be abandoned. Preparations were made to build a mass tomb, pack supplies, and leave with the first elvish caravan in the spring. Poetically, mere days before leaving, a dog died of old age -- the only natural death in the colony's history.
[ January 28, 2008: Message edited by: benoit.hudson ]
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Topic: The tragic history of Landsdiamond, 1053 - 1061 (Read 2334 times)