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[ousire]

olags train of thought: whats this? dwarfs actually being happy? work getting done efficiantly? nothing getting crushed by me? unacceptable!

[Railick Stonemane]

     The brothers were not happy when the Hammerer stormed into their improvised offices. Years without being under a Hammerer’s constant gaze had eased their trained reaction, but they were still surprised to see him. When Olag declared that Count Shatteredstone was on his way to assume control of the Fortress the brothers were more than a little angry. When he stated that the new mayor was to be some dwarf related to Jiram they were furious. When he said the Fortress’ name was to be changed they were enraged beyond reason.


     “I hereby declare, by order of King Magmabeard IV, that Clan Stonemane is illegal. An application for creation of a clan was never filed in the bureau of families and clans and therefore your clan does not exist. All members of this clan will retain their original name and station, not that of their adopted false clan. All existing citizens of Fortress Shatteredstone the Goblingrave owe allegiance to Count Shatteredstone only. They will pay for their room and board and will pay taxes to the nobility in all ways defined by the law. The leaders of this false clan will be returned to capital to face trial for their crimes against the people!” The Hammerers voice carried a type of authority that could not be questioned. However his latest statements pushed Railick and Bailick beyond enraged and into a berserk state.


     The brothers were no match for the personal guard of Count Shatteredstone, but that didn’t stop them from trying. The two rose from their stone thrones, both fists hammering ironically into Olag’s dragon helmet. Their fists carried enough power to launch him backwards onto the floor, but the brothers could not overcome the guards that flooded the room then. They were beaten to the ground where the guards stomped on them until they ceased to move. Soon the two were bound and gagged, sitting in iron cages to await their fate.
 

     The count pardoned Tindel in advance as he still wished to retain his expert services for future fortress expansion. Unlike the brothers Tindel could see that to resist would be useless, and so he accepted his new liege without complaint and was rewarded for it. They did not hold it against him, and would have told their brother farewell were they cognizant and able.
Dod and Seed were thought to be dead which allowed them to easily slip away from the fortress while command was changing hands. Tarilic returned from a trade mission to find the fortress in this state Together they knew they could not allow the brothers to return to stand trial in the Count’s court system. The two dwarves had been there before and they knew there was no justice to be found there. The judges simply ruled as the Count wished them to rule. His intentions were crystal clear to these three. They quickly formulated a plan to waylay the guards when they attempted to transport the brothers back across the endless plains.

[Railick Stonemane]

     The Endless Plains of Glitter were mostly barren but it didn’t take a lot to hide a pair of dwarves and a skinny elf. From where Tarilic was crouched off to the west side of the long road between the two fortresses he had perfect view of everything around him. A large bush grew between him and the road and served to hide him, though it had no leaves and appeared to be dead. The elf had worn a brown cloak to assist him in his hiding and blended in perfectly with the dreary autumn colored surroundings. Even from his good vantage point he could not spot the two dwarves who had hidden somewhere on the other side of the road.


     In the distance Tarilic could see a large cart coming from the fortress in the south. He knew it to be the one carrying his friends, if only because it was surrounded by armed guards walking on foot. As the cart drew closer the elf could see two dangerous looking dwarves sitting on the driver’s bench, each with a crossbow across their lap. On either side were two heavily armored warrior dwarves that were obviously a detachment of the Count’s personal guard.  They were each armed with war axes which were much smaller than Dod’s, but allowed the dwarves to carry a shield in their free hand.


     Even from here Tarilic could see the head of two war hammers bobbing behind the wagon’s load from time to time, telling him that there were at least two more dwarves bringing up the rear. Inside the wagon there were two dwarves in thick iron cages, separated a bit so that the dwarves inside could not touch each other. The only thing the elf could see of the brothers were their beards blowing in the wind as they were both on the floor bound heavily with iron chains.


     As per their plan Tarilic waited until the wagon was directly in between him and where Dod and Seed where hiding on the other side of the road. He couldn’t be exactly sure where that was, but when the cart blocked his view of all the possible hiding places the elf opened fire. The twang of his bow could not be heard by the guards at such a long distance, but he could hear the first dwarf scream as the wooden arrow burrowed itself into his throat from the side. Before the first arrow found its target another was in flight and a third was being knocked. In a few seconds the two guards on the west side of the cart where on the ground bleeding out.


     These warriors were well trained however, and were warned to expect someone to attempt a rescue. The two crossbow dwarves sitting on the wagon returned fire in Tarilic’s direction and missed wildly. Their experience in the tunnels of Fortress Understars had never taught them to aim at such a long distance with any accuracy; still the bolts did scare the elf off. The two warriors on the east side of the cart came round and gave chase to Tarilic as he ran off into the plains whilst the four other dwarves remained with the cart.


     As Dod and Seed snuck forth from a row of dwarf sized weeds on the east side of the cart the guards attention remained to the west. One could not blame them for this, after all they must be prepared if they had any chance at dodging any more arrows that might come their way. The hammer dwarves behind the cart saw them first, but could not call out a warning before Dod launched his battle axe end over end with his powerful arms. His intended targets could hear the blade of the axe as it spun again and again, producing a noise that was out of place to them.


     The two turned at once in the direction of this odd sound and the last thing they saw before their death was this spinning axe, and four glowing eyes beyond it. As the blade of the axe reached its highest point it came down again and cleaved the nearest dwarf’s helmet in two. The skull and brains offered no resistance to such a powerful throw and the haft’s momentum was more than enough to tear the blade free from the first dwarf’s skull. This caused the blade to whip up into the air again and come down with slightly less force into the second dwarf’s face, more than enough to kill him where he sat. The second dwarf’s body was blown off the bench and into the road beyond while the first dwarf slumped side ways onto the bench itself.


     Seed could only watch with amazement at this skillful toss and Dod smiled to himself with pride over his achievement. Still they had two hammer wielding foes to deal with, each of which was quickly closing in on them from behind the wagon. Through all of this the brothers could only hear the brief screams and thuds of fallen bodies, they really had no idea what exactly was going on but they had hope that it was something that might save them.


     Through all the combat the mules did not move an inch and even as Dod ran around the front of the cart the mules did not budge. The now dead dwarf still held their reigns tight in his cold hands and until they were loosened the pack animals would not move. Compared to the raging storms they were often caught in this combat was nothing very exciting to the animals. Indeed even when the wagon itself was almost knocked over by a powerful blow from a war hammer these brave if somewhat dumb animals stood their ground.


     Seed was lucky that time, as he dodged back at the last second to avoid a hammer swing that would have smashed him into the wagon. He knew he would not get a second chance like this and a single swing from his dangerous hoe was all it took to free the hammer dwarf’s arm from his body.
The hacking edge of the blade split the heavy metal pauldron and continued on into the dwarf’s shoulder itself removing it at the joint. With all muscle connections severed this dwarf dropped his hammer onto the road and stepped back in abject horror, his other arm coming round in vain. There was nothing he could do however, and soon the weight of his gauntlet was enough to tear what sinew remained attached, allowing the dwarves arm to fall to the ground with a thud.


     If his screaming alarmed the remaining hammer dwarf at all he did not show it. His grim eyes had seen far worse in years past and they never left his enemy even for a second. This, perhaps, was his failing as he never saw the axe flying at him from behind; never guessed little Dod could move so quickly. As the final dwarf fell to the ground with a loud clank the battle was over as quickly as it had begun. After finishing off the wounded dwarf Dod and Seed set about getting the brothers free from their cages with what tools they had at hand, as there were no keys to be found.

[Railick Stonemane]

     Tarilic could run no more or he would risk getting lost out here in the vast endless plains around the road. In the distance to the south was Mount Frostbeard, and to the north the Goldenanvil mountain range. Both were so huge as to be useless landmarks, all he could be sure of was that he was somewhere in between them. To go further he would risk losing the wagon’s exact location, and he knew he had to deal with these two dwarves chasing him so he could assist Dod and Seed if they were having trouble.


     The elf stopped running and began to prepare an ambush for the two dwarves tracking him. It would not do to waste any more of his beautiful hand crafted arrows on these louts who obviously had no idea what they were dealing with. Instead Tarilic sung to a vine hanging on one of the few nearby tears. It was a vile thing to see, thick with thorns sharp enough to pierce a man’s skin deeply. The elf’s sweet song was enough to coax nature itself to his will, turning this vine into a powerful whip. A gentle tug was all it took to free the vine from its tree, its thorns falling off where the elf intended to hold it just before his flesh made contact. With his new weapon in hand the elf hid directly behind the tree, his thin body more than hidden by the gnarled trunk.


     The first dwarf past the tree noticed the sudden lack of elf tracks just a second before the vine whip lashed across his visor. His helmet was more than enough protection for his head, but his visor slit did nothing to stop the cruel thorns from blinding him. The dwarf stumbled back in intense pain, his hands releasing his weapon and shield in order to vainly attempt to comfort his ruined eyes. Reversing his course Tarilic quickly spun round the other side of the tree, lashing out at the second dwarf.


     Having seen what happened to his comrade this dwarf was prepared for the attack, holding his shield up just in time to absorb the blow. The dwarf could hardly feel the blow of the whip across his shield as he rushed forward with his stubby legs to close range on his enemy. Tarilic danced backwards as the dwarf came on, lashing again and again with his dangerous whip. Each time the dwarf was able to adjust his shield to protect himself from the blow, but each time the dwarf lost view of his enemy. Luckily every time he lowered the shield to reacquire him the elf was right where he was before, still backpedaling.


     The dwarf knew that it was just a matter of time before he would close range on the elf. He only had to wait for the right moment to marry elf flesh with axe blade and this battle would be won, this wasn’t his first time killing an elf after all. Again the lash came, and again the dwarf blocked it. This time as he lowered his shield the elf was just plain gone! He quickly turned his head left and right trying to find him but it was much too late. When the dwarf had raised his shield this last time Tarilic suddenly slipped forward and behind the dwarf, keeping the shield between him and the dwarf’s line of vision.
   

     The whip lashed out as the dwarf searched for his enemy, wrapping around his stubby legs at the knee causing the dwarf to fall forward instantly. He could not stop himself with his hands full and it was all he could do to throw his axe clear before he landed on the blade himself. Quickly Tarilic mounted the dwarf, using one swift kick to knock the prone dwarf’s helmet free from his head. They struggled as Tarilic wrapped the vine around the dwarf’s neck, those wicked thorns digging deep into his flesh with every movement back and forth. In short order the dwarf went limp, unable to overpower those powerful Elvin muscles. Arms that could pull back an Elvin bow proved stronger than those who’d spent a life time holding up axe and shield.


     With a pant the elf released the vine whip which instantly turned back into a common vine which would have broken were it put under such stress. Tarilic returned the way he came, when he noticed the other dwarven warrior rolling around on the ground screaming. It was not the screaming that caught his attention, it was the jingle of keys that did it. With a grin the elf plucked the pair of keys from the dwarf’s belt and went on his merry way, leaving the dwarf to suffer and perhaps survive.
   

     By the time Tarilic returned to the wagon Dod and Seed had already freed the brothers and thrown the cages over board. Tarilic saw them first, and could see the worried look on their faces as they looked westward in his direction.  He could tell they were distressed about him, and that fact touched his heart deeply. He had joined these fine dwarves out of a sense of duty, but ended up becoming their dear friend in the years that followed the war with the Baltrog’s goblin hordes. He was sad that Tindel could not be with them, but he certainly understood the dwarf’s position. Tarilic tossed the useless keys in the dirt as he waves his hands above his head in signal to his friends.


     “Aye der elfie, dats the second time yus saved us dwarfs!” Baillick was rubbing his wrists and his neck, recently freed from iron shackles and collar that were much too small. Tarilic only smiled as he hopped onto the wagon and kicked the dead crossbow dwarf off the east side. The dwarves settled down in the back of the cart now that there was plenty of room for them. With the elf at the reigns the mules finally decided to move forward and the five rode off into parts unknown.

[Railick Stonemane]

     In the years that followed they were not heard from in the lands between Fortress Understars and Fortress Shatteredstone. Though the Count was furious that the brothers had escaped his justice it had achieved the same thing, they were out of the way so that he could assume command. Bounties were put on their heads among the humans but decades went by without anyone coming to claim it.


     A hundred years went by, a long time even for dwarves. Both of the Fortresses did extremely well across this span of time, such that Count declared himself King of Frostbeard Mountain. There was nothing King Magmabeard IV could do about it, so he was forced to accept this and offered his cousin the honorific The Dawning to signify the dawning of a new age of peace between the two Fortresses. King Shatteredstone was pleased.

[Railick Stonemane]

     The ancient dwarf sighed again, and sat down for the first time during his entire story, the telling of which had taken many hours. “As time went on the Gods once again warned their priests that we were digging to deep.” With this the old dwarf banged his fist against the wall behind him, causing the adamantine to ring out in a strange way. The dwarf smiled as the wall rang out again as if struck from the other side. “Of course, our greedy King did not listen and continued to mine this precious metal until only a sliver of it remained guarding us from the ‘evil’ that lay on the other side!”


     With this the students were suddenly alarmed. They had been told the King ordered the mining to stop immediately upon this warning; it was engraved into the halls of history above them! One of the students did not seem very alarmed at all, indeed he smiled openly. The other students did not notice him until he threw his hood back allowing his glowing red eyes to shin upon them. He slowly clapped as he approached the old dwarf.
     

     “Well done Tindel, I don’t remember bein’ quiet as stupid as ye tell it but otherwise ya did a fine job teachin our history mate!” Railick threw his cloak back from his sides revealing a silver mining pick hanging from his belt by a notch carved in its haft. “Ya’ll here are descended from Clan Stonemane, ye be knowin this much. Your forefathers helped us in the early days, and we promised we’d protect their kin afor your bastard King came and ruined everything!” With this the students eyes lit up with awe, this was the dwarf they’re parents and grandparents had told them about before they died. This was the dwarf their ancient teacher often taught them about deep in the dark mines, about their secret heritage that no one else could know about. The remnants of clan Stonemane were few, as long ago many family lines had been snuffed out when discovered by King Shatteredstones agents.

     “I did just as you said my dear friend, and brought them here every full moon waiting for you to return.” Tindel seemed relieved that at last his brother had returned home. At the same time the ancient dwarf had a sign of fear in his eyes, his hands trembled at what he knew what was about to come. Tindle shuffled to the back of the room, beyond the students where he could observe what would happen next without being directly involved.

     The red headed dwarf looked just as young as ever, though his glowing eyes carried a look of agedness that even Tindel’s could not match. Indeed Tindel’s eyes were filled with youthful glee, like a young dwarf on his birthday now that his friend had returned. From a hidden pouch Railick produced a small stone which he promptly threw against the wall before him, causing a loud bang that stunned the students for a moment.

[Railick Stonemane]

     Bailick’s ears perked up as he heard a loud bang issue forth from the adamantine wall before him, the demons beyond it had given him his signal. At once he lifted his silver mining pick into the air to strike the strange metal barrier. Dod, Seed, and Tarilic covered their faces with their cloaks as the tip of the pick pierced the wall. Shards of sparkling adamantine showed them as the silver pick did its dirty work. 


     Before Bailick could swing again several priests burst into the tunnel, they were all screaming gibberish about what their God had demanded and what must not be done. As the second strike landed upon the wall however, the priests we put to silence. A tiny hole appeared there in the metal and from it a beam of red light shot, incinerating the fools where they stood. The demons were released into Fortress Understars to do Armok’s dark will, with four generals who knew the fortress at least as well the guards who had no chance.

     In Fortress Shatteredstone the Goblingrave the guards would fair no better and King Shatterestone shook in his boots as the screams from the lower levels began to echo up into the halls above. Maybe he should have listened to his priests after all; maybe he should have been nice to those brothers like they’d said. It mattered little now; all he could do was stroke his doll Sasha and wait for his doom. A single tear ran down his cheek, not for the first time.

In the shadow between worlds Armok laughed, the other Gods did not.

[Armok]

So, it is over then?

I am resilient to say this, because the story is still awesome; but this last bit is less so.
Me majority of the story took place within a short period of time, then you quickly go through 100 years and it feel like you skip over a lot of things, awesome things that I would have wanted to know about.
it feels rushed, almost like you wanted to get it over whit so you could do other things, I'd rather have had this go on for many months more.
I'd like to point out, that it is not yet THAT much more spoiled, and it's not necessary to late to insert more...

[Railick Stonemane]

I built it that way in purpose. This gives me room to fill up the interm 100 years with a lot of smaller stories about their exploits beyond the area. don't worry there will be more to come.

[Railick Stonemane]

Just wanted to make myself a bit more clear now that I've got a lot more time to type.

Yes, the story does jump forward. This is because /this/ story was just meant to serve as a back drop to others. I just focused on the action that the brothers were involved in as well as the rise and fall of the fortress.

I intend on now splitting the story into two threads. I will work on the shorter one first as I think it will be more interesting you guys and it will also fill in a lot of gaps.

ALSO I am working on bringing the world more to life ,as you will see in the coming months. My first order of business is to get a world map, hence the other post on the forum. I dunno if anyone will respond to it or not but I hope so

Secondly I've already finished a a pretty large portion of my new story called "The Other Twenty" I will post it tonight.

[Armok]

Ok, that sounds very good, I'd say then the story isn't really over at all, just the first part is.

A uite inovative way of storytelling, althou there might be little new under the sun, I approve.
Really, it's kinda similar to what I sugested, exept more orderly and flexible.

Be sure to either post links or PM me links to the new topics, I tend to be unable to read the stories section of the forum due to how massive a timesink it is.

[Railick Stonemane]

Another thing. I wanted to finish this story just so everyone knows how it all begins and ends. This way if something were to happen and I disappear for another year and six months

I will link to the new story in this thread. I want to make my own website with my stories on it but I don't know how. Can't afford to pay for any web hosting. are there any sites out there for writers to host their work for free?

[Railick Stonemane]

As I promised to Armok

http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=37474.0

This story is, obviously, about the other twenty dwarves that came to Fortress Stonemane the Brave. It is about their back stories, what led them to come to the Fortress AND what happened to them after Railick and Bailick left.

[Armok]

Another thing. I wanted to finish this story just so everyone knows how it all begins and ends. This way if something were to happen and I disappear for another year and six months

It's a really, really good thing to consider this possibility when publishing things on the web, to bad not more people do it really.

I will link to the new story in this thread. I want to make my own website with my stories on it but I don't know how. Can't afford to pay for any web hosting. are there any sites out there for writers to host their work for free?

Maybe http://www.000webhost.com/?

[Railick Stonemane]

What is the catch with this web hosting place? IT seems WAY to good to be true.