Zutthan Authortrumpets Ranger's Field Journal
Urdim said we'ld never live to make it here but I know the overland ways.
Bloodyhells. Everything they said it would be.
Tosid and Shem meet us and report no open entrances on the shore side either. Not unexpected. There's all manner of travellers and mercenaries around and some moving undead but none noticed their arrival either.
There have been rumours for a while the fort was overthrown by a cult. It may be more dangerous inside then out. Or there could be an entire fort of riches for the taking.
I strike the ground near center of the corpse-ring. The others find some tools close by.
Urdim rushes back warning of a giant bugs south by the shore and picks a safer axe.
He does very little work before the morning's events get to him. I let him take a break. He's only a moment.
After most of the work is done on the aquifer plug, a cloud of this nefarious-looking mist roils in from the south east. Urdim's fear seems prudent and we wait it out working at the bottom of the dig.
It's passed by the time we're finished. Urdim is pressured into breaking the last support floor since we can't spare the time for mechanics.
Everyone gets knocked out. I'm a little fuzzy but I think I saw a dizzy kitten fall out of a tree. While we let the dust settle we scouted out four barrels of dwarven wine in another trader's wreckage.
After a drink I noticed a new trail of fresh blood. Headed fom the tree it ended at the corpse of the kitten that had fallen out of it earlier. The very next time I came outside the cat corpse was moving. The four of us rallied together and kicked it to more death. Urdim and Shem get it floored over in a small hole.
I was working on delving deeper when Tosid shouted a warning. The giant Fireflies Urdim saw on the shore were pouring into the dig. Undead chitinous shells rained blows on me as I fought my way out of the dead-end of the dig.
Outside with the others, Shem yelled He'll distract them while we try to find weapons.
Shem's no militia dwarf but he unleashes a flurry of blows in a martial trance. Urdim cowers horrified wasting time while Shem quickly get's tired. When he collapses Urdim flees.
Tosid and I had to go far to the south east to get what we were after. We got back just in time to see Shem's chest crushed to pulp by the undead horrors. Poorly armed as we were, vengance must be ours. Shem's last sight was spattered with giant firefly ichor spilt by the shared spear and shield his sacrifice bought us.
Acrid slime rains down on me as I shove giant firefly corpse corpses on top of Shem's lifeless body in the shallow grave Tosid dug.
I'm sorry Shem. You deserve better then this but there is no time.
You can understand then that when the undead doe rabbits hopped onto the scene shortly thereafter our misplaced rage was inevitable. It was horrifying.
Tosid and I were worn to exhaustion beating down the unbeasts with our wooden weapons. Urdim, was confronted by a buck rabbit corpse that tried to enter the dig, he did well before collapsing from exhaustion on the ramp.
Tosid passes out asleep while walking back to the ramp to save Urdim. We havn't eaten since arriving. I can't win with just a shield so I head back south east after a weapon. It's too far and I feel sleep overtake me just before returning to the dig site with wooden sword.
Tosid tells me by the time he reached Urdim the head of one of the doe rabbits was chewing on him as well. He dispatched that easily and the fight now almost two on one retreated deeper into the dig as the buck rabbit corpse was backed into an alcove. I relieved Tosid trying to keep the thing from finishing Urdim while he worked on getting a cage trap set up we could drive the thing into.
Tosid can't decide between getting me some food and building the trap. Eventually I managed the sever the thing's head with a lucky strike from the wooden sword spraying the walls with blood. I have got to eat. Urdim can rest for a moment. An important looking human coming down the dig passed while I was getting a cranberry Tosid had brought. She looked like she thought she was supposed to be here.
She must have thought it was Bloodyhells proper as she left after seeing the dead-end of the dig.
I found Urdim's corpse. A bad way to start the summer. I though he would be fine, he was only bruised badly, no other signs of injury. I though he just needed to rest but I'm no chief medical dwarf.
I call to Tosid to ready another shallow grave.
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Topic: Bloodyhells - Succession: Battlefailed #5 (42.06) (Read 140689 times)