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[TD1]

the art is awesome

[HakuryuVision]

-Yes, i know. Hauben ended up looking like an early DBZ villain.
Also sorry about the Street Fighter reference. >__>°

I don't understand how's this a problem, especially that the art is awesome

Maybe i've become too self-aware about references and memes.

[Cathar]

The drawings are amazing as always. Thanks so much – I especially like Gram and Toki, who are as adorables as usual. They are all saved on my computer and I love every single one of them. They remind me I have to work harder on my own art, which I'll do a bit more diligently from now on

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The battle was over. Even if the troops of Pevit only took the life of one person, the shock it sent through the village was soon felt very hard. Until recently, death has been hitting quite sparingly the town of Kimaeslo Ori. Discontentment was few and far between ; the pouring rain and the monkey raids were a source of general annoyance. But now that it was made clear that Osme and its officers had painted a target on their village, the people of Aconilun were starting to freak out pretty badly.

If the gods had given the bridge a few years of peace, those years were now over and their resolve was clearly tested.

The guild arrived to Kimaeslo Ori the first of July, under the command of Uquur, as per usual.
Their visit is usually an occasion to celebrate, as the guild brings goods and trinkets from all over the country – moreover, as it is the most reliable group of travellers in Mong Kima, they are often tasked with poor people's correspondances, making them an effective link between far away families and friends.

This year however, was quite different.



Uquur discussed rates with Toki for a good hour, then aimed directly for the castle where she met Lady Sug to share quite worring news.

Far in the north she said, the goblin empire of Ansgekstozu was in complete disaray. Since the troops of Osme slain their Empress, they have fallen into a state of general panic that other local kingdoms exploited to reduce them further. Even if pearlites do not shed tears for fallen goblins, it was a common understanding that the empire of Ansgekstozu and Osme Stobϋb were – more or less – keeping each other in check.

Now with Ansgekstozu functionally gone (with less than 700 heads), an intensification of Osmite raids was to be expected.

The merchants stayed in Kimaeslo Ori for a few days, but their visit was shorter than usual. An incident – a brawl near the market place I believe, hurried them out. To ensure their further cooperation, offering them a gift may be a good idea next year.

Then, it happened.


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

During the night of the 17 of July, Caslu – a seven years old child of Lady Sug and Lord Jalew – was out playing with his dog near the castle when he heard a terrible roar. Terrified, he looked around him and started to scream, waking up the whole village. Soon after, the war bell was ringing, the militia called and the population hurried inside to shelter themselves.

It was the plague of Mong Kima : a child of Pasmug.


A monitor lizard twisted into human form – its sandy taupe scales were jagged and overlapping. The people of Kimaeslo Ori knew how dangerous those things are, and the veterans of Thomocemir could almost recognize that specific werebeast.



Hustrΰ was the wife of Thomocemir's doctor, Zothoabo. She had been infected by the curse seven years prior, hidden from the population inside a secret house made inside the town's bridge. There, she would be safe from other and from herself – her montly transformation made unconsequential.

Spoiler: Blast From the Past (click to show/hide)

Year 140 - Seven years ago

But tonight, her monstruous form found a way to escape her prison and there she was, running after a princeling of the Aconilun.

The kid's young dog threw himself at the monster ; followed by a couple of war dogs that were parolling nearby. Hustrΰ made short work of them, but their sacrifice allowed Caslu to take shelter inside the inn. The militia was closing in, but not quick enough ; Hustrΰ managed to put her claws on another child, lost in the general confusion.

This kid, Gorbe, the son of a scribe, died very quickly. Hustrΰ stood over her prey for a moment, before the militia ran into her. The monster soon was cornered by Hauben's macemen in a small alley, and Dik, a militia woman, stroke her once in the head with her morningstar.

Hustrΰ died instantly, her skull shattered and the weapon's bronze spikes firmly anchored into her brain.

The next morning was a difficult experience for the village. A kid had died graphically, and Hustrΰ, as monstruous a form she had during the night, was a most beloved figure of Thomocemir. A tragedy difficult to fathom for the comparatively soft people of the Aconilun.

Burrials were made to accomodate the two bodies.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The following days were the theater of more tragedies as the town is slowly spiralling into chaos. Three animal trainers, Fanu, Ricgo and Esqu (one of the founders) fell into melancholy after witnessing the death of the dogs they trained. Altho those were war animals, one cannot really help but grow attached to them. Fanu and Ricgo were hit the hardest ; they stopped feeding themselves and died soon after.
Esqu however entered into a destructive rage and destroyed the fields, an action that would soon lead to an alcohol shortage – more on that later.

Gram captured him and send him to a jail he had just finished amenaging in the castle. Esqu just stopped being himself and would only mumble incoherently.


Inside the jail, his state seemed to improve a bit. People were feeding and otherwise taking great care of him. For a time, his recovery was in the realm of possibilities. But soon after, he was released and fell back into deep depression. He died of thirst the 7 september 147.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A bit earlier, the 26 August, there was another incident – Dengusa, the coppersmith, and Cusith, and old weaver lady, had a drunk argument in the tavern. While those things happen regularly, the argument was more heated than usual and soon escalated into a fight. A fight during wich an enraged Dengusa delivered a hit more powerful than perhaps he should.



Cusith was hurried to the doctor but bled out soon after.

Now, the incident is not closed yet, but I want opinions to decide the course of action.

See, Dengusa is an important figure of the village. He is the best weaponsmith of Kimaeslo Ori, and possibly of the kingdom. Moreover, he is the grandson of the local lord. Cusith in comparison, was an old and easily replacable weaver. Not bringing Dengusa to trial may be percieved (and rightly so) as favoritism, but bringing him to trial runs a very real risk that he be executed or beaten to death. Or he could go to jail and be forgiven...

Should we send Dengusa to trial ?


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
In other news, constructions continue to progress. A well has been made above the aquifer, which gives us – in principle – an infinite amount of water for emergencies, and a real barracks has been made on the other side of the bridge, to act as a blockhaus in case of Osmite invasions.

The next projects are the construction of a library – a necessity to stop the tantrum spiral. We are also thinking about training invasion squads to start to clap back at the empire of Osme.

The gods help us

[Splint]

Ugh, werebeasts. For a prolonged time it seemed like twice a year visits were something that would just have to be lived with elsewhere. If you have any, I recommend picketing groups of goats around the area to serve as an emergency warning system. The beasts will go after the goats initially, giving valuable time for the militia to respond and nobody will be bothered by their demise (unlike with trained animals, as we've just seen.)

So it's not lingering in the case files, the best OOC course of action though would probably be to give that smith a helmet and maybe body armor and hope the town watch doesn't hit him in the head too hard. He can heal from broken kneecaps or shattered wrists, a broken neck or both of his lungs getting punctured, not so much.

As to training invasion squads, I'd advise against it. Apparently there's a serious bug that far as I can tell, hasn't been fixed regarding equipment on raiding squads that sometimes happens.

[Haspen]

PUNISH HIMMMM.

Just lemme get popcorn first.

[Cathar]

And so I did... well. The results were something that's for sure, and they were better than doing nothing. The story however doesn't have a happy ending, but the end did not come from the way I expected. It was most definitely the right choice but sometimes there is just no winning. I'll explain everything in the next update. Spoiler alert : we lose more named people (sorry, feel free to ask for a redorf)

I also hear about not invading, but...we really ough to. We need to reconquer Tetzobsha and if possible retake some other territories lost during the war, and since we can train a lot of people who would otherwise go berserk in Kimaeslo Ori, I really thing we should - bug or not. We can keep Hauben and his squad in defense tho

[Sir Knight]

Wow.  Agh!

I'm torn between two reactions:

1.  No, such terrible things for my character!

2.  What's important here is this: did I name the slaying weapon??

I see that a real vote here is too late, but I suppose I'd go with the justice thing.  To a large extent because I really like seeing those systems used in-game.  I haven't yet had accidental deaths from justice . . . though I have had a potential recipient of justice kill the one delivering the justice before it could be done.

Also, I feel like I may need to go back through all the art and keep copies of scenes where I appeared.  This sort of thing delights me.  (P.S.: This update, again, was a delight.)

[Splint]

I also hear about not invading, but...we really ough to. We need to reconquer Tetzobsha and if possible retake some other territories lost during the war, and since we can train a lot of people who would otherwise go berserk in Kimaeslo Ori, I really thing we should - bug or not. We can keep Hauben and his squad in defense tho

If the goal is strict conquest with people we'll never see again or care about, then I *do* support a war of reconquest. Can even spin it as the leadership sending people to us for the express purpose of raising a new army in (relative) safety. I'd still be mindful of the corrupt inventory bug though, since to get these units up to where they can handle themselves, they'll need to be sent against piss-weak sites for the sergeants to gain enough military tactics skill to retake lost villages and cities.

[TheFlame52]

I remember seeing this thread in the catalogue a while ago and thinking nothing of it. But seeing its staying power, and after opening it, the fantastic art, I decided to give it a read. Cathar, your art is amazing and your storytelling is enthralling. I may not post much, but I never really leave, so I hope you continue this wonderful story.

Reading much earlier in the thread, I noticed that bright red hair was uncommon but present among the humans of Mong Kima. Could I request a human with red hair be nicknamed "Flame" after the bright color of their hair?

[Cathar]

If the goal is strict conquest with people we'll never see again or care about, then I *do* support a war of reconquest. Can even spin it as the leadership sending people to us for the express purpose of raising a new army in (relative) safety.

Well yeah, the goal would be to negate the "chip damage" the country gets over time from its immediate enemies (Osme in the east and Pilalene in the west). Most of the time, Mong Kima repels the enemy with little loss, but sometimes we lose a city on a bad roll, and we can never get it back if we're not proactive.

There are also other war issues that we need discussing like the status of the city of Edetledir, but maybe one thing at a time

I remember seeing this thread in the catalogue a while ago and thinking nothing of it. But seeing its staying power, and after opening it, the fantastic art, I decided to give it a read. Cathar, your art is amazing and your storytelling is enthralling. I may not post much, but I never really leave, so I hope you continue this wonderful story.

Reading much earlier in the thread, I noticed that bright red hair was uncommon but present among the humans of Mong Kima. Could I request a human with red hair be nicknamed "Flame" after the bright color of their hair?

Ultimately I do that because I'm passionate about my world and my little virtual people, but this kind of message makes my day regardless. I'll the same as for Zefer and dorf (or humane, or whatever) you as a near adulthood kid, so you can pick their profession freely. I assume that for the bright red, you mean either burnt sienna (base orange) or chesnut (base pink - pale red), which are both very common for pearlites ? Also yes, we're a country of redheads, with pale taupe skin and ecru eyes c:

Wow.  Agh!

I'm torn between two reactions:

1.  No, such terrible things for my character!

2.  What's important here is this: did I name the slaying weapon??

I see that a real vote here is too late, but I suppose I'd go with the justice thing.  To a large extent because I really like seeing those systems used in-game.  I haven't yet had accidental deaths from justice . . . though I have had a potential recipient of justice kill the one delivering the justice before it could be done.

Also, I feel like I may need to go back through all the art and keep copies of scenes where I appeared.  This sort of thing delights me.  (P.S.: This update, again, was a delight.)

Without spoilering too much, Dengusa didn't nicknamed the weapon BUT some of his crafts were actually nicknamed by the military, and very, very precious blades have been produced. I'll tell everything in the next story post

[TheFlame52]

That sounds good. I really don't care what profession, whatever you need more of. I just want to see my human stand out, be it through masterwork crafts, slain enemies, or anything else.

Also, I forgot to mention this, but I'm an avid legends diver myself. I can totally look through Mong Kima's history and write about cool nuggets I find.

[HakuryuVision]

It was inevitable.
...because Dwarf Fortress.

R.I.P. 'Monkey Punch', your courageous fists of justice will be missed.

And yeah, i think becoming more involved in the war (or rather; fighting back) is for the best, being sandwiched between two hostile nations can't be good for our beloved pearlites.

Nice work! I especially like the picture with Dengusa and Cusith, really digging the warm light coming out of the building lighting Dengusa from behind in the dark.

[Cathar]

Legends were sent, do not hesitate to contact me if that doesn't work.
Also, alas, we are losing people left and right and need to be ready to lose more people. Toki, Hauben and Bannic are going great...!

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Fall and Winter 147
On how and why Dengusa was killed

It may at first sound strange, to reduce six months of time in our very lively village to a single happening, but not only the fate of our coppersmith occupied most of our effort, every single event of note was tied to it. It also illustrate that no ammount of care, good will and attention is enough to counteract fate.



Because the community grew a lot since the first settlers of Kimaeslo Ori, the previous policy of « letting things slide » was no more tenable. With over one hundred souls in the fort, the Aconilun could simply not count of everyone's good will and natural willingness to cooperate for things to smooth over. It was only natural therefore, that people would look toward Lady Sug and Hearthcaptain Gram to maintain justice and good order within the town.

Earlier this year, Ari-Taskmo, the glassmaker and horse enthousiast, already had been tried for multiple counts of disorderly conducts, vandalism and destruction of property – and was subsequently sentenced to a serie of beatings a month behind bars. Other, like Lucmen the wood burner, Ramet – a farmer – and Cek the carpenter were also charged for violence toward fellow pearlites and animals. They received beatings and days in prison to calm down.

The old ways of maintaining order simply would not work anymore. Without the steady hand of the law, the community would now fall apart.

However when Dengusa was captured and brough to a public trial, the judge – Lady Sug, his maternal grandmother – decided for a light punishment. Altho Dengusa killed Cusith, he didn't meant to, and was sincerely remorseful, and the count of murder was retrograded to a count of disorderly conduct.

Tho if Dengusa avoided jail, he did not avoid the public beating, and his punishment left him with a couple broken bones and some internal bleedings that send him directly to the hospital.
Not wanting her grandson to suffer more than he needed to, Lady Sug ressuplied the hospital in consumables, and ordered the installation of a surgical table and a traction bench.

The wounded coppersmith would then spend fall in his hospital bed, being cared for by a couple of doctors.

Outside of the hospital, life continued however. Masons started to widen the bridge and ressources were spent to build a small library – as Aconilun members expressed the desire to partake in abstract thinking. Jalew decided to retire from mining and became Kimaeslo Ori's dedicated scholar, while Lastret, who has been a scribe in Tetzobsha and Thomocemir back in her years, resumed her occupation as a copist.
The rest of Autumn was rather uneventful, as Autumns often are in Mong Kima.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Days became weeks and weeks became months. Soon, winter was upon the little town.  The second infantry squad was given some weeks off, notably to allow Dengusa to see his husband and keep his morale up.

One day, Dengusa called for the medic inside the hospital. He had asked for water, a couple hours ago, but the nurse – a lady by the name of Mubo – did not came back yet.

Joakim, who was a member of the second infantry squad, was available and volonteered to go and check on her. Now, the well is located a bit below the surface, inside of the quartzite mine, so it can feed directly in the pure water of the aquifer.

Being a dozen meters below ground, one does not access this area except for those two activities ;  mining quartzite, or fetching water – making it a quite remote and lonely place.

Poor Joakim could but scream for help, when he discovered what happened to Mubo.




Joakim fought as hard as he could and managed seriousely hurt the beast, but when the militia arrived, the creature had already killed him. Joakim will be remembered as someone who gave his life to prevent an old god to leave the underground world, and whose sacrifice allowed the militia to regroup and fight back.

Joakim and Mubo were burried soon after. May Joakim meet his lover Hasbun in the afterlife – and may the people of Kimaeslo Ori come to help to Thrun, Mubo's orphaned two years old daughter.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Dengusa contracted an infection during his time at the hospital – but early in winter, his bones were mended and he could leave and resume his work. After four to five months spent lying down, Dengusa wanted to do a lot of things. He went to pray, drank to the tavern, spoke to his friends and family, then resumed work. It was at this moment that he forged what is probably the best blade Mong Kima has ever seen.



An exceptional iron blade worths 1500 copper coins. Tho it might look like small change to dwarven smiths, this price is insane for pearlite warriors – as well as a blade that can effortlessly pierce through Osmite copper mail. Dengusa also created spears that are work of art, decorated with gold and other precious metals.

His mood was going back to normal, one step at a time... or so we thought.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A long, long time ago, in the south western island known as The Land of Confining, a death-fearing lord set in motion the events that would lead to the creation of the weremonitor curse. His name was Cado.  He was aging, his lands were under direct threat and he was totally panicked. We shall not insist too much on that figure who asked the gods to curse him – let's just remind ourselves that his path of destruction eventually led him to Thomocemir where he was killed by Birod « The infinite wish of brightness », Uquur's son in year 139.

However, before Cado embarked to his final journey, he had already done a lot of wetwork at home.

Because he thought, at first, that he could control his curse, Cado had tried at multiple occasions to use his newly acquired power against the enemies of his lands, the goblins of Sotukosta ; and altho he inflicted them a great deal of damage, his fights also caused the curse to spread.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Daughter of two loyal members of the empire of Sotukosta, Atu was but an infant when Cado attacked the pit where her parents lived. The guard was powerless against the beast and the population fled in terror. Cado just had to pick and slaughter the fleeing farmers, sometimes devouring them on the spot.

Atu's parents managed to flee, but in their escape, they lost their daughter, whose path ended up meeting Cado's.

At first, Cado attacked the infant girl bit her, maiming her. Then...we don't know what happened. Maybe the man inside the beast regained some control, maybe he was distracted, or maybe his hunger was  satiated. Regardless, Atu survived the encounter – tho she disapeared shortly after.

Atu was now infected by the curse and at the age of three, had to live on her absolute self, hunting small animals to eat and sometimes attacking neighbouring villages to steal small livestock ; going in and out of her lair, a desolate place aptly named « the cave of tragedy ».

In year 147, she was thirty three years old. She had live all her life in complete isolation.



She came from the north and was immediately spotted. The bell ringed immediately. She eyed the chaos taking place in front of her eyes and readied herself to attack the defenseless population.

The Ersi, the axe captain, jumped behind her.



His attack was furious and the rest of the military immediately came to his help. The beast was surrounded and killed in a matter of seconds – this time at least, there was more fear than hurt.

This curse, however was a true blight to the world. Hopefully, it will soon be extinguished.


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This second attack, however, left a mark on the Aconilun's morale. Gram had totally lost it and was now outside in the snow, mumbling incoherently and refusing to feed himself. Altho we hope he snaps out of it, we do not expect that much. Coffins are being prepared.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Those events, added to the death of Joakim, the mounting stress and the fragizlized psyche of Dengusa, something broke inside of him aswell.
As he was out praying to Edri for guidance, Ferez (much younger, but technically his uncle) made a snide remark – or had an inappropriate gesture – or we don't really know. This part is confused and people do not give reliable testimonies.

Regardless, Dengusa snapped and hit the teenager in the head, leaving him with an open wound. The temple was in total chaos as everyone feared that Ferez could go the way Cusith went, a couple seasons before – but as people tried to deliberate wether to call the guard or not, lord Jalew decided to intervene.

Jalew was a retired soldier, who had survived the massacre of Kostupu, and his years working in the mine had made him perhaps more brutish than he should have.

The man seized his iron pick, jumped at Dengusa and hit him in the head.



*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

(stonesense doesn't work anymore since I installed r3, oh well, Armok Vision will do)
Bonus drawings :

[Superdorf]

Goodbye me! At least I died a warrior, and not a madman.

[TheFlame52]

Aww, I'm cute! I got the legends export, I just haven't cracked it open yet. I'll write some stories once I have some time.