"#87: Surface dwarves are quick to call out our use of Goblin Slaves,
yet they are keen to hunt trolls, which are known to be fully sentient
beings, for nothing more than sport and leather."
-The 107 Grievances of the DrugarSmith Lord Aurora Wordfire, Refuge Queen of Silent Hammers, Empress Consort of the Southernfrost, and Queen Consort of Bedlamb and the Marble CitySkills and Abilities:
-Although my social skills are rusty from isolation, I am highly respected as one of the few remaining first diggers.
-I am the greatest mortal metal-smith and furnace worker, without question. My skills in this area even surpass those of some gods.
-I have also mastered many other crafting skills, unrelated to the furnace.
-So long as my history is recorded in the language of the diggers, my soul and mind cannot truly be snuffed out (Granted by the World Weld)
-I can create mighty artifacts by inscribing the items I create with the great deeds of myself or the item's intended recipient (Granted by the World Weld)
-I am aware of the general location and activities of those who wield my artifacts, and I may exert light influence over their behavior (Granted by the World Weld)
-I can detect the great deeds of others nearby (Granted by the World Weld)
Artifacts and Minions:
The World Weld - Links my soul, the digger language, and the laws of reality itself. Allows me to easily create lesser artifacts.
The Face of Fate - Makes the wearer a mighty fighter and assassin. Wielded by Mril-Minda, who is stalking Sir Shroomplum, the favored mate and personal assassin of Beetle Queen Purpleveil.
Known Mortal Family:
(Husband - Present) All-Lord Ukareem the Silver, Emperor of the Southernfrost
(Husband - Absent) Scholar-King Emscythe, Monarch of the Marble City and Secretary General of the Greatwalls Alliance
(Husband - Absent) Bloodlord Haigen the Usurper, King of Bedlamb
(Mother-in-Law - Present) Trumil, the Slime Mold Hag
(Infant Son) Prince Dremscythe, Heir to Silent Hammers and the Marble City
Holdings:
Silent Hammers: A small city that provides 1 Wealth and 1 Food per month. Houses and defends up to 50 FU to military might. (31/50)
Dung Slopes Fungal Farm: A particularly farm where up to 6 LU can work per month. Typically yields 1 Food per LU of labor.
Axeltax at Tunnel's Mouth: A watchtower that Houses and defends up to 6 FU of military might. Yields 2 Wealth/month in collected taxes while at least 3 FU are stationed here. (3/6, Human Phalanx)
Available Military Population:
15-5 Force Units of Human Phalanx (x1.2 Bonus to open field battle. Avaible for 108 more months, or until the Kingdom of Narm enters a state of civil war)
5 Force Units of Dwarf/Drugar Militia (x1.3 Bonus to defending cities or fighting underground)
5 Force Units of Goblin Warslaves (x.75 Penalty to fighting in bright sunlight, does not need food to act)
3-3 Force Units of Charcoal Tribe Elf Rangers (x2 Bonus to fighting in the woods)
2 Force Units of Drugar Siege Operators (x4 Bonus to attacking cities, x1.5 Bonus to fighting megabeasts, x.25 Penalty in all other combat situations)
1 Force Unit of Weremule Warmonks (x3 Bonus to guarding VIPs, x.1 Penalty against Nickle Silver weapons, does not need food to act)
Civilian Population:
12 Labor Units of Assorted and Mixed Breed Diggers (2 LU to 5 FU Conversion Rate before material mod)
8 Labor Units of Halfling Commoners (2 LU to 4 FU Conversion Rate before material mod)
5 Labor Units of Goblin Slaves (2 LU to 4 FU Conversion Rate before material mod, does not need food to act)
4 Labor Units of Highborn Dwarves (1 LU to 4 FU Conversion Rate before material mod)
4 Labor Units of Highborn Drugar (1 LU to 4 FU Conversion Rate before material mod)
2 Labor Units of Human Commoners (2 LU to 7 FU Conversion Rate before material mod)
1 Labor Unit of Hobgoblin Drivers (2 LU to 7 FU Conversion Rate before material mod, does not need food to act)
Basic Resources:
x15 Food (+1 Per Month) - Your people can and do feed themselves, but food from the royal grainy must be provided for people to put aside their own livelyhood and peruse your interests. Spending 1 food allows you to issue an order commanding up to 5 FU or LU. Converting LU to FU will also usually cost additional food. You can deploy trade convoys to try and convert other resources into food.
x25 Wealth (+1 Per Month) - A representation of the various coins and paper currency in your treasury. Used to buy other resources and favors, and is generally the most effective resource to use as a trade good.
Advanced Resources:
x12 Wood (The most basic construction resource. Artifacts made from wood tend to harness the power of nature)
x6 Stone (A more sturdy and less flammable construction resource. Artifacts made from stone tend to harness the power of earth)
x15 (+3 Per month for 108 months) Marble (A more valuable form of stone that can be combined with iron to make steel at a smelter. Artifacts made from Marble tend to harness the power of light)
x9 Bronze (A military resource with a .80 Material Mod. Artifacts made from bronze tend to harness the power of fire)
x4 Steel (A military resource with a 1.5 Material Mod. Artifacts made from steel tend to have protective effects)
x4 Bloodstone (A magical military resource with no material mod. Both common gear and artifacts made from Bloodstone are particularly deadly towards all the digger races)
x1 Night Mithiril (A magical military resource with a 1.7 material mod. Artifacts made from Night Mithiril tend to aid in criminal activity)
x2 Deep Sapphire (A magical Military resource with a material mod of .5. Gear and artifacts made from Sapphire are great at drawing out the sorcerous power within one's blood)
x6 Sulfur (A magical resource used in the worship of wicked gods and construction of advanced siege weapons. Artifacts of sulfur are favored by wicked gods)
Known Allies and Enemies:
Bardhill County (Ally, Trade Partner) - The fertile and clay rich human territory that completely encompasses your land. The ruler, Count Chance, deeply respects the craftsdwarfshipp and military skill of the diggers. In exchange for resources and a loan of troops, you have agreed to aid him in an anticipated civil war against his fellow counts when the king dies.
Southernfrost Empire (Ally) - The southernmost and mightiest of the northern dwarven civilizations. Southernfrost is rich in bronze and labor. The empire is ruled by your husband All-Lord Ukareem the Silver.
The Greatwalls Alliance (Ally, Trade Partner) - A loose confederacy of prosperous drugar city-states that pays tribute to your husband, Scholar-King Emscythe. Rich in copper, sulfur, and flux stone.
The Kingdom of Bedlamb (Ally) - Nation of drugar ruled by your husband Bloodlord Haigen the Usurper. Rich in iron, flux stone, and gems. Currently defending against invasion from an unknown drugar kingdom, and raids from an unknown dwarf kingdom.
The Beetle Queendoms (Enemy to All Diggers) - A drowish nation that sits between Silent Hammers and The Greatwalls Alliance. Traders can navigate around it, and they are currently too busy dealing with surface elf raiders to pose a threat.
The Pinewoods Tribes (Hostile) Small yet fierce surface elf civilizations that sepperate Silent Hammers from the Southernfrost Empire and the Kingdom of Bedlamb. They find the very ideas of commerce and industry to be deeply offensive, and slaughter trade convoys on site as a rule.
you interject,
"the reason I asked about your neighbors is because I already know they are dangerous. Far more dangerous than you might even assume at this juncture. And I might have use for them. For everybodies sake, I'd recommend advising your wife to leave priestess and her boy alone."The young mobster doesn't like what he hears, but with some prompting from his father, who thanks you for the warning agrees to pass the message along.
You wrap up your meal and drinks, before heading on your way.
---
Unsure if you want to face the dragon directly just yet, you write her a letter explaining you know who she is, and that her secret is safe with you and your court.
You quickly recieve a cold and somewhat threatening reply, reminding you it is a capital crime to knowingly approach a dragon without a propper gift, and that she and her mate are above your pathetic mortal law. The Dragon concludes the letter by informing you that she would have likely slaughtered you and your entire court to protect her secrecy, had the embers not shown her the same prophecy of drowish Armageddon that you have also seen.
---
Monthly orders are issued. Workers are to staff your new fungal farms at Dung Slopes, while your Drugar nobles are to attempt to purchase some brick from Goldears. Meanwhile your military is to be kept busy protecting your farms, the chokepoint near Axeltax, Branding Iron's Convoy, and the Troll Hunting party that you plan to join.
---
Dragging some of your militia along for protection, you board a stagecoast and head down to the Trollish Wastes, where you catch up with Mithra Piketooth and her party of highborn troll hunters. You quickly settle in with the group, and wind up spending the rest of the month with them.
Each morning you break camp with one of the parties' best tracker and a group of younger hunters. You are pretty sure this is what dwarves call a 'milk drinker group' and that the tracker is under specific orders to keep you away from anything too dangerous. You only ever encounter small trolls, in groups of one or two, which are easily dispatched by a hail of crossbow bolts before they can close the distance and attack.
While you are out, you scan the trollish wastes for savages with useful feats. In this endeavor at least, you are not disappointed.
Feat-o-Vision:-A member of a savage Drugar Tribe your group has been observing from a distance has managed to steal Diggerbane, an artifact bloodstone blowgun from a champion of the Beetle Queens.
-Somebody living in what appears to be a nest of ant or wasp people has managed to bind Tromlux, a minor demonic diety of intrigue, poison, and drowish supremacy, to the mortal realm to be made to fight and demean itself for the pleasure of the summoner's queen.
-Somebody in the same hive (likely the bound demon god, but possibly the queen), is worshiped as a god by over 3 million mortals.
-Somebody living in a decaying wood fort has managed to 'earn a title and large grant of land from the Beetle Queendoms by turning a member of Human King Razor's court into a vampire and using him as a spy on the Drow's behalf.
After each day's hunt, you return to camp to drink and sing with the collected dwarven nobility. You meet a handful of people who you find interesting or otherwise worthy of your future attention.
Mithra Piketooth, the leader of the hunting group, is the sister of your predescesor and militia commander, Lord Urist the Lefthanded, and would have likely been given rule of Silent Hammers had you not turned up. Dame Piketooth and her husband Lord Dgreg Piketooth are both quite glad you took over and don't seem the least bit jealous; Although they both possess leadership qualities in spades, they are quite fond of being able to hunt and explore as they please, unbound by the duties of office.
Hass Piketooth, their second cousin and one of the younger hunters you are paired with every day, spends a good amount of time pestering you for advice on working with steel. You find it refreshing that a highborn dwarf of his generation is actually willing to work a forge rather than just own one, and the kid strikes you as somebody who possesses a quick wit and the ability to learn fast.
Jango Urist, Mithra's nephew and Lord Urist's second half Drugar son, lives in the territory of the Pinewoods elf Tribes with his male lover to avoid the homophobic treatment that digger society is infamous for. Apparently he only returns to his family to join them on hunts. You get to talking with him, and he eventually offers to set up a meeting with the Queen of the Bobcat Tribe, which rarely causes trouble as no major trade route passes through their turf. Like all Pinewoods Tribes, Jango explains, the Bobcats still view industry and commerce as sinful, so they may be hard to deal with on a diplomatic level, but they are also reknowned for their hospitality and are, in Jango's estimation, 'a damn friendly people'.
The Drugar Nolok, The last digger of interest you meet on the trip is a member of your militia guard, rather than the hunting party. You catch him being picked on by his fellow militiamen because he had a dream that you would craft him an engagement gift to help him express his feelings to the one he loves, and was dumb enough to share that dream with his peers. You press him for details about the dream on a lark, and are shocked when he says his dream had you spending months making a ring for him to give to Silkdread, the savage militia member with the troll-slaying feat. Perhaps the soldier is a prophet, or perhaps he is somehow attuned to the World Weld.
---
Eventually the hunt draws to a close. On the final day, Mithra pulls you aside.
"As promised, my queen, I will be donating some of our catch to the crown as thanks for providing us guards," she declares,
"and since you were kind enough to bless us with your presence, I've decided to let you choose what your take is."Choose your Payment:A: Wagon Load of Green Troll Leather, a poor quality military resource that creates artifacts with regenerative powers
B: Wagon Load of Red Troll Leather, a poor quality military resource that creates artifacts related to rage
C: Wagon Load of Tar Troll Blood, a construction resource that creates artifacts related to death and death magic
D: Crateload of Troll Kidneystones, a high quality magical military resource that creates artifacts related to rapid growth
E: 3 Wagon Loads of Troll Bone, a poor quality military resource that creates artifacts with negative effects for the wearer
F: 3 Orphaned Red Troll Infants, the same age as your son Dremsythe. Trolls are predisposed to violence, and may make great friends for your murder-fated son.
---
When you get home, you receive reports from the field and your court.
Labor Report from Dung Heap Farm:We managed to yield the expected amount of food this month.
Our work force managed to attract the attention of a small group of Drow who are both prostitutes and clerics of some lust demon. I was impressed with the resolve of the diggers; I don't think I've even caught one of them with a Drow-whore yet, but my troops and your human and hobbit workers have not proven nearly as pure.
On a related note, a mild epidemic of the descriptively named demonic STD 'Pubic Eyeballs' is spreading across the non diggers of the farm. My medical staff is quite horrified.
-Phalanx Officer Lexington
The good news is, we managed to find a merchant looking to unload 50 units of brick for a mere 12 wealth.
The bad news is, this seller is a stickler for bureaucracy, so we have not been able to finalize the deal yet. We should be able to close, with your approval, early next month. Should we do so, it will take 17 LU total to haul everything back. The seller says we would have three months to remove our property from his warehouses. I strongly advise you to take the deal.
-Kang Wretchedfence, Caravan Leader
-Silent Hammers fell victim to a were-eagle attack this month. Causalities were high enough to cost the kingdom 1 LU of assorted diggers. The monster was able to elude capture.
-Trumil felt the unknown sorcerer's power spike while the werebeast was attacking, leading her to believe you are dealing with a sorcerer who draws power from a curse in their blood rather than their ancestry. Regardless, the Sorcerer is still around.
-Both Liula, your personal physician, and Brother Anders, your personal werebeing, fear that the efforts to quarantine those injured by the eagle attack were insufficient, and that because of this it is likely that even more were-eagles will show up next month.
-Bort, your steward, explains that the quarantine efforts were lacking because most of Silent Hammer's nobility and bureaucracy were busy either hunting or trading with Goldears.
-All-Lord Ukareem the Silver, Emperor of the Southernfrost, has returned to your side, and seeks to father your second child.
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Topic: (SG) Rise of the Smith Lord (Read 20774 times)