Goldenbasis District:New Trading Partners:A roving pair of Elves calling themselves "The Miluaweme", visit the District to trade. One introduced herself as the Druid "Caraca" and begans trading negotiations with the District Broker, Domasia Shotstrife.
Caraca began politely by exclaiming, "We are enchanted by your more ethical works."
The other elf silently unpacked their one pack-beast and arranged the few items they had to trade, not meeting the curious dwarven eyes all around.
Not knowing much about how to determine the relative worth of the trade items, Domasia just pointed to the three cages containg animals, all the "grown wooden" chests and the small pile of nuts, seeds and fruit. She carefully brought forward the pile of discarded clothing of the recently dead. (They certainly wouldn't need them!)
The Druid looked at the little pile of worn clothing and sighed..."With your trade goods such as they are, I can't fathom you ending up with all of those items."
"Oh."
"Hmmm", the Broker thought. "Perhaps I need to break it down to a series of smaller deals."
So she tried trading a silk shirt (only slightly bloodstained) for the five fruits and pile of nuts.
This time, the Druid smiled approvingly and the deal was agreed upon.
Several small trades later, the Druid had the all clothes and the District had a bit more food, including a water buffalo and ram that would provide welcome meat and bones.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this!", Domasia thought happily to herself. She was only mostly wrong.
On the 16th of Slate, the pair of elves packed up their new belongings with their remaining ones and moved on to places away from the the Dwarven City.
Soon after, it was discovered that Domasia and baby Uzoli had gone missing! (Several thought they were kidnapped by those two strange elves. If they ever come back, they would surely face some hard questions.)
Seven dwarves Spring from the ground, fully formed!
Eritho the Metalsmith, Mengo the Blacksmith, Asobi the Crafter, Tosidi the Glazer, Zono the Weaver, Kadol Sourcakes, Avuzia Sourcakes and Zoni the Trader.
Sourcakes
Kadol of Clan Sourcakes had the knack for numbers, so was given the position of "Book-keeper". His wife, Avuzia, saw the chance to take the Sheriff's position and apartments, so she did. Poor Feb Flaresack was left with just the Hammerer's room, with weapon rack and armor stand. His wife and child probably kidnapped and now his home taken by another. Clan Flaresack has certainly taken quite a few blows this year.
Meng, the Royal Tax Collector and the previously absent trade caravan arrived this year from Risenes Hamlet. With the Royal Highway still unfinished, the wagons were unable to climb the steep sides of the Cinder, so a few hardy merchants and thier bodygaurds made thier way to the top on foot to see what the dwarves there had to offer them.
A trading deal was struck for the next caravan: War hammers, Cut Gems, Drinks, Handwear, Legwear, Scepters, Crowns, Musical Instruments, Tools, Silk Earrings and Cloth would be the only items accepted for barter.
Unfortunately, the traders themselves attempted to cheat the poor, hungry dwarves, and when Ducimia offered up a protest, the merchants decided to leave instead, refusing to trade so much as a grape. "Maybe next time you'll be more generous to your guests!" Shouted the caravan lead, and with a shrug and a smirk, Meng Dentedglazed was gone as well. The King and Mayor were well provisioned but the rest of the District's citizens were not so fortunate.
A trio of humans dressed in silken robes decorated in shards of mirrors led a band of over twenty elf and human armed and armoured zombies toward the King's Mead Hall, obviously meaning to slaughter its inhabitants. An invasion!
The Dwarves saw the undead army approaching the Cinder from the north and fortified the palace district as best they could in that short time before the invaders arrived. Unfortunately, while much was accomplished in the scant days before the attack, the northern passage's bridge was the site of the actual battle. The four Gentry of the Militia: Sheriff Avusia, Kadol the Book-keeper, Commander Avuzi and Feb the Hammerer put up a ferocious fight against the invaders, holding the northern entryway from being over-run.
Sheriff Avusia was at the fore-front of the fighting, and strangely arising from her was the sour scent of lemons and a seemingly pale prismatic glow. On and on she hacked left and right with her silver axe, laying low zombie after zombie, none who were able to land a single strike upon her citrus scented body. Twenty of the armed, armored and malicious dead she laid low with not a single scratch, but the twenty first was able to give her a stab in the guts. She fell back in horror, clutching the bloody wound knowing full well what even a minor wound meant in this District. The other three took care of the last of the invaders, protecting their wounded comrade - Feb the Hammerer even slew one of the fell trio: a human necromancer.
1 (or 3)
After the invaders had been repelled, the Sheriff was taken away to the hospital by Doctor Ralo, but all mourned her as if she were already lost - not one person thus far had survived an injury in the Goldenbasis District. Early in the month of Obsidian, Sheriff Sourcakes finally perished from her wounds and the lack of food. A memorial to her accomplishments was excavated in the catacombs - a fitting monument for this heroic dwarf.
Some speculate that the former Sheriff and her daughter were taken by the Malicious Cinder herself - a blood price for living too close to her fiery splendor. The Hammerer quells such rumors quite harshly, but all know well that they could be next. It's known that the Cinder hungers and must be appeased by bloodprice.
As winter slowly wore on, the last of the food supply disappeared and the dwarves of the District had to tighten their belts, attempting to stave off the creeping hunger through the power of wine and willpower alone. The end of the year found nineteen desperate and hungry dwarves scrounging for vermin - a last and fitful hope that they would be saved from the depredations of undead invaders, kidnapping elves and the callous cruelty of their own countrymen by some miracle.
The North Stair has been extended a couple levels down, and the Royal Highway carved a few levels deeper, but the greatest changes have been the completion of the two story Shotstrife Clanhome which has been incorporated into the Palace Wall. The Palace Wall itself is pierced by three entryways and the Royal Highway which terminates at the Trading Depot. The Depot has been fitted with doors that may be locked in the case of emergencies, and the other three entrance-ways sport drawbridges that will soon be activated by a single lever should another invasion force arrive to besiege the Dwarves of this District.
These three entryways are the North Gate which leads to the long North Stair, the East Gate which passes by the Shotstrife Clanhome, and the South Gate which passes by the graveyard and entrance to the King's Mead Hall.
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Topic: Smallworld Dwarfopoly - The City (Read 5388 times)