"BATTLE STATIONS!" yelled commander Dodók. Startled soldiers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at their commander, aghast. This was the first time most of the recruits had heard her actually speak aloud, so clearly something major was happening.
"You heard me! Move it! Move it! Gobbos incoming! Everyone to the surface! MOVE!" Commander Dodók also seemed to have been grown a few inches and was beginning to even look like a warrior of her experience. The troops knew their drill and ran towards the stairs.
The goblin nation of
The Spider of Shaking had sent a siege force of twenty five warriors who were neatly fording the river when the warriors assembled inside the walls. All civilians were called inside, and then all dwarves just... waited.
In the chaos dwarves had thrown on whatever pieces of armor they could find. Despite all the efforts to produce enough armor and weapons some warriors came out with just helmets on, their dwarfy bits freely flapping in the breeze. Dodòk hoped the hairy, smelly, naked ranks of her warriors would strike as much terror to the hearts of the enemy as they did to hers.
While the invaders rounded the northeast corner of the fortress wall everyone inside realized how terribly vulnerable they were and how weak the walls actually were. The low, so very low dolomite block wall with its fragile wall grates provided only theoretical protection against any invasion. Dodòk hoped the goblins wouldn't find out they could just waltz over the wall and into the fortress through the unlocked floor hatch.
Luckily the goblins had decided to take the obvious route through the open gate. They saw the guard dogs first and attacked them; and then dwarves sprung their trap.
"Melee squads... advance!" Dodòk called. "Archer squad will support!"
The dwarves advanced, then without further command they charged... and attacked.
Their surprise was so total and devastating that some goblins were dead even before they got inside the gates. Half-naked and half-crazed dwarven warriors scythed through the invaders so fast that no one from the first attack wave was standing after few first minutes of combat.
Then things began to go wrong.
Some goblins from the second attack wave had finally realized they could just climb over the wall to attack the dwarves from behind. Bowgoblins used the opportunity to snipe through the northern wall grates while others took no time at all to vault over and charge the tired dwarven warriors.
To make things worse, some marksdwarves decided to just charge over the wall after running out of ammo, getting caught in the middle of the enemy. Dodòk had no choice.
"Everyone! Close and attack! Save those marksdwarves!"
It was chaos. The air was filled with grunts, cries, ringing of axes on helmets and above all the constant, deafening noise of rain which was now reaching tropical deluge levels. The water got into eyes and made everyone slip in the mud, stripping all finesse and skill from combat; everyone just stuck their weapons into whatever piece of green skin they managed to see a glimpse of.
The dwarves were getting tired. And with that, they started having their first injuries.
Atîs Savageoils fell from the wall while climbing down and got brutally savaged by a pack of goblins, losing her foot and front teeth. She was only saved from certain death when the other dwarves finally got into fray.
Ral Graniterack confronted a veteran macegoblin who pulverized Ral's knee before he managed to discourage it with crossbow fire.
Kogsak Bootspike caught an arrow to his belly but grimly kept on fighting, puking and holding his guts in with his off hand.
Thob Veiledtomb couldn't even remember where the scimitar sticking from her arm had come from. She just continued her shooting and reloading until there were no enemies left.
The siege broke. The second attack wave was obliterated in a wave of blood and violence, and suddenly there was only one pikegoblin left. The goblin turned and ran after realizing the hopeless situation. The dwarves ran after the goblin, sure of their victory.
Èrith Copperstrike caught the goblin first, being the lightest after ditching even his weapon at some point. At the last moment he realized his folly of charging naked and alone against a fully armed and armored goblin, but too late... when the other dwarves caught the pair, Èrith was already down in pain and his hand was flying away in an arc, trailing bright red blood.
In blood rage, the dwarved hacked and bashed the pikegoblin until there were only pieces left. The warriors stood panting, leaning on their weapons. They looked at the carnage around them and realized what they had done.
They had won.