Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Imic]

Ooh, I like this. On reflection, a Civilization long ruined and forgotten is a brilliant setup for a game like this. With Libraries and books, finding out what happened might be the subject of simply finding the right book, but at the same time, most books are badly written self indulgent guides to someone’s place of residence, so picking out History’ll be hard. I think a lot of fun will be had with this world.

[TheFlame52]

Oh, I'm excited!

[Timeless Bob]

As eighth in line, I feel that there must be a Great Pilgrimage to each Player Fortress and remnant of the Walled Dye, that my Holy Journey may consecrate a figurine I'll buy in a town somewhere.  A holy figurine and at each site, a coin donated in charity to the temple or treasure room of these great sites.  Yes.

[Imic]

Buümp

[Bralbaard]

16th of granite, year 700
Before leaving, I told Ngokang that I was going to gather items for his museum. I need to remember to bring him a souvenir when I return, so he will not find out that I’m actually just sneeking out to destroy his most valuable museum piece.

When I wanted to saddle Mestthos Lovermachines, my horse,  there was a major setback. Lovermachines was gone. I searched everywhere around the keep but found no trace. I bet it has gone running after a herd of young mares again. I spent a lot of urists on this damned horse before I set out on my adventure and this greatly upsets me. I now have to carry this cursed necromancer slab myself, and it is heavy. With it I can only move at half speed, and I’m not even wearing armor.

After looking for Lovermachines once more, I left without him. I’ve actually never travelled north of Boltspumpkin before and was looking forward to seeing the human towns north of the castle. It was a major dissapointment however. The towns and villages are abandoned and in ruins:
 


I did however find signs that there are others living in these ruins, when I passed by the keep of Diptramples I clearly heard some sounds from within the building.
When I tried to enter the keep however I was greeted by a rain of arrows.  At least two goblin bowmen were firing at me in the central hall. I managed to block two arrows with my shield and decided to run.

After catching my breath I continued my journey north. In the hamlet of Flagstray I walked straight into an ambush, again by a goblin bowman. Running was not an option here, so I decided to sprint towards the foul creature, once again blocking several arrows with my shield. Still running at full speed I manage to connect my war hammer with the goblin’s face in a perfectly timed strike. The effect impresses even myself, I did not know I was capable of that. It takes me a while to clean my warhammer.



I decide to take a better look at the village. It is ruined like the others, but there are some humans hiding in a house. It is clear they are bandits. I think they were close enough to see me take down that goblin, for they treat me with respect. One of them, Nebo Muleroses, is even interested in joining me on my journey. I can use someone who is more familiar with the surroundings here, so I agree, and we continue together. We pass a ruined monastery, and by nightfall, the ruined village of Rockpriced. We set up camp for the night. I have trouble sleeping. I expected that the mountain homes would be in ruins, but had never expected similar devastation in these human settlements.

17th of granite, year 700
The next morning we wake up to a marvelous sight. The mountains of the perfect horn rise from the plains just a few hours travel north of us. We break up camp, and climb the steep slopes not much later. And there it is: Pasttimegears. One of the mighty fortresses of a time long gone.
Inside though, all is as I feared. The fortress, complete with a tavern, temple and trade depot still stands, but only because it must have been build by legendary masons. The metal barrels in the tavern are empty and rusted and the depot is covered by thick layers of dust. Nebo has somehow gotten stuck on the roof of the fortress and won’t come down, but I do not mind having to descend the stairs on my own, as I am overcome by sorrow and grief that this human could never understand. The empty and abandoned hallways are proof of the destruction of the Walled Dye, I search the halls for hours finding not a single sign of life. The dwarves must have fled with great haste. Valuable gems, armor and weapons were simply left behind, no attempt was made to salvage anything. I find no hints at all about what could have caused this.  Finally I stumble across an ancient meeting hall or barracks.



One wall is lined with pedestals, on each pedestal rests a mighty weapon, most of masterwork quality.
I take a *silver mace* for myself, and decide to also take a finely crafted short sword, that is made of the purest dwarven steel.  I also find a good set of iron armor. Now that I am properly dressed for adventure, I return to the surface.

I decide to bestow a great honor upon Nebo, the honor to carry a weapon made of steel, a metal that human weaponsmiths can not forge. A masterwork weapon that was crafted by my forefathers ages ago, but that is still as sharp as the day it was forged. But even before I can present him the weapon properly, and speak of this honor, Nebo bluntly blurts out “It’s not a gift if you expect something in return”



Since I had already made my choice I still grant him the weapon, but when we gather our gear, Nebo just runs of with the sword, and no matter how I look for him, he is gone.
So much for trusting bandits.

18th of granite
The next day, after once more swearing to take revenge on Nebo, I continue my journey. I travel across a post-apocalyptic landscape. I visit many ruins, monasteries, castles and fortresses. I only find wild animals among the ruins. None of them have been reclaimed by civilized creatures. Whoever took  down and destroyed these mighty walls left after the task was finished. I find no clues.

I finally make it to Findersling, another abandoned dwarven fortress. Here however I find engravings in the local temple that were made after the great disaster. I find several clues that several dwarves have risen to the position of monarch of the Walled Dye, even after it’s mountain homes were destroyed.

Some of them however, are very worrying:



19th of granite.

Humorsharks;
The next day starts at a more light note. I finally find a human village that is still inhabited. Many dozens of humans are working the fields, talking in the streets and in general, minding their own business.
The village belongs to the creamy confederacy. Their ruler is Ledir Ñoriddim Amil.
I don’t entirely understand the political situation, but it appears that the town is just being reclaimed from ruin:



I travel further. I have to fight off some wolves in the evening. I make sure I face them one by one, and manage to take them down. I find that the canines are no match for me, and this helps build my confidence.
Meeting the humans of Humorsharks has greatly improved my mood. I’m close to my goal now, the heart of the old dwarven empire. Tomorrow I might get some answers.



(OOC: still playing. Some really iteresting stuff happening now...)

[Imic]

Human Civilization, at least up in the north, the complete lack of brown and therefore abandoned Hamlets amongst the southern Humans look lends credence to the possibility they’re doing just fine, but at the same time we can’t know until someone goes down there.

[Bralbaard]

(This is the point where the game (like the real world, to be fair) started to spin down into insanity)

At the start of the evening I was in a good mood. The campsite was already very close to the old dwarven capital of Treatyseed, I estimated it would only be one or two hours tops to get there.

But then night fell… and my good mood was quickly replaced by unnatural fear.
The temperature dropped fast, and slowly the hills before me came alive. Strange sounds echoed against the mountains, and eerie wandering lights traveled over the landscape. There were dozens…. No hundreds of them.



They swarmed over the hills in eratic movements, with new ones replacing the ones that left. I threw more and more wood on the fire hoping that it would keep them at bay, but it only appeared to draw more of them. It was a horrible night, I was certain they would attack me but they never did. It seemed that I had by some good fortune set up my camp just outside of their sphere of influence. The strange travellers never made it entirely to my camp and stayed just north of me. I got the strange impression they are somehow connected to Treatyseed, which lies just ahead.

After the sun rose in the morning I spotted more and more figures sneaking through the wilderness. They indeed seemed to all converge on Treatyseed. The figures were humanoid, but moved as if hypnotized with no real purpose or direction. I gathered all my courage and tried to get closer to Treatyseed, all the while still dragging that necromancer slab around.



Now that I moved between them I could better observe them. The few that came close were human recruits, but they were poorly armed: they wore peasants clothing, and wielded knifes. But this did not ease my mind. They appeared to be possessed by some unknown force, and just walked around aimlessly. They did not respond when I tried to talk to them, they simply stared ahead with this feverish look on their faces.

I finally made it to the entrance of the ancient fortress, but just before the entrance I had to pass an elven recruit. Now elves, like dwarves, are a rare sight, and this elf, with bright green eyes and green hair, with that unresponsive grin on his face nearly freaked me out. He however turned out to be like the other mindless wanderers, and does not respond to my calls. Glad to leave the mindless recruits behind, I take the last steps towards the fortress. What will I find? According to all the information I have the place is a ruin, like all the other dwarven sites.
Then suddenly, the elf recruit jumped me from behind:



I manage to evade the elf and drop the necromancer slab, I fumble for my weapon, and finally manage to get a good hold. I swing it towards the elf and hit him straight in his chest, with full force. A cracking sound tells me I’ve smashed his ribs. I repeat the action and smash my mace twice more into his chest, the sound of snapping bones echoes against the entrance doors of the fortress. The elf gives up the battle and runs of with unnatural speed, despite his gruesome wounds. There is no way for me to keep up with him even without the weight of the slab.
I return to the fortress and enter. I had imagined the moment I would do this a thousand times. The ruins of the long forgotten capital Treatyseed, it’s secrets covered in layers of dust. But when I opened the doors and walked in I saw something that made me fall to my knees...

[TheFlame52]

the plot thickens

[Bralbaard]

It will get thicker yet. I am having the most weird adventure.

[Bralbaard]

I can not believe my eyes; he is unarmed and dressed in commoner’s clothing, but there is no doubt that this is Etur Equallashed, king of the Walled Dye! Yes, there had been rumours. Rumours that I have not dared to speak out aloud. They said that Etur, son of Lokum Postbows had taken up the crown, and that he was plotting in secret to reclaim the ruins of the Walled Dye. I had dismissed those rumours as wishful dreams.. This changes everything

The king is engaged in a serious conversation with a human abbot and a goblin beast hunter. He doesn’t even notice me. Whatever they are discussing must be very important, judging by their expressions and tone of voice. I decide not to interupt and start to descend into the fortress, curious as to what else I will find here.

I have descended approximately 15 levels down the stairs when I hear the screams from above:



Someone is trying to assassinate the king!
I again drop the necromancer slab, as great haste is needed, and rush up the stairs.
Out of breath and with my weapon drawn I arrive on the top of the stairs. The trade depot is covered in blood, and the king is nowhere to be seen. From the corner of my vision I see the green-haired elf fleeing the scene of the battle. I curse myself for not killing him earlier, and run after the creature.

He runs out of the fortress and I follow as fast as I can. But the elf just laughs at me, makes a joke about my short legs, and outruns me without effort. This time though, I’m determined to not let him go. I start following his tracks, which even for me, are easily visible in the desert sand.



I find him relatively quickly, and this time I aim for the head, not the chest.



I find he has money in his pouch from the Nations of honoring, a human civilisation. I hope they were not involved in this elven treachery, as I have always considered the humans to be my friends.

When I return to the depot there is still no sign of the king. The others at the depot are talking about the attack, and are talking about many casualties, but there are no bodies to be seen. Confused I once more descend into the fortress in search for the king. I am once again shocked to hear sounds of battle, but this time from below..

The stairs are coated in blood. The sounds of clashing weapons and battle cries echo from the depths. There is no doubt about it, this is not a minor brawl. The tunnels and hallways of Treatyseed are engulfed in a battle of epic proportions.

I know this fortress should be empty, it is marked as a ruin on the map, but it is not. When I take the last step of the stairs it is as if I have stepped through a crack in time. It is as if I am a spectator in a major battle that raged centuries ago when the Walled Dye fell.  Dozens of dwarves are engaged in battle against an enemy force consisting mostly of goblins. But this battle is not a battle of the past: it is happening now, and more importantly, the dwarves are not losing, we are winning.



Dozens of goblin corpses are piled up in the hallways.
The only dead dwarf that I find was a necromancer that must have fought on the side of the enemy. I can identify him by the book that he has clutched in his dead hands:




The dwarves have been very efficient in battle. all that despite the fact that they are only armed with simple tools and knifes. What is disturbing though is that these dwarves are all royalty. Barons, consorts and Religious leaders are yelling orders, and working as a well-oiled machine. Everywhere I go the goblins have already been taken down, the few that survive are on our side. The battle is already over.



This is when I find the king again. Only now do I realize that I am the only dwarf in this fortress that is wearing full armor and a weapon, the king is still dressed in commoners clothing and unarmed. I fall to my knees and take of my armor and *silver mace* and present them to the king. I’m a simple historian and have no need of these tools of war, but Etur will have to lead us in battle.
For a moment the king is silent. Then he accepts my offer.



Never have I felt more honored.

I have a thousand questions for the king. If our empire has all but fallen, how can there be so many nobles? Has the king appointed them in preparation for when he is ready to reclaim his empire? How long was he planning this? When will he come out of hiding?
As I could have expected, he is not willing to share his plans, but I am sure our future is in good hands.
 
I decide to return to Boltspumpkin. I have obligations there, and if this museum will be a success, then I may be able to recruit the help of adventurers from there. The Walled Dye will rise again!

[Eric Blank]

I am so happy you took the time to add me to the turn list even though I totally zoned out of this discussion for a couple weeks there.

And also enjoying the story so far. Did you make history start out hidden?

[Bralbaard]

I am so happy you took the time to add me to the turn list even though I totally zoned out of this discussion for a couple weeks there.

And also enjoying the story so far. Did you make history start out hidden?

It is good to have some of the veterans from the first few games here. Glad you can join.

Yes, history started out hidden, but we are uncovering some interesting stuff already. I'm still completely at a loss as to what caused the collapse of the Walled Dye and other civilisations.

[Timeless Bob]

It just came to me: we can "name" things in-game, including immovable things.  The "names" could be Tinyurl links...

[Bralbaard]

After a while I calmed down enough to sit down and drink some water (I had no other options. the barrels in the tavern are empty, despite the fact that this fortress is inhabited). Suddenly I realized something terrible.
I no longer had the necromancer slab! must have dropped it somewhere.. I spit out the water and searched the whole fortress and retraced my steps. But the slab was nowhere to be found. I can only hope it will not end up in the wrong hands.

Still, it was with overwhelmingly positive thoughts that I left Treatyseed behind, sadly these thoughts made my mind drift, while I should have been paying attention. Minutes after I have left Treatyseed I’m ambushed by one of the many recruits that are still roaming through the surrounding hills.. 

This is terrible. I have given my armor and weapon to the king, and had failed to search for new gear, I only picked up the boning knife from the dead necromancer I passed earlier. But the boning knife will be enough, right?



The copper boning knife breaks on first use.
I run, but like the elf, this human recruit is faster than me. I manage to grab two ryolite rocks while fleeing and smash them together, one of the rocks breaks, creating a sharp edge. This will have to do.
But the rock has little effect and is useless as a weapon, and his carving knife turns out to be a lot more durable than my boning knife.
Just when things get dire I manage to punch him in the stomach, causing him to bend double and gasp for air. This gives me the time to flee from battle.




I create an axe from the sharp ryolite stone and a pear wood branch and try to sneak out unseen by the recruits that are swarming the area. I am ambushed by several others, but manage to outrun each of them.

I finally make it to one of the dwarven fortresses where I gather some new armor and a weapon. I have to settle for copper instead of iron for some pieces, but it will have to do.
After another day of travelling I make it to Pasttimegears, and guess who I run into?  Nebo Muleroses! My old companion that abandoned me right after I gave him an expensive steel sword! I decide to confront the bandit right away:



I was about to let him go and had not even mentioned the sword yet, when he had to make that last remark with that smug face he has.. This put me over the edge.

I demand him to drop the sword, but he refuses, so I decide to wrestle it from his hands assuming the battle will not escalate beyond a brawl.
I should have known that a bandit like Nebo would be unlikely to play it fair.  Nebo immediately drew his axe and shield  (he is not even using the sword he stole) and attacks me with letal force.



I fall to the ground bleeding and realize my fatal mistake.  I hold up my hands and surrender. He refuses to accept and raises his silver axe.. and I  realize it is all over.

But then Nebo walks away despite his threat, and leaves me confused and thoroughly humiliated. I crawl away and take care of my wounds when at a safe distance.

I make it back to Boltspumkin the next day.
I was already feeling horrible compared to how euphoric I felt when I left Treatyseed, but I was still not prepared for what I discovered when I walked into the keep of Boltspumpkin.

The goblins were  waiting for me, and they had dumped all the items I had categorized and labeled  into the reception hall. My first thought was that it would be a lot of work to sort out this mess when I realized that the mess was the least of my worries. There it was, right on top of the pedestal on which I had imagined I would store my own museum submission: “The certain urns” a blistered metal slab.



Ngokang just smiled and said: lost something, Bralbaard?

[Bralbaard]

So the game is apparently really trying to tell me that I should make the necromancer slab my official museum submission, but I won’t.
I submit the following:

A pig tail cap. This cap, the commoner’s crown, was worn by Etur Equallashed, king of the dwarven empire of the Walled Dye, before he came out of hiding to reclaim his empire.
(I traded this with Etur, when I gave him the armor and mace)

----------------------
So obviously we are having some issues with items scattering under some circumstances. I’m clueless as to why all items ended up on the ground floor while I stored them a few floors higher. It is at least not like the really bad scattering that leaves items randomly strewn over the whole site that occured in previous versions.
Also, apparently artifacts are still affected by some weird teleporting bugs.I definitely dropped that slab in Treatyseed, and here it is. I will try to investigate this and submit a bug report.

We can continue playing, while the next person plays I’ll run some tests. In a worst case situation we will have to move the items to another site, but maybe it can be fixed or is manageable.  (I swear I tested item scattering before starting the game, and it didn’t occur)

I’ll upload the save game and notify Ironmatrix that he can start. (No time left to build a fortress.)

edit: here is the save game: http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=14941