Day 3Cougar steaks for breakfast and then off again. We come across some buildings set apart from the nearby pits. There are many statues and engraved images here, mainly goblins and symbols, with some stranger creatures. A goblin religious site? It seems abandoned, perhaps we will be safe here for a time. I leave Ithra behind while I scout the rest of the site.
Not as abandoned as I’d hoped. I run into a goblin patrol on the west side of the compound. One sees me and looses an arrow. It goes wide.
I fall back. He follows, another overconfident glory hog. He fires another arrow. This one strikes true, piercing my neck and narrowly missing an artery. Can’t let him nock another arrow. No time to hesitate, I charge. I bring my axe to bear, breaking his leg and then his neck. A crack echoes out as both my axe and his spine are shattered. I hold him still and hasten his end.
The others come, alerted by the sounds of his death. Melee fighters with strong metal armour. I slip around them, undetected. They enter the nearby building searching for me. I follow in after and ambush them.
The one with the axe goes down with a quick crack to the head. The pike wielder seems to be sturdier. My other axe shatters against her helm and she turns to face me. I grab her pike mid-stab and rip it from her grasp. From there, the battle is short.
I grab some better armour for Ithra as well as the goblin's axe and shield. The crude axe stinks of death, and the sizing makes it awkward, but better to hold onto it until I can make something better. I resume my scouting and find another dead goblin archer. A victim of infighting perhaps? The rest of the site appears empty.
I return to Ithra. When I tell her of what happened, she proclaims me to be “the Hoary Merchant of Adventure.” Not sure what to think of that. I would have liked to take some time to rest here, but it’s too dangerous. The goblins are dead, but I can’t be sure some unnoticed member of their party didn’t run off to raise the alarm. We continue westward.
Along a riverbank, we encounter a most unusual creature. It’s about the height of a goblin, but with copper skin, a beard so long it drags on the ground, and so plump as to be almost spherical. It greets me jovially, and I realize that this must be one of the mythical dwarves! The stories I know all tell that the dwarves were wiped out long ago by their own hubris and lust for power. Clearly, much has changed in the outside world. The dwarf tells me that we are near the settlement of Lashedjade. From what he says, they live a relatively peaceful life here, aside from the threat of the Black Demon and his goblin raiders.
We soon find the entrance to Lashedjade, along with many more dwarves. They seem somewhat wary, especially around Ithra, but are otherwise quite welcoming toward us. Most seem to be merchants. Who they trade with in this goblin-infested wilderness is a mystery.
The dark tunnels these dwarves have carved out for themselves remind me of home. Except with fewer deadly traps and more random clutter. The upper levels are thick with fungal growth that I recognize from the deep caverns.
Night is falling. The dwarves have plenty of beds, but Ithra doesn’t want to impose. We set up camp a short distance away.
Day 4The close call with the goblin archer has shown me the need for some better protection out here. My skin may be thicker than a goblin’s, but it won’t do much against metal weapons. We return to the dwarf settlement. I negotiate the use of some of their workshops and some unused animal carcasses in exchange for a portion of my craft. The dwarven tools make the work go quickly, and I soon have some decent bone and leather armour.
We depart around midday. As we leave, Ithra shows me an intricately carved wooden ring. She says she found it outside on the ground by riverbank. She brushes off my suggestion that the dwarves might want it returned. We move on.
We journey southwest, weaving between goblin trenches. Our path brings us into the vicinity of another patrol. Ithra charges in. Her confidence is shattered by a quick strike from the lead goblin, along with her ankle. I make my approach and swiftly swing the odds more in our favour.
This axe may be crude, but it is certainly effective. The goblins fall one by one. Ithra takes a few more injuries, but they will heal.
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Topic: Museum III, adventure succession game (DF 0.47.05) (Read 476017 times)