Once everyone is back inside, Unib discreetly approaches my office with an affront of a request: to claim Nephilim’s electoral dignity by some kind of ridiculous right of combat. I speak to jecowa, another of the former Legionnaires now serving in the Doors of Humility, and she confirms what I had already feared: that Nephilim was exactly the kind of lunatic to have made just such an arrangement. The whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but it
is apparently what Nephilim would have wanted, and I have to retain some respect for tradition. I allow it, but elevate jecowa, who seems a trustworthy sort and loyal to her former commander, as well to keep an eye on the Founderslayer.
A 3-year-old child also petitions to become an elector. Why not? Maybe this will motivate fatcat and I somehow.
Shortly after, a huge mob of goblins shows up. Of course these two things couldn’t have happened
the other way around to
make it easy for me. Well, regardless, I send the army back out in full strength. It’s hard to count from up here, but there must be at least twice as many goblins as our 40 dwarves. Each dwarf is easily worth at least three goblins, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Attacking in a pincer formation from both gates, the dwarves establish two killing fields, at either end of the southern hill:
A pair of axedwarves overshoot and wind up surrounded and injured, though. Thob even loses hold of his axe – the other, Zutthan, loses his shield instead – but cripples a bowgoblin by biting. Zutthan gets competitive and bites off an ear, but since he’s not an unarmed striker I decide to let it slide. Inter arma enim silent leges!
We eventually take our first casualty, as Zutthan is surrounded and finally battered beyond his ability to defend.
His life has already been paid for, though, with 19 of theirs. Perhaps I underestimated the ratio of dwarf to goblin value earlier. A few swordsdwarves, including Savior Minkot, arrive to relieve Thob’s position, but unfortunately he is killed in much the same way just as they arrive. At this point only perhaps 10 dwarves have actually reached the enemy so far, though several more are nearby.
The melee is turning against us, no question about it. Over 40 goblins and a troll have been killed now, but they seem to keep coming – although most of the replacements are just their awful pets, I believe there are more than one and a half times as many goblins alive as have been killed, and twenty-odd trolls and vicious beakdogs. I’m sure our army will achieve victory, but I worry about the cost. Already, Savior Minkot has perished. Of course his title was always aspirational compared to his actual skills, but I had hoped he would make a name for himself and maybe even become an elector someday. Will we win a pyrrhic victory on the fields, only for our grief to tear us apart?
Almost all the deaths have taken place near the top of the hill, the western zone of confrontation. In the east, Zaneg, whom they call the Trollslayer, a legendary fighter, stands alone after speardwarf Zon’s death; I’ve closed the front gate for safety, and most of the goblins are now only interested in the pyramid entrance, so he’s essentially executing a flanking action, and a lot of enemy soldiers.
Six more deaths already. I knew the military was poorly armed and poorly organized, but I expected better at least from the former Legionnaires. Then again, I think many of the veterans were already wounded – and some, to be honest, may only hope to join their former leader rather than truly possessing the will to fight. As the corpses pile up and several trolls get alarmingly close to the pyramid, and with the majority of the military now outside already, I realize there’s really only one way to end the problem…
There are a few tense moments but the gate closes up without issue. Of the 40 soldiers I sent out, less than half remain alive – and the only ones I know to be outside and fighting are the Trollslayer, a mediocre marksdwarf who will almost certainly die, and Unib the Founderslayer, working off her karmic debt some more. (And by the time I finish writing that, the marksdwarf is dead.) The two legendary heroes – one more of a legendary villain – have so far avoided taking a single hit that I’ve seen, but how long can they last? I could, I suppose, open the front gate now that Zaneg has cleared his way all the way to the west side, but I fear I would only be sending the fifteen or so soldiers inside to their deaths. I certainly have no desire to conscript any poor fools to fill out the ranks either. Besides, before I could have helped anyway, both warriors give in to over-exertion and are ultimately dispatched. I think… I think I prefer to stay inside.
I reorganize the survivors into two squads and one ceremonial squad. The ranged regiment, Artifacts of Paper, remain as they are. Perhaps one day they can be brought back to strength. The other three squads – the Constructive Kingdoms, Armories of Mortality, and my own recently-founded Doors of Humility – I combine into a single melee unit, nominally the Constructive Kingdoms (as the oldest of the three), now renamed the Memorial Kingdoms. Finally, the Armories of Mortality remains on the books as a purely ceremonial squad comprising the two remaining military electors, Lady Brassroast and Jecowa. I would hate to see either harmed – they should retire to civilian life while they still can. (Incidentally, there is another squad on the books, the Glamour Warriors, supposedly consisting of five dwarves - but they do not actually appear to exist, and I have never actually seen or met these dwarves. It's something to dig into with the corruption investigation, surely.)
As for the rest of us, Goldsilver remains once again under siege.
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Topic: The Fall of Goldsilver Succession Fort – Democracy Suspended (Read 61811 times)