The Story of Dari of the Great Moon27th Malachite 266I am Dari of the Great Moon. I am a jaguar man, a proud and fierce warrior. I am an endentured servant of the Ring-Confederation of Passes, a small human nation, and I am a hearthperson to the The Cinnamon Councils and Baron Tikbo of Wetbunny.
My secret is that I am in a constant state of internal rage. I hunger for battle and chaos. My dreams are riven with images of a mystical blade, it whispers to me, promising me glory and death. I beg the Baron to send me on a mission to prove myself. He finally relents. His father is the ancient and venerable Ilum Pepperdent the law-giver, and he tells me of a fearsome beast of nature on the outskirts of our lands - a titan!
I will need to train and gain some skills and armour before taking on such a foe. I decide to scout the nearby tombs of the forefathers of the Ring-Confederation of Passes, it is not long before I spot a lone goblin bandit loitering on the plains between Wetbunny and the crypts. The red mist descends.
I spend the remainder of the day roaming the forest around the tomb searching for more bandits - the human bandit Stesto Weakenbelts is next to face my fury.
I enter the tomb silently as dusk falls - this is the last resting place of Kastlet Jestedshocked, a revered former law-giver. I loot some well crafted iron gauntlets when I hear movement in a room to the south. A mummy!
This appears to be Kastlet himself, his rotten and grotesque form lumbers towards me, slicing knife raised. I slash off his hand which he immediatley raises into unlife, before it is unceremoniously destroyed by a trap!
This is a dangerous place indeed. The undead commander looks almost puzzledly at the stump of his hand before I lop off his putrid head. I find some masterful iron armour amongst the grave goods, and my excursion to the next tomb is no less fruitful. I feast on the flesh of the zombie guardians after slaying the mummy here. The Great Moon will be pleased.
The final tomb is home to a mummy who raises Entombed Ones - some kind of mummy cursed wights? The mummy is fast with his knife, slashing me in the left eye! Grimacing, I renew my attacks. They die all the same, and I loot a masterwork bronze spear and some gems.
28th Malachite 266I arrive at the fort of Taxvices. The goblin leader tells me of the sinister Dune of Dawning and the evil tower Trammelfeet. I decide to check it out. Now blinded in my left eye, I will need all the power I can get to slay a Titan.
1st Galena 266Trammelfeet is a small tower set in a barren land of dead trees and sand. At the entrance I spot a woodworker necromancer. I sneak inside, taking out a couple of zombies and stashing their corpses outside.
The final necromancer is a captain, and he runs away squealing after my sword shatters neck. I am sure he will be back.
In one of the smaller ziggurats I am faced with an unsettling sight - a zombie jaguar man! Perhaps he is of the same tribe as me? I will end this brother's suffering. At least the sword strike which takes his head is clean.
I search the tower complex and find meagre treasure. Sadly, there are no books of knowledge here. I will travel north, towards Coloredcircles.
2nd Galena 266I arrive in Lakesmiles, and find a snivelling naked goblin overlord in the mead hall. I slay him and retake the town for the Ring-Confederation. There are a handful of bandits milling around in the town square and I challenge their leader, Lurit. I kill him and the other two run in fear. I track them southwest for a while. It seems they are returning to their bandit camp. I arrive at the camp in time to see an elderly bandit die of old age. I recognise one of the bandits from Lakesmiles... Diso Syrupsquid. I ambush him from behind and kill him silently.
3rd Galena 266Having travelled north from Lakesmiles, I arrive in the town of Clearentries to some commotion. A strange beast is barking orders and a peasant lies dead in a pool of blood.
I find the source of the commotion in the mead hall. Several humans lie dead, and there are several winged creatures with blood on their weapons. Soldiers of Frostyshowered?
The law-giver is here! I speak with Lord Ilum Pepperdent. He seems nervous. It is clear these necromancer experiments are not welcome here. One of the nobles spits at their apparent leader, Peklod. The tension is palpable.
I draw my sword and all hell breaks loose. The Frostyshowered's attack the humans rapidly and in co-ordination. It is a coup!
When the dust settles, I have slain four of these mandibled abominations, and the law-giver is safe.
I rest overnight, dreaming fitfully of a sword of purest form, how it taunts me. I return to the mead hall in the morning, after burning the corpses of the foul beasts. The law giver expresses his gratitude.
I place the bronze two handed sword of the instigator on a pedestal as a reminder of the insurrection, and bid them good day.
I head east and spot a raiding party of goblins in Creatureballs - I try to separate them into smaller groups before taking them down.
I then turn my thoughts to the West and the remaining cities of our civilisation.
5th Galena 266I stop at the fort of Glowmatched and find a group of soldiers there, garrisoned by humans and also black bear men. A stout macebear agrees to join me, Corust Selldips. We head west to adventure and glory. As we travel west we meet a human lasher travelling east, Asla Fancymist. She tells us she is to be the new Head Chef in Clearentries. I hope she fares better than the last, slaughtered by insurrectionists. We bid her good day.
6th Galena 266We arrive at dawn in the coastal city of Colouredcircles, famous for its garish green garnierite design. We are alarmed to see human corpses and at least one dead kobold strewn around the central keep. What has happened here? The keep is strewn with bones and limbs, the priests of this place seemingly oblivious to the carnage. I find a glorius pair of underpants - Puzzlingvaults the Impervious Fogs is a loincloth fit for kings! It now adorns my backside.
There is a lone soldier here who tells me the place was sacked and taken by a cunnning goblin - Lord Sasir Goldpumpkin the Truthful Shred of Prisons. Perhaps they still reside here? Perhaps they know of the mystical blade that haunts my dreams?
On the outskirts of town is a suspicously naked human living in a hovel hewn in the dirt. It must be a werebeast. Corust bashes it with her mace until it moves no more.
7th Galena 266Bandit camp! Several shifty humans loiter on the edge of Rushjade. We set upon them. The black bear woman and I make a good team. I disable the bandits with precise strikes to their limbs, and she finishes them off with her enormous blood-caked mace. She is truly Corust Selldips the Animal of Wind!
A short distance westward we stumble upon a wooden building in the middle of the forest. Several human soldiers mill around outside and within the building is a human priest and a goblin archer. The priest is Rislu Endweather, Sacred Blossom and companion of the goblin Lord Sasir. None of the warriors present can tell me where to find this infamous lord. I suspect he cannot be far away.
The largest city nearby is Fellroad, and that is where we head next.
In Fellroad's ostentatious gold keep there are all manner of oddities. We meet the goblin lady, a human bandit chief, a priest and a human representative, who appears also to be a bandit. The bandits claim the goblin lady is in charge. Oh, and there is a crab man corpse on the floor. And then I see it - the blade from my dreams. Stalkmatches. Resting silently atop a pedestal as if bathed in a cool light. It feels like it belongs in my hand.
As far as I can tell, there are bandits here from the Heroic Fellowship, not aligned with the goblin lady. I sense tensions are high. The lieutenant and chief eye me cautiously. Quickly I slay the human bandits and confront the lady. I declare that the Ring-Confederacies now hold this town. She disagrees vehemently. Corust smashes her skull into ruin to make the point.
We have the keep, and we have the blade. I must now forge my destiny. I yearn for power. Consulting the maps in the keep I see there are few more necromancer towers within a few days travel. We set out at dawn.
8th Galena 266Almost by accident we discover a shrine... to a massive bronze colossus! Corust throws caution to the wind and charges the enormous construct. Her feeble mace strikes glance from the monstrous bronze armour of the infernal golem. Sneaking from behind I slash with all my might, merely denting the colossus' bronze neck. This could be a tough fight!
Slowly the hits pile up. The unnaturally sharp steel sword fractures the bronze skull and neck as it flails ineffectually. Corust continues to pummel it with her bronze mace to no avail. Finally the blade strikes true, cleaving the massive metal torso in half, to reveal a masterful statue of some kind of demonic beast - a folly of Vadanelacifa. We haul our prize back to Fellroad and rest a while.
15th Galena 266We find ourselves in the tower of Overconjured. It is writhing with undead but, again no secrets. Sadly, a lucky zombie manages to get a unwieldy strike on Corust with a crumbling boning knife, somehow felling the great bear woman. I avenge her by slaying the zombie who took her life, along with all the others. I stash her corpse and belongings in the tower, vowing to restore her to unlife if I ever find a worthy secret.
Shelllighting is a large city and home to the government of The Contingent Confederation. In the mead hall we find a great many dignitaries and priests, including the law-giver. In a dingy corner a dishevelled woman asks for help. She is a slave, claiming to be a prophet, Epxa Glistenedloved. I agree to take this harmless looking slave back to her brother in a village to the northwest, and we set out on our journey.
Not far from the city limits we are ambushed by... wildlife? A huge crowd of alpacas and kestrels appear from nowhere and all hell breaks loose. Beasts fall from the sky and slam into the hard ground, blowing apart. It is raining corpses. What utter madness is this?
The prophet merely shrugs, as if this was a daily occurance. Oh well, I am not one to turn down free meat. Looks like it will be alpaca steaks for the forseeable future.
A short while further north we arrive at the scene of a battle, a "night's fist" stalks the corpses. Epxa gestures and suddenly we are surrounded by wights and zombies. We fight off the undead and make camp for the night. Epxa has slain over a score of zombies with her silver knife.
19th Galena 266We arrive in Glittercontain, where Epxa's brother is a priest. I leave them to reconnect, and continue on my journey. I need power if I am to slay the ferocious Hill Titan!
In the town of Simpletwinkling I am accosted by goblins in the streets and find their chieftess in the mead hall, along with some suspicous human "snatchers." The chieftess attacks me immediately and I am forced to kill her, and her retinue.
In Burnedwoman there are a number of goblins of The Poisoned Confusion, who admit to being at war with the local human civilisation, The Square Union. Goblin bandits, presumably of the same company from Simpletwinkling! There is an elven ringleader here too, who claims to be a mere performer. When I mention that I slew the chieftess, Ber Circlesteals, the goblin's new chief is incensed and attacks. Oddly his comrades watch on as we brawl. They all fall in the end.
27th Galena 266I find myself in Soulmeads, at night fall. The sole resident is a monk who allows me to rest for the night. On waking I find something wondrous. Steel armour sized for a human - and would fit me at a pinch - and a slab! A lady has also appeared, wearing strange jewellry. I take the steel armour and the slab and learn from it the secrets of life and death. I need... more.
In the castle of Blotflashes I encounter an enormous steel-clad elk man. His blackened antlers are burned and his body horribly scarred and blistered, and he wields a shield of impossible metal. He eyes Stalkmatches with jealous intent and I quickly leave before any blood is spilled. I must gain more power. Surely there are more secrets to learn? The blade whispers to me, tells me of a cave, a dragon, a secret.
I travel southwest, I find the cave. It is overrun by goblins. I ignore them. I travel deeper underground, throgh scorched halls and muddy paths and I find it... Moldghosts the schist slab. I now have power over Dark Slayers.
2nd Limestone 266In the foothills to the north of The Square Union is a cave, according to the locals. A great beast lives there, or so I am told. A hydra! I am ambushed by this gigantic many-headed serpent! The beast has seven heads with wickedly sharp teeth and they all attack at once. I managed to slash it across the chest, gouting a hot spray of blood in a wide arc.
My second strike is lucky - Stalkmatches strikes true and find the hydra's great heart, but at a cost. I have left myself open, and the beast rends my shield arm with its massive claw. The shield clatters to the ground and my hand spasms in pain. I taste fear in my mouth and leap away in a panic. The hydra's foul heart is gouting rivers of blood and surely the beast will soon fall.
I rest and bathe in a river. My hand has almost fully healed, only some mild sensory damage. That is a relief. I leave this place and head northeast; towards elven territory.
3rd Limestone 266I encounter an undead elf cursed butcher in the early morning. I put it down. A short distance away is a strange elf, clad in ornate armour. She is a Dusk Master, a sword lord merecenary captain, wielding a copper sword and masterwork bronze shield.
She comes from Hailenjoyed, a coastal city to the east. I promise to travel to her city, but first I must explore the towers west of here.
4th Limestone 266Dunelarge is home to many elf zombies, and it looks to have been cleared out already by some other adventurer or looter. There are no books, no knowledge, only a badly injured necromancer. I put him out of his misery. The towers are crowded together here, but I find few books and no slabs. I visit Lacetouch, Knightplaited, Thriftycleaned and Praisecried. Knowledge evades me. Finally, in Plottaper I find "After Extinction" by Ana Whisperedjudged and learn the mastery of Fetid Stalkers.
8th Limestone 266The elven forest give way to human lands once more, and many hobold warbands lurk in the forts and castles here. Lustergarlics is eerily quiet, only scampering kobolds remain here. I visit the shrine of The Nail of Scratches and encounter another bronze colossus. It is no match for Stalkmatches.
In the town of Baryarns I learn from the people there the true spread of kobold culture. They have many camps, and have taken over many castles. They have a cave to the north, where there is rumoured to be great treasure.
I find Creaturecaverns, and within it I discover the kobolds loot. Many gems, crowns, bracelets. One particular item catches my eye. I read the slab and I have mastery of Sunless Slayers!
9th Limestone 266In the tower of Dressmatches, faded ghouls stalk silently through the halls. I hear a commotion from the spire of the tower. On entering I find fresh corpses, rent apart in violence. Atop a table is a further slab - I read Jackalmenaces the Wraith of Burials and gain control of Faded Ghouls.
10th Limestone 266Some bandits are found skulking in a camp in the northern deserts and they are slaughtered. The tower of Cottagescribed lies to the far north of this peninsula, and within it I find Fatepulps the serpentine slab. From it I learn how to master Empty Corpses. I have travelled far and now I must return home, to slay the hill titan, and to keep my promise to Corust the Black Bear woman, by the Great Moon.
27th Limestone 266I return to my home of Lakesmile, and place some of my treasure there. I head out towards the titan shrine with renewed vigour. I spot a lone bandit, a human. She quickly attacks me and is killed with ease. Trying my new powers, I raise her as a Sunless Slayer. This is a terrible idea. She immediately vanishes from sight and begins raining blows upon me. Pulling a dagger from my boot I throw it in her direction. Luckily, the dagger finds its mark.
28th Limestone 266Finally, I arrive at The Shrine. Alisa Mintlilac the Drink of Snarling is a hill titan - a towering hairy flat worm, thing wings of stretched skin lift it in the air and it gouts jets of flame from its slavering jaws. A truly terrible beast. The fireballs rain down upon me, shattering on my shield, Serpentbane. Stalkmatches rends the horrible wormlike body, tearing its foul guts, ichor spraying freely. I tear both its wings, grounding the increasingly desperate titan. Finally, I jam my shield through its brain.
The greatest treasure of the beast is a steel helm sized for humans, decorated with platinum cabachons. I take it and haul the beasts corpse back to the Baron of Wetbunny. He seems to have forgotten the quest he gave me, and answers dismissively. He even refused when I ask to become a hearthperson once more... perhaps as he now considers me to be the Lord of Lakesmile?
In any regard, I decide to rest in Wetbunny for a while, leaving the sword and shield in the keep.
So, I don't know if anyone has taken over the save since my turn, but the sword should be in Wetbunny.
In other news, the fort I created in my previous turn has been sacked by goblins and all the dwarves slain. There are now over 4000 goblins in Dragonclaw the Black Spire - cleansing this place and restoring it to the dwarves would be a worthy quest for any wielder of Stalkmatches!
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Topic: Stalkmatches - The blade of many hands (Weapon Succession Game) (Read 24782 times)