Fortunetours was founded ambitiously for The Knives of Confederation were desperate. The elves were all but extinct, but while that was no big loss, it left the combined dwarven and human kingdoms outnumbered 10 to 1 by the goblins of The Strong Midnight, let alone The Terrors of Clapping. Fortunetours was to be founded next to the capital of The Strong midnight amidst The Speechless Swamps on the shores of the Water of Burials.
The nervous dwarves struck the earth in 125 with the central tower of the dark fortress but a short walk away and 2000 goblins strong. Yet for nearly a year they were untroubled, they counted themselves fortunate that the dead did not walk, and trees were so abundant that despite difficulties with the aquifer they could craft everything they needed in abundance. When the passage from over one aquifer to below the other was discovered, there was much rejoicing and they quickly dug to the first layer of caverns. But shortly thereafter, Ostrot Gutmined came, a great gila monster with external ribs and wings of stretched skin, its mouth dripping poison and so the caverns were sealed, though its roars of anger could still be felt and heard through the depths.
Trade was plentiful and the fortress prosperous in the coming times, for the magma sea allowed the glassmasters to produce unparalleled works of art, compensating for the severe lack of metal in the ground. Then came Ongkosm. Ongkosm Lambsplagues was a great feathered iguana with broad horns and maroon feathers, but most importantly it breathed fire. There was hope that Ostrot might be slain, but Ongkosm’s roars shook the earth and hits fires heated the rock walls until it was feared they’d melt. Even so, he did not breach the stone walls and Fortunetours was safe. Though the great rains of 126 made many dwarves unhappy and Fece Bravedscultupres the Hardy Zenith killed 3 brave dwarves, Fortunetours was strangely safe. Nearly 2 years passed of this strange peace, masterwork glass was traded, metals purchased and reforged, the dwarves grew lax in their dealings, security given barely a thought. As even the great roaring of the twin beasts became a regular occurrence, a sign of normality. Early spring was the first sign something was amiss, waves of heat spread from the earth and where two voices had claimed dominion of the caverns only one remained. Ostrot was slain by Ongkosm, and the caverns burned with his fury. Then as the first day of autumn dawned the goblins attacked. Exactly 100 strong they marched, not a troll or beak dog among them. They were guided into traps and fought by the bravest of dwarves, but while 30 goblins died so too did 17 dwarves. The doors were sealed against the siege, while the militia commander and his last 2 recruits emerged from their bedroom, confused as to who gave the order to attack.
Quickly the military was refilled to 30 dwarves and a hasty training regimen began. All illusions of safety had been broken, and the dwarves knew with their discovery and their wealth, the goblins would not halt with one attack. In spring of 128 the dwarven fears were realized as 120 more goblins arrived, this time with beak dogs and trolls so that no doors could halt them. The raps were armed and sprung, dwarves fell as fast as they were drafted and while the goblins were forced to retreat by their heavy losses, the mighty Fortunetours was reduced to a mere 40 dwarves, half its former strength.
The Strong Midnight was tired of the dwarven resistance and paltry raids, with elves wiped from the world and humans soon to follow, only the dwarves remained to vex the demonic leader of the goblins. He called upon his forces, gathered his strength and when next they marched upon Fortunetours in the winter of 128 they number nearly 2000 strong, 1300 goblins, 300 beak dogs, and 300 trolls arrived to slay the dwarves once and for all. Being dwarves of modest intelligence, the denizens of Fortunetours knew they could not hope to best such a force with 40 barely trained dwarves and so sealed themselves inside their fortress, letting the local capybaras distract the goblins from their true purpose. A fiendish plan was then concocted, it was well known that Ongkosm still raged below, killing anything that dared to move, if it could be unleashed upon the goblins, perhaps its flames might force the goblins away, even with their great numbers. The plan was put into place, a brave miner would sacrifice themselves to create a direct link between Ongkosm’s caverns and the surface, ne of the militiamen, despite being wounded was there to see him off. So tiring was the work and so great the mental strain that the miner collapsed before beginning the last of the digging to the surface and slept for 2 days. Then the entrance was finished and the goblins turned their eyes north to the newfound coastal entrance. Leaping from hiding the militia commander joined his recruit as they claimed to the miner that they were off to ‘Combat Training’ and they charged south to the goblin hordes as the miner went to open the caverns. The recruit fell first felled by the vanguard troll which in turn the militia commander slew. He saw the great hordes before him and entered a Zen state, retreating to the barracks below to train himself and await the inevitable arrival of his foes. A brave soul he was, but not an experienced one, so when the trolls descended after him wreaking havoc only one fell before he did, swarmed by a half dozen more. Then at last Ongkosm emerged from the unexplored depths roaring fury, it incinerated the miner and charged up the long stair. Unbeknownst to all a dwarven child had snuck out into the fateful stair, the smell of new meat drove the great beast and it emerged to slay its new prey. With its hunt over it started to retreat to the caverns, the dwarves feared all hope was lost until the wind shifted, the scent of life, of bountiful delectable life filled its nostrils and it turned to face the goblin army, roaring a challenge that was answered by 2 thousand voices. Fire exploded upon the surface, errant breath and flame spewed across the battlefield, the smoke was so thick that nothing could be seen of the battle, the only sign that it yet raged was new bursts of flame and the constant losing of bolts and arrows. For a moment the breath ceased with, but a hundred foes defeated, but then the great beast Ongkosm surged back to life, its lungs snapping steel bolts like twigs as they reformed, even its heart failing and restarting with a fiery vengeance. No mere beast was this avatar of flame, the smoke swirled with the beast as its pulsing fiery heart, the screams of a hundred terrified beak dogs echoed across the swamplands, the stench of burning troll and goblin filled the air.
When all was said and done, Ongkosm bled its last. Its blood drowning goblins unfortunate enough to have dodged into pools of water, its flames carrying on its spiteful will. Some say that the last gasp of fire to emerge from its mouth swirled up with the smoke roaring vengeance and rage to be granted a place by Armok’s side. It faced an army of nearly two thousand at once, and two hundred fell before it, with the survivors shaken by the near demon they had fought. The fate of Fortunetours is yet to be decided, but none shall forget Ongkosm, while his fellow beast slew but 100 creatures in the depths, Ostrot was slain and for 2 years Ongkosm killed 300 more beasts, leaving his total slaughter just shy of 550, assuming all those caught in his flames were truly counted in the legends, for few bodies were ever recovered.
So let such tales stir your heart, fellow Urists, for today is a great day to strike the earth for the Mountainhomes, beat back the goblin tides and with flaming beasts as our unlikely allies we may yet reclaim our world from the evil that befalls it.
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Topic: Fortunetours, a Tale of Folly and Flame (Read 774 times)