Smithbridges, year 187 - Part II:
The Worst Enemy
Reg stood no chance as a barrage of arrows rained upon the bookbinder, followed by a charge of Monsters of Uja and other abominations.
'Salmeuk' had no better luck as the hordes smashed upon her. Panic and terror set in as the menace from the tower tore her into pieces.
And even as 'Salmeuk' was being pummelled the monsters, one returned zombie rushed past the scene to make short work of Rith.
As the dwarves tried to desperately scramble to safety behind the walls, a human necromancer identified as Gicast Cutcrowded was seen crossing the bridge with a Monster of Uja.
The outer gatehouse was already sealed as the militia of Smithbridges stood waiting in the courtyard.
Many dwarves were still outside, but there was no time to wait for them.
With luck, they might be able to make their way in through the other entrance.
Even as some of the enemies tried their luck with the trap hall and militia waiting for them at the end, a human bard waltzed in, dodging traps and stepping over the carnage.
And at the same time, a monster slayer promised to eradicate creatures from the deep.
Etu was allowed to stay, though it was highly doubtful the monster slayer would prove to be helpful in breaking the siege.
Those bastards! They were smashing all the windows of the bridge instead of heading through the trap hall!
As the enemies entered the fortress through the trap hall, the military lay waiting for them and dispatched them easily. Inch by inch the dwarves pushed through the monsters until finally the siege was broken and the halls lay strewn with blood and mutilated corpses.
It appeared that the success of the military was to the benefit of Tulon, who was re-elected as mayor even as the soldiers were taking care of stragglers.
The fighting dwarves were rewarded with some time off training after the remaining foes were dealt with.
A temporary shortcut was made into the border wall. It should ease the hauling of the corpses of the necromancer experiments.
It was decided that all the corpse piles from the surface should be removed and placed underground. Cleaning would take a long time, but hopefully by the end of the year it'd be done.
A flock of keas descended upon Smithbridges and stole a book. What a travesty! As if our hands wouldn't be already full of things to do. And our fellow dwarves are also in desparate need of some free time -- there are a couple of disgruntled ones already. It is only a matter of time before they start to be a problem...
As autumn was drawing closer, the spirit of one of the fallen rose to haunt the denizens of Smithbridges.
And soon autumn did arrive.
And as was expected so did the caravan from the Mountainhome. It was time to trade the mussel shell and lead crafts we had been making for the past months.
There was not much the caravan had to offer us, but nevertheless we bought some items from them. And to show that Smithbridges is actually doing well, we gave them a sizeable profit. The merchants were ecstatic of the trade.
Maybe this would bring more migrants to replace those lost? It's some time since we last got new folk -- if we don't count the countless petitioning bards and performance troupes we've had this year.
Now what is this? A very peculiar visitor arrived: a wombat woman scholar. How delighted I am!
She had come to pray at the Chapel of Dens to Imaza the Prairies of Moistness and to study at the Blockaded Palace.
Damn it Urist!
Urist Mirrorflesh had just about had enough and began throwing a tantrum at the Earthen Harvester after a few pints: he assaulted a cat and then proceeded to attack Thob, a woodcutter. Thob, however, didn't take kindly to such antisocial behaviour and punched Thob back. Seeing this, others joined in the fray, but who was on what side was a question that needed to be asked.
Woodcutter punched bone carver, bone carver punched butcher, and even a milker decided to give a few punches to the bone carver.
We might have a problem.
The fighting spread up the stairs, each passing moment more and more dwarves joining in.
People, people, people! Calm yourselves! What manner of madness has taken over you?
Soon, the infirmary was crowded with wounded dwarves.
And then things took a darker turn.
Two miners were dead due to the tantrum getting out of hand.
I felt afraid after seeing my comrades succumb to madness and fight against each other.
Will this be our end?
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So, uh, that's the end of part 2.
It looks like we might have some kind of loyalty cascade going now. I had no chance to contain it to the lower levels as it spread immediately up the central staircase and has soon reached each and every corner.
I really haven't had to deal with these (maybe once or twice), so any advice?
I'm tempted to let them duke it out, but would like to hear what others think before doing so.
I'll be finishing my turn tomorrow (it's now almost winter) and will try my best to clear things before that.
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Topic: Smithbridges riverside succession fortress - Overseers needed! (Read 15083 times)