~~~Diary of Besmar Melbilamal, Army supply officer, 1062~~~-14th of GraniteThe Elves have unloaded their goods. I spoke briefly with Gica Lacoirene, an Elf Merchant woman, about why they had brought so little to us. To my displeasure, our king and their druid-queen have gotten in some bitter argument over the war with the goblins, and the elves will be doing less business with us in the coming years. Elves are such a weak and pitiful loathsome race. Just because our great king Lamokol beat a badger to death with the leg of a recently slain goblin, then baked the badger into crumpets and served it to the Elf witch claiming it was made of Toe-Fu is no reason to suspend diplomatic ties! Back in the mountainhomes we have a word for that kind of display. Hilarious!
=Events as they occurred, 16th of Granite, 1062=Ruefus paused momentarily to gaze down into the valley below, where her clan was moving bins of stone goods toward the trade depot, where Besmar was arguing with some horridly thin Elf woman. Elven women had no muscle
they were gaunt and fair-skinned. Hideous. How their race ever managed to populate itself was a mystery to the greatest dwarven minds who appreciated a curvy woman who could drink them under the table.
Lifting her axe, Ruefus moved to the last of two tries in the plateau scheduled for a good chopping. The Elves brought so few logs that Besmar had ordered the entire forest cut down to make into charcoal. As she strode toward her mark, Ruefus caught the glint of iron in the sunlight. She cried out an alarm to her comrades below, and turned to flee as bolts filled the air.
Ruefus could hear the echo of warning bells from the great halls as she clambered across the grassy field, her boots sinking into the soft soil. Once she made it to the hard stone mountaintop, she would be able to escape. She paused for a second to glance behind her.
Five goblins wielding crossbows, protected by a wrestler and a guard, moved swiftly in the grass, yelping and hooting in their vile language, as dozens of iron bolts flew from their position. Ruefuss luck didnt hold out for long, and she caught an iron bolt in the center of her chest, narrowly missing her right lung. The force of the impact knocked the dwarf to the ground, which may have saved her life, as two more bolts filled the air where she had just been standing.
Crawling through the grass, spurting blood behind her, Ruefus vowed not to give up so easily. The bells were ringing, and the militia was on its way. Even now she could see Cookie standing in the guard tower to the north. She crawled quickly through the grass with the pounding of goblin feet and vicious snarling behind her.
**Editors Note: You can see three bolts flying at her and a couple that dug into a tree if you look closely.**
Cookie watched helplessly from the guard tower as his friend fell in the grassy field. She was out of range, even if he had any bolts with him, which he did not. He cursed his foul luck as he begged Dastot Zatamezar to take vengeance on the goblins. Below him he could only watch in horror as Ruefus took a bolt to the chest and went down. Cookies fingers dug into the stone, teeth pressed together preparing to see the worst, but Ruefus crawled to the edge of the grass, leaving her blood behind. When her feet reached solid stone, she stood up and ran.
Run, Ruefus! Take flight or the filth will catch ye!!