Led stood relaxed near the top of the ramp as he surveyed the surrounding country side. This was a beautiful land, that much was evident to him, and he had spent much of his life out of doors. His gaze flicked behind him again. A single Insectoid corpse lay on the smooth stone of the upper ramp, not thirty feet from the entrance to their home. The thief had made it that far before it had been detected. In the subsequent flurry of activity two more had been found, and one dwarf lightly injured, receiving a light cut on one arm where another insectoid thief had reacted instinctively. Fortunately for Mosus she'd gotten her arm in the way or she might have lost an eye.
There was little doubt that the thieves were getting bolder in their attempts. This year had been particularly bad. Below him on the ramp Kolok had a large pine log in tow and was laboriously dragging it up the ramp when he nearly stumbled upon yet another insectoid. In the time it took the lumberdwarf to drop the log the insectoid had already begun running and Led took off after it. Controlling his running descent down the ramp in full armor took all his attention for a second but as he neared the bottom he glanced southwards and could still make out the insectoid form crashing through the brush and soft soil of the swamps, heading towards the spring and creek to their south. He loped easily after it, beginning to gain ground on the quick-footed creature as the pair began speeding south in a deadly race. He skirted close to the hillside, gaining more solid footing and hoped to gain on it in that way as well when a blood-curdling cry from behind him rent the air and drew him up short.
An Ambush!
Cursing himself for his short-sightedness he realized only then that the thief must have been meant as a lure, and he'd taken the bait. Ragner was undoubtedly still below, finishing her drink and that left the fortress nearly wide open. Nearly. He made a direct line for the ramp, crashing through the underbrush as pained cries filled the air and then went abruptly silent, his breathing filling the strange silence. The ramp was approaching when he broke through the heavy shrub into the cleared area that would eventually become a large pool. A body lay in the deep grass, blood spraying the flora around it. Over it still stood an insectoid and Led charged it. He must have caught it by surprise, as the creature barely had time to register his presence before his spear caught it in a shoulder, knocking it over and to the ground. The spear was wrenched from his grasp as the creature fell but he was on it in a flash, grinding the spear in the wound as the insectoid below it flailed in the soft soil. He yanked it out violently and scythed it downwards, catching one of the creature's wings and then a leg and crippling them. The insectoid managed to bring one of it's arms around and caught him in the leg and he felt the sudden pain where the chitinous blade tore through his joint and into his knee. He would have fallen had he not embedded his spear in the creature's abdomen and his weight suddenly fell full force on it bringing the insectoid to a thrashing halt as pain flooded it.
It was then that a second cry of alarm went up and Led felt a sudden foreboding. The creature beneath his spear was rapidly dying now, but he spared a glance for his fallen comrade and was surprised to see Fikod's body, violently flayed on one side. He had expected it to be Kolok and the loss of one of his own struck him almost like a physical blow. Looking up his spirits fell further as he saw another group of insectoids heading up the ramp. Three split off upon seeing him and began advancing and he yanked the spear out of the fallen foe to face the deadly trio. He was limping badly and a sudden grimness took him as he faced his doom.
He did not fear death. He did not fear facing his godess in person. But he was not ready to go to the next world so easily. He was a dwarf and he was protected by steel and had a good weapon in his hand. He was equal to almost any foe and he faced the insectoids with singleminded determination to protect his friends and the faithful of Mondul. His life was in her hands and if she took it to herself he would not begrudge her his soul.
And then he grinned at the three.
But he'd much rather grant Mondul their spirits instead.
The lead insectoid he took mid-charges with his spear, solidly in the upper chest, throwing himself forward and bringing the creature to an abrupt halt. He lost his balance briefly but retained hold of the spear and that, perhaps, was his salvation. The insectoid fell backwards, dragging him forward and steadying him. He danced around the creature on the ground, doing his best to avoid the other two even as he ground the spear into the wound, thrashing the internals of the creature before him. The scrape and squeal of chitin on steel reminded him that he could do a better job but a shout from above caused his focus to flicker to the ramp briefly before he continued his deadly dance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ragnar had heard the alarm and had calmly finished her mug of sewer brew before shouldering her spade and heading back up the stairs. The panicked shouts from the First Hall made her pick up her pace rapidly and her primary feeling at the time was a building annoyance at having her drinking so rudely disturbed. Coming out of the stairwell she realized it was far worse than that. Four or five creatures were busy vivisecting a dwarf along the side of the bridge what few others she saw were panicked and heading towards the armory. There was no time to wait. She spared a fraction of a second to wonder where Led had gone to before charging out of the fortress into the wan sunlight of early winter. Her annoyance gave way quickly to rage as she charged and recognized poor Pete, likely heading out to the hillside to retrieve some iron ore to smelt. By the looks of it the lass never stood a chance and the fire of anger suddenly flared within her. It burned with a cold heat though and her charge led her straight into the ranks of the enemy. She crashed into the one closest her with such force that her blow split the creature from mandibled head down to it's abdomen, practically shattering the creature. The others reared up in anger or annoyance, she hardly cared which and her spinning scythe of a spade removed an arm here, a leg there. Two more fell before her as three more came up the ramp and began surrounding her. She spun and dodged her opponents but keeping her single eye out for all their attacks seemed impossible and she took several grazing hits. She felled another, cleanly removing it's head and sending it bouncing down off the ramp as the insectoids seemed to sense her weakness. One charged her in a faint while the others rushed her blind side and impossibly quickly she suddenly realized that she was falling. Her foes were growing distant above her and the wind was rushing strangely past her helmet and through her armor.
It occured to her then how strange it felt to have wind rushing through her armor when she wore nothing underneath.
And then she hit the ground.
It was, perhaps, a blessing for the fortress that Thesaurusaurus was on hand as well. The four remaining insectoids watched briefly as their feared foe fell to the earth below but his shout brought their attention around to the task at hand. The defenders appeared dispatched and an unarmed and unarmored dwarf stood before them, as if in surprise. As they ran after him he too took off and they could only barely match him for speed, but there was only one way to go.
In.
And so in they went, directly past the bridge and Pete's corpse and straight into the waiting cage traps set for exactly such occasions. Thesaurusaurus knew there were only nine traps, or rather three strings of three traps each, covering the entrance. And he managed to lure the creatures in perfectly, snaring all four of them without further incident.
Ragnar made perhaps the scariest sight as not ten minutes later she was seen staggering down the stairwell headed for her bed, muttering almost incoherently and clutching her mangled hand. Apparently even a fall of over eighty feet (8 z levels) was insufficient to do her serious lasting harm. Though it certainly did nothing to improve her disposition.
As the battle sounds quieted the others came to witness the scene and share in the death of friend and foe alike. Fikod's loss would be felt, most keenly among the followers and it left Boink as the remaining stonecarver of the fortress. Pete's loss was felt perhaps more poignently by the other members of the clan. She'd come through much with them and taught them much as well.
Led survived as well. Though injured he managed to dispatch all three insectoids without further injury, though Morul had to retrieve him. The brewer and most recent addition to their fortress had only gotten to speak to him twice before and she took advantage of the opportunity to introduce herself properly.
"'S no problem sir. I don't normally go out of my way ta do things like this, mind, but I suppose I can make an exception for you. Sir."
Led was quiet for a time. "I appreciate it. I'm afraid I'll be bedridden for a bit while this recovers. Can I have you do me some favors?"
"I suppose... like what?"
"Ask Glacies to come see me as soon as possible. I'll have to ask her to perform the final rites for Fikod. And for Pete if the others consent."
"When do you suppose the other followers will come from Onol Lened?"
The sudden change in topic startled him somewhat but there was nothing to conceal where nothing was known. "I'm not sure. The humans haven't come and we've been unable to send correspondence through them. I tried sending a message with the dwarven caravan, but who knows if it will arrive."
"Ah, true. Was just wondering."
"It's alright... easy on the leg there. What was your name again? Mosus, Morul... something like that?"
"Morul, sir. At least my birth name. My parents just called me Ascubis though."
He nodded, weary now from the efforts. "Mmm... you must have had interesting parents."
Author
Topic: Geshud Osod, the Fortress of Bones (Community/Story in Legendary Lands) (Read 101477 times)