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Author Topic: The Histories of Scarbasement  (Read 13603 times)

Dame de la Licorne

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The Histories of Scarbasement
« on: October 13, 2008, 10:19:45 am »

This is going to be a story fort, although if anyone wants to join and make it a community fort, they're welcome to, and they can post their dwarf's views if they so desire.  I will be running it as a generational fort, as much as I am able, so keep that in mind.

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We are the Pillars of Lashing, the last and only hope of Olon Thasdoth, the Gears of Exaltation.  That such a great and mighty civilization should be forced so low as to depend upon us lowly citizens...but I digress.  I shall begin at the beginning, where all stories must. 

I am Durien, and I was born and have lived all my life in the great Mountainhome of Olon Thasdoth.  By trade I am a lowly clerk, assigned to aid the nobles with whatever bookkeeping they require.  About eight years ago, Olon Thasdoth's King Besmar Searchstaff tired of the constant border disputes and began a war against the nearby goblins of Tuxumstozu.  The war lasted until last fall. 
On the morning of the 13th of Sandstone in the year 200, I was taking a break when I heard the cry, "A vile force of darkness has arrived!"  The goblins had, of course, come to attack.  I wasn't particularly concerned, for our military had pushed them back many times before. 

But this time was different.  The Tuxumstozu goblins had banded with another group, and thus were twice as many as usual, and the second group had brought trolls and beak dogs.  They soon overpowered our not inconsiderable military and breached our defenses.  All was chaos as panicked dwarves fled hither-thither searching for a safe place as the goblins poured down the great halls and through the chambers, striking down any and every dwarf they found.  I found myself running as well, not knowing where I was going, only knowing that I couldn't stay, and eventually ended up in a rough tunnel I was unfamiliar with.  There I met a miner I knew but slightly and a smith I had never met before who knew of a secret entrance, and followed them through a secret entrance and out of the Mountainhome.  I found myself in a rough cave whose entrance was well-hidden by thick bushes and some young trees.  I was relieved to be away from the immediate danger, although even the thick stone separating us from Olon Thasdoth was not enough to completely silence the screams.  Ablel, the miner, insisted on returning inside, to search for her family in spite of our pleas for her to remain in relative safety.  While we waited for her return, two fishery workers burst out of the tunnel, and nearly died of fright when they saw us, and the smith and I spent much of the rest of the wait calming them down. When Ablel returned late in the night, she was accompanied by two other dwarves, an apprentice brewer and a lowly hauler who had been fortunate enough to end up in the same tunnel that I had, and the news that no one else could have survived.  Out of nearly a thousand, only the seven of us remained, and we looked at each other in silence and despair.

The next day we took a vote and it was decided that we would leave, and find another place where we could live in safety, and we left while the goblins were still deep in the mountain, looting our treasures and drinking our booze.  The drink was perhaps the hardest thing to leave, but none of us were willing to venture back into the mountain in the hopes of liberating a barrel.  Not far from the fort, we found two young puppies cowering by their mother's body.  Though we did not have the time to bury the dog as she deserved, we took the pups with us.  We also came upon a horse and a one-humped camel near a soldier's body and an injured cat near another.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:41:41 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2008, 10:33:13 am »

1st Granite, 201
After a harsh, long winter journey, we have arrived at this valley, we seven survivors, 2 half-grown puppies, a cat, a horse and a camel.  This morning it was agreed that we would remain here for a while, since we have no supplies left and need to gather more before we can continue.  In addition, the wagon we cobbled together is almost falling apart, and needs time-consuming repairs.  I have been placed in temporary command here, as I am the only one with any bookkeeping ability.  I am honored by my companions' confidence. 
This appears to be a fairly peaceful place, far from our war-torn homeland, with a brook at the base of a hill which is part of the foothills of a great range of mountains we shall cross when we are able.  Tomorrow we will scout in more detail.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:41:51 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2008, 10:52:01 am »

3rd Granite, 201
This valley is indeed a very fertile place.  Ablel came upon some obsidian near the top of the hill and is very excited, insisting that it indicates a magma pipe nearby.  If this is the case, and I have no reason to doubt her, I do question whether we will be here long enough to use it.  Logem, our brewer-turned-herbalist, says he believes many of the plants to be edible, and is already trying to collect them.  The fisherdwarf Libash hasn't budged from the brook since yesterday except to eat and sleep, and we have already been rewarded for the turtle he caught late yesterday evening was prepared into a fine meal by Datan, our fishery worker.  Ablel has begun digging out some quarters for us beneath the ground, and we all agree that we must disturb this place as little as we can, for our continued safety.  Because if we die, Olon Thasdoth will be no more.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:41:59 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2008, 10:53:50 am »

5th Granite, 201
Logem is collecting plants, some of which can be brewed.  But to brew, we need barrels and a still.  And since we have no metal, we'll have to make the barrels out of wood.  It is fortunate that during our escape, the smith Litast brought the weapon he had been working on, for it means we have an axe with which to cut down the necessary trees.  Since everyone else has a necessary job, I take it upon myself to obtain the wood and use it to make the necessary barrels.  But I must be very careful to not cut down too many trees, we must not be found.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:42:08 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2008, 11:06:31 am »

13th Granite, 201
Tree-chopping is not as easy as it sounds, and carpentry even harder, but I have at last managed to construct a barrel, shoddy work though it is.  Logem promptly grabbed it and brewed the first batch of what he calls "tuber beer", made from some rather bloated roots he dug up along the banks of the river.  It isn't at all in the same category as dwarven rum or dwarven beer, but at least it's drink, and there were cheers from all of us at the signal of an end to the dry spell we have been laboring under since we fled the Mountainhome.  At least when we depart once more, there will be plenty of drink to accompany us.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:42:17 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2008, 11:12:13 am »

15th Granite, 201
Ablel has finished carving out some very rough sleeping quarters for us.  We have to move our work areas into hiding as soon as possible, so she has begun carving out a work area for us.  The sooner we are safely underground, the better.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:42:25 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2008, 11:22:14 am »

3rd Slate, 201
Ablel is now carving out storerooms for our supplies, and I have spent the past two weeks trying to repair the wagon.  So far I have had no luck, and have managed to break two of the wheels and an axle, as well as the wagon tongue.  But I must persist, for we have no choice but to move onward as soon as may be.  At least we have food in abundance in this place, which we have named Scarbasement, for no reason but that Ablel and Litast liked it and no one else seemed to care.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:42:34 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2008, 11:28:23 am »

12th Slate, 201
We have been here for a month and a half now, and have managed to bring all of our activities inside.  Only the wagon remains outside, for with two wheels broken, we cannot drag it anywhere.  I have temporarily stopped repairs, and am crafting beds.  After all, if we must tarry here a while, we may as well sleep in comfort.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:42:45 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2008, 11:58:58 am »

13th Felsite, 201
Ast built a mason's shop shortly after our arrival, and has finally allowed us to see what she has been slaving over.  Tables and chairs!  The work is about what you'd expect for a skill-less peasant, but we have furnished a corner of a cave into some semblance of a dining room.  Really, if it weren't for the roughness of the walls our temporary quarters would be almost...cozy.
Ablel is also digging out a chamber to use as a refuse dump, for the cat caught a vermin creature a few days ago, and the corpse is stinking up our halls like there's no tomorrow.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:42:55 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2008, 12:17:14 pm »

15th Felsite, 201
I woke up this morning to find Litast in a corner of our dining room/brewery, working away at the walls.  When I asked him what a smith of his caliber was doing, he stated that: "No se'f-respectin' dwahrf wou' live'n such'er p'ace if'n they had a choice.  Ah certain'y won't.  Ah'm smoothin' these dratte' walls'n floors.  An' it's on mah time so buzz off." 
I wasn't going to complain if one of my companions wanted to work more than required, and Litast had been doing little more than hauling things around for the rest of us, his skills as a smith were virtually useless since we don't have an anvil, and no way of getting one.  When I mentioned the event to the others later, it turned out we all agreed.  If Litast wanted to spend time smoothing rock to make our refuge more welcoming, he was welcome to.  The rest of us helped when we could, but with everything that needed doing, for the most part we just wanted food, drink and our beds at the end of each day.  In a way I suppose that was a mercy, for it kept us from dwelling too much on the unchangeable past.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:43:07 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Kanute

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2008, 02:09:43 pm »

I really like your style of writing, it's very engrossing. Although your story is descriptive enough to do without them, the occasional picture would be nice, to get a feel for the area... as for how to post pictures, I haven't the faintest.
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2008, 02:26:34 pm »

15th Felsite, 201
I woke up this morning to find Litast in a corner of our dining room/brewery, working away at the walls.  When I asked him what a smith of his caliber was doing, he stated that: "No se'f-respectin' dwahrf wou' live'n such'er p'ace if'n they had a choice.  Ah certain'y won't.  Ah'm smoothin' these dratte' walls'n floors.  An' it's on mah time so buzz off." 
I wasn't going to complain if one of my companions wanted to work more than required, and Litast had been doing little more than hauling things around for the rest of us, his skills as a smith were virtually useless since we don't have an anvil, and no way of getting one.  When I mentioned the event to the others later, it turned out we all agreed.  If Litast wanted to spend time smoothing rock to make our refuge more welcoming, he was welcome to.  The rest of us helped when we could, but with everything that needed doing, for the most part we just wanted food, drink and our beds at the end of each day.  In a way I suppose that was a mercy, for it kept us from dwelling too much on the unchangeable past.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:43:20 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2008, 02:37:16 pm »

6th Hematite, 201
Summer has arrived, according to the calendar, although the land here does not really show signs of it.  Back in Olon Thasdoth, the pools would be turning to mudholes and the green grass would be burned to a crisp, but here in this marshland the plants are still green and the pools still deep.  The only difference is that the days have gotten muggier and it rains nearly every day.  We now try to work in the coolness of the caverns as much as possible during the day, and when we do go out it is a great relief to re-enter.
On the following pages I have drawn some rough diagrams of our current location, for future scholars to ponder upon.

The following is a diagram of our main living quarters.  The stairs next to the dining area lead to a carpentry above and a masonry below.


Here is a map, drawn to the best of my ability, of the immediate area.

« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:43:28 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2008, 06:53:07 pm »

21st Hematite, 201
Things have been going fairly well, and I believe I can now take some time from necessary tasks and begin bringing our records up to date, particularly the food and drink situation.  I know we have enough of both, but I would feel better were I to know more exactly.  I suppose it is part of my being a bookkeeper by trade.  I will use one of the chairs in the dining area, when the others do not need them.  We have few enough goods that keeping accurate records should not take too much time.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:43:37 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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Dame de la Licorne

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Re: The Histories of Scarbasement
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2008, 07:04:55 pm »

6th Malachite, 201
Ablel is sinking shafts, searching for metal veins.  I have seen her and Litast speaking at length over the past few weeks, and it seems that Litast has persuaded her to find metal.  What he hopes to do without an anvil is beyond me, however.  If we were able to find metal and the means to smelt it, we would be far better equipped for the journey across the forbidding mountains to the east, with weapons and armor.  Unfortunately, I do not see much likelihood of it happening.
Now that the dogs are full-grown, however, I will see if I can train them into war dogs.  Extra protection will be welcome. 
« Last Edit: November 15, 2008, 11:43:47 am by Dame de la Licorne »
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