From the Journal of Queen Vucar Lektadlór, Autumn 115
The fortress is strangely quiet, now, with the departure of nearly a third of our number to fight the trolls in distant lands. Though the clash of steel on steel still echos from the barracks, it is much diminished. The workers are as busy as ever, of course, but the fortress still feels empty, carved for far more than now occupy it.
They did not, however, leave before I could award Silvereye a title for his contribution to the defense of the fortress. Thanks to his prowess with his crossbow, not a single goblin made it past the entrance bridge. Although Workerdrone and Grimes complained about him hogging all the kills, I have named him Silvereye Ashokkivish the Fenced Raven of Rushing. At the Duchess's request, we shortened the traditional months-long celebration of the naming of a Hero to a single night of dwarven rum and cave wheat flour biscuits topped with syrup, a party that everyone departed happily from.
I have also now seen the product of one of the "all-consuming ideas" Flint had told me about earlier, and I can easily see why it is that they tolerate their strange behavior. From the hands of a mere furnace operator sprung the steel spear Alisdetes, a masterfully balanced piece of work with a crown of steel spikes at the base of the head, giving way to spirals of clear glass and orc bone around steel studs down the handle to the grip, wrapped with giant olm leather. Just above the grip is a band of interlocking brook lampreys in green glass, and just below is an image of slaves in steel. The head itself is astonishingly sharp, able to draw blood with the slightest touch, and is beautifully inlaid with beak dog bone to form a scene of Tosid ordering the foundation of Lanternwebs. It is as much a work of art as it is a weapon of war, and when the Grand Army returns I will order that some dwarves be trained to wield spears, so that they may bear it proudly into battle.
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Updates will likely be a bit slow this week and next, as I'm getting ready to speak at a conference and putting the AsciiDraw talents of Workerdrone to use illustrating the assault.
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Topic: Lanternwebs (The End!) (Read 80047 times)