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[Caz]

Several months later...

The area is a mix of melted, re-solidified black glass and structures that have been chipped out of it, cracked and warped by scorchmarks and completely uninhabitable.

Steam and smoke hangs thickly in the air. A dwarf climbed the silt steps to the surface, looking round at the ruined remains of the outpost.

Imush was quick behind her, still shouting obscenities and insults. "You'll be outcast now, Wadedtrumpets! No one in the mountainhomes will accept you back now that you've gone and dumped all the supplies into the magma lake. Either you stick with us to clear out those imps or you're dead for sure!"

"No."

"What?" Imush got even redder, blinking smoke from his eyes. He didn't even see the blow that sent him stumbling back down the muddy slope. He scrambled to his feet. "CATTEN!"

She was turning the rusty valve as fast as possible, setting the chains and mechanisms into motion. The grates barring the tunnels below slammed down, sealing the dwarves in.

"You can't do this! Someone from the mountainhomes will come, and reveal your treachery!"

"There will be nothing to find." Catten said, and strode away to the small guard tower, which contained a short bauxite lever marked "DO NOT PULL".

Afterwards, there was a crunching sound of metal and the bubbling of magma. Catten began to laugh.

"You're all useless fools! Enjoy your last moments, Imush knife-ears!" The scent of charred flesh wafted from the grate.

"Er, what's going on?"

Catten turned, to notice a party of dwarves in travellers clothing standing behind her.

The dwarf looked at her, his beard arranged in double braids. Catten stared at them for a long minute before realising they hadn't seen the grim end of her outpost.

"You're migrants, right? For outpost Urdim Sákrith?"

"Aye. Catten Wadedtrumpets I presume? Our picks are yours."

"Don't get settled yet. We have a ways to travel."

The dwarves looked confused but didn't question. Catten unrolled a stretch of rotten parchment, from which she had inscribed "alternative plans" some months ago, on which was a map of a journey north.

"Gather what you can and load it into the wagon. We're leaving this rubble."

Catten dropped her outpost log into the bubbling grate.


(Yup, I'm continuing this.)

[NRDL]

Edit: Ignore this stupid post. 

[Caz]

"So, why are we going west?" he asked. "Wasn't that..." he gestured to the smoking rubble that was fading into the horizon. "the Tower of Blazes?"

"Just a practice site, nothing more. The real place is up ahead!"

They stopped on a hillock, half the dwarves on watch for dreaded night creatures.

Catten peeked her head into the wagon.

"Do you have any mushroom paper?"

"A few notebooks, yes, why?"

"I'm going to make sure we all go down as history as great dwarves."

The dwarf looked happy at that and handed over the precious books.

"But first, we need to get a message to the Orbs of Solitude."

"We have a courier who will take news back to the mountainhome."

"Excellent."



The outpost came into some unforseen complications. Obok and the others decided to join a kobold cult, and we are years behind schedule. Fortunately, a group of migrants are here to help, a particularly useful dwarf named Rovod is now my second in command. I may have detailed some of the maps wrong in my previous letters, see the document enclosed that will clear up any confusion. We should be back on schedule soon, by Armok's beard, the temple will be completed!

- Catten WadedTrumpets


***


13th Granite

We have arrived!



Time for attempt two... and this time there will be no Obok to ruin things. I haven't even heard the cackle of fire imps yet.

[Roboboy33]

I... What? Is that 3D?

[Corneria]

I... What? Is that 3D?

Stonesense.

[Doomchild-]

posting to watch

[NRDL]

Looking good, sorry for my previous post.  Exactly what are you planning to do with this fort? 

[ottottott]

Excellent. Excellent story writing skills. Honestly, I had no idea this thread started in 2009, until my eyes wandered to the date.

[Caz]

Looking good, sorry for my previous post.  Exactly what are you planning to do with this fort?

Attempt to harness water and magma to cast an obsidian tower which will become a temple for Armok. But probably just burning to death.

[Caz]

4th Galena

It is mid-summer and we suffer a cloudless, sun-scorched sky. We have been here months and are still unable to pierce the aquifer, for Imush tells me the obsidian wall protecting us from the magma is too thin to breach through. We are still waiting for a caravan to arrive, who will hopefully bring enough materials for us to construct an aqueduct and seal the caldera.




7th Galena

The giant lions come and go, but like to rest themselves right near the edge of the volcano and clean their paws. They have ignored us for now, but I can't see that lasting for long. We have been working these last months on hollowing out a cavern from the soil. It only offers us the barest of protection but it's all we can do for now. This place doesn't have enough gnarled trees for all of us to have beds!

There were several mining accidents already, and we put érith Eralíthar to the magma. Three other dwarves are limping about, whining something about 'needing water'. I ignored them, lazy sods.



The troubles have been one after another. Obok keeps appearing to me in dreams, complaining about her water-sodden boots. Why can't I forget about her?


12th Galena

The giant lions have finally left. Unfortunately they were quickly replaced by a herd of warthogs who are running about, tripping dwarves into the volcano.



We'll have no one left to turn the pumps at this rate. Where is that caravan? And how hard can it be to stay away from the edge of the pit?!

Armok, give me strength.

[Roboboy33]

Is it just me, or does that volcano look like texas?

[Caz]

23rd Granite

Supplies are still slowly trickling in to Urdim Sákrith. One screw pump has been built and housed, and once the second is done we'll be able to access the delicious stones and metals below. The dwarf children at the fort have set up a game with their pets to pass the time - bird fights. It was amusing until that damned chicken ran up to me, feathers flying, and bit straight through my pig tail sock.



I think it's time to put these birds to work and build them some nest boxes... but I hate to delay the construction even further.

[Caz]

11th Slate

Nothing interesting has happened, though Kol brewed some excellent whip wine.

Also I got married, so there is that.




16th Slate

Twenty-three migrant dwarves have just arrived. What am I supposed to do with so many useless lumps? I guess they'll serve as meat shields for when the goblins come. I'll have to find out if any of them have useful skills, and put the rest in the barracks outside. There just isn't enough beds for everyone.

The miner Imush has gone and got her legs smashed to pieces from channeling the overhanging soil to the east, too. Her screams are keeping the dwarves up at night.


25th Slate

One good thing came from the migrant wave - a hunter named Ilral has been going out and bringing fresh gazelles back. I haven't had such a fine meal since being back at the mountainhomes.

[Caz]

1st Moonstone

Winter has arrived on the calender, but you wouldn't notice it in this heat. We finally have enough timber to construct the remaining screw pumps. We now have abundant farms beneath the soil for plentiful meals and drink.


22nd Moonstone

We are ready to go at last. Dwarves are turning the pumps and soon we will have access to the minerals below.


25th Moonstone

Or not.



Are there no end to the setbacks of this mission? Piping directly to the caldera will require more wooden blocks than we can get this year. I'm not sure how that dwarf even managed to climb into the pipe. Trying to get out of work, I expect. Pure laziness!


21nd Granite

What's that smell? Could it be... success?



42 animals and 6 dwarves have been sacrificed to get us to this point, we will engrave a wall memorialising them and brave on!

In non-obsidian-related matters, I am starting to worry about the ghostly apparitions haunting the outpost. One popped up while I was eating a plump helmet biscuit and threw my chair across the room. They are troublesome indeed. We'll just have to dig as far down as we can and build the grave chambers. Ónul's corpse is starting to smell, still lodged in the pipes and spraying his rotting flesh and blood over the dirt. The giraffes don't seem to like it, and have stayed away for once. A good thing too, the pump operators are terrified of them.

[Caz]

13th Felsite, 995



I was filled with a sense of dread and horror as the scent of pine and roses wafted on the breeze. Drinking a bucket of dwarven ale to regain my composure, I summoned the militia captain of Urdim Sákrith.

"Rigóth! Send out The Savage Trumpets to meet these creatures!"

"Gladly, expedition leader." said he, hefting his copper axe.


14th Felsite, 995

The dwarves grabbed their hodge-podge weapons and fistfuls of mud to accost the elves.



The shouts of joy, screaming and kicking feet sounded even over the bubbling magma of the volcano.



And, what's this? These pointy-eared monstrosities have bought us stacks upon stacks of candlenut wood, crates of cloth, and even cages containing ferocious beasts.

Happy Elfmas.