1 Hematite, 211
Early Summer
by Zon Rimtarothil Afentumam
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That damn philosopher! Why didn't she see this coming? Oh, hey, let's bring up some remains of something that died inside the demon pit and see what happens! There's no way a demon could inhabit these bone fragments and then use them to exert its will over us! They've only been sealed away for... oh, I don't know, A FEW DOZEN ETERNITIES, GIVE OR TAKE. No, I don't think they're capable of becoming impatient after all that time, especially when some dwarves dig really close to them!
A lot of things happened at once. First, Asob
squeaked. I can't help but make mention of that. Let it be known to all of Severedcoils' history that Asob Momuzzokun, long-running mayor, squeaks in the face of danger. She then scurried off, presumably to her bunker to lock herself away until the demons are dealt with. Not going to lie... I intend to do the same just after I set some things in motion.
I've had mechanisms in place to seal the pit with obsidian as soon as it opened, but it wasn't quite finished yet - regardless, I ordered the obsidianizer lever pulled, and meanwhile set the military to stand near the breach - making sure to put all of our recruits and wrestlers up front, of course, with champions right behind and ready to get one or two good hits in before their meat shields burn away - and the marksdwarves farther behind so they can feel like they're doing something useful.
I was then turning to go towards my bunker, but then a voice stopped me.
"Coward."
My blood turned cold. Minkot had found it within himself to stand up to me.
We stood there, not saying a word to each other for a while. I tried to command myself to ignore him and take my station within my bunker before resuming my role as a clerk, but the king had clearly wished for me to attend his meeting instead - so, there I stood, while Asob ran off to safety.
"Leaders are born, not made," Minkot stated. "I must admit, I'm impressed. I know of your history. I know that you've encountered beasts from below in a previous fort. I know that the very thought of what these things could do has you shaken to your very core. Finally, I've discerned the purpose of your 'mysterious' food and drink stockpiles next to those conveniently placed vacant rooms under the hatch in your office, and I know what you intend to do next. Why, I used to have my very own panic room in the royal halls, thank the gods I never needed to use it."
I wiped a cold sweat from my brow, trying in vain to pretend that I was sweating from exertion and not from nervousness. "Get on with it."
"While I do not approve of the way you speak to me, I... must confess that you're doing a better job of ruling this fort than I would in this situation... arguably, perhaps better than I have run The Swift Arches. You have somehow ignored your fear and taken charge, far better than any other dwarf I know. The dwarves follow your guidance, and in this moment they would surely follow you to their deaths with honor."
I allow his words to sink in. I take a few deep breaths, and stand up tall. I look around - my companions are panicked, running aimlessly down the halls as the smell of brimstone wafts through the air. I... think I actually
feel myself transform. "We're not dead yet. And while I may have been powerless to do anything against the frog demons at Murderspikes, here I actually have the power to do something. I have a chance to redeem myself."
"Then do it."
---
Two hours have passed, and the military has not yet seen a flicker of a flame from these fiery fiends. The wall may or may not have sealed all of the demons inside, but all we knew was that in two hours, nobody was on fire. I decided that we needed to scout, so I went down a few levels to the fortifications and peeked inside.
The first thing I noticed is that there was still water in the area, though it was not flowing from the pump channel. Apparently, the obsidianizer mechanisms had not been completely wired up. The switch had been tied to the magma chamber - which had been sealed off, so the pumps were spinning but not doing anything. The river pump, on the other hand, had not been connected to the switch, so it sat idle. So, for the past two hours, no water or magma has flowed into the pit... and yet, it was still flooded.
And then, something hit me... the pit was
still full of water, even after it was opened. Judging by the heat we could feel coming through the fortifications, Quietust had surmised that our pit possessed "Spirits of Fire," whose bodies were supposedly much hotter than the sun. Shouldn't the water have immediately vaporized when coming near those things?
And then, I spotted something amidst the muck and smoke, and I cried out with joy.
A severed head. Upon laying eyes on it, a name popped into my head. Somehow, I knew that it was the name of a very powerful demon, whose name I shall NOT write. As the smoke cleared and the water drained, more pieces could be seen floating, and each one I looked at told me its name mentally.
In total, I counted 11 Spirits of Fire, as well as their demon leader, among the deceased.
"Quick! Down to level 14, open it up and floor over that pit! We're sealing them in forever!"
The military moves into the pit dug out around Di's old "sauna," waiting for a miner to come and dig a hole inside. There, we will take the fight to whatever's left--
"AAAAUUUUGH!!!"
A scream can be heard through the fortifications-- wait, I recognize it! That's Led Dastotdomas, a Cheese Maker! Somehow, he got inside the pit and encountered a Spirit of Fire!
I re-ordered the military to go through the magma channel, where I had assumed Led had gone -- but for some reason, the upper levels of the fort began flooding!
Sure enough, the Spirits had destroyed the pump stack that was used to feed water to the baron shower. At the same time, the spirits who had killed Led were surely coming up through the breach I had originally suspected they would...
They couldn't come through that way, however, since there was a wall at the end of that tunnel... but if the pump stack has been destroyed...
...Oh for Kovest's sake, they can travel through water
without vaporizing it, as long as they haven't already been detected.
I order the military to move
again, tracing the path they took through the underground river and trying to guess where they would next appear... a few dwarves were milling about in that area, so I could only assume they would make their move very soon. Alas, there are too many paths in that area, and if they can move invisibly through water... damn! They could either be planning to break through the hatch of the duke shower, or they could be sneaking through the tunnels. Either way, the most central point between those areas is the trade depot.
"Everyone, to the trade depot! We'll wait there for them to make their move. And nobody try to get into that pit to claim anything! Everything inside is forbidden!!"
Author
Topic: Severedcoils - Consort Accumulation Challenge (Score: 5) (40d + DnD 5e) (Read 130315 times)