In the weeks since the fire was extinguished, things had gone well at Ardentdikes. Nine migrants had arrived from the mountainhomes, and a miner had been struck with inspiration
and produced an unparalleled floor grate.
On the morning of the 19th of Felsite, Xenos was eating an early breakfast when another message arrived. He retrieved it from its canister and read:
The Confident Mechanisms are too inexperienced."What's he going on about?" Xenos muttered to himself, crumpling the note and tossing it over his shoulder. Yes, the rank and file of The Confident Mechanisms were inexperienced, but Captain Evenedtomb was a seasoned veteran who could show them how to handle an axe.
Xenos finished his breakfast, then went up to the courtyard to organize the day's combat training.
Snodub Nguslukusnath crept through the brush, stalking his target.
He waited for the wind to blow, covering the sound of his movement, then dashed forward and attacked.
"MOO!" cried his victim.
All around him, cows and horses began panicking and running away. Looking up, Snodub noticed some sort of commotion on the walls of the fortress.
They'd been spotted! Damn! Snodub and his fellow goblins hesitated a minute, then, deciding to punish the creatures that had given them away, they began chasing down cows.
"Who's on guard duty right now?" demanded Xenos.
"It's The Confident Mechanisms, sir!" somebody shouted. Xenos thought of McDuck's mysterious message.
"Recall them!" he said. "Have them guard the courtyard, and call up the reserves to join them. And get all the civilians inside the walls." He put on his helmet and hoisted his axe. "Bronze Furies, Plain Volcanos, and Contingent Gates, with me!"
Xenos and his soldiers charged out of the gates.
It seemed to be a curse. Whenever Eletha visited somebody, she always seemed to show up at a bad time.
This was no exception. She and her fellow traders had just arrived at the dwarven fortress of Ardentdikes,
and it looked like there was a battle going on. Dwarves, goblins, and cows all clashed in the fields outside the fortress gates. At first she worried for her safety, but soon it became clear that the battle was more of a rout. The goblins were no match for the dwarves. She only saw a goblin land a blow on a dwarf once, and even then the dwarf managed a vicious counter-attack.
Suddenly, one of the dwarves looked over and noticed the elves. He gestured, and two dwarven soldiers peeled off from the battle and ran towards them.
"We'll escort ye to the fortress," one of the soldiers said. "Ye've come at a bit of a bad time."
With the last of the goblins driven off and the merchants safely inside, Xenos dispatched patrols to scour the region for any more lurking goblins. None were found.
The elves had brought a variety of goods. Deviled acquired food, drink, seeds, thread, dye, and exotic animals in exchange for several bins full of second-hand clothes. The merchants were delighted.
The wounded soldier was brought into the hospital, where she was diagnosed by the nurse Frosty.
"You have a broken leg," she told the soldier. "It'll have to be stitched, dressed, and set, but with the aid of a crutch you should be out of bed soon."
"I want a second opinion," said the wounded soldier.
Frosty called in the Chief Medical Dwarf, Doctor Channeldrake. She took a look at the injuries.
"Your leg's broken," she said. "It'll need sutures, dressing, and a splint. You'll be able to walk with a crutch, though."
"I want a third opinion," said the soldier.
The doctor called Frosty back in. She sighed, and took another look.
"Your leg's
still broken," she said, wearily. "It'll need to be stitched, dressed, and set."
"I want a fourth opinion..."
The diagnoses continued as spring slipped into summer.
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Topic: Ardentdikes - Absolute disaster - (31.25) (Succession)(Need Players!) (Read 222308 times)