But before I can tell you that story, I have to tell you this story.
The smallish continent known as the Land of Murders has not known the light of civilization for long -- only fifty years ago did seafarers from the distant lands begin to settle it. However, after those mere five decades, the seeds of what may become great histories have already been sown.
For now, let us look at the three fledgling dwarven nations. One, The Quiet Bridge of the frozen south, is mostly boring, aside from their secretive arms-dealing to both sides of a nearby elf-human war. Another, The Pulley of Wringing of the eastern ridges, is also content, aside from occasional raids from the nearby difficult-to-pronounce kobold den of Thlafafablarbin. For a tale worthy of telling, the third Dwarven nation, The Peaceful Viper-Razors of the western spires, seems the most promising, so we shall examine its current predicament.
Once, the Peaceful Viper-Razors were indeed peaceful, but from out of the dark and jagged peaks on the far shore of a nearby inland sea, Smug, the Lilac Demon and Master of the rising goblin empire, has begun to ignite the flames of war. His dark towers of Zonngokang are situated in a fell mountain range known by many names; though officially called the Dour Fingers, some also speak of the range as the Demon's Claw, or the Dark Cross.
Already the goblins have begun expanding to the mountain range on the north shores, no doubt preparing to strike the dwarves from both sides in a pincer attack. In the interest of national security, a small band of bold dwarves have been sent to build an outpost deep within enemy territory. For there, at the tallest Finger at the south end of the Cross, a base camp would be established which would one day aid the dwarves in their defense against the Lilac Demon.
That day, should it ever arise, will likely be long after our tales have reached their conclusion, for Smug has the patience of the immortals and bides his time. Until then, we shall follow the lives of these dwarves who dwell in the shadow of the Demon's Claw. More specifically, we shall follow one Solon Cruxdagger -- Doc Cruxdagger to his friends -- for it is his vision that will, in years to come, drive this fortress to a new, far bolder purpose.
The outpost administrators in the mountainhomes had decided on the name Heavenscrapes
**, for the mighty mountains of the Demon's Claw seem to clutch at the very halls of Armok himself. Whether this newly-founded fortress will survive to live up to its name will be determined by a chief doctor who didn't even managed to reach the base camp at the valley floor before being headbutted partway down the mountain by a local goat, breaking two of his limbs.
**My apologies to the fine folks at Skyscrapes. I rarely frequent the Community Games & Stories forum, and if I looked at it BEFORE I finished embarking I'd've used a different name.
Doc Cruxdagger's Journal
28 Felsite, 51The bloody roof still leaks.
It's all that miner Zuntir's fault. It was his brilliant idea to make mud for a mushroom farm by digging a big room underneath a pond and poking a hole in the roof. It worked, but now the only place I can hang around in without tripping over a rock and sending bolts of excruciating pain through my still-mending upper leg has a steady drip. Apparently our fearless leader wasn't aware that ponds don't just appear out of nowhere; something has to fill them up. Something like rain. Something which, apparently, happens here quite a lot. And now he justifies his decision with the reasoning that it'll keep the mud from drying up, and refuses to plug up the hole.
Anyway, we got in a fairly minor argument -- we didn't even sever anything -- and in a fit of anger, he shouted that if
I was so smart,
I could be the Chief Foreman and Architect. So now I'm in charge of planning out the fortress and designating all the rooms and buildings. It'll be a handful on top of the medical work I'll be doing in the future, but despite the creepy purplish tinge around the mountain I've yet to see anything more dangerous than that goat, so maybe it won't be as bad as the legends make it out to be.
Zuntir still refuses to fix the leaky farm room, though. I suppose he has a point about the mud, but I still want to get back at him. Maybe I'll design a fortress that can't possibly have a leaky roof. That'll show him... nah, it'd have to be rediculously tall. I'll just start getting us further underground, once we finish getting settled in. Next on the agenda will be getting a hospital set up. I was trained by the finest lumberjack in the whole of the Viper-Razors, I should be able to get this leg patched up.
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Topic: The journey of a thousand boulders begins with a single leak in the roof. (Read 2006 times)