So I have this adventurer, a dwarf swordsman, called Aban Diamondtowns. He's a legend.
He has killed, by himself, all of the megabeasts in his world. This includes around 7 dragons, 3 hydras, 5 bronze colossi, and so on. Regrettably, there's one dragon he can't kill, one that went zombie. When they meet (twice so far) when Aban slices its head, the dragon just vanishes, and the kill is not counted and it eventually re appears. Aban considers this dragon his personal nemesis.
He has racked up more than a thousand notable kills, including the elf druid, princess and king, whose heads he keeps in the lair he adopted and redecorated for himself. Which, it should be mentioned, is filled with barrels of booze and dragon meat and offal.
Eventually, I got bored of kicking ass with Aban. It was too easy because he was nigh-invincible, and he already had achieved all the glory he possibly could.
So I retired him in a peaceful hamlet, and started making forts around in the same world. In one of them, Aban was so revered, that an artifact silver short sword, called Othorvush "The Erased Heat", was made in his honor. It's not too fancy, just a silver short sword with an image of Aban Diamondtown the Charms of Society on it. I at least think the name is fitting, due to his habit of killing dragons, "erasing their heat" so to speak. Still, he doesn't use it, because it's made of silver, and silver swords suck.
But in another fort, while searching for the blue metal, the dwarves found a curious underground structure. "What can I do with this?" I wondered. I could have invaded the demonic fortress with the militia, but they were too weak and wouldn't last long.
And then it struck me. There was only one being worthy enough of claiming the legendary adamantine weapon that rested in the deep. Only one so powerful as to challenge the hordes of the netherworld in single combat, and actually stand a chance. Only one had achieved so much, that the only path to further glory, laid in dying a glorious, heroic death, while battling the forces of Hell in solitude. So I had my dwarves build a stairway to the first level of the Fortress, abandoned it, and visited the site with Aban.
Aban, his trusty +adamantine short sword+ at the ready, entered the domain of the unholy with caution. There wasn't much on the first three levels of the Fortress, just some random zombified critters that fell with no effort on his side.
Finally, he then reached the upright adamantine sword. It stood there, silently, hundreds or even thousands of feet deep, in all its majestic beauty, emitting a faint blueish glow. The greed that ran through his dwarven veins overcame Aban, and he reached for it, claiming it, and at the same opening a portal to Hell itself. Of course, he laughed manically and began his descent again.
What followed was level after level of Aban fighting varied demons, and pretty much slaughtering them with his new masterwork weapon. After a while I learned which demons were weak (snow demons), which were dangerous, and which were very dangerous (damn you three-eyed monsters...). Aban passed through many levels. Some were plain, others took the form of labyrinthine corridors, others (the worst) consisted of just thin strips of floating floor, where, had Aban dodged to the side in battle, he would have fallen to his death.
Eventually, after what I think were about 40 z levels of descent if you started counting from the upright weapon, and after leaving about a hundred dead demons in his wake, Aban started to feel the effects of battle. One of his shoulders was badly damaged, and he was tired and had lost a lot of blood. A thought then crossed his mind. "I can't perish here. Who is going to kill all the elves! and the kobolds!". And so, he mustered resolve for what seemed impossible. He would return to the surface, even if it mean facing a hundred more demons in the 40 z level climb to the top of the Fortress.
About twenty levels in, I reached on of those levels where you have no space to dodge, and it was crawling with demons. I was pretty sure this was the end for Aban, as he would surely dodge or be knocked down into the abyss. I was ok with it, it was the best death he could possibly have. But then, I received some extremely unexpected assistance, from extremely unexpected beings.
Yes, your eyes are fine. Those are pigeons, deep in Hell, battling demons. One on one.
As you can see in the above picture, the Eagles, no doubt inspired by the tremendous courage of their tiny pigeon brethren, decided to join the carnage. And though all of the birds involved in the fighting died, they fought bravely and well, and many a demon met its end at their claws, harassed into falling down the abyss by the flying heroes. They succesfully held back the demon horde for a crucial moment, allowing Aban Diamondtowns, now forever humbled by their sacrifice, to leave that dangerous z level and escape to the surface.
That's one of the top levels. By then, Aban was safe. Still, the lone pidgeon stood guard, prepared to die in glorious, hopeless combat.
That's Aban killing some random demon.
That's the total demon kill count of Aban's adventure in hell. It's the sword that opened the portal too.
Suffice to say, the first thing Aban did once he reached his hideout, was build a small shrine in honor of the fallen birds. To do this, he devoted one of the masterwork bronze statues the colossi give you when they die, and he put below the bones of a fallen pigeon, as well as a severed head of every demon race he encountered in the deep. He prays there daily, and likes to think that the world, aware of how much Aban had given, had sent him assistance when he most needed it.
*jaw hits ground with a very loud CLANG* *bolts jaw back into place*
This story is truly amazing. If I were Aban, I would see the Eagles as a blessing, as I am Native American.
Get Three-toe to read this and see if He'll publish it on the Three-toe's Stories section of Bay12Games.com.
You don't have to delete one version of DF to get the next. Name the first one something like "DF v(whatever version #)" To do so, right click on the big orange DF, select "Properties", go to the first tab in the screen, click the name box, and type in what I've lain out. Download the next version, and do the same. That way, you won't get too horribly confused about which version you're using.
It's a terrible pity that you deleted the save with Aban. If it were possible, he should have been crowned by his civ's Monarch and become the king of his nation. In times of war, when a goblin civ besieged their capital, Aban would call upon his troops and lead a mighty Crusade against the gobbos. The Great Crusade of Aban Diamondtowns the Charms of Society, it should be called.
But otherwise, here's what I think:
This is a masterwork story. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality. On the item is an image of Aban Diamondtowns the Charms of Society surrounded by demons in dragon bone. Aban Diamondtowns is slaying the demons. The image is a reference to Aban Diamondtown's journey to the Underworld in the early-mid-late season in whatever-the-year-was. This item menaces with spikes of awesomeness. It is encircled with bands of dragon bone. This object is adorned with hanging rings of demon bone.
I'll try and make a Human, Vamarian, Dwarven, or even High Elven adventurer adventurer in v0.31.24 with the Civ Forge and Wanderer's Friend mods to try and beat Aban's power (probably not likely, as I tend to get killed within 2-3 game days of adventuring). A regular Elven adventurer doing this seems... uncouth to most, but would be an impossibly amazing feat, esp. if the elf found Adamantine weapons and armour to take to his advantage.
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Topic: My adventurer's descent into the depths (SPOILERS) (Read 29497 times)