Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[DS]

can you come back to the fort as an adventurer to continue the story? it would be awesome for a dwarf to come back to all this awesomeness and wonder, what happened to this place?

Unfortunately, no. The game crashes upon attempting to enter the fort as an adventurer, and that's in the oldest save I have (year 188). In the current save, I can't abandon the fort and the game crashes upon the last dwarf's death, so you can't even change modes, unless you use a 3rd party utility.

It would have been awesome, though.

Have you tried using that third party utility? It might be a !!fun!! challenge for the fans to try to destroy that last goblin siege with the injured(?) mayor.

I have, and it appears to work quite well. After things finish, I'll release the untampered (relatively speaking) save, as well as a few saves as different adventurers.

[DS]

The invaders stood just beyond the doorway at the end of the tunnel, sputtering with fury at the open vastness of the grotto into which they had entered. Ahead and above them, concentric circles of alternating light and dark rock were dimly lit by a constantly shifting, deep red glow. The vast ceiling of the grotto was lit brighter and brighter as it stretched away into the void, eventually becoming a wall rather than a ceiling, but the source of the glow could not be seen - it was hidden from sight by the silhouette of some kind of massive rock formation, which stretched across the grotto.

Up above, however, the carved underside of a massive ring, supported by stone pillars, was lit from below by a circular pool of magma, clearly visible to the goblins. The pool was situated in the middle of a flat area, which the goblins could plainly see was polished - the reflection of the ceiling colored the entire top of the broad, central structure a constantly shifting red. And there, through the blackness, Damsto could see a multitude of the hated dwarves, as if gathered for some kind of meeting, each one a black silhouette against the glow. without waiting any longer, urged his squad down the causeway and into the darkness.

The goblin's own torches had served them well in the mines so far, but from here, atop what was apparently some kind of high causeway, their light fell upon the dark void beyond the walkway and lit nothing. Both the vast wall behind them and the pillars supporting the causeway below them stretched away into the blackness after only a few dozen feet. Their torches' reflections shined in the polished rock beneath their boots. Occasionally, a goblin peeked over the edge of the causeway - and there, away in the blackness, was his own reflection in some black, still lake far below.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Soon, the invaders reached the bottom of the causeway, and the front of a massive rough-hewn facade rose up in the darkness before them. The causeway spread open into a broad ledge, lined on its edges with coffins, finely crafted of reflective obsidian. The floor was smooth - polished with the wear of countless dwarven feet through the years. Ahead, two doors led to an upward staircase immediately inside the structure, and around it were arrayed three statues. The two flanking statues were masterfully crafted of shining steel - dwarves striking menacing poses as they raised from the dead - but the statue in between the doorways was made of a brilliantly shining metal Damsto had only heard of in myths.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Damsto sneered at the statues. Dwarves. If he and his kind knew the secret of creating steel - let alone adamantine - they wouldn't use it to make something as wasteful as statues. The spearmaster looked the adamantine dwarf in the eye and spat at it. Each goblin in turn spat upon the statue as they passed through the doorways and into the monolithic structure.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Solon threw herself against the steel door, slamming it shut all the way - then she pulled the lock, sealing the door shut. There was no other way into or out of the lever room, and the steel doors were exceptionally crafted, and designed to withstand force. Well, there was one other way into the map room - but the chance of the goblins finding that way in was incredibly unlikely. She pulled herself into a sitting position against the door, sighed, and looked silently upon the miniature replica of the dome.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

We need someone to get in there and explore. SOMEHOW.

Also, has this been put up in the Hall of Legends? I think this is pretty much worthy of it.

[darkflagrance]

I wonder if mishaps in the machinery refilling the lava will cause what I suspect will happen

 

[DS]

(Up until now, I've been referring to Damsto Pullwitches as a spearmaster, but he is actually a pikemaster. Not a huge difference, and I'll probably go back and edit some posts to avoid future confusion.)

Beyond the stairs, inside the massive rock, the goblins found a large open area, though small enough to be lit by their torches. Ledge, ramps, and stairs connected various exits and entrances to the smoothed, engraved floor 20 feet below them. Statues of what appeared to be giant eagles were placed here and there, interspersed between the long tables, lined with chairs. In the far corner, barely within the illumination of their torches, the floor was covered with small piles of bones.

Drawn by instinct, or a distinct dwarven scent, or some other hint of their quarry's location, the goblins creep to the north. They soon find themselves at a five-way junction - the founder's square. By now, Damsto has picked up the trail of one of the last dwarves. He rushes through the mezzanine of the red guildhall, making for the upper stairwell.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Onol Plaitorbs, stonecrafter lay asleep in bed, a few stories up, blissfully unaware of the dangers that he, along with mayor Tun Dyefight and the other merchants, had unleashed upon Weatherwires.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The pikemaster entered the room, and moved silently to the dwarf's bed. Three ghosts are mute witnesses to the stonecrafter's murder.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Mercifully, he is likely never aware of the goblin's presence. He never awakens.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Down below, Damsto met Kutsmob Controlledseduced, the mace lord and third captain of the siege. Kutsmob had undoubtedly been following the same trail which led the pikemaster to the stonecrafter, but Damsto quickly informs the mace lord of the killing. Having little idea where the final dwarves were, they decide to split forces - Damsto would head south, and Kutsmob up, to find any other denizens.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Just inside the large interior chamber, Damsto found another dwarf: Goden Mawknife, bone carver.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Goden turned and ran out of the south exit, and Damsto burst into a spring after him. They crossed a short causeway that led to a massive rock edifice, surrounded by spires of rock that rose from the darkness below and into the void above.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The much more agile pikemaster easily caught up to Goden. A deep stab with his silver pike to the dwarf's left lower leg brought his quarry to a stop, and another quick stab to the throat confirmed the kill.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Goden collapsed against the lowest steps of the barracks, his throat gushing noisily out over the stairs. With a third stab to the skull, the pikemaster pierced the dwarf's brain. The gurgling noises ceased, and the grotto was silent.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Lordraymond]

Only two dwarves left now, right? There were seven, three died, then two more in this update, unless I'm mistaken somewhere.

[DS]

There were seven: the mayor died, then the commander, then two more on the surface, then two more in this update. One remains.

[DS]

While Damsto and his spearmen ran down the bone carver outside the barracks, Kutsmob leads his squad up the stairs from the dining hall, to the top of the mesa. To their furious surprise, the dwarves they had seen when they first entered the dome - those silhouettes atop the dimly lit central structure - were in fact nothing more than a mass of statues, each one a finely crafted representation of a laboring dwarf.

They cursed and swore amongst each other, wondering where to search next, when their captain called their attention to the top of the nearby structure. Movement! Dwarves, perhaps, or some of their pets. The goblins rushed across the bridge that connected the two stone buildings, and climbed the stair that led to the roof.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kutsmob paused at the landing, the hatch held open, and stared out through the goblin-cap and tower-cap grove that covered the roof. There, scattering in fear at his appearance, was a large tribe of plump helmet men, over which towered two panicking rutherers. The mace lord grinned evilly and charged the nearest humanoid mushroom.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The rest of his squad charged up the stairwell and threw aside the grates. With various battle cries and curses, the hammermen charged into the fray, swinging at the mushroom folk with their hammers. With no bones, a single hammer strike to the arm or hand was enough to sever that appendage.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The plump helmet men gave no real resistance, being unable to land a single blow. None of the mushroom folk were skilled in any kind of combat, and merely ran frantically about the top of the guildhall like panicking animals. They were brilliant thinkers and philosophers, not warriors.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kutsmob waded through the fray, bashing limbs off of several of the small humanoids with his silver flail, until he passed a little too close to one of the rutherers. The creature, though not trained for war, snapped at the mace lord, biting his right hand (with which he held his flail), and with a quick flick of its neck, tore the appendage free.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The silver flail clattered to the ground. Kutsmob gripped the stump of his right forearm, which was spraying blood all about, and howled a retreat. He disappeared down the stairwell, and his squad soon followed, withdrawing completely from the top of the guildhall without any further conflict. The mace lord flees from the dome, leading his squad back to the surface.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Cellmonk]

That scared the mushroom-paste outa me. I though they were going to kill the mushroom men! Thank armok for the rutherer. You know, that would be an interesting game, to play as a mushroom man adventurer. Grab the fallen mace. Bash some gobbo skulls.

[Poindexterity]

god im DYING over here!
what did that lever do?
what's the "other" way into the map room?
AAAARRRRRGH!

[DS]

god im DYING over here!
what did that lever do?
what's the "other" way into the map room?
AAAARRRRRGH!

The lever Solon pulled is linked to 10 nether-cap hatches, which cover 10 separate drains which link the magma tube and the second cavern layer. When open, the volcano drains, revealing the obsidian structure - when closed, the volcano naturally refills, sealing the entrance once again. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

As for the "other way" ... I had intentionally made that vague, since it wasn't really important to the plot, it would have taken extra time to explain, and I didn't want to spoil anything for would-be adventurers. But since, as an adventurer, you can just bash down locked doors anyway (and thus break into the map room that way), I might as well tell you.

Way back during the days when the dome was filled with magma, I had plenty of passages in and around the fortress that would not be flooded with magma. Almost the entire hewn city was beneath the surface of the artificial magma sea, rendering it, in the words of Girlinhat, a kind of dwarven atlantis. The only parts of the city that were visible above the magma were the ringed temple, and the summit of the citadel. Everything else was connected via small passages between guildhalls.

Since, at this time, the dwarves were still frequenting the surface ("recruiting" merchants, hauling goods to and from, etc.), there also needed to be some kind of tunnel to the surface. That passage which I had planned to be (and has since become) the main entrance - the serpentine causeway/coffin antechamber/sealed passage which has been featured in the past few updates - was still flooded with magma, an alternate route was needed. Thus, bridges were constructed, stretching from the citadel, to the ringed temple, to a long backdoor passage which led directly to the map room. The map room was thus connected to the sealed passage, and hence to the surface.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The connection from the map room to the passage itself is still there, but is inaccessible. After the dome was drained of magma, there was no need for the alternate route - a channel was dug, a bridge constructed, and a lever pulled. That route has been closed ever since. However, if one were to find it, it would prove to be much quicker than attempting to navigate the winding avenues inside the dome.

[DS]

As Kutsmob the one-handed fled from the dome, followed by his squad in a hasty retreat, the other two goblin captains made their way to the summit of the black and white guildhall. Ago the axe lord laughed scornfully at the mace lord as they passed each other upon the serpentine causeway, and gave no heed to the defeated captain's warnings of a "killer rutherer."

After slaying the dwarf at the barracks, Damsto and his spearmen returned to the open-aired dining hall. After climbing another stairwell, they exited the mesa through a doorway to the southwest, and crossed a small bridge into the adjacent mezzanine.

They had crossed countless bridges like these, which crossed the narrow voids between the stone structures, the bottoms of which the torchlight could not reach. The bottom of this expanse, however, was visible as a constantly shifting lake of magma, which lit the entire western half of the dome from below.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The pikemaster ascended the stairs, passing by clusters of apartments which reeked faintly of dwarves - none of them had lived here recently. He reached another dining hall, furnished with tables and chairs crafted out of hard, white fungus. Damsto spat. Fungus - the dwarves loved it, but the goblins hated it.

He left the dining hall through a side passage, went down a ramp, and stood in a moss-covered archway. Beyond was the empty void, lit dimply with magmalight - he was atop one of the structures, Damsto knew. But to the left, inside, was a staircase that went up - a staircase still wet with goblin blood. Readying his pike, the captain ascended the stairs.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The plump helmet man scattered as the pike master, the tip of his weapon still dripping dwarf blood, emerged from the steel hatch. He cackled - the mace lord had been defeated by mushroom folk and beasts of burden!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Without wasting any more time ridiculing Kutsmob, the pikemaster dove in amongst the plump helmet men, cutting a swath through them with his silver pike. His squad climbed up through the hatches after him, and began driving the small humanoids about, cutting off their limbs before finally delivering the killing blow.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[DS]

One spearman bull rushed a child, and the diminutive mushroom person, already missing an arm and a leg, tumbled backwards over the edge of the guildhall. The poor creature fell quickly by another squad of goblins - Ago Incestchained and his swordsmen - before disappearing into the crack between the buildings. She plummeted into the magma lake, and was incinerated.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

By the time Ago and his squad reached the summit of the building, there was little left to be done. Dismembered arms and legs, all purple and lacking fingers or toes, littered the top of the structure. The few remaining plump helmet man ran, panicked and helpless, from tree to tree, desperately hoping to find some sort of cover. There was none.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The goblins descended upon the last few mushroom folk, slaughtering them without mercy. There were no warriors amongst their victims who fought back, no resistance given. They fell quickly and offered no battle.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Soon, there was only one left - one of the legendary thinkers and socialites of the plump helmet folk, one of the original few who were captured and tamed before 226.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Her legendary skills are of no use to her now. If she could speak, or the goblins could interpret her spore-language, they might have some common ground, some way to communicate - but alas, there is no way to negotiate with these invaders. Perhaps, in her final moments, this great mind finds some kind of peace, some way to cope with her rapidly approaching demise - if she does, we will never know.

The crowd of warriors surround the plump helmet woman, striking repeatedly until all that remains is a pile of finely minced plump helmet.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The goblins stood victorious atop the black and white guildhall, amidst piles of plump helmet tissue and rutherer blood. The dome echoed with evil laughter and the clang of weapons against shields.

They are all likely unaware that they have slaughtered those who would have been the heirs to the dwarves' legacy - though, if they knew the importance of the plump helmet men, and their unique talents, they would have surely sought them out first, upon entering the dome. It is, ultimately, a moot point - the nascent tribe of brilliant, yet innocent plump helmet men, which showed such promise in its infancy, has been snuffed out. Their demise is just one more instance of the cruel hand of fate dealing a callous blow to the accursed fortress.

So it goes, in Weatherwires.

[DS]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The two captains met and discussed their next move, but neither had any good plan - they were baffled. They were sure there was a dwarf in the fortress, somewhere - their intuition, born out of a natural hatred for dwarves, confirmed this - but they had no idea where it was.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Solon Townclenched silently sat in the map room, her back against one of the mighty steel doors. She was not alone. No less than 21 ghosts floated about her, keeping a grim company with the last dwarf. Among them were many merchants, who she knew in life. Others were merchant guards who had died on the surface, their bodies left to rot by the dwarves of Weatherwires. Soon, she knew, she would join them.

The last dwarf of the Merchant of Echoing sighed and looked out upon the miniature replica of the dome city before her. She was sure that the goblins had found their way into the dome, and had slain her comrades. Her only hope was that the caldera would refill before they could turn and escape - that they too would be caught forever in this haunted dome.

But then, that would hardly change things for the dwarves. As her stomach began to rumble with hunger, Solon reflected upon the fact that, whether or not the goblins were trapped in Weatherwires, her story would end here, in the map room. Nobody would ever know of these final days - unless she recorded it. She pulled herself away from the door and crawled down the ramp, towards the southern exit. Behind that door was a long passageway that led to a dead-end. It was the backdoor route of the fortress, which had only been used when the dome had been filled with magma, and the primary exit had been inaccessible. Now, the only way into that alternate passage was from the map room, or (if one pulled the right levers) from the citadel. But the goblins would not find that route, she was sure.

Solon pushed aside the steel door and crawled into the long hallway. Years ago, as a way for the engravers to hone their skills, the floors and walls of the passage had been smoothed - but they had never been engraved. Although she had no skill at detailing stone, and it was likely that she would die of starvation before her tale was complete, she was surprisingly content.

She was getting used to tragedy.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Cellmonk]

NOT THE PLUMP HELMET MEN!!

Are there any survivors? any at all? Any which might have wandered away?