One of the several side passages that lead from the surface to the dome, previously walled up, was opened, and two dwarves rushed through the claustrophobic, labyrinthine mines to meet the trolls in combat. Two dwarves... Vabôk Earthenfins the Tight Mechanisms of Whirling, and Libash Dippedurns the Ageless Deep of Rhymes. Both are the last survivors of a brutal experiment which took place during the early years of Weatherwires. A group of fresh immigrants in 148 were enlisted into the military, and - to their dismay, I'm sure - equipped with large iron daggers which had been scrounged from goblin thieves. During 149, Libash distinguished herself as a troll-killer, using weapon she later named the Languishing Daggers. Vabôk, however, has a more distinguished record - in 151, 152, and 153, he slew the mountain titan, the plains titan, and a cyclops, respectively. After his third kill, he was named militia commander, and has remained so ever since. With only Libash to train with, the two became legendary knife-users, then legendary wrestlers, and then legendary speardwarves. The two currently wield two artifact adamantine spears (both have over sixty kills), to great effect:
Vabôk wields The Blockaded Pungency.
Libash wields The Orb of Fires.
Needless to say, they made quick work of the trolls.
The rest of the military moved to secure the fort's primary entrance, while the civilians went about the work of hauling corpses down into the dome. Since the dwarves were already up there, I didn't see any reason why they wouldn't deconstruct all the coffins in the upper fort and transfer the dead into the dome. Also, I am in the process of sealing the windmill farm, as well as fixing the new dome entrance so that it is troll-proof:
Since up/down staircases and grates do not 'hold' magma (it always recedes into the empty space beneath), this area can be filled with magma, then drained, and be accessible to foot traffic the moment it is cleared without having to wait for the molten rock to dry. When the caldera fills, anything the trolls might be able to destroy will be below the surface of the magma. The blue door at at the end of the grate walkway is Syrupsever, a nether-cap door, beyond which is the passage to the dome.
I am currently deliberating on what to do about the duke's tomb:
It is a side chamber adjoining the highest ledge of what was once the quarters of duke, during Weatherwires' heyday. Now, it is a lonely place, barely travelled, even by the duke's widow, and seems forgotten by the dwarves.
The statue before the tomb is an exceptionally designed image of Kogsak Murdershot the dwarf and dwarves in marble by Domas 'Murdershot' Tanineth. The dwarves are refusing Kogsak Murdershot. Kogsak Murdershot is making a submissive gesture. The artwork relates to the fall of the dwarf Kogsak Murdershot from the position of duke of the Diamond Cloisters in the midwinter of 135.
Kogsak was removed from the position of duke when he was stricken with melancholy during the great tantrum spiral of that year. He starved to death later that winter.
The problem here is that, unlike the various other coffins in the upper fort, the duke's tomb cannot be deconstructed. Tombs cannot be assigned to dead dwarves, so his resting place must remain where it is, unless he is to be interred into the vast rows of coffins being constructed in the dome. However, his tomb may then be despoiled by trolls when they next arrive, so something must be done about the situation.
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Topic: The Saga of Weatherwires: Children of Dwarves (spoilers + image heavy) (Read 159371 times)