((
Unfortunately, artifacts from a previous fort will not act properly at the reclaim, and if you deconstruct any of the artifact buildings, they will disappear also. It is rather unfortunate as they will not be able to be recovered. On a side note, is Neo still corporeal?
Dang! That is sad. Also, yes, he's still around.))
I Will Not Make a "They Might Be Giants" Joke Here:
Or, Yet Another SiegeProfessor Featherlog was thrilled “This is fascinating! Those “giants”, as I'm sure you know, are actually what we naturalists call Jotunar. I didn’t even think they existed! Their coming is said to herald the end of days, you know.”
Wilberforce nodded, on the assumption that that was the safest response. “Is it. Is it. Some sort of prophecy?” He looked out over the battlements. The giants were marching towards the gates. They were huge, but seemed to compensate by moving incredibly slow. It had been a week since they had arrived, and they were just getting within crossbow range.
“Oh no. Just a general sort of end of days thing. Frogs fall from the sky, fish walk on land, the Jotunar march from their icy homes, sort of thing.”
“Well, it will be the end of their days if I have anything to say about it! They’ve never been here before, so I say we give them the old trap introduction. Drop the bridge on anyone who doesn’t want a new home in a cage. Not sure what we’ll do if it starts to rain frogs, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”
Professor Featherlog shook her head. “No, no! Wilberforce, that won’t work at all. Legend tells that they’re immune to traps.”
“Awfully specific, these legends.”
"Oh, there's all sorts of stories about them. Some are said to wield fire, others the power of frost. They're the will of the gods, made flesh." Noticing that Wilberforce and some of the others were giving her odd looks, she added "According to legends, of course."
It was at that point that the lead giant spoke, his voice echoing over the plain. “Fall on your knees, accursed dwarfs, for the doom of the gods is upon you!”
Wilberforce cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted “What? Details, my good fellow! What are you here for?”
The giant ignored him. “I, Rime Giant, Noble of the Jotunar, Holy Being among Ants, declare this foul edifice a sin against Rakust. I shall tear it down, piece by piece, until not one stone remains. All shall be dust! Like specks of filth purest glass are you, and like specks shall you be wiped away! Know that doom is...”
The giant carried on for a while, all the while slowly striding toward the fortress. The others seemed to be hanging back. “All right, new plan.” Wilberforce said. “Let him get over the gate, then we close it, and kill him. I’m sure we can handle one giant.”
It was a reasonable plan. The only trouble came when the militia was summoned; most of them turned out to be at a party honoring the fact that they were having a party. Only Roy made it to the surface in time.
..................................
The leader of the giants, still describing what he planned to do to Oceanbridge, crossed over the gate, and it closed behind him.
He didn’t seem to notice. “Come, puny dwarfs! Come and face your doom! Ice shall find you, and ice grind you to a- Oh, Rakust’s Balls!” A crossbow bolt, hardly larger than a pin compared to the giant, hit him in the leg while he shouted.
Roy and her tiger had arrived at the gate, and she fired as soon as she could. Unfortunately, that meant she was busy reloading the crossbow, while the infuriated, and now speechless giant charged. Her war tiger saved her again, leaping at the giant, claws bared.
It was an impressive sight, or would have been, except the Rime Giant easily slapped the tiger aside with the flat of his sword. Another slow swing knocked Roy from her feet, bruised and shaken but unhurt. From the ground, Roy could see that her tiger was badly hurt, and in no shape to move. The giant began to slowly bring his sword around for the killing blow.
Roy did the first thing she could think to do, which for some reason meant she jumped onto the Rime Giant’s tree trunk sized ankle and started punching and scratching, biting and kicking. She expected to distract it for a minute, maybe, and somehow buy time for her tiger, and for help to arrive.
She did not expect to tear a piece of the giant's ankle off in her hands like it was paper. She fell to the ground with about a yard of skin gripped in her fists. Several barrels worth of blood followed her.
The Rime Giant blinked, looked down to see that a chunk of its foot was missing, and then, with very little fuss, collapsed. A cage trap snapped under the weight, imprisoning the huge figure, somehow.
The rest of the militia arrived shortly after. The Scout was first on the scene, and he saw Roy with her “prize”. “Damn! You showed him “
Roy dropped the skin piece, and tried to shake some of the blood out of her ears. “I... Yes, I think I did.”
The giant army were plainly puzzled by their leader's fate. Eventually they began wandering off, a few of them shaking their fists in the direction of the fort. The Scout waved back “Looks like the rest of them are running away! Scared off! ’S a good message to take back to their bosses. Attack Oceanbridge, and we’ll tear you apart with our bare hands, because we are goddamn crazy in here!”
......................
Next: Poltergeists and Possessions
((Note: Yes, Roy just broke that siege singlehanded, and barehanded. It was crazy.))