((This is just what everyone wants after an absence: A post with no pictures! I don't even know. BAH))
From the Memoirs of Wilberforce Ambrose Ropenourished:And the siege continues, my friends. Relentless things, these sieges! Not least because these goblins refuse to attack us. With their steeds, they could simply fly over our walls and wreak incredible havoc, but they refuse to do so. Perhaps they regard it as unsporting.
One brave archer with whom I am not personally acquainted did try to kill a few of them, and was shot full of holes for his troubles.
But there’s another reason I rushed to my office today, my quill pen at the ready. For years, we’ve wondered why Oceanbridge seems to attract just about every hostile army known to exist, and quite a few that were unknown. We may at last have an answer, though how satisfactory it is may depend on the reader.
It began on the first day of summer. Spirits were low, largely due to the low number of spirits in stock. I had been working without much enthusiasm on something or other, when I heard a voice whispering from my room's door.
“Wilberforce!”
Now, living in a fortress filled to bursting with ghosts, poltergeists, and other such things with a knack for possessing one leaves a dwarf a bit cautious about random whispering. Still, it would have been rude not to answer, and I did.
The dwarf who stepped around the corner wasn’t one I recognized, at least not at first.
She introduced herself as Aban Brothertreaties, the founder of this fortress, and if I recall correctly, a cousin of some sort of mine. This was surprising.
At a lack, I asked her how the family was, and she replied that they were all dead, which was a bit of a blow. And what she told me after that made that blow seem like a staid breeze.
To make matters simple, and to avoid the overlong explanations that you my readers, likely dread: She had been back to the Mountainhomes, and found them destroyed. Our dear mad queen is dead, along with most of dwarven civilization, save Oceanbridge and scattered outposts, and other madness induced projects like our own.
The cause of all this she seemed a bit shaky on, but it seemed to involved the god Rakust, and some sort of curse that has left him trapped, as well as all of the other gods, who are upset about this and that. Rakust is the god of death, of course, and it appears that his trapped state has left things in disarray, and the whole pantheon in a "state". You know how gods are. The gist of it is that we need to finish our bridge, and find a way to satisfy the other gods, whatever their deal is. Oh, and find a way to free Rakust.
Well, the bit with Rakust certainly makes sense, when one considers the mess that ghosts have made of this place! There’s a new ghost wandering about these days, one of the various Ishar’s that have lived here. Not ours, of course. She’s still alive and well, so far as I know.
I won't say how much of the rest of her message I believe. These are unusual times, certainly, but not that unusual!
It was quite a lot to take in in one sitting, so I stood. I explained to Aban that I appreciated the information, and that I’d certainly think about it. But as I’m not the mayor anymore (nor is Mr. Anderson. Some nobody named Zun claimed that title just days ago), I couldn’t do much about it. She left disappointed, I think, with a warning to not let on that I knew she was back here in Oceanbridge. Odd request, and the end of an odd conversation.
It’s now early Autumn, and I’m left with this news on my hands, and no idea of what to do about it. I might tell a few close associates, if nothing else. I do believe her about the homeland. We haven't seen a caravan in all my time here, and our migrants come from other colonies. That at least needs to be known by everyone.
It occurs to me that she also didn’t tell me who destroyed to Mountainhomes...
((HUMBUG.))
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Topic: Oceanbridge - A Fortress Defense Community Fort: Reclaimed, Again! (And Again) (Read 180544 times)