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[varnish]

((This old thing again? Yes))

Exerpt from "The Decline and Fall of the Dwarf People", by E. Taksmo

...After the retreat of the dwarfs from the great Mountainhomes, the authority of the humans gained a precarious establishment in the hills. The disaster that afflicted the dwarfs fell with equal savagery on our own ancestors, and it was only by emulating those great builders to a degree that they survived at all. The floodplains and the rich lands surrounding the rivers were abandoned to the ravages of nature and beast. Fortified keeps replaced the un-walled cities, towns and villages. Trade did not thrive in those days, but such as it was a necessity of life, some brave or foolhardy individuals did dare to leave the safe confines of their homes and venture into the wilds...

..........................

Thekban, Merchant Adventurer always kept an ear out for rumors about dwarfs. Wherever you found the little bastards, profits weren't far behind.

And everyone these days was talking about Oceanbridge. The dwarfs were back, and boy were they building something big. He knew what that meant. The crazy little people would need wood, and food, and booze (oh so much booze). And wouldn't you know it, Thekban, Merchant Adventurer was just the man to supply them with those things, in exchange for some exceptionally crafted mugs, of course. Within a week of hearing the rumors, he had hired a caravan and an excellent (read, crazy) crew of bodyguards. They set off at once.

He and his men made the perilous journey along the coast in record time. The ogres that normally trudged around seemed to have all disappeared. No skeletal seagulls dove on them, and the fish stayed put in the water. It was uncanny.



When at last they arrived at Oceanbridge, Thekban saw why. The undead hadn't been driven away, not at all. They had set up shop here.

He smiled, and unsheathed his sword.



..........................

That was how the situation looked from the human side. The dwarfs, and in particular Bayar and Dimaga watched from the walls, and saw a band of filthy maniacs carve a bloody path through the zombies outside, their scimitar wielding leader laughing as he went. The fighting was vicious, and bloody, but somehow, the humans were winning.



All in all, it was a sight to warm a dwarfs heart, especially the heart of a dwarf who had been trapped for so long (and accused of incompetence as well). Bayar needed no more encouragement. "What are you all staring at!" she screamed at the surviving militia. "This is our chance! Let's get out there and tear those zombies apart!" The gate was dropped, and they charged.

Another brief battle ensued at the gates, as Bayar and a new recruit named Neotemplar cut down several zombie peasants and a severed hand.
 


And that was it. For the first time in over a year, Oceanbridge was free from the undead. Bayar met the scimitar wielding human who looked like their leader in the middle of the beach. He bowed low, and before Bayar could speak, said "A nice fight! Thekban, Merchant Adventurer, at your service. I and my men have come to visit your fortress, traveling a great distance over lands that are quite perilous. Our caravan is loaded with lumber and iron, fine wines and rich cheeses. While I am sure that your home has no great need for such things, might I convince you to at least consider inviting us in?"

Neotemplar looked confused, and Bayar felt the same. The human had jumped from fighting to polite conversation in seconds. She managed to say, "It's... it's actually been a while since any merchants have made it here alive."

"Really?" Thekban smiled again. "Wonderful."

......................

Next: More Moods!

((Are humans in this world more dwarfy than the dwarfs? Hopefully not.))

[neotemplar]

Awesome   My guy likes demons and prefers to eat bees.
And his dates are three paired numbers: 66 22 77

Quick to tire isn't that great but dwarf mode fights tend not to become as drawn out as adventure mode so it probably isn't a big downer.  Its usually near instant fatality or crippling wounds in fort mode.

And I hate spiders too

[varnish]

Remalle In Charge, Part One

Trading

One of the first sights to welcome the caravan's guards, (after the zombies, of course), was Notenome, who rushed through their group with a gleam in his eyes. He jumped on top of a packhorse, and hefted an alder log twice his own height in one hand. That accomplished, he dashed back through them, coming close to knocking several out, and ran down the stairs.



Thekban watched without comment, then turned to Remalle and said "You're going to have to pay for that too, friend."

Remalle sighed, and handed over another set of granite mugs.

.......................

Moods

Notenome's possession wasn't unusual, but the figurine he came out of the workshop holding proudly over his head was.



Derm's eyes lit up when Notenome showed it to him. "Damn good job. First good artifact to come out of this place."

"Thanks! It's going to go up on the bridge." Notenome shook his head. "Or better yet! We'll recreate it with the bridge itself! Bigger than life! I have to go tell Neo and Slime, They'll want to change the plans right away!"

............................

History

Dimaga and Stoutpants were exploring the depths. To Dimaga's growing excitement, there were some signs of previous inhabitation, signs that dwarfs had lived here before. Among several mundane objects, they had found a broken microline figurine of a yak.

Stoutpants turned it over and over. "Wonder what this is about. It's really good, but it's just a yak. Why a yak?"

"Maybe it was the symbol of the first group that settled here, or something?" Dimaga pointed at light markings on the figurine's underside. "What's the name carved there?"

"Says 'Peace-something'."

"Hm. Maybe yaks were a symbol of peace in those days!"

Stoutpants shrugged. "No wonder they were all killed."

........................

Discoveries

Goldhammer was in the depths too, though for different reasons. "Kiln-workers Instincts", is what he would have called his feelings, if he had bothered to tell anyone about them. But he hadn't. He had to dig.

It was about eighty dwarf-heights down from the ocean level that he found what he was looking for.



..........................

Next: More Details on Everyone Else!

[Ishar]

Am I alive? Some version of me at least.

[DeepBlue]

Not sure if you saw my dorfing request (any kind of smith or metalcrafter) so I'm reposting it ^^

Loved the Peacespray reference.

[neo1096]

"Thanks! It's going to go up on the bridge." Notenome shook his head. "Or better yet! We'll recreate it with the bridge itself! Bigger than life! I have to go tell Neo and Slime, They'll want to change the plans right away!"

I like this. We should immortalize artifacts with references on the bridge.

[varnish]

Remalle in Charge, Part Two

Gar and Haika were married. They had been married for some time, actually, though neither dwarf had really taken much notice.

This was why Gar was disturbed by the child that had started following him everywhere he went.  Not just up in the upper levels or on the bridge; the damned thing had dogged his steps all the way down to the magma pool (perfectly located, just 73 levels down and easy as hell to get to. They'd be flooding the world with cleansing fire in no time).



He saw a group of metalworkers come down the stairs, blueprints in hand. He waved at them and called out, "You gonna start building some forges?"

The leader nodded. "That's right. What about you? What's a mechanic doing down here?" The head blacksmith, who was named Deepblue gave him an inquisitive look.

"Thinking about magma pumps. Say, by the way," he pointed at the child, who was crawling over his boots, "You know whose kid this is?"

Deepblue looked over the child carefully. "That's... Haika's daughter. The farmer, you know?"



"No shit! I guess that means she's mine too." He picked the girl up and held her out in front of his face, over the pool. "Huh. Kid looks pretty strong. I guess she's all right." He frowned. "A little to much crying going on, though."

"You're, ah... holding her upside down."

"Oh, right."

.........................

Deepblue:


................


From the Memoirs of Wilberforce Amber Ropenourished

I can scarcely believe it, but things may be looking up.

Bayar and the soldiers spent the last several weeks clearing out any remaining undead, and keeping them cleared.



The crawling hand has been defeated for good, they say.



The rest of us are hard at work burying those that need burying, and dropping the rest into the magma. Harsh measures, but I feel comfortable saying that they will not come back. And the bridge? The bridge is growing every day. In a few years it might rival the original in length! In all honesty, I don't know how to feel about that. After all this time, and all the deaths and...

But build we must. That's not the code of the Ropenourished's, but it might as well be a part of it. Build we must, and worry about the consequences some other day.

....................

Next: Siege.

((Here's a picture of the bridge in overseer. Kind of ugly looking, actually, and it only shows part of the length. Oh well.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There's going to be new Ishar in the next update. Migrants finally made it through.))

[peregarrett]

"You're, ah... holding her upside down."

"Oh, right."

Oh, LOL!

Haika, why dont you watch our baby? Magma pool isn't the right place for child-play!

[Di]

Glad to see this one still lumping forwards.
Also, I've failed to find any other mentions of these guys.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

How about updating their status?

[varnish]

((You're right. I'll fix that!))

Remalle in Charge, Part Three

If asked what they had been doing since Oceanbridge had been re-founded, Jacen and Di-IV would probably have answered "surviving", and perhaps "keeping sparkly clean", in the case of Jacen. Now that those nightmarish first years were over, however, they and many of the others had finally been given a chance to relax.

Or they would have, if they hadn't all been drafted.

Remalle had ordered a citizen militia formed, which meant, essentially, that everyone was in the army. The idea, Remalle had explained, was to keep up a constant patrol, both on the surface and underground.  Only about twenty soldiers were on duty at any one time, but everyone would have a chance to serve at some point during the year. It was his hope, he explained, that through constant vigilance they could keep the undead from ever getting strong enough to actually threaten the fortress again. And with ninety-seven dwarfs in the army, that hope had a chance to become reality.

It was Di-IV's sincere hope that he would never be forced to go on patrol with Jacen again.

He had asked Jacen about his strange name, not out of interest, of course. Just as a way to pass the time. The answer had been going on for twenty minutes.

"Oh, yes, there's a lot of Jacen's out there. And a lot of Jacen's are soapmakers too, that's for sure. My family has always been soapmakers, and mostly named Jacen too. My grandfather Jacen even told me that Jacen, our greatest ancestor, might have been at the original Oceanbridge!"

"Uh huh. And what about Jacen. Was he there too?" Di said, his voice flat.

"Oh, no. He's my cousin. He's in some other outpost."

"I... what? Never mind. Well, now I know the story of your name. And you entire family history." He turned to the other dwarf who was with them. "Kind of strange right? A family where everyone has the same name?"

The other dwarf looked uncomfortable "Uh..."

"What do you mean, uh? What is you name?"

"It's Ishar."



"There was an other dwarf here named Ishar."

"Yes, I know. My cousin."

"Oh."

Di-IV decided to pass the rest of the patrol in silence.

........................

Oceanbridge Attacked, Part One:

Remalle paced in front of the trade depot, taking care to step on the paving blocks that lay around the building. It was raining again, and the sickly yellow ashy sand had turned into a thick slurry. If you weren't careful, you could lose a boot in it. Cats drowned in the stuff, which at least saved the butchers the trouble of killing them.

He wouldn't say it out loud, out of fear of cursing himself, or cursing himself even further, but things were looking up in spite of the miserable weather, and dead cats. Maybe the gods had forgotten about Oceanbridge. Maybe things were really going to change for the better.

He should have known that even thinking something like that was foolish. As he passed the gate, he heard Alkhemia shouting the warning.



"Oh damn it all! Goblins coming! A whole army of them!"



Things never got better. Not here.
.......................

Next: Collapsing Floors, and other Traps (That You Should Never Use)

[Di]

Things are going to get really messy I guess.
So, is the ocean evil too? If not we could let the step on the bridge and throw their bodies to fishes. Or better yet, place one stonefall trap for their leader and have the undead spiral do the rest.

[Ishar]

First I was like: Yay, update!
Then I was like: Oh the last one to post is just Di. Meh, might as well check it out.
And then I was like: Yay, update!

I have the memory of a goldfish.

[peregarrett]

Traps! Let's see how they work... Not sure about their effectiveness, but spectacularity is obvious.

[varnish]

((Very spectacular, completely useless.))

From the Memoirs of Wilberforce Amber Ropenourished, Spring of Year Four:

An odd siege, readers. Very, very odd.

Alkhemia raised the alarm, and I have no doubt that he saved some lives by doing so.



Unfortunately, his was not one of them. The goblins shot him as full of arrows as a pincushion. Though pincushions are full of pins, not arrows, so the comparison fails, really.

The goblins then turned their attention to the elf merchants who had the misfortune to arrive shortly before them. The elves were all slain, but, as Bayar noted, this had the effect of ridding the goblins of most of their ammunition.



 Having been on the receiving end of a barrage of arrows or two myself, I can see why she was pleased. The dance was bit much, though.

Even the whole dead rising from the grave thing worked to our advantage for once. The slain elves and their pack animals had no sooner dropped to the ground before they stood once more. They showed no favorites and attacked the goblins as readily as they would have attacked us, joined by some harpies who were no doubt drawn to the chaos.



The result was that the goblins were scattered and confused when Bayar ordered the charge. We all joined in, of course, though I myself never came close to the field of battle. Derm and Bayar were out ahead of the others, and managed to account for a goblin each.



We lost one man. I didn't know him. Really, in these days, one death is hardly worth mentioning.



The new Ishar (by my reckoning, the sixth that has lived in Oceanbridge) did quite well, killing a goblin and the cave crocodile that the goblin's leader rode on.



That was enough to break the spirit of the beasts, and they fled as fast as they could, an elf zombie or two nipping at their tails.

Remalle should be pleased with these results. Or not. Never sure what he's thinking.

.............

After the Siege:

Rushmik was on his way back to the safety of the fortress walls when he heard the loud "thunk" from above. He looked up, and saw the collapsing ceiling trap that Gar had built in the early, desperate days of the fortress. It was incredibly primitive, consisting of a large block of stone balance precariously atop a single support beam, which was attached to a lever inside the fortress. Gar had recently ordered it demolished; there were rooms underneath the thing now, and it was far too dangerous to use.

But someone had just done it. The support beam was collapsing.

Rushmik made it out of the way just in time, somehow making a diving jump into the muddy shoreline. Dust billowed around him as the huge mass of basalt came crashing down where he had just been standing.



It left quite a hole.

......................

Next: Floods are Fun

[Remalle]

Far, far below the ground, where the stone itself boils, an ancient dwarf is joined by one younger than him by a factor of a score.  The venerable Remalle, current mayor of Oceanbridge, survivor of both its previous falls, ponders the bubbling magma, not bothering to turn around to look at the younger dwarf.  He speaks.
"What news from the surface?"
"The goblins slew Alkhemia and an elf caravan, Mr. Mayor.  But the corpses rose back up, and with the help of the undead our militia was able to drive the goblins away."
"Hum.  Good, good.  Make sure to recover what the elves left behind.  What of the progress on the golden statues flanking the entrance?"
"Um..."
"Never mind.  You are dismissed."
The young dwarf scampers back up the long staircase, relieved to be out of the slightly unnerving presence of a living fossil.  Somewhere far, far above, the boom indicative of a cave-in reverberates through the very rock.  Remalle sighs but doesn't move, continuing to watch the magma simmer.  Another death.  So it goes.