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[Hazael]

Hello, everyone! Thanks for reading this sentence!
I'm fairly new to this kind of thing (even though I've played Dwarf Fortress for quite awhile) so if I've messed up anywhere, please let me know, and I will gladly correct it ASAP. As you can see, the story is not complete. However, I am in the process of completing it and will finish (hopefully) by next week. So, stay tuned for more! If you have any questions, comments, or requests, please let me know!

The introduction was just to add a little history behind the story. Also, I did this based on one of my civilizations, so the events that happened are true, except for Vorak, Orrik, and all those other extra characters.

And, so, here it is...

Klymaestra, Giginlolor
Ah, it’s so good to be back at home. After a hard day’s work in the sun. Right now, all is well. The land is at peace again. But it wasn’t always so. I’ll have many a story here to tell you little ones about a land far, far away, where I once called my home. A place where peace was only found in the dungeons. A place where we once inhabited; where we once lived in, now deserted. The place? Alright, gather around and please sit down if you will, children, while I repeat the histories of The Empire, as well as its fall. Our story begins in a little cottage on a field of cabbage…

The Little Villa Dawn, Klymaestra, at precisely one o’ clock in the morning
“Run!” screamed Orrin. “It’s a water mole!” Waving his hands around, the child ran around in circles around the yard, before collapsing in a heap of dried fruits.
“Orrin!” His mother scolded. “Can’t you for once in your life do something useful? At least go and play out in the field, where you’re less likely to destroy the barnyard.”
“Sorry, momma!” Orrin called as he ran into the field, waving his arms back and forth as if he were flying.
That little boy whom I am speaking about is me. I was a careless, naïve dwarven child for my age. All I had circling my small mind was fun, and more fun. Momma often scolded me for my actions, and often used the broom stick on me. That was when my Papa was still around. My Papa would be away often. He left the disciplinary actions to Momma. I never saw him a lot. Whenever I did see him, I’d run into his arms and give him a kiss on the cheek. Papa had a long grey beard that encircled his face, so I mostly just got a mouthful of smoking grey carpet and the stench of hygiene at its most unpleasant side.
When news of his death reached our little villa, my momma broke up. We had to move out into the country, because most of momma’s work earned our stay. But, because of Papa’s death, momma could go no further. So, she did the natural thing. She committed suicide.
The officials came to pick me up. They immediately brought me into the care of a man named Vorak, who was in charge of masonry in Lagdon, a huge trading city not far from Dawn.
Vorak was a kind dwarf. He was one of those types who wouldn’t give a left leg about whether or not you did what you were supposed to. Course, that is saying quite a lot; most dwarf masters whom I’d come across were rather brutal and arrogant.
On the day that I arrived, I was assigned to fifth district, Underplane. Fifth district was one of the many subterranean districts under the large trading city. Lagdon was very massive. Thousands of people moved about daily in it, be it dwarf, elf, or human. Goblin traders were quite common here. Two large wizard guild towers loomed near the southern quarter of the city. Several other guilds were spread out amongst the blocks and blocks of houses and centers. The main meeting hall was a large bowl-shaped arena with stone tables and chairs and benches. Thousands would crowd the meeting hall during the holidays-especially at night, where dancers and magicians and circuses performed.
Now, Underplane was quite different. The city of Lagdon was built right on top of a cliff face. The subterranean districts were located directly underneath. Underplane was the outermost district, and, therefore, got the best view of the sea that stretched far into the horizon. Underplane was quite a favorite. Only dwarves and goblins lurked below the city. Here was where one could find peace away from all the looks that other races would give you if you were different. It was a safe haven for the dwarves. The few goblins that did sneak in weren’t such a big problem. As you probably already know, goblins are quite antagonistic creatures, who don’t know their right from their left. They’d get into fights with the dwarves, and then end up getting thrown out of the city.
Vorak’s forge (also his home, for a dwarf’s forge is always his home.) was near the edge of the sea, on top of a boulder, facing the sea. When I first arrived, Vorak introduced me to his other apprentices; Jax and Baidr. Jax was short and stubby. He was one of those dwarf types who’d always be the grunt doing the work. Baidr was from the family of a lawgiver. He considered us as his “underlings.” I quickly became friends with Jax, who was also an orphan. We worked together under the hot sun to get our projects done. During the night, we’d often sneak off to join the festivities aboveground. I know now that Vorak knew we were sneaking off. We were young and left plenty of marks for him to find out what we were doing. But he said nothing to us about it.
Baidr, being a pain in the rear, decided to follow us one day to the carnival, in hopes of getting us in trouble with Vorak. As we started up the stairs leading to the over ground, we didn’t notice him following us.
“Watch your step,” Jax warned.
“I know what I’m doing. We’ve been up this trail a million times.”
“No, I mean-never mind.”
“You scared of something?” I asked.
“No.”
“He’s not going to find out about it.”
“I didn’t say I was scared!”
“Oh. Then is this about Veronica?” I gave a grin as Jax’s face turned red.
“Mind your own business,” He muttered.
Veronica was a blonde human who was always at the festivities. She was about Jax’s age. They first met each other when I was horsing around with Jax, and accidentally pushed him into Veronica. Jax instantly apologized; however, when he saw her face, a look came across his eyes that sent me sprawling in laughter. It was love at first sight. I ran off and left them to their business. After that one encounter, I interrogated Jax and finally managed to get Veronica’s name and age out of him.
I teased him about it every day.
“Veronica!” I said in a falsetto voice. “I’ll bet she has them eyes! Them sparkling blue human Caucasian eyes, which make you want to just…”
I trailed off.
“You’ve got jokes.”
But when he realized I wasn’t replying, he stopped. He stared at what I was looking at. The dark figure of someone climbing towards us. I knew who he was right when I saw him.
“I knew it!” Jax said. “That little spoiled brat! He’s gonna try to get us in trouble!”
“Not if we disappear,” I said with a grin. “His skinny legs aren’t that nimble. Look at him. He’s got that autocratic swag. Politician brats aren’t fast runners.”
“He’s a lawgiver, actually,” Jax said, as we took off.
We made it to the carnival just in time to catch a quick drink by the Buffalo Bar. Then, we ran around for about half an hour, going from activity to activity. It was almost dark, and people were already starting to flood the streets. Our goal was to get as many activities done before the others got to the carnival.
By the time we were done, it was dark, and people were milling about. I met Jax at the Buffalo Bar, which only a moment ago had been empty but was now crowded. We talked for some time, and drank and ate. Then, something caught my eye.
“Jax, I think that’s Bratface over there.” I said, pointing.
Jax shook his head. “I don’t think so. Baidr’s not the social type.”
But, nevertheless, there he was, with his high and mighty and self-centered attitude. I was mad.
“Why is he here?” I asked. “Hasn’t he caused us enough trouble already?”
“Don’t look,” Jax said. “If he doesn’t see us, he’ll get bored and go back. Nobody wants him here anyway.”
And then, as fortune would have it, he spotted us and instantly ran over to us, yelling. He managed to part through the crowd easily.
“Let’s make ourselves scarce,” I said. Who knew that the brat had dedication in finding us?
“Table, left,” Jax whispered sharply, and we hid ourselves under the empty table just as Baidr entered the bar. He scanned the bar with his hands on his hips, like a maid searching for her bosom, then started walking around the tables like he was on patrol duty.
Now, either his eyesight was horrible, or he was too eager to catch us, I don’t know. He walked up to some random guy sitting right next to the bar; his back turned to him, and knocked him on the head. Baidr must’ve thought that was Jax, because they were both wearing green.
“Caught you!” He sneered.
The next second, he was on the floor, and blood was flowing from his nose, a shocked look on his face. The man had swiped around and him, and now stood up, towering over the little spoiled brat. But he wasn’t any ordinary man.
He was a tigerman
I’d only heard of tigermen in legends and in stories, but I’d never seen one up close and in real life before. They say you can recognize a tigerman when you see one. I never doubted that saying.
“Imbecile!” The brat screamed. “Do you know who I am?”
“What was that?” The tigerman snarled, pulling back his lips to show the glistening fangs. The boy quieted down.
“He’s gonna get himself killed,” Jax whispered to me. “We’ve gotta do something.”
I was just content with letting him suffer, but I nodded my head. “Alright. But how do we?”
“We’ll do it the old-fashioned way. You distract the tigerman, and I’ll get Baidr.”
“Have you seen his claws? He’ll tear me to pieces.” I was frightened.
“Quit being such a girl.” He knew that annoyed me.
“Okay, fine.”
I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. I felt like I was insane. But I crawled out from under the table, and edged my way to the entrance of the bar. Everyone’s eyes were on the two figures in the center. I edged to where I deemed to be a fitting place to die.
“Spoiled brat,” the tigerman snarled. “What are you doing outside your closet, human dog?”
“M-my daddy is a hunter. He’ll hunt you down. You’ll be sorry then.”
“Hunt me down? Where; from the closet he hides in?”
I heard a thump. The sound of heavy footsteps behind me.
“Enough,” A voice ordered. The voice belonged to Fillegian, captain of the guard. With him were three other soldiers; all had their swords unsheathed. These weren’t dwarves, but men, who were operating under the Elite of Klymaestra.
The tigerman stepped back slowly. Baidr was now unconscious.
“I’ll have none of you here,” He said slowly.
“Goul Das Harlingway, I am placing you officially under arrest for openly assaulting a civilian on Quaker Territory.”
The tigerman snorted. “Do you think you could possibly retain me?”
“We will use force, if we have to. Now surrender your weapons.”
In the next instant, the tigerman smashed into Fillegian, knocking his sword from his hand and pinning him to the ground. The other three soldiers ran to help him, but the tigerman batted them away like flies.
“Now,” said the tigerman. “On what terms do you base your accusations?”

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
In the next instant, the tigerman smashed into Fillegian, knocking his sword from his hand and pinning him to the ground. The other three soldiers ran to help him, but the tigerman batted them away like flies.
“Now,” said the tigerman. “On what terms do you base your accusations?”
“Fowl creature!” Fillegian said. “You dare defy the law!”
“I do,” said the tigerman. “But what are you going to do about it?”
“I will have you hanged!” said the man who was pinned to the ground. Unlike Baidr, however, his words weren’t just chicken-scratch. With a cry, he tore free of the tigerman’s grasp and dug his steel-heeled boot into his side. The tigerman let out a roar of pain and staggered back, giving Fillegian the window of opportunity. Yelling out, he pulled out his shield and slammed into the tigerman, and both tumbled into a table, knocking aside chairs and mugs.
Jax chose this moment to grab the still-unconscious Baidr, and we ran outside before anyone could notice us.

We continued on long after the sounds of brawling had faded, and we started back down, heading home. I laughed.
“That was crazy,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before!”
“Do you suppose it happens a lot?” Jax wondered. “Have we just been missing out on a lot?”
“Either way, I’m not going back there again! That was way too close.”
Jax grinned. “Yeah, your timing was perfect, by the way.”
“Huh?” I gave him a blank look. “What do you mean?”
“You know; the soldiers. That was perfect timing. Baidr was about to get his face smashed in!”
“I didn’t call for the soldiers.”
“You didn’t? Oh, I thought you did. What were you planning to do anyway?”
I grinned. “I was planning to throw a beer bottle at him, and then die a hero’s death.” Jax snorted.
“Don’t give me that; you looked so scared I thought you were gonna crap in your trousers.”
“I don’t do that kind of stuff,” I said. And it was true. I was so scared I was about to piss myself, not crap myself. But I wasn’t going to tell him that.
We were nearing the base of the staircase. By the way, if I haven’t mentioned earlier, the stairway is very wide, and runs along the right of the districts, facing the sea. There were no fences or anything, so we were pretty much walking down a gravel slope.
“Poor guy,” Jax said suddenly.
“Who?” I asked.
“The flare. Didn’t you notice the flair?”
“Oh.” I remembered. The flair was used often to signal the death of someone; death other than old age.
“Well, at least nothing can hurt him now,” I said. I noticed that the shoeprints we’d made earlier were still there. In fact, there was also the footprints of another; Baidr.
Wait a minute.
Baidr was wearing shoes too.
I realized, then and there, that the one whom we’d seen following us earlier was not Baidr. But then who was it?
“That’s odd.” Jax said suddenly, again.
“What?” I asked.
“Look at the rock over there. See how it stands out in color among the rest!”
I noticed it too. Along the edge of the road was a white pebble. It had the color of an egg, and was very distinguishable, although you wouldn’t notice it unless your eyes were directed to its direction.
“It was probably painted that way,” I said. “Now, do you remember seeing Baidr following us up the stairway?”
“Yeah. You were there too, remember?”
“I was. But that wasn’t Baidr.”
“It wasn’t?”
“Look at the footprints.” I said, gesturing at the prints on the ground.
“They look like paw prints to me.”
“Yeah, sure.”
We made it to the forge. By then, Baidr was well awake and moving. He went silently to his quarters. We all knew what had happened. No need to rub it in.

The next day, we went about our early chores. Baidr said noting to us all morning, which wasn’t at all strange. After last night, his behavior had changed. Now he no longer had that princely attitude and didn’t talk back to Vorak.

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
The next day, we went about our early chores. Baidr said noting to us all morning, which wasn’t at all strange. After last night, his behavior had changed. Now he no longer had that princely attitude and didn’t talk back to Vorak. Also, he never complained about the meals served to him. That was new.
Just while I was finishing the last of my chores, which was cutting wood for the fire, Baidr walked up to me and awkwardly stood there, waiting for me to finish. When I saw that he wasn’t going to go away, I put down my tools and wiped the sweat from my brow.
“Yes?” I asked. “Do you need something?”
He was silent for a while. Then, when I thought that he wasn’t going to say anything, he said: “I’m sorry. About what happened last night, I’m very sorry-” I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
“Don’t mention it,” I said. “We should’ve done that anyway.”
“No, you didn’t have to,” Baidr said, his face down. “I’m sorry for being such a brat. I didn’t deserve to be saved back there. After all that I put through you, I want to make an honest apology.”
I couldn’t speak. My mouth was hanging open as I stared at him in disbelief. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This very same guy, the guy who’d been a brat all those years before and the same one who’d gotten us into numerous amounts of trouble before, was apologizing to me! To me, of all people!
“Well…um….” I was truly speechless. I heard a clatter of plates from within the house. Jax must’ve been overhearing our conversation. I felt sorry for him later, because Vorak was going to kill him for breaking all those dishes.
Baidr must have heard it too. “I’ll get it!” he called as he ran back into the house. “I’ll clean that up for you Jax!”
This day was going to be an awesome day.

“Lemme show you how it’s done,” Jax said. “Over here…first you…yeah, that’s it…you got it!”
We had decided to go fishing before lunch. It was a good day to go fishing, after all. The sun was high in the sky, and there were few clouds hanging around.
Jax was teaching Baidr how to fish with a pole and string and bait attached. Baidr, being more of an indoors man, didn’t know how to operate a fishing pole and clumsily broke his own stick several times. Instead of getting frustrated, however, he let (get this.) Jax TEACH him how to fish. When Jax showed him what he was doing wrong, he didn’t say anything like “I knew that” or “That’s how YOU do it.” No, he accepted correction humbly and even acted on it. In the end, we were catching an endless supply of fish just because Jax and I were trying to test how far Baidr’s patience would go.
Finally, we gave up. It was almost time for lunch, anyway.

I can say, after that one day, Baidr and I became friends. Together, the three of us became like brothers; after all, that was somewhat the truth. Jax never again talked to Veronica, although we liked to tease him about it. That is, I liked to tease him. Baidr just said it was normal and something all boys go through.

Spring came and went, and then passed again. And again. Baidr was sent to a university not far from Vorak’s forge in Lagdon. Jax later became a scholar as well, and studied overseas. He would come back once a month to visit us, and we’d have a chat (just the three of us.) and a game of chess over bear and coke (Baidr didn’t drink.). I myself decided to join La Fronte, the city’s Fighter’s Guild. I fought my way up to the level of a young master myself. I would often spar with Jax. Baidr would watch us and then he’d try to join in.
One year, a herd of elephants, mounted by goblins, crossed into Klymaestra territory, and stopped right near the edge of the city of Wallow. The citizens, having nowhere else to flee to, sought refuge in Lagdon. For the first time in many years, we had an overcrowded city.
A massive number of the refugees knew how to handle a sword quite well, and we had ample defenses already built, so the governor assigned a detachment of troops to take out the goblin army. I was chosen to lead them, since I knew the area quite will enough, for it had been my hometown.
During the night, my men and I went out of the city gates and travelled north for some time. When we got to a small village, I ordered my men to search for anyone alive. They found some people, alright. But they weren’t alive.
As I stepped into the first room, I noted with horror at the carnage that dominated the room; as if someone had turned it upside down. It looked like someone had been frantically searching for something and had left the room a mess.
My eyes fell to the bed. There were three people; I counted the skulls. It was hard to tell, because those three people were everywhere. It was as if someone had somehow blown up all three bodies at the same time. Their limbs were all severed. All that remained intact were their heads, which were impaled on top of three poles stabbed into the bed. At first, I couldn’t believe it, because the mass of gore and blood that I saw had to be more than three bodies. But we couldn’t find any other heads or skull bones.
“This place is hell,” I said. “They can’t be far!”
Just then, I heard a shout.
“OVER HERE! THEY’RE OVER HERE!”
My men with me rushed outside into the night. The village was being ambushed by dozens of goblins, coming out of the fields with their sabers drawn. I was enraged.
“Come and face your death cowards!” I yelled.
My men and I battled the goblins into the night. I yelled as I slew them, goblin after goblin, slicing off their legs and arms, dispatching heads, disarming them, biting their shoulders, ripping them apart with my two knives. My sword was lodged somewhere deep in the heart of a goblin. I left it there and continued on.
We finally had driven the goblins back. The filthy nasty green vermin swore revenge on their fallen comrades (though I cannot believe how so low a creature could possibly even attempt to take revenge for another.) and retreated back into the night. I ordered my men to keep chase, but only as one large group. We chased them to the stone well down by Li, slaughtering them as we ran.
A group of goblins snatched one of my men and escaped down a tunnel. I ordered the rest to keep chase. I myself went down the tunnel.
It was as humid and as musty as the stories say concerning goblin tunnels. My two knives, one behind the other, were poised and ready to strike as I descended further down into the tunnel, guided by the light of the ancient glowstone torches on the walls.
Several minutes later, I reached a cavern. There were fresh torches on the walls, and the center was littered with wealth, chests, weapons, and all sorts of goods. There was even a fireplace to the left of the litter. The place, however, seemed vacant. I took a small step forward.
With a yell I dodged the axe head that flew out of the wall, destined to slash my brains right out of my skull. Then, I heard the excited voices of goblins. They must’ve thought I was dead.
A hatch in the ground opened, and a goblin’s head poked up. He looked around the room, and decided all was clear. He looked back down into the hole and called his other companions, who filed out of the same hole one by one. They immediately headed for the entrance. They looked for the body. Wait. Where was the body–
My crossbow bolt went through all three of them.
“Look out,” I said.
I loaded another bolt and descended into the hole. This one was a much smaller tunnel, with dimmer lights. I could make out a small room at the end of the tunnel. A man was tied there, stripped of weapons and armor. I started right for him. He cried out in relief when he saw me. Using one of my knives, I cut him loose. We then headed out of the tunnel.
“Do you know what all of this is?” I asked him, gesturing at all the things all over the cavern.
“No,” he replied. “The goblins never spoke of any treasure. This is my first time seeing this as well.”
I saw something printed out on the side of one of the chests. It read “Property of William Henry, Governor of Wallow.”
“Those goblins will pay,” I said through gritted teeth. Then, I opened up the chest.
Inside were the heads of people.
I stared at the chest. “How could they do such a thing…?”
“Maybe those heads are like trophies or something,” the man suggested.
I turned to him. “Go back to the others and tell them to wait for me. They should be back at the village.” He nodded and headed out.
I looked back at the chest. I scanned the room and spotted one loose piece of paper stapled between two chests. Carefully, I dislodged the piece of paper. It was a letter. The letter read:

Dear Green-Skinned IDIOTS

   Remember to speak out the incantations CAREFULLY and LOUDLY, and remember not to pick the head of a creature that would be useless to our cause; i.e.: a GOBLIN. Use your BRAINS the next time you kill a fellow ally, or you won’t have brains anymore.

Love, Hastings

I read the note over several times. Incantations? Sounds like magic to me. I searched the rest of the chests, but couldn’t find anything else of value. Then, paper in hand, I headed back to the surface.

It had started to rain, and the wind was blowing the drops into my eyes. Pulling a torch out of the tunnel wall, I started back to the village.
I had walked for a while when the rain stopped. I heard footsteps behind me.
“Show yourself,” I said, turning around immediately. Then, I froze.
I was staring into the face of Goul Das Harlingway, the very same tigerman who’d taken out Fillegian and three other soldiers all those years ago in the Buffalo Bar.
“Ah, you remember me,” he said.

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
I was staring into the face of Goul Das Harlingway, the very same tigerman who’d taken out Fillegian and three other soldiers all those years ago in the Buffalo Bar.
“Ah, you remember me,” he said. He licked his whiskers. They seemed to poke right out of his skin like needles. This man, whom I’d met before all those years, was now dressed in full battle armor. He looked like one of those samurai of the old world.
“Goul,” I said. My voice was shaking.
“I see you’ve made progress,” he said. “But all skills will be tested eventually.”
I drew my sword. “Are you going to fight me?”
“No, but I’m going to help you a bit,” he said, as if he was about to tell me a secret. As I recall later, this “secret” is what changed my trust for my friends. It made me reevaluate my entire childhood.
“Always remember,” he continued. “Always remember that even the best warriors fall by betrayal. Do not let anyone fool you. Trust no one, or you will fall.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. First tell me why I should trust you.”
“That is up to you whether to trust me or not.”
“You’re not telling me something.”
“Hmm. Would you like to hear it?”
“Yes.”
“I saved your life.”
Those last words made me stop. I shook my head. I wanted to say how? But I remained quiet.
“Do you, perhaps, still recall our little encounter at the bar?”
“I remember it like it was yesterday.”
“Do you know who called the guards?”
I didn’t know. I thought that they’d came by themselves. But I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“I don’t think this relates to anything…”
“That scrawny kid…what was his name?”
“You mean Baidr.”
“Right. Baidr. Be careful about that kid.”
I stepped back. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. This was crossing the line. I felt my anger rising as I spoke. “You hardly know him at all! How can you say such a thing?”
He laughed. It was the first time I’d ever seen him laugh before. It sounded like something between a lion’s roar and a cat’s purr.
“There is much more about that boy than you know. But be careful. Don’t be surprised when betrayal comes around the corner. Remember what I said. Heed my warning!”
With that, he disappeared, and I was left in the light of my flickering torch.

We headed back to the city. It was still dark, but I went to Jax’s hotel and brought him out. Together, we headed to the house Baidr lived in, talking as we walked.
“I think the goblins are trying to use some kind of ruse against us,” Jax said.
“Right,” I said. “But what?”
“Magic, probably.”
“Yeah, I feared that. We need to find out what magic they’re going to try to do.”
“Maybe,” Jax stopped. “Maybe we could go visit the Magician Guild. It’s right next to Baidr’s house.”
“I don’t think they’ll allow visitors,”
“No problem. We have Baidr. He’s a well-known scholar.”
Baidr. Oh right, I almost forgot about Baidr.
We arrived at Baidr’s house, picked him up, and headed into the Magician Guild. It was a stone tower with moss and brush growing along the edges. There were many banners hanging on poles sticking out of the sides. The door itself was new and had gold designs on it. When I pulled the knocker, a loud echo sounded from within the tower.
A few seconds later, I heard the loud creak of wood rubbing against wood. The door swung open and an old man with a long white beard stepped out, dressed in a red robe with silvery designs of lightning bolts all over it.
“Mr. Henry,” Baidr said politely. “My friends and I would like to see your library.”
“I’m sorry, but if you’re not part of the guild, you won’t be able to.”
“Mr. Henry, we’re only investigating. We won’t be long at all. Also, this is very important to us. If you would please, I’ll pay you anything you-”
The old man cut him off with a wave of his hand. “No, no, I won’t accept a bribe of any type. But if it is very important, I’ll give you ten minutes. Now, recollect, I said ten minutes. No more.”
Baidr gave a little gentleman’s bow, and the old man stepped aside to let us in. He led us up a spiral staircase and then into a large room filled with books. He gestured for us to come in.
“Ten minutes,” he reminded us, and stepped out.
I immediately began pulling out books. “Come on, it has to be one of these.”
Baidr blinked. “What kind of spell did you say it was?”
“Well,” I said. “It had incantations in it. They also needed heads for-”
“Heads?” Jax asked, surprised. “Why would they need heads?”
“It’s some kind of object of importance, I believe.” I said. “The letter said something about them needing heads for some kind of project, I think. It said that goblin and ally heads would be useless.”
“Maybe for trophies?” Jax guessed.
“No,” Baidr shook his head. “Goblins don’t use heads as trophies. They use them to signal that they’ve been places but they don’t just carry them for show-and-tell. No, they’re using them for disguise, I think.”
I nodded. “Hey, that would make sense!”
Baidr pulled out a book and started flipping through it rapidly. “Here,” he said. “I think it’s…here it is.” I looked over his shoulder, reading the page he was pointing to silently.

Mira’s Disguise Enchantment: Very, very difficult and energy consuming if done alone. Better done in a large group of maybe fifty.

Materials needed: A head of the creature you wish to turn into.

Procedure: Need to repeat the name of the creature over and over again seven times, then speak out the seven phrases in accordance with The Book of Healing under subsection 0067.
Notice: The effect won’t begin immediately. You may need to wait for a few minutes before the transformation begins. Also, that area on which you set your foot on while you speak the incantation will turn to white rock. Remember that the transformation begins from the head, so your feet may take a while longer than your head to transform.

I nodded. I’d finally read what I was looking for.
“That explains everything,” Jax said. He’d read it too.
I stood up. “But what does it mean?”
Jax shrugged. “Maybe they’re planning a mass infiltration.”
Suddenly, it all made sense to me. Why the floors of the entire village were white. Why there were dead people everywhere. Why none of them had heads on. The note itself, and everything.
Those refugees that came to our city…they weren’t really refugees…were they?
I heard a scream outside.
“We’ve been deceived.” I said.
“Oh my GOD!” Jax screamed. “Look! Outside!”
I followed his gaze out the window and saw thousands of goblins and soldiers dueling. It was as if they’d came out of nowhere.
“Somebody must’ve let them in,” I said in a low voice.
“Who? The goblins?”
“No,” I said. Then, raising my sword, I pointed at Baidr. “You.”
“Orrin, I’m serious!”
“And I am too,” I said, my eyes fixed on Baidr, who met my gaze. “You. You did it, didn’t you?”
“Orrin, stop it!” Jax cried. “Baidr, he’s only lying, isn’t he?”
Baidr was silent for a while. Then, he spoke.
“How did you find out?”
I grimaced. Jax was suddenly silent.
“On that day at the Buffalo’s Bar…I wasn’t sure…”
“At the Buffalo Bar?” Jax said.
“When you met that tigerman Goul…” I continued. “No, before that. You were following us. Jax and I saw you on the staircase.”
“Yeah, that you did.”
“But, when we walked back, we saw those footprints which you left us. And, as I saw them, I thought at first that they were bare feet. But they weren’t. They changed. They changed into paws! And then I saw the white rock. You must’ve transformed there, and seen us coming, and decided to follow us. And then you called the guards…” I remembered Goul’s words: Do you know who called the guards?
“You called the guards because you wanted to get rid of Goul.” I said. “You knew that he knew the truth about you, and didn’t want him to live telling it to me.”
Baidr grinned. “Not bad.”
“Now,” I said. “I know you’re working with the goblins. Where is the real Baidr?”
His grin spread wider. “Dead. A long time ago.”
Jax’s eyes were red. “On the day of the encounter with the tigerman-”
Baidr cut him off. “No, no, way before that.”
I blinked. What? “I don’t believe you,” I said.
He shrugged. “Believe what you will. I’ll say what I know. Baidr was killed by a goblin. That goblin disguised himself as Baidr by using that spell.”
“Bull.”
“The thing is,” he continued. “Baidr’s head was still intact. The book didn’t mention one thing; that if you cut the head off of a disguised creature, you not only kill it, you also get the head of its disguise. The creature itself reverts back to its own body.”
I was silent. Baidr’s explanation did make sense. But I was still a bit skeptical. “If you’re not Baidr,” I said. “then where is the real goblin imposer?”
Baidr grinned again. “Why, check the records of the deaths on the day of the encounter with the tigerman.”
I was still skeptical, but I pulled out the book of records from the shelf. Then, I flipped to the day of the incident. At precisely the time when Jax and I saw the flare go into the sky at night, there printed the words: headless goblin body discovered. Unidentified.
I closed the book and put it back on the bookshelf. “So you’re not with the goblins,” I said.
He nodded with another grin.
“That still doesn’t mean you’re one of the good guys.”
“Of course. I have my own motives.”
He looked back outside. “The goblins are going to raze the city to the ground. If you stay any longer, you’ll go along with it. There’s an exit by the base of the tower leading outside the city. Take the road to Teurein in the open. You won’t meet any goblins along that road.”
I didn’t know why, but Jax and I obeyed his order and started down the tower and headed to the edge of the wall. The goblins were everywhere. They were slaughtering and raping men and women and children. But, surprisingly, the path that we took was indeed goblin-free. As we reached the outer edge of the city, I had a feeling that goblins armed with crossbows would suddenly ambush us at anytime. But we ran for an hour without seeing any goblins.
I realized that Goul had been right all along; that Baidr was different than I’d ever imagined; that I didn’t actually know him at all. It did make me reevaluate my entire childhood. That whole time, the old Baidr who seemed so high and mighty and spoiled was really a stinking green-skinned goblin. I wanted to punch his eyes out. I wanted to gut him like a fish until he bled no more blood. Not the new Baidr. I didn’t even know what he was. He could be anyone, even another goblin. Hell, he could even be another dwarf.
Soon, we reached a small hut, which appeared to be vacant, except for a figure on the road, his cape billowing behind him in the wind. I raised a hand for Jax to stay back. I stepped towards him until I could see him more clearly. Until I could see his yellow eyes and whiskers.
“What took you so long?” Goul ridiculed. “I was beginning to think that you hadn’t figured out the truth by now.”

[The Master]

I like it! Keep adding to it and never give up!

[Hazael]

Thank you for replying!!! Just when I thought no one was really reading this! :D:D:D

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

Captivating, Reminds me of the story I'm Writing. Keep it up I like your style.

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
“What took you so long?” Goul ridiculed. “I was beginning to think that you hadn’t figured out the truth by now.”
In a way, I still hadn’t yet. I had many questions. But I couldn’t even think as I recalled the screaming of all the women and children and the shouts of their husbands. The city of Lagdon, which I’d once called my home, was now destroyed.
We settled in the hut that night. During the night, I talked with the tigerman concerning what was going on. At this point, I really just wanted to know what he knew. I had a feeling that he knew the answers to all of my questions.
We sat down by the fire. Jax was sleeping on a straw mat he’d found inside the hut.
“Why?” I asked finally. “Why did you help us?”
The tigerman sat erect and blew a trail of smoke into the air, like he was smoking from a pipe. “Sometimes, you need someone to tell you that things aren’t always what they seem.”
I nodded. Then, almost immediately, I remembered something.
“You were right.” I said.
He nodded. “So the little brat…”
“Is dead.”
The tigerman shrugged. “Ah, sometimes innocent civilian deaths are required to bring greater nemesis into the light.”
“Like Baidr.” I breathed. “The human who eliminated the goblin infiltrator. Except he wasn’t Baidr either.”
“No, not human.” The tigerman said slowly. “Not human.”
“I don’t know what he is,” I said. “But I am inclined to believe that his real nature will be made known to us sooner than expected.”
The tigerman laughed. “Oh, you don’t know a thing about that monster. Baidr’s no ordinary human impersonator. Far from it. Far above it.”
What? What had he just said?
Then, as if he’d read my mind, Goul explained in a low voice. “When I first met you, you saw, and you probably know it now, that Baidr was trying to kill me.”
I nodded. I’d seen the guards. I knew that he’d summoned the guards.
“That tap he made on my head; it was a move most magicians have never even heard of. The ones that do know it could never perform it; the amount of energy and strength it takes is just too vast.”
He’d lost me now. I had no idea what he was talking about.
“But…then how could Baidr-” I started.
“His name is not Baidr,” the tigerman said, as he stood, brushing the dust from his cloak. “He is not some puny human or troll that you’d be able to best easily.”
“Then…what is he?”
“A deity.”

When the tigerman saw that I’d been stunned into silence, he continued.
“The megabeast deity over all the goblin army, Oblivion is one of the five forgotten beasts once locked within the ancient prison Starfire. He was the only one who managed to escape from the prison at the last moment. And, right now, he seeks you.”
“I-I don’t understand. What about Baidr?”
“There never was a Baidr,” Goul replied. “It was all a secret part of the plan to drive you out of Lagdon.”
“I don’t understand.” I said. “Why? Why would he want to drive me out of Lagdon?”
“Because Lagdon is where the ancient prison Starfire is laid.”
“But why drive me out? Why not just kill me?”
The tigerman looked at me with those yellow eyes. For a second, I thought I saw some sort of remorse in his eyes. But I repeated my question. And then he said: “Orrin, you weren’t born a dwarf.”
“Yeah, I’ve pretty much figured that out.” I remembered how I was so skilled with the sword and bow, almost like they were second nature, and how tall I’d grown; twice the height of any dwarf. I could best any average runner in a race across the land. My ears had turned pointed upward, like an…
Like an elf.
Why? Why hadn’t I noticed it before? Why hadn’t I seen that I wasn’t a dwarf and was in fact an elf?

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
Why? Why hadn’t I noticed it before? Why hadn’t I seen that I wasn’t a dwarf and was in fact an elf? Was it because I was surrounded by people who thought I was a dwarf. Just a little high for his age; it’s no big deal. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen that earlier. Then, and I knew I would, I would’ve gone into the woods, married a forest cedar tree, and lived happily ever after. But this wasn’t after. This was now.
I straightened up. “Alright, so you’ve told me that I’m an elf. What do I have to do to stop Oblivion from releasing the rest of the megabeasts or whatever he’s trying to accomplish.”
“You have to train first. You’re in no shape to face a deity.”
“I understand that. But how…”
“I will teach you. For now, let me give you your first history lesson.”
“Oh boy, I can hardly wait.”

Goul Das Harlingway:
Before Lagdon began, when it was just a mere settlement, seven powerful rulers lorded over the plains. The first one was Ark, the second Brom, the third Oyster, the fourth Sidon, the fifth Argon, the sixth Zenith, and the seventh Oblivion.
For a time, the seven ruled in harmony. Until the day one of them became corrupted. And that was Sidon.
Sidon wanted to build an empire. He wanted to conquer all the other kings. So, he enlisted in the help of the megabeasts: Bile, Plague, and Titan.
A great battle ensured. The six kings fought back against Sidon and his megabeasts. This battle was called the Battle of The Sky, for, as it was told, Sidon and his men were all clad in dark armor and all were mounted on top of wraiths.
The knights of the six kings fought bravely. However, all knew that they were headed for certain demise. Their only hope was to somehow imprison all three megabeasts in order to defeat Sidon. However, such a feat was not without sacrifice. A great hero was needed for such a mission. And so they chose Lagdon, an elfish archer with wings on his feet.
King Oblivion was the only one who truly objected to such a venture. Lagdon was his brother, and he didn’t want to see his brother perish. King Zenith also objected, but for a different reason. He wanted to be the one to capture the megabeasts, for it was said that, if one were to perform a specific enchantment, one could become a megabeast.
But Lagdon paid them no mind, and went ahead. He snuck away in the dead of the night and headed for the battlefield. It was only after he’d arrived that Oblivion heard what had happened.
Desperately, Oblivion tried to get to Lagdon as fast as he could. He arrived just when Lagdon had finished the enchantment. Oblivion was horrified. His own brother was trying to become a megabeast! He had no choice but to draw his sword and slay his own brother. Just at that moment, King Zenith arrived as well.
However, despite Oblivion’s efforts to stop it, the spell was already underway, and both Zenith and Oblivion were transformed into megabeasts. When Sidon saw what was happening, and how corrupted his plan really had become, he sacrificed himself to undo all the wrongs that he’d conceived, and, in doing so, trapped all five megabeasts into his body, which became a large crystal that barreled its way deep down into the earth. Just before the vortex closed, Oblivion slipped out. He stepped again up onto the battlefield, and saw all the carnage that had been caused, reared his huge demonic face to the heavens, and wept aloud.
Oblivion sought to destroy all remaining megabeasts. He sought to wipe out the four others from the prison and destroy them completely. However, all prisons have a key. The key to Starfire was catapulted high into the sky. Oblivion tried to get to it, but it was out of his reach.
Thus, even today, Oblivion, a creature not listening to any reason and doing whatever it takes to complete his goal, seeks to open up the prison gate and free the four megabeasts. For you have to first set free any living entity in order to wipe it out completely. The problem was, Oblivion was only one megabeast, and opening up the gateway again would cause severe devastation across the world, even if he still managed to kill all four of the megabeasts. However, Oblivion wouldn’t listen to any reason, for he was determined to carry out his duty owed to all of his deceased loyal subjects who died for him on that battlefield.

[Hazael]

|PAUSE/BREAK|
Just a quick reminder; I am open to all suggestions and improvements especially! Feel free to tell me of anything nonlinear or any mistakes or how I can improve my story to fit your standards!

Also, you've probably recognized it by now, but the story shifts from fortress mode to adventure mode. The fortress is all true; I did have a fortress called Lagdon, and it did get wiped out entirely by a goblin army. Also, as I checked the legends mode of the game, there was a goblin fortress nearby whose deity was Oblivion. And, in the adventure mode, I started out somewhere in the vincity of Lagdon and did hire several followers, one of whom was Goul and another Jax.

Anyways, thanks for reading again!

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

:O Lagdon was is a ELF! Hmmm... I like this sudden twist. How will they stop Oblivion? Will they have to travel to a long dead dwarven fortress and enlist the aid of a longe dead mage to transform one them into a megabeast to battle Oblivion? Duh Dun DUN!!!

[Hazael]

Haha, yes! The SUSPENSE. Thanks for mentioning it! I can't take all the credit, though, for thinking it up. One of my friends suggested that I make Oblivion a good guy with good intentions gone bad. The other-Lagdon being an elf-I got it from reading off of Eragon. It was a GREAT book; the whole time I was writing this story, I pictured these scenes from the series with Orrin as Eragon and Goul as the late Brom. The twists and turns are, in fact, actually based upon twists and turns in the series, as you will later find out.

[Hazael]

(cont'd)
“I see now,” I said. “So, now, since he won’t listen to reason, I’ll have to use force?”
The tigerman nodded. “That is it. Oblivion strictly believes that anyone who opposes even a single little detail to his goal is his enemy. Right now, you are in his way. Only you can find that key. He will beat you until you stop bleeding. But if he doesn’t find that key, you won’t be able to die.”
“But why? Why me?”
“Every key has a gatekeeper. And, right now, I am the gatekeeper. I cannot die until I pass the location of the key on to someone else. Then, and only then, will I die.”
“I understand.”
“However, there will come a time when I will give you the location of the key. It is your only hope of survival against Oblivion, who has long ago gone corrupt.”
I nodded. “Okay. So you’ve told me this. But how can I overcome this forgotten beast?”
“You need not worry. I will train you.”
“Okay, so, when do we start?”
The tigerman grunted. “Now.”
 “Alright! What do I do?”
“Simple.” He pointed to the hut. “Make that hut collapse. With your little finger.”
I blinked like I hadn’t heard. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. “Excuse me?” I said. “You said break it down, right?”
“That’s right.”
“With my, um, little finger?”
“Right again.”
I shifted my feet uneasily. “I, um, don’t know how to…”
“Don’t know how to? Or do you just think you don’t have the strength to do this?”
“I don’t have the strength for this.”
“Wrong.”
As if to prove his point, the tigerman stood up, walked up to the edge of the hut, and tapped a particularly rotted part of the wooden frame. Instantly, the entire hut collapsed. I stared in amazement as a cloud of dust swept up into the air, scattering the birds and bits of wood in a mini dust storm. How could he have done it? I always knew Goul was capable of performing wonders on a regular basis, but I was still taken aback by the physical abnormality of the situation.
“Strength is a key point to success on the battlefield,” Goul said, stepping away from the debris. “However, strength alone cannot combat knowledge. You can’t destroy a whole entire building with just strength. No, you need the analysis and the thinking of the architect who designed the building. The one who knows its secrets. Its weaknesses.
“In order to defeat Oblivion, or any powerful foe in particular, you can’t rely on your own strength. However, if you can exploit their weaknesses, you will be able to bring them to the ground in one blow. Just like the hut.” He gestured towards the pile of rubbish.
Alright.
“But what if their skin is made of iron?” I asked.
“Drown them. Or melt them. Or suffocate them. All living things require air.”
“And if they’re already dead?”
“Burn them.”
“And if they’re dead and have a layer of iron skin?”
The tigerman snorted. “Melt them. I told you, everything has a weakness, no matter how you look at it.”
“And what if they’re immortal and invincible?”
The tigerman grinned. “Only God himself has such a power. The rest are all perishable.”
“But immortal on earth, I mean.”
“As I said before…”
He’d gotten me. I was trapped by my own words.
I shrugged. “Okay, fine. But how do I exploit their weaknesses?”

Training was a tough and long time for me. For a whole week, on the journey to Teurein, Goul taught me how to use my “sixth” sense. It was a power that blind and deaf people had easier way of obtaining. After hours and hours of non-stop training, I finally learned the art of “Reaching.” As its name implies, Reaching is a skill obtained mostly by dedicated swordsmen and magicians. It is the power to “see beyond sight,” and to “hear beyond hearing.” I instantly began to develop my sixth sense after I found out how to use it. I had no choice. Every night, Goul made me wander around blindfolded; looking for an inanimate object he’d carefully hidden somewhere. Sometimes he hid it in the ground. Other times, he hid it in a cave with water flowing through it. Each and every time, I found the object. I couldn’t believe it, but I always found the object. And, every time I did find the object, Goul would instruct me to find another object blindfolded. We would do this every night, and during the day I’d sleep for about five hours.
When we finally got to Teurein, I was so tired from the lack of sleep that I hit the ground of the hotel room we stayed in and slept for a whole twenty-four hours.
After I’d gotten up, I turned to Goul for further instructions. I was so used to taking orders from him now, and reported automatically to him every morning. It was completely habitual now.
“What’s our plan for today?” I asked.
The tigerman shook his head. “Exercise is cancelled for today. Let’s go for a walk around the city.”


Now, when I first entered the city, I paid it no mind, because it was already night and I was deadened by my lack of sleep. But now, with the sun up high in the sky and people all around, I finally got the feeling of awe which I’d been missing out on that other day.
Teurein was a port city. It wasn’t like Lagdon. It didn’t have the “fortress” look which Lagdon portrayed. It didn’t have that rough mixture of people from all over the world.
It was almost like one whole massive village.
There were markets everywhere. People were selling what they could sell and buying what they could buy. Merchants and traders set up shops and tents all over the “city.” But what struck me wasn’t the amount of people or the size of the city.
It was the people.
They were the friendliest people I’d ever met. I’m not even exaggerating. I must’ve received over forty “good-morning’s” or “how are you’s.” It seemed like I was a family relative of everyone; people talked and started up conversations with me wherever I walked.
It took Goul and me about three hours to finally get to the market Goul’d been looking for. It was an old closed-down market put up for sale, except only no one was buying it. The area the building was built on was very unattractive; no merchant would even go near it.
“Inside,” Goul gestured to the old worn-down wooden door. I followed him inside. There were a few broken tables and chairs lying about, but other than that the place was empty. Goul went to the center of the room, and kneeled down on the floor, as if searching for something. Then, I heard a loud click. Instantly, a panel in the floor swung inwards, leading into a small room lighted only by the fire of two torches. I followed him down into the room. On the far side of the room, I saw an opening to a tunnel. The smell of death hit me almost as soon as I saw the opening.
“Here it is,” Goul said, pointing down the tunnel.
I blinked several times, trying to see beyond the veil of darkness. I tried using my sixth sense, but I could detect nothing beyond what my own eyes could see.
Goul, however, gestured into the tunnel again. “Inside.” He said.
I followed him down into the tunnel. The tunnel seemed to stretch on for miles and miles through the darkness. The fog was very thick and heavy, and the musty air began to clog my nostrils. The only light from the torches flickered and then went out. Silence around us. All but the pattern of our footsteps as we descended further into the tunnel.

“That’s strange,” A guard whispered. Night had descended upon the city, and all was calm. The two soldiers who stood guard by the gateway were inspecting a large hole in the wall; one big enough for one large man to come through. That was strange, because the two soldiers had been standing around all day, and had never seen or heard anything out of order, and they’d only just discovered the hole.
The other soldier nodded. “Look at the edges! No hammer or pick could make such an entrance into even a cottage in so short an amount of time.”
The first one glared at it. “I suspect sorcery. Should we report this?”
“Nah. Let’s wait until Garrison gets back first. He’ll know what to do.”

“I don’t understand,” I whispered quietly, surveying the plains of darkness around us. “Where are we-?”
“Hang on,” Goul said suddenly, shifting forward as if ready to pounce on someone. “There’s something out of place.”
“Where?” My eyes inadvertently darted ahead of me. Squinting into the fog, I could make out a small figure at the far end of the tunnel. Goul started forward slowly. I followed behind him, my heart pounding. I didn’t know why, but sweat dripped from my forehead. And as we drew nearer, the figure appeared to grow larger and larger, into the shape of...
I hesitated to go any further. The figure remained still. And then he spoke.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood as I recognized the voice.
“What took you so long Goul?” Vorak asked. “Did you bring my nephew along like you said you would?”
“Aye. That I did.”
I rubbed my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Here was the same Vorak; the Vorak whom I’d known all those years before. And now…and now…
“I never knew you were an elf too,” I said.
He laughed. It was the same hearty laugh I’d heard all those years before of working with him. And here he was! Alive! And an ELF! And my uncle! I always believed that life was full of surprises, but this was one of the best ones I’d received so far. I didn’t know why, but I felt honored, in a way, to have Vorak as my uncle.

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

Vorak wasn't he the blacksmith? And Oh no, I think you might have somehow read my secret story notes with the hole in the wall that the guards found lol Just kidding. It's only just simlar. also... MOAR!!!

[noodle0117]

Haven't read this yet, although I can say that when I first read the title, I thought it was going to be a story on how a fort suffered from death via fps.