So let's begin.
Datan Ekurkeskal (Mightyshoots) led his band of seven dwarves, like so many others, to start an outpost that might become a mighty fortress one day, bustling with over a hundred industrious dwarves... Or so was the dream.
After days of travel the chosen mountain at last was visible in the distance- proud and sturdy, a welcome change from the dark jungles through which they were traveling. They were all very eager to arive at the solid cliff face, but getting the wagons through the thick jungle was slow going...
Fortunately, one dwarf... Urist Borushdumat (Raked-Roughness), volunteered to stay with the wagons, while the other six hurried off ahead to the comfort of the cliff. Datan thought Urist was a bit... slow, and he was still wary after having been assigned their "miner" by the Society for Reformed Dwarves... Datan was skeptical that Urist had any type of skill at all, but she brought her own pick and the party was short on funds- and a fortress would be doomed without a miner...
In any case, slow as he was Datan was confident that Urist could handle the carts, as she'd been doing so for most of the journey... A rather strange dwarf...
The dwaves had been relaxing by the cliff face for several hours and there was talk maybe the beasts had gotten Urist when she finally emerged from the jungle, though extremely filthy. What's more, there was only one wagon and it was empty, holding only Urist's own pick!
"What's the meaning of this?" Demanded Datan.
Urist looked very sheepish and more than a little dense when she responded, "It... fell out..." She gestured vaguely from where she came...
Datan was furious... He promised to beat Urist when he returned, and called up his five reliable comrades to help him go out and find the supplies...
(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/2005/totheirdoomsz4.png)
He didn't get far beyond the river before he noticed what appeared to be a mule in the distance- the cart couldn't be far away. When he approached however, he saw that the mule was dead, quite gorily impaled on... something... Datan looked around in shock- the place was littered with bones, Elephant bones... This must be one of those Elephant Graveyards he'd heard about. He shuddered at the thought of what they'd do to him if he were alive.
Then one of them stood up.
Datan screamed in a mix of surprise and terror as the animated skeleton charged at him... The other dwarves nearby rushed to see what was going on, as the rest of the elephant corpses rose...
A slaughter ensued.
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4449/thebriefbattledl1.png)
They were dead... his comrades, they were all dead- After being thrown into a tree and grievously injured, Datan quickly saw the futility of facing off against one of these re-animated behemoths, he fled as fast as his dwarven legs could carry him, which given the circumstances was quite fast indeed...
He mindlessly fled towards the cliff face, and Urist...
(http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1207/cruelindifferenceoj3.png)
Much to his surprise, Urist was already industriously (though not very skillfully as Datan had suspected) chipping away at the cliff face with her pick off in the distance.
He tripped, and his wounds made it hard to get up again- just as the elephants were almost on top of him, just before he lost consciousness he saw Urist glance at him... She had an entirely different look in her eye from her usual dullness- it was a sharp cunning look, a victorious gloating look... She'd played them all for fools. Datan's skull was crushed by a bony foot.
...
For a while Urist was concerned that the elephants had seen her, but that quickly passed as they returned to the forest. She'd finally made it. In this place, protected by the hoards of re-animated elephants... this is where she'd prove them all wrong.
She'd used them all, and now she'd show them... It started after she was dismissed as apprentice to her master... Her stupid, stupid master, "No abilities"!? "No potential!? What did he know? Her father didn't know anything either... He'd lectured her- berated her- claimed she'd never amount to anything. He went too far! She was perfectly justified in killing him...
They thought she was mad. Ha! They tried to "help" her... They were the ones who needed help! The Society for Reformed Dwarves? She played along, of course- she pretended she had an "illness," and then pretended it was "rehabilitated." It was simple for a dwarf of her quality. She had come out here with this utterly incompetent band... Hadn't they noticed the skeletal elephants trailing them for the last few days? Urist noticed... Urist noticed everything...
Now she was free, now she had a real chance to prove herself... She took stock of what materials she had... There was a mule and a horse as well as the wagon... They looked tasty... (not the wagon...) She also noticed a kitten roaming around... Probably one of the deceased dwarves' pets... More food.
She took her pick, the one she'd driven through her father's skull, and struck the mountain.
---
In game terms, here's the setting:
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8405/locationmp8.png)
(http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9571/supliesbm6.png)
The events of this prologue were inspired by the actual game events- I sent all but one of my dwarves to wrestle with the skeletal elephants, but one got away, only to be struck down within eyesight of Urist.
The skeletal elephant graphic is of my own design... I also have really, really, lame skeletal bonobo graphics for consistency's sake...
If you thought this was too story-heavy, don't worry, most of my future updates will be far more game play as I attempt to survive with only one skill-less peasant and an iron pick. (If you liked the story, there'll be enough of it later on too).
Thoughts so far?
[ February 23, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
I'm more concerned about killing the fall caravan without getting their stuff... It would be pretty lame to just get an axe from the dead guards...
So will this entire game be played solo or will Urist eventually deign to have a few servants to help detail her private throneroom?
quote:
So will this entire game be played solo or will Urist eventually deign to have a few servants to help detail her private throneroom?
Now, I've been playing for a while... I should probably post what's happened.
The first day:
Urist was alone in front of a sheer cliff face. Aside from her pick, an empty wagon, a mule, a horse, and a kitten were all she had...
First things first, she was sure she'd get hungry sooner or later, she decided to kill all the animals and store their tasty meat.
The horse and mule were quickly slaughtered, Urist then went off to look for the kitten... She found it playfully killing a toad, it looked up, blood on it's tiny jaw, and stared right into her eyes, into her soul it seemed.
It... it knew! It knew that they were right, that Urist was worthless, that everyone who called her incompetent and insane were right! It knew of her crimes, the blood on her hands!
...
It had to die. Urist approached, pick firmly grasped in hand... The kitten looked up, as Urist raised the pick- and then the kitten... it, walked up and rubbed against Urist's leg while purring...
Why? It's eyes, it's eyes said it knew all, and yet... Urist was stunned... This kitten knew, but accepted her anyway... This kitten... This kitten could live.
(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5186/animalsfateka0.png)
The Animals' different fates.
Composing herself, she returned to her work... She didn't want to sleep in the mud, so she set about digging a small cave, and then ripping apart the wagon... With the wood she set about crafting a bed for herself.
It was difficult and time consuming work, as she had never made anything out of wood before... Upon completion she was rather thirsty. As she kneeled in the mud drinking water from the river, she knew what her next project had to be...
First she set off into the jungle to gather various plants... She didn't know much about them though, and work was slow and arduous.
(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/2279/aquiringprovisionssu7.png)
The next step was to use some more wood from the wagon to make a nice barrel... She was concerned though, there wasn't much wood left at all, and she had no axe to cut more... She resolved to save that last little bit of wood to forge an axe when she found some ore... no it wasn't even enough for that... perhaps if she dug deep enough she could find some coal...
But for now, everything was in place, and she could begin brewing. From now on she'd have nice proper drinks.
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4930/propperdrinkhj6.png)
Meanwhile her kitten had been wandering in the jungle when it came across a familiar sight... His former owner... The remains of his former owner...
...
From this day forward he was no longer a kitten, but a cat.
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8791/riteofpassagezq4.png)
Feeling accomplished after such a productive day (day in the non-solar Dwarven sense of "the period between waking up and going to sleep"- actually several days for one so hardy as Urist), Urist decided to go to sleep.
(http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8461/firstnightrj4.png)
The First Night (again in the dwarven sense).
---
More after I eat... I should note that I might take liberties with the order of events ever so slightly for the story's sake- nothing too major though (like Urist actually went to sleep in the middle of brewing and then woke and drank from the river first thing, but I've stuck the whole project in the first day...)
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
And that's one smart cat, love the little details like that. :)
Urist woke to the sounds of someone draging something outside...
(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/7101/ametalsmithhasarivedvx4.png)
"Hello, I'm the metal smith who was assigned to this outpost... err... where is everyone?"
Urist panicked- this dwarf, he'd come to drink her precious sewer brew! No, more importantly, he'd surely mock her... mock her like all the rest- he'd drive her out claim the fortress for his own, he had to be stopped.
"Uh... they're out... gathering plants right now..." Urist finally managed to say...
"All of them?" The metalsmith replied skeptically.
"... You might want to talk to Datan, he's in charge..." She had formulated a plan. "He's just beyond the river and to the south a bit... I think."
"Oh... okay." As the metalsmith went off he mumbled "strange dwarf..." He had clearly already begun to look down on her, he deserved to die- Urist was perfectly justified in what she had just done. Her cat carefully watched the metalsmith as he left.
Urist thought fast, this fellow wouldn't be the last dwarf to come inquiring about the fate of those who had come here... At the very least a trading party was scheduled to arrive that fall to investigate and bring supplies...
Urist wouldn't allow that! If she accepted their supplies, wouldn't that only be proving right all those who doubted her abilities? What could the traders offer that she couldn't make herself! And surely if they returned with stories of her accomplishments more dwarves would follow and try to steal her fortress like that metalsmith had attempted...
She heard a dwarf's scream and a sickening crunch. He had deserved to die...
(http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/258/ametalsmithhasleftol9.png)
The metalsmith's head is crushed.
Only then did she notice the metalsmith had left behind an anvil... She pretended not to notice it... She quickly set about on her third project... There was a lot to do, and she hoped she could finish it it before fall...
She worked tirelessly throughout the day, digging and digging- she felt like she was getting the hang of it, like she was a real miner...
By the time she was too exhausted to continue working she had carved out all the space she'd need. The next phase was ready to begin... tomorrow.
(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5715/secondnightus0.png)
The second night.
---
The third day.
She immediately resumed work when she woke- she had enough food to last a while, but the alcohol was already running low...
She worked diligently, constructing massive rock slabs in the tunnel...
It was dehydrating work, and before she was done she finished off the alcohol, and had to brew up a new batch.
As she was doing that, she could see off in the, distance beyond the river, all the way to where the corpses of the original six dwarves lay rotting, there was a flurry of activity...
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7862/jesuschristrr0.png)
Re-animated mandrill skeletons were stealing the clothes off of the dead dwarves... Urist hadn't known that even skeletal mandrills lived here... she was glad they'd been distracted by the dead dwarves, or they might have attacked her fortress (really a shallow cave in the cliff at this point) to steal her goods...
It wasn't safe out here... She would have to move everything inside... but first, she had to prepare for the fall caravan.
By the time night fell, the huge stone slabs were in place, and she had begun the complex system of mechanisms she would need... She was making good time, surely the caravan was doomed, the caravan with it's laughing arrogant merchants... merchants who would look down on her, and tell her that she needed their help... She couldn't stand the thought! They had to die too!
She would surely finish her construction tomorrow...
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6062/thirdnightdb1.png)
The Third Night.
---
For the record, there are no pictures of the skeletal mandrills themselves because I just now drew the art for them... I honestly didn't know that there were any here...
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
I'm going to take this opportunity to put in a request for a steam or lava trap sometime in the future, once Urist has the time to mess with it.
Next time I start a fortress I'm going to have to try something like this.
Keep going, you're good at this!
Her cat was also working diligently; it was slaughtering every small animal near the cliff face... Urist watched out of the corner of her eye, fascinated, as she continued her work.
(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7330/kittycarnagexr2.png)
At last it was done, everything was ready, all that was needed now was to wait for the caravan...
Of course, autumn had just come, and it would be a while before the caravan actually arrived, so Urist decided to start her next project, moving everything deep within the mountain, lest the animated mandrill skeletons attacked... They were already getting more daring...
(http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1545/anotherraidyr7.th.png)
First things first- Urist made a door for her bedroom/work area. Her cat was nearby playfully tormenting a rat...
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/786/indoorremainsga8.png)
Urist felt she could identify with the cat. Somehow it's presence made her feel better, she didn't know what she'd do if anything happened to it...
(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4931/miasmarm5.png)
Well... Life had already told Urist over and over again that nothing's ever perfect...
When the door was in place, she began to dig a deep narrow tunnel deep into the mountain. She was significantly faster at mining than when she had first arrived, so the work didn't take long. As she hacked through a layer of what appeared to be limestone, the cat grooming itself not far behind, she noticed something odd... the rock appeared to be getting moist. One more swift strike and the wall crumbled in a wall of water.
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8422/waterls2.png)
The next thing she knew she had been thrown halfway back to the entrance, the water her only waist deep... What of the cat though! She saw it floating nearby, and quickly picked it up and brought it outside...
They both dried off in the sun, the cat looking particularly indignant as it licked the water out of its fur... Urist, not letting a single moment go to waste made another door to separate her bedroom from the rather moist tunnel beyond. When she was done with that the water had receded and the returned into the mine. Her cat, freshly dried, followed.
It seemed there was a subterranean river running through the mountain parallel to the cliff face. That would be useful, Urist thought, for fortification... Then she remembered her enemies were the undead, and a river wouldn't stop them... Oh well.
She set about building a bridge, when all of a sudden she heard a roar coming from upstream.
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8674/formidableopponentwm7.png)
She and her cat were thrown back again by the water, though not as far. The water wasn't deep and she immediately waded back to continue building the bridge... though the cat left. She could sympathize with the venomous glare it gave to the river as it left... There was really no call for doing that to them twice...
---
Reg and Thikut were slowly making their way though the thick jungle... Reg was a merchant and Thikut was an axedwarf Reg had hired for protection. The foreboding jungle they were stumbling through made Reg all the more appreciative of his axe-wielding companion.
"Who would settle in such a sinister jungle," Reg wondered aloud...
"Eh, the mountain is probably rich... And who cares about all the vicious beasties about when you're safely underground?" replied Thikut.
"Rich? You think so?" Reg brightened at the though of exchanging this barrel of Dwarven Ale his mule was carrying for some of those riches... as well as the though of getting under ground.
"Hurry it up now! We wouldn’t want to be in these woods come nightfall!” The voice came from far ahead, from Reg's business partner and longtime friend, Ablel. It wasn't Reg's fault that he was lagging behind, the mule was being stubborn...
(http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2377/rehereyu1.png)
[Image limit exuded, post split in two- continued next post]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/6007/spiderslaughterqc5.png)
The two of them happily continued on with their respective pleasures... untill the spiders started smelling really bad...
(http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/5710/spidermiasmabn7.png)
Urist decided she needed a drink, and returned to the entrance, cat in tow.
---
"Stupid mule!" Reg tugged on the rope, the mule tugged back. Reg slipped and fell onto something squishy.
Thikut let out a deep dwarven laugh. "That mule really showed you who's boss!"
"Uuah!"
"I was only joking no need to-"
"No, look!"
Reg held up an arm... Not his arm mind you, but a rotting dwarven arm, covered in claw marks.
"Uuah!" It was Thikut's turn to be disgusted.
Reg had fallen on a naked half rotten dwarf corpse!
"Let's hurry and catch up with Ablel, I want to get out of here as fast as possible," said Reg.
---
Urist was shocked!
(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7977/shockln7.png)
It was awfully early for the caravan to come! If she hadn't come out for a drink because of all the miasma the cat had caused, she might have missed them!
"Hi!" The dwarf driving the mule called, "I bet you're glad to see us! I'm Ablel, and we're merchants as you can probably tell." He glanced behind him and shrugged before continuing, "Which way to the trade depot?"
Urist took a second to calm down and remember the plan...
"It... It's... uh... It's that way." She pointed to the prepared cave on her left.
"Thanks! Have you all got much to trade with us? I wouldn't want to have come all this way for nothing." He laughed an infuriatingly pointless laugh... What was so funny? What was so damn funny to this guy!? Was he trying to be friendly!? Damn it, this was the very dwarf who threatened everything, who would like nothing better than to destroy everything Urist had worked for, and he was acting to be friendly! Urist fumed, but attempted to respond with composure... she had to play the game...
"Oh... uh... yeah. Lot's of... rocks... No, wait- that is... I mean, lot's of rocks for crafts... We have crafts, not rocks... We have rocks too... but... you probably don't want them..."
Urist turned red... That's not what she had meant to say... Damn this ass of a merchant! Ablel just laughed again. What was his problem!?
"You're a funny one, I like you!" He bellowed, "Well you can tell the others we're here. I look forward to seeing what rocks you've found!"
His laugh pierced Urist's skull, it was all she could do to keep from piercing Ablel's skull with her pick right there.
"Uh... yeah... okay..."
Ablel entered the tunnel with his mule and his axedwarf companion, and Urist went to the switch room and pulled with all her furry.
(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1205/squishgoesoneqn2.png)
---
Reg and Thikut had just stumbled out of the forest having wrestled the damn mule every step past the river. Reg looked up just in time to see Ablel walking into a tunnel and... it seemed sureal, he couldn't comprehend it... The wall... the entire wall had just fallen... and Ablel... Reg's comrade for many years, Reg saw him crushed... It had never occurred to Reg before just what exactly seeing someone get crushed looked like, but here in front of him Ablel had... burst... red... He didn't want to think about it any more. It was Ablel! Thikut recovered more quickly. "We have to get out of here," he said, "I've seen setups like that before- it's a trap!"
Just then they heard a shout of surprise as a dwarf emerged from a cave right next to that bloody tunnel.
"Ah... more..." the dwarf said, "the trade depot... you want the trade depot right? Merchants? Of course, like the others... The trade depot is there... please hurry, I want... er... we, that is, we're hungry, and... merchants sometimes... I mean, you have food right? We'll trade... rock... rock crafts. Please go in there... please?"
The dwarf began to plead because Reg and Thikut were recoiling in horror- it was clear that this clearly insane dwarf was the one who killed Ablel.
"You're mad! Why did you do that to Ablel! What's wrong with you!" Reg couldn't resist shouting. Thikut had begun to back away.
"Why... what?" The mad dwarf looked back into the tunnel... a pool of blood was leaking out under the slab of rock that rested on the ground. "Oh... You..." The dwarf seemed to transform entirely, "You've seen! We can't have that! You'll take it from me, you'll tell others and they'll take it! I can't let you take it! I need it, I need it to prove them wrong!"
The mad dwarf raised her pick and charged. Reg looked for Thikut, but he was already gone... so was that damn mule, distracted by his rage and confusion Reg had been abandoned and was now standing by himself. He quickly did the only thing he could think of and ran.
(http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9205/runawaygoestheothersj2.png)
---
Urist was exhausted and infuriated. She had let them get away! There were more of them, and she had sprung the trap... the trap that took her so many months to build... she had sprung it too soon. Damn! This put everything in danger! People knew, would learn about her... Had that one called her mad? Ha! But... he'd tell other people that she was mad... He'd say "Oi, there's a mad dwarf living in those woods." And with that, she'd become known as a mad dwarf... She wasn't mad! The Society for Reformed Dwarves had called her mad... no "diagnosed" her as mad... And she showed them... She used them to obtain this, her fortress!
In any case, she doubted that whatever tales reached the outside world would inspire dwarves to try and immigrate... But what about further caravans?
Urist had been stumbling inside as she thought, with a vague notion that she had to continue mining... She decided that she should probably have gone to sleep instead, and collapsed there on the floor.
(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3091/fourthnightog3.png)
The fourth night.
---
Fwew! That took a while! I can go less story-heavy if people want... That was one in-game day, but it took me a couple hours to write... If people would rather hear about my gameplay obstacles I could change focus and it would go much faster...
(For the record though, it's really, really fun to write.)
(Ha! Five pages in MS word! Neat!)
Edit: Heh... Finally got all the images working, thought the second mandrill raid only works as a thumbnail... oh well...
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
quote:
Originally posted by DDouble:
<STRONG>One minor point...Can you please just use one period at a time...not everything requires a pause...it will save digital ink, and therefore help an electronic rainforest...plus make the author sound more confident...</STRONG>
If it's already bothered you, I expect you'll be quite infuriated by her dialogue!
Edit: Actually, reading back what I wrote, I see what you mean... (Damn it, again? I swear I didn't do that on purpose!) It's a bad habit of mine. (Hah, only one period there!) I can't very well go back and change all of what I wrote, but I'll try to keep that in mind for the future.
[ February 24, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
quote:
Originally posted by JimmyJ:
<STRONG>Wow, the story is really getting interesting :) I don't really care about the ... thing, it doesn't really bother me :)</STRONG>
In fact, even in those two sentences, I didn't just type "." I typed "...[backspace][backspace]" for both the periods. Why do I do that!?
And also, I'm not sure if I should, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I have no idea how to make the story interesting after this...
(^ Justified "...")
I guess we'll see what happens.
Probably an armed patrol would show up, after the merchant group came running back with tales of murder. A battle against them would not be winnable, so, deception. Perhaps new settlers come to the site, and everything has to look normal. But there's a series of unfortunate accidents, and a hidden cave deep in a dark corner of the fortess, full of dwarven bones...
[ February 25, 2007: Message edited by: Momaw ]
quote:
Originally posted by Momaw:
<STRONG>>> I have no idea how to make the story interesting after this... <<Probably an armed patrol would show up, after the merchant group came running back with tales of murder. A battle against them would not be winnable, so, deception. Perhaps new settlers come to the site, and everything has to look normal. But there's a series of unfortunate accidents, and a hidden cave deep in a dark corner of the fortess, full of dwarven bones...</STRONG>
For one, the dwarves will never attack- that's just how things are (wait till I piss of the humans). I'll never get imigrants because the caravan was destroyed.
Actually I do have some ideas for later on... I suppose I can just gloss over less interesting events, like I did for the contsruction of the caravan-killing divice (that took a really long time to build with an unskilled dwarf, almost half a year).
I'm sure something will come up.
I'm loving the story, but if there's simply not much of anything interesting happening you might as well talk about how the gameplay, the progress on the fortress, etc. I realize that sadly it won't be possible for Urist to murder someone in every update.
I do sort of envision her as being of paranoid about security and putting traps all over the place or moving to the other side of the river after this, even if that'd be more for roleplaying purposes than practical ones.
quote:
Originally posted by Eiba:
<STRONG>And also, I'm not sure if I should, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I have no idea how to make the story interesting after this...I guess we'll see what happens.</STRONG>
(Two days played. Story... be written in a couple hours probobly.)
Urist woke groggily... she wondered what the heck she was doing on the hard rocky floor... The events of the previous day slowly came back to her... One had gotten away... That couldn't be helped now.
---
Reg the merchant knocked back another mug of Dwarven Rum... It had only been a couple (solar) days since he returned to Liruksibrek... since Ablel was killed. He'd been hanging out in the bar drinking heavily, telling his story to anyone who would listen.
"And then this crazy dwarf came out babbling about how we were thieves or something... She came charging at us with her pick with a crazed look in her eye... Urist Borushdumat was her name!"
"How do you know her name if you pissed your pants and ran scared?" That was Doren the metalsmith who had heard the story before. Reg continued intently, completely ignoring the attack on his honor, "Well, when I got back they told me that, according to the records, the miner sent out with the settlers was freshly released from an insane asylum... In fact I'm the chief witness for the prosecution in the trial for the fool who signed the release papers. I'll see that the negligent prick gets a hammering for his incompetence!"
"Bah, typical dwarven justice... 'Hammer the guy who signs the papers and everything's fine' I tell you the system is fundamentally flawed!" Cerol the stonemason was as infamous for his political rants as Reg had become for the story of Mad-Dwarf Urist.
"Damn it Cerol, not again! I'm listening to Reg's funny rant now, not yours!" Doren was more interested in this new story than Cerol's old politics.
"So let me get this straight," a new voice interjected, "There's this crazy dwarf out there who's dug a cave, and managed to build a huge complex trap, and she's all by herself?"
"And who are you?" Reg asked.
"Dastot, miner. I'm looking to found an outpost, and it sounds like one's already been started for me."
---
As she had a breakfast of raw mule meat, she heard a familiar clattering off in the woods... Right, the mandrills- she had already carved out a small cave on the far side of the subterranean river, and so she decided to start hauling all her food there.
She decided more space was necessary and spent the next considerable period of time mining out new rooms. She was glad she'd moved her food when she did, as it saved a lot of walking.
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1106/newstockpilezj2.png)
She had a lot of mining left to do. Where it was the food would probably be washed away in spring by the surge of water from the melting snow, so she'd have to carve out a new food store eventually. First though she dug a bedroom for herself, and went back to the entrance to haul her precious bed...
---
Cerol didn't know how he'd been suckered into this... Probobly a result of drunkenness...
He was now stumbling through this deeply unsettling jungle following that gung-ho reactionary dwarf Dastot... It was clear why that oaf was out here, to order people around, but why the heck did he have a pet foal with him? Next to him was another dwarf from the bar, Doren, who it seems just wanted to see the Mad-Dwarf for himself. It was Doren who had persuaded Cerol. "C'mon!" he'd said, "You've always been ranting about those 'oppressive unjust nobles,' here's a chance to build your 'egg-litarian comedy'!" "Egalitarian community," Cerol muttered to himself as he remembered the fool's foolishness. And how was he going to do anything like that with Dastot's dictatorial attitude?
Trailing behind was the only dwarf Cerol didn't know anything about, Onul. Apparently he was another friend of Doren's, another metalsmith as well. Why would a settlement of four dwarves need two metalmiths? And who was going to feed them? Dastot was clearly too thick-headed to have considered that...
(http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6243/motherofcrapve9.png)
---
Good god, they'd come! It had happened! Urist's worst fears realized, that damn merchant had sent them... to steal her fortress! Think quickly...
(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2182/lockthedoorscb9.png)
Okay, she and her food were safe for now. She thanked the gods that she'd thought to move her food stores inside when she had... But she hadn't prepared for this. Oh, why hadn't she prepared for this!
Thinking quick as usual she came up with a plan.
(http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/7540/theplandg1.png)
She set about working quickly, digging the tunnel, but her workshops to construct the floodgates were still near the entrance... She hoped that wouldn't be a problem...
---
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/4439/soclosecd0.png)
"Hey! Let us in! We aren't going to hurt you, we just want to help. Is it true that you're stark raving mad?" Doren, master of diplomacy, Cerol thought. Dastot had first heard sounds of work coming from inside, but he'd had the sense to give up shouting after five minutes of unresponsiveness. Doren... well it could be said that Doren was more persistent.
"So what do we do now?" Cerol asked Dastot, away from the racket.
"Hmm..." Was the only reply Dastot gave.
"You've got a pick, you're a miner, aren't you? Let's just dig around the door?"
"Oh," Dastot replied as if surprised, "Er, I mean, Of course I'd already thought of that, how stupid would I be if I hadn't thought of that? Of course the reason that it's a stupid idea is... it would leave the cave vulnerable. Yes, you see, some people just don't have vision: If we make the entrance wider it would be harder to defend later on!"
Is this dwarf serious? Cerol thought, He's not going to do it just because he didn't think of it? "So what's your plan then?"
"Well you see..."
"I'm thirsty," said Onul. It was actually the first thing Cerol had ever heard him say.
"River's right there..." Said Doren mockingly, apparently he had given up trying to persuade the Mad Dwarf to show herself.
"I saw... a ghost..." Onul replied sheepishly.
"That's it!" Exclaimed Dastot.
"Ghosts?" Said Cerol skeptically?
"No, I mean, I was in the middle of explaining this! We wait until the Mad Dwarf runs out of water! She'll get thirsty eventually and have to come out!"
"Right, and what if there's an underground spring or something?" Cerol was becoming increasingly convinced that he was the only dwarf out here who wasn't mad... well, it wasn't much different back home of course...
"Shut up! Anyway, I'm thirsty too..." He stalked off towards the river, foal in tow.
Onul followed, and Doren, following the crowd, did too...
Cerol sighed... he didn't want to be left alone with the Mad Dwarf...
(http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9845/gettingadrinkmb0.png)
[continued next post]
With the all floodgates and mechanical parts ready to be installed Urist felt safe enough to take a nap before installing them.
(http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2046/fifthnightsc2.png)
The Fifth Night
---
"What the hell was that!? Oh gods, what the hell was that!?" Doren kept shouting as they ran.
"Shut up already!" Cerol replied with little patience. This place was a death trap! What the hell was he doing out here?
It had happened when they were all out getting a drink. Onul started shaking, with fear, presumably, and started whimpering "ghost... ghost..." over and over again. Doren was inclined to mock him, but Datost and Cerol, following Onul's gaze, saw what the dwarf was talking about. Towering on the far side of the river was a massive tower of bones- a skeletal elephant. Cerol was absolutely petrified. Though he was ashamed to admit it, Dastot was the far more courageous dwarf. He immediately leapt into action... really, really stupid action, Cerol though, as the tiny dwarf charged across the ford, yelling loudly, pick held high.
(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9156/sfatepb7.png)
Soon the three surviving dwarves were running back to the mountain, yelling loudly, heads held low.
Cerol and Doren took refuge in an odd tunnel... Cerol hadn't seen what happened to Onul.
"Oh gods, he's dead!" Doren was visibly shaken, "Dastot is dead!"
Cerol had been rather disturbed by what he had seen as well, but when it was put that way, was it really so bad? The oaf had it coming.
"What are we going to do now!" Doren wouldn't shut up... but he had a point. How were they going to leave with a gigantic reanimated elephant corpse standing in the ford?
"Well... we could... make the best of it..." Cerol suggested.
"What!?"
"I mean, we could still wait here until the Mad Dwarf comes out for water, jump her and set up in the mountain." Cerol couldn't believe that he was using Dastot's lame plan, but with Dastot's pick disturbingly close to a bloodthirsty bloodless pachyderm...
"... Yeah... Yeah, that's probably our best bet." Doren seemed to recover pretty fast. "By the way, what's up with this weird wall? You're the mason after all..."
Cerol hadn't really looked at the wall, but it seemed... "Huh, this looks like the design they use for bridges... it's a pretty good one to. I wonder why it's on it's side in here?"
Doren just chuckled.
"What is it?" Cerol was annoyed at how quickly this dwarf had gone from helpless shock and terror to arrogant chuckling.
"Ablel's executioner." Doren continued laughing, "This is so neat, it's just like that crazy merchant said."
"... Oh god... That means we'd better get out of here!" Cerol was less amused.
(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/476/bizareadmirationis8.png)
So they waited outside. And waited. And waited.
---
The Sixth Day
Urist awoke feeling refreshed. She finished off the longland beer, and so thought it best to brew up a new batch before doing anything else. She had found some herbs growing underground in the mud from repeated floodings, and so she brewed up some familiar Dwarven Ale from some pigtails she had found.
(http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/613/laxattitudeam4.png)
The work done, she reviewed the work she had to do... Oh gods! Those damn thieves, she had to kill those damn thieves!
---
"I'm... I'm hungry..." Onul managed to say after the three dwarves had been sitting for several hours. Cerol didn't have anything against Onul, he just seemed shy.
"Now that you mention it, I'm soooo hungry I could eat a horse!" Doren was just plain annoying. Of course Cerol was hungry to, but he wasn't whining about it. He'd rather think about what he could do rather than what he couldn't...
"Ah, that reminds me... Whatever happened to Dastot's little horse?"
"Followed Dastot," said Doren.
(http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1610/foalfollowsat2.png)
"Oh... That's no good then."
"Were you so hungry you could eat a horse too?" Doren began to laugh.
"Oh just shut up."
Doren yawned loudly, "Well I just might do that, I'm pretty tired. Keep watch while I sleep, eh, Cerol?"
"What? Me?" asked Cerol, but Doren was already noisily snoring. Cerol was rather tired himself... Onul seemed to have followed Doren's lead... surrounded by the soothing sounds of snoring dwarves, Cerol began to nod off himself...
(http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/4627/miserablepartyyp0.png)
(http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8738/daringraidef6.png)
What she hadn't counted on was how much her cat wanted to go outside. Cat's were surface creatures, unlike dwarves, so it stood to reason, but it still felt quite wrong to Urist that the cat would so enthusiastically burst outside like it did...
Upon obtaining her rock, the cat was nowhere to be seen... Urist figured it was either inside, or would have to wait until the stinking thieves were killed before it could return...
She set about putting the finishing touches on her trap.
---
"Great job, lookout!" Cerol woke up under the most unpleasant circumstances, starving, thirsty, covered in mud, and being berated by an blithering boob.
"Oh just shut up, just shut up!"
"The Mad Dwarf probably came out here to get a drink while we were sleeping! It's your fault we didn't see her!" Doren seemed more upset at the possibility that he'd missed seeing the Mad Dwarf than the possibility that he'd missed his only chance to survive...
"Just Shut Up." Cerol was thoroughly fed up with this dwarf, and with this whole situation. "I'm going to get a drink, maybe an elephant will crush me if they're merciful."
"Uh.." Onul was clearly distraught.
"Just let him go, he was getting boring anyway." Doren had a one track mind.
---
Doren was irritated. He was also irritated that he was irritated. His whole philosophy was to do anything possible to keep from getting irritated... He had clearly made a major miscalculation when he had joined this expedition. It had sounded so entertaining and exiting too!
"Hey, Doren..." Oh, Onul... Maybe his hilarious simplicity could cheer Doren up.
"What is it, Onul?"
"Over there..." He pointed.
"And what exactly is over-- HOLY CRAP! IT'S HER!" Things were looking up again! The door was open and staring out at them was the Mad Dwarf Urist herself! "Ha-HA! It's actually her! Hey! Hey! Are you really stark raving mad like they say!? Hey!"
The face disappeared into the cave.
"C'mon, Onul, after her!" He practically dragged Onul along into the cavern.
"Hey, Mad Dwarf, Come out! I just want to talk to you? Are you really mad like they say?"
"Um... Doren?" Not now Onul, something interesting is happening!
"Hey, Mad Dwarf!" Doren ignored Onul.
"Um, Doren, what's that sound?"
"What?" Pausing to listen it sounded like... water? Heh, Cerol thought he was so smart, but there was actually water down here the whole time! That was funny!
"Hey Doren, shouldn't we get out of here?"
"What why?"
Onul began to run.
(http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1520/ohsnappp1.png)
Oh crap, he was under water! The entire tunnel was filled with water... It was that Mad Dwarf, it was another of the Mad Dwarf's traps! Neat! Doren used the last of his strength trying to swim deeper into the tunnel... he really wanted to meet a real Mad Dwarf... It sounded interesting. He wondered what a Mad Dwarf was like... would it be anything like himself?
(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6145/twodowntf9.png)
---
Cerol had no idea that he was alone... In fact he was acutely aware that he wasn't alone, two glowing eyes watched him from across the river.
(http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/9013/thecatandthemasoncw3.png)
After a moment of panic, the creature walked into the sunlight... it was just a little cat. Suddenly Cerol's stomach growled... It was probably a tasty cat...
"Here kitty kitty!" Cerol slowly approached the cat, which just stood there staring at him. When he was only a few paces from it, it darted into the woods.
"Come back here you, I only want to eat you!" Putting aside the fact that talking to a cat to begin with was rather pointless, Cerol felt acutely stupid about what he had just said... He blamed his companions for rubbing off on him. He ran deeper into the jungle after the cat. Why was everyone but him such a damn fool? What was the matter with all these dwarves who set off on this insane suicide mission... Heck, he never would have come himself if it weren't for the alcohol. Damn alcohol. Damn dwarves. Damn everything that conspired to put such a flawless dwarf in such a hopeless situation. And damn that cat for being so fast. He stumbled into a clearing and tripped over a root... no not a root, a bone... Damn that cat... it was that cat's fault that he was about to die...
(http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/3821/strapts5.png)
---
Urist was satisfied with her work. When the main hallway drained, there were two bloated corpses left behind. Serves them right for rushing in to steal everything she worked for! Serves them right! Her cat seemed to be fine, it had returned looking particularly pleased, just as Urist was herself. Two dwarves dead in the hallway, how many had come? How many got away? There were three sleeping when she got the stone... She had to be wary, for more might come.
For now though, she decided to take a well deserved break for the rest of the day.
(http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/8361/muchneededbreakze7.png)
She plotted and planed... Against all who would take her glory, her proof of worth, she plotted. None of them would survive. One day, far in the future, she would no longer be called a Mad Dwarf, she would no longer be called worthless, she would be a Queen! No, an Empress! But she'd reign over an empire built by her own hands, greater than any ruler of nations who had ever lived! She would prove them wrong, and become the Greatest Dwarf in History!
But for now... she rested.
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2259/sixthnightwi0.png)
The Sixth Night
---
Good damn, so many pictures I have to split this post in three!
Someone said I couldn't have Urist murder someone every post, to them all I have to say is... Oh can't I?
For the record, the events are all entirely as they occurred in the game... I for one thing that’s pretty damn cool (obviously the fact that Cerol chased the cat wasn’t for food, and the fact that Doren tried to swim deeper into the cave wasn’t because he wanted to see a Mad Dwarf, but still Cerol actually chased the cat to his doom, and Doren actually spent his last few breaths swimming deeper into the cave).
Upon proofreading, I've found numerous typos... that I haven't the energy to fix. Please excuse them...
[ February 25, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ February 25, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
Doren trying to swim towards the river made me LOL. I think if the guy wanted to see a 'mad dwarf' than all he had to do was look in the mirror. :roll:
By far the best part was the cat leading Cerol to his doom though, just because it's so cool that it actually happened like that in the game.
You really outdid yourself on the length of the update too, it must have taken forever to write.
quote:
Originally posted by Koji:
<STRONG>I suggest building a ballista and some fortifications so it can shoot randomly outside. I've had dwarves go mad with power in the operator's seat.</STRONG>
A ballista would require wood for arrows though, right? Best to start out with a catapult.
quote:
Originally posted by Gakidou:
<STRONG>A ballista would require wood for arrows though, right? Best to start out with a catapult.</STRONG>
Either one requires nine wood just to build, though; it'll be a long time before Urist forges an axe and gets her hands on that much wood. Still, the siege engine idea is a great one.
quote:
Originally posted by Tylui:
<STRONG>Oh no! There's no more story right now! But I was so entertained...</STRONG>
quote:
Originally posted by Koji
<STRONG>I suggest building a ballista and some fortifications so it can shoot randomly outside. I've had dwarves go mad with power in the operator's seat.</STRONG>
It doesn't really fit Urist's style since it doesn't actually involve killing the other guys, but it will work wonders in preventing anyone from entering her precious fortress (I guess except miners that might dig inside.
Ooh! You should built a moat across the entire length [or would the be width? breadth perhaps?] of the fortress so truly no one can enter.)
Also, keep it up, its a really cool story!
quote:
Originally posted by Slartibartfast:
<STRONG>I believe the most effective counter to sieges for a single dwarf is a moat with a raised drawbridge.It doesn't really fit Urist's style since it doesn't actually involve killing the other guys, but it will work wonders in preventing anyone from entering her precious fortress (I guess except miners that might dig inside.
Ooh! You should built a moat across the entire length [or would the be width? breadth perhaps?] of the fortress so truly no one can enter.)Also, keep it up, its a really cool story!</STRONG>
Frogmen and flying beasties can still get over the moat. I think the only way to block out everything external would be to have a raised drawbridge behind a lava moat behind a water moat. Although I think a dragon could still break through that...
Urist reviewed her situation. She felt she was rather safe from interlopers now that she'd rigged the entrance hallway to be flooded, it was time to dig in and make her new home more comfortable before expanding further. First thing she did was to fashion a table and a chair out of stone and place them in a small cave she dug near the food store. This would be where she ate, as, Urist being a civilized dwarf, sitting on the floor was just unacceptable.
(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2144/verygooddiningroomjf7.png)
She was rather satisfied by her work, thinking the dining room she'd made to be very good indeed.
Next she decided, almost on a whim, to craft a glorious statue of herself... But where would she put it? Well, she'd have to dig a nice room for it... and so she did. It was all so wonderful, she would have a whole room dedicated to her great statue, like one of the heroes back home! It was only natural that she should be afforded such an honor, as she would be the Greatest Dwarf in History, or so she was determined.
The statue wasn't a masterpiece, but she thought she had done pretty good for herself considering her experience... She was determined to get better, and one day make a masterfully crafted statue... But for now she had to lug this one to her "statue garden" as she was already thinking of it.
Unfortunately, as she was dragging it into place, she lost her balance, and control of the statue- the both fell, with the statue on top of Urist...
(http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4686/thestatuecrisisqg5.png)
Damn! Things had been going so well... how in the world was she supposed to get this thing off of her...
The cat came in... meowed sympathetically, sat around for a while, and then left looking rather bored... It was no help... Urist struggled, but she was pinned... This was no good at all...
Stuck, she began to reflect... Why was she even making this statue? Wasn't her alcohol supply rather low? She barely had any plants left to brew... She didn't know how long it would be before her meat started to rot... It was under ground, but the heat and humidity from the jungle could still be felt... Even if it didn't rot, what if the seasonal floods came early and washed her food away? And what would she do if the Dwarves sent someone to punish her? Or if a goblins decided this mountain was theirs?
Suddenly she was very angry with herself. Dining rooms and statues? She needed food and defense! Summoning martial energy, she forced the statue off of her and stalked out of the room.
The rest of the day she spent mining. She greatly expanded the cave by the river, to give a place for plants to grow in the mud that would be washed there, and then, leaving a wall, dug a new cave to use as a food store and working area. She just managed to haul the last of the food to it's new home before she was forced to return to her bed in exhaustion.
(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1729/seventhnightvn4.png)
The Seventh Night
---
"Hey, did you hear about the Mad Dwarf Urist?" Ral the jeweler was gossiping with her friends, as the lady-dwarves tended to do, loudly and boisterously in the bar with everyone else.
"Of course, how could we not have?" Said Vabok the farmer.
"Yeah, it's all over Liruksibrek!" Agreed Vucar the craftsdwarf.
"Yeah, well did you hear about the band that left to go live with her?" Said Ral.
"Why would they do that?" Said Vabok.
"They'd have to be maddwarves themselves!" agreed Vucar.
Vabok went on, "I know, they say the Mad Dwarf lives in a terrible dark jungle, filled with all sorts of unspeakable horrors!"
Ral had a smirk on her face, "I bet I know why!"
"Why?" Said the other two dwarves intently.
"The mountain must be packed with gems and other riches." Ral's eyes lit up as she thought of what must have driven anyone to live in such a jungle, "I bet that's why the Mad Dwarf tried to kill the merchants- she wanted to keep all those riches for herself!"
"Oooh," Vabok and Vucar said together, half in awe of the potential treasures, half in awe of their friend's astounding deductive skill.
"And that's why I wanted to meet you here," Ral went on, "We're going to get those treasures!"
---
The Eighth day.
First thing Urist did when she got up was to start working on the food issue. The alcohol issue would have to wait, as it was still winter, such as this jungle had a winter, and so no plants grew in the cave.
Urist had gathered some quarry bushes growing in the hallway last fall, and so she set about making them edible. It was a complicated process, but she had most of the materials already, she just needed some type of bag... Checking the river, there were plenty of cave spider webs... She was determined to make them into a bag... somehow...
(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/2261/textileindustrygf0.png)
The work was slow, as she was inexperienced with working silk... Eventually, though, she managed to make something that resembled a bag... Anyway it would do for her purposes.
In the end she had so many quarry bush leaves she could make ten meals! They weren't edible yet, so she cooked them in her makeshift kitchen, along with some longland grass seeds for flavor.
(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9050/tastyfoodatlasthi4.png)
When she finished that, she noticed herbs were growing by the river. Spring must have arrived, and so she set off to see if any were usable plants for alcohol production...
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
It was just him, his wife, and her two friends, Vabok and Vucar... At least Vabok could farm... between Vucar and Ral, all they could do was make expensive trinkets... Oddon supposed that was actually the plan... He sighed. Of course he would be stuck with all the odd jobs, having no skills of his own...
(http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/7779/thesecondwavebv0.png)
"Ah, here we are!" Ral sounded victorious.
"Hurrah! we knew you could find the place!" Vabok always seemed to speak in the first person plural... Was she speaking for Vucar, Oddon wondered, or did she think herself a queen?
"Hurrah!" Echoed Vucar.
Oddon sighed. "So what were we going to do about the homicidal maniac living in there?" he asked.
Ral's friends glared at him. Ral herself said, "There, there, no need to be so pessimistic. Don't you trust me?"
No, thought Oddon, but he decided it was smarter to keep quiet.
---
Urist had found that plants thrived even in the mud from the water that had been used to execute the stinking thieves (She kicked one of the skulls as she passed the now-rotted corpses), she had been poking about in the mud all the way up the hallway, but despite many promising looking plants, she hadn't found anything she could brew yet... Ah, but there in one of her old work areas, there was a mushroom growing that looked quite promising!
"That's good Vabok! No, not like that Vucar, with your shoulder down more."
"Why aren't you doing this?"
"There, there, you're always irritated aren't you? Well, the fact is, someone has to organize you all."
"..."
"Now then, one, two, three, charge!"
There was a rather dull thump at the door... Apparently more stinking thieves had arrived. This group of dwarves seemed particularly incompetent, but their mere intentions sent Urist into a blind rage.
"Okay... I think it moved a little, let's line up again. One, two, three, charge!"
Urist threw open the door, and three dwarves stumbled onto the ground in front of her. A fourth stood looking rather shocked.
"You!" Urist shouted at the only dwarf not prostrate, "You stinking thief! What makes you-"
"No!" The dwarf shouted back with surprising determination, "You thief! You think I'll let you keep them all for yourself!? You think you can keep them all for yourself!? HA!"
Urist was stunned, what was this mad dwarf talking about?
"Vabok, Vucar, get up and take out the Mad Dwarf!" The dwarves weren't doing anything of the sort, still in a tangled mass on the ground, getting in each other's way of standing.
Urist had seen enough. She rushed down the tunnel, sure that the stinking thieves would follow.
---
Oddon continued to be miserable... He was covered in mud, as Vabok and Vucar had used him as a means to get up... They had even pushed his face in the mud as the mad dwarf had shown up, so he hadn't been able to see her...
"Hurry, hurry, she's getting away!" Ral shouted.
"We're running as fast as we can!" Vabok replied. They were all running, on Ral's insistence, deeper and deeper down a narrow muddy tunnel. It was narrow enough that they had to go single file, and for some unfathomable reason, Oddon had been shoved in first... Vabok's implied jab at his speed hurt- he prided himself on his speedy stone hauling...
Suddenly in the darkness he tripped over something and tumbled a few more feet ahead.
"What are you doing!?" His wife shrieked, "She's getting away!"
"Ugh!" Oddon shuddered, "Bones!"
"What are you talking..." Ral had evidently felt them herself...
"It's a trap, we're caught in the Mad Dwarf's trap!" Vabok cried.
"Traped!" Vucar echoed.
(http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/4268/clickau8.png)
*Click*
Oddon was completely and totally miserable.
(http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/348/failbx5.png)
---
Urist was brooding... That dwarf had called her a thief! Urist had never done anything wrong, she was always the victim!
She was also discouraged by the lack of plants (turns out the one in the workshop was just a damn dimple cup), and so, capitalizing on her already set up hallway flooding devised, decided to build a large cavern off of it that would fill with water and hopefully produce plants eventually.
As she worked, the dwarf's words echoed through her head. What had Urist ever stolen? Could that dwarf have known!? How could she... nobody knew... She continued to dig, shaking as she swung her pick... Nobody knew, how could they... She made sure they hadn't... Her father was dead, they couldn't know. Her father was dead, but she was still wracked with guilt... because she had taken his pride and joy, his pick... The very instrument she now used, the one she had driven through her father's skull... She was just a little dwarf... she was only playing with it, she wasn't going to loose it... Her father didn't understand, he'd never understood anything... She was bedridden for a month... a month of agonizing pain... Why couldn't her father understand!?
...
And now... did they know? Did they know she had stolen it? She had felt a deep dreadful pit in her stomach- had she been caught?
She finished up the cave she was digging and went off to sleep an uneasy sleep.
(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1904/eighthnightandherbpodgn0.png)
The Eighth Night.
---
I played for much longer, but decided to cut today's story down so these events wouldn't be overshadowed by what's to come...
(For the record I would never be so cruel as to tease my readers... probably)
quote:
(For the record I would never be so cruel as to tease my readers... probably)
Suuuuure you wouldn't. :)
The murders are always fun but what I really enjoyed was the part about the statue - well I say 'enjoy' but honestly it made me nervous, I hadn't realized switching them to military fixed that problem, I always have another dwarf come along and uninstall the statues when somebody gets stuck underneath them, but with a population of one that obviously presents a serious difficulty...here's hoping no little bugs or glitches come along and end Urist's tale early. Anyway, mainly I'm just impressed that you bothered to cover that part in such detail, it made a great addition to the story but a lazier writer might have just glossed over it or not mentioned it at all.
Also, for some reason the 'very good' dining room for one struck me as being absolutely adorable. Likewise the statue garden. I have got to try this sometime, I don't know why but the idea of a miniature fortress really appeals to me.
[ February 27, 2007: Message edited by: Solara ]
in the "next" immigration one dwarf should be wise enought to NOT fall in any of the traps,and would be crazy him/herself. Making a happy couple of master / slave
quote:
Originally posted by Rooster:
<STRONG>MAD DWARF + crazy dwarf=HAPPY,MAD MASTER
+ SLAVEin the "next" immigration one dwarf should be wise enought to NOT fall in any of the traps,and would be crazy him/herself. Making a happy couple of master / slave</STRONG>
Please no.
Also, what happened to the cat? :O
quote:
Originally posted by Slartibartfast:
<STRONG>Also, what happened to the cat? :O</STRONG>
The cat's still around and killing cave spiders/producing miasma at a tremendous rate...
I really should have put something in there about how neurotic it became when I locked it in the statue room in an effort to allow the cave spiders to survive long enough to produce silk... (It was flashing "?" and would probably be spamming me with pathing errors if cats could do such a thing.)
And about the slave idea... I'm largely in agreement with Slartibartfast... Though if I do the same exact thing every immigration wave it might get boring. If a slave is ever taken though, it won't be happy, and it will contribute nothing to Urist's works... After all her whole madness is based on a need to prove herself, by herself... (Incidentally, can you assign non-criminal dwarves to chains?)
quote:
Originally posted by Solara
<STRONG>Anyway, mainly I'm just impressed that you bothered to cover that part in such detail, it made a great addition to the story but a lazier writer might have just glossed over it or not mentioned it at all.</STRONG>
quote:
<STRONG>I thought this was an entertaining enough update in its own right, but here you think it's going to be 'overshadowed by events to come'? What else happened?</STRONG>
And thanks in general to everyone following this- the number of positive comments I get is directly proportional to the motivation I have for posting the next bit. So far I've not been lacking motivation.
quote:
Originally posted by Eiba:
<STRONG>And thanks in general to everyone following this- the number of positive comments I get is directly proportional to the motivation I have for posting the next bit. So far I've not been lacking motivation.</STRONG>
Then take every comment I make as positive :)
(Especially since the fact that I'm commenting suggests I'm very much interested in the story => positive comment :))
quote:
Originally posted by Poil:
<STRONG>Best dwarf story thread I've ever read. Just watch out for any fey moods.</STRONG>
I don't see 20 dwarf waves coming in...
That said, I imagine that "only over 20" is a trick of statistics... Quite honestly I think a fey mood would be awesome. I plan on making all the types of glass just in case (when I get some spare time)... She'll have to catch a cave lobster too (and eat it... I wonder how I'll get her to do that... probably lock her in a room with it until she starts to starve...), not to mention gather all the ores, and get at least one bar of each, and as many gems as I can find (cut and uncut versions)... Any other really common mood-killers that I didn't think of?
Of course, this will only be when I have the spare time... in other words, as likely as not: never... It's a goal though.
(In case anyone was wondering, I don't think I'm up for an update tonight, though I might play a little. I may or may not write on Thursday, but I promise updates Friday, Saturday and Sunday.)
[ February 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
quote:
Originally posted by Eiba:
<STRONG>
That said, I imagine that "only over 20" is a trick of statistics... Quite honestly I think a fey mood would be awesome. I plan on making all the types of glass just in case (when I get some spare time)... She'll have to catch a cave lobster too (and eat it... I wonder how I'll get her to do that... probably lock her in a room with it until she starts to starve...), not to mention gather all the ores, and get at least one bar of each, and as many gems as I can find (cut and uncut versions)... Any other really common mood-killers that I didn't think of?
[ February 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]</STRONG>
Don't forget about leather. It might be had for you to get some, since I don't imagine you'll send Urist hunting, and since you only have one cat, you can't breed any livestock.
Also: stone blocks of all three types.
oh and silk and plant cloth as well. Then there is still the need for wood.....
[ March 01, 2007: Message edited by: short_dwarf ]
(Unless you happen to create an artifact Axe.)
quote:
Originally posted by Solara:
<STRONG>With the way things have been going I really don't see the fortress getting enough immigration to make a mood even possible, so I really doubt there's anything to worry about.</STRONG>
If anything, it will be a good test of whether moods really do require 20 dwarves...
I will give a brief update as promised from what I played earlier...
(Now if only I can find the wrapper I wrote their names down on... it's really not a very reliable system...)
Oh, and brace yourselves, the human artwork is my own, and obscenely basic! Don't be to hard on it...
---
Posa was restless. She had joined up with the caravan from Anthat Mubo (The Confederation of Minds) as a merchant several years ago. She had wanted to see the world, but she didn't think she had what it took to be an adventurer... Figuring that she'd see what she'd see as a merchant just as well, and considerable less risk to life and limb, she'd dedicated her life to trade.
But she was restless. Over the years she'd seen all of the major cities, and different cultures- she wanted to see something new...
"Isn't this near where those dwarves said the Mad Dwarf lives? Ursht or something?" She was talking to her friend Sacath, who happened to be resting in the wagon with her.
"Urist. It means dagger, I think..." Sacath would know more about dwarves, her husband...
"Yeah that was it. Wanna check it out?"
"Well... this isn't the safest of jungles, and they say the Mad Dwarf is pretty homicidal too... Not to mention the fact that it's not directly on our way..."
"You haven't actually said if you want to."
"..."
"We could make it a trading mission!"
"Trade with one dwarf?"
"Well, didn't they say that the little fellow was hoarding treasure?"
"I'm pretty sure that was just a rumor..."
"Naturally one dwarf alone would be struggling to provide the basic necessities, so we'd probably be welcomed, so long as we're respectful and helpful..."
"You're not listening to me at all are you?"
"It's decided- we'll take two mules and a couple of the guards, as I was listening to you and it probably would be dangerous!"
The danger only seemed to make Posa more gleeful.
---
The ninth day Urist's first plans were to improve the alcohol situation. Not a single brewable herb had been gathered all spring and summer, so Urist had no choice but to grow her own.
(http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5671/agracultureic1.png)
As with everything else she tried, Urist was tediously inept at first... She'd never farmed before in her life! She didn't really know how it worked except the basics. But failure wasn't an option... failure vindicated them. At the though Urist burned with a spiteful passion... Agriculture was nothing for her! It had to be nothing for her if she was to prove them solidly wrong!
She would produce all the alcohol she needed with her bare hands, and she'd prove them wrong!
---
Posa's mood was notably less cheery as she trudged behind the mule, hacking through the sinister jungle... Her surroundings had nothing to do with her irritation, in fact she found the jungle rather interesting, it was because the guard she was assigned for her little expedition was Xidel... and Xidel was an ass.
"Oh gods! Look behind you! There's a zombie baboon!"
"I didn't fall for that the first three times, Xidel, what makes you think I'll believe you now?"
Xidel laughed just as if she'd fallen for his trick... Was the Mad Dwarf worth putting up with this?
(http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/9165/humansgm4.png)
"This looks like it," Sacath was speaking with a decidedly businesslike manner.
There were a couple tunnels, but they were pretty sure from what they'd heard that Urist lived in the one with a door.
"So... what now? Do we just walk up and knock on the door?" Xidel said it as a joke. Posa did it just to spite him. Much to her surprise it worked, as the door opened shortly after they'd begun debating what to do next.
"Yeah, I'm a genius, you know it." Posa was mildly annoyed, but she was more interested in this tiny creature who'd emerged from the cave, squinting in the sun.
"Humans!" The Mad Dwarf seemed to be otherwise dumbfounded by her unexpected visitors.
"Hey there," Posa said, as if to a child, "Are you the dwarf Urist we've heard so much about?"
"Lies! Whatever you heard, Lies!" It immediately declared. Xidel guffawed, and Posa quickly jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, shutting him up...
Smartly Sacath took over, having more experience with dwarves. "Don't worry, we're merchants, and we heard that you might have some valuable goods... Perhaps you'd like to trade?"
"I told you... Lies..."
Posa cut back in, "So you don't have anything to trade? We have some Swamp Whisky," she pointed to the barrel her mule carried, "We thought perhaps you'd need some help surviving out here... We know how much dwarves depend on booze, and I thought it might be really difficult for you to... make... here.." She trailed off as the dwarf flashed the most peculiar expression- it was like intense rage, fear, and loathing all at once... But only for a split-second before adopting a strangely calm expression... Posa was, to say the least, a bit concerned. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Oh no... Swamp Whisky... mm... sounds good! I... I... uh, rock... crafts... I made some for you... Er, no... not you... merchants... to trade... as I need to trade for Swamp Whisky... "booze"... It's hard to make... yes... You need the plants... and when they run out... to grow... so much work... I could never do that of course!" The dwarf said the last sentence with clenched teeth and fists, but quickly regained calm. "Through here... I... that is to say... I have a place set up for you... merchants... to trade."
Posa and Sacath exchanged glances. Something was clearly up.
"I'll tell you what," Sacath proposed, "Posa here wanted quite badly to meet you, so how about I go down there while Posa and Xidel stay out here to... talk with you. Is there any reason that wouldn't be okay?"
The dwarf shook its head after a pause, and Sacath went with her mule and guard down the tunnel Urist indicated, while Posa watched Urist to make sure nothing funny happened.
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1636/sofarapartoz8.png)
"He's not nearly as insane as they made him out to be," Xidel said while Urist stood right in front of him.
"He?!" The dwarf bristled.
"Yes you little fellow! I'm saying you don't seem mad!" Xidel raised his voice to talk to Urist.
"For goodness sake," Posa tried to undo Xidel's diplomatic blunder, "He's a dwarf, not deaf. He can hear just as well as you or I."
"HE!?" Urist declared again.
"'He' is also as female as you or I," Sacath's voice came from the tunnel.
"What!?" Posa was surprised too, but it was Xidel that had exclaimed in disbelief. He then started laughing, "It's not just the Mad Dwarf but the Bearded La- OW!" Posa had kicked him in the shin. Hard. Urist was bright red.
"I'm going to-! I'm... I'm going to... get the rocks... crafts, I mean..."
Urist stalked off into the cavern.
"Way to go, Posa."
That was it! Knee-to-the-crotch time!
"It seems there's actually a trading facility down here," Sacath's echoing voice interrupted from the cave... it doesn't look like there are any traps, it should be safe."
"Aah-ee!" Posa gave Xidel what he deserved before she stalked off into the cave. Xidel did his best to follow, attempting to remind Posa that she'd left the mule behind, but his voice wasn't quite right.
Then the wall came down. They all died instantly.
(http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2593/andsquishfd3.png)
---
Urist had never met a human before today, but she already counted them among the most loathsome creatures in existence.
That one... That one... she was one of them- she had put Urist down, denied her abilities... and she had never met Urist before! Clearly, humans were all, by instinct, them. Such loathsome creatures, looking down from their height, with their elf-like bare chins... Clearly, humans were by nature like them. Before today Urist had planned on ignoring any humans who came snooping around, but now... Now, she would not suffer a single human to leave this place alive!
Urist sat brooding for hours until her cat came over... It was still cheerful... it became clear why when it deposited a dead cave spider at Urist's feet... That's right... She didn't need to brood. They were dead. She'd killed them, just like they deserved...
(http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3586/comfortcatwo7.png)
Now, what was the situation in the wake of those arrogant meddlers? They weren't dealt with as cleanly as the dwarf merchant had been... It seems the human near the trade depot had begun unloading her goods, and a bag of flower and some tasty looking cow meat were sitting there... At the entrance, the merchants had forgotten their mule, which had promptly managed to shed its burden somehow and wander off into the jungle...
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8258/freemuleinthejunglemp0.png)
The undead elephants would probably kill it.
And its burden that was left behind?
...
A couple of trinkets, an animal of some sort in a cage and... a barrel of Swamp Whiskey.
Damn it! That's what Urist had been doing! That's exactly the accomplishment that those arrogant humans had tried to take away from her! And they were still trying after death, by leaving this barrel to cheapen her achievements! Well she wouldn't stand for it. She purposefully marched inside, locked the door, and vowed never to open it again. She grumbled as she continued to search inside for plants, and tended her little garden, but the day was almost over. She was tired, so she slept.
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9672/ninthnightzu0.png)
The Ninth Night.
---
Well that was a bit longer than I meant it to be... No harm though, right?
Looking up the names in the objects files for fun (and because it looked like I'd written Posn on the notewrapper, when I didn't think that was it...) Posa means radiance, Sacath means leader, Xidel means point, and Ulet means wisp. I though Ulet was particularly accurate, as he was Sacath's swordsman who didn't ever get mentioned by name in the story (not planned).
[ March 02, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
quote:I see no possible way any harm could have been dealt :)
Well that was a bit longer than I meant it to be... No harm though, right?
Hilarious.
Seems like Sacath might have been able to get them out of there alive if Posa and Xidel had just kept their mouths shut...still, listening to the two of them royally screw themselves over was the funniest part of the update. :D
So now that you've heard my sniveling excuses, we return to the story:
---
The Tenth Day
Food: More than she'd ever need.
Alcohol: Stable as soon as the pig tails are harvested.
Security: Nigh invincible.
What more did Urist need? Well... She did have a fondness for Dwarven Rum... She'd keep searching for wild sweet pods, but no shrubs grew now...
Noticing that somehow the cat had left a couple cave spiders alive long enough to cover the whole shore-cave in silk, she decided to make all the silk cloth she'd ever need.
She began working, first gathering up at least a dozen webs, when she noticed a strange and most unpleasant smell...
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5198/stinkycatrw0.png)
Well, it seems the cat had finally caught and killed the cave spiders... in every room... and then stood in the doorway to allow the stink of their rotting corpses to waft all about...
If Urist hadn't had so many quarry bush leaf biscuits, she might have cooked the cat then and there... As it stood, she... didn't feel like killing the useless troublesome cat (which struk her as odd)... She could do something about the intermediate cause of the stink- the spider corpses. She decided to extend a tunnel farther into the mountian with the aim of throwing the stinky spiders back there before they rotted...
(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3606/thisisyourfaultyouknowbp9.png)
"This is your fault you know," Urist uselessly told the cat as it sat behind her watching as she dug.
The cat did its best to look bored, groomed itself for a while, and then walked back to kill some more cave spiders.
After the better part of a days digging, Urist thought her tunnel was just about deep enough (probobly more deep than it needed to be she decided on reflection), but she had noticed the rocks sounded funny when her pick hit them... All of a sudden they crumbled, and she stumbled.
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1175/largechasmxt1.png)
It appeared to be some sort of large chasm... This would be a perfect place to dump the spider corpses! She'd never smell them again after they fell in there.
Pleased with herself she returned to her little river home... to find the place covered in cave spider corpses, with the cat sitting, looking as innocently as physically possible...
Well, that's why Urist had dug the tunnel after all...
(http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9788/muchbetternowca4.png)
After she'd finished chucking them all in the newly discovered chasm, she found it was rather late... Well, she'd found an interesting chasm today at least...
(http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/2746/tenthnightnb2.png)
The Tenth Night.
---
Urist drove the mule through the dense foreboding jungle where so many had died before... One could see corpses littering the forest, well, remains at least... Animals had been picking over most of the corpses for the better part of a year...
"Hey... Hey, Urist?" Zuglar the axedwarf was visibly disturbed by his surroundings, "Do you... Do you think we're going to die here too?"
"Oh, grow a backbone," Zan the merchant responded, "The Mad Dwarf is probobly already dead."
"Indeed," said Urist, "There's no way the Mad Dwarf could have survived the winter..."
"He's right," Zan continued to attempt to comfort the distressed axedwarf, "With any luck there'll be a small outpost of perfectly sane dwarves with all sorts of valuables they'd be willing to trade for food."
"With any luck..." Urist echoed.
They journeyed a while longer in silence until another axedwarf, Unib, asked, "Isn't 'Urist' the Mad Dwarf's name?"
"Yeah, that's right!" said Zuglar in surprise, having not previously noticed.
"I know, weird ain't it?" Urist responded, "'Urist' is a common enough name though..."
The merchant Urist at the head of the caravan continued to drive his mules through the dark jungle.
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/38/newtraderska0.png)
Urist first noticed that the cave river had flooded while she slept. Maybe now she'd get some sweet pods! Though, looking at the cluttered food stockpile Urist decided a little cleaning was in order. First thing she did was to start clearing out some of the stones. She did that by cutting them into blocks for storage in the mason's workshop...
The work would take a while, she'd have to wait before she actually checked the entrance-area for plants... or other things.
---
Urist the merchant's caravan of three merchants, three mules, three axedwarves approached the cliff face.
"Hello!?" Urist shouted... No response but his echo, which actually caused Zuglar to wince, causing Unib to snicker.
"What's that on the ground? in front of the tunnel?" Unib asked.
(http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4214/whatsthisns6.png)
"Hey, those are some pretty spiffy crafts!" Zuglar was rushing over to pick up the (=Deer Bone Bracelet=).
"Stop!" Shouted Urist... the merchant.
"What? Why?" Zuglar was already holding the crafts.
Urist put palm to head. "It could have been a trap- we're dealing with a very crafty dwarf here who's already used a trap to kill at least one merchant and escort. Anything here could be rigged."
Zuglar gulped, "I... I though you said she was dead!" His knees started to shake.
"Oh, yes, she's undoubtedly dead, of course." Zan did her best co comfort the burly axedwarf...
"Can't relax. Traps might be automated." That was the third axedwarf Mafol, who hadn't said more than four words previously on the journey...
Zuglar began to whimper. "I don't want to die!"
"Gods, why'd you have to go and scare him like that?" Zan was tired of calming their ostensible protector.
"..." Mafol didn't talk much.
Urist got back to business. "In any case, Zuglar seems to have proven that these crafts aren't rigged... however one might rig a... bracelet..."
"Pitfalls?" Udib was trying to be helpful... but he wasn't.
"... Right... In any case, as I was saying, these seem to be safe so-"
"Hey, what's this!" Zuglar had tripped over a barrel have submerged in mud... he promptly opened it, took a sniff, and then a sip, "Swamp Whisky! Tasty."
"... I thought you said you didn't want to die..." Urist made a mental note that his caravan only had two guards.
"What?"
"For all you knew, that could have been poison."
"Uagh!" Zuglar jumped away from the barrel as if it was poison...
Zan did her best to keep Zuglar from freaking out, "But it's not! Calm down, you're fine... it's fine... everything's just fine..."
"Could be a delayed effect." Unib was trying again...
"AS I WAS SAYING!" Urist shouted, "As I was saying, these crafts... and I guess this whisky too, seems to be safe, so we can load them up on the mules-"
"Not the whiskey," Unib interjected, "Too heavy."
Well, at least there was only one dwarf interrupting Urist, as Zuglar was curled up in a fetal position, quietly whimpering about how the poison was going to kick in any second.
"Just be quiet! Anyway, lets take these crafts so at least we've got some profit out of this..."
"Humans," Mafol said.
"What? What about humans?" Zan asked.
"Muck root, walrus bone, that foot." As he named these objects Mafol pointed at the barrel the bracelet and the cave respectively.
---
Ah, this meat seems to have finally gone bad... it took long enough, it had been sitting on the ground for well over a year...
(http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/1205/andtheoriginalmeatrotsft6.png)
Urist would start gathering plants soon enough.
---
Of course, they could all see what Mafol meant, but Udib felt obliged to explain it all. "Sure enough, muck root is the plant used in Swamp Whiskey, and isn't native to these parts, and only humans would ever gather it. The (=Deer Bone Bracelet=) menaces spikes of walrus bone- an animal that only humans would hunt! And the foot... wait, what foot?"
Mafol pointed more specifically at a boot sticking out from under a slab of rock that served as the floor of the nearby cave... it was a human's boot...
Udib poked it with his axe, "Yep, that's a human foot, looks like the rest of him is under this rock slab- Waugh! What! How!? That's just nasty!"
The stone slab had begun to pivot upwards to the left wall... revealing the rest of the human... humans it seemed.
"What happened? What happened?" Zuglar came running out of a nearby alcove that nobody had seen him go in. "Oh gods, that's... that's terrible!" He ran back in, and the slab shortly fell back down.
"A little explanation, please?" Urist had no idea what just happened.
Shaking nervously Zuglar explained: "There... was a lever... I mean, you pull levers... right? So I did... and... oh gods, the blood!"
"Okay, I guess this all makes sense now," Urist said.
"Wait, what, in what way!?" Unib was rather perturbed by not being the smart-ass for once.
"The Mad Dwarf must have somehow lured the human traders into that tunnel, pulled the switch and killed them- that seems to have been the fate of Ablel that we've all heard so much about. Now, there's probably more human goods inside. It looks like the Mad Dwarf wasn't interested in their goods, so we should find some interesting stuff." Urist was quite happy about managing to speak for so long without interruption.
"Issue!" Udib raised his annoying hand, "What if that's what the Mad Dwarf Wants? What if she's just waiting somewhere for us to go in there in order to crush us?"
"But... the slab's down, right? It couldn't fall on us like those poor humans." Zan's point was half calculated to keep Zuglar from having a nervous breakdown.
"Getting crushed against the wall slowly isn't that much more preferable," said Udib.
"The Mad Dwarf is probably dead by now in any case," said Urist.
"Fresh blood." Mafol said.
"I don't want to get crushed! I'm not going in there" Zuglar cried out.
"Good!" replied, Urist, "That solves everything- You stay out here and gaurd the lever to make sure the ghost of the Mad Dwarf doesn't pull the lever to kill us."
"Ghost?!" Zuglar shouted.
Ever helpful Udib added "But what if there's ano-"
"SHUT UP EVERYONE!" Urist was growing weary, "How long have we been standing here discussing this! It's pointless, I'm in charge, we're doing as I say. Let's just get it over with." He went in first, before anyone could object to his plan, driving his mule before him.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5788/strangelypleasedqx6.png)
---
Urist was brewing a bit more alcohol, she had realized she'd run out just a while ago as she had some quarry bush leaf biscuits. Finishing up now, it was time for her to actually begin gathering plants. She headed for the entrance.
(http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4021/cutoffly0.png)
---
"Okay," Urist the merchant said, "Not bad at all." He had just finished repacking the mules with what they'd found. There were signs of rotten meat, but there was also a bag of longland flour, several trinkets, as well as a caged mule. It was a great accomplishment, but the merchants had managed to actually fit the mule on... another mule... They had to leave behind a bag of Dwarven Sugar, and they couldn't take one of the trinkets, a raccoon bone scepter, but it was clear that they were leaving with a great profit.
After everything was arranged the merchants left back through the tunnel they'd come, when all of a sudden Zuglar came running down the tunnel.
"It's terrible, terrible!" He was shouting, "It's the Mad Dwarf I'm sure of it!"
Everyone froze in panic.
"If the Mad Dwarf is out there... what are YOU DOING IN HERE AWAY FROM THE LEVER!" Urist was furious, he was probobly about to die because of this boob!
"I just though... Oh god's I didn't think!" He promptly started running away screeming. The rest of the merchant band followed in comperable panic.
---
Urist was furious, "I'm going to kill you! I'm really going to kill you, Zuglar!"
Urist the merchant chased Zuglar as he ran around, giggling like a moron. "You should have seen the look on your faces, even Mafol was about to piss himself!"
Mafol stuck his foot out as Zuglar passed, the latter falling face first in the mud, Urist landing on top of him.
"You are a dead dwarf!"
"Mercy!" His pleading wasn't very convincing, as he was still giggling uncontrollably. In fact it was pretty damn ridiculous. Ridiculous enough that Urist began to laugh... though he quicly regained his composure. "Okay, we got what we came here for, and the Mad Dwarf seems to have died or gone away, though there are none of the other settlers still here. Let's get back to Liruksibrek and sell these goods, and this information."
The dwarven band made their way back through the jungles to the mountain homes, surprisingly alive...
---
Urist had gathered quite a bit few nice plants, but no sweet pods yet... She had stuck her head outside briefly, having thought she'd heard something, but hadn't seen anyone... She had a faint notion that she'd seen something dart into her trade-depot cave, though she decided she'd imagined it...
Today was another moderately productive, rather uneventful day.
(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3218/eleventhnighttm7.png)
Eleventh Night
---
Now I must apologize again, as I hadn't intended this non-event to be covered in so much detail... As a result, the real interesting events will have to wait... with any luck though, I may still get to them tonight, as I have no work and plenty of time... I've just been writing for too long straight.
Awfully brave of you to start chucking refuse into the chasm like that - the amount generated by one dwarf and one cat hopefully won't attract too much attention, but one lucky monster is all it would take to end this story.
EDIT: I am a little curious as to what exactly happened there, gameplay-wise. Did you actually trade with the merchants "off screen", or just wait for them to leave? If the former things might get really interesting next time migrants arrive...
[ March 05, 2007: Message edited by: Solara ]
quote:
Originally posted by JimmyJ:
<STRONG>Liked the update, was a little disappointed at the lack of any confrentation.</STRONG>
You'll probably like the next part more as it's got lots of running and screaming and fun stuff like that.
quote:
Originally Posted by Solaria:
<STRONG>Awfully brave of you to start chucking refuse into the chasm like that - the amount generated by one dwarf and one cat hopefully won't attract too much attention, but one lucky monster is all it would take to end this story.</STRONG>
I was going to dismiss your concerns out of hand- I'm fairly sure Urist, an adept or better miner, could take down a troll more often than not, but I do admit... any relatively serious injury, and she's dead. Even if she can move, she'll rest, and there's no one to bring her water...
quote:
<STRONG>EDIT: I am a little curious as to what exactly happened there, gameplay-wise. Did you actually trade with the merchants "off screen", or just wait for them to leave? If the former things might get really interesting next time migrants arrive...</STRONG>
Its great how everything worked out like it did- I had to get rid of the human contaminants, the four-dwarf immigration waves were getting boring... One problem solved the other, at the minor cost of restraining from slaughtering these merchants.
[ March 06, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
quote:
Originally posted by Solara:
<STRONG>What has become of poor Urist?</STRONG>
Never fear, this is far from abandoned- in fact just last night I was testing to see if I could do something... and I can... and it'll be really, really awesome... (Probably the update after next.)
...
Actually, I think I may have enough time to write an update...
And now she lead her band of five "immigrants" to the "established fortress" of... what was it? Tholoddom the name on the books... Deep Cloistered... Well, it seems that the Mad Dwarf, who had been cloistered deeply by herself, had died after killing everyone who tried to settle, though the merchants were the only ones who knew... They also knew that there were plenty of supplies waiting for them (or so the merchant said), and so there was no need for royal support... The merchants guaranteed that they'd return in a years time. There was some dissent in the party about departing in the fall, but Tristber explained that the region was so warm that the seasonal difference didn't matter, overriding the advice of her farmer, Asteth.
There was one issue though, the mountain was supposed to be full of Gems, or so the rumor went. Tristber was walking down the streets of Liruksibrek, looking... She reflected on one of the reasons she wanted to leave the capitol, the economy was terrible... The tunnel was filled with beggars, mostly the unskilled under-classes who couldn't make their own way, but there were also quite a few... She'd found what she was looking for- a sad looking dwarf holding a sign- "will haul for food." What caught her eye was the lime green guild uniform- a Jeweler.
"What's your name?" Tristber asked.
"Melbil... do you have work?" This dwarf was desperate... Good.
"You won't ask questions or talk too much?
"... Yeah."
"Come with me then."
---
The Twelfth Day
It promised to be an uneventful day... Urist felt relaxed, having had no dealings with the outside world since the humans... Perhaps they'd forgotten about her. That would be nice, she could create her glorious monument in solitude, and then present it in completion to the world- surely then she'd receive her recognition!
Let's see... what more was there to do? She did seem to be set for the necessities, though, as she brewed up a new batch of Dwarven rum she reflected... She could use a more reliable source of alcohol... the plants weren't the issue, she had piles of pig-tails, it was just that she only had the one barrel... And no more wood... Well she had a little bit (the other day, she'd mad a point of dragging the remnants of the wagon inside... Along with the first metal smith’s anvil). She decided that she needed another barrel... That meant making an axe, and chopping down wood... To make an axe she'd need a metal forge going... She supposed if only she had something like coal she could make an axe... To find that she would need to bridge the chasm and mine deeper into the mountain...
And so, she built a bridge so that she could dig, so that she'd have coal, so that she could make an axe, so that she'd have wood, so that she could make barrels, so that she could drink... Such was today's project.
---
Tristber's party was in high spirits.
Rigoth Rigothudos the smith, or Rigothudos as he was called to minimize confusion, was joking with Rakust the miner. "And so the elf stood between him and the 'tree' raised his bow and said, 'I'd sooner see a dwarf die than this tree.' And the axedwarf was all like, 'That's no tree you fool! It's an elephant's leg!' The elf turned around, and was crushed by the bloodthirsty beast!"
Rakust laughed heartily, but Tun the craftsdwarf was less amused.
"That didn't even make sense," she said as Rigothudos rolled his eyes, "For one thing, elves are so tall the elephant's body, not their leg, would be at eye level- and elephants are by nature peaceful creatures! Why would it just up and kill that elf without any provocation? Not to mention the fact that elves have that thing where they're all friends-to-nature and such..."
"Aw, c'mon Tun," Rakust, who had enjoyed the joke, said, "It was just a joke! And it had a dead elf in it and everything!"
"Humph," was the only reply Tun gave.
"Um... excuse me?" It was the new recruit, Melbil, who was looking about timidly at the dark forests, "Are we far enough out that you can tell me where we're going?"
"Oh, right," Tristber had forgotten about him, "We're heading for the Mad Dwarf's lair."
"What!?" Melbil had clearly heard the stories, "But, but we'll surely all die! I... we can't go there."
"Nah," Tristber was relaxed, "It's okay because- and this is why we didn't tell you sooner, by the way- the Mad Dwarf is dead. We didn't want you blabbing about it back in the capitol, as it's not common knowledge yet, and we paid good money to those merchants for it."
"Okay... but... How much can we trust these merchants?"
"... Don't worry about it, it'll be fine..." Tristber was reassuring herself too... "And don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have."
"... Uh, in that case... did anyone bring an axe?"
"What?"
"For wood... don't we need an axe to cut wood?"
"Uh..."
"Don't worry about it!" the other Rigoth, Rigothudos, replied, "I'll make one! I'm a metal smith after all!"
"Besides," Tristber went on, "There should be all sorts of supplies laying about that the Mad Dwarf made... She probably had an axe..."
---
Yep, making an axe was no easy task...
The bridge was made, and Urist had started digging...
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5489/deeperstillru0.png)
---
The mountain was finally in sight. The dwarves were generally enthusiastic, except for Melbil who was still wary of the situation, but they had arrived.
(http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/5976/thirdwavetg7.png)
The first thing to do was establish what was up... There was a locked door, and a gory tunnel with an adjacent switch room, just as the merchants had said...
"Let's just bust down the door," Rigothudos suggested.
Tun was quick to shoot down that idea, "Fool, you think the Mad Dwarf lived this long if you could just walk down the main entrance? It's gotta be trapped."
"Tun's right," Tristber said, "We should dig a new outpost... there." She pointed north, a ways up the cliff face. "Rakust, you get busy digging, Tun, I know your specialty is crafts, but try to make us a couple of doors, Asteth you go out and try to gather plants."
"Uh, I'm a farmer... not an herbalist..." Asteth pointed out.
"Yeah, well until we get some fields up and running, you'll have to make yourself useful in other ways..."
"Speaking of useful, what about me?" Rigothudos asked.
"Right, you and Melbil go down to the trade depot, the merchants said it was loaded with supplies."
"Err... what about you, if you don't mind my asking?" Melbil said.
"... I'll fish."
---
Rigothudos wasn't bothered by the ominous jungle, or so he told himself, but he was forced to admit he was more than a bit crept out by the gory corpse filled tunnel to the trade depot...
(http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7594/explorationea0.png)
"Ain't what you were expecting when we offered you a job, eh Melbil!"
"... Well, I was expecting a few less corpses..."
Rigothudos laughed heartily. He had been wondering if this timid jeweler had an ounce of humor in him!
There was the trade depot...
"Okay, let's see what goodies the Mad Dwarf left us!"
"Are you sure you'd be interested in what a homicidal maniac would consider a 'goodie'?"
Riguthudos laughed again... but he wasn't sure he liked this fellow's humor after all...
"Is this all?" Melbil sounded resigned, as if he'd expected this.
Rigothudos was just confused... Hadn't those nice merchants said there were tons of supplies? All that was here was... a bag of sugar...
"Well, at least we have that delicious barrel of Swamp Whiskey we found outside!" Rigothudos was inclined to look on the bright side, no point in moping.
"But how long with that last six dwarves..."
There were few people that Rigothudos didn't get along well with... Melbil was definitely one of them...
They returned with the sugar and whiskey, and Tristber put them to work- Melbil would rig up a coupled of boulders to drop from the ceiling on intruders, and Rigothudos would... clean turtles... Pah! He was a metal smith, not some... turtle cleaner...
Nevertheless, things progressed smoothly, and a young fortress was soon established.
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7505/newoutpostwy4.png)
Dead turtles smell... pretty bad Rigothudos thought...
"Hey Tun," he called, the dwarf in question making tables and chairs nearby for the newly mined dining room, "Wanna go look for the dead dwarves in the woods? It'll be cool- we might even get some spiffy boots or something."
"... Uh, no. In case you haven't noticed, we have a new outpost to establish, and we don't have nearly as many supplies as we thought we did."
"Aww, but this pile of turtles I've been mucking around with will feed us for a year, and that Swamp Whiskey will last... What more do we need?"
"How about a place to eat those turtles, unless you want to sit on the ground."
"Phst, you're no fun... Hey Rakust!"
Rakust, who had been mining, just came out for a quick drink. Rigothudos made the same proposal to him, as Tun pretended not to listen.
"Hey, that sounds like fun! You've always got these great ideas." Rakust proved more cooperative...
As they left Rigothudos turned back and stuck his tongue out at Tun, who responded in kind. That dwarf was okay. Even though she picked on him, Rigothudos was inclined to forgive her.
As they neared the river, the two dwarves noticed something odd...
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7109/recomingmn3.png)
---
Urist continued to mine, as the cat played with a crippled bat nearby. Things felt... peaceful.
---
Tristber was used to fishing in the cave river... These swamps had nothing but turtles in them, and to catch them she had to get down in the mud... it wasn't pleasant... She decided to try fishing in the river instead...
"Elephants! I tell you they were Elephants!"
"But Elephants... don't they have skin and flesh and stuff?!"
"Whatever they are they're big, and they are bloodthirsty, and they saw us!"
Tristber was surprised to see Rakust and Rigothudos charge out of the woods and run right past her, "Run!" was all Rigothudos said...
Run from what? Then she heard it, a terrible thundering gallop, crushing the underbrush and knocking trees out of the way- She still didn't know what she was running from, but decided she had better run anyway.
The sound was getting louder- whatever it was gaining on her. She just about ran into Asteth, who was gathering plants. She gave the same one word of warning that Rigothudos had given her, "Run!"
"What, why?"
Asteth didn't argue for much longer.
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/66/heywhyareyoudearlordsj5.png)
They ran back to the encampment, which was in a state of confusion.
"I tell you! Bloodthirsty elephants! They're coming!" Rigothudos was desperately trying to get Tun to believe him.
"I already explained, elephants are peaceful creatures."
"But... are they still peaceful when they don't have any skin or flesh or stuff!" Rakust was still terrified.
"He's right," Tristber shouted, "we have to be quick, they're right behind us!"
"Wha- AAHH!" Asteth suddenly shouted.
(http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/2876/sdemisevz7.png)
He was down, and there was, just as Rigothudos and Rakust claimed, an Elephant, somehow bereft of flesh and skin and stuff...
It stuck a tusk through Asteth's skull as all the other dwarves looked on helplessly...
---
It towered before Rigothudos... What... what was it? He was paralyzed with fear, as a second emerged from the woods...
It seemed as if in slow motion as the two ivory behemoths charged at him...
Was... was he about to die?
"Run, you bloody idiot!" Tun's voice shook him to his senses, but too late, he wouldn't be able to flee in time... He tripped and cowered on the ground...
But then, Tun shouted "Hey, you big undead idiots, over here!" She waved her arms, and the creatures took notice of her... She began to run to draw them off, but they were too close...
(http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8859/sdemisewk2.png)
"TUN!" Rigothudos was in tears... This wasn't supposed to happen! He backed up to the cliff face... The beasts approached... But Tun, Tun was dead!
(http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4011/againstacliffcy6.png)
Rigothudos would say something silly, and Tun would insult him... That's how things were, but Tun was dead... Tun had given her life to save Rigothudos... On the surface, it seemed as if Tun and Rigothudos hated each other but... that's not how it really was... in fact... the truth was...
"Rigothudos! Over here!"
Rakust had hid in the merchant-killing tunnel, he was now peaking out and gesturing for Rigothudos to join him...
Without thinking Rigothudos ran towards the hiding spot, but with the elephant hot on his heals...
"No, wait, not over here! Go away!"
Rakust realized that the elephant following Rigothudos would kill them both if he ducked into the cave... Rigothudos did too, and ran past the cave, but it was no use.
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9369/rakustsdeathif5.png)
Rakust too! Not just Tun, but his best friend Rakust too! Dead... they were all dead... This wasn't supposed to happen! They were supposed to all live together, happily working here... away from all the complexities of city life... Rigothudos was supposed to be happy... He would have married Tun, maybe raised a kid... But now... Tun was dead, lying in a pool of her own blood...
Rigothudos fell... Why was he running? Why should he keep going? They were dead. Soon he would be too.
(http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/2528/deathrq3.png)
---
"Wow! This could be useful!" Urist was talking to the cat. Together they were sitting, looking at a river of molten rock and bathing in its heat... "I don't think we'll need wood for our metal working operation." Things were going just great.
(http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/2626/fissurefilledwithmagmaxf6.png)
[ March 11, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ March 11, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
She saw the river, and looked about for the ford... She had to hurry as the colossus was on her heels. All of a sudden, the water churned- from the depths, right in front of her, rose the elephant bones- covered in algae and river plants, it was a dark mass, with bones gleaming underneath... There was a tremendous thud as it took its first step onto the land, she heard the other beast fast approaching from behind it's thundering crunching clattering gallop, and she mad a quick mental calculation and ran upstream.
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4462/recomingoutoftheriverod9.png)
She kept running- two giant beasts behind her... She found the ford, and crossed, the elephants moved through the water as fast as she did on land, but she kept running... She had no idea where she was running, and before she knew it, two more beasts had joined in the chase.
(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4486/fourofthemhe1.png)
Four of them! Four gigantic masses of animated bones and ivory, tearing through the woods- they made a tremendous din, galloping and clattering... rather disconcertingly they made no animal noises- they didn't trumpet as you'd expect elephants to do so... Tristber imagined them as mute businesslike killers, assassins who had only one single goal in mind...
And there was Tristber... the little fisherdwarf dogging between the plants and around the trees, as the colossal beasts perused with their killing intent... The size disparity struck Tristber as amusing... on one level- on another she was utterly terrified.
But she wouldn't let them kill her! She started ducking and moving about through the undergrowth in an effort to throw them off. She would survive! She was determined!
She crossed back over the river, growing weary, but still determined, she would survive! Looking back, she saw she'd lost two of her pursuers.
(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5545/thatdwafcanrunpr8.png)
She took heart, and put her all into loosing the last two. She would survive! Ducking and weaving through the trees, around the swamps all of a sudden... The cliff... It was a long, long way from the outpost, looking back there was just one skeletal elephant that had kept with her.
She wouldn't die!
It charged; she became enraged; she would take this beast on! There was only the one! She could take it!
She wouldn't die, she would survive!
(http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2039/corneredva8.png)
It wasn't over! The elephant lunged, attacked, gored her in the chest, smashed up her legs! She would survive! It mangled her arm, and splattered her blood on the rocks. Its foot held over he head, she was in unimaginable pain, but she Would Not Die Here!
(http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1088/sdeathpn4.png)
Her willpower alone could only go so far...
(http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/9852/coalohandgoldtoohr8.png)
Lots of coal!
(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6564/lotsandlotsofcoalin8.png)
More coal than she'd ever need actually, she seemed to have gone a bit overboard with the mining... It was late, so Urist headed back to her room...
It was a good day, Urist reflected. Good things had happened. She went to sleep in her peaceful world, content.
(http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9162/twelthhappynightyj3.png)
The Twelth Happy Night
---
Oh... Oh damn... They had all died... Melbil was alone... There was no one here... just him... and the beasts...
Somehow, that didn't surprise him. He'd always been incredibly unlucky... The fact that he survived the devastation was evidence of that...
But he was alive, and perhaps he'd live long enough to be rescued and suffer more miseries back in the capitol... Perhaps he'd be blamed for their deaths... That sounded like something Dwarven Justice would do...
For now, he would need a pick... visited Rakust's corpse and took up his pick.
(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3559/whatmustbedonepn4.png)
He felt kind of guilty about plundering the dead... To make amends he set about converting what was once to be the dining room into a tomb... Though as he crudely crafted coffins out of stone, he grew more and more tired, untill he fell asleep right there in the mud...
(http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5286/firstmiserablenightzd1.png)
The First Miserable Night
---
Yeah, technically there's still no confrontation- between Urist and the outside, that is. But between the Elephants and the Immigrants? Lots.
(Hell yeah, 9 pages on MS word)
Even with no confrontation between Urist and the others, the story is better than ever, and I'm interested in seeing what happens to Melbil. Wonder how long he and Urist'll be there working on two entirely seperate fortresses before they notice each other...
I WANT URIST TO DIE!!!!! dont know why, but i want her to commit suicide, (i am predicting a fairly in depth background story involving her father and herself. Maybe some insight on why she is so "stark raving mad") i think back story is always interesting and really makes the story evolve.
(seriosly though, have urist become even crazier, build a statue garden and somehow drown herself in magma, as dozens of migrants watch as her body slowly melts away by the heat of the magma!!!!
Anyway, as i said, keep up the great work............................................................................. ;)
looking forward to more. and i, for one, do NOT hope that the heroine dies. but i do anticipate additional ammusing and harrowing situations, bringing doom to visitors and establishing a thriving little one-dwarf-utopia inside the mountain.
Also, everyone else reading this thing, and all the others on the site, show some damn appreciation! Lots of interest are what keep these things going, but if you don't post it no one knows you're enjoying it!
I should be getting my computer back tomorrow, and I have a week of vacation after that, so the updates should be more frequent soon.
quote:
Originally posted by TotalPigeon
<STRONG>Lots of interest are what keep these things going, but if you don't post it no one knows you're enjoying it!</STRONG>
I do deeply appreciate all the comments I've received, and they do indeed have a direct relation to the frequency of updates. I should mention though that when I started this I was determined to post the whole story, regardless of expressed interest. Too often I've seen such things as this abandoned due to lack of interest, despite being really enjoyable... This thread will go on, even if I'm the only one posting in it (though I'm glad to see that doesn't look like it'll be the case!)
So thanks to everyone who's expressed interest!
Looking forward to more updates...
Also I dont know if you know this or not, but as far as i can see this is the third most replied topic EVER. Currently it has something like 91. And the most has 137 i think. So I look forward to the day that this thread passes the number one most replied topic ever.
The Thirteenth Day
Urist had found coal the previous day, and so she knew she could begin metalsmithing operations soon. Unfortunately the coal straight out of the ground was unusable for smithing- she would need an intense heat and it was for that purpose that she had saved the last few scraps of wood from the wagon.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1249/charcoalmakintimeig9.png)
With that task completed Urist next walked all the way back to the magma flow to set up a workshop in which she could smelt metal. She knew to actually build on the magma would take strong steel, so she started to carve out a small area where she could make it.
But she was oh so hungry from walking all the way out there...
(http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2820/unfortunatedistanceqx4.png)
Perhaps she should set up a new dining room out by the magma... Heck, why not put her bedroom there to? Why camp by the cave river at all? Food and water, actually, those were pretty important...
Well, she could pump water out to the magma more easily than she could pump magma to the water, so it was decided. Her next goal would be to move everything to the magma. While she was at it, she'd dig a far more fitting grand dining hall and bedroom for herself.
For now though, she'd have to do a lot of walking. She reflected on the sorry state of her shoes, remembering the corpses near the entrance... They had nice shoes... It's not like the dead would walk...
(http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/2811/doubtthedeadwillwalkqe0.png)
Newly shod Urist set off again for the magma flow and spent the rest of the day smelting steel. Like everything she'd tried for the first time in this place it was slow going, but by the end of the day she had two bars of steel. It was quite fortunate that coal iron and limestone were all found within feet of where she struck the magma! Truly, she must be a skillful miner.
She went to sleep, preparing for a long day of metalsmithing tomorrow.
(http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9365/thirteenthnightun1.png)
---
Melbil didn't really know what he was doing... Waiting, he guessed. For what? He was in no danger of dying- the elephants didn't seem to attempt to enter the cave, and Melbil had dragged all the turtle and alcohol inside. He had enough turtle to last a lifetime, but the whisky? It would probably last a year with only himself... He'd be gone before a year was over, right? Well, maybe not... He knew that there were often rivers deep inside these types of mountains...
He dug a tunnel deep into the mountain with that in the back of his mind, but he mainly dug because he had nothing else to do...
In fact, it wasn't long at all before he ran into a river... Great, just his luck. Now he couldn't even dig any more... He sat there for a while, watching the water flow. And then, with nothing better to do, went to sleep.
---
Fourteenth Day
Spring was coming, perhaps Urist would find some sweetpods to brew into tasty rum this spring... Better hurry up with that metalsmithing operation so she'd have a metal barrel ready!
She had gone to the magma and was making preparations to build a magma smelter and a magma forge with her steel, when she realized the Anvil was by the door to the outside... Damn that was far away, and the anvil was so heavy too... Urist headed back to her current home, but decided to have a quick meal before crossing the cave river to get the anvil...
---
Melbil dreamed that he was drowning... Then he realized that it wasn't quite a dream... How predictable. Things were never bad with Melbil, they were always worse... Well at least he was about to die. How could things be worse than that!
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9898/uhohdc0.png)
Of course, he knew the second he thought that fate would think up something worse than death for him... Fate was a serious ass like that.
Melbil felt himself get swept down what seemed to be a side channel, but... Was that raggedly clothed dwarf? What the heck was she doing down here?
(http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/3109/uhhiof3.png)
Melbil probably could have come up with a reasonable answer if he hadn't smashed his head against a wall and lost consciousness.
***
Melbil dreamed that he was drowning, it was a familiar dream. He slowly woke, realizing that this time it was just a dream... A very strange dream indeed. In it he had been swept downstream in a flood, and had run into a dwarf... Bizarre...
But what was he doing here?
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5884/wherethehellnm1.png)
He was in a round cave, clearly dwarf-made. There were three passages out... Two were doors, and they were locked, the last was an open passage... What could be out there?
(http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2189/mscrewedcw6.png)
Oh damn. It wasn't a dream. That must be the Mad Dwarf Urist...
"Uh, hey there!" Melbil wasn't sure he wanted to call to that dwarf, but didn't really want to rot in this little cave...
"It seems... the thing... the thing is awake." Was she...? Yeah, it seemed she was. She was talking to a cat.
"Uh, I'm actually a dwarf... Not so much a, uh, thing. And, uh, that's a cat..."
"It seems... that it presumes to mock us."
"Uh, not at all... I have nothing against... the cat..."
"SILENCE!" Damn it, Melbil wasn't very good at keeping normal dwarves from getting angry at him for pointing out the obvious... He wasn't going to have a fun time with this Mad Dwarf...
"You're a stinking thief! You... you presume to steal from ME! This makes you... you're sub-dwarven! You... you're a thing! And then you mock me! Your death means nothing!"
"So... you're, uh, going to kill me then?" Melbil had no wish for death, but he was pretty much resigned to anything at this point.
"No."
"Uh, ok. That's... good?"
The Mad Dwarf had begun laughing manically... Melbil guessed that it wasn't good after all...
"I said it already... what I said, it was 'your death means nothing'... that was what I've been thinking... You... you're so desperate to steal, to take from me my chance to... to... You've even tried to swim! Sub-dwarven!"
"Uh, actually, it was something of an accident... all of it really..."
"SILENCE! I won't forgive! You won't die, but you will suffer! For your crimes you will suffer!"
The Mad Dwarf Stalked off...
He had totally called it. Fate worse than death, check. He sighed. It's not exactly like he could take satisfaction in being right. Well, that was nothing new either...
He wondered what the Mad Dwarf had in store for him, but not too hard. He was tired of being right, and was pretty sure he could guess the worst possible things the Mad Dwarf could do to him... Actually, that was wrong... The Mad Dwarf would probably do things he couldn't imagine. Sadly he realized that he would undoubtedly be right again...
---
Urist was absolutely furious. That dwarf was too weird! Her speech went nothing like she'd planned... She was going to sound all scary and intimidating, but that stinking thief made her sound silly! She was trying to make that loathsome dwarf feel what she felt back then, when people accused and mocked her... it hurt, and she was trying to hurt back in the same way, but... He had the nerve to look blank at her accusations! To deny them as calm as could be! Urist could never have... To be called a thief to her face and... That's why she was better than this soulless sub-dwarven thief- she at least had a conscience!
But where this wretch was incapable of feeling emotional anguish, he would surly feel more physical pain!
But damn, was it really worth it? She'd spent the better part of the day digging out that chamber and rigging it just so... She was just now getting around to dragging the anvil all the way to the magma river...
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1502/ironanvilhauledzj9.png)
Such a very long, tedious time... She brooded over the intruder and the events of that day the entire time... Finally she finished the metalworks, but was too tired to begin work today...
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5733/andwehaveanicemetalsmitmr1.png)
And she had woken up with the expectation of smithing today too! That, that... Dwarf! She didn't have a poisonous enough word to describe him... But soon... Soon he'd suffer indeed. And wouldn't that make her feel better? Surely. She was Urist! She could do whatever she wanted, and right now she wanted that dwarf to suffer! Of course that's why she spent this day as she did- patience was one of her virtues. (Of course it was. It was a virtue and she was perfect.) It was a mark of greatness- this day wasn't wasted; it served excellently to help prove her greatness!
She went to sleep feeling much better about things.
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9483/fourteenthnightwo4.png)
The Fourteenth Night
That Urist was passing by at the time was just an added bonus. I was actually just as supprised as Melbil to see her there!
Also, you can note in the last night picture a mysterious door and switch at the bottom of the screen. What Urist have in store for poor Melbil?
---
Day 15
The spring flood... It had brought that stinking thief, but it had also brought new life. Though she could start metalsmithing any time now, as the facilities by the magma flow were now complete, Urist decided to spend a little time gathering plants. It's not like she had any shortage of pigtail for alcohol or quarry bush for food, but... Dwarven Ale just didn't have that same quality that she fondly remembered about Dwarven Rum...
She realized that it was probably a waste of time, but she went to gather plants- just for a little while, not really expecting much...
(http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/8186/jackpotuz8.png)
Oh yeah! That was the stuff! With this she could easily brew up a nice big keg of dwarven rum!
But... she still had a bit of ale left in her one and only barrel... But wasn't this why she built that magma forge? For metal barrels?
She rushed out to her freshly built smiting operation, and immediately started working the nearest metal, which happened to be tin.
(http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/3982/whistlewhileyouworkki5.png)
---
Melbil was bored... He was also getting hungry and thirsty. He wondered if the Mad Dwarf understood that he'd need to eat eventually... Well for the time being he could drink from the cave river... But he was still bored... He picked up a rock and started chipping away at the wall, with no real aim in mind... Before he knew it he was systematically smoothing his entire cell... Well, at least he was doing something...
(http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/5912/withnothingelsetodola9.png)
---
Urist was getting quite thirsty just thinking about the prospect of Dwarven Rum... It had been so long... She hadn't even been able to drink it consistently back when she lived in Liruksibrek, but now... From this day, this moment forward, she'd drink nothing but Rum!
As soon as she finished with the barrel she rushed back to her makeshift still, grabing up the sweet pods on the way... then she cursed herself for leaving the tin barrel at the forge. Getting thirstier by the minute, she rushed back to the forge, grabbed the barrel, back to the still and...
(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9480/sweetdw5.png)
Sweet, sweet wonderful rum! Figuring that she'd accomplished her most satisfying task yet, she decided to take a break from working... Though she did at the last minute remember her prisoner... She'd have to do something about him soon...
---
Melbil was famished. The Mad Dwarf had to be trying to starve him... Well she'd succeded and he was starving!
(http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3007/whattodoaboutthisqr3.png)
It'd be a pretty lame torture if she let him die now... Maybe she was just stupid or something... maybe she'd forgot about him...
Melbil had tried catching fish earlier with no success... He sighed. What a fittingly stupid way for Melbil the Jeweler to die...
Sitting by the river trying to see if there were even fish in there, he heard a click and the voice of the Mad Dwarf, "Eat." He rushed back into his cell, but nothing had changed. He tried the doors again and while the north door was still locked, the one opposite the river opened, and he saw...
(http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/158/sbehindthatdoorvl1.png)
Food, he presumed. The cooking was pretty mediocre though... It tasted like quarry bushe leaves with some sort of seed seasoning it...
There were quite a few biscuits, and Melbil took one, figuring he should ration them... But after he finished eating and wandered back into his cell the door closed behind him and was somehow locked again...
Melbil sighed again. The Mad Dwarf would probably only let him eat when he was on the verge of starvation... But for now, he was full... He felt uneasy... Things were never that good and simple... The Mad Dwarf had to be planning something... What was behind that other door anyway...
[ March 27, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8828/againwiththemigrantszw8.png)
At last, the outpost. Investigation showed a locked door the known merchant slaying tunnel, as well as another cave slightly to the north. It was well stocked with turtle, but there were no dwarves in sight...
Well... except for those five coffins... There were mutterings in the group that they should leave, that this place must be unlivable. Others scoffed, "Of course these fools died- they tried to begin a settlement in the fall! They must have starved over the winter!"
"What about that big ol' pile of turtles there then?"
"Well, all the more food for us!"
Atir wasn't quite sure how that settled the dispute, but the idea that they should try to do something about the locked door to find what must be the untold riches was quickly brought up and immediately caught the imagination of all the dwarves, including Atir...
The bombastic dwarf who'd argued for staying earlier was trying to break down the thick solid stone door by charging at it.
"Why don't we just take it out by the hinges?" Atir suggested, he was a mason after all...
It quickly became obvious that no one knew what he was talking about so he had to do it himself... Eagerly he worked, the eyes of the entire group on him, until he finally got the thing loose.
"Somebody should really set that thing back up!" Atir called over his shoulder as he charged into the tunnel.
"Hey no fair!" The bombastic dwarf clearly wanted to be first, Atir really should learn that guy's name soon... He'd be an issue in the future...
Atir heard water... barely. Twenty stampeding dwarves made quite a racket, and what was that crunching underfoot?
"It must be the river up ahead!" a random dwarf shouted.
"No! No, it's-" Atir lost consciousness as he was thrown back into another dwarf by the wall of water... His last thoughts utter confusion.
(http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7365/massslaughtercl0.png)
---
What just happened? That noise, and... Melbil had watched the bridge upstream retract, and then there was rushing water and, screams... lots of screams...
Melbil was uneasy... Though his whole life had been a disaster, he was still deeply unsettled by other's suffering... He knew, he had heard that the Mad Dwarf was homicidal, but... How many dwarves had he heard scream?
...
Best not to think about it. He pretended he'd just imagined the whole thing... Really, what would dwarves be doing in this place? His party's settlement was the one full of food... Speaking of which, Melbil was getting hungry again, though it would probably be a while before the Mad Dwarf let him eat...
There was a familiar click and the Mad Dwarf's voice again: "Eat." That was soon- Melbil had succeeded in forgetting about what he may or may not have heard, and now food it seemed.
That's odd, it was the north door that had clicked... and it was opening by itself...
Oh...
Oh... no...
(http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6143/andtheotherdoorohnobb5.png)
---
Urist was most satisfied! Rum, slaughter, and suffering! Today was the best day ever! The guttural cry of horror she had just heard from her prisoner still echoed happily in her ears as she went off to a most pleasant sleep.
(http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2915/fifteenthnightzu3.png)
Fifteenth Night
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
Secondly, what happened to Melbil? I'm not good with the icons yet, so, is that smilie a dead dwarf or something? Is Melbil himself dead? Do I ask too many questions? (that's a yes, by the way). I be confused...
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Xotes ]
I think.
Urist doesn't necessarily want Melbil to eat it, she was just getting his attention/his hopes up.
There's no problem with questions- I was thinking that I relied too much on the pictures to explain important bits this last update (mainly thinking to a possible date in the future when imageshack decides it doesn't like me anymore, rendering my story incomprehensible).
Comments in general: the more the better. The more I know what people like (or don't like, or find unclear) the more I can concentrate on those aspects.
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
Secondly,I have a new title for Eiba. This one, in fact.
EIBA ONE THE GREAT!
Yeah. Cool, huh? Then again, it IS time for the disclaimer/Eiba praise, so Toady, please don't smite me for this. And Eiba, WE ALL LOVE YOUR STORY! YAR!
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Xotes ]
the same was true with the elephant emerging from the water in the previous installment.
The object tileset is a modified version of the Dystopian Rhetoric tileset found here: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Object_Tilesets
I actually started before the newest release of said object tileset, so I drew my own humans and skeletal elephants. Needless to say I've have upgraded to his humans because mine sucked (you'll see the new ones this summer). I've kept my skeletal elephants though, I also have skeletal mandrill and skeletal bonobo/chimpanzee graphics, but they aren't that good. I also made my cats black, which is why you can never see Urist's... It's actually in a lot of the screenshots...
The resolution is 1280x960 with blackscreen on for fullscreen mode. 1280x400 for windowed mode, but that's actually wider than my computer's normal resolution, leading to some issues... I actually have no idea if I've optimized anything, I've only gotten the above numbers through trial and error, with no theoretical knowledge at all on the subject...
quote:
i actually like how the pictures tie in and explain bits of the story. i could infer that there was a floodgate and a bridge, but seeing how its layed out really makes it come together.the same was true with the elephant emerging from the water in the previous installment.
quote:
Yeah. Cool, huh? Then again, it IS time for the disclaimer/Eiba praise, so Toady, please don't smite me for this. And Eiba, WE ALL LOVE YOUR STORY! YAR!
And another thanks in general for all who have commented!
Edit: Heh, it seems I left a picture out of my last update. Atir's group drowning:
(http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7365/massslaughtercl0.png)
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ March 28, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
quote:
Originally posted by short_dwarf:
<STRONG>I have to say that this torturing of Melbil is excellent :D A new way of seeming to torture someone with out making the game actually making the dwarf depressed. My hopes now. Melbil never to go depressed and drown himself.</STRONG>
Yes, it would be much better if he went mad and destroyed the door to his cell in a bezerker rage!
quote:
Originally posted by Gakidou:
<STRONG>Yes, it would be much better if he went mad and destroyed the door to his cell in a bezerker rage!</STRONG>
(It is troublesome though, as that damn door keeps making him happy... Oh sure, you're suffering the most excruciating torture I can put you through but you "Admired a fine, tastefully arranged door lately" so you're fine?)
Anyway, I'm sorry for not updating for a while- I got caught up in another fortress (I generated a fortress called Lizard Bodices, and just had to play it...)
I was just fiddling around with possibilities for the near and far future in Tholoddom earlier today, and I think I got a few good ideas... I should have a lot of free time tomorrow, though I can't make any promises about how I'll spend it.
quote:
Originally posted by Eiba:
<STRONG>(I generated a fortress called Lizard Bodices, and just had to play it...)</STRONG>
Yeah, I'd have to play it, too. Argonians in Oblivion are dead sexy.
;-)
Excellent work, as always. Take your time between releases... as much fun as it is for us, it also has to be fun for you. Otherwise it defeats the purpose. (And don't lose your backups!) =)
you're trying to make my head explode, i know it.
Too late now i think. :o
quote:
Originally posted by puke:
<STRONG>but theyre not mamals. and as such, they dont have mamaries. and as such, they dont have any need for bodices.you're trying to make my head explode, i know it.</STRONG>
quote:
Originally posted by Slartibartfast:
<STRONG>
Well, the Argonians have mamaries :(
But alas, Melbil then awoke in his cell, covered in mud next to the unknown dwarf's rotting corpse... It had just been a dream...
[Note to self: Melbil can totally kill Urist when he's tantruming...]
I'll be working on a real update soon, provided things don't go terribly, terribly wrong again...
Edit :(Ugh, I need to play just one more day! So much interesting stuff is going on! Oh wait, now I'm really tired now and can't write well... *Sigh*
Well I have a lot of screenshots, notes and other material- should actually make for a couple updates... Later... (I don't want to crush any more hopes, so pretend I won't update for another month or two))
[ April 04, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
[ April 04, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
Back to the old backup, I guess lol
Tantrums would make for a useful plot device if the prisoner broke down the doors..
"He had mocked her crafts and called her less than dwarven. She knew he had to die."
Great story by the way!
quote:
Originally posted by ricemastah:
<STRONG>Wait... WHAT??</STRONG>
I edited my last post (because I didn't want to bump this thread) with this, in case anyone missed it:
Ugh, I need to play just one more day! So much interesting stuff is going on! Oh wait, now I'm really tired now and can't write well... *Sigh*
Well I have a lot of screenshots, notes and other material- should actually make for a couple updates... Later... (I don't want to crush any more hopes, so pretend I won't update for another month or two))
The one I use is curses_square_16x16 which the one Eiba uses is based off of, I believe.
quote:
Originally posted by Jaqie Fox:
<STRONG>I believe that is one that comes with DF.</STRONG>
quote:
Originally posted by Jaqie Fox:
<STRONG>I did not say it was default. I said I believe it comes with DF. there are several tilesets that come with DF, if you would look in the proper folder of a clean install...</STRONG>
Anyway, it seems we are down to mincing words so why not let's stop derailing the thread? (notice I said let's which includes me ;) )
quote:
DF comes with two fonts, 800x600 and 640x480, none of which are square, and those two are the default fonts.
try installing it in a new location, it has 3:
The two you mentioned and someting like:
curses_square_16x16
[ April 09, 2007: Message edited by: teabing ]
quote:
Originally posted by teabing:
<STRONG>crushed another beneath her own drawbridge.[ April 09, 2007: Message edited by: teabing ]</STRONG>
How do you do THAT? Honestly, how?
And to Eiba, what's with the lack of Urist's hermitage progress? (We still love the story, but updates being sparse is, well, bad.)
My internet was disconnected due to some sort of "report of copyright violation" (I'm at college, by the way)... I just got that all sorted out earlier today, so... Yeah.
I think it's to late to write an update tonight, but updates should resume shortly...
(For the record, I do love writing this, and infrequent updates are purely a result of unfortunate real-life circumstances, and not a sign of this being slowly abandoned...)
quote:
Originally posted by teabing
<STRONG>pulled lever to raise the bridge-wall, decided to run outside, and BAM</STRONG>
quote:
Originally posted by Narushima
<STRONG> About that "Melbil killed Urist" thing, it could have been fun to go on with the story. It's more exciting when things that are not supposed to happen happen...No ?</STRONG>
For the record, outside of my tests (including once when I hit the pits... that was actually pretty funny), I've only quit a viable game to reload an old save once- I wanted the immigration wave Melbil came in to have a miner with it to start the secondary fort, and it didn't first time around...
Anyway, thanks a great deal for the praise to those who gave it! I hope I'll be updating a bit more frequently soon!
Well, I knew she had to be doing SOMETHING in that cave that we didn't know about.
(She pirated engravings)
--
Tough break, I've really enjoyed reading the Urist Chronicles..I hope you resolve your ISP issues.
Oh well... But now I've rewritten it:
---
The Sixteenth Day
Urist's breakfast of quarry bush biscuits was accompanied by delicious dwarven rum, and the faint sobs of a despicable wretch. As the cat toyed with a spider in the corner, Urist wondered how things could possibly be better.
Well, seriously considering that question Urist figured it would be far better if she moved her living areas to the magma flow... Moving her bed and dining furniture wouldn't be too hard, but... Urist looked at all the various plants strewn about the floor... Those would take way too long to move. She also noticed that there was only one quarry bush biscuit left. When did she run so low? Oh right... there were a hefty number in the dispenser in that thief's cell...
Well, Urist decided the best thing to do to deal with both these issues would be to make a large quarry bush leaf stew out of most of her quarry bushes, thereby solving part of the transportation issue as well as her food issue all at once.
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6840/cookinginperperationsr8.png)
The task would take her the better part of the morning.
---
Had he passed out? Probably... Melbil had never had much of a stomach for gore... The bloated, dripping, naked body before him... was something Melbil had difficulty handling...
(http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4746/verryunhappyoz2.png)
The dwarf's eyes were half open...
Melbil nervously took up his rock and continued smoothing the cell- his back to the gruesome sight... He tried to keep focused on his task, but his mind wandered exactly where he didn't want it to... That corpse was once a living dwarf... Who was he? Why had he come out here? He must have had plans to start a new life, just like Melbil's deceased companions... He must have been thinking about the future in this new place, but... Perhaps in his last moments he realized that he wouldn't have a future... that his imagined beginning was actually his end.
And why? Melbil really wondered. Why had this happened? It was just so fundamentally unfair... That psychotic, homicidal mad dwarf! It was all because of her! No, that wasn't really fair to say... It was because that dwarf had been given this freedom... Unbalanced types like that usually managed to live quite uneventful lives... If Urist had only been in an institution back in Liruksibrek, nobody would have died...
No, the world was just proving once again that it was just a crappy place in general...
It was about then when Melbil heard a gurgling coming from the corpse... All of a sudden there was an overpowering stink pervading the cell... Melbil sighed, trying not to breathe too deeply... He walked to the river, hoping to avoid the smell... He was met with a wall of water that immediately threw him back, straight into the reeking corpse...
Why the hell did things have to suck so damn much! Though usually given to quiet depression, his situation, this stinking corpse's situation... It was just too much!
(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6269/verrryunhappyaj2.png)
---
"Heh heh heh," Urist chuckled to herself. Her prisoner seemed to have taken the summer flood rather hard. She soaked in the berserk screams of agony- his suffering was her delight. After a while though he seemed to just calm down, but as Urist continued on with her work, she'd hear more outbursts periodically, it was great.
Unfortunately her work took her to the magma flow, away from the delightful sounds of deserved suffering- She had planned to make more tin barrels to put all her plants in, but something glittering caught her eye next to the forge...
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1540/melikiethegoldrt2.png)
She had found it at the same time as the coal, but had been far more interested in the latter... As it caught her eye now she remembered how pretty it could be... But now was no time to be thinking of pretty jewelry, she was making barrels!
...
Could you make a barrel out of gold? Only one way to find out.
(http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1609/returnofthedispicablehuum7.png)
As the caravan approached its destination, there was no sign of life, and increasingly signs of death...
"Well, it's only natural that the dwarves would stay underground in this environment," Asri sounded like she was trying to persuade herself that her investment would still pay off. "Look, we were told about how there was an empty trap tunnel leading to a trade depot, and now there are a couple of doors there."
"So?" Gogol wasn't following.
"That means that someone's probably living in there- probably to use the Mad Dwarf's traps to keep out the beasts of the forest. We should try in there," Asri explained.
"Wait! I'll lead the way, to make sure it's safe," Gogol said in his best "suave" voice, and struck what he imagined to be a courageous pose. He was rather surprised when he opened his eyes to see that the women were already entering the cave. Well, hopefully they were some of them were impressed, he thought as he jogged along to catch up.
(http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/8771/thisisdifferentyv3.png)
"Hmm... Here's the trade depot, and we're alive, but where are the dwarves?" Wondered Ilpi.
"Well, there's a passageway to the left there, Nupto go look for the dwarves and let them know we're here," said Asri.
"Why not me? I could easily accomplish such a task!" Gogol would demonstrate his courage before all this was done- it was too good a chance to pass up.
"You're barely a rookie," said Nupto as she left, "I'd be most impressed if you would just shut up and stay out of the way."
Man, there was no call for that... Gogol had only been trying to be chivalrous... Yeah, he'd been trying without success to get his courage noticed for the past week of travel, but there was no reason to get so snappy...
Just then Gogol heard Nupto gasp- she hadn't gotten far. Gogol rushed down the passage, sword in hand, hoping she was in some sort of mortal peril so he could save her... She was a bit of a bitch, but perhaps he'd impress one of his more agreeable comrades.
Well, it didn't appear to be mortal peril, but it definitely was gasp-worthy.
"Gods... that's just... no good," was all Gogol could manage to say... Before him in the corridor were somewhere around forty dwarf corpses in various states of decay... Nupto immediately turned around and pushed past Gogol. "Asri, we're leaving. There's no one to trade with here!" she called to the rest of the merchants.
"What, but we just finished unpacking..."
"We really should leave as soon as possible- They're all dead, and whatever killed them could kill us next."
"The dwarves? But the merchants said... And do you know how incredibly hard it is to get a fully grown cow in a cage on to a mule?"
Gogol heard something coming from down the hallway...
"Um, I think, perhaps we should forget about the goods and run for it..." He said, as he slowly began to take his own advice.
"Heh, the coward finally shows his true colors. The act was painfully-" Nupto's words were abruptly cut off as a wall of water rushed in from the passageway...
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8986/wellnotthatdifferentto6.png)
Gogol tried to keep swimming, but felt himself loosing energy... If only he had "gotten to know" the women better he could die without regrets... As it was, he cursed his cruel fate as he slowly lost consciousness...
---
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2031/sgoingonnowxq2.png)
Melbil wondered what was going on. As he was sitting by the river to get away from the miasma he heard the mad dwarf jogging to the river where she pulled a switch, and then the narrow bridge over the river retracted and he heard a rush of water... This was like when... Melbil glanced at rotting dwarf corpse.... But he hadn't heard any dwarves... The Mad Dwarf had pulled the switch again so the bridge came back, and she had gone over it a while ago... Melbil didn't really understand, he figured it was probably just some routine the Mad Dwarf had... Irrigating for shrubs perhaps? Though with Melbil's luck it was probably something much worse...
Melbil had only really calmed down after loosing it that morning by taking his mind off things working to smooth his cell, but now, the whole thing was smooth, so he didn't really know what to do... He just sat by the river with that mysterious dead dwarf giving off an awful stink, and making Melbil think to much...
All of a sudden, he heard a door opening... It was the north door, when he turned around, dreading what might be behind it this time he saw...
(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8784/ohhellnonotagainsp3.png)
He was expecting the worst, and so only let out something of a whimper... He was ashamed to admit that his first thought was how a much larger human body would stink that much longer as it rotted... Though he began down a similar line of thought as he had with the dwarf... Who was this human... what was he thinking when he died...
Melbil couldn't think anymore- he'd just had too much... just... too much. He took up his chiseling rock and went over to the wall and...
(http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7840/pleasenomorevb2.png)
---
Urist practically danced with glee. More dead humans! Ah, what could be more satisfying than killing members of that patronizing, arrogant, infuriating race? Oh, of course! To then use their stinking corpses to drive a wretched thief into a slow madness!
But that was close, Urist had only completed the modifications to her merchant killing cave yesterday, and she barely remembered in time that the human merchants came about this time last year... But it all worked out in the end! Time for some well deserved rest.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3073/sixteenthnightud1.png)
Sixteenth Night
[ April 17, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
Hahahahahahaha that was great
quote:
Originally posted by Narushima:
<STRONG>I was asking myself : "how it would look like if Melbil engraved something ?".^^</STRONG>
"You see here a Melbil rendition of Urist Borushdumat the dwarf. Urist Borushdumat is being struck down."
"You see here a Melbil rendition of Urist Borushdumat the dwarf. Urist Borushdumat is being struck down."
"You see here a Melbil rendition of Urist Borushdumat the dwarf. Urist Borushdumat is being struck down."
"You see here a Melbil rendition of Urist Borushdumat the dwarf. Urist Borushdumat is being struck down."
"You see here a Melbil rendition of Urist Borushdumat the dwarf. Urist Borushdumat is being struck down."
"You see here a Melbil rendition of Urist Borushdumat the dwarf. Urist Borushdumat is being struck down."
...Aaaaand so on.
(btw, brilliant thread Eiba. I find myself checking for update at least once a day.)
[ April 19, 2007: Message edited by: M@ ]
---
However, the ellipses... are driving... me... crazy. I know it's an unconscious thing, and you're actually using them on purpose for Urist's mad-talk. But I'm afraid I may end up madder than one of the dwarfs in this story. So I made a bookmarklet to fix the situation. If anyone else is in the same boat, click that link or save it to your bookmarks to de-ellipsize text (it's a common forum "speech" habit).
edit: welp, that can't go in a url tag. Here's the code to copy/paste manually:
edit2: that just made it break the tables worse, argh. Oh well, I guess I can't share.
[ April 20, 2007: Message edited by: Klyith ]
[ April 20, 2007: Message edited by: Klyith ]
What are Urist's skills and attributes?
I'm just wondering if she's a super dwarf from doing all this stuff alone.
quote:
Originally posted by stirpot:
<STRONG>Where are the updates?!?!?!</STRONG>
I bet when this is finished it'd be a cool fort to explore if you knew the story bhind it... you'd be able to visit all the tourist attractions :p Melbils cell... the explorers fort... the tunnel of merchanty doom... It'd be even better if it was possible to pull levers in adventure mode.
And I can say for sure Melbil's carvings will actually be a major component of the next update. But speaking of the next update... Err, I know it seems like I've been neglecting this, but my Pokemon-hiatus has run into final-zone and so... It will be a while yet before I update... Yeah, sorry.
I should also add that I've been toying with ideas to wrap this up, as I really can't see myself devoting too much time to it after the Next Version comes out... I was wondering what people would want more, a satisfying if relatively rushed conclusion, or extremely sporadic updates. I could do either.
I'll try and catch up on it later tonight.
quote:
I was wondering what people would want more, a satisfying if relatively rushed conclusion, or extremely sporadic updates. I could do either.[/QB]
Ever read the book, Misery?
It can be no other way.
Seriously, whatever you do just please don't let Melbil die, the little guy is really starting to grow on me. I like that he's a social misfit himself but hasn't gone evil and vengeful the way Urist has (yet). He's a good foil for her.
quote:
Originally posted by Nipper:
<STRONG>Ever read the book, Misery?It can be no other way.</STRONG>
I have to say, I'm rather disturbed... I'd... rather not be dismembered...
quote:
Originally posted by Narushima
<STRONG>Any news from Melbil or Urist ?</STRONG>
Urist reminds me alot of Misery. I've only seen the movie, though.
Please don't kill Melbil.. I really like him.
quote:
Originally posted by Eiba:
<STRONG>
Well, I'm finally done settling in after moving home for the summer (my college lets out pretty late), and so I suppose I could get back to this... Expect an update later today.</STRONG>
No, I was just asking about the dwarves.
Sorry, I had to do it.^^
Anyway, good to hear that !
Absolutely brilliant, keep up the great work.
I also note with interest the number of TaleWorlds members here. Hey Momaw, Poil, TotalPigeon.
Still, yeah, cheers mate
Anyhow- before this all goes off-topic...
COME ON EIBA! I want to know what happens :D
Anyway, to be on topic, I'm absolutely hooked on this. Can't wait for your next installment.
Pleasebesoonpleasebesoonpleasebesoon.
quote:
Originally posted by Trae:
<STRONG>Taleworld?</STRONG>
Apologies for the continuation of the derail. I've enjoyed your story thus far as well and am looking forward to the continuation, assuming it ever comes. :p
quote:
Originally posted by Trae:
<STRONG>Taleworld?</STRONG>
Google is your friend.
And it would have saved two off-topics posts.
Yeah, three.
quote:
Originally posted by Solara:
<STRONG>Eiba, please come back! The story seems like it's pretty close to the conclusion, don't let it die now!</STRONG>
And unfortunately this isn't really anywhere near a conclusion. My plan for finishing it quicker rather than later was to first document up to Urist getting set up by the magma flow, and then have some sort of time skip until something interesting like a human invasion happens. I could play this all much faster if I wasn't taking pictures and writing updates (not that I'm doing the latter, it seems), so I could cover a lot more ground...
I have a couple other ideas... But I am really sorry to drag out the updates like this... It's got to hurt the continuity of the story, besides being really annoying...
Take it easy, Eiba! The stressed caused from being worried about working on the story will probably lower its quality so... relax! I think most of us here can stand waiting a bit for an update. I think most are just thinking "Is Eiba on fire? Did Urist die? What is going on in this crazy, mad-dwarfless world!?"
I think, when you do get to finish it, somebody could take it and organize it into pages and such; like Boatmurdered's saga. Hell, maybe you'll get fan art too! I'd submit some but you know. No artistic talent. XD
And thanks for the story! Magnificent read. More dark humor/horror then a lot of Stephen King's work even. You could be a great author. :D
Urist's tale saved me one morning when I woke up three hours early and couldn't sleep from the horrible humidity; I sat down here and just read non-stop, a hearty drink in one hand and a rapidly spinning mouse wheel in the other.
You're good!
Unfortunately, both my hermits came to swift ends: the first was ambushed by a fire imp while setting up a magma smelter (he killed it but was severely wounded and just sat in place until he starved), and the second was cleaning out the caravan death trap when something pulled the lever.
quote:
..and the second was cleaning out the caravan death trap when something pulled the lever.[/QB]
Spooky..
Brave dwarf.
I can get food and things like that going very well very easily with a single dwarf, but if I wanted to make anything out of adamantium then I'd find it very difficult to get past the daemon pits with only one dwarf... maybe impossible but I think it could be done.
But even with drawbridges getting past the daemon pits would be very hard for a single dwarf... one fireball and its game over while your dwarf is trying to retreat...
quote:
Originally posted by Bricktop:
<STRONG>But even with drawbridges getting past the daemon pits would be very hard for a single dwarf... one fireball and its game over while your dwarf is trying to retreat...</STRONG>
Not really, since you can use the raised-drawbridge-as-a-rail method to prevent magma attacks completely.
I admit it would take time to set up, and during some of that time your dwarf is vulenrable to magma attacks, but it would still work. (You should probably use the same method on the cave river and chasm as well, for safety)
quote:
Originally posted by Bricktop:
<STRONG>I meant that one of the daemons from the pit could... or do they not have fireballs? I thought they did...</STRONG>
Oh, I see what you meant.
Either way a raised draw bridge blocks everything, so that's not a problem.
quote:
Oh, I see what you meant.Either way a raised draw bridge blocks everything, so that's not a problem.
It would be a problem though... since you'd need to know in advance where the daemon pit is so that you could build the drawbridge and its lever within 1-2 tiles of the pit to give your dwarf time to escape (This is based on my assumption that when you first break into a pit you get an instant invasion from it... am I wrong with that?)
quote:
Originally posted by Bricktop:
<STRONG>It would be a problem though... since you'd need to know in advance where the daemon pit is so that you could build the drawbridge and its lever within 1-2 tiles of the pit to give your dwarf time to escape (This is based on my assumption that when you first break into a pit you get an instant invasion from it... am I wrong with that?)</STRONG>
Yes, the demons take a couple of days to get ready before they climb up and do bad things to your bearded little minions. Not enough time to build anything but plenty of time for your miner to get away.
Bridges to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle on ANOTHER EFFING BRIDGE!
quote:
Originally posted by Leprechaun:
<STRONG>Bridges to the left of meBridges to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle on ANOTHER EFFING BRIDGE!</STRONG>
Anyone else read that and think of a certain AC/DC song? XD
quote:
Originally posted by Keiseth:
<STRONG>Anyone else read that and think of a certain AC/DC song? XD</STRONG>
Women to the left of me
And women to the right
And got no gun, and got no knife, don't you start no fight.
?
Doesn't seem too similar.
That it?
quote:
Originally posted by puke:
<STRONG>yeah, i was getting a "stuck in the middle with you" kinda vibe.</STRONG>
Bingo.
That said, AC/DC rock. But we digress.
Update pl0x.
Many years later the legendary Overlord Melbil sits atop his dark throne in a bustling dwarven citadel in the haunted lands, dispensing harsh justice, expanding his fort, and sending forth armies...all the while sipping dwarven wine only from one particular bejewled mug: a dwarven skull menacing with spikes of kitten leather.
============================================
Well, maybe that's NOT at all what happened, but, I guess that I'll make my own closure - and you'll make yours.
infact im currently try to recreate the story
but boy thos dwarves must not need to eat mutch, cuz 2 years into the game and they are still outside the fort with STARVING/MISRIBEL/RUNNING AROUD AND BABBLING
AND NOT THAT I HAVE LIKE 20 IMIGRAnTS OUTSIDE im constant getting messages about tantrums
but i let them gather stuff for me by...
l ======
l ======
:)
l
[] is door
=is stockpile
:)me
l is wall
quote:
Originally posted by Leprechaun:
<STRONG>Bridges to the left of meBridges to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle on ANOTHER EFFING BRIDGE!</STRONG>
Bridge to right of them,
Bridge to left of them,
Bridge in front of them
and the cave has just rumbled
Storm'd at with bolt and stone,
Boldly they went and gone,
Under the bridge of Death,
right from the pits of Hell
walked the six demons. ;)
allso, this is *the* best DF story I've read so far (with a bit of shame I have to say I was bored half way through most of the other ones), is there *any* possoblity of an update?
quote:
Originally posted by DR:
<STRONG>Give it up guys.</STRONG>
As sad as I am to say it, I am inclined to agree. Bumping the topic is not going to change anything. If Eiba wants to finally update, he will post here himself.
Great story, Eiba! It's surprisingly deep. I love the symbology of the pick and the cat, and the foiling of Melbil and Urist. I also like the unanswered questions with implications for the ending. Is Urist's mental state a result of what society has done to her, or is she just stark raving mad? Will she redeem herself? Can she redeem herself?
It's amazing how such a wonderful story can come from events in a game - but isn't it fitting that Dwarf Fortress, a game which is at least heavily influenced by ThreeToe's storytelling, should in turn tell its own stories?
I swear.
I will.
quote:
Originally posted by Eiba:
<STRONG>I will update Tomorrow.I swear.
I will.</STRONG>
Unbelievable... what caused the delay?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
*deep breath*
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0O0O0O
OOOOOOOoooooooooooo.....
*gasp*
*wakes up, sees post about upcoming update*
..*faints*
*wakes up, sees post about...
(http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7580/prettybarrelsir4.png)
It would be a grand hall, illuminated by the red glow of the magma, the support pillars would be made of solid gold, and and it would be decorated with green glass statues with sapphire eyes. Her bedroom would be a great round room lined with columns, and all the furniture would be made with green glass- perhaps she'd stud some of the furniture with gold... For her bed she'd have to make do with her current shoddy one... at least until she forged an axe and cut enough wood to let her practice. Eventually she'd make a bed of the finest mahogany... though that was a low priority. The dining room would be a long hall, also lined with columns, with a huge reflecting pool down the middle (filled with cave lobster and/or salmon of course). At the far end would be her spectacular golden throne, decorated with the finest gems she could find, as well as a similarly spectacular green glass table...
She might even force the thief to engrave his miseries on all the walls of her spectacular mansion. She'd noticed he'd been carving crude pictures of suffering in his cell, but the quality wasn't as important as the raw suffering she knew it reflected.
Oh how wonderful it was all going to be! She'd be surrounded by all the riches the mountain had to offer, crafted by her own supremely skilled hand, as well as spectacular murals symbolizing the pain and suffering of all the wretches who ever doubted her! It would be hers and hers alone, both the crafts and the suffering would be wrought by none but her hand!
She would show them! She would let the traders come, and she would show them what she'd made, and she would insult them and shun them, and make them leave her domain. And throughout the world people would talk of the legend of Urist Borushdumat, sole empress of Tholoddom: Deep Cloister.
Urist laughed maniacally at the mere thought.
(http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3205/allpackedupqk7.png)
By now she'd packed all her food into the gleaming golden barrels (she was quite proud of them; such a pretty metal) and was ready to begin in earnest.
She could begin mining out the main hall, but she needed gold ready for the supports, or it'd all just collapse. Unfortunately, she'd used almost all of the gold she found earlier for barrels. She'd need more- a lot more- for her plans. Fortunately she could make out something rather promising looking on the far edge of the magma flow, but how to get at it...
(http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6920/obsessionph4.png)
Urist set to work as her cat happily tormented a nearby fire snake.
---
Melbil hadn't thought much. It was too much to think anymore, with the floor coated in mud, and the atmosphere filled with rot, he couldn't even sleep soundly.
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6814/tantruminginsleepzx6.png)
Melbil spent his all his waking hours carving miserable pictures into the wall. How long had he even been here? As the days stretched on he began to forget... The mountainhomes? Training as a jeweler? No, he was just a wretch who carved crude pictures on the walls...
(http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/6715/gettingthehangofthisengtu6.png)
No, Melbil didn't remember, he didn't think, he just carved...
(http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/9942/theslowmadnessofmelbilra0.png)
What the heck was he even carving?
---
More to follow momentarily (sometime tonight).
Urist was slightly parched, but the gold was right in front of her... She knew it wasn't going anywhere, but she still needed to... secure it. That gold... that gold was her future, it was her glory, and she would have it.
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5152/goldva3.png)
Heh, look at that. So pretty and shiny...
(http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/838/goldgoldwy6.png)
This was a decent vein too, there was a good deal here.
(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9566/goldgoldgoldrg4.png)
How far did this this vein actually go?
(http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/9472/goldgoldgoldgoldob5.png)
Wow, this would be more than enough for Urist's purposes! Just look at all that pretty glittering gold! So much of it!
(http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7657/goldgoldgoldgoldgoldjf0.png)
Ha! Look at it all! A kingdoms worth already, and a seemingly limitless supply! Urist was ecstatic, maybe she'd coat the walls with gold, or make masive gold gates... what about those dinky bridges over the river and chasm... There was more than enough gold for all of that! So pretty!
(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4867/goldgoldgoldgoldgoldgoliw5.png)
Wait... That was it? More! Urist wanted more gold! Urist needed more gold! To prove her glory, she'd need an infinite amount of gold! And she'd do it to! She'd prove it to everyone, and she'd find all the gold she'd ever need!
(http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4498/whereisthegoldbf2.png)
[Continued next post]
[ September 16, 2007: Message edited by: Eiba ]
(http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5098/thatisnotgoldws3.png)
She nearly fell as she plowed through the rock in her zeal... This wasn't gold.
Urist stood mesmerized by the glow.
...
She came to her senses and realized how silly she'd been... She already had more than enough gold. Besides, by now she was downright dehydrated...
(http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9539/letsgetoutofherevi9.png)
She just about tripped over the cat as she stumbled through the piles of raw gold... Somehow it wasn't as comforting as it was before. She thought about that eerie glowing red pit... What was that... She hurried back to familiar ground.
After Urist got her drink she knew her next task would be to forge the gold into bars that could be used for columns... Yeah, the great hall- it would be spectacular... but... maybe tomorrow. She'd had enough for today, it was time to take a break. There was no need to go back out there... over the magma river, to get the gold... next to that pit...
No Urist would take a well deserved break.
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8872/theywaitvr1.png)
She couldn't sleep though... she just paced around her room. The cat had stayed with her the entire time, she found its presence comforting. The cat had always been there. Urist by nature didn't need the company of others, but even so... her cave here would seem awfully empty without that cat always about, walking purposefully here and there, undoubtedly for the purpose of killing some small animal or another...
Wait, what was that noise?
(http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8557/whatisthatsoundpl9.png)
There was a loud echo coming from deep within the cave- something like a loud crash, followed by two more... Urist had spent at least a year with that long tunnel to the magma, and it was always, always, deathly silent.
As the reverberations died down, it was again. Urist was by this point very deeply unsettled. Her comforting cave, hers and hers alone, suddenly seemed very large and dark. She had the urge to just lock the door to her room and hide under her bed...
She made for the door, but the cat darted out ahead of her.
Oh no... Oh no. Urist's heart was beating fast. She didn't have any idea what was going on, but she didn't like it at all.
---
The cat knew its place. It killed things. Anything it pleased... well almost anything. It knew that the dwarf killed the big things that came in from outside, while it killed all the exiting little wriggling things that lived inside.
The dwarf wasn't acting right though... The cat didn't like that. It felt wrong around the dwarf, so naturally the cat left, off to find more wriggling things. It had just discovered the really hot long funny looking critters in the hot place, they were pleasantly warm even for a while after the cat killed them. The cat wanted to kill more of them.
However..
(http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4874/ohcrapbk5.png)
A large thing! A really hot large thing! The cat had never seen a live large thing past the entrance, this was very unusual, and therefore extremely dangerous. The cat ran.
(http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8639/curriositykilledwellyoupt4.png)
[Continued next post]
The cat... It... must be injured... She should go to help it...
...
It was so quiet. The cat was dead! Something had killed it, Urist knew that had to be the case. She had no idea what had killed it, or what made the noise earlier, or why those pits glowed red...
There was a hissing sound... it was close...
(http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4851/nothingcanstopitbi8.png)
Urist had never heard anything like it before, but it came from as close as the statue room.
Yes, she heard the statue in the statue room fall over... that had to be what it was... And then she heard again... Was it breaking the doors down with that sound?
It must be getting closer... It broke through both the doors of the statue room and was getting closer.
The loud crashes she heard, it was thrashing about right outside of the door!
What in the hell was it!?
(http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/5858/aaaaahhhhhqq5.png)
The hissing noise again, the door turned bright, bright glowing red and, Urist couldn't believe her eyes, it melted!
Standing there, framed by the dripping remains of the door was a huge mass of fire- not something on fire, but just fire. Without eyes it managed to stare straight at Urist, and blinded, Urist screamed.
(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4923/dodgemt7.png)
It shot straight at her- a living fireball streaming thick smoke behind it, and without thinking, she jumped out of its way.
She ran through the smoke, absolutely terrified, out of the room.
(http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8866/fleerh3.png)
She hesitated. What the hell was she going to do! What the hell was that thing! Speaking of hell, when she looked back at her room, she saw it- smoke pored out of the still glowing doorway across the ceiling, with a bright red glow getting stronger through the black smoke. And then it burst out, a demonic flame creature filled the room with a blinding brightness.
Urist looked away, and it struck.
(http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/6618/lastmomentsofalegendcp2.png)
Time seemed to slow, the searing, burning pain felt somehow muted...
Urist was about to die.
What the hell was this? Why the hell was this?
An entirely unrelated thought entered Urist's head during her last moment of consciousness: the gold. If this thing could burn down rock doors, it probably melted all the gold as it walked past it from the pit... The gold, Urist's proof...
---
(http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2356/bloodandashesnx1.png)
Blood and ashes.
(http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/6165/weknewherwelltn5.png)
[Concluded next post]
Melbil was so hungry...
(http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5731/whatisgoingonoutsidejj5.png)
Had Urist forgotten about him? That was just as well, Melbil had forgotten about himself too. He'd forgotten why he still existed. He'd coated the walls and floor of his cell long ago, he had nowhere left to engrave... Why did he still exist, when existing was so miserable.
He looked around at the skeletons, his only company, and decided that they had the right idea. The river was right there, so he might as well just...
But what was all that commotion outside?
(http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3121/ohgodohgodohgodvb4.png)
What the...
(http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/962/throughthesteemoftheboica8.png)
Through the pure white steam of the boiling river, a brilliant, blinding light shone through...
Melbil didn't look away, though it hurt his eyes. He had no idea what was going on, and he really had no way of beginning to attempt to figure it out.
The light looked at him and rushed towards him, and Melbil knew it was going to kill him.
It was a pretty good light.
(http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7792/onfiregh8.png)
Melbil had nothing that could be taken from him- even loosing his life was a net gain... But... burning alive hurt a lot. That was just his luck.
I'm a bit tired now, but tomorrow or sometime I'll explain a lot of stuff related to this.
At any rate, now I know what'll happen if I hit those pits. :eek:
An epic end Eiba. For an epic dwarf.
Brilliant.
I'd just about given up on this thread, there was a bump every once and awhile but it was usually just someone pining for another installment, so I didn't even bother to check this until I wondered why there were suddenly a bunch of new posts all at once.
Thanks so much for finishing this Eiba! It was a fitting end for Urist, brought on by greed and hubris as it was, even if I still feel bad for poor Melbil...poor guy never caught a break.
Its a good ending to :)
Excellent wrap-up and perfect ending.
Why the delay? I didn't like where it was going. The next update was going to be Urist's back story, and her paranoia re: Melbil's carvings. Melbil had actually carved two pictures of dwarves making plaintive gestures and a picture of a pick on the back wall, I was going to have them generally reflect Urist's past, but when it came time to actually write it it all just felt silly and fan-fic-y (nothing against fan fiction, but that's not how you want a dark back story to sound).
So instead of salvaging it, I just stopped. Probably not the best idea but whatever.
What were the longterm plans? Urist's fantasy reflected the actual floor plans for the fortress, which were already planned out. Urist liked gold and green glass, so those were going to be the building materials, Melbil was a pretty good engraver... Also, dwarves wasting away reflect instances when the engraver was hungry... That's why I kept depriving Melbil of food, so he'd carve a bunch of wasting dwarves all over the wall.
I was also going to let immigrants settle near the entrance- this mainly because I found out you needed the mayor for sieges, so the humans would never siege Urist alone. In fact, Melbil's party was supposed to begin this- the fact that all of them but Melbil died horrible deaths was, in fact, purely accidental, a rather spectacular failure, in fact, but it worked out nicely, story wise, so...
The little fortress would have holed up, while the humans rushed into Urist's lair, and Urist would capture some, slaughter others with traps and lava, and generally have a wonderful time... But alas, it was not meant to be.
Why did I finally update when I did? Two reasons, the immediate one was that I had to write an essay and memorize 10 kanji (for different classes) and writing the final chapter of this story seemed like less work.
The more general reason was that I wanted to wrap this up before the new version came out, not just because it will eat up all my time, but because I do think I'm going to do something similar with the next version.
It'll probably be with seven dwarves, instead of one, but it will take place in the icy wastes, to prevent trade. Oh, and it will be under a goblin tower.
Look forward to it.
I always had it in the back of my head that Urist would turn out to be that last little child playing in the bone pile at the finale of boatmurdered :)
Thanks Eiba. You may have even inspired me to return to my own stories... I doubt they could live up to this one, but stories are still fun! And this one was spectacular.
I usually tend to avoid stories like this, but I mean it when I say I enjoyed it. You're doing pretty good job when you can get someone who tends to dislike the type of story you're writing to stick with it through the whole thing.
I have admired a fine ☼Story☼ recently.
superdwarvenly ingenious
And it was a pleasant thing to come into and read in one sitting. The screen shots added quite a lot to the story, and I am very pleased how well you worked all the various minutia into it. I especially liked the mini-fortress part, that was an excellent bit of mixing it up, and Melbil added a lot to the story with his Bartlebyness.
This makes me wish I had done the same back when I was digging out the whole mountain last year. I had a little story about a charismatic dwarf leading a cult whose belief was that the evil beneath must be purified in the open air. Ah well.
This was an excellent read, and I thank you for it.
quote:
Originally posted by Sylverone:
<STRONG>Now, all that is left is to preserve it for the times to come. The wiki awaits with open arms.</STRONG>
I wouldn't mind if a more wiki-oriented poster transfered it (I wouldn't know where to begin), but as it would be a lot of work, I imagine, I don't really expect it...
quote:
Originally posted by Aquillion:
<STRONG>Question: Eiba, would you share some of your backuped saves for this fortress? One at the end, even? It'd be fun to wander around and explore the place where all this happened using an adventurer.</STRONG>
It's a good thing none of their leather showed up in screen shots...
I have to once again thank everyone for the extremely high praise...
...
I must say, it's doing nothing to help my already inflated ego...
quote:
Hm? I didn't think topics were purged on this forum...I wouldn't mind if a more wiki-oriented poster transfered it (I wouldn't know where to begin), but as it would be a lot of work, I imagine, I don't really expect it...
I just wanted to suggest it because with the entire story preserved in one place it could easily be read straight through without having to bother skipping through forum posts and such. Also, It would mean that this topic would not be the only place the story existed, so it might lower the chance that the thread will get necro'd.
OH MY GOD, ITS AN UNDEADELEPHANTTHREAD!!!
srsly, threadcromancing=bad
Wow, thanks to whoever bumped this story. I just spent the last few hours reading through it. Really impressed me, a great read. I can only imagine what Urist would have accomplished with some Z-axis movement.
I wonder if this story is why everyone uses "Urist mcdwarf" and etc. all the time, I saw a thread the other day wondering about that. I associated Urist with uselessness because my current fortress has an Urist that I dislike but now that I've read this story I'm a lot more nervous about what he's gonna do...
This should get moved to the story forum and added to the legend list.It's already there.
When I clicked on dwarf mode discussion, this was not the thread I was expecting to see.
Awesome suprise though.
Wow, awesome story and thanks to the guy that bumped it!
Hey Eiba, don't suppose you still have the savegames, do you? You could go back and do a proper ending ;)
It might be more accurately compared to a whoopie cushion here; being somewhere in between.A part 2 would be nice.
Anyway, who thinks it's time for Part 2? It was hinted at, and DF2010 brings back ye olde HFS in a way... should be perfect.
Bump?
Toady really aught to stop the forum from letting you bump past a certain time frame.
Bumping for the point of saying 'look, I bumped something' is generally frowned upon.I would call that more a "Hey, Toady, here's a suggestion, plus why examples, in the same post with very few letters."
Hell, you could just frigging PM him.Kinda hard to bump a PM...
