As I write down the next entry, please keep my state in mind in thought.
I have written that the battle against the goblins was a landslide. Let me copy down some reports for examples of how one-sided this was.
Needless to say, I was feeling quite confident of our military dwarves at the moment. Still, no reason to risk anyone unnecessarily as they were probably still tired from their last fight. We'd fight, but it would be on my terms. I gathered the 10 military dwarves at the Trade Depot and raised the door. Sadly, reports of dwarves stuck outside started reaching us. Two dwarves, an herbalist and a fishery worker, were quickly slaughtered by the minotaur. It validated my claim that this was a dangerous foe, and deserved caution, even if it did come at a price.
I got a strange message though. I had noticed our manager Drokles II hanging out by himself in the statue room above the lava pit focusing on "attending meeting" even though he wasn't moving and no one was around him. Was he having a meeting with the statues? Soon after though, I got this message:
I couldn't figure out how. I mean no one in an official position had died, and normally they can hang out forever. The liaison was still inside Doomforests grounds, however, so I zoomed in on him.
It appeared the liaison, following a dwarf much faster than him, got trapped on the other side of the gate. Finding no way in, he gave up and started to head back up the caravan road to the surface.
Coincidentally, he reached the top at the exact same time the Minotaur did.
To the minotaur, this wasn't a battle. This was sport! He took one of the dead dwarves' socks and wrapped it around his hand, cushioning the blow to let him enjoy each death more. His first test subject? One unhappy diplomat.
After biting right into the dwarf, the beast kept slamming his fist into the liaison, punching him in the head over and over again.
On one hand, he was already unhappy, so it wasn't like he would leave with a good report anyways. On the other hand...
He had my order form! Also, letting the diplomat die might even be a worse faux pas than trapping one outside. I ordered the gate to be lowered, and the military to attack. They rushed up the staircase, but they had a while to go.
Meanwhile our diplomat had vomited all over the ground with a major concussion and bleeding organs. The minotaur was laughing, enjoying inflicting such pain without death. It was so far though, that I didn't have any hopes of saving him. He was already unconcious. But we would try. However, it seemed like there was a marksdwarf stuck outside already, and thus reached the bull man first. He slammed his crossbow into the side of the minotaur.
The minotaur didn't like that. He stopped torturing the OL, and turned his attention to the dwarf that fought back, and showed him the same kindness as the other dwarves.
The next blood noon (sic) hits, and our two wereantelopes change. Oh, did I forget to mention one? It was a human currently trapped in a cage near the front. Also, I get another report of someone engaging the minotaur. A named dwarf not in the military, even with plenty of chances to get away at the moment.
It didn't matter that he wasn't in the military. He saw hurt dwarves and was going to save them or die trying. The minotaur towered over TechnoXan, his muscles like armor against any attack. Desprate for a hit, TechnoXan dove towards the beast, punching its largest toe as hard as it could. He punches with Dwarven Fury, so hard that it caves in on itself back into the foot. The bull yells out in pain. He has spent so long sock-punching dwarves that he's out of breath. In his confusion, he slips and falls down the ramp leading into the fortress. TechnoXan screams in rage and jumps on the fallen minotaur body. He has no weapons, no armor, and is completely untrained for combat. All it would have to do is wake up bite him in two, or wring his neck. But he decides to give the beast a little of its own medicine.
He continues punching with all his might, throwing both fists as hard as he can. He knows all he's doing is bruising the muscle, making its head swell to a great size, but he continues punching. Whenever it tries to awaken and get back up, another fist lands squarely on its head.
At this time, the military has finally reached the top. Lead by our resident Hero, he decides to end the battle quickly.
The beast has been killed. I consider immediately recruiting TechnoXan into The Kinetic Swans, but I decide to instead put him in the scouting party continuously off duty. He has a truly dwarven fighting spirit, but he's also our best blacksmith and we have a ton of unused magma forges. Rest well, TechnoXan. You've earned it.
With the battle done, I focus more on other matters.
The blood noon passes, and the wereantelopes transform back. Okay, let's try this again. The airlock is ready, so I order the wall in the hospital to be taken down. This time it's done with haste, and our dwarf is free. Well, she should be. This transformation has not been easy on her. She can't stand up, even though the transformation healed all wounds. Her legs shake and give out anyways. And she cries and cries as her "roommate" is taken away to be put in a coffin. It's completely mental, but Taupe has to bring her a crutch before she'll start walking.
Getting used to the crutch, I order her to the airlock. "You won't go down in history as a terrible monster," I console her, "That death wasn't your fault, but we can use your powers for good. It can't be cured, but no matter what I'll make sure you go down honorably whether you survive or not. You will be memorialized like Ast, the wereantelope of old. This I promise."
She stops walking for a bit, and starts walking herself the other way. Worried, I reemphasize her orders, that we need her to get to the airlock now before she transforms again, but she's having none of it. She continues to hobble with her crutch towards the stockpiles. There she picks up some light armor, a copper shield, and an iron battle axe. No matter what happens, she's going to do it with the intention of a dwarf, not a bloodthirsty beast. I think of telling her that the armor will be stripped off as soon as she changes, but decide that this is important to her, and let her keep what she got.
The wereantelope makes her way through the fortress to the airlock, knowing this might be the last time she ever gets to see living dwarves again. Through no fault of her's, she caused a death, and now faces her own. She turns to me before she steps in. "My name is Lor Glideworks, and I will fight for Doomforests until the very end." She stands inside the airlock, and the wall is rebuilt behind her. She hears the eyeless shrew claw at the artifact door in front of her, unable to scratch it. She can only wait now.
With a heavy heart, I walk away, leaving the Honored One to her fate.
To completely shatter the mood, I walk past an engraving I had never seen before.
It's a picture of our mad doctor, awarding himself mayor while surrounded by a baby, a goblin, a dying dwarf, and a literal cabinet. Despite my best intentions, I can't help but crack a smile. I go to see my friend.
Taupe II is busy working on the injured Marksdwarf. He pulls him out of bed and onto the nearby table, trying to get him to hold still. "I require a traction bench," he says, "I'm making do with what I have but it would really help." It's hard to find a part-time doctor that actually knows when to stop working and start doctoring, much less one that tells me exactly what they need. I head out, sign into a mechanic shop, and make one for him personally. I order it installed, and the doctor immediately drags his patient over and sets him on it.
Doomforests. We work. We survive. Against all odds, we're still here.
I then get a disturbing report.
Not this again...the cult was harder to get rid of than I thought.
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Topic: The Hastening of Doomforests (Read 432406 times)