At nightfall, the dwarves returned from their frolicking in the woodlands and came back inside to greet the newcomers. They sat down at the common table, where Elagn and her friends had just finished supper, and introduced themselves.
"Welcome everyone!" said Magnus. "Sorry that we kept you waiting, it's just that we, ah, haven't been outside for a while. I'm Magnus."
"Hi! I'm Skaia the Mechanic, but I'm not really a mechanic, it's just something they call me, Elagn's the mechanic actually, so you can just call me Skaia. Did you guys really dig this tunnel all by yourself? Was it hard? How long have you been here?" Skaia shook Magnus' hand vigorously and continued without waiting for an answer. "We've been on the road for, like, a really long time now, I think it's been like four weeks? See we all used to live in Bouldermechanisms except Elagn, but then the goblins came and invaded us so we had to run away, and it was really scary, we almost got caught a couple of times, but then we saw the smoke rising up from this place, and everybody was like: yeah, let's go there! So we did, and now we're here! I really like tunnels, they're so dark and intimate. Is it true you guys came from the mountains in the west?" Skaia brushed her long, braided cinnamon hair back from her face and folded her hands into her lap with an expectant look, her bosom heaving as she caught her breath. The male dwarves around the table straightened themselves a little, apart from Dwarobaki who looked as if he was chewing on a particularly stringy plump helmet, and LuckyKobold who was chasing beetles on the floor.
"Uh... Yeah. Yeah we did," said Than402. "I was born there actually. I'm Than402, but you can just call me Than."
"I'm Neblime, and I'm the stonemason around here," said the stonemason around there, and puffed up his chest ever so slightly. "I built that drawbridge!"
"Woooooow, that's like, sooo cool! Where did you get the stone?" Elagn buried her face in her hands.
"I dug it all out," said Than402 and laid his pick on the table as irrefutable proof, nearly knocking over Taupe's mug, "and this windbag here thinks he built the bridge all by himself, but actually I'm the one who did all the heavy lifting."
"Kobooold?" replied LuckyKobold sarcastically and flexed his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, and LuckyKobold here helped out too I guess."
Iamblichos and Taupe rolled their eyes at each other. "So, Skaia," said Iamblichos and kicked Neblime in the shin under the table, "what is it that you do exactly? I mean, do you have a profession?"
"I cook! I can make you some poached eggs if you want?" Skaia drew an ovular shape in the air with her finger. "I am ze best chef in ze world, oui?" she said with a surprisingly good Elven accent, and twirled her immaculately groomed cinnamon mustache.
"We don't have any eggs," said Magnus. "Is there anything else you can do? We don't mean to be rude, but it's important that everybody here knows one another if we're all going to live together. Anything to do with... fortress building?" There was a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Well, I used to be a wood cutter (she made a vertical pumping gesture with both hands, as if stroking the bark of a tall tree), and we needed bows all the time, so I made crossbows out of all the wood, but I also made all the clothes in Bouldermechanisms, so I can spin thread and weave clothes pretty good if you want a new dress, aaaaand I also know how to stitch leather bodices, I reeeally like wearing leather, you know? It's like my favorite fabric. Ooh and I had my own workshop too, so I can make all sorts of little wooden toys and stone candle holders and I can also make the candles as well, they're made of beeswax, did you know that? And one time we had all these bones left over from a siege so I carved them into earrings, and we had a magma glassworks, do you have one of those? Because I can blow glass (she made a horizontal blowing gesture, as if blowing into a long glassblowing pipe) if you need windows or something, OH OH OH and we also had a magma kiln! So I taught myself how to make pottery (she made a violent kneading motion in the air, accompanied by violent jiggling), and I can glaze the pots afterwards so they look real pretty!" Then she suddenly looked sad. "I miss Bouldermechanisms."
"All right then," said Magnus and suppressed a chuckle at the look of Than402 and Neblime's faces. "You're our new manager and bookkeeper."
"YAY!" She ran off towards the storeroom in the corner of the tunnel and began taking stock of the supplies, raffling through the bins and counting each item out loud.
"What about the rest of you," said Taupe, nearly choking with laughter.
"Mining, mostly," said Beirus.
"Farms. Brewing." muttered Dwarobaki.
"Right," said Magnus and clapped her hands together. "I'm going to get to work on some stepladders. Let's barrel all that fruit before winter comes!"
A month later:The summer was now over, and the trees sprung a fiery red and yellow as they shed their leaves, heralding the autumn. The harvest had gone by with few events worth mentioning, save for the time when LuckyKobold accidentally hauled the stepladder back indoors before the pear pickers had finished, leaving them stranded in the tree for almost an hour while he had a nap. He was forgiven quickly, as none of the dwarves could ever stay mad at him for very long. Besides, the overall temper in the Peak had improved considerably with the introduction of perry, plum schnapps and bayberry wine to the booze stockpile.
Dwarobaki had proved true to his word and was indeed a knowledgeable brewer, and therefore deeply respected. Beirus and Elagn mostly kept to themselves, discussing building plans for the fortress with Magnus and Neblime, while Iamblichos, Taupe and the rest of the dwarves had begun constructing a floating platform in the center of the Glow, supported by the (now functional) drawbridge. The platform was to be part of the foundations for the Temple of Armok, while simultaneously providing access to the west crater wall, where the fortress itself would be dug.
And so did autumn pass, and it passed into winter. One particularly cold morning, as the snow fell and mingled with the ash flakes rising from the Glow, the dwarves had all gathered and stood huddled around the mechanics workshop for a presentation of the initial fortress design.
"All right, lads and lasses," said Elagn. "We've been living in this tunnel for a while now, and so far it's been a good shelter for us, but it's not going hold up against a goblin invasion, let alone a necromancer siege. If they find us - and sooner or later they will - we're all going to die unless we're properly prepared. That's why, now that the floating platform is finished, we are going to start digging a proper fortress!" The dwarves all cheered. Finally, the Peak of Fire would become a place to truly call home.
"So," she pointed at a stone slab where the architectural designs had been drawn up, "this is going to be the entryway. We're going to dig it out of the crater wall from within the mountain, and install a second drawbridge there leading out to the platform and the tunnel where we now stand. Eventually we're going to establish trade routes with other fortresses, and this will be the caravans' point of entry. They pass over the bridges, down in a small underpass, and emerge in the room to the left here, where we will have a trade depot. Iamblichos has told me that we're unlikely to find any iron in this volcanic geology, and Beirus agrees, so trade will be very important to us. The dual bridges will also serve as a choke point for any invaders, making us that much more secure. Everyone with me so far?" She was a bit nervous, but fortunately there were no questions, only affirmative nods.
"Good. Now, THIS," she made a circular gesture around the largest part of the design, "will be the fortress proper, the main floor so to speak. This big hall will house all the workshops alongside the walls, with evenly spaced supports to prevent cave-ins, and the middle area is going to be our main stockpile, separated into zones designated for the type of materials that the closest workshops consume, and for the goods they produce. The area south of there, through the room where the main stairwell is, will be the dining hall. Next to it is the larder, where we keep the booze and food, and also the kitchen."
Several beards twitched, and more than a few stomachs began growling as the dwarves looked at the size of the planned dining hall and imagined the feasts they could have in it.
"What about that room there?" Skaia pointed at the room east of the stairwell. "That's your office," Elagn replied. "YAAAY!!! My very own office! It's beautiful!" Skaia ran up and planted a long, wet kiss on Elagn's cheek. Neblime promptly stated that the southernmost workshop would, in his opinion, be best suited for a stonemason, while Than402 wondered in his mind whether a sufficient disturbance from nearby mining operations might cause a cave-in above said workshop.
"Yes, you're very welcome dear," said Elagn and gently pushed Skaia away. "Now, the stairwell goes both ways. Down is where we're going to do exploratory mining for ore, aquifers and such (Than402 suddenly wondered whether a gaping hole might open up under a particular workshop if the wrong area was accidentally designated for mining), we haven't designed that part yet, but up is where the bedrooms are. She pointed at the third design.
"Oh I like that," said Taupe. "Like little hammers in a row."
"Yes," said Elagn, "that's sort of where I got my inspiration from. We are dwarves, after all. We live by the hammer and anvil." Taupe smiled. "There's only one column for now, but we can add more if our population increases somehow, although that isn't likely to happen until we establish a trade route. Speaking of hammers, I think you're going to like the next floor." She pointed at the fourth and final design.
"This, my friends, is the Peak of Fire's military bulwark, where we will stand ready to smash those who would do us harm. The southwestern part of the hammerhead will be for sparring, individual training and melee combat demonstrations, and will contain our armory. The northwestern part is where we will hold our caged prisoners, the room itself is normally to be kept locked secure in the unlikely event of an escape."
A few eyebrows were raised at this. "I am talking about captured invaders, of course, not prisoners of our own," Elagn reassured them. "We are planning to install several cage traps at strategic points around the fortress perimeter. Any invader that steps in them will be relieved of their weapons, and used as combat training for our advanced soldiers. Training dummies are well and good, but nothing compares to live combat." Dwarobaki and Beirus grinned, and Elagn continued.
"The northern room in the middle is a dormitory where our soldiers will sleep when on duty. The southeastern room is to be an archery range with stockpiles for ammunition, and the northeastern room will contain the levers that open and close our drawbridges, the access to the tunnel from the barracks, and the cage room. Finally, the upper shaft of the hammer will be an emergency room for our wounded, should the unfortunate happen. We do not yet have any reliable source of water, so aquifer mining will be a big priority, but we can provide traction benches, wooden splints, suturing supplies and beds. Medical equipment will be high on our priorities list when the first trade carts arrive, as will iron and coke."
"Yeah, speaking of that", said Iamblichos, "where are the furnaces going to be?"
"On the platform in the Glow, said Magnus. "It's strong enough to support a roof once the second bridge is installed, isn't that right, Elagn?"
"That's right," she replied. "You and Taupe will have your hands full once the fortress is finished, and you won't have to worry about the rain." Taupe and Iamblichos bumped fists.
The dwarves all looked at each other. Then they looked back at Elagn and began applauding. Elagn blushed. The finest perry in stock was brought out, and the dwarves all toasted to the elegance and efficiency of the design. It was another good day.
"So, if I'm looking at this right," said Beirus and scratched her head with her heavy iron pick, "then the entrance to the barracks is going to be right here." She pointed at a section of wall that had been outlined with chalk.
"That it is," said Magnus.
"And we'll start digging here?"
"That we will."
"Then let's get to it," she said, and hefted the pick. "For freedom!"
"For Armok!" said someone.
"For dwarfkind!" said another.
"For dungeons deep and caverns old!" said a third.
"Lucky!" said LuckyKobold.
"FOR ILROM ZIRIL!!!" shouted the dwarves in unison, and they struck the earth.
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Topic: Ilrom Ziril: The Peak of Fire (Read 32589 times)