Fellhex has seen its first siege by the Demon of Muscle, the more antagonistic of the two nearby goblin civilizations. When the first few arrived, militia commander Tudōsp Whipbristle was right on the scene; xe enjoys gathering plants in the woods while off duty. There were only a handful of intruders, apparently a scouting party, and xe charged them without hesitation. Xir great sledge crushed beak dog and goblin skulls alike, and a few learned that ylth can rend flesh and bone with unaided tentacles, as well. Within moments, half the scouts were dead or crippled, and the fight appeared all but over. Then another dozen or so mounted goblins arrived right on top of xem, and they kept coming. And coming. Few warriors could have survived the first few volleys; few beings could have kept up that level of performance against the relentless flood of attackers. But Commander Whipbristle, the greatest warrior of Fellhex, showed the red-eyes how an ylth dances. Xe took a couple of bad slices when they got xem surrounded, but xe smashed through to the edge of the crowd alive. Not another blow made it past xir guard. Tudōsp killed 22 beak dogs and 30 goblins before the fight was over. Our other fighters took down at least 30 enemies, and we will never know how many fled. But Fellhex did not come through the attack unharmed. We lost many of our most useful pets - our trained orels, most of our beak dogs, all but one adult troll; the huran bard Rosmic Binfancies was cut down right before the eyes of his son, Slushu Silkygroups, who had followed him here looking for long-term work. He undoubtedly died expecting his oldest child to follow him into the grave. The goblins who rushed our tavern also murdered most of the guests staying there, and tortured one until Sūtu Auburnscourge arrived to save him. Sūtu earned the title of 'the Diminished Learning'; those who were soaking our tavern in blood never made it to the library on the upper floor, and will get little benefit from their lessons today.
This attack came as a wake up call to all of us at Fellhex. Our huran friends from the Strife of Artifice have told us about crowds of refugees fleeing the Demon of Muscle's armies. We knew that eventually their war was bound to wash over us, as well. But we thought we'd have more time to build walls, to gather weapons and train fighters. And none of us imagined that the first attack against Fellhex would occur on such a scale. It is thanks only to the skill of Commander Whipbristle and the blessing of Tuxxu the Throne of Pride that no ylth were killed, and many of us were injured. I write this from a hospital bed myself, though my wounds are minor. Ylth have a tendency to assume that lesser creatures will not dare to challenge us in battle, but the Demon of Muscle has armies to spend. Fellhex will not make the same mistake again. Construction has been halted on the bedroom complex, and plans for the Temple of Mists are on hold while we throw together walls. We can sleep down in the quarries until we are protected on all sides. We have plenty of weapons - small and crudely made, but they will cover for our shortage of weapon-grade metal ore. We can sell the armor to the traders from the Club of Brilliance. No doubt they will find the emblems of the Demon of Muscle amusing! The next attackers will not find it so easy to ride into the heart of our town. And they will learn that we can be as patient as we must, or as swift, when vengeance is at stake!
-From the log of Stratāb Nourishedblack, Inker of Fellhex.
...So. Sieges are definitely working now.
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Topic: What's going on in your fort? (Read 5859366 times)