Bonepillar: Fall of 5449 Limestone“There’s a dwarven caravan coming in from the west!”
Tosul looked up from the slab he was engraving for Moldath.
“Any sign of a liaison from the Mountainhomes?”
In the doorway, TheCheeseMaker shook his head.
“’Not unless they changed the uniform since I left. That hat is pretty distinctive.”
“Damnit. At least we should be able to get enough supplies to last out the year.”
TheCheeseMaker sighed. “I wish that were possible, but with Sodel dead, we don’t have a broker.”
“You’re right…” Tosul looked down at the slab before straightening up, an idea having struck him.
“Why don’t you be the new broker? You have as much experience as anyone, and you’re pretty good with people.”
TheCheeseMaker shrugged. “Sure, I’ll give it a shot. What could go wrong?”
“Save the tempting fate for when something actually happens,” Tuaiq said as he entered the room, his favorite crossbow over his shoulder. “Caravan didn’t make it to the Depot. Floorclods got ‘em.”
TheCheeseMaker sighed. “What does that damn horse have against trading? First the humans, then Sodel, now our own caravan. Better luck next year, I guess.”
1 Sandstone“We haven’t seen that Titan up top for months, and there’s a lot of useful stuff in that tower.”
Tosul was in the main hall, speaking to a group of 15 or so assembled dwarves of various professions.
“Most importantly, we have no access to the upper farms or our stockpile of blocks. Months of inactivity should have caused the undead to lose interest in the tower, but even if they are up there, the tower will keep out the dralthas, trolls, horses, and the rest.”
Deduk, the farmer who had discovered the fortifications’ weakness at the beginning of summer, stepped forward. “You
do recall why we closed off he tower in the first place? Any winged bugger could just waltz right in and start tearing ‘eads off!”
Tosul nodded. “That’s why you all need to keep an eye on the sky. If you see anything in the air, get back inside and we’ll put the wall back up.
“The first priority right now is the blocks—both from the stockpile and from the failed floor fiasco. Once those are in, we can see about getting the farm running again.”
“Once this wall is down, we need to get this done as soon as possible. The last thing we need is anyone getting hurt.”
3 SandstoneLogem hefted a block off the floor of the tower’s second story. He gave the sky a cursory glance, but he wasn’t too concerned. In the past two days, the dwarves of Bonepillar had seen neither decaying wing nor rotten feather of any airborne monstrosities. And true to Tosul’s word, the tower’s walls kept the ground-based zombies at bay. Currently, a cow, a draltha, and an elk bird were arrayed at the base of the structure.
Despite the precautions against land and air, no one had accounted for climbing undead—a mistake Logem regretted the moment the undead troglodyte leapt from a tree, screeching as it tackled him down the stairs.
“Argh!” Logem let out a cry of pain as the troglodyte punched him in the upper body, and heard a snapping noise as her ribs broke.
The creature advanced toward his head, raising its rotted arms for a final strike, and Logem closed his eyes, preparing himself for the end.
“Huh!”
Hearing another grunt, Logem opened his eyes to see Lor, fellow founder of Bonepillar, pulling his arm back from a punch that had sent the troglodyte sprawling.
Lor stepped to Logem and, putting Logem’s good arm around his shoulder, started to lift him off the ground. “Come on, let’s get you-“
Lor collapsed, the pain causing his brain to shut down. Logem, bleeding heavily from his arm, quickly followed.
…
None of the dwarves that were present can agree on what happened next.
There are, however, a few moments that stand out in most of the accounts.
The dwarves in the former block stockpile below charging as a single unit up the stairs to the aid of the two founders.
Eral Masosalbel, woodcutter, encouraging her fellow dwarves to continue the fight at every turn, stopping only when an errant punch from the Troglodyte crushed her throat.
Unib Azothodib, blacksmith, getting knocked down by another dwarf’s clumsy dodge and then repeatedly stepped on.
Contrary to his assertions that he “killed the thing single-handedly,” PyroTechno Dyepaddle, furnace operator, had little participation of note in the battle, landing only a single weak punch.
Despite having bleeding heavily from her hand, Lokum Cattenakmam, carpenter, crushed the troglodyte’s head with a mighty punch, deanimating the beast.
More detailed reports are impossible to retrieve due to the large number of participants in the fight. Some speculate that the dwarves did more harm to each other through collisions and falls than the troglodyte did to them.
Regardless of the details, the aftermath is known: 4 dwarves on the ground next to the once again dead troglodyte.
Eral was choking and gasping, shortly suffocating as her own clotting blood sealed her windpipe shut.
Lokum stood by the was cradling her injured hand.
Logem, Lor, and Unib all lay unconscious and bleeding, remaining there until they were carried to the hospital for treatment.
…
Tosul listened to the reports of the various witnesses, his face a stone cold mask. Despite his best efforts to maintain his composure, a tremor could be heard in his voice as he ordered, “Seal the top.”
4 SandstoneIden Oardye, chief medical dwarf, strode into the hospital, examining the four patients before her. "Onget, why are these two on the floor?"
"We only had two beds, and there was nowhere else to put them!"
"Go pull a couple out of the bedrooms. The floor's unsanitary."
Bending down to one of the beds, she examined Lokum.
"This one just has a fractured finger. Eshtan."
The self-proclaimed Failure looked up from mopping the blood off the floor.
"Traction him, set it, splint it, send him home."
"On it." Eshtan started to winch the traction bench open.
Iden took a step to the left and examined Unib. "Multiple lacerations on both hands. Foot crushed, more serious. Damage patterns suggest trampling. Needs cleaning, stitches, bandaging, splint for all three. She'll live."
Lor was next in line for Iden’s trained eye. She lifted his leg to examine his foot. “Damage severe. Achilles tendon, undamaged. Should be able to walk again, but will take time. Will need crutch for… 3 weeks, depending on healing speed. But first, set and splint. Can’t walk without bones.”
Finally, Iden saw to Logem’s wounds. “Ribs, broken. Arm, mangled but salvageable. Nose, can’t be saved. Non-essential. Both need setting, arm requires splint. Most serious wounds, but stable.”
Iden walked over the the hospital’s supply chest and started pulling out supplies—cloth, thread, and wood. “Eshtan, get a drink when you’re done. I need you at your best for this.”
12 SandstoneTuaiq knocked on the closed door that controlled access to Tosul’s craftsdwarf workshop.
There was no answer form within save the sound of tools on stone.
“Another pair of ghosts just showed up.”
Grind grind“Scared the hell out of Onget.”
Grind grind“How are those slabs coming along?”
The grinding stopped.
“I’m…
working on it.”
“Tosul, you’ve been in there for weeks. You need a break. Let some other engraver have a turn.”
Grind grindTuaiq sighed. “You are the boss. Just… think about it, okay?”
Tuaiq walked away, the grinding following him down the hall.
16 SandstoneEstan looked up from his dinner to see a healthy-looking Logem limping across the dining room.
“Logem, you’re out!”
Logem cracked a grin. “Yeah. Doc wanted to keep me for a while. “’For observation,’ she said. I guess whatever she observed satisfied her, cuz here I am. So, what do you say we celebrate the new, healthy me?”
He cupped his hands to his mouth and hollered out to the dining room, “Hey everyone! I’m throwing a party right now at, uh, this table!”
A cheer went up from the various surrounding dwarves.
21 Sandstone“Migrants to the southeast!”
“They’re going the wrong way!”
“Do they not see the airlock?”
“One of them does—he’s in!”
“Where are the others going?”
“Strait to the zombies, looks like.”
“Two more headed for the airlock!”
“They’re gonna make it!”
“Wait—that’s Duskringed! He’s right on top of ‘em!”
“Oh my Armok… I didn’t know necks could bend that way…”
“He’s headed for the airlock now! Seal it! SEAL IT!”
“…did he get in?”
“No, but it was close. Another few steps and he would have been in.”
“…we better go see to that migrant.”
…
When Tosul and Logem arrived at the Depot, the new migrant was sitting on the ground, panting.
“Welcome to Bonepillar, home of the undead. What’s your name?”
The migrant stood, straightening his clothes. “Stakud Likotolon. I’m a surgeon.”
Logem gave a short laugh. “Bit late. You just missed our first medical emergency, and it’s not an experience I’m keen to repeat.”
Tosul gave Logem a glare. "I'm sorry. You must be devastated. Everyone you came with died out there."
Stakud grinned. "Don't worry about it. I made it, and that what matters."
Tosul stared, confused, as the abnormally happy surgeon walked into Bonepillar.
22 SandstoneZon whistled as she descended the lower staircase.
She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling that this was going to going to be a good day.
Today her job was to channel out a hole into the magma sea, which would be used to power magma forges in order to conserve Bonepillar's limited fuel supply.
Her spirits stayed high as she descended lower into the earth, but as she passed the entrance to the second cavern layer she stopped, hearing a sound like a wet thudding coming from down the corridor.
She hefted her heavy bronze pick and advanced slowly down the hall, approaching the blind corner that lead to the sealed staircase.
She peeked her head around the corner, and was greeted by a gruesome sight.
The first thing she saw was a desiccated crundle corpse.
The second thing she saw was the red mass it was repeatedly slamming against the wall.
The third thing she saw was the pick on the floor beside it, identifying the red mass as the corpse of her new (and now, former) coworker, Ezum Patternboat.
The fourth thing she saw was the crundle's eyes, jet black, staring into her own.
Overcome by horror, Zon fled, the only destination in mind "away."
She sprinted down the staircase, the cold thumps of the crundle's feet behind her a constant reminder of her plight.
Unknowingly, she passed the crundle's point of entry: a mined-out vein of Tetrahedrite that passed too close to the formerly-sealed stair.
She descended lower and lower, not realizing until she saw magma that she was running herself into a corner.
She raised her pick, parrying the first strike, blocking the second, but it was the third strike, the one she failed to parry, that counted.
...
Zon's screams as she fled had reverberated up the stairwell, alerting the fortress at large to the incursion. Nil Oaraura, captain of the Dikes of Testing, carried his silver war hammer at the ready as he descended after Zon's now-silent screams.
Nil entered the long corridor that had been dug in order to avoid the second cavern and saw the decaying crundle at the far end.
Unafraid, Nil charged.
The crundle's attacks resembled more the clumsy swings of a new recruit than the purposeful strikes of a truly deadly fighter, and Nil's training served him well.
Dodge, dodge, parry, strike!One strike was all it took, caving the crundle's head in and deanimating it for good.
11 TimberTosul was hauling Zon's newly engraved memorial slab through the upper hallway when he heard the screams.
He dropped the slab without a second thought- the living took priority over the dead any day.
But before he had moved two levels down, reason returned to his mind.
What are you doing, Tosul? he asked himself.
You have no combat ability, you'll just get yourself killed down there. Go get the militia instead.Tosul reversed course, climbing the stairs back to the main hall.
"Nil! Tuaiq! We've got a problem below!"
The two military leaders reacted quickly, grabbing their weapons and calling to their squads as they descended the staircase with Tosul following behind.
Their skills were not needed, however, as when they entered the antechamber near the first cavern, none of the eight figures strewn about the chamber were moving.
Stakud Likotolon, who had been in Bonepillar only three weeks, was in the center of the room, his head an unrecognizable red mass.
Vucar Spreadabbey, Legendary Mechanic and creator of the Seal of Calling, lay against the east wall, the right side of his head collapsed.
Goden Kubukducim, carpenter, was crumpled on the floor, her throat ragged from strangulation.
Udil Imbatfikod lay to the north, the hole in his skull revealing a missing chunk of cerebral tissue.
Dishmab Dodokshoveth, carpenter, on the west side of the room, no longer had a head.
Dolon Oltarregut, Woodcrafter, was sprawled on the floor with a leather glove embedded in her skull.
Deduk Mobpaddles, the farmer who discovered the inherent weakness in the tower's fortifications, was slumped against the southern wall next to the doorway, covered with blood.
Sprawled on top of her was the instigator of this carnage: a single half-rotted crundle with the imprint of the fist that had re-killed it visible as a large hole in the skull.
Horrified, Tosul and the two militia captains stood motionless, their eyes darting frantically from corpse to corpse.
The three might have stood there in shock until they dropped dead of thirst if they hadn't heard a soft grunt.
Deduk struggled to her feet, dumping the crundle to the side in the process.
pant...pant..."Anyone...got a drink?"
...
"No physical wounds. Symptoms suggest exhaustion. She'll be fine after food, drink, and rest."
Iden walked away, leaving Tosul and Deduk alone.
"Are you alright? What happened down there?"
Deduk shifted herself so she was sitting on the edge of her the hospital bed.
“Well there I was, minding my own business…”
…
“…And by then, I was tired of the little bugger’s antics, so I gave him a nice bop on the head to shut him up.”
Tosul stood with his mouth open, appalled.
"How are you cracking jokes at a time like this? Six dwarves
died down there!"
“It’s simple really. If I wasn’t cracking jokes, I’d be finding the nearest bridge to jump off. Always look on the bright side of life, that’s what I say.”
15 TimberDomas Datenkel, Bonepillar's gem setter, glanced furtively about him as he descended the lower stairwell towards the second cavern's entrance.
He wasn't supposed to be down here- they were sealing the second cavern off soon, and even if that wasn't the case, the undead were still a threat.
But when Ezum Patternboat's body had been found, he was missing a foot. And one of the things Ezum was known for was his luxurious taste in socks.
Domas looked down at his own, tattered, ratty socks.
"Hah!"
Hearing a gruff laugh from ahead, Domas ducked behind a pillar and held his breath as Zulban and Lor passed by, sharing some inside joke.
Once the two had passed, Domas slipped back into the hallway, rapidly reaching the recently-discovered breach and descending into the second cavern.
It took Somas a half hour of searching, but he finally located the severed foot nestled in the roots at the base of a tower-cap.
A little bloodstained, but that'll wash out...Domas slowly slipped the superiorly crafted pig tail fiber sock off of the severed foot and into his own.
Practically giddy, he rushed back up the stairs, so elated by the sock that he nearly ran face-first into the gneiss wall.
What? No! I’m walled in!Panicked, Domas ran back down the stairs.
There’s gotta be another way out! I can still make it!The undead crundle at the bottom of the stairs disagreed.
21 TimberCrash! Slam! Bang!From his office, Tosul heard the chaos that tended to precede Logem’s arrival, and this time he was already walking toward the door when the farmer burst in.
“What is it now?”
“It’s the gem Titan—it’s back on the surface.”
Winter is upon you.
Finally done with this! Sorry for the long wait.
I had to upload this in a hurry, so if there's any issues, I'll fix them later.
If memory serves, this leaves Zulban as the sole member of the original seven who has not been seriously injured or killed.
I probably won’t be able to start playing winter until Sunday evening, or maybe Monday. We’ll have to see what happens then!
<EDIT: Fixed a couple typos.>
Dorf and turn pls. Mechanic, preferably.
We don't have a mechanic currently. Any other preference?
Author
Topic: Bonepillar, lair of the undead cave beasts - Succession Fort [40.24] (Read 29972 times)