Ucim Kasmuthe was invited down to the tavern for a drink and to await the king's audience. Flanked by his guards he left the caravan to conduct business with the dwarves of Archcrystal. He knew from experience that “down” meant a fair bit more here than with the other dwarven fortresses. This time on his descent he remarked how far the glass tower had come. It climbed upwards like a frozen hand clawing its way to the surface, yearning to be free and unleash its inhabitants upon the world. It stretched over 60 stories now up from unimaginable depths where horrible nightmares made their home.
It was down here that Ucim was led. Descending the great tower of glass he could see into other worlds – large caverns that stretched for eternity into alien lands. Then past another layer of rock only to open to another world of caverns. The tower now served as a portal between worlds and ecosystems. Finally he could see through the walls into the great magma sea that covered the semi molten bedrock through to the horizon. But still they went down, at last reaching the entrance hall and finally the tavern. It was here, in the heart of hell, the dwarves of Archcrystal found solace and merrymaking. Ucim could see through everything, as it was all made of glass – into bedrooms, chambers, storerooms and jail cells. He could see through to the outer walls where the demons swirled against them in determined frenzy to gain entry somehow. Whatever artful technique the dwarves used to make the glass unbreakable seemed to confound their enemies. Ucim hoped it would last.
The meeting with the king was uneventful as it usually was, though Ucim worried about the recent attack of the elves on Archcrystal. At last it seemed the elves of The Circumstantial Dune had enough of the clear cuts the dwarves used to feed their furnaces. They attacked Archcrystal 2 years ago with over a hundred of their best archers. None survived.
The elves made a hasty alliance with the goblins who sent yearly sieges attempting to take the fortress. It was said the goblins feared the dwarves might invade their capital of Hatejoined not from above, but from below. The idea of marching a dwarven army through hell to take the slade tower from beneath would seem absurd to any who did not know the dwarves here. Their brand of insanity was exceptional here.
After a few dwarven ales and stories that continued to boggle his mind, Ucim and his guards ascended the tower towards the surface to return home to the normal world. One of his guards turned to him and remarked, “I'm worried that when they complete their big tower, the demons might come out of it.”
“I'm not,” replied Ucim. “I'm worried that when they complete their big tower the dwarves might come out of it.”
***
The clear glass tower is now over halfway to the surface and in the home stretch. I've also now caught breeding pairs of Dragons and Rocs, but I'm waiting to do anything with them to keep fps reasonable.
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Topic: Archcrystal: 500 years in a fortress [SPOILERS] Finished (Read 477421 times)