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[Salmeuk]

Just wanted to say I like the posts so far, especially those from the newer contributors. Also, everytime I read "Doom" in the thread title I think of Doomforests. . . which somehow I missed the OP's explanation about this being the third in the trilogy oh my god it all makes sense now.

No surprise to see TheImmortalRyukan still dooming everything they touch lol

[TheImmortalRyukan]

No surprise to see TheImmortalRyukan still dooming everything they touch lol

As always 

[TheImmortalRyukan]

Pokes Travis with a stick

You alive there buddy?

[Travis Bickle]

Pokes Travis with a stick

You alive there buddy?

Sorry for the silence. You'll see some updates soon.

[Travis Bickle]

Prologue
Midnight, 1 Granite 508
Doc sat in an empty room in the hospital and took another look at the designs for the Underlook. Despite being the head of the fortress medical department and having some oversight in the design, the vast structure that several dwarves were sealed within deep beneath the fortress proper was largely the work of Sigmund. Nevertheless, Doc felt it was important to keep her knowledge of the various medical facilities in Doomhollow up-to-date, especially given how often arrangements changed based on the whims of one overseer or another. The Underlook, being a complex, multi-level structure, required a good deal of study to wrap one's mind around, but Doc was willing to put in the effort.

Loud shouting from just outside momentarily broke Doc's concentration. The voices seemed happy and quite drunk even by Dwarven standards; perhaps the shouting came from some nearby new year celebration. Doc briefly reflected on how just a few years ago it would have been quite easy for one to find a quiet space to study. Back then everyone seemed to be hushed and secretive, but as the fortress grew and what was once a secluded frontier fortress became the capital that attitude quickly disappeared. Now Doc could hardly find the peace and quiet necessary to study the complicated floor plans in front of her. The shouting continued, every now and then increasing in volume and devolving into drunken laughter. Doc stood up and took the papers in her hands; it was clear that she would need to seek out some other place to study.

Leaving the hospital Doc walked down the hall and down the ramp leading to most of the residential areas of the fortress. Most of this level was just as noisy as the level above. Doc kept walking and almost bumped into a wall where the hallway formerly continued. Doc groaned as she recalled the incident where the incompetence of a former overseer wiped out an entire wing of bedrooms and left a gaping hole in the earth leading right into the fortress. To add insult to injury, even the abandoned section of the bedrooms wasn't far enough away from the noise to allow her to study in peace. She would need to go deeper. Making for the main stairway leading to the depths of the fortress, Doc continued on her search for quiet space.

No-one ever used the well, or at least no-one who didn't already have one foot in the grave. Fortunately, such dwarves aren't wont to be particularly chatty. With the fortress well-stocked with alcohol the small room containing the well was left to collect dust and cobwebs. By the time Doc had reached the room with the well, she was already far enough beneath the revelry of the upper levels that it was finally quiet once again, and after closing the door shut behind her the only thing that could be heard was the occasional drip of water in the caverns beneath the well. Doc sat in the corner and lay her papers out on the floor before her, eager to get some real work done.

But then the whispering started. Doc looked up from the papers and glanced around the room. "Is there anyone there?" she asked. No-one else was in the room, and yet soft whispering voices were coming from somewhere. Doc stood up and looked down the well. Nothing in there but water. The only other place one could hide was a small box in the middle of the room. Doc slowly made her way up to it, gave it a little kick, and opened it.

The whispers grew slightly louder now the the box was open. Doc looked inside and was stunned for a moment by the object inside—then she began to chuckle. "So, there is indeed an actual hat after all," she muttered to herself.

Familiarizing herself with the designs of the Underlook would have to wait. For now, Doc was going to get some rest before the sun rose again. After all, it seemed like this year would be much busier for her than she had imagined.

[Travis Bickle]

From the Private Papers of Doc
Dated: 2 Granite, 508
By some stroke of luck or misfortune I am once again the overseer of this fortress. Thus, it falls on me to ensure that this beacon of Dwarven civilization does not collapse into death and chaos. This responsibility is even weightier than it was when I first undertook it years ago, as I am now responsible for the lives of an even larger population including the life of the king. Nevertheless, there are few people I trust as much as myself and thus I believe I will be able to ensure the fort's safety.

I have given initial orders to wall off the gaping hole on the surface. Although it does not pose an immediate security issue I don't want to have to deal with someone falling in. More pertinent is a direct pathway into our fortress from the surface-level pasture; any flying creature could get in if it really wanted to, and as such I'm planning to have the corridor leading from this passage into the fortress blocked with doors and thoroughly trapped. On the topic of traps, I've ordered several more cages to be constructed for our cage traps.

In general, the design of the fortress continues to be a mess. It seems like no-one got the memo that the dining room I started years ago was supposed to be finished eventually and someone built another dining room just a stone's throw away. Worst of all it doesn't even have enough tables. Noble arrangements are also a mess. I might have to completely reassign everyone's arrangements at some point during this year. Most dangerously, almost no other overseer bothered to label the levers they installed, something that can only lead to difficulties for me.

It seems as if I have my work cut out for me.
Events of 2 Granite, 508
Doc set down her pen and let the ink dry on her private notes. It had been a long day of getting her earliest plans for the year organized and she was ready for bed. Just as she was leaving the hospital, however, she heard a noise that chilled her to the bone. Someone from the militia was banging loudly on a gong and yelling for everyone to get inside as qucikly as they could. Doc knew that there was only one explanation for this alarm: the enemy had been spotted.

The fortress was under siege.

[BearvsGiantBear]

Excellent read, Armok be with you!

[Travis Bickle]

Events of 3 Granite, 508
Doc followed the fortress guard up the stairs to the top floor of the guard tower. The current captain of the guard, Ducim Glazehandles, looked intently off into the distance.

"How many are there?" asked Doc.

"Give me a second," responded the captain, "they're still coming."

She shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted. "50... 60... 70... They just don't stop." Even as she spoke more of the infernal creatures, each one armed to the teeth, emerged from the horizon. When it finally seemed as if their entire army was in view, the captain turned to the overseer and gave her a serious look. "They have about 120 soldiers."



Doc nodded. "Hold them off here. I'll have the rest of the militia stand watch by the depot."

This being said, the doctor returned through the trapdoor into the fortress. The only ones left in the tower were members of the fortress guard, their crossbows aimed at the figures slowly approaching the entrance to the fortress. At their captain's orders, they all held their fire until the enemy was well within range. It would do little good to waste ammunition under these circumstances. The goblins slowly marched down the hill and approached the original entrance to the fortress, sealed-off for several years now, getting tantalizingly close to the tower.

"Steady boys," the captain said sharply. Her eyes unblinkingly searched for a target within range. After an agonizingly long period of waiting, one goblin bowman stepped just close enough to be a practical target for the dwarves.

"FIRE!" screamed the captain. Meng Stockadecastle fired the first bolt at this goblin. The bolt hit the creature right in the chest, but her iron chestplate was too strong for the bone bolt to penetrate. The creature, seeing this, grinned evil and and returned fire into the tower.

"Shit! Their armor is too strong for the bone bolts," said Meng.

"Keep firing!" ordered the captain.

A well-aimed shot hit a goblin in the leg. Although this shot too was deflected by his armor, the gobin's leg was twisted by the force of the shot and the creature fell to the ground, shrieking in agony. This was good, thought Ducim. All they needed to do was wound them well enough that they wouldn't be able to fight and it wouldn't be a problem that their bolts couldn't pierce their armor. The rest of the militia wields strong melee weapons and can make short work of the injured goblin invaders. There didn't seem to be any reason to panic.

The swarm of goblins at the base of the tower, however, was too large for the fortress guard to easily fight off. Even as they continued to fire at the figures below, there were simply too many goblins for them to hit. One of the goblins, having managed to get up close unharmed, leaped onto the tower and began to climb the fortifications, firing crossbow bolts of his own into the tower. The dwarves were taken by surprise and had to dodge away from this enemy fire. Other goblins noticed that this new strategy was greatly limiting the amount of bolts that were flying their way, and several others from their group began to climb the tower and fire their own crossbows at the dwarves inside. The elite marksdwarf Inod Rockshopes began swinging her crossbow at a goblin who had managed to climb through the fortifications and get inside the tower. The creature deftly dodged and drew back his bowstring. Inod instinctively dodged to the side, realizing only too late that she had unwittingly leaped out of the tower and right into the goblin swarm below.

Ducim covered herself with her shield and drew close to one of her underlings. "Go get reinforcements!" she ordered. The dwarf nodded eagerly and ran down the trapdoor, ducking under enemy fire along the way. Meanwhile, Inod struggled to get to her feet after taking the full force of falling out of a building as she tried to evade arrows and bolts coming from all directions. When at last she made it to her feet, she desperately fired off shots at the goblins closest to her, but a lucky shot hit her in the leg and she fell right back to the ground again. Pain seared through her entire body. Was this how she was going to die? Wounded like an animal and unable to protect her comrades in arms who would probably fare just as badly as she in the tower? She weakly lifted up her crossbow and tried to aim a shot at the nearest goblin, knowing very well that this same goblin would probably be the one to finish her off.

Suddenly both she and the nearest goblin were distracted by a piercing war cry growing louder and louder. A dwarf was running in her direction swinging a steel war hammer at any goblin that came near him. Inod recognized him as Urvad the peddler, a member of another squad. He must have been a straggler who hadn't quite got the order for everyone to come inside, yet given the situation Inod wasn't going to complain. He was her best chance of a rescue right now. He was running in her direction, apparently just as eager to come to her help as she was to be helped. Goblins were knocked out of the way left and right as he swung his hammer, and it seemed for a moment to Inod that she might actually make it out of this alive.

In a cruel turn of events, however, Urvad himself was hit in the leg and collapsed to the ground. Shrieking even louder than before he continued to crawl towards Inod, apparently undeterred in his mission by being crippled. Inod found herself wishing that he would turn around and save himself at this point. He was close enough to the entrance that he might make it if he gave up trying to help her, but he was doomed if he continued like this. If her wish showed on her face, however, Urvad either didn't notice or didn't care. Inod watched as he continued to crawl towards her, becoming slower and slower and more and more bolts and arrows wedged themselves into his body. Finally, the Dwarven pin cushion stopped crawling and became silent.

With her last hope for a rescue dead in front of her, Inod watched in horror as the goblins turned towards her and raised their weapons.

[TheFlame52]

Yikes. Good descriptions! But why the hell can the goblins get up to our fortifications?

[Travis Bickle]

Events of 3 Granite, 508
Militia commander Kivish Paddleoils gripped her weapon in anticipation for the coming battle. She and three squads of soldiers were waiting by the trade depot for the goblins to arrive. From the what had been reported to her, she was expecting to have to fight four-to-one, not taking any losses the goblins suffered at the hands of the marksdwarves or the few traps near the entrance. This, however, didn't worry her too much; goblins were notorious cowards who almost never fought to the last creature standing. With any luck a strong defense at the entrance to the fortress would send them all packing before the day was done.

Kivish was suddenly startled by the sounds of a screaming dwarf rapidly approaching from behind. "All civilians are to remain inside the fortress behind the drawbridges," she commanded sternly, not even turning to face the individual behind her.

"T-t-t- Tirist Delighttools! F-from the fortress guard squad 'The Maroon Treaties'!" the dwarf stammered. Kivish turned around to face a disheveled-looking dwarf clad in the uniform of the fortress guard. His shield and several parts of his armor had arrows and crossbow bolts sticking out. Tirist took a quick gasp of air and cried out, "I was ordered to fetch reinforcements! The tower's been breached—we're pinned down! Inod's fallen out! She's out there with the goblins!"

"What!" screamed the commander.

"If there's a dwarf out there, we have to help her!" cried out Såkzul Treeslings, a mace lord. Hefting his heavy iron mace over into the air, he began running out of the fortress.

"I'm right behind you!" yelled a swordsdwarf named Litast, brandishing his adamantine short sword briefly before following after Såkzul.

"Get back here, you fools!" ordered the commander. "Don't break ranks!" The two dwarves were more focused on their attempted rescue than they were on following orders. "Close the gate! No-one else leaves this room until I get back! My squad will take care of the tower."

Kivish led her squad quickly through the fortress and up the stairs to the tower. She hardly lifted the hatch leading to the top floor before a bolt just barely missed her hand. Taking her shield in hand, the commander jumped up into the room and took a look around. She saw the fortress guard desperately trying to hold off the goblins who had made it in by swinging their crossbows at them, while at the same time trying to dodge enemy fire from the goblins scaling the side of the tower. She lunged forward and thrust her spear into the throat of one of the invading creatures, forcing it to the ground as it lost the strength to hold its weapons and began to grasp at its own bleeding neck.

"Fortress guard clear out of here! We'll take this area!" she called out.

The captain of the guard nodded and motioned for the rest of the guards to file down the hatch back inside the fortress, dragging their wounded with them. With their edged weapons and melee training, it didn't take much for the commander's squad to eliminate the few invaders who had breached the tower. All that remained was one goblin climbing on the outside of the tower who managed to remain out of reach of their weapons. Moved by a desire to get rid of this nuisance, the Dark One charged towards it at top speed, realizing only as he collided with his foe that he had misjudged the amount of force with which he was charging.

Both the goblin and the dwarf fell out of the tower and landed on the ground below. The goblin, bearing the greater blow of the fall after being first charged by the Dark One, was knocked unconscious. The Dark One, for his part, was still awake, albeit disoriented and in quite a bit of pain. He wasn't sure how hard he had hurt his leg, but it was clear nonetheless that he couldn't stand. He looked around him and saw nearby another dwarf lying on the ground. She was clearly dead, her body decorated with goblin ammunition and cuts from various edged weapons. Near this dead dwarf was a goblin lasher, who seemed to have taken a notice to the newcomer on the battlefield.

Kivish and the others watched from above. They knew that the game was over for their comrade, but the least a dwarven soldier could do was witness their fellow dwarf's death. Kivish, for her part, wanted to look away as the silver whip broke through the dwarf's skull and sent small shards of bone and pieces of brain flying through the air, but she forced herself to look on. Scenes like this reminded her why there was absolutely no shame in killing goblins.

"Everyone back inside—and lock that damned hatch up tight," she ordered.

By the time her squad had met up with the others back near the trade depot, the sounds of goblins shrieking in hatred and of dogs whining in pain could be heard clearly from behind the drawbridge. Obviously the attempted heroism of the two dwarves from earlier had been in vain; the goblins were right outside the gate and Inod was dead before they broke rank. Kivish spat in anger. Their next move would have to make these bastards bleed.



"Shut the main gate behind them! Whoever's inside the entrance right now can't have reinforcements or a way out! When I give the order,  we'll open this drawbridge and charge them!" The militia-dwarves around her cheered in unison.

The dwarves would have their revenge that day, killing the goblins inside the entrance without mercy. In those moments, the only regret most of them had was that the goblins retreated too soon, for every dwarf would have liked to kill a few more.

[Travis Bickle]

Health Report
Dated: 25 Granite, 508
Introduction
During the recent siege of our fortress at the hands of the goblins, several of our militia-dwarves were wounded and many more died defending us from our enemies. This report shall detail the casualties sustained on our part. All military squads sustained casualties, with the most severe sustained by the squad "Lashes of Shimmering."

Deaths
In total, eight miltia-dwarves were lost during the battle. Of these, two came from "The Maroon Treaties," one from "The Rapid Clasps," three from "Lashes of Shimmering," and two from "The Glazes of Worth."

Injuries
Meng Stockadecastle: Male. Forty-eight years of age. Member of the fortress guard unit "The Maroon Treaties." Severely injured during breach of the guard tower. Had his wounds cleaned and received stiches and dressing on legs, arms, hips, and neck. Most pertinent injury is damage to tendons and ligaments in right elbow, limiting his ability to grasp. It will be assessed at a later date to what degree these injuries will affect his ability to continue serving in the fortress guard.

Dodók Inkystream: Female. Thirty-eight years of age. Member of the militia unit "The Rapid Clasps." Slight injury on the neck. Cleaned and dressed. Should have no issue continuing to serve in the militia.

Signed,
Doc
Chief Medical Dwarf
Doomhollow Medical Department

[TheImmortalRyukan]

Awesome writing so far! Outside of Dark One, any named dwarves kick the bucket?

[Travis Bickle]

Events of 17 Slate, 508
Captain Ducim watched as the doctor poured all of them a glass of wine. The doctor's hand was careful and her pouring precise, with each glass being filled to the same level. The captain couldn't help but think that it seemed more as if she were measuring out a dose of medicine rather than sharing a drink. When the pouring had ceased, Ducim and the two other figures to her right and left accepted the glasses of wine. Both of the dwarves sitting beside the captain, Kol and Meng, were fellow members of the Fortress Guard. Unlike Ducim, both had been directly appointed by Doc during her first term as overseer.

After taking a long sip of her own glass of wine, the doctor finally spoke. "I understand that Mestthos is dead, isn't that right Meng?"

Meng grimmaced. He wasn't an attractive dwarf to begin with, and even more so now that he had lost his nose. Although he remained permanently scarred following the recent siege, the fact that he was able to beat another member of the fortress guard to death even now was a testament to his personal physical strength as well as Doc's medical skill. "The crime called for a beating and I was ordered to administer it," was his terse reply.

Doc's expression remained unchanged. "I know. I am not angry at you, though I am upset that it had to come to this." She paused briefly and glanced at each of her guests. "I am sure you have noticed that it's gettiny crazy in this fortress. Previous overseers were able to bandage a wound that has been festering for some time but they could never heal it, and now the siege has torn the bandage off and the wound is once again visible to all."

Ducim nodded in agreement. Corpses and miasma still filled the entryway to the fortress. The overall mood of most dwarves had dropped and several deaths from tantrums had occured within the past month. If this continued, the fortress would die a slow, chaotic death.

"As I doctor," continued Doc, "I always try to find a cure for every affliction that comes my way. The only cure for this anarchy that I can see is authority. His Majesty has been king for over one hundred years now—he is a living symbol of authority and stability. In him lies the cure to our troubles."

Doc looked at Meng and at Kol. "Meng, Kol, you remember the first year of your squad's existence. You remember the mission of your squad: to protect the fortress from dangers within and without. In those days it was a vampire; in these days it is the anarchy amongst the populace of the fortress itself we must defend against. I am asking you to help me now as you did back then.

"I have already spoken to His Majesty, and I have his blessing to found a new organization under his patronage. Consider it a patriotic organization, with the mission of defending king and fortress. You in the fortress guard will be integral to the success of our mission. With a good measure of force and authority, by the time I am once again no longer overseer, this fortress will be in a stable condition once more."
OOC:

Outside of Dark One, any named dwarves kick the bucket?

Fortunately no.

[Travis Bickle]

Events of 23 Slate, 508
A loud clattering sound came from within the fortress jail. One of the inmates was pulling at the chain which bound him with all of his might, gnawing on the metal and lunging at the wall. The prisoner had finally snapped after almost a month of imprisonment. He was now in an unstoppable state of rage, ready and willing to his anyone who came near him.

"GET IN HERE, YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" he screamed.

This went on for almost an hour. Finally, the door to his cell opened and a dwarf in armor stepped in. The prisoner briefly stopped to look up at his company, recoiling in shock when he got a look at his hideous, noseless face.

"YOU UGLY BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL-."

Meng fired a single bolt into the insane dwarf's head, piercing the brain and putting an end to his berserk threats. Wasting no time taking in the sight of his handiwork, he turned around and exited the cell, leaving the door open behind him. Nearby, a dwarf was cowering in the corner, drawn to the area by the sound of the screams but too frightened to investigate closely. Meng motioned towards the open cell.

"This one needs some clean-up."

[Travis Bickle]

Sorry for the slow past couple of days. Corona-chan forced me to spend a couple of days packing up the entire contents of the college dorm room. I have still been playing the game and have notes and screenshots prepared. I will give you guys some updates soon.