There were three locked outside with the goblins. Mörul and Asën, with masterwork axes and mudstone jewelry, and the human Erab Friendcloud, who might not have volunteered for the dwarven military if she had known it would end up with her outnumbered and locked outside.
Still, it was Mörul and Asën who she was trapped with, the two most experienced warriors in the squad. Mörul knew what happened the moment the bridge shut, of course, for that dwarf had an aptitude for reasoning unlike any other.
"We've been calculated against, for the supposed safety of the fortress. Now we might die!"
Then, a strategy was thrown into action. The three dwarves positioned themselves at the far end of the cage traps, and held their ground while the goblins approached. This was when it became apparent there were more than just goblins lurking in the forest - another shadow revealed itself to be a third treasure hunter!
Strangely, the goblins took their time, practically waltzing through the field of fallen trunks. In fact, it didn't seem like they were expecting combat at all!
Mörul spoke with a sudden clarity. "Is it possible they haven't spotted the fortress yet? Perhaps this is just a lost scouting party, wandering their way back home. It would make sense considering how few goblins there are. If that's the case, we can't let them escape and tell the others!" A few moments later, the order was given.
Inside, Zon knew something was wrong. It was too quiet. She vaulted up the stairs to look down from the fortress scaffolding, surmising the situation.
There were certainly fewer goblins than they expected! A sudden strike might be best. .
The bridge lever was pulled. Would the fight be over before the mechanisms worked?
===========
They only remembered these events afterwards, but this fight had perhaps the strangest opening shot any dwarf could remember, and they still can't agree what exactly happened! Mörul remembered it best: Just as the combatants were about to clash, a single, gleaming arrow whistled out from the trees and struck one of the goblins in the foot, and as they were falling from the pain a cage trap snatched them right up! Immediately the odds became 4 to 3. A great opening, for sure, _but who fired that arrow?_ (no really wtf, was it that treasure hunter missing a shot or something? They had somehow disappeared from the unit list, and there was no combat report of the arrow being fired. . . )
Only glancing blows and missed shots, at first, but Erab our human volunteer landed a slicing blow and brought another goblin down. Now it was 3 to 3.
Another blow was landed, this time cutting through to the brain.
Now outnumbered 2 to 3, and the goblins were trying to run.
Or that's what we thought! They quickly turned and landed a cheap blow to Mörul's knee, collapsing the leg and leaving him all too vulnerable. Neither remaining goblin had taken a hit, and they just move so damn fast you can't tell what their striking at!
Just when things were looking bad, we heard a sudden SNAP SNAP as two finely-balanced mechanisms, having been crafted by Besmar Pathgorge some months earlier, engaged under the pressure of the goblins backstep and shut them in secure wooden cages. Bringing a close to the fighting.
==========
I walked alongside Mörul as he was brought to the dirt-floored hospital that would become his knew home for the next few weeks. He winced as he spoke, and I had the feeling that he would have been shouting had he been in a better state of health.
"You know you made a mistake. They were only a handful, and we had our best soldiers locked up for no good reason. It could have been different!"
"Look, I'm not sure I can say anything but I made the best decision I possibly could have, given what we knew. I thought your whole squad was outside, but two of you snuck in before the gate was shut. I think you should take it up with them!"
This was true - two of his squadmates had sprinted through the closing gate. We grilled them inside for abandoning captain Mörul, but they both had excuses. It had been weeks since the squad had eaten, and food was all they could think of! These dwarves are too much sometimes.
In any case, I took this particular conversation to heart and chose to step down after a few weeks of thought. Zon was not happy, but I gave her a choice: either I step down or I go insane from the stress of knowing I'm truly not fit for the role. With that, she relented, and as spring announced itself with the budding of the cherry trees, I passed the role of administrator to my successor.
...
Or at least that's how I wish it had gone down. Not three days after the goblin encounter, another werechameleon attacked!
A fully grown specimen ambushed our mason as he was hauling wood down to the forges. In a ridiculous twist, the chameleon was distracted by a stray cat who happened to be hunting bugs near the woodpile, and the two ran off into the undergrowth.
That cat was never seen again, but it's death bought us the time we needed to assemble outside the gates. When the beast appeared, jaws dripping with blood and bits of fur, we were ready.
And it was over in ten seconds. More of an execution, than anything else. There was a lot of pent-up stress in these dwarves, and it was all released on Bosa the werecreature. I saw things done with a warhammer I wish I could forget.
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Wha . . ? Mörul has become possessed by some unknown spirit!
He is now crawling across the fortress, looking for _something_. He crawled his way to the forges and claimed a glass furnace.
aaaand he just made a glass earring Ah well, so much for the epic post-combat artifact commemorating his victory over the goblins! I guess that's what the earring is for.
And finally, a report was delivered about the botched raid that was sent out back in Fall. Two were taken prisoner and are still held by the goblins. Something must be done!
And with that, the year really did end, and now it's up to whoever is next to continue the story. Thanks for reading!
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Here's the layout of the workshops level. Please note the brand new gem vault in the lower righthand corner. Use it for what you will, but I have it currently set up to take all the beautiful cut gems and show them off in a pleasing pattern.
Here's the save:
http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=14946PS: Our new king went 'missing'.
We're going to pretend I didn't smash him with a bridge, accidentally, when the goblins arrived, due to a mis-laid burrow designation. Nuh uh. Didn't do it. The bright side is someone gets to have his palace!
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Topic: Smithsoldier, Year 12: Clothes, Madness, and Beasts (And Candy) [47.04] (Read 58977 times)