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[Maloy]

Crownhalls is fully abandoned now? Sad, but expected

That's where I stopped in my last adventure
There were only a few dwarves left who were clearly at the end of their lives and a couple of immortal goblins squatting near the corpses of dwarves who died of old age

I'm hoping you make it out! Aren't there a few adventurers who retired in those dark depths you've fallen into?

[Unraveller]

I'm hoping you make it out! Aren't there a few adventurers who retired in those dark depths you've fallen into?

Yes. Permenantly. . .

Ol' Galka has a few tricks up his sleeves though, even if he's only got one arm. You don't live nearly two centuries without some kind of wit to escape hell.

[Quantum Drop]

Well, that is certainly one way to start out a turn. Here's to Galka finding a way out of Hell, hopefully without losing anything else along the way.

[TheFlame52]

I think we could use some good old cleansing hellfire in certain parts of the surface world.

[Unraveller]

I deeply considered trying to get the hidden-fun-stuff to come out into the surface world with me. But despite being able to talk they refuse to join your party no matter what it seems, even if they have a positive view of you. It could certainly be done, I just didn't want to get too DFhacky. Even though Demons versus the Undead sounds pretty rad -- The Realm of Silver is a land of men, nothing more.

[Unraveller]

In the ambient dark, lit in scarlet by the ominous glow of inscrutable chasms even further yet below, I push myself to a lean, gripping tight the cyan pick-axe that held me upright, there I take in the view for true. Beneath me an endless expanse of stone marked by the blackest of black precariously perched midst fields of canyons without end, spires of ravening rock sharply jut from every angle of this dark maw, threatening to tear the unsuspecting apart. . . The air here is sulfurous and stings at my throat as I breath -- still an unconscious effort despite my cursed state, I give in to my blood and hold my mouth firmly shut. A mortal could nary survive in this place. . .

My gaze drifted upward thence, ceiling bound, motes of that blue twinkle hued in the crimson of this place return my stare. A tube, a portal, a threshold through the seas of magma, the tome I'd read spoke nothing of such a thing. I am no stranger to the deep, I was borne of it, raised in the gloam with naught but the sound of metal against stone for company. Yet this? This is deeper still, deeper than the deepest caverns I'd plummed. Deeper than the murky parasitic waters and mud that I'd dragged my feeble body up through to the Realm of Silver. For a moment I'd considered,

'Have I naught suffering enough?'

But such thoughts are anathema, they do no good. Mentally, I marked this place, where my body smote across the dark soil, and set off to sate my curiosity. My body began to feel heavy as I moved, slowly, hopping carefully along the thickest parts of the land lest I descend even further yet still. There, alone in such vast distances, yes, I felt truly alone. Neither a insect, nor a beast, nor a man, none it seemed dwelt there. The earth itself was dead, what dust I could muster in the palm of my hand practically rejected my touch, rejected any semblance of life. The stagnancy felt as if though it affected me deeply, what in all of Orid Xem, was this place?

I brought my limp left hand to my forehead, my gait had slowed. Sounds, ethereal pangs of crackling indeterminate voices began to surround my thoughts, like they were rising up from those abyssal depths. A queer madness had begun to creep up just the same, grasping and burdening my psyche. Each word of those horrid wails my mind desperately sought to make meaning out, and each moment a further pain wracked it. Until at last a culmination of mine horrors made itself apparent.

An immense beast with eyes the likes of my pick-head bore holes through me as it stared.

~Ba-dum~

~Ba-dum~

~Ba-dum~

I shook it from the forefront of my head, swinging that pick with abandon to dispel the illusion. Despite hacking away the towering monster's flesh as if it were naught, the feeling was very real indeed.

And even so, as if an apparition, a plume of fog erupted from the creature whilst their oily black innards spilled out onto the equally black earth, indistinguishable from the stones. For a good while I merely loomed over the sunken corpse of the creature, watching as what falselife it had leaked into the infinite depths. What had frightened me so. . ? The moment I asked that question, some inner part of me had realized the answer.

Despite the heat of the place, a shuddering chill erupted up and down my spine, I felt the coldness of death come over me. This hunger, this thirst, for as long as I could keep it in check with small animals, I did so. But eventually their blood was as ash in my mouth, cattle and the like came next filling my stomach for a time, a long time. Until even that could not sate this urge. I dare not consume my kinsfolk, I would rather be condemned to death than to be a scourge upon my vaunted Realm of Silver. . . Yet, each time it returns, it does so with greater strength, lengthening the sinister shadow I bear with me. This day, or perhaps night, lost in those horrid caverns 'neathe the firmament of Orid Xem, it was strongest yet.

Unconsciously -- No, that's a self-delusion, I found myself drawn to the body, to the ebbing flow of the creature's remains. I engorged myself, supping upon the beast's essence until ought was left. A surge of vitality returned to me, hale and heart that I had not felt for decades. What an addicting taste. . . Disgusted with myself, I reorient, recalling the adamantine tunnel I'd fallen through before continuing on my aimless wanderings.

'No. . . My only purpose is to serve Omon Obin.' I reasoned with the voices still calling to me, begging me to succumb to their madness. Perhaps on some level they had succeeded in their unholy task.

Flying, bloated figures descended from their squat home about a stalactite, launching jeers at me through their cackles. I merely grasped tight my pick as they came near, deigning to return a word.

They would not listen. . . Nor would the unutterable pain put me down. Not here, not in this place. I hacked them apart, leaving naught left but their dryed out husks. There on I took control of my id, 'I must return.' 'I must return.' Again and again I repeated this. Turning back from a path of eternal wandering, not realizing thence how little a thread the remnants of my life hung upon.

'Neath the portal to Orid Xem above once more, I considered my only option, for both flight or leaping into the air were powers that availed me. The enigmatically dark stone of this underworld, the metal of fairy-tales in my grip, and this skill of a master miner, what other choice had I? With a great swing all the force I could muster crashed upon the rocks, chipping only a meagre stone whilst the wooden haft of my tool snapped in twain. Blessed be I that the head did not fly into some gorge never to be seen again. Thus, I wrested the cyan metal from the remainder of the wood, and held it tight, slamming it against the slade stone by my unnatural strength. Each cast of the adamant against it sent a high-pitched reverberation for miles across the chasms, alerting all manner of its twisted denizens.

Again and again my implement came down upon the impossible dense stone, certainly no pick of even mythic dwarven steel could scratch the earth here. Boulder after boulder I drew from the ground below unfathomable time passing, this immortal body my salvation, and my curse.

Days likely turned to weeks, the pile of dry corpses about my black quarry grew just the same, until at last, a mountain of nigh-Sisyphean effort had erected itself. Even so, I dredged one boulder yet more, hefted upon my back as yet another metaphorical burden, the true weight of which would not be realized for a good while. Thence, I escaped that Hell. . . One day to return.


OOC: I have one, maybe two posts left. I shall have the save up soon as well. Sorry if this one was a little rushed, I couldn't seem to drum up as much inspiration as usual.

[AvolitionBrit]

This is interesting, really enjoy how you worked in the events naturally. Drinking demon goo to survive as well. I wonder if you will escape or continue to be stuck in this cycle of fighting, feasting and wandering.

[Maloy]

Your writing style outright holds me into the reading where I have to continue until I finish

if a goo-soaked ear corrupted my character what does a vampire living off of demon blood turn into?!
Can't wait to see what happens next
Also sincerely impressed at your ability to defeat multiple demons and keep going.

[Quantum Drop]

This is really cool, Unraveller; your writing is impressive as always, and I love how you've worked unexpected(?) events into the story in a natural way. Drinking demon blood to keep Galka's bloodthirst down is certainly a novel way of doing so, and it certainly opens the way for some fun storytelling opportunities...

[Unraveller]

We may not see what becomes of Galka's soul for a time. . . But perhaps in the future.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, as always, the awesome validation you guys give out can't be beat. As an aside, Galka was meant to have killed significantly more demons than he actually did. However this was the point in which my kitty managed to alt-f4 my game haha. So I ended up truncating that section a bit on the gameplay side. Regardless. . . On a more related note -- Maybe the effects of demon's blood have already taken their toll.

I mentioned I thought Jas was a giant among humans? WRONG, Galka is inexplicably more than TWICE the size of the average man. Gods above how can this be? Haha, he's only 60,000 units off from being as large as a minotaur. He's as large as the average gorilla, tiger man, and muskox man. Absolute unit.

[AvolitionBrit]

He is clearly descended from the giants of old

[Lurker Z]

I'm having a look at the last save in what must IRL half a year and a few things spring to mind:
* There appear to be more towards half a century than even a full century since I had my last turn and all these new events happened (Page of Tiredness returned, Age of Twilight). It's crazy!
* I still have 7 dwarves in the center of the world and only one died of old age since that time.
* Iroram's (New World) human necromancer is still alive and even helped in the defense against goblins, though she was wounded. I made the right call bringing her in!
* I suspect Page of Tiredness returned because of something like Enhanced Gameplay in the LNP: some request to get trade caravans resurrected the civilization and then it got a King and everything. It's awesome! Maybe The Matched Hame will have that luck too someday.
* Many (if not all) of my named reptile men and women are alive and kicking. Though as noted above, they don't seem to be in a hurry to have offspring (maybe it's because they lay eggs?)
* The hillock Sazirurist / Bridgedaggers appears to be a mainly Iroram enclave for some reason. All the reptile men/women are mine, the two elves are the ones I brought to Iroram and even the dwarves are from the center of the world. Go them, I guess?
* How's Moldath? I see he's still kicking. Did you make a new char, Kesperan?. Looks like he found a successor in that Kothvir fellow.
* My first fort is also staying afloat at 8 living dwarves.
* Kikrost died in Alnismivid / Warshrieks in 875. There went his dream for immortality. At least he'll be remembered by history and by the wiki (probably/maybe Moldath too, though if I remember well, not with anything pleasant in mind). Does anyone know what happened? Did he went berserk or did his slayer?
* Rovod killed by Avolition in Treatyseed. I suppose he fought for the infected/undead or it was just kill everyone to make sure the plague is purged?
* My searches turned out dark stuff for creatures I was following. On the other hand, two elves as old as the world are still enjoying nature in some random hillock, so it's not that dark, but the personal stories I return to sure reminiscence of an Age of Twilight.
* Reclaiming my sites remains broken unless, I suspect, I use the "start game in adventure mode" trick. Do other people have trouble reclaiming their sites (i.e. the game just crashes)? Edit: I managed to reclaim after using the adventurer trick.

[AvolitionBrit]

From the tests I've done, they need egg boxes.

[kesperan]

We may not see what becomes of Galka's soul for a time. . . But perhaps in the future.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, as always, the awesome validation you guys give out can't be beat. As an aside, Galka was meant to have killed significantly more demons than he actually did. However this was the point in which my kitty managed to alt-f4 my game haha. So I ended up truncating that section a bit on the gameplay side. Regardless. . . On a more related note -- Maybe the effects of demon's blood have already taken their toll.

I mentioned I thought Jas was a giant among humans? WRONG, Galka is inexplicably more than TWICE the size of the average man. Gods above how can this be? Haha, he's only 60,000 units off from being as large as a minotaur. He's as large as the average gorilla, tiger man, and muskox man. Absolute unit.

How are you finding this information? Is that from Dwarf Therapist after retiring them in a fort? I suspect the reason both Jas and Galka are so huge is due to enormous amounts of muscle...

[kesperan]

"Kothvir I", Part II, Turn 85

The Legacy of the Raven - the Tale of Kothvir Shadowstar, the Black Raven - Part II

24th Felsite 880

The tower of Largetempest is deserted and I find a few trinkets but no armour. The corpses of long-slain necromancers and ghouls litter the halls.
I must press on northwards towards Relicward. Although my mind is reeling from the revelations of the library of Divedact, I still believe I will need to master Steel if I am to achieve my destiny.
I learned from the dwarves that Relicward was sundered after some great calamity, but they would tell me no more. I continue my journey northwards.

Veilfurs, a fort a short distance northwards at first glance looks deserted. There are skeletal remains of butchered goblins strewn across the courtyard and I hear the tell-tale shuffling of ghouls from the southeast building.
It is a tricky fight when half a dozen of them try to squeeze through a tiny door, lashing out at me with their clumsy attacks. I take a hit to the knee and fall to the ground, but I still manage to behead the last one - a goblin scholar - before tiredness takes hold.
This place has no treasure, but yet fewer ghouls now stalk the land. Outside the fort is a wonderous sight - a herd of graceful unicorn, their silver horns shimmering. Numberphantom charges after one, and that evening I dine on unicorn steaks.
I stow the unicorn hide and horn in my pack.

25th Felsite 880

On the horizon is the large town of Padcalls, and I enter the walls by midday. The Lord there is Juvar Scarsung, a hefty fellow who seems to be crippled in some way. He has a sinister look about him.
The corpse pile matted with maggots outside would seem to indicate his ascension was fairly recent. A jovial dwarf, Dana, joins him and we share stories of the battle against the blight.
I tell them of my quest to journey north to Relicward, and Dana seems to hesitate at advising me, before holding her tongue.
I help them burn the corpses and tidy up a bit, staying late into the night clearing the body parts and torn garb.

26th Felsite 880

It is snowing in the morning again. I set off northward again, bidding Juvar and Dana good day and gratitude for their hospitality.
A short while later I realise I no longer have my steel sword or shield looted from Knifesteamy! I must have thrown them on the pyre, curse my sleep-addled brain.
The remainder of the day is spent among the hamlets on the outskirts of Incenseorder, searching for a new bloody sword and shield.
I arrive at the erstwhile capital at dusk.
In a building to the south of the keep, a muscular wolf is contently petted by what appear to be bandits.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A goblin chieftess is here, flanked by burly human wrestlers. The goblin denies being part of the Impervious Wall, but the human wrestler cheerfully states that Maloy Craftsoars is Lord.
The wrestlers don't seem to mind a goblin chieftess in their city, for some reason. I assume they are keeping her under close guard and decide not to interfere. I do not wish any harm to come to the merchants and farmers here if I unsheath the rusty silver scimitar I scrounged on my way here.

A short distance north are two beings the like of whom I have never seen. Tall and slender and possessed of ethereal grace, these must be the elves of legend. Elves are an insular species, native to the far northeast and they are never seen in the lands of the High Confederacies.
They introduce themselves as Miaralei Shakenfurs and Arthur Mossdiamond. A bowelf and spearelf. They say they are on an important mission, and are not affiliated with the dwarven usurpers.

I grip the hilt of the scimitar tighly as I enter the keep. Oh what a sight, legendary Incenseorder. In the centre of the room is a rotting pile of demonflesh, decades old. The keep is in disarray.
When I finally meet this fearsome wolf-beast, ready to take his skull, he is... not what I had assumed. A meagre creature, he scrabbles on the floor. He is missing a hand and is naked.
This wolfman is no threat, and no fearsome leader. I cannot bring myself to slay this beast... he is half dead already it seems and nature will surely take its course. I will tidy the mess desecrating this place. The corpse parts and ragged clothing are soon ablaze and the keep looks better for it.
I try to engage the naked wolfman in conversation although he appears mute. Perhaps he will let me spend the night? He takes immediate offence to this and directs me to the inn... I sleep instead in an abandoned hovel.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

27th Felsite 880

I warn the wolf that his days are numbered. After decades of decay the Confederacies are rising again. I will drive out the usurpers and the ghouls, make no mistake.
It is time to resume my journey northwards, to Relicward, my original goal! I set off at dawn and make good progress. These lands are mostly untouched by civilisation, and its the first time I have left the territory of the High Confederacies.

To the northwest, I spot a squat fort built into a mountainrange. As I arrive at the foothills it is clear that this is a dwarven fort - perhaps I will find what I seek here? I descend into the fort, and the first thing I find is a dismembered dwarf head. This is not promising.

I descend further and find some steel crafts, again all too small, but at the deepest part of the fort is a smelter powered by magma... I try to melt down some of the steel armour into some useable ingots but only succeed in destroying it.
I will need to find a functioning steelworks if I am to learn these secrets.

28th Felsite 880

The journey north is largely uneventful. I stop at a fort on the east coast of this narrow landbridge, and speak with a few elves there who swear allegiance to the High Confederacies! It seems the elves do take an interest in the mortal races. Finally I arrive at the southern aspect of Relicward, and it is time to see if the stories of the Dwarves are true. The imposing edifice looks impenetrable, and the sun is low in the western sky.
They say this citadel was a bastion of dwarven craftmanship, but was suddenly abandoned at great haste. Crafts and materials of every kind are strewn far and wide, alongside the skeletal remains of many dwarves. What happened here? I prepare to make camp for the night.

I am woken with a start as an enormous monster in the shape of a bear leaps at me, still on horseback. I barely have time to scrabble from Numberphantom's back before the great beast tears a ragged chunk from my face!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The monster charges at me, roaring, as I scramble backwards, desperately trying to unsheath the scavenged silver scimitar. The beast is huge, its jaws slavering, and it continues to charge and tumble into me as I rake its stomach with my blade.
I dart behind a tree as the monster regains its balance and I drive the sword into its huge head with a satisfying crunch. Amazingly the bear still comes. This sword is not nearly as effective as the dwarven-crafted steel blade, but it is all I have.
Trying to regain composure, I take the fight to the bear. The beast takes a stab to its kidney, then turns its aggression on my horse! I ram the sword to the hilt in its great black skull and it slumps to the ground, unconscious but not dead.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I repeatedly stab the great beast in the throat and neck, hot blood spurting over me. After what feels like an age it finally breathes its last. I really need a better weapon.

I tie my horse to a tree, and head towards the fort proper, having skinned the great beast. I gather as many steel and iron crafts as I can find, and try to find a way into the smooth stone walls of the fort. I find no such entrance. A partially buried entrance is located, but it ends in a dead end.
I decide I will have to swim under the moat, which fills me with trepidation.

Gasping for air, I collapse wetly inside the courtyard of Relicward. I spot workshops where I can tan leather and spin thread... this is more like it. I tan the giant black bear hide and a unicorn skin I got from outside Veilfurs and make a masterful cloak.

In the depths of the furnaces I find what I am looking for... living breathing magma furnaces. I spot why this fort has fallen too... truly massive hideous corpses of unspeakable beings are strewn around and there is not a single living soul in this place.
The forges are brimming with metals... steel ingots and bars of silver and gold!

I toil in the heat for what seems like days, practicing with this new metal. After much trial and error, I have a full set of steel armour, studded with gold and silver. Although I do not claim to have any skill in the forgeing of weapons, I try to make a sword of steel, using the memory of my looted dwarven blade as a guide. I admire the handiwork of my new sword... Ghoulbane. I make several sets of steel armour, and each time I feel more confident in my skill. I think I have grasped the basics of steelworking, and the armour I have crafted is a huge improvement over the bent and battered bronze and iron I found on my travels.

2nd Hematite 880

It is time to head back south and on to the next phase of my journey... scour the land for signs of Innu Velvetstood. I rest for the night and am woken once again by a giant black bear. This forest is more dangerous than I had thought, all manner of huge beasts roam freely.
Ghoulbane bites deep into its skull and it twitches before falling still. A far cleaner kill than with the silver sword. I mount up my horse and head off before something else tries to eat me.

3rd Hematite 880

Another night is spent beneath the stars. I could get used to living in the wilderness, with my trusty steed. I spot on the horizon a compact fort that we had clearly missed on the northward journey, and head closer to have a look.

We are almost immediately ambushed by some kind of soldier, though unlike any I have ever seen. Not a ghoul, but not living. It looks like a dwarf, but it has Hollow eyes and a zombified expression. It takes a great many blows to its head and neck to put it down.
Fearing a fort full of these monsters, discretion is the better part of valor and I head south once more, skirting the great sea and through Incenseorder once more, on my way to Passionspirals.

4th Hematite 880

Binsacks is a hamlet to the far east of the High Confederacies influence, now raising banners for the Creamy Confederacy, and on arrival I see that it has not been spared the ghoulish pandemic.
Bodies litter the streets and deranged ghouls chase their kin into ruined buildings. I slay all that I can find.

6th Hematite 880

The travel has been slow, skirting the ominous Dark Pits to the east. Early in the morning we are ambushed by a party of goblin soldiers! It seems to be two groups of goblins at odds with one another, some kind of clan battle?
The two groups of goblins clash in the middle of the valley, and they are not simply brawling. One poor goblin has his guts torn by a spear, as another has his head bitten by a muscular hammergoblin.
In the midst of it all, I try to protect my horse from their attacks! For most of the day we stalk goblins in the outskirts of the Dark Fortress Tormentlives, and many goblin filth fall to my blade, and Numberphantom's hoof.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Finally we arrive at Passionspirals, the eerily quiet tower of my ancestor. It is, as expected, long deserted and repeatedly looted. Poring over the books we find here, a couple catch the eye.
Boy and Nothing More is an autobiography of my ancestor Genam Riddleddressed, detailing her childhood. Great Incenseorder, also by Genam, is a guide to the great city.
Interpretation of Secret Rel Dotoats tells of the necromancer Rel Dotoats, and a scroll entitled "An Exploration of Innu Velvetstood", I  discover that Rel was Innu's master, and responsible for imparting the knowledge of the Certain Urns.
While I find no works by Innu himself, I finally find something which might give me a clue to the next chapter of my journey. The text indicates Innu once lived in a house in Orbsnarled, in The Nations of Honoring. That is where I shall head next, to the northern lands of Mong Uthros.

7th Hematite 880

A short distance to the north east is the great Razorbridge, a feat of immense dwarven ingenuity famous throughout the land.
It seems long abandoned, however the bridge is sturdy as ever and saves me a great journey over land or a perilous swim with a reticent horse!

Half way along the bridge is a small outpost, and on a wooden altar I find a leather shield and copper axe of unparalleled craft, alongside what I can only describe as a mummified hand. What could the significance be of this object?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The first place I visit in this new land is a monastery, where I divine the will of Thabi the Hopeful Rights, Goddess of Forgiveness. I am granted miraculous healing! Perhaps my smashed finger which has leaked pus for many weeks will now recover? I feel... renewed! The scar on my cheek where I was mauled by a giant black bear is gone too!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A short distance to the north is the abandoned town of Stirredshoves, and a shrine to The Pulpy Creed, seemingly a religion of their death-God, Ala.
Rolling the dice I am again rewarded, this time with improved equipment! The unicorn cloak I stitched in Relicward is now a masterpiece!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I head northwards and am attacked by a hideously deformed creature. It claims it wishes no evil, yet assaults me and my horse. I quickly dispatch it.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The castle of Elderssins lies on the horizon, and inside is a charnel house. Butchered goblins are spattered wide, and I find the butchered corpse of a dwarven hero - Ashro Scufflegrowls the Slick Bends of Ivy.
Many of these corpses have been flayed, and the skin is missing. What crazed butcher did this? On some of the corpses are what I can only describe as claw marks from a large scorpion... I take the discarded elf skin I find here... I don't even know why.

I make my way onwards to the gleaming capital, Atticmuffins. Its sprawling iridescent pitchblende keep towers over the landscape. On the outskirts are a great many refugees who say the keep has been infested with bandits.
I enter the tower, slay the usurpers of the Late Specks who had emerged from the sewers, and claim the keep for myself - the Greatest Attic of Muffins now rules Atticmuffins. I hand stewardship to the local militia.

I return to the refugee camp but something is amiss... a necromancer, and some kind of howling freak stalk the camps. I spot goblin overlords and all sorts of unsavory types. These monsters must have been ejected from the catacombs when the bandits took over. The necromancer abbot Sinur ressurects the foul creatures as I slay them, until I take his head.

There is a commotion, and many of the Hand of Planegifts priests attack me! Numberphantom crushes one of their skulls, and decides he wants to be called Numberphantom the Roasted Priest; he certainly enjoyed roasting that priest.
 
8th Hematite 880

The villages around Atticmuffin are unspoiled. I see no sign of any ghouls and the population are generally content. Life in The Nations of Honoring seems to be much safer than back home. I am searching for the town of Orbsnarled, and ask directions of a few villagers nearby. I am able to add some locations to my map, and head generally in the direction of the East.

9th Hematite 880

We arrive at a red bricked kaolinite castle, just east of the village Imagepear. The Blotted Coaltion runs Spongypriest. I ask for news and directions, but nobody is able to tell me the way to Orbsnarled, and nobody has heard of Innu Velvetstood.

10th Hematite 880

I am ambushed by dingoes in the middle of the night waking us from slumber, but pose little challenge to the mighty horse and I. When I first took this steed it was fat and lazy, it is now incredibly muscular and crisscrossed by a dozen scars.
This proud battle-steed has slain several foes and is unperturbed at the sight of a few mangy dingoes. Outside Tangalleys, are many horses grazing in pasture, the first Numberphantoms has seen in a month. I let him frolic with them for a while...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As I continue eastwards I spot what can only be a cluster of dwarven hillocks on the horizon, at the foothills of the mountains to the north. I investigate within the civic mound of Taperedmine, where a dwarf mayor rules over some human subjects, converts to the cause of the Dwarves.
He reports being one of 10 villages which depend on Northmannor the Unholy Cathedral, a dwarven fort. He marks the fort on my map. We head northwards to the fort and encounter a small encampment with two dwarves and a mute human expedition leader.
The horse takes an immediate dislike to one of the dwarves, who seems to be a necromancer! Before I have time to react, Numberphantoms has kicked both dwarves to death, despite my attempts to calm him.
I am speechless, why did the horse react like this? He looks at me sheepishly, dwarven blood caked over his hooves.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

11th Hematite 880

I spend the night in the dwarven encampment. I am very angry at Numberphantoms. Searching the bodies of the dwarves, I find one carries a codex, and the other a stone ring.
No other clues are available to suggest why these dwarves are camped here in the foothills. Ushrir Fordspears and Endok Kindlingcave are laid to rest here, beside their kenaf tent.

I tie the horse to a tree outside the fort of Northmanor - I do not want a repeat performance. The fort seems quite compact on the surface - a rectangular obsidian tower reaches up from a moat of fiery lava. Very dwarvish.
I tinker with the forges and construct a well-made silver scroll casing, and make some parchment scrolls, one of snowy owl leather and one from the skin of the long-slain elf from Elderssins.

Leaving the fort, I head south west as night falls, arriving bleary-eyed in the hamlet of Fountaineyes to a curious sight. In the mead hall an enormous camel is fleeing and the sounds of battle emanate from within.
Inside I find some hideous night creatures attacking the local dwarven lady! She is covered in wounds and appears faint. The camel looks on nonchalantly as the night creature bashes the dwarf with a cave spider silk dress.
I leap at one of the creatures and lop off its head... sadly too late for the dwarf who bleeds to death. The second creature of night lunges at my horse, bruising its head with a silk vest.
Biting its hand turns its attention to me and Ghoulbane bites deep into its neck. I hear some scrabbling sounds from behind a pillar, and a Howling Freak appears! A third night monster! It bites me in the shoulder and I lose hold of my sword.
Scrabbling in my backpack, I heft a steel battle axe and chop at its foul head, sending it sailing off in an arc. My shoulder will heal in time.

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I now have time to survey this scene of horror. Gremlin corpses litter the floor, alongside the dwarven lady. In the basement I find a still-alive gremlin, who introduces himself as Uspab Primshowered. A gremlin raised by dwarves? How bizarre!

There is also the corpse of a small doglike creature, perhaps a kobold, with a zinc axe. It appears to have been slain by the night creatures too. I burn the corpses of the freaks and try to tidy this place as best I can. Zitha Shadytwilights, Kulur Umbralburial and Unu Tunnelburies the shadow creatures corpses are burned and the kobolds, dwarves and gremlins are put to rest. I find an array of strange weapons like the zinc axe, a lead dagger... I place these on the pedestals. These strange adventurers have been avenged. I leave the small gremlin Uspab in charge of the cleaned up hall, and head on my way.

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Distinctlashed has a goblin priest in its hall, and yet another gremlin corpse. I decide again not to get involved and head south west towards a castle. I am interrupted by a quite frankly bizarre sight. A zombie hammerhead shark corpse flops on the meadow before me, which would be scary if it were not so comical.

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We also find a zombie llama and an alpaca skeleton which proves tough to kill, as my sword strikes simply pass through its skeleton or glance away. I resort to chopping off its limbs, while Numberphantom bites its head off.

The castle of Presentpumpkins is occupied by a single bandit hermit by the name of Oku Stokedplaited, who claims to rule the Fated Kings. Nothing else of interest is to be found here, and I leave the smelly hermit in peace.

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Trammeledjudges is an ancient and proud town, and for some reason seems to be under the control of a dwarven lord.
Lord of The Metal of Systems, Limul Brassguard, is pleasant enough. I help clear some goblin corpses from his tower and ask him for directions to Orbsnarled. He seems to think it lies a few miles to the south, so that is where we head next.
I hope he doesn't notice me discreetly pocketing a perfect tiger iron gem...

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I finally find Orbsnarled. It is largely deserted, and the keep houses only an elf priest and a dwarf lord. They indicate that a priest known as Innu lives in a town to the north of here, called Tendertwine. I am getting closer! I head north once more.

I approach Tendertwine with trepidation. Inside the mead hall I see a handful of priests. Bugi Shoveledfigures the Hand of Planegifts is a Holy Skull, and a worshipper of the death god Ala. Sinur Colorbudded the goblin is a Sacred Filth, and favours Balance, another of the aspects of Ala.

Finally, I see a human Saced Calm... who introduces himself as Innu Velvetstood. He has long white hair, and is impossibly ancient for a human. His grey eyes remain sharp. In a grating raspy voice, he tells me solemly of his time as a prophet, many hundreds of years ago, before he was turned to necromancy by Rel Dotoats. I show him my amulet and his eyes widen, further more when I show him the books I took from Passionspirals. I gift to him "An Exploration of Innu Velvetstood." He understands now who I am and why I have come.

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I chastise him for abandoning Passionspirals like a coward, and he mumbles something unintelligable. I implore him to tell me where the slab The Certain Urns is. He shrugs and says that the last he knew it was taken to Boltspumpkin in the warchests of a conquering general. This is consistent with what I learned in the great library of Divedact.

I tell him that there is a way he can redeem himself... by inscribing the knowledge of Genem Riddleddressed.

I spend two weeks in Tendertwine with Innu as he struggles to remember how to record the secret that was told to him so many centuries ago. I give him the snowy owl parchment scroll with the fine silver rollers that I crafted in Northmanor, and eventually, he produces "For the Love of Expiration" - and trades it to me in return for the remaining books from Tendertwine.

My hands tremble as I grasp the lost knowledge. No living soul has held this knowledge for over four centuries. I stow it in my pack, still not sure what I will do with this new treasure. I mount Numberphantom once more and head southeast, to the city of Lipbraided.