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Author Topic: Thob Goes to the Surface  (Read 57448 times)

Loam

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #105 on: December 20, 2020, 07:37:21 pm »

Getting grabbed by an original night troll is probably the most nervewracking experience
Tell me about it. I didn't have any business winning that fight - I've had multi-legendary weaponmasters killed by night troll grab'n'gores. Thob is truly blessed by Egesh, I guess.

one minute everyone is sitting around fires being friendly then we turn our backs and they're killing each other
To be fair, that sums up a lot of Dwarf Fortress... maybe it's not so strange after all  :D



As the party was leaving the forest retreat the next day, they stumbled upon a small natural cave in the ground. There were signs of habitation nearby, so Thob poked his head down to take a look. He was not expecting to see a naked elf:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
In the elf’s defense, the only nearby garments were a pair of iron boots and a small necklace. The elf shared his accommodations with a goblin skeleton, which was fortunately still dead. Given the utter lack of anything remotely like furnishings Thob figured the elf was either crazy, or some sort of ascetic, or maybe both. He cautiously introduced himself.
   “Hello, dwarf,” the elf replied. “I am Mato Feasthexes. Praise be to the True Honor.”
   “Uh, yes… praise, indeed.” He seemed reasonably sane; ascetic, then. “So… what do you do, here, exactly?”
   “Well, I was butcher for about two hundred years…”
   “Impressive, but what—”
   “…until I was made an administrator of Waningnature retreat. That was, oh, let’s see… maybe three hundred years ago?”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   Thob tried to press the elf on his current situation, but Alisa butted in. “‘Administrator,’ huh? So what, you got to boss everyone around and call yourself important? Power is such a sham.”
   “No,” said Mato, “it’s power that makes the elf. Those without power are… well, you see what it’s like.”
   “Typical goblin lies!” shouted Alisa, predictably enraged. “You ought to be ashamed for oppressing those people—as you obviously must have!”
   “I really don’t need strange humans insulting me, you know,” said the elf.
   “Fine!” growled Alisa, “I didn’t want to argue, anyway.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thob was unable to get a straight answer from the elf about his troglodyte lifestyle, so he bid him farewell. The party set out through the forest, heading north towards the larger elf cities they had heard about.

The weather was gray, wet, and cold up here. All through their journey that day, through the “Russet Forests,” mist and snow surrounded them, obscuring the sun.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The following day the weather cleared enough for them to see the shapes of giant trees ahead.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
But the retreats were deserted: all the big trees were empty and snow-covered, and the only life was some giant red squirrels that Strodno chased around.
   Later that day they reached the large forest retreat of Lushnights. Here, too, massive tower-caps dominated the surrounding forest, along with large fungiwoods, all covered in snow. Atop some of these Thob noticed strange creatures—though what wasn’t strange on the surface?—dwarf-shaped, but covered in long, narrow gray feathers, and sprouting two large wings:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
They were as polite as most of the “experiments” Thob had encountered; one told him that there was “nothing organized around here,” a phrase Thob had heard many times before.
   The market of Lushnights was quite a bustling one: elves, goblins, humans, and more of the gray-feathered folk stood around bins and barrels, conversing and haggling.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
As before, all they sold was meat. Thob was surprised, though, that most of it came from rare cavern animals, not from any surface beasts—it seemed the goblins had a taste for deep delicacies:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   Under the branches of a large fungiwood was a nice, wood-floored space which must have been a tavern, once; a faded sign nearby read “The Wayward Bear”:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Though nicer than the other elf tavern Thob had seen, there was still no alcohol to be found.

Outside the retreat, to the north, there was another large camp of what Thob guessed were refugees.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There were many canvas tents here, quite close together, with fires burning between. Most of the “refugees,” if that’s what they were, seemed to be goblins.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
One of these passed by the party. She had somewhat darker skin than Strodno, and her hair was a bright fuchsia; her clothes were quite fancy, and she wore several ornaments made of bone and hair.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
She might be someone of importance. Thob greeted her, hoping to get some information on the local area. “Oh hello, Mr. Mysterious,” she replied. “Call me Ûsbu—a servant of the True Honor.” (This True Honor seemed like a popular sort in these parts) “An undead hunter, you say? I’m something of a hunter myself, you know. Well, less of a hunter, maybe more of an… extraction specialist. A rescue operative, if you will.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “Oh, that’s nice!” said Thob. “I just heard the other day about people who go around kidnapping children from their homes—isn’t that terrible? Good to see someone helping these kids out.”
   “Yes, I try to find a permanent home for them.”
   “Before I hunted undead,” said Thob, “I helped tracked down ancient artifacts—the heirlooms of my people, lost for centuries. Ever done anything like that?”
    Ûsbu shook her head. “Not me,” she said. “But if you’re looking for work in that line, I know of a lost treasure to look out for—a mighty hammer they call ‘The Rock of God’, supposed to be held by some ancient warlock. A goblin I know, name of Ducim Planebrass, might pay you well for it.”
   “Really? Where’s this Ducim holed up?”
   “She’s a baroness at the dwarven fortress of Boldwhipped.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A dwarven fortress? Were there more dwarves in this world, still alive, still—hope against hope—making booze? “Where’s Boldwhipped?” Thob asked with barely-suppressed excitement.
   “Way down southeast,” Ûsbu said. “And I mean way down.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thob would go as far as he needed for a swig of strong dwarven ale. He thanked Ûsbu for her help; if they didn’t find any booze up north, he knew where to travel next.

Before they could leave the camp, though, the party ran into a bit of trouble. Or rather Alisa did—Thob didn’t know what had started it, but Alisa somehow got in a spat with a passing elven priest. Fortunately it didn’t come to blows, because at the first threat from the priest Alisa caved, quaveringly dropping his spear when the elf demanded it.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “He stole my spear!” moaned Alisa as the elf walked smugly away. “Aren’t you going to do something?”
   “Knowing you,” said Cañar, “I’m guessing you deserved it.”
   “We’ll try to find you another one,” said Thob. “There’s got to be some in the towns up north.”
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Thob Goes to the Surface (Adventure Mode story, in progress)

King Zultan

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #106 on: December 21, 2020, 03:31:01 am »

This Alisa guy seems to get himself into trouble a lot, and now he's lost his weapon after picking a fight he immediately surrendered during.
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Loam

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #107 on: January 10, 2021, 12:50:36 pm »

Sorry for the few weeks' delay.



Thob had now been wandering more than two months on the surface… so long that his clothes had started to wear out from constant use:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
He himself was wearing out from constant alcohol deprivation. Two months without a drink…

In the pre-dawn gloom, as the party traveled the snowy woods, Cañar suddenly halted and motioned the rest of them to stop. “Something’s off,” she said.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Thob didn’t notice anything strange… until a horrible shrieking and tearing noise filled the cold air, followed by bellows and roars, all coming from further in the forest. Cautiously they moved ahead until, amid the white-draped trees, they saw the source of the noise: an enormous gray winged form locked tooth-and-claw in battle with a smaller yet no less horrible humanoid figure:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The one shape Thob recognized as a cave dragon—though what it was doing up here he didn’t know. The other looked a bit like the night hag he’d killed, but it had one eye, no horns, and its arms and legs seemed to stick out at weird angles. Both bore many wounds: they’d clearly been fighting for a while now.
   He saw the dragon get a good claw-swipe at the hag, which collapsed to the ground—but the hag paid it back, by ferociously biting its adversary, digging its ugly fangs into the dragon’s scaly hide. To Thob’s amazement, one such bite to its head struck so hard that the dragon fell down abruptly and lay still:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The hag kept savaging the unconscious beast—unaware of Thob and party’s presence. Strodno gave Thob a sidelong look. “No better time,” she said, drawing her sword. Cañar nodded in agreement.
   “Sounds good,” said Thob, raising his pick. “Charge!”
   The companions rushed from the wood towards the monsters. Taken by surprise, the gloom hag offered no resistance to Thob and Cañar’s combined attacks, and soon lay with its head split by dwarven steel. Strodno’s blade hacked at the stunned dragon, and in a few swings she had pierced it to the brain.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Two fewer monsters for the world to worry about. Maybe Thob should add “monster slayer” to his resumé.

By morning they saw a number of hamlets, former human settlements now abandoned, as Alisa said. At least some of them, though, still had occupants: outcasts from a country overrun by goblins, living off the land, sheltering in old huts.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Some looked like Alisa, tall and fair; others were clearly of another stock. They wore old, motley armor, decorated with symbols of the ancient human clans: a square-cut gem for the Prestigious Nation, Alisa’s own folk, or the tall cross of the Strong Empire. But national allegiances meant little these days: these warriors just followed the local warlord, a skinny elf woman named Aco. “The humans in these parts made an ancient alliance with the elves,” Alisa explained, “and each other, to fight undead and goblins together. Obviously it wasn’t very successful… but it brought our peoples together, despite our differences.”
   Some villages were devoid of humans, peopled instead by other beings. In one hamlet the party entered an ancient mead-hall, now occupied only by two ragged, sneaky-looking goblins:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
They didn’t look menacing, though they seemed surprised to have visitors. Thob wanted to ask if they knew anything about the coutryside. “Hello there!” he said. “I’m Thob ‘The Mysterious,’ the monster-slaying undead-hunting treasure-seeking librarian!”
   “Hmph,” grunted one goblin. “Alright, Throb. I’m Damsto.”
   “… so what do you do, Damsto?”
   “What’s it to you?”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   Damsto wasn’t very friendly, but his companion, a woman named Stozu, was more forthcoming. “We just camp out here,” she said. “No one really runs this village anymore—but some kobold gang holes up in the houses, so for all intents they’re in charge.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “Kobolds?”
   “Jabbering little thieves and skulkers,” muttered Damsto. “Dangerous in an ambush.”
   “The ones here aren’t hostile,” said Stozu, “but don’t expect good conversation from them.”
   Eager to see what these new folk might be like, Thob led his companions into the village. The houses here, he was surprised to see, were built not of wood but of stone—and not actually “built,” but seemingly carved from solid rock, polished to smoothness like dwarven work:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Once again Thob wondered: if the humans could build like this, digging in the rock like the gods intended, why did they muck about with wood and bricks?
   Sure enough, one of the homes was inhabited: two more goblins, blacksmiths by their looks, and a handful of tiny creatures, a bit bigger than a dwarven toddler, wearing just tunics and loincloths, gazing at Thob with wide yellow eyes.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
They didn’t look dangerous to Thob. But they weren’t talkative either, as Stozu had said—or, if that strange chattery barking was conversation, it wasn’t anything he could understand. The goblins, however, were friendly.
   “Best be careful,” said one, a weaponsmith named Zom. “There’s rumors of skulking vermin ‘round these parts.”
   “Skulking vermin?”
   Zom leaned close and whispered conspiratorially. “Kobolds,” he said.
   The kobolds in the house just looked at Thob, and Zom didn’t seem to notice them. “Uh-huh,” said Thob, “and… where are these kobolds, exactly?”
   “Skulking around a village called ‘Ordertaut’, so I heard.”
   “Ordertaut?” said Alisa. “Isn’t that… what this place is?”
   Zom gave him a puzzled glance. “Now that you mention it… so it is,” he said. Meanwhile the other goblin was trying to chat up one of the kobolds, with little success.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “Vermin aside,” said Thob, “how close are we to the nearest town? We’ve had a long journey.”
   “Not far,” said Zom. “Weakenedpelt is just a short walk away, across the river. Though it might not be the nicest place for strangers.”
   “Well, we’ll only be there a little while—we just need some supplies.”
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TheFlame52

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #108 on: January 10, 2021, 05:55:32 pm »

I always love the way you write the NPCs being dumb. It's charming.

Loam

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #109 on: January 10, 2021, 06:25:57 pm »

I always love the way you write the NPCs being dumb. It's charming.
Thanks! I feel that the NPCs' obliviousness to, well, basically anything adds to the general absurdity of Thob's story. It does make it difficult to write dialogue that makes sense, though...
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King Zultan

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #110 on: January 11, 2021, 07:55:47 am »

I've noticed that this world has way more interesting stuff going on than every world I've generated, did you do something special to make it or did  you get lucky with this one?
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Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
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Loam

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #111 on: January 11, 2021, 01:53:14 pm »

Maybe just lucky? I don't recall doing anything different when I made it. I think it's just that, being 1000 years old, a lot more stuff has happened: cities have changed hands time and time again, lots of wars fought, lots of historical folks doing lots of things, etc. I haven't made too many 1000-year worlds in the past because my computer usually runs out of RAM before it can finish generating them... I guess when everyone's dead that isn't such an issue.

Plus, if you take your time and really dig around in Adventure and Legends mode, you can discover a lot of interesting stuff that the game has hidden away. I haven't been doing too much of that this game, though, to preserve Thob's sense of discovery.
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mightymushroom

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #112 on: January 17, 2021, 08:43:53 pm »

Just thought I'd share that this morning I had a dream about Thob . . . which is one more than I can recall about Grawr or even Misty, so I guess you have my subconscious's approval.

My dream was about Thob getting mixed up with a dubious group of elf nobility who would hold mini-wars against each other's estates with various side wagers placed on meeting certain objectives. They kept trying to involve Thob and he was just, "Wut?"
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TheFlame52

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #113 on: January 17, 2021, 09:16:18 pm »

I've noticed that this world has way more interesting stuff going on than every world I've generated, did you do something special to make it or did  you get lucky with this one?
I think it's a bit of luck, but frankly, every world has strange things in it if you peer deep enough. It's just that Loam has a way of making the things we don't usually think about seem interesting.

Loam

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #114 on: January 23, 2021, 09:41:03 am »

Just thought I'd share that this morning I had a dream about Thob . . . which is one more than I can recall about Grawr or even Misty, so I guess you have my subconscious's approval.
Ha ha, that's great! Even I haven't had a dream about Thob... not yet, anyway.



The Great Goblin Empire

It was about noon—not that you’d know it, for the heavy snow-clouds overhead—when the party came in sight of the town of Weakenedpelt, across the river to the west.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
The hither side of the river was dotted with stone watchtowers and earthworks; on the far bank a wall surrounded the central town and the high-towered keep. An outer town sprawled to the north, away from the wall, and all around were fields and scattered huts or farmhouses. Unlike the other towns Thob had seen, this one showed clear signs of habitation: the houses and walls looked sturdy and well-maintained, and there were lights visible in the windows and torches along the ramparts.
   The party crossed the river (an easy crossing, with such thick ice over the water) and approached a cluster of huts some way south of the walls. The houses were not made of any surface wood, Thob realized, and were instead constructed of tower-cap and fungiwood.
   In the doorway of one hut stood a goblin, lounging at his ease. Thob went up to him to ask for directions. “Hello, there!” he said cheerfully. “My name’s Thob.”
   The goblin looked warily at him. “Ngerxung,” he said.
   “Gesundheit.”
   “That’s my name.”
   “Oh… sorry. I don’t speak Goblin.”
   Ngerxung muttered something about foreigners and language learning, but Thob didn’t hear it clearly. “I heard this town is ruled by goblins,” he said. “Is that true?”
   “You’re kidding,” said Ngerxung. “No, you’re not, are you? You’ve really never heard of the mighty goblin empire of The Lost Sins? All these lands belong to us.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “Occupied? You mean you didn’t build this place?”
   “Humans built it. But they couldn’t hold on to it, so we had to liberate it for them. Not that they ever thanked us.”
   Alisa was looking more and more angry as Ngerxung went on. “I… see,” said Thob, changing the subject. “We’re looking for some food and drink—know anywhere good?”
   “Try the Doomed Orange, inside the walls,” said Ngerxung.

They made their way up to the town gates. If there had been any humans living here in earlier times, there were none now: the only people other than goblins that Thob saw were a party of amphibian men.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
They passed through the big wooden gates into the main city. Densely-packed houses of fungiwood and tower-cap lined the snow-covered streets, shops with signs advertising leather, clothing, and other wares. As they entered, a sound of clanking metal reached Thob’s ears, echoing from the houses; then, from around a corner, marched a procession of goblins bearing weapons and armor blazoned with the symbol of a fruiting tree.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
It was a motley assortment of arms: axes, swords, hammers, bows, even whips. The soldiers didn’t really march in formation, either, but swaggered about like they owned the place, which in a way they did. “Step aside, provincials,” said one goblin as he approached the party, “Make way for the legion!”
   The soldiers filed past, a seemingly endless stream of them. Finally Thob and his friends managed to duck into a side street — but here, too, more soldiers came sauntering up the road, whether on patrol or parade Thob couldn’t say.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “Is anyone in this town not a soldier?” he mused.
   “This is a major provincial town,” said Cañar. “The goblins stationed most of their troops here after the wars, to keep them close to the borders. And soldiering’s more of a hobby for goblins anyway—not much they like better than getting in fights.”
   “Fair enough,” said Strodno.
   “We’d better keep a low profile,” Cañar went on. “Best not to look any more suspicious than we already do. Armed elves and humans aren’t a common sight here, unless they’re outlaws.”

After a bit of searching among the snowy streets they found the tavern they sought. A worn sign showed the image of a round fruit with a knife hovering over it; crudely-formed letters below read “The Doomed Orange.”
   Inside was an assortment of metal tables and chairs jumbled against one wall, and three goblins: one sitting by himself in a corner, another (possibly the innkeeper) idling nearby, and a third standing at one end of the room, speaking loudly in an oratorical voice:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “In a time before time, the mighty Nokast, may his name be eternal, by the power of Vispol rose from the Underworld and established our great Empire upon the earth; and he raised up for himself the palace he called ‘The Tower of Vomit’—a most auspicious name…”
   The tavern keeper walked up to the party. “Well, well,” he said, “I haven’t seen many like you pass through in a long time. Welcome to the Doomed Orange. What can I do for you?”
   “We’ve come a long way,” said Thob, “and we’re quite thirsty. What’s here to drink?”
   “Nothing.”
   “… a tavern with no drinks? You’re kidding, right?”
   “No drinks. Got rooms, though, if you’re interested.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “Oh!” whispered Strodno. “I forgot to tell you, Thob: goblins don’t drink! Not booze, not water—we don’t have to.”
   Just great. A whole empire of teetotalers and dry taverns.

Just then another goblin, carrying a big pike, burst into the Orange. She looked around for a moment until she saw the one patron sitting by himself—she pointed at him, cried “There you are!”, and rushed upon him, fists raised. A tremendous brawl broke out between the two, and blood spattered over the tables:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
First they fought with fists only, but at some point the battle turned deadly: the pike-goblin, wielding the long weapon with extraordinary ease in such close quarters, speared her adversary about the head, severing an ear and smashing in his nose. Eventually he slumped over, unconscious with pain—but the beating didn’t stop, until the pike-goblin had stabbed him through the head.
   “By Egesh!” said Thob. “She just… just killed him!”
   “Chances are,” said Strodno, “we’ll see plenty of that in these parts.” Meanwhile the storyteller, apparently unperturbed, was finishing his tale: “…until, in the third year of his reign, our dread lord Nokast was stomped flat by a titan he had valiantly picked a fight with—so ended his illustrious though woefully brief term as our Master.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “I don’t think we should stay here too long,” said Thob. “This seems like a dangerous town.” And, anyway, if there was no booze here there wasn’t much reason to stay: they would press on to other, hopefully less parched establishments.
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TheFlame52

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #115 on: January 23, 2021, 10:15:05 am »

That's a lot of goblin soldiers. I've never seen that even in a goblin town before. Also, the humans "couldn't hold on to it?" Could this part of the world been taken by necromancers and retaken by goblins? It might be interesting to check the tombstones in the catacombs.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2021, 10:17:10 am by TheFlame52 »
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King Zultan

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #116 on: January 24, 2021, 06:37:57 am »

Noting says a fun town to hangout in like some rando bursting into the tavern and murdering one of the patrons.
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

Maloy

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #117 on: February 03, 2021, 04:46:02 pm »

I'm only on page 4, but this is one of my most favorite DF stories right now!
It's actually got me playing adventure mode more too!
Great stuff thank you for sharing it!

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #118 on: February 07, 2021, 07:14:50 pm »

   The goblin looked warily at him. “Ngerxung,” he said.
   “Gesundheit.”

Beautiful.
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Loam

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Re: Thob Goes to the Surface: Part IV
« Reply #119 on: February 07, 2021, 08:49:23 pm »

I'm only on page 4, but this is one of my most favorite DF stories right now!
It's actually got me playing adventure mode more too!
Great stuff thank you for sharing it!
Thanks for reading! Glad it's gotten some folks into Adventure Mode - it can be quirky and frustrating at times, but it's got so much depth if you're patient and willing to delve a bit.

Could this part of the world been taken by necromancers and retaken by goblins? It might be interesting to check the tombstones in the catacombs.
I'll admit - contrary to what I said a few posts ago, I *did* just do a bit of digging in Thob's Legends. I felt I needed to know the history of this part of the world, because some of the party (Alisa and Canar) ought to be familiar with it. You might get another lore dump in a future update...

Quote
   The goblin looked warily at him. “Ngerxung,” he said.
   “Gesundheit.”
Beautiful.
I was inordinately proud of that one ;D



The party set out for the north, where another cluster of farms and towns could be seen way off in the distance. They camped in the wilderness and travelled all the next day. Along the way they passed the confluence of two big rivers: a scenic spot, with a very nice waterfall that sprayed a fine mist over the ground—a sensation Thob found very refreshing.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Strodno was not impressed. “I thought you hated being out in the rain,” she said. “How’s this any different?”
   “Well,” said Thob, “it’s... not as wet?”

The next day they approached the town. Near the outskirts Thob stumbled on yet another small cave in the dirt. Inside was a lone goblin—alone and, apparently, naked. Another crazy ascetic, Thob thought, as he hailed the goblin. “Howdy. Who, uh, are you?”
   “Hello!” replied the goblin. “I am Snodub, the Obscure.”
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
   “‘The Obscure’, huh? That’s a good one! I’m ‘The Mysterious’, myself—but call me Thob, that’s my real name.”
   Snodub didn’t have any explanation for his state—all he said of himself was that he used to be a tavern keeper. He did have a set of iron greaves, too large for himself but well-fitted for Alisa; since he wasn’t using them he graciously allowed Thob to take them.

The new town, Prankcloisters, was also surrounded by towers and trenches like Weakenedpelt. The town had an intriguing layout: all the houses and shops were on one side of the river; on the other stood the castle by itself, surrounded by a swath of walled grounds.
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As before, the houses here were made mostly of fungiwood, and the inhabitants were primarily, almost solely goblins. The shops, Thob noticed, were almost entirely tanneries and leather clothing shops—Strodno said goblins didn’t use any cloth, except for troll fur. Thob wondered a bit at goblin culture: they had a… unique way with names, for one thing, as he saw in the names of shops:
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Unfortunately, though unsurprisingly, the taverns here were also devoid of alcohol. At least they seemed a bit more peaceful. The tavern keeper of one establishment filled Thob in with some local information and the latest news:
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Pabat, Thob was made to understand, was the Master of the Lost Sins, a goblin chieftess of considerable age and power; Glacialvine, by the name, was probably some elven settlement. It appeared that the Lost Sins were keeping up their conquests—maybe they really would take over the world.

As they continued wandering the streets, they found one building made of surface wood, not cavern fungi: a three-story structure with a sign, calling it “The Palm of Trade.”
   “What’s this?” said Thob. “Another tavern?”
   “Looks like a counting house,” said Alisa, “for one of the big merchant companies—another human innovation the goblins stole from us.”
   They went inside. The ground floor was a warehouse, filled with empty bins; on the floor above were an assortment of desks and chairs… and a lone human, apparently very old and practically naked, except for a few ornaments made of someone’s hair and a fancy bronze mace.
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   “Visitors?” he said. “Wasn’t expecting you.” He extended a hand. “I’m Ase, Ase Dimplerhymed. Some call me ‘The Oaken Mob’. This servant of war greets you.”
   Thob took the proffered hand uneasily. What was it with all these nudists, he wondered, but he didn’t want to offend anyone so he didn’t ask. “Not many other humans in this town, I think,” he said. “You seem a little, er, out of place?”
   “I’m not from around here originally. My family hails from the south, from the Confederation of Reverence. It seems like an age ago…”
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   “That’s… quite a long time. I didn’t know humans lived so long.”
   “Is it? I guess living among immortals alters one’s sense of time…”
   “Have you been administrator here for long?”
   “Oh, I’ve had many jobs in my life.”
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   “And you say,” continued Ase, “you are, inter alia, treasure hunters? Fantastic… I’ve got work in that line, if you’re interested. Our company once owned a magnificent jewel, ‘The Abyssal Deeps,’ long lost now—but I think I know where to find it!
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The company will reward you generously, be sure of that!”
   Thob said they’d keep an eye out, if they passed by Brandfondled. Then he bade farewell to the garbless dignitary, not without some sense of relief.

Thob was still looking for a replacement spear for Alisa, so when they passed a weaponsmith—“The Cremation of Menace”—that seemed reasonably well-appointed, he stopped in for a look.
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After a bit of haggling he got the goblin smiths to trade some iron weapons—a spear for Alisa, a lash for Canar, and a large knife for himself—for a nice pewter ring he’d picked up in some abandoned town.
   Newly equipped, the party spent a bit more time wandering the streets. Thob caught snippets of a conversation between Strodno and Alisa: the human was, as usual, arguing angrily about his controversial opinions, but the goblin pacified him with a few jokes—at Thob’s expense, but he didn’t much mind.
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Thob didn’t know what they had been arguing about. With Alisa it might be anything: the tall man was a wellspring of strange viewpoints, which he held to rigidly and defended vehemently, if not eloquently—as when he loudly proclaimed his feelings towards “so-called ‘friends’”:
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   “Beware of friends? Does that include you, Alisa?” said Thob with a chuckle. “Maybe I shouldn’t have given you that spear…”
   Alisa clamped his mouth shut. “Fine,” he muttered, “don’t believe me. Didn’t want to argue anyway…”
   But, with no booze to be had at Prankcloisters and little else of interest, the party decided to move on. Thob was not hopeful they’d find any drink up here in goblin country, but there was one more large town to investigate—the ruins of Handygrown to the east, according to Alisa the ancient capital of the Prestigious Nation.
Logged
Thob Goes to the Surface (Adventure Mode story, in progress)
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