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[Maloy]

Imush held the banner, The Maw of Ceilings, close as he sat on the wagon. Inscribed on it was a prophecy from one of the last seers of Ugosh the Pulley goddess of fate, death and rebirth

On it was shown a great battle between dwarves and goblins. Both sides were fighting and being destroyed by an army of the dead with a necromancer raising his hands in triumph, and from the earth a dead forgotten beast reached up to the surface. Laughing.
"In the land of bile and spite will the future of the dwarves be won or lost..."

The wagon ride started to get very bumpy. The lowlands (any land that is below dwarven mountains) had almost found peace a century ago as all the races joined together to defeat the goblins, but just before victory came armies of the dead rose up and had purged most of the world. Most of what is left of humanity huddles in scattered monasteries and temples praying for salvation
The last elves are slaves
and the dwarves have retreated to the mountains where none may reach them.


"If the future of my people is to be decided" Imush thought "It'd be fought for the dwarven way!" They were going to the site of this battle of the ages long before the battle even happened. They would fortify, prepare, train, defend and finally advance after they had broken their enemies on the fort!

He was only allowed to take volunteers on the first trip, and if they proved that this wasn't a foolish venture the king would send more. No sane dwarf would agree to go and so Imush had to get creative.

The Team

Imush: Expedition leader - Guided by fate by a mysterious traveling seer and led to believe he is following the will of the gods. No notable skills other than adequete marksdwarfship from shooting barrels at the trade depots

Besmar: Self-appointed militia commander and insists on the title "First Defender". On the surface appears to be the ideal dwarf warrior: loves good drink, good friends and a good fight. He was head of a border warcamp that he inherited from an ancestor and had no advanced in generations and heard Imush recruiting. He immediately resigned to join the trip and when asked what his ancestors thought he said "They can shove it! Got me own legend to make" Proficient warrior in hammer and other martial skills

Feb:  The other expert warrior. For how infamously lazy and unmotivated she is known for it was shocking that she joined. Confusing. A dwarf just as likely to take a nap in the battlefield as she was to destroy her foes. Proficient macedwarf who says "I long for more excitement!"

Litast: Was about to enjoy a lengthy stay with the dungeon master for throwing a pile of lumber at a long time customer who asked for a discount "Because times are hard". Was offered to be sent away instead. If she does well enough she MAY be considered for nobility which would ensure an easy leisurely life. Novice Striker

Udil: Huntress who hunted exotic creatures down the mountainside. Lost her land to the horde of undead squatting in the area, and had already traded in her crossbow for more beer at the tavern. She is essentially homeless and Imush isn't sure how useful a hunter will be in a land populated by skeletal beasts, but she wants a shot at the necromancer who is dropping off all these undead everywhere. Proficient marksdwarf

Meng: Enigmatic. She agreed to join up moments after Imush asked her after she finished her shift in the mines. Dour, expressionless and quiet. They're still not sure of what she wants or why she came, but she will be needed. Novice kicker

Udil Boardskin: The only member who would not be considered a misfit. Professional medical dwarf with nerves of steel. She has many nervous ticks, but has worked some of the busiest hospitals in the kingdom. Calm, compassionate, and optimistic. Destiny appealed to her less, but she knew that this would be a painful venture and she could do some good. No combat skills.


They had finished passing through the mirthful forest an hour ago. Fairies that were laying about the wagon had left, and unicorns were no longer in sight. Now on open tundra, but the ground was a deep yellow. It rains mucus here which freezes over solid as stone.
As Imush looked at it he found his vision blurring as if he was staring at something no sane eye was meant to see. He felt true despair tugging at his heart, and he had to look away and focus on the task ahead.

They sent 7 workers ahead to dig below the empty surface and build them a dwelling in the caves below, and Imush's group finally arrived where the stairs were meant to be. They only found it thanks to the dip in the ground from the work team. The stairs were almost completely covered in frozen mucus. Meng cleared it out and we finally saw the stairs, and near the top of the stairs was a dwarven skeleton. All meat rotted off, no clothing, and reaching for the surface.

The work team had only gone ahead of them by a single month.

[King Zultan]

Post To Watch.

[Maloy]

First Defender Besmar's Log
Entry for future novel upon retirement
27th of Galena

Upon arriving at our "fort" we had to find the entry staircase and it was covered in half frozen repellant mucus. The stuff smells unimaginable like rotting carcasses, and as we made our way down it led to the first cavern level just as they were told to dig
and we ran into most of their corpses on the way down that had rotted all the way to skeletons. What had done that?

I have heard of great beasts that can melt the flesh off of dwarves or maybe it was the mucus? Either way upon arriving at the actual grounds of the future fort where most of the corpses were the skeletons rose to life as they arrived as if drawn to the new dwarves. Being skeletons they all went down easy and most of it was the livestock anyhow. Mashed and mangled everyone of them to bits!

It looks like before they died they were beginning to erect walls around the center of the cavern layer to hold out beasts

6th of Sandstone
Migrant caravan that was scheduled by Imush came in. 9 dwarves. One of them an old matron with her youngest child in tow. Strange place to agree to come, but I guess it's hard to convince normal dwarves to come out here.
Also merchants, but we had nothing to give them.

9th of Sandstone
A voracious cave crawler wandered right into our camp while I was making some slabs for the previous team and began attacking. That's weird. Back home in the tunnels one of those things just sees a dwarf it begins wandering the other direction. It didn't get far because Zeb was near and she beat the stupid worm to death. Or is it more like a centipede? Whatever I'll leave that to the scholars, dead is dead.

14th of Sandstone
I TOLD FEB HOW TO FIGHT OUT HERE"MANGLE THE CORPSES FEB!" "They get back up if you don't break every major bone in the body!" What does she do? She's a traditionalist and mutilates the corpse and then I have to come and kill this monster again! Almost ate the dwarf that was hauling it to be butchered. I sat around its body until they finished cutting it up this time to be sure.
See this is what I'm talking about with traditions. Dwarves think they can fight the undead the same as goblins.

Also there's been a ghost hanging around. Not a member of the original work team and I didn't recognize her. You only see her on the edge of your vision for a second, but I recognized her gear: she's an axedwarf. I'll have to find her body and her name so I can deal with this. No dwarf needs to be stuck in this place for eternity. Also who knows what this cursed tundra would do to a ghostly dwarf if it can control their bodies.

3rd of Moonstone
Ineth the axedwarf has been put to rest. She was probably some monster slayer or adventurer who came out here, but she's dead. I laid her slab out in our new meeting hall. I set up the tavern/meetinghall in the middle of the cavern layer we have mostly finished walling off


Imush asked what the point was in a tavern and that we should focus on sending more trade goods home and accused me of not taking this seriously, but she yielded.
She's still thinking like a worker and doesn't get it. We need a tavern because we need mercenaries and monster slayers, and it's hard to wrangle those fools in if there's no place for them to go drink at the end of a hard day's killin

15th of Moonstone
Udil, the hunter, is dead. She got nabbed by a jabberer outside the walls. I had already killed the jabberer on my way outside to patrol the area

Before we could move her body she reanimated, and only the Imush and Litast were around as well as that new child. Litast decapitated her with an axe, but she isn't staying dead because he did it wrong. Now both her head and body keep reanimating and we keep having to put both down regularly.
Her body is so destroyed that she isn't much danger, but she'd definitely kill the kid if she hobbled up to him

Also been having more attacks by the wildlife. Again strange. A cave crocodile wandered deep onto land, another voracious cave crawler and a troll.
Did I mention that Feb killed the Cave Crawler wrong AGAIN? Because she did, and I had to go back and kill it's reanimated corpse. You know what it's like having to wrestle with and bash a giant worm with a massive hole for a mouth covered in teeth that wants to eat you? As fun as it sounds. I'm going to make Feb run laps I don't care if it slows productivity.

18th of Opal
Walls up all nice, and many of the massive stalagmites have been mined out.
We killed Udil again who had crawled, as we had already killed her so many times she could only crawl, to the other side of the cavern. She stayed dead though. Now I am not miner, but I did some figurin'. I think the spot we killed her again is actually on the edge of that good forest, and so the magic of the tundra doesn't reach here. Good body dumping area. Heck maybe even a good place to lure beasts we gotta kill.

Walls are up, but we forgot to lock the doors. How did we learn?
Meng the miner died. Thankfully he finished digging our well first.
Troll wandered in and mauled him. Tore out his throat.
I killed the troll. Mangled it where Feb could see how it was done, but the doc wasn't able to save Meng.
I should've stopped Imush from doing it, but it didn't occur to me. With so few beds he made the dormitory also the hospital.

Udil reanimated and murdered the kid, Ustuth, was his name. I put Meng down again, and was trying to fight off the kid. He was so fast and small! So very small....
Feb got a hit in and mangled the kid correctly. Good girl.
Domas the new peasant also died. Troll. As he died he gurgled out "Death I am not uneasy" I guess that makes it better.


I've been spending a lot of time by the pond outside the walls. Being in a cave everything echoes, but it's peaceful here.You could hear the echoes of the 8 remaining dwarves, did I mention we lost more, as the water occasionally broke from a fish(dead or undead). Would've been a fisherdwarf if they weren't always worked to insanity. Not a long lifespan in that kind of work

Course my last peaceful sit was broken. You could barely hear the water break as they silently stealthily swam, but a group of pond grabbers swam into view. Look like drowned corpses just floating in the water until you investigate. Maybe work in other biomes, but who in the hell would get close to a dead body in this land? So I left. Gotta wonder if they'd be any tougher than the undead.

Also unicorns are wandering the surface. Living ones. Just wandering through frozen mucus like it doesn't smell like a rotten carcass. Part of me thinks they're taunting the tundra. If so I like their guts. We should catch a few.



Journal Entry from Imush the Expedition Leader
Everything is a mess! We've lost half our population already, and have nothing to trade anyone! There's also been no metal ores found yet, and only a few jewels. I have to send a letter back with the outpost liaison to the king, and how do I explain this? Besmar wants me to do what they did in the military.
He says "It's easy lass. What you do is you say in the letter how great things are going and the progress and how victory will be achieved soon! But then you also give him a long list of needs and exaggerate them!"
How would that help? I ask and he says its political. The mountainhome looks bad if they allow a successful expedition to fall. So look successful, but in need!

Letter to His Majesty
Your highness!
The Tundra bows the dwarven ingenuity and grit! The dead are no match for us, and we have erected a magnificent fortress in the caverns! Scores of undead defeated and rare valuables found!
On the surface we have tamed unicorns from the forest next door and are building the greatest cavalry the world has ever seen!
Half of our population is dead
Enclosed, if His Majesty deems us worthy, is a list of needs that will secure this region for the glory of Rimadgeshud:

100 professional soldier dwarves
200 skilled laborers specialized in cavern work
The finest metals and lumber that can be spared


Letter from Udil "The Hunter" Found under her dormitory bed with a cave crawler bone trinket
Dear Ustuth,
I hope the mountainhome treats you and your family well, brother.
I am doing well here, although it isn't safe enough to go hunting. I am really making a name for myself and I am hoping to bring our family honor and pay back those undead who've taken so much from us.
The "First Defender" Is kind of weird. He switches from being a humorous fool to a serious leader on the drop of a plump helmet, but that makes sense considering he commanded on the border I guess.
I'm gonna be saving some trinkets to send home to your little ones so let me know what they like! I'm sending one I made with this letter to give you an idea.
Please hug your family for me and let them know I'll be home to visit soon!
Love Udil

[Tokami]

Looks like this one is off to an interesting start. I'd like to be dworfed as the first decent Hammer/Mace dwarf that lives long then a few days.  If not it's cool. Keep up the great work man!

[King Zultan]

If dwarfing is happening I'd like one as well.

[Maloy]

Looks like this one is off to an interesting start. I'd like to be dworfed as the first decent Hammer/Mace dwarf that lives long then a few days.  If not it's cool. Keep up the great work man!

Not a problem! I'll get you either a migrant who's already got military skills or one of the ones I'll have to train. I'm predicting that I'll need a pretty large military

If dwarfing is happening I'd like one as well.

You got it!

[Maloy]

Year 2 - Blood on the Plump Helmet
Diary entry of Udil the Medical Dwarf
They rushed Domas the miner in. His throat was torn out and his blood was pooling around him before I even reached him. I tried to close the wound, but there was no hope. He bled out as I reached him. I've not seen so much death in all my time as a medical dwarf. After he passed...I stepped outside to get some air, smoke and maybe cry. Then I hear that child screaming from inside the hospital. Domas had gotten back up and he was beating the child to death.
It all happened so fast I just attacked him and before I knew it I killed the patient I had just lost moments ago. It was too late for the child. Besmar led me out and had me wait outside while he and Imush waited for the child to reanimate.
What is this place?
End Entry

Imush was walking at a brisk pace back from the stockpile. She had just finished carrying some materials that the old team had lost in the caves back to the fort and was now joining the "First Defender" at the "tavern". He was loudly drinking with and boasting with a mercenary who was considering joining our fort.
"Found a nice pair of shoes out in the cavern" I said to get his attention "Aye always nice to have good shoes when your knee deep in dead bodies BWAHAHA" Besmar laughed "What's the word from Feb on monster sightings?"
"Spotted close to 20 Crundles out far in the caverns. Nothing to worry about" I said picking up my stone flagon. Besmar suddenly dropped his own "Get your mace, beardling. We are going hunting"
"Why?!"
"Crundles are useless unless some other big beasty that is already undead kills them all and what happens then? Whole section of cavern is covered in the dead and we can't use it anymore! There's already a dead cave crawler wandering about over that way. We don't have much time"
After some time passed the pair, now joined by Feb, found the crawler as it finished tearing a crundle to pieces. It was more disturbing than most of the dead crawlers. It's flesh had rotted and it's gaping maw dripped blood.
It almost tore Besmar's leg off by the end of it before I crushed its head in with a mace. Udil's old mace actually.
I was a normal dwarf before all this, and since coming here I had killed time and again


First Defender Besmar's Log

A couple days after our latest cave crawler incident my right leg was right as rain, and that mercenary I've been buttering up finally agreed to join us! Did I mention how creepy undead cave crawlers our? I have nightmares about being swarmed by them now new ones popping up faster than I can crush their skulls
Anywho the mercenary: His name's King Zultan. King of what? I don't know he's probably got a screw loose. Any mercenary coming out here doesn't have good sense and I knew what I was getting into advertising! Still he holds his beer and is eager for some action so he's a comrade in the making: Gonna call him Mad King Zultan sounds fierce. Imush doesn't approve.
A human joined up too. I recognized him though from wanted posters: An elf-slayer which wouldn't be our problem if we weren't in a military alliance with them and they were the last buffer between us and the goblins

Again I knew this place would attract the seedier and morally flexible soldiers of fortune. Still though he's a killer and we'll keep an eye on him.


4th of Hematite
14 migrants showed up. 10 of whom have passable military training. Told Imush to exaggerate in her letter. You tell the generals you need 100 men and what do they give you? 10. Treat it like they're trying to haggle for crafts at a Trade Depot. Ah well. Immediately drafted several of them. None of us have armor, but that just means you don't let yourself get hit.

Also turns out a couple of those crundles died and reanimated. They were chasing the rest of the pack around the caves so the new recruits got to get experience chasing down the tiny biters. Also caught a couple in traps. Male and female! Told the farmers to get ready because our food situation is solved! Imush been mad at me since I took workers away from making pots to store our food(which all rotted and had to be thrown away) to hunt the undead and keep us safe.
We're moving the tavern to the north side of the fort. Still sitting outside. Gonna have all military dwarves train in front of the gates so they're close by if anything gets close.



8th of Hematite
Had another cave crawler incident. Team carried a dead one in the fort and almost finished butchering it before it reanimated. It tore Litast's head clean off! New recruits come and go I guess, but the thing was killed only a moment later by a new guy. Wasn't until then I recognized him.
He's a famous hunter and one of the last dwarves hunting in the steppes. He's killed a lot of people too. I'm not sure what drew him here, but we can't say no to the help. Did you know they've already written children stories about him back home?
PAH beardling is only 38! and an axedwarf! Good luck making that work out here! We mangle our enemies here sonny!
Anyway his name is Tokami the Hunter. Check out his confirmed kill list:

 What a motley crew this is

Still no metals found, but with one of the new migrants being a miner we set him to work.
Also I've been working on a trap design. Thinking about loading up ballistae in front of the gates. I know at some point we will lose control of the caves to the dead or some big beastie and setting one of those up to fire right in the face of whatever charges after us might just save the fort. No metal to even make bolts yet, but it will happen!

[tonnot98]

Low-metal situations like these makes me wish for slingers... Anyway, PTW and could I get dorfed as a jeweler?

[Maloy]

Low-metal situations like these makes me wish for slingers... Anyway, PTW and could I get dorfed as a jeweler?

For sure! Considering that is the only resource we've found I'm sure the jewelry industry is going to be important

[Maloy]

Stukos muttered to herself as she toiled. Memories of a long dead ancestor. Of shame and loss and redemption.

over 100 years ago her ancestor Ustuth Arrowpondered wielded an artifact steel crossbow. Sought the world over, and for reasons now unknown it was taken from her by the captain of the guard only to be later stolen by a goblin now appearing in one great battle or another over history in the hands of one mercenary or another.

But Ustuth spent the rest of her days living in shame. Two decades later a forgotten beast raided their fort and devoured her and many others, and all her descendants died over the next few years.
But it didn't matter for Stukos that she wasn't directly related to Ustuth. The shame was still hers as well. This fort was her chance at righting that shame and covering it with glory.
She put the finishing touches on the ring. She was completely oblivious to the group of dwarves around her angrily asking to use the craftshop to make mugs for their drinks




First Defender Besmar's Log
It's been busy around here, and I sort of lost track of the days, but when this is all over I'm sure I'm gonna have to get me one of those scholar dwarves to go over this anyway and tidy it up for me book!
Anywho:
New influx of mercenaries and artists. Half of them are goblins and some of them even openly sport goblin names. Don't trust that, but at this point we can't say no to any help.

I did however get some information from them. We dwarves never leave the mountains now and so as far as we knew the entire world below was a wasteland:
there be a few human villages left although no humans dwell in them. Most living people outside of goblin enslavement work as mercenaries, nomads or traveling artists. Staying in one place isn't safe, except for one place.
SquirtBaked


Insists on calling itself a town, but its the largest city in the world. Outcasts from all over gather there as the last bastion of non-mountain civilization. Almost no humans left alive though. I might be tired of dwarven tradition, but the prospect of having only goblins left to carry on my kins ways is sickening. Poor humans don't deserve all that.
Speaking of humans that elf-slayer who came earlier had a ragged messenger show up announcing her as the lady of some land. I couldn't find it on a map though, and this reinforces to me that she is a bandit

I took Imush the Expedition Leader off of squad work. She's been getting really stressed from all the death. She sees herself as responsible for everything that happens since it was her who got the prophecy and all, but that's just the reality of command. I had to spin it to her as an argument. She wanted us to focus on crafting for trade more and I told her "well do it your durned self!" and she quickly got back "Well I will!" So she is making trade goods now.

We also almost all starved to death this summer! Had dwarves out in the caves gathering any plant that wasn't completely dead, and finally butchered the yak and water buffalo. We were putting it off afraid of them reanimating, but half the starving fools were just staring at the beasts and salivating all day. Reanimated hair? Whoever heard of that?
Speaking of which how do skeletal eagles fly? Why am I asking this? Might as well ask why it rains mucus.

I thought King Zultan was gonna be me new drinking buddy for sure, but the moment Imush approved his stay he spent most of a month in the temple praying! Weird, but anyway yesterday he walked outside the caves and single-handedly killed a cave bear. Not even a scratch on him and he MANGLED IT!

GREAT NEWS THOUGH Merchants showed up and Imush was eager to show off her trade goods, and get us some metals. Didn't matter. A dead badger attacked them and so they dumped all their trade goods on the ground and bolted out at top speeds! HA! There's enough wealth in there to get us fully set up! More animals, metals, anvils, ALL OF IT!
Full squad is being stationed around the stuff until workers can get them in
Meanwhile miners are carving the stalagmites to turn into buildings. this is coming together even if we are all tightening our belts

[Maloy]

The Cave Bear Incident

The front gates of the fortress were in view. Here in these caverns the fungus and moss helped absorb some of the noise of the population, but you could still hear the clamor from this distance. Out from the depths strode a cave bear. A starved and disturbing cousin of the surface species

It was furless, naturally emaciated, and eyeless. The space between nose and ears were narrower because of this leading to a larger snout and larger jaws with some more teeth.
It strode towards the noise as any cave predator had to: It was looking for food and followed sound. There was a lot of sound here.

Suddenly the bear tensed. It's already too tight skin tightening further as every part of it's body prepared for what it smelt: A threat? A meal?
It let out a single growl without changing it's face.

Before it could react it's foe exploded into view. A dwarf punched the bear in it's foot. The blow delivered with such lethal power it caused one of the bear's toes to explode into gore.
It roared it's protest and exploded into action charging at the dwarf. He deftly rolled out of the way and onto his feet spinning his pike in his left hand, right hand extended out: The martial art stance of Takùth
The dwarf struck again and stabbed the bear in it's right rear leg with his pike and smiled to himself while pulling on it, but the pike was stuck.
The smile faded as the bear turned and swiped at him with a claw, and the pikedwarf barely dodged. He pulled again and the pike came free, and dodged again as the bear swiped and roared.
Now he stabbed again in the left rear leg and didn't lose hold of his pike. The bear roared even louder with it's mobility severely hindered.

The bear charged the pikedwarf and at this distance he was helpless and was thrown to the ground. The bear was over him and about to maul him with it's claws, but he stabbed up right into it's guts. Blood spilled all over him and the bear began to look visibly sick. He slashed again at it's right front leg and the bear no longer had the strength to stand. The dwarf rolled out of the way as it fell, and stabbed once more in the bear's guts. The bear was slowing and gave the dwarf ample time to rip the embedded pike out and dodge it's swipe.
On and on the fight goes having been decided by blood loss and exhaustion. The warrior stabbing and cutting, taking out the bears lungs one by one and punching its teeth and ears off.
Finally as it passes out he stabs one last time with all his might through the skull into the brain. His foe left mangled that it might not rise to challenge him again. King Zultan walked further into the depths of the cavern; his honor not satiated yet.


Expedition Leader
Imush left the tavern where she had just finished interviewing the new migrants, several of whom were children.
She's glad she interviewed separately, because she got quite the picture. A married couple came to the fort with their two children apparently believing this would be a fresh start for their marriage. They were professional milkers in a mucus covered tundra. The husband himself had reached a point where he felt nothing for his wife and was distraught to be taken away from the rest of his family for this, but she convinced him to keep trying for the kids.
She supposed if they could endure a living hell as a couple they could bounce back from anything right? The husband was a skilled hammerman though and that made it worth it.
The second "couple" were just family members. A very very pregnant dwarf woman due any day now, and her uncle? There was a story there, but Imush wasn't sure she wanted to know and didn't want to chase away residents when they so desperately needed more bodies.

Still even more disturbing news is what led her to confronting the "First Defender" on the other side of the courtyard drilling soldiers. She slammed a piece of paper into his chest "A poster?!" she exclaimed "We are fighting to save the entire world, including dwarf kind, and they put up posters for us?!" Besmar looked at the, now crumpled, paper and it was a poorly drawn image of dwarves fighting what looked like skeletons. Some of the other dwarves were running and screaming. Below it read:

Do you crave adventure, glory and a titanic struggle with death? Floorsavages is for you! One of the last bastions of dwarven civilization outside the mountains! Fighting the forces of death and monstrosities from all over the surface! Ask your mayor if you might be Floorsavages material today!

"Yeah sound 'bout right" Besmar said as he tore the poster in half. "Sounds right? How do they expect us to get any migrants, or any good migrants? They're advertising this place as a death sentence, and they're not even sending us dwarves they're just sending whatever mad man would read this poster and say to themself 'oh this looks perfect for me!'" Imush was clearly frustrated
"Why do you think I left? They're all abunch of stuck up nobles who see anything below the mountains as 'Beneath them' don't ask how many times they laugh about that." Besmar continued "I'd get in arguments with the general every time I saw him because he was content to let any dwarves not in the mountains die to zombies or goblins"
"It's just not fair" Imush said having calmed down a bit. Besmar responded "It never is, and neither is this land in particular, but you're going to do good out here, and I'm going to get my name written down as one of the most successful military leaders in dwarven history who always broke tradition"


Zultan and the Cave Ogre
As the pikedwarf continued his march into the caves he paused a moment. He didn't hear anything, but did not see what was encroaching on him. The Cave Ogre: A monstrosity with no eyes and jagged protruding teeth wandered the cave. It creeped along in perfect silence and approached just from the side of dwarf, and suddenly it lashed out!
The pikedwarf was faster though and quickly jumped out of the way
He immediately stabs the ogre in it's left leg and it falls to the ground, and stabs it again in it's right arm and cuts an artery. As blood spills to the ground from it's arm the ogre punches out with it's other arm and hits Zultan in right lower leg, only protected by his robes, it very clearly is going to leave a bruise. He stabs it in the guts in response, and the cave ogre begins to look sick. It lashes out again and he dodges it to stab once more and hits the pancreas. His pike is embedded and stuck, and the ogre lashes out once more and the dwarf dodges back to only jump in and pull with all his might on the pike
He gains possession and the ogre lashes out again in vain. As zultan dodges he kicks out with his foot and dislocates the ogre's right knee
On and on again the battles goes until exhaustion wins out on the ogre. Zultan tries to end it quickly, but its hardened skull is too thick. He stabs for what feels like hours over and over and over again trying to break through it's skull to end the poor creatures life.
(for 5 pages of a combat report not kidding)
Sweat covers him, and he can't help but remember another time. How did he end up out here? He remembered the mountainhome. The beautiful land where his family once was. His wife left him one day. The burden of losing three children and having to know and live with the sins of her husband were too much for her. He didn't blame her, and knew she couldn't understand what he lived with.
His two remaining sons checked on him as he spent the next two years in the temple trying to find some redemption for himself.
Finally one day he got the answer: Redemption came in glory and death.
He would go and master death or it would take him, and either way past sins would be washed away. He took his oath, hugged his two boys goodbye, and descended the mountain to find his destiny.

Finally, his pike pierced it's skull and ended it. "Death...I'm so distressed about this. How fragile we are."
He wanted to take a break, but he knew he wasn't done for today. He continued further into the darkness of the caves looking for his next challenge.

[Maloy]

Sorry if you guys don't like reading combat writing stuff

I just really wanted to try my hand at writing out a cool fight scene and this stuff screamed "Duel"

Also King Zultan's dwarf I gave him I just did because he was a pretty decent fighter, but turns out his backstory is one of the most interesting I've seen in this world. A lot more to it! Still waiting on a jeweler. I may assign a dwarf soon and if I do I'll be sure to rename them

[King Zultan]

I liked the combat stuff, and I like how my dwarf is a bad ass that's clearing out the caverns.

[tonnot98]

I liked the combat stuff, and I like how my dwarf is a bad ass that's clearing out the caverns.

Keeping us safe from the terrors of the deep.

[Tokami]

Great story so far! Keep up the great work. I’m enjoying it greatly so far