Death. Again. It is liberating in some way. To float freely through the world. To be unburdened by things as fickle as emotions. As I left the body of my host, Astesh, I managed to get a brief glimpse of the battlefield. Our dwarves fought valiantly, but there was no plan, no morale. It might have worked on a village, or some scattered dark pits. But the walls of this fortress, no matter how low its population, allowed no such thing as an uncoordinated charge. As I saw our army get beaten back by our enemy, I looked at my corpse. Or, more accurately, Astesh's corpse. The body had little to do with me.
It was not long until I suddenly felt an overwhelming pull, and found myself being dragged away from the battlefield at a near-incomprehensible speed. Trees became a blur of green. Rivers flashed by. And the savage forests to our southeast made way for the familiar blue hue of the land surrounding our fortress. Suddenly, a familiar place. I found myself in my tomb, surrounded by the noise of construction work being done outside. Gem windows glistening in the morning sun. A child playing make believe in the corner. Home. But how had I gotten here?
As I looked around, I discovered what dragged me in so quickly. There, in my tomb, a single tooth. The only tooth that had not been dumped while cleaning the plaza-in-progress. Taken from me by my archenemy, yet now a vessel of power, a phylactery of sorts. It had kept me grounded here.
A new body then. I knew it had to be a sign. There was still work to be done. This fortress needed my stern guidance. I dashed through the walls, encountering some engraver I had never seen before. It'd do. I had practice now, and dashing into his body to take it over had been much less of a challenge than it had before. Now, I'd have to convince the fortress their leader was back again.
Turns out losing Astesh's teeth only served to strengthen me.
New season, new body.Only some in the fortress, those who had been most loyal to me before, believed it was me, in this new body. It took three days to get back my status as de facto leader of the fortress. It was the return of our disheveled army that convinced the last group. Of course, both the stragglers and the pitiful soldiers that managed to return went straight to the lasher. Maybe that would make them see the error in their ways. The lasher is in fact becoming quite the talent at his craft. I will enroll him in the army to ensure the best of discipline there.
The wildlife still resists our rightful dominion of the area. Some days ago, a child needed to get stitched up in the hospital. An eagle had chased him for half a day until the fortress guard stopped laughing at the, admittedly hilarious, whole ordeal. The talons of the beast struck true, and the child will be scarred for life. Today, a massive bull moose found his way into the fortress. We needed leather anyways, and meat is always a welcome addition to the table.
I have decided we will have to learn the natural world who is boss around this area. We will start a full extermination campaign on the surface, and I will once again be accepting monster hunters into the fortress. We start with the gaggle of agitated giant dingos, which are still prowling around at the other side of the river. A single squad of our army waded through without effort and turned them into minced meat and fur-lined socks. Next on the list is an agitated louse that managed to kill a traveling bard. More meat for the meat pile! The abominations still continue to pop up in the caverns, but the surviving gaggle of swallow-men down there have become experts at taking down these creatures. It seems some wildlife has a purpose, at least.
Still, I am of the opinion we have to learn from life. Maybe one day, I will be able to get back my true body. Some of the kilnworkers are also amateur biologists. They have been making accurate-to-life statues of a variety of creatures out of porcelain. I have decided to combine these lovely works with our collection of caged, living beasts to start an open air museum of biology. Though, much has still to be done.
The lasher has gotten quite some experience the last few months. I've opted for a human, as their arm-to-whip length ration seems to produce the optimal amount of damage and pain
This ferocious eagle really did a number on the child.
The wildlife out here is getting braver by the day, in its effort to chase us from our own property.
The great extermination begins
No matter how horrific these creatures become, the cave swallow men have become true titan-killing machines.
The start of a great museum of life! I would have liked the subjects depicted to be somewhat more..... impressive, thoughOther than cleaning up the vermin that infests our surface, I have decided to also clean up the interior of the fortress. Many bedrooms are filled with clothes worn to the last thread. Luckily, we still had some cabinets lying around. I ordered a massive batch of new clothes to be made, as a sign of my generosity. The corpse piles were also cleaned out, together with some stockpiles and loose building materials. It is a time of plenty in the fortress, and I will make sure the populace knows.
Some conflicts still take place. Yesterday, one of our spearmasters killed a visitor in a single punch as he threw a tantrum. Not much of an issue, as it was some expendable human poet, but I sent him to the lasher all the same. I did have to plead for him with our local clergy, as this shedding of blood took place in the middle of our temple.
I have also decided to work on our.... "Ghost issue". I thought it would be better for my status, but the people seem to think otherwise. I do still have to placate them sometimes, no matter how much I resent the action. I have hatched a plan though. Right next to my museum of biology, I will dig out a burial complex. This way, we have knowledge of both the living and the dead combined, and our scholars can work more easily on reviving my original body. It will look pretty in the open space I have constructed, as well.
Also, as the year draws to a close, I have decided to finally end the fortress of Boldhate. No more raids, no more pillaging, no more demands for surrender. We will raze the whole settlement to the ground. Nearly forty of our men and women have marched out. Only the leader of one of our squadrons, lags behind. This 306-year-old elf, mayor of our settlement, moves slower than a slug in summer! And then, as leaving the fortress takes so long, they return halfway through their journey every single time, as they have eaten or drunk through their rations before they are off. It took them almost half a month to leave Irritan Anam, mainly due to them passing out from exhaustion in the hallway and sleeping for nearly four days! But finally, the army is gone. Though with no hopes of returning before spring.
Such messy subjects I have.
A busy swarm of citizens is hauling trash.
Does the sanctity of temples mean nothing to our military? Good. I taught them well.
Sleeping in the tomb he just filled! This is why my death is restless.
They say to me that elves do not age, yet why is this fossil so horribly slow then?
HOW DID THIS BUMBLING IDIOT MANAGE TO BE ELECTED MAYOR?Though our army does not return before the start of the new year, it feels that, for now, my task is done. Our surface fortress stands, and I feel like taking place in my throne room and enjoying what I have created. Someone else can lead the fortress for a while, I think. As I walk through my blood-red, bauxite creation and marvel at the wonders I have created, a stonecutter approaches me, with a stunning artifact. A crown of bauxite, to match my fortress. With pride, I don it, and look over my creation.
The Museum of Biology, filled with exotic creatures and porcelain depictions of living beings.
Ground floor of the surface fortress, containing the museum of biology, a small burial complex, and my personal throne room.
The upper level, containing fortified watchtowers, the entrance hallway and my tomb
One level higher, brass sstatues of multiple past overseers stand tall over the fortress.
Of course, one level above this stands a golden statue of myself.
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Topic: Irritan Anam - Steam Release Succession Fort! (Read 17996 times)