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Author Topic: The Spry Volcano  (Read 2929 times)

Salmeuk

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The Spry Volcano
« on: November 05, 2022, 11:23:31 pm »

Three smiths, two miners, a mason, and a farmer. One volcano. Dreams of steel. Mass possession at the hands of an otherwordly force. Recipe for disaster, surely. .

The Planet of Omen, a medium-sized celestial body 90 years in age, contains only a single volcano: The Spry Volcano. A single exposed lava tube stands tall over the red-sand desert of The Wealthy Dune. To the east live The Lone-hell of Mist, a 3000-strong goblin civilization. To the west, the mountain range The Horn of Air holds The Puzzling Pages, 1700 or so dwarves held up in various mountain fortresses. Finally, the southern plains are populated by various petty human villager-barons.



When the sly gods created this planet, they played a game. A drinking game. "For every wild monster, ferocious beast, or devil-creature you spawn, take a swig from this goats bladder full of elderberry wine. Last god standing will be forever known as 'Goat-Legs'! "

A cruel game, for it was not long before each god lay drunk, half-submerged in the oceans or layed out over the incomplete mountain crests. No god had seen the last one to fall down, wasted as they were, and the resulting chaos and destruction allowed many more monsters to escape from hell than any one god had intended. So, being gods, they got right around to fixing everything, uh huh? Nope. They slept off the hangover and upon waking drank half the lakes in the land, before trodding off into the nether (their footsteps creating a grand series of valleys and river-lakes, so in the end it was kind of a wash).

So the story is told, by the mortal denizens of The Planet of Omen. What else would explain the horrendous over-population of every wild region with dozens of death-dealers? Let us take The Spry Volcano as an example. Within three days one can find five cyclops, two titans (marsh and sand, respectively), a roc, multiple night creatures and various other seedy figures of ill report. This example should serve as a grave warning to any who might choose to settle outside the confines of the homeland.

. . .

But, what's this on the scrying device? A small band of wanderers, leaving tracks in the snow, fighting starving dingoes and rabid ostriches, approaching The Spry Volcano... idiots! What fools! It seems the leaders are three dwarves of the anvil, judging by their singed beards and thickened shoulders.

What might come of this? Will they disrupt the local wildlife? What is their purpose here? Perhaps the dwarves smell the metal underneath.



These dullards have set up shop at the base of the expose lava tube. Now, the three leaders are meeting, hum yes they've agreed to something. They bark orders at the other four, who appears to be hired labor. Hungry, cold, potentially unpaid and definitely unhappy.



As they apply pick to rock, the whole volcanic complex vibrates like a great stone dinner bell, and I begin to laugh.


====

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King Zultan

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2022, 04:54:43 am »

That's a lot of magma, PTW.
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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.
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brewer bob

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2022, 08:28:03 am »

An excellent creation myth you got there. Interested to see where this goes.

TheFlame52

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2022, 02:10:10 pm »

That's a big cauldron. I'll bite.

Salmeuk

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2022, 04:24:11 pm »

Vëszefon, 'The Spry Volcano', Year 90
the snow melts, revealing red sand beneath

Ustuth's diary. . left open for me to read. What's is going on in the mind of the miner?

Hired for a few coins and promise of easy travels and easier beer, us four laborers (Me, Ustuth, Momuz the mason, Zasit the other miner, and Alath the farmer) were misled by the gang of smiths. Olon, Zefon, and Tun, wealthy from years of work in the bustling mountainhome, set us all up in a caravan and pushed east, towards the desert and the goblins. A volcano had been discovered and they were to be among the first to arrive. So we left in haste before we could truly consider the plan.

Arrival at The Spry Volcano was a subdued afair. We expected a party or something, after all that trudging... instead Olon and Zefon immediately got to work planning excavations, while Tun got frankly hostile and demanded we unload and sort the caravan. Immediately.

They would shame us for our lack of speed, and the orders never stopped. This was some kind of waking hell. I thought about running away, but the desert just went on and on. I could never carry enough beer to make it.

Me and Zasit stuck together, watching our backs and occasionally arguing against particularly stupid directions from Tun. The digging was good, honestly, even if we were pushed hard by the masters.

Low and behold, caverns were found right next to the lava tube. A shallow cavern lake snaked through stalactites and exposed gemstone nodules.



Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The three smiths met, after this discovery. They came back with a set of odd plans: an enclosed room, with an exit to the caverns, and a lever controlling the door. Almost like an airlock. The room as labeled stated "Chamber for the Untested", whatever that meant. I knew the three were kooky, so I just went along with the plans, carving an exit and installing a few doors.

A staircase was dug to the rim of the volcano, and work begun on filling out the mid-level flooring that would become the frame for a gigantic pyramid. At least that's what I surmised from the whispered words of the three smiths. They wouldn't actually let on what the larger purpose was, here, and I think they had little trust or respect for us as laborers. Typical managment, aye?

It was the first migration wave that things got really weird. Three dwarfs, a farmer, smith, and a miner, plus one of their children and a puppdog, were seen climbing the red sand dunes. Apparently they wanted in on the volcano action, and saw fit to trail us over the desert. Here they introduced themselves and I was honestly looking forward to meeting someone other than these six, but the masters put a stop to the introductions mid-sentence. We were ordered to strip weapons and gear from the migrants and throw them into the small cavern airlock. Here, the inner door was locked.


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At first, they were happy to comply, thinking this was some kind of hazing ritual and once the day was up they would be let back in. But to the horror of us four laborers, the smiths had no intention of letting these migrants back into the fortress. They explained through the stone door:

Zefon spoke in a derisive tone, "We are of an elite, and under no circumstances are we to let you taint this fortress with your unskilled beards. We could tell from the look in your eyes you are unfit to serve us. Let us now test you. If you remain alive after one year, we will consider letting you work for us."

Tun cut in. "You are to be tested. Survive one year and you can join the fortress proper. This is our little test, you see? We couldn't possibly accept just anyone."

Olon remained silent, smiling coldly.

At this, the three trapped dwarves exploded in rage and tears.

Risen clutched at the puppy Bomrek. "You bastards! You will pay for this!"

Zefon replied, "We'll see how you feel, this time next year." 

At that, the smiths walked away, and forbid us from communicating with the migrants, who were now abandoned in the caverns with no tools, food or drink.



What horror was to come, here at Vëszefon?


===

More digging and more caverns, the second layer this time:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Work was done on the main floor, simple at first but soon the smiths demanded a complex system of magma channels to provide floor heating... ridiculous, considering we were getting no more help. unless those poor dwarfs somehow survived the caverns.

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The smiths took on the roles of nobility, holding an election amongst themselves, leaving us out of the process entirely.




Progress was made on the frame of the pyramid.

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Ultimately, this fortress feels like a prison. The smiths watch us from hidden corners, demanding our subservience, and I see no way out. New migrants are too gullible and we are too busy to organize. What are we to do?

===
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« Last Edit: November 06, 2022, 04:30:18 pm by Salmeuk »
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Maloy

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2022, 08:52:25 pm »

One last devastating world-shattering ecological event before steam release


PTW MAY THE MAGMA FLOOOOOOWWWW

brewer bob

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2022, 09:31:10 pm »

Hmm, wonder what the smiths are up to...

King Zultan

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2022, 03:55:31 am »

Sounds like some sinister plans are in the works.
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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?

Salmeuk

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2022, 07:05:32 pm »

The voice replied, "We'll see how you feel, this time next year." You could hear the footsteps as they left.

---

Bomrek, pet of Risen, was a small puppy with white fur and a black tail. His head and ears were patched and golden, and his tiny paws spotted brown.



Bomrek watched Risen closely as he moaned in horror. It wasn't a normal noise from the master, so Bomrek crept up close and nuzzled Risen's muddy leg. Bomrek did not know why, but he felt very sure that Risen was the best dwarf there ever was.



Risen eventually earned his name when, at the sound of a large creature leaving the nearby lake, he lept to his feet clutching at Bomrek. Risen knew Bomrek was the best dog, ever, and he would die to keep him alive. The monstrosity now approached with heaving, watery plops - a gigantic cave toad!

All those present joined in defense. The aggressive toad was soon wounded and limped away, skulking about the water's edge and threatening us with great piercing toad screams.

The toad final succumbed to the wounds caused by the fight. The heavy, bulbous creature was thrust into the lake to prevent its corpse stink attracting further predators. Larger ones.



Life then began, anew. Boulders had been left by their captors, really gneiss ones. A workplace was constructed allowing the "Untested" to skin and gut the blind, albino cave fish with ease. These fish were the only species present, but they were present in huge numbers and would become the main source of protein for these captives. So too the various fungal sprouts were collected.

Occasionally, naked mole dogs would crawl through the fungal fronds and steal food. Their fuzzy paws proved effective for stealth operations. The strange naked rat creatures were horrifying in the dark caverns.

Without an axe, no wood could be taken, and no barrels constructed, so no alcohol distilled. These dwarves struggled with this fact, greatly.

But life went on with little interruption until another commotion was heard at the cavern airlock. Another six very confused looking dwarves appeared, and were soon brought up to speed on the whole situation. Most of these new dwarves became despondent, much like the original three.

This regimented, boring life of survival was distinctly unpleasant to the dwarves, who expected a bare minimum of civilization when arriving but nothing like this. The only two activities were fishing, drinking stale cavern water, and watching fungus grow.

"If only we had an axe, they moaned." Yet still, these unlucky few now lived three seasons amongst the mushroom forests and cramped passages. Then, disturbingly, more voices were heard. Many, many more.

A huge sprawling stream of new dwarves stumbled out of the airlock. At least thirty. A huge wave of hopeful migrants, all callously tossed down the pit, into this hellhole. Would the fish stocks feed this many? The fungus certainly wouldn't as the slow growing mushrooms barely sufficed for the current few.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Most were indoctrinated into cavern life. They had no choice, really. Two dwarves were convinced they might find an upward passage and left into the dark, never to be seen again, and even though none of us acknowledged this event, it was decided there was no other way out.

So, life continued. But Risen had been counting, you see, and was ready for the year to be up. Four days remained. He didn't know what to expect. In all honestly he just wanted out. Revenge and associated thoughts would come later.

Oh, and Bomrek? Now a fully grown dog. Scarred after the toad fight and another, lesser encounter with a gorlak. One of the other captive dogs had faced a naked mole dog and lost when the mole tore out his guts. Bomrek was both lucky and smart to have survived this whole year.

===

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delphonso

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #9 on: November 07, 2022, 11:26:53 pm »

PTW - love the AI images!

Salmeuk

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #10 on: November 09, 2022, 12:55:01 am »

Journal of Ustuth, upper fortress miner, hopeless peon

Risen and the other six from the first migrant waves were released today. Their names were called and the door was opened at the end of a long hallway. The smiths (who's ability to recall the appearances of these specific captives, having only seen them briefly one year previous, was impressive) judged the assembled seven to be the correct crew, and let them out. More, unselected dwarves were seen peeking around the airlock, but the smiths shouted insults and threatened death with their sharpened axes. They carried these weapons at all times, curved black-steel axes sharpened to a blueish sheen, weapons of pure violence.

The six so-called untested had graduated, and they stood before us, with wild stares and thin, ghastly frames. They stunk of fish-filth and toad. The dog was some kind of rabid mutt and barked and barked at the smiths. Oddly enough, Risen the miner (the only one of the six who's name I recalled, since he was the one with the dog) seemed in far too pleasant a mood for having only been released moments ago. And he kept eyeing my pickaxe.

 The smiths ordered us prepare a banquet of assorted wild vegetables and the aged, mountainhome-brewed mushroom wine from their personal reserves. All of us feasted, with the wine being served graciously first to the trio of smiths (our lords) and then the now-freed captives, and finally the rest of us all received a thimble-ful to sip on for our continued loyalty.

Risen took to chatting up the smiths, putting on a certain tone of subservience. The smiths, who turned gregarious as they drank, pestered Risen for stories of starvation and near-death encounters, who happily complied. It was unclear how this dwarf had become so dissociated from these events. He told these stories almost like they happened to someone else, but then the scars on his arms and legs told us he wasn't spinning tales. How very odd. That night my sleep was disturbed by fears of Risen and his newfound political power.

Journal of Risen, Freed Captive, Survivor of the Caverns

The plan had worked. Those three sociopaths took the bait. All it took was a little rapport-building, brown nosing, whatever you want to call it. I had hese skills I learned in the markets back home, bartering for equipment and taking on contract jobs. You always want the boss to think you're a good person. So when I emerged from that dirty hellhole, I put on my best sleaze and made friends with the so-called 'Smiths', who ran this place like little despots. Building some pyramid in the desert, utter vanity!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A week in and the fools trusted me with the keys to equipment storage. There, I found a number of weapons (revenge for this entrapment weighed heavily on my mind) but I ignored these for the true goal: pickaxes. I collected one of these and carried it below, to the airlock, to my companions still left alone down there.

Having stolen the codes to the mechanisms from the Olon's room while he lay drunk, the mechanisms were quick to operate. As the plan went, I deposited the pickaxes and a crude map of the extant fortress in the airlock and hurriedly returned to the upper fortress, locking the gate, and dusting my tracks. My friends downstairs would know what to do with those tools and map, yes they would. I doubt the others would notice the missing pick.



Meanwhile I would lay low and occupy myself with hard labor and alcohol - anything to forget the taste of cave fish.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Journal of Ustuth

I saw him, Risen, sneaking down the airlock with a pickaxe. What the hell was he doing? Those thirty trapped dwarves would have nothing but revenge on their mind and without the proper re-introduction to society they might do something awful. Never get in front of a vengeful dwarf with a pickaxe.

I would hold on to this little detail for a rainy day. I could always feign ignorance if something came of it. Its not like those Smiths cared much of me, and who knows? Maybe those "Untested" would come out of the dark tunnels and free us from this slavery. . . I took to leaving my pickaxe by the bed as I slept, both to defend myself and to clearly signal my status as "loyal but indifferent lackey". No revolutionary pickaxe to the head for me, thank you very much!


===

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« Last Edit: November 09, 2022, 12:56:34 am by Salmeuk »
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Salmeuk

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #11 on: November 09, 2022, 11:42:13 pm »

The dwarves of The Spry Volcano continued to labor under the command of the three smiths.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Crundles snuck out of the second cavern and up the main staircase, collecting themselves at the volcanic rim.

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Tobul, poor dwarf that he was, fell down the volcano while chasing a crundle. The last thing he saw, before completely melting, was blue adamantine.

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The central dining and temples were coming along nicely:

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A standard masonry was established:

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========

Below, the captive dwarves worked furiously. In preparation for the downward migration, they had begun to store fish in carved stone pots. The single pick was given to Kivish Glovebucks, and he hacked away, downward, carving a thin staircase between the first and second caverns.



Then he pushed further and further, searching for the final cavern layer.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If Risen's map was true, the caverns had yet to be found by the upper fortress. And the smiths were uninterested in digging deeper, since the lower stone was not expected to carry metal.


Then, the shrike came. What is a shrike? A devil-bird. . .



Spoiler (click to show/hide)

My god. So many dead. Dwarves ran for the secret passage, while Kivish waited impatiently by the lever. Screams were heard from the outer fields. No one thought to bring the food. Maybe a dozen dwarves piled in the downward passage before the lever dwarf panicked and slammed the gate shut, trapping one hapless dwarf in between the rock and the mechanisms, crushing them.



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The survivors huddled in the thin passage, waiting for the shrike to breach the gate and kill them all. But it never happened. Then, from below, Kivish shouted, "The caverns! There's food!"

Kivish Glovebucks, named 'rescue miner' by the others for his furious work digging this downward passage than ended up saving their lives, had become the de-facto leader of the cavern gang. As he hacked away at the rough edges of the gap just discovered, he smelled an earthy, fruity essence, that of the plump helmet. Real food! The abundance was thrice that of the first cavern. Amazing!

===========

Regarding the shrike, well, no one from the upper fortress was aware of it. So when another wave of migrants arrived, the same procedure was followed: stuff them into the holding cell, cycle the airlock, and forget about them for a year.

But when that airlock was opened a disgusting stench filtered up the stairs. Something was amiss: there was no sound of the usual greetings. Then, screaming death, and as the bridge was sealed the large talons of a killer bird-beast were seen reaching through the low exit. This fighting went on for a minute, then only a faint dripping. . . The smiths looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Then shouting from above. A mysterious death shocked all:



Tun, one of the three smiths, had died in the staircase. Cause of death? Unknown. His mouth was dry as sand when discovered. The other two smiths, Olon and Zefon, retreated to their noble suites, and a shouting match was heard through the stone door.

Was it a suicide? Had Tun simply given in to the tedium? Two years had passed since arrival and the dwarves were still living in rough stone rooms. It was clear there was a division in the fortress. But Tun had seemed content to rule over the laborers, and shown no signs of despondency, and so the mystery remained.

===

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brewer bob

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2022, 12:01:40 am »

Oh my! Great update!

Seems like things are heating up (for Tobul, quite literally - got to love that when candy is found by a dorf sinking into magma. Praise Tobul!).

King Zultan

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #13 on: November 10, 2022, 03:35:00 am »

Sounds like things are getting spicy, I wonder how the cavern guys will fair in the coming updates.
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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?

Salmeuk

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Re: The Spry Volcano
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2022, 02:08:11 am »

The fortress of The Spry Volcano lives by the infinite warmth of the mother magma. The local population struggles under the harsh bridle of those two evil dwarves. A plan is underway, but who exactly commissioned this place?


dwarf labors in the sand-fields

====

base of the pyramid takes shape:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

flooding of the inter-room magma heating channels (OSHA un-approved!):
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beginning of. . . something?
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one of the survivors of the cavern 'test' enjoys a simple pleasure, in the central dining hall:
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more coffins are needed :'( :
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volcano dreams:
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« Last Edit: November 12, 2022, 02:11:56 am by Salmeuk »
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