When you arrive at Longnight they give you a new name.
I was given the name 'Mirrormirror'.
Like most migrants I was given training in warfare. Instructed to select a weapon, I chose to train with the battle axe.
I now hold the second position of the fighting squad known as The Last Dragon, under the command of captain 'Sensualbowel'.
Life is average and I only wish I could see more of my friends and family.
It is ironic but I now believe that peace is preferable to war, after experiencing violent trauma two years previous. I will not go into detail here.. ---
It is late Spring of 184 and Longnight has been attacked by a horrible transfigured beast, a werelizard, who crawled down from the desert hills and tore apart one of the visiting poets. Our squad responded with great haste and arrived in time to fight the creature. Two more were wounded, infected with the were-curse, but we eventually struck down this lizard thing.
I recently made acquaintances with the Mayor, 'Jennifer', and the manager, 'McCoy', and both have begun to share various details of the fortress bureaucracy over our weekly tavern meetings. It has become apparent that 'McCoy' is the more serious leader, as 'Jennifer' seems content to lock herself in the modest library and read various treatises.
'McCoy' appears concerned about general labor priorities. Our farmers are overworked… the hoard of Ostriches takes so much of their time in training and egg collecting. Longnight has over 1200 of the (admittedly delicious, admittedly gigantic) eggs stored up. More than enough for a few years of eating. Talk of the town was that the ostriches would soon be culled to only a handful of adults. .
On that same theme, the food stocks were overflowing, with more than enough total meals and drink-pots to fullfill our modest needs for decades to come. The brewers and cooks would be given a vacation from their labors and tasked with more important things.
What were those important things? 'McCoy' filled me in - the fortress needed clothing, badly, as well as a volunteer crew of haulers to clean up the horrible corpse situation topside. The battle ramp, where many elven corpses rested after our last few sieges, was practically clogged with those skeletal remains..
I suggested we build a magma pump from the great sea below the caverns, to burn away this refuse, but 'McCoy' was hesistant. Such a project would take many months if not years and was fraught with difficulties.
It took many many beers to convince him otherwise, but it was done.. and construction of the magma pump stack began later that week.
The weavers reported the heavy smoke filtering into the lower tunnels. Apparently, a fire was raging in the third cavern layer. It was unclear what ignited the blaze.
Both me and 'McCoy' decided there were a few too many bards, dancers, and poets hanging around the place. A great deal of them seemed unhappy to be here, in fact, so we sent the grumpier-looking ones to live at Cryptrush.
The magma pump digging crew ran into disaster. They had been ordered to ignore any warm stone in order to speed up construction but this proved a terrible decision when a previously unknown magma inlet was pierced. Four miners now faced a wall of flowing molten stone.. including 'McCoy' the manager himself!
All of them escaped, luckily, though their boots were singed by the time they made it to the nearby staircase.
Around this time, a third mysterious spire was discovered near the northwestern corner of the fortress.
'Rat', who had been infected with werecurse the previous full moon, refused to cooperate with the orders to confine themselves to their bedroom, and instead went and transformed in the middle of the kitchens. .
Unib Skinnyletters the master armorer was at the ready and quickly cut the lizard to pieces, earning a new title 'Killer of Lizards'. Unib's quick attack saved the fortress from a pandemic of cursed lizards.
It was mid-Summer when 'Shash' attacked, a great one-eyed firefly.
My squad was first on the scene, and I charged the midnight blue beast with my masterwork steel battleaxe. The giant insect was hacked to pieces with little effort.
Placement of the iron pumps began in late Summer of 184.
'McCoy' described plans for that winter, once the magma stack was complete, to continue digging out the mysterious gem-filled spires that wound their way up from the underworld. Three had been discovered so far.
It was the 11th of Galena when Enkos Greatestsculpted the Radiant Esteem the Giant attacked Longnight. Enkos approached from the east. Two squads, including my own, were sent to engage the titan.
As was usually the case, a stray poet by the name of Lene Sensuallulls was chased by the giant. However, this poet managed to duck through the legs of Enkos and double back towards the fortress, saving their own life.
Soon, Iden Coallures the Hammer Lord appeared and moved to fight Enkos, near the small pool of water and temple known as The Heliotrope Grove.
Iden was joined by Iteb Whipbraves the Spearmaster and it took less than a dozen strikes to bring down the naked fleshy titan. Iteb complained about the harsh sunlight and grew dizzy from the effects of cave adaptation… such were the petty concerns of the great weapon masters of Longnight.
The elves attacked in early Autumn. At first just three squads, then five, then ten. A full army of wood-equipped forest dwellers at our gates.
This time Osta Glummonstrous the goblin Spearmaster led the charge, a volunteer citizen and valiant fighter, and was quickly followed by two other volunteers: the elves Omo Bearwonder and Tira Roarspine.
The elves were brave to attack us as they did, but foolish all the same, and were decimated by the steel-clad warriors of Longnight. Their war leopards were shy of battle and failed to affect the attack in any way, with most slinking around the perimeter of our fortress or running away after the main round of combat was over.
Apparently the elves and goblins had begun to coordinate, as a day later a gigantic goblin siege arrived. They requested to parley but this was denied, and the squads were sent in to fight back the horde.
This fight was much mroe dangerous as the goblins were equipped with iron, and had hired a number of human and dwarven mercenaries to fight on their side.
Iteb, Unib (Killer of the Werelizard 'Rat') and 'Suitor' were injured during the fight as their squad arrived early, taking on hundreds of goblins against all odds.
The wounded were recovered as the remaining goblins were cut down by reinforcements.
The pump stack would require power, of course, and a series of waterwheels were built on the surface stream, housed in a half-wall of copper. A long power shaft was built to reach the pump stack to the north.
It was in early Winter when 'Elfybeans' arrived and suggested Longnight had earned its right to establish itself as an official land of the realm.
It was decided to promote Otto_K III to the role of baron, as it only made sense after their years of service as Militia Commander of Longnight.
On the 7th of Moonstone, a weremongoose attacked. Quemer Judgedsabre managed to sneak within only a few paces of the main entrance before being discovered.
Unfortunately, it was my friend 'McCoy' who was caught off guard, busy hauling trash from the scene of the last battle. 'McCoy' rushed to the south, but the mongoose was lithe and sprinted after her.
Amazingly, and to her credit, 'McCoy' always kept a masterwork steel pick at her side, and turned to fight for her life. In only three quick strikes she removed the weremongoose's head from its shoulders.
In late Winter, a glorious artifact was produced by one of the bards, who was overcome by a strange mood. A golden anvil Nomal Ebal, 'The Staff of Reverence', was encircled with bands of pyrites and spikes of gold, rat leather and diorite.
Work continued on the magma stack throughout the winter season. A large resevoir was constructed near the battle ramp entrance to provide a stock of magma for any uses future overseers might imagine. As well, the rotating mechanisms that powered the stack were covered in copper and glass plating.
The glass industry boomed during this time and the flooring of the mid-lake temple was completed by end of winter.
It was early Spring when the elves returned to attack our mechanistic projects. Luddites, all of them!
'Jschlatt' lurked in the copper plated tube that housed the axle, and by lurked, I mean slept. . it took a few arrows to wake the powerful warrior from their slumber.
It was here, backed up against the copper wall, that 'Jschlatt' fought for his life, taking many wounds despite his martial trance. The odds were terrible - 1 v 50 - and the elves full of hatred for the Captain of the Guard.
Reinforcements arrived, a handful of other fighters, and 'Oasis' valiantly defended the wounded Captain by literally standing over his body and blocking arrows and swordstrikes.
Soon, the elves were defeated in entirety, with all that remained of their ambush being a bloody pile of dismembered corpses and a whole lotta dead leopards. .
All dwarves survived, though 'Jschlatt' would need care in the hospital for the many superficial wounds suffered at the hands of the elves.
It was right after this battle with the elves that the goblins arrived, a full siege. They requested parley but - us dwarves do not speak with the traitorous goblins.
It just so happened that our main military force was positioned right next to their entrance party, and the battle commenced immediately.
Wave after wave of disorganized goblins were destroyed at the edge of our territory. It was a slaughter..
It was during this battle that I took a major wound to the spine, and a part of my skull was dented after a goblin's hammer crashed down upon my helm. Much of the rest of Spring remains foggy due to this head injury but I was treated by the most skilled of doctors and soon returned to duty.
Unfortunately, the dwarf known as 'Will Work For Hats' was killed, not during battle, but instead succumbing to their wounds after the fighting had ended.
The ostriches hatched another group of eggs, despite our best efforts to collect them before this happened. Stray chicks began to roam the kitchens and stockpiles, tripping dwarves here and there, and generally making a nuisance of themselves with their squawking calls.
It was on the 12th of Felsite, 185, almost a year since construction began, when the pump stack was activated. The cistern quickly filled with molten rock, ready for deployment as a trash incinerator. Or other uses.
The ramp floodgate was also lowered, but this resulted in unexpected flooding…the lava raced towards the trade hall and , in fact, the room containing all the control levers responsible for the flooding in the first place!
Yet it was contained by the previously dug drainage channel, thankfully.
On the 21st of Felsite, a werechameleon arrived from the east - sent by the elfs, perhaps? The creature attacked immediately. Many dwarves were outside hauling trash into the new incineration pit and were thus vulnerable to attack.
The were descended upon 'Packmaster Jr', a six year old child. They died to the horrible claws of the transformed beast.
Next target was 'Hartnell' a miner. They were unable to fight back effectively and took grievous injuries, and soon perished.
Next, Adil the poet who quickly bled out.
And another poet Bosa was bit to pieces.
Then Medtob the bard was assaulted - where were the military?!
Finally, 'AvolitionBrit' arrived, yet they seemed to have forgotten their weapon. They descended upon the were with a steel shield only, yet struck hard, exploding the chameleon's hand with their first strike.
The two tusseled for some time before 'Davison' arrived and ended the beast with a sword strike. 'Avolition' took no wounds on account of their superb skill in dodging.
Five citizens had died due to the slow response of the militia..
The werechameleons corpse was unceremoniously dumped into the incineration pit with the rest of the trash.
'McCoy' found a fruitful fishing hole near the new waterwheels.
That summer the dwarves began to dig into the gem-filled geode that was buried under the magma forges. Unfortunately, one of the miners uncovered a terrible demon - a web-slinging 'blizzard banshee'. 'Gary' was instantly killed by the monster.
'Indy' and 'Sensualbowel' appeared on the scene, in full armor, yet the spider also instantly webbed and killed them. What horror!
Two more dwarves died before Iden arrived, and with a great SMACK he dismembered the spider in one swift blow.
Another demon emerged - a horrible chameleon creature that spat flames! My squad was deployed immediately from our new barracks directly above the geode, but the flame beast was terrible and accurate and multiple fighter were set aflame.
I stood by in horror as they all burnt to death.. the demon itself tackled one of my fellow squadmaates, I couldn't tell who, into a pool of magma.. they were incinerated instantly. There the demon remained, lurking, waiting for us to approach.
We retreated to the barracks but the creature followed. I was struck by a fireball and my skin was suddenly burning. I screamed in pain and lost all of my senses ....
[The story continues, written in ghostly ink . . ]
My spirit left my desecrated corpse and continued to observe the rampage of the demon. Many more soldiers died. A small child, as well, 'Kesperan III', was caught out near the forges and burnt to a crisp.
Only 'Eccleston' the spearmaster managed to land a few deep strikes, cutting the demon's lungs, before they also were burned.
Over a dozen good soldiers died that day as the beast shot triplicate fireballs and great waves of flames upon the dwarves. Finally, the heroic actions of one Osta Glummonstrous saved the fortress - this goblin spearmaster dove upon the demon and struck true, stabbing the creature's hand apart, and this allowed 'Mechie', Blinder of Cyclopses, to land a killing slashing blow to the demon.
Osta managed to put out the fire, but suffered terrible wounds from this encounter, and crawled back the hospital with a half-melted upper body.
The strategy would need re-thinking, and a supply of water was created to ensure that, should another flame-spouting demon appear from the depths, the dwarves would at least have a quick option to survive the flames.
Eventually, the flood of water from the lake above arrived, but it was far too late, and useless inundated the hollowed geode and froze a number of magma smelters on accident.
Having seen the end of my own life, and the end of so many others, I was at a loss for words. Which didn't matter much because, as a ghostly spirit, I had no way of talking anyways. I drifted onwards to the afterlife..
So ends the diary of 'Mirrormirror', axe warrior.---
that demon was broken, op , ridiculous . It possessed the dreaded triple fireball attack AS WELL AS the flame gout attack, and could use both simultaneously to paralyze the attacking dwarves. It was bad, we lost far too many warriors... I feel stupid but it was unexpected. We should be better prepared for future encounters as we now have a nice flooding mechanism to wash away the flames during these kinds of fights.
Might play a bit more but, this pump stack took 9 irl hours to construct and I'm a bit beat up after that kind of effort lol. also demons are scary damn. I don't want to be responsible for too many more deaths of our most experienced warriors.
Poll
2 (50%)
Author
Topic: Longnight the Umbral Souls: Building the largest world conquest fort series (Read 39909 times)