Part 242: Pozzo: Update 8h
UPDATE 8h
For two weeks following the retreat of Ago's squad we were treated to relative peace. We used the time to work steadily on hooking up the traps although it was 50/50 whether they would be prepared if the other 3 groups of humans charged.
On the tenth of Galena, in the late summer, such as it was in this freezing hellhole, the humans decided to press their attack again. This time they put their best foot forward, as Sinur, the elite bowman lead his squadron of bowmen and wrestlers down towards the bone hoard. But before they could get close they are spotted by someone out there, stalking the glacier, scouring for bolts to collect one at a time. Hellionings nostrils flare.
He spots the group of humans and fires his one bolt. It ploughs into the warhorse that Sinur is riding, knocking it unconscious and crippling its left front leg. Sinur struggles to control the giant beast as it trips and skids to a stop. The squad suddenly realises they are under attack and opens fire on the dwarf.
All of them miss quite badly.
Suddenly the humans hear something coming from down the hill.
It's Glop Demon, hauling ass towards them like a maniac. Half of the squad now take aim at him, scoring a few hits but only injuring the mad dwarf slightly.
And then, as if no time at all the dwarves are among them. The battle goes much as many of the past battles have - the humans strike out frantically, but the dwarves are too fast. But then a bowman scores a hit a point blank range, and Glop Demon catches the arrow full in the chest.
It does no damage due to his Vox Nihili Steel Plate, but he is knocked down the hill and lands heavily on top of another bowman, stunned. The humans take their chance and pepper him with arrows, causing minor wounds while he lies on the ground.
Meanwhile, Hellioning is going to town on the on the half of the squad, throwing horses around.
Glop finally gets back up, but the constant barrage of arrows is taking its toll, weakening his armour. Suddenly he catches an arrow in his stomach, and seconds later in the hand and the leg.
An arrow finally strikes him in the right eye and he goes down, unconscious.
The humans descend upon him.
Hellioning is down the hill, idly pummelling a lone warhorse. The humans turn on him and open fire. He barely notices until he is struck in the lower spine with a blow that pierces through to his stomach. He turns to glare at the humans and then goes back to pummelling the horse, which just won't die. The humans continue to pepper him with arrows.
And so falls Syrupleafs army of two.
In the dark moment of death, there is at least one consolation. During the battle, the other two waiting groups of axemen and crossbowmen have decided to depart. This squad of crack bowmen, having just fiercely and painstakingly managed to take down a two dwarf force which they outnumbered 8 to a man, a force which had already routed two of their other squads, have just been deserted by their general and their comrades.
They decide that, now, now quite possibly would be the best time to make yourself scarce. Their leader Sinur trails behind them, dragging his unconscious horse.
After nearly three months of occupation...
The Siege is broken.
SYRUPLEAF POPULATION: 31
Epee Em wrote :-
Anyone here ever heard of Turaglas? A D&D demon god? I've been thinking that Holistic looks like it does lately, the mental picture is terrifying. Rather disappointed that I can't find any pictures of it, it's basically a crawling mountain of flesh in various states of decay, covered in mouths ranging in size from human-sized to large enough to swallow a city whole. The only pictures available without subscribing to the D&D website cover his spawn, which are quite a bit less impressive:
Oh well.
Onto more recent notes, I'd que myself up onto the Overseer list if it weren't for my own struggles with learning DF. Progress is stymied by one fucking dorf in my initial 7 in my latest attempt who seems to be content with being as useless as possible. My farm plots are all set up correctly, I've given him the labor of Farming and ONLY farming, turning everything else off, and the little bastard still won't actually plant my plump helmets! He's in a good mood, the plots are accessible, the plump helmet 'seeds' are like, 6 tiles to the left of the farm, and he's right next to all of it. He's just been fucking standing there for half a season, while everyone starts getting hungry.
That issue aside, I'm optimistic that if the fortress lasts another week or two, I'd be competant enough to give overseerhood a shot, though of course my inexperience will surely lead only to horrible things.
geri_khan wrote :-
Back when Vox was designing the spawn he asked what kinds of hands they should have and eventually settled on claws. I kinda felt that Holistic herself would replace her severed hands with adamantium prosthetics.
She remains a dwarven skeleton, but over time as her bones have broken and fallen away, she has replaced them with finely crafted adamantium replacements. While her bones are dull and unpolished, she has kept Trailmachines, the Fellowship of Right in shining, pristine condition, the last remnants of her dwarven pride not allowing the legendary plate mail to degrade as she has.
An animated skeleton made almost entirely of unbreakable adamantium, wearing legendary armour that nations would go to war over. The greatest terror of all dwarfs is, on the surface, maybe also the most beautiful thing they could ever see.
Eiba wrote :-
Personally, when I think of Holistic Detective's current form, I imagine a dwarf. Just a plain old short little dwarf, and without any arms. She'd clearly be well armored, but be coated in several inches of blackened rotting gore, obscuring the original brilliance of Trailmachines as well as her own skeletal nature- her face would just be the formless splattered remains of her enemies, with only two gaping empty eye sockets making it resemble a face at all. She wouldn't have a visible mouth until she opened her jaws to attack, at which point her 'face' would be ripped in half, revealing her blackened cracked and jagged teeth. Once her target was destroyed the blood and gore would seal her mouth once more.
Greater Spawn and other beasts might tower over her, just a small rotting lump of death and decay, but nevertheless she would still exude an aura of power, as the deadliest creature in all existence.