Part 46: YOTC: Update 2

10th Malachite

Oh, I forgot to mention in the last book, for some reason we don't have a brewer atm. I think he was killed or something. So I told one of the dwarfs doing nothing of importance(he was ordered to clean fish or something by the last overseer, no idea on that one.)



11th Malachite


The merchants started packing up their goods today, I don't know why they didn't just leave after we traded with them, its not like we were going to trade for our old stuff BACK or anything. More likely for the merchants to get slaughtered by  THEM  if they stuck around I would say.

Also uppon the merchants leaving today our glorious mayor decided to issue this order which I have pasted the actual notification of in this book.



I'm beginning to question his sanity.

12th Malachite
Its about the season for migrants to start showing up...



I wonder if they made it past  THEM . Would certainly explain why we get so few.

14th Malachite




I have ordered our newest champion to start learning the ways of the crossbow, it would be good for us to have some sort of ranged combat against these damn sand raiders that keep popping up to steal our goods.

I hear one of our other champions was so glad to hear of another new champion to spar with she gave birth right on the dinning room table.


Yes she actually gave birth while eating in the dining room.

When I asked her what it's name was she responded "Kaveman, because he was born in a cave." I would question this but she seemed VERY serious about the matter and I fear her hammer.

25th Malachite

A dwarf ran by me screaming something about our instrument economy being nothing but a pipe dream today. I was a little taken aback by this but as nothing seemed to come of it and no one was at all disturbed by the dwarf that I didn't catch the name of I ordered Green Intern to make some instruments out of gold... just in case.(Noone wants to see a streaking dwarf screaming things, its worse than a noble mandate I tell you.)



Incidentaly I ordered some commerative coins minted so that we could spread them to caravans and have our stories told... in coin form I guess around the world.




(Honestly it wasn't my idea, Slaan was babbling about it down in the jailcells. Poor dwarfs been down there for months for not making green glass again.)

1st Galena
I asked Alius how his marks dwarf training was coming today, as it has been almost a month, and he responded very oddly. Something about the string getting in the way of really beating people with it. I came back an hour later to ask how it was going and he also complained that his glove would prevent him from pulling the bolts back on it.



A few lessons about how to properly equip oneself and not wear boots on your hand later and he seemed to understand the concept of put bolts in the center of that target over there until your really good at it. I worry about our champions sometimes. I'm not going to even try and explain the logic of not trying to use two crossbows at the same time to him, he seems to be shooting fine like that.

1st Limestone

I've spent the entire month reorginizing the fortress to a more sensible manner. Productivity is up and a few changes have been made.




Other good news is that Slaan finally got out of jail, I treated him to a large meal and a whole barrel of dwarvin wine. Oh and someone complaind to me that they got bit by one of those tiny cave spiders we have running all over the place. Seriously if you don't mess with them they won't bite you so I have no idea how that happened.




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On an related note I'd like to point out that the guard going to unlock a jailed dwarf has this job listed:

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3rd Limestone


I do so love new champions. We shall need them if the lack of a migration so far this year is any indication.

4th Limestone

I Stopped on my way to the dining room today to admire a wall carving dug into the wall of the weapons storage room.



I take no shame in shedding a tear of joy in seeing this.

6th Limestone



I was very curious when I walked into the main hall to find a large bloodstain next to an empty cage, a pile of sandperson clothing, a corpse 40 feet away impacted on the wall, and TehSid standing next to the pile, cleaning the blood from his hammer.. When questioned he just said that the sandperson had "made a break for it" and "had to be detained as fast as possible."

I agreed on the matter without hesitation.

9th limestone
It's  THEM 



I order the champions to arms, we shall not hide within our walls this time.




For NO force is to great



For the dwarfs of SYRUPLEAF!



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The human closes the book as a grating sound is heard from the barred door. "Were gonna Die aren't we?" The elf says, a frightened look on his face.

"Only if you are afraid of a little battle with some of the sissiest demons ever to walk this plane of existence!" Screams the dwarf at the back of the room as he cocks what appears to be a crossbow born of legends and designed for making them. "Now get your tree hugging ass behind cover, their claws are their most dangerous asset and if we can keep them out of melee range till we get one or two bolts into them we'll have no problem ripping their hearts out. Only way to kill them ya know," the dwarf winks as he says the final line. The door buckles, a clawed hand breaking its way through and grabbing for the latch.

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markus_cz wrote :-

This is my take on Alius. I wanted to colour it in Photoshop, but since I won't have time till the next week, I figured I'd rather post it while it's still relevant.



I tried to get all the artifacts right, but you can't really tell the materials without colours The golden boot is on his left foot - see the fox leather?

I also didn't notice the dual-wielding and boot-wielding part

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Chance II wrote :-

Journal 13 - Granite 30
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After a sleepless night of horror and nightmares, I joined garrison of fortress Inkrags and led them to the Holistic Cave in hopes of recovering Urist Shieldbiter's body and collapsing the cavern on the horrible creatures. Knowing full well the terrible strength and speed these creatures are capable of, I resigned myself to this suicide errand. I can scarcely call my self a dwarf, to allow a friend to die in my stead is something I cannot live with.

Barely conscious of my steps, I retraced ours path from that fateful night. As we came upon the craggy slope concealing the entrance to the cavern, I sensed a subtle change in the air. Drawing closer, I noticed that the once cloying heat that wafted from the cave had been replaced with a clammy chill. As we moved further inside, no sign of Urist or the Spawn could be seen until we came upon the ritual cavern. Shocked, I babbled nonsensically as the soldiers shifted confused and suspicious glances my way. the Obsidian effigy lay in rubble and the magma pit shown dully up at me, its heat quenched and dying. Numbly I was led back to the surface and we set out back to the fortress. Where were the Spawn? What had become of Urist?

Before long the sounds of battle reached our ears and we hurried across the frozen hills. Screams of the dying ripped out across the hillsides and echoed off the cold and uncaring ice, never seeming to come any closer no matter how far we ran. At last the screaming stopped and we continued forward to seek out the source of such terror and sorrow and render what aid we could.

All at once, we crested a ridge only to be met with a scene from a charnel house. Bones and bloody body parts lay strewn across the slopes, staining the dirty grey snow with the life's blood of countless souls. Staggering through the horror, we recognised from tatters of cloth and the decapitated bodies the corpses that every one of the dead was a Sand Raider. The dwarves exclaimed at how visious the Raiders were to turn on each other and butcher their brothers so. Deep down I knew though. This was not a petty squabble between Caliphs. The Spawn had stirred. Death stalks the ice.

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Chance II wrote :-

I got a little bored so here is a doodle of dwarven propaganda.

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Vox Nihili wrote :-

Well there's a few things you gotta know about the spawn. The first thing you notice as they bear down on your hapless ass is their speed. The things move like an elf hopped up on amphetamines being chased by a beak dog. The average hauler (you) will likely get about 10 steps before being caught, and of course once they catch you they will strike over and over much, much quicker than the average opponent.

At this point you'd probably notice the effectiveness of their bite. They rend flesh with twice the strength of a canine mouth, often holding a dwarf in place with a claw while latching on and tearing limbs off in rapid succession. Though they're best known for causing you to bleed out after ripping off your extremities and tearing out your throat, they are completely capable of taking your head off entirely or simply ripping you bodily in half.

As you feebly attempt to fight back with whatever you have on hand, you might become aware that their ultra-thick, leathery hides absorb your pathetic blows with ease, despite their lack of armor. Unarmed dwarves will likely make no headway whatsoever against them, but a good axe or hammer will make a decent impression in skilled hands.

As you weaken under the repeated tearing of their vile maw, you might have just enough sense left in your wracked, tortured body to recognize that while you are being devastated by your wounds, similar blows have much less of an impression on the Spawn. Cutting off one or both of their claws leaves them 90% combat effective, as their cruel gullet works just fine alone. They do not bleed out or suffer any exhaustion, so don't expect to win a battle of attrition. Cutting out their throat will make their unworldly moans and cries all the more horrendous, but will not cause them to suffocate. Don't expect blinding them to help either; their other senses are acute enough to get by without eyes. If you somehow break one or both of their legs, you will be rewarded by a much slower opponent that you might be able to outrun or even outfight, although many dwarves have died hideously attacking downed Spawn under the assumption that the mass of wounds and rent flesh would not, in fact, immediately leap up and crush their head like a ripe melon before flinging it over a nearby hill.

The Spawn do have a few weak points, however. A powerful blow to their distended gut will cause them to spew forth their undigested victims in a haze of bile and digestive juices, temporarily preventing them from killing you and perhaps allowing you a chance to strike again uninterrupted. Breaking their lower spine will prevent use of their legs, and breaking their upper spine will turn them into a thrashing mass of useless limbs that is still entirely capable of disemboweling you with a single bite. Crushing their brain will render them largely defenseless, but still capable of some movement and relatively weak blows that are probably still powerful enough to shatter your puny arms. Only massive damage to their head, upper body, or lower body will remove the threat entirely, though their swarming, fearless, single-minded comrades are unlikely to take note of your small achievement as they quickly surround you.

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