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Ghostwoods posted:You're doing an amazing job with this battle, Leperflesh. It's particularly hilarious to see the awesome ballista battery in, uh, "action". Good to know the Snapping Bridge got someone, too Finally. I'm assuming Leperflesh has given the bridge a full set of pull switch orders. And it didn't even kill the goblin.
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May 17, 2014 03:44
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I had it on repeat. I had to cancel those orders once Daeren and Pierzak were basically fighting right under it, though. TildeATH posted:Honestly, it's gotten to the point in the movie where I would start fast-forwarding past the stylized gore and shots of concerned dwarfs huddling in their burrows just to get to the end of the battle and find out what happened. I love DF's detailed battle reports as much as the next person, and I know you've got lots of ballistas and dwarffights and such, but it's become a real haze. It doesn't help that the siege started nearly two months ago. I hear you. I'll try to make an adjustment.
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May 17, 2014 17:29
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Finally caught up! Man that was a long read. Good job Leper!
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May 18, 2014 02:07
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 24th Galena, 252 I have not dared to leave the inner courtyard wall for days in order to not miss any part of the defense of Bronzestabbed nor my duty to direct it. The dwarves who lay down to die in the blood-spattered grass among the alders and maples deserve no less than every aid I can muster for them. I have recorded in the Overseer Journal every blow and wound in order that their sacrifices must never be forgotten. But I was summoned by the Queen. The order was to attend Sankis immediately. Therefore I told idlers bring me every important news and write here only what I learned of the battle today from intermittent reports told me by illiterate haulers and unobservant beekeepers. The queen's whereabouts were not immediately known but was told she left the ballistae a day ago or more declaring intention to get a drink so I departed first for the great hall. According to an excited courier the swordsgoblin immediately at the gate slipped past Pierzak and Daeren to squeeze through the gap beside the bridge. Pierzak and Daeren still fought their ogress, although not especially effectively. A wounded goblin escaped past them while the lasher led its own squad towards the gates.  The crossbowdwarves who had depleted their ammunition each battled ogres by being knocked over repeatedly and then standing up again. Enzer still fired on them but was also getting low on ammunition. Also “there is a lot of blood everywhere and the goblins are still coming and the ogres make terrible songs.” I was nearly to the great hall when the dwarf child Yamtaggler caught up with me to report the “whip goblin is attacking master Daeren” which is terrible but I hope she will survive. The young dwarf added that “miss Mayor is gonna help her though with her hammer.”  Sankis was not in the great hall. I sought her in the nearby kitchens where many barrels of booze are to be found. The next courier told me the ogress attacking tangents is enraged and daunting in its fury but the one Daeren and Pierzak fought is slain; it collapsed and then Pierzak immediately skewered its head with her spear. Forbodingburger has also managed finally to shoot a goblin, Tangents and lunnrais have learned to dodge, and Pierzak has been engaged by the lasher.    In the kitchen there were no dwarves who reported seeing the queen recently the miner Ardeem ran in and opened a keg of sewer brew and told me Enzer shot an ogress in the head but that didn't kill it. Pierzak charged the master lasher, stabbing it in the foot and slamming it down on the ground and then stabbing it some more in the head until it died.    The mayor went out the gates to conduct a meeting with all of the other goblins? And Ardeem told me the baby Trundel is missing which is not true because we know exactly where her body still lays although I did not tell the dwarf that. Also “both of the ogres fighting with Tangents are super-pissed.”  Both?  Finally “Daeren was battling a goblin with a greatsword although she couldn't get past its guard so Pierzak stabbed it through the shoulder and the goblin dropped its shield and was all 'woah oh poo poo' when the little fucker realized his master lasher boss's brains were dripping off Pierzak's spearpoint sticking out of his own shoulder hahaha.”  Some of these immigrant dwarves have odd manners of speech but I was heartened by that report nonetheless. There are booze stockpiles throughout Bronzestabbed. I recalled the breweries near the cart tracks that go up to the trade depot are popular and made for them at a quick pace. There I found Toiwat, Murg, SuRoXT and Synthorange all members of the militia retrieving equipment. “Get armed and get to the courtyard” I admonished them and they each trotted grimly off. The queen was not here (only Colon V was drinking) but the dwarf peo who is a gem cutter with nothing important to do came down the trackway to give another update.  Pierzak cut off that goblin's hand, disarming it, and then kicked its head in.  Now she and Daeren are attacking another goblin swordsman who is in peo's opinion surely doomed. Lunnrais is copying the Mayor's old tactic of repeatedly hammering (with a crossbow) the head of an unconscious ogress. Tangents got knocked over some more and punched but she is still fighting and unwounded. And the mayor has come back inside the outer drawbridge to join Daeren and Pierzak in beating up that goblin.  Peo asked if I knew where Montalvo was. Of course Montalvo is also dead. It is strange that many of us saw Montalvo fall but until his body is recovered many dwarves will not accept it as being more than rumor.  The next place to seek the queen is the Loden Taylor auditorium. There are tables and chairs there sometimes used by dwarves to sit and eat and drink and perhaps recall dwarven justice done to goblins recently. It took some time to travel there. Only Rodile the legendary bone carver was there who had not seen Sankis.  Captain_Duck, a surgeon, found me there and reported on the battle. The goblin Atu Bemgasnasp was assailed by two militia captains and the mayor, suffering multiple compound fractures of bones of the legs and arms.  Enzer having depleted her ammunition assaulted the same unconscious ogress as lunnrais, those two crossbowdwarfs alternating blows with the butts of their weapons against the dwarfinoid creature's cranium.  Tangents suffered the onslaught of two infuriated ogres although in the opinion of this doctor the ogres were not truly fighting with coordination but rather motivated by individual brutish simplicity of purpose to assault the nearest threat. One of the brutes suddenly grabbed at Tangents' armor and then seemed to notice its reflection in the polished iron. Both ogres suddenly found this fascinating enough to calm down, lapsing into their more normal mode of lazy violence accompanied by terrible music.    The militia captain brian obel was seen entering the fray unarmed.   He made for the goblin already under attack by three dwarves, delivering a precise blow to the 'solar plexus' which is apparently part of the guts. He followed up by “destroying the left parietal structure and severely lacerating the cerebellum utilizing nothing more than the concussive force of his metacarpals” which I eventually found out means brian obel punched the goblin's skull into its brain.  Brian obel then ran out beyond the outer bridge to fight another ogre at which point Captain_Duck left the scene to bring me his report. The next dwarf to bring news of the battle above caught up to me while I descended stairs deeper into the lower mining levels. There are caches of food down here for the miners although there have been no new mining operations for ore in years. The butcher Immoral Hamster's description of the fight was excessively gruesome but I trust also reasonably accurate due to her knowledge of anatomy. Pierzak and the Mayor assisted lunnrais and enzer, Pierzak's spear finally bringing death to the unconscious ogress that had somehow survived at least a hundred blows to the head including many which broke its skull into shards which would have been very unpleasant to find in a roast.   Brian obel engaged in a fistfight with an ogress just outside the drawbridge; Daeren soon joined him to assist in the tenderizing of the creature using no weapon capable of swiftly killing it but ensuring its tough meat would be improved. I reminded Immoral Hamster that consumption of creatures capable of speech is repugnant but she only shrugged.  She added that after a few moments a goblin armed with a maul suitable for tenderizing even the largest toughest meats such as the haunch of a forgotten beast arrived to engage the two. This was enough of a distraction that the ogress was finally able to land a blow which broke brian obel's left arm.  These wounds sent brian obel into the legendary trance of the warrior; I would be more heartened by that if he bore some form of weapon. Enzer, Kalman, Pierzak, and lunnrais all moved to assist Tangents, who had recently begun not falling over as much. Pierzak soon slew another ogress using the tried and true method of spearing its brain with adamantine. The mayor undertook to team with lunnrais against an ogress, beating it with with hammer and shield, which served to keep it at bay. Pierzak joined Tangents to fight the other ogress still within our walls. Sounds from beneath the maze were interpreted as Rawkking having finally located the goblin that had fallen down there a couple of days ago. Or rather the goblin may have discovered Rawkking first because she cried out in pain and gleeful goblin noises immediately followed. I recalled Rawkking has only a shield and no other weapon but it is probably too late to send her aid now.  I fear our former overseer may have perished. We do not dare open access to that area until the siege is ended lest the goblins and ogres use it as a means of entrance. The latest news told by Immoral Hamster was the arrival of Yeol (bearing a good mace) and the recruit Drone (bearing shield and quiver but no crossbow) through the old main gate. Clocks followed behind them carrying iron shield and adamantine battleaxe.  25th Galena I found the queen drinking dwarven wine with Aerion and Hypotenewt, both siege operators.  “Ah, Leperfish” she declared loudly as she saw me, sloshing a little wine. “You summoned me?” I asked while attempting to look both respectful and impatient that she would see I was answering her summons but also missing my duty to conduct battle. “Yes. It's about the ballistae” she said. “I heard you have been shooting goblins with them recently” I told her. “Yes but it's a big problem Leperfish, most of the siege operators can't shoot them.” “Because the goblins and ogres are too close?” I asked her. “Yes! Yes that's exactly it!” she snapped, I think a little annoyed that I knew already. “Even though there are stout fortifications in the way” I pointed out. She frowned but nodded. “...and a trench too broad for any goblin to leap,” I added. “Well, yes, but, Leperfish, you must understand,” she began. “...and even though right now while we talk down here in the mines and I am not on the walls to direct our defense our brave warriors are much closer to those goblins and ogres with no trench or fortification to protect them from being killed (which is happening at this very moment) and are nonetheless not fleeing the moment they see the foe” I finished. I may have been out of breath. The queen stared at me with a hard look that meant I had spoken more directly than I ought. I may have raised my voice. After a long pause she gripped my elbow and pulled me away from the other siege operators. Her body is thin and she appears frail but her grip is still hard. “Leperfish, look, you can't say that in front of them. They're not trained like the militia to face battle, they've been taught a ballista lets you kill the foe without them being able to fight back.” I wanted to say they had therefore been taught wrongly but I knew that would not be wise to say. “All I'm saying, Leperfish, is you need to move the ballistae back or make a new maze a little further away or... something. So the engineers can fire without getting too frightened.” “Yes, my queen,” I told her, “I know. We will move them after this siege is over. If I ordered it now every laborer who took the jobs would cancel them as soon as they saw the enemy. It cannot be helped at the moment.” Sankis nodded agreement and turned back to her wine. “Good, good. Deal with it when you can. Now, shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the battle?” I felt a strong urge to have an argument with the queen then but I felt the urgency of the siege more greatly so instead I sought the stairs upward with as much speed as I could muster.
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May 23, 2014 07:33
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Deadmeat5150 posted:Finally caught up! Thanks! I have made an adjustment. The apparent result is a shorter update with fewer screenshots, but in-game, I have gotten through two and a half days' battle, and I've managed to not tell you every drat thing that happened, so I think you know... baby steps, OK? I'm trying. Also, gently caress, I had kind of forgotten Rawkking was down there, and definitely forgotten there was a live armed goblin (who in any case I thought was badly hurt). 
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May 23, 2014 07:35
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Leperflesh posted:Thanks! Baby steps. Next time you might be able to do three days....
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May 23, 2014 10:50
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Leperflesh posted:Sankis nodded agreement and turned back to her wine. “Good, good. Deal with it when you can. Now, shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the battle?” Dwarf Fortress.txt Also hurrah, a Dwarf with an Adamantine battleaxe enters the fray. He'll either die ignomously, or slaughter the surviving siegers. Is he wearing shoes?
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May 23, 2014 11:34
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What's the point of updating the combat system if dwarves won't equip weapons? Ugath! 
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May 23, 2014 12:10
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Veloxyll posted:Dwarf Fortress.txt Leperflesh: I know I said this in private while waving Vanguard Princess at you threateningly, but I think you struck the right balance this time, for what it is worth.
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May 23, 2014 12:12
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Leperflesh posted:
Great job of it, too. That was good storytelling and much more fun than reading through every swing and dodge.
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May 24, 2014 19:54
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I too am pleased with the results and especially because even though I died several updates ago I'm still relevant!
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May 25, 2014 03:05
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My, Dorf, appears to, like, be from Dorf North Hills.
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May 26, 2014 02:33
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25th Galena, 252 My friend Internet Kraken stopped me at the stairs that lead up to the inner courtyard. “Hold it, Leperfish” he said. “I don't know what you and the Queen are up to, and I don't care. You can't go back out.” “I must Oversee the battle!” I told him in a very reasonable tone. “You're not in a militia squad or the fortress guard,” he said, “and the burrow restricts all civilians indoors. By your own rules, you must remain inside.” It is a preposterous assertion which I explained to him was preposterous but Internet Kraken was adamant. “But I was already out there for days,” I began, but he shook his head. “Dwarves outside a burrow are not forced to come inside the burrow but dwarves inside the burrow are never permitted to go out unless they are military. You could always join the military!” he suggested. I think he was smiling. I am not fit for military service. I have no skill with weapons and am the fortress's bookkeeper and Overseer and the Queen forbade me from dying until I have completed her plans. “Well then, you're staying inside. Sorry.” Internet Kraken did not seem especially sorry. I would not fight with my friend so I undertook to continue receiving reports of the battle and give orders according to reports. I was also able to see a little of the fight by standing in the doorway between the stockrooms by the trade depot and the ballista gallery but the ballistae and the dwarves trying to load or fire them usually blocked my view. The clothier Tomahto informed first: Goblin hammermen began to interfere with brian obel and Daeren's fight with an ogre.  Pierzak stabbed her ogre a lot but there was no blood so the spear must not be getting through the cloth which must be very thick cloth.  Tangents kept bludgeoning her ogre. So did enzer and lunnrais with their ogre. Kalman broke ogre bones with her steel war hammer. Sunbro has the fanciest steel bolts Tomahto has ever seen. He also has an artifact on his back.    Another goblin charged and tackled brian obel  An ogress is wearing a robe made of ogre leather. A dwarf would never wear dwarf leather. An ogre likely cannot make clothing therefore goblins likely made ogre leather robes to robe their ogres. It is another proof of the cruelty of the goblin.  Daeren and brian obel wound up fighting back-to-back, surrounded on all sides by hammergoblins but determined to keep bashing that ogress. The mechanic Iceclaw reported watching some part of the battle from the top of a windmill in the inner courtyard which he was maintaining. Daeren had finally switched to bashing a goblin, her crossbow more effective against the much skinner foe – when she was able to actually connect, that is. Lunnrais delivered a bash with her shield that was enough to finally push that ogress into a swoon just as Clocks arrived to the melee. They immediately went to work on its head.   Daeren disarmed a hammergoblin, while Avlein shot the ogress brian obel was still punching up with her last bolt.   Pierzak toppled the ogress she and Tangents were fighting by spearing it in the foot.  Clocks summarily executed the unconscious ogress by hacking off its head with two powerful strokes!  Pierzak and Tangents finally rendered their own ogress unconscious; Pierzak immediately slew it.  With this news I realized finally the courtyard was clear of enemies! I ordered the dwarven squads represented by the warriors in the courtyard to rush for the outer gate, to relieve Daeren and brian obel. They were surely about to be overwhelmed. Iceclaw ran to shout orders from the inner gate that they would hear.  The siege engineer Teddybear reported almost immediately having fled the ballista gallery due to seeing an ogress. She had watched combat from there seeing into the gatehouse as well as the maze. There were now nine hammergoblins swarming at the entrance in addition to the much-bruised ogress. Drone and Enzer decided to go get equipment – probably bolts – while lunnrais left to store an item in a stockpile.  Daeren got tackled. A hammergoblin pushed through enough to attack brian obel. A goblin bounced off Daeren. Brian obel got kicked in the skull. Daeren got tackled again.  Teddybear said “Pierzak decided to go store something” which is terrible.  Finally the inevitable happened. A silver goblin maul connected solidly with the back of brian obel's head, and he was struck dead instantly. Tangents and Clocks witnessed him fall through the fortifications, only seconds away from relieving the pair. In the end it was brian obel's relentless focus on the ogre he despised that slew him, for he all but ignored the swarm of goblins assaulting him in single-minded pursuit of his quarry.  He died a hero of Bronzetabbed, making a brave final stand at our gates against the teeming horde.  Daeren now faced six goblins alone where she stood in the bloody gap beside the raised drawbridge. Teddybear left at that moment but I was soon informed of the battle by HONK HONK HONK HONK. She is a legendary carpenter but we are not currently making wood things so she is idle and desired to see the fighting. I suppose she found a better vantage than I could extract from Internet Kraken. Clocks had jammed into the gap as Daeren rolled and dodged away, avoiding several inexpert blows.   As Clocks cleared the gap Tangents jammed through, only to be tackled to the ground. But Yeol was right behind her; he has been known to slay four ogres in the year 240 and HONK HONK HONK saw he has his very good steel mace in hand.   Daeren collided with another goblin while the Mayor joined the fray at the gap. Pierzak had changed her mind or returned or Teddybear was mistaken because Pierzak was now just yards away from the bridge, and Avlein was right behind her, out of ammunition but grimly determined to wade into the battle with his comrades.  Dirty Frank fired a ballista! There were no enemies anywhere nearby, but at least a siege engineer finally mustered the courage to do their duty. He is just a clothier who dabbles in siege engineering however HONK HONK HONK attributed his bravery to acts of ogre, goblin and elf slaying in years past hardening his resolve.    Clocks tried charging goblins but couldn't connect.  Daeren dodged and rolled, serving as a nimble distraction from the better-armed dwarves.  HONK HONK HONK leaned forward to and grabbed my shoulders to recount a surprise. “Then Clocks tried to dodge from a goblin's maul and fell into the pit!” she shouted.  “All I saw after that was Pierzak started poking holes in goblins and Dirty Frank fired another of them huge siege bolts at nothing in particular so I came back to tell you Clocks fell in the hole.” Rawkking fell in the hole and now Rawkking is almost certainly slain. But there is no help for Clocks now either. We must pray to the gods the recruit will survive. Down in the dark, Clocks stood up, squishing a moist fat mushroom under her throbbing foot. A soft sound came to her ear, barely audible over the claning and shouting from the fight still raging up above. There was something down there with her, moving in the gloom! She shook her head and squinted... an evil-looking goblin lurked among the giant fungus-plants, not very far away. Not much farther than where Rawkking's corpse lay, face pale, spattered with dried brown droplets of his own blood. It moved, its red eyes gleaming as it fingered its oversized crudely-made sword. Her hand went to her adamantine axe. She gripped its cool hard handle tightly and waited. 
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May 30, 2014 07:49
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Go get 'em, Clocks. The Blood God is with you always.
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May 30, 2014 14:23
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26th Galena The dwarf Ardeem hauled a ballista bolt to the stockpile and then lingered to observe the war before recounting to me news. There were now eleven hammergoblins an an ogre jammed at the gate fighting six dwarves, which is bad odds for the goblins even if most of the dwarves do not have good weapons for fighting.  Ardeem described Daeren taking an unlucky jab of a warhammer to her throat.  Yeol got involved in the battle with his mace  Pierzak's spear is always deadliest. Ardeem saw her stick it into a goblin lung.  Avlein demonstrated why actual metal armor is ideal for use in combat superior to cave spider silk or rags or cave spider silk rags.  Yeol disarmed a goblin, a goblin previously stabbed by Pierzak passed out, while Pierzak stabbed a different goblin in the shield arm. It is hard to keep track of which goblin is wounded by which dwarf. Perhaps it is not important.  Ardeem did recognize one goblin: he described brian obel's killer, the goblin Strodno Stolentumor, tackled Pierzak from behind.  The mayor removed a shield from the goblin Yeol previously disarmed. The goblin punched her in the foot; she responded by crushing its skull. The opinion is that she will easily win her next reelection.  Daeren's hand was broken by a lucky strike with a silver warhammer that finally got past her guard. In response she went into a martial trance! Ardeem claims that is exactly like regular fighting except with more seriousness. He called it “gravitas.”   A ballista bolt was exported in contravention of royal decree.  The goblin whose lung Pierzak had pierced collapsed.  Despite her broken hand Daeren still battled. She broke a goblin's arm thus it dropped its maul.  Yeol broke a goblin's arm. It lost its iron maul as well. That is blatant copying and Yeol has a mace while Daeren did it using only a crossbow therefore Daeren's warcraft is superior so I am told.  Ardeem described that he heard someone in the courtyard yell reinforcements are coming but did not see who yelled.  Pierzak stabbed another goblin severely. I have entirely lost track of how many she has stabbed severely due to relying on second-hand accounts.  Tangents broke a goblin's face with the butt of her crossbow. That is also copying but not as well.  Daeren broke a goblin's foot, tripping it.  Avlein, Tangents and Daeren cornered four goblins against the raised bridge. Three to four, our dwarves had the superior numbers and they pressed their advantage hard. Avlein found a goblin's copper skullcap, and then found the part of its skull that cap did not adequately protect. Daeren's trance had subsided, but she was still capable of cracking a leg with her battered crossbow.   Imp, armed and armored, encountered an ogress and goblin that had slipped through the gap past the mayor and Yeol. Imp's opening move was to break the ogre's arm with a mighty blow of his steel warhammer.  Pierzak sliced off her foe's hand: instead of collapsing in pain as usual, however, the goblin shrieked in wordless rage and launched itself at her, slamming her back to the ground! The surprise nor being on the ground was sufficient to hinder Pierzak's deadly skill.  Ardeem left. I peered into the ballista gallery where Dirty Frank launched two more giant bolts... this time, fairly near where an ogre and a goblin were shambling through the maze. The first bolt was very wide, but the second only just barely missed the retreating, limping goblin.  Something strange about his movements struck me and then I recalled that Dirty Frank had once been a member of the militia. I relieved him more than a year ago along with a few other dwarfs by reason that he is blind! Now I understand why he is not panicked by nearby ogres he can see unlike other siege engineers. It is because he cannot see them. This factor however likely affects his aim.  The peasant Dirt reported he has seen that Imp and Kalman were joined by M (who had the foresight to bring an adamantine battleaxe to a battle) surrounding the heaving bulk of the hooting ogress. Dirt says Imp is called The Headsmasher but was witnessed to smash whatever part was available.  Dirt explained this was not too great a disappointment.  Tangents tried to charge a goblin; although she got a good punch in, she bounced off the creature.  Macedwarf tehsid then arrived, armed with a steel war hammer, and tried his hand at ogre-bashing. He is called “Pageaura the Heavenly Ring of Counselors” although he is not legendary as a warrior or for any other particular skill.   Pierzak punched a goblin in the brain.   Overborne by sheer weight of dwarf, the ogress finally collapsed. The dwarves commenced the usual head-bashing, led by the Headsmasher. Fittingly, it was also Imp that finally penetrated the creature's unnaturally thick skull. Dirt was gleeful to describe it.  Pierzak's onslaught continued unabated. With a few brutal attacks she took down and then severely wounded another goblin, incapacitating it. Tehsid stepped forward to lend an unnecessary hand, and then Imp and Krushdhead were there too, all getting in a few shots against the goblin rapidly bleeding to death at their feet.  Daeren, Avlein, M, and Yeol had advanced to engage two fresh ogres and a hammergoblin beyond the bridge. Below them, Clocks stood back to the wall, listening to the water rushing on the other side and wishing he could have a drink. The goblin was still, cautious and keeping its distance. Clocks was content to wait.  Krushdhead Hoistedhall the Wild Scale is no stranger to battle. Indeed she claims three ogres, four goblins, a forgotten beast... and two dwarves as notable kills. Thus her first strike drew a gout of crimson.   M opened up a goblin stomach with a swipe of his axe.  Krushdhead chopped off the goblin's arm, and a moment later it finally bled to death. After Dirt left I had to send the wax worker Ark to go find another dwarf who could report from the battle. Finally much too long afterward Sybot the grower came to tell me the situation. Pierzak, Krushdhead, Kalman and Imp, four of our most accomplished and competent warriors, had filed through the gap in the bridge to meet the remaining enemy at the gates. There still battled Avlein, Yeol, M, Daeren, and Tangents. Nine brave dwarves now stood together to face the enemy: two hammergoblins and an ogre fought there, but beyond, the remaining goblins were in full retreat. Only ogres still posed a threat: but there were a full dozen of them, keening their horrible songs as they ambled through the maze.   “They will turn back, or they will perish” I told her. Of that I am now certain. The siege is not yet finished but I believe our victory is now assured. But Sybot explained that almost immediately M who has an adamantine axe we much need in that fight was thrown back by the ogre, presumably landing near Clocks in the dirt below the maze.  “M” whispered Clocks, loudly, as the dwarf struggled to get his breath back. In the distance, the goblin stopped short and looked back at them. “Whats?” it called out softly. A little further away, the barn owl it had been chasing flapped silently through the shadows.  Clocks opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by the sudden thunderous arrival of an ogre. Its bulk slammed into the ground only a few feet from where M lay.  The dwarves still defeinding the gatehouse called out reporting M had survived the fall and attacked the remaining two goblins, one of whom helpfully fainted while the other simply rolled about moaning. The unconscious one's copper cap proved to be somewhat troublesome, while the other was rapidly disarmed and relieved of its shield.   The ogre heaved itself to its feet. Hastily, Clocks and M formed a new squad: the Crypts of Painting. Their orders: slay Dang the Ogre.   Dang blinked and looked around, assessing the situation with animal instinct.  Em the Goblin went back to chasing the elusive owl. “Ogres kills dwarfses” she muttered to herself. Daeren hammered repeatedly on the goblin's forehead, each whack eliciting a dull 'thunk' as it deflected away. The creature's hood obscured its iron helmet. Sybot suggested perhaps Daeren had gotten so used to the resilience of ogre skulls that she didn't notice a goblin head's unusual resiliance.    Krushdhead hacked off the other goblin's leg, so Tangents tried the same tactic with the same frustrating result.   Clocks shifted her feet, dodged to one side, and then gritted her teeth and stepped forward to engage the giant ogre. She had hacked off an ogre's head in the courtyard. How hard could it be to kill another?  Pierzak demonstrated that the correct way to kill an unconscious goblin is by spiking its face on a spearpoint.  Krushdhead took the lesson to heart, and tried that out with the edge of an axe with similar results.  Sybot concludes her report that only ogres remained to fight above, all goblins being in full flight or dead.  Below, Clocks discovered an ogre that is still conscious is more of a challenge. “Help” he said quietly, as he dodged one sweeping blow after the next. “M... come on, help!” 
Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Jun 6, 2014 |
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Jun 6, 2014 06:11
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A goblin in the hand is worth an ogre nearby. Also a blind siege engineer! Genius!
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Jun 6, 2014 12:15
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I wonder if you could strategically blind an army of siege operators in order to finally get some actual use out of a bank of ballistae?
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Jun 6, 2014 12:21
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Ah, Krushdhead! I remember when I first promoted her and gave her that adamantine battleaxe. Those dwarf kills are murk zombies, I am pretty sure. Its always nice to see people you promoted do well. LeJackal posted:18th Opal LeJackal fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Jun 6, 2014 |
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Jun 6, 2014 14:15
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Blinkin the blind seige operator made me laugh. Well done, gotta love DF sometimes. Reminds me of Avengers. "That's my secret. I'm always blind to enemies."
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Jun 6, 2014 15:17
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The Overseer's Journal contains several loose pages inserted after 26th Galena 252. These are scribed in a different hand, although unsigned, and are stylistically distinct. It is likely Leperfish received an accounting of the battles that took place above and below the gates of Bronzestabbed from one or more of the survivors. He appears to have annotated them with the dates inked at the tops of the pages. The penmanship matches a few insertions pasted onto previous pages, suggesting the same dwarf provided some commentary from earlier dates which Leperfish cut up to ensure chronological order was maintained. 27th Galena, 252 Imp, Tangents, Yeol, Krushdhead, Pierzak, Daeren, and Avlein all looked down at the corpse of Osta Smuslongusly the goblin, whom they had just finished slaying. “Is that a foot?” asked Imp. “Yeah, I think it's Rumda's” replied Yeol.  The mayor Kalman stood quite close, as did tehsid. Beside them lay Maelin, still and cold. Everyone was spattered with gore and dirt. Most were bruised. A couple of the dwarves had significant injuries, including a broken bone here or there, but they did not retreat. A dozen ogres ponderously wound their way through the so-called Maze, the back-and-forth platform of grassy dirt between open trenches that dropped down into a dim-lit earthen chamber below. A place of no escape to any enemy of Bronzestabbed who fell there. There, Clocks faced off against a wounded ogre apparently called “Dang,” which stood and defended itself competently with lazy strength and brute cunning despite broken bones and bruises.  “M” she called through gritted teeth, as she swung her adamantine battleaxe, the flat of the blade skipping off the thick Yak leather robe the thing wore. “Get over here and help!”  She stepped to the left and tried an overhand swing that, due to the creature's superior height, had too little power behind it when it clipped into its shoulder; it cut through the yak leather but didn't penetrate beyond the giant cave spider silk cloak it wore beneath. She dodged backward anticipating a retaliatory strike from the ogre that never came: it blinked at her in the dark, its teeth bared, moaning and keening in the haunting way of its kind, holding its arms up as if to ward off the faint blue light that seemed to emanate from her adamantine blade. She dodged in and cut at its arm, but again didn't get past the thing's thick right glove... the leather, fur, and silk layers combined must have been thicker than the width of her own open hand. Without warning, the ogre dropped its arms and hurled itself forward! Clocks just got the handle of her axe up in time to deflect its fist from crushing her face, but the creature's bulk slammed into her and she lost her breath as she dropped backwards tumbling among the cool wet fungus and moss.  The ogre just stood there, staring at her. She gasped, and then twisted to get her feet back under her. “M, by the gods get it together and help me with this beast” she demanded through gritted teeth as she once again missed her mark with her axe. The axe was supremely sharp – adamantine blades were the sharpest thing in existence, if you believed what the Bronzestabbed smiths say – but it was also incredibly lightweight, which made it difficult for her to put penetrating power behind a swing. All the weight was in the handle. She dodged around it to put the ogre between herself and M. If M ever decided to fight, he'd flank the ogre with her. She knew from what little training she'd had so far that a good way to defeat an enemy is to have your comrade stab it in the back while you distracted it. M had his own adamantine battle axe. He could hack it in the back of the head or cut its ankles out from under it if he would just get stuck in! The ogre dodged a blow, shifting to her left enough that she could make brief eye contact with M. M's eyes were wide open, but looked a bit vacant. He must still be dazed from the fall, she thought. A few more seconds and he'd shake it off and help.  The ogre dodged with more agility than she would ever have given its kind credit for, and they circled each other. It stank, its rancid breath overpowering the musty smell of crushed wet mushrooms and brown moss underfoot. Above, the dwarves had charged forward to attack a lone ogress that was well ahead of its fellows, Kalman leading the way with her war hammer, with tehsid right behind. The dwarves gathered around, trying to avoid the open pit beneath their feet while they struck at her.  Clocks made a quick series of wide arcing chops which prompted Dang the Ogre to jump and dodge back, its weird voice punctuating each move with a low-pitched 'uh' 'uh' sound that was not quite a grunt. She stepped in and drove the edge of her shield at its face, but it turned its head to the right and only caught a bruising bump to its thick-skinned cheek.  Pierzak's blood-streaked spearpoint grazed across the ogress's right wrist, and, beset by more dwarves than it could count (which, realistically, might mean “more than one dwarf”) the creature bellowed in rage and began to disgorge a disgusting foamy spittle from its mouth while it battled back at them with all its fearsome might!  Clocks rolled back to her feet again, coughing and wheezing in a breath. She'd gotten in a couple of good bashes with her heavy shield before the ogre had bowled her over once more. Clocks almost died then, as the ogre had brought its massive foot slamming down at her head: she rolled just in time to avoid having her skull crushed. “I'm here,” M called to her from behind the ogre, “sorry, sorry, I'm here!” The ogre steadfastly ignored M, its mind akin to a single minecart track: heavy, the heavily-laden ore carts of its focus could only go one way. Clocks dodged another meaty swing, and then she made a satisfied wordless shout as she got in a lucky swipe across the bundle of troll-fur that the ogre apparently thought was a shoe; she was rewarded with a gout of bright blood and a howl from her opponent! Slowly, like a stone staircase being deconstructed, the ogre Dang toppled and fell in a pile at the ground, tiny mushrooms and wads of fuzzy fungus flying from the impact. Almost simultaneously, Clocks and M kicked its body as hard as they could.  M hacked at the ogre with his beautiful axe, fully expecting the blade to bite deep into its spine, but as the ogre shifted its weight forward it merely skipped across the leather. He tried again, with the same result. M had actually slain an ogre before, years ago, but that time he'd had a much less valuable – but much heavier – battle axe to do the job with.  Now instead of brute force, he needed finesse. “Find an opening” he told himself, “and it will cut through flesh and bone like a... like a... like an adamantine axe through flesh and bone” he finished lamely, too distracted by the battle to come up with an applicable metaphor. Thoradin's copper spear glinted in the daylight, almost as bright as his bronze shield. “Must leave, must leave, must leave” the elf merchant Amala Femavaali was saying, over and over again, ignoring the blood trickling down his broken, sliced-open right arm. He was limping heavily, using his horse's reigns to support himself as he dragged his horribly mangled right leg. It looked to Thoradin as though he had serious breaks in his foot, ankle, right thigh, and hip.    The elf was slowly, painstakingly making its way towards the gate. “Better wait a bit longer” Thoradin tried to tell the elf as he passed him, but the elf was completely oblivious, as though unaware that Thoradin was there at all. “Suit yourself then” he said, and left the strange person behind. If the elf wanted to be torn to pieces by ogres, who was he to argue? As he looked out at the battle, he saw a swarm of his comrades surrounding a barely-visible thrashing pile of furs and meat that was probably an ogre. They were giving it one hell of a beating, hammers and boots and crossbows all rising and falling, the dwarves shouting and smashing as fast as they could, and yet it seemed the target was showing no signs of succumbing to such a thrashing. As he watched, tehsid slammed his heavy mace down on what was apparently its stomach, because in the next moment all of them were showered with a fountain of disgusting brown vomit.  Not far from them, but hidden from Thoradin's view, Clocks and M found that with the ogre legged, they had improved their advantage. Clocks caught its relatively unprotected right hand a good slice that cut through its glove and sprayed blood, while M put all his weight behind the lower edge of his shield, driving it hard into the creature's huge round belly. They kept at it, as the ogre clutched at its guts and rolled back and forth, more busy bellowing now than actually fighting back. M spared a glance over his shoulder for the goblin, but the skulking creature was still keeping its distance. The owl was gone. Perhaps the goblin was eating it. Did goblins eat owls? M didn't know. He hacked at the ogre, still not able to get to flesh through the armor-like layers of clothing. Clocks punched it in the chest, eliciting a fountain of putrid bile to pour forth from its snaggle-toothed maw. Thoradin saw the ogre suddenly stop struggling, after enduring several dozen more strikes including several to the head. The dwarves kept at it, Kalman crying “Get it's head! Get it's head!” as they all focused on trying for a killing blow.  Their weapons rose and fell an impressive number of times, before Pierzak finally got a chance to shove her spearpoint right through its nose and into the brain. Thoradin trotted towards them as they untangled themselves and gave some attention to the next foe. “There's more of us coming,” he announced, having seen Rivensteel and Spermy Smurf not far behind as he'd crossed the courtyard. “Good” replied Avlein, “because there's more of them coming too.”  If it took that much effort to slay an ogre even after it was down on the ground, what would it take to repel ten more? Thoradin couldn't guess. M and Clocks exchanged a quick glance. Clocks saw sweat dripping off of M's nose, despite the cool air. The ogre was gagging and retching, giving them both ample opportunity to get in good hits, but so far all they had for their efforts were a few cuts and a lot of bruises. Clocks punched at its swinging elbow, and M hacked open its left hand. She knew if she could get in just the right angle, it was possible to behead an ogre with one swing of her axe, but so far no such angle had presented itself. Instead they battled on, and a moment later, M managed to finish the job of chopping off the brute's right hand! “Maybe...” she said between panting breaths, “maybe it will bleed to death.” M didn't look especially hopeful.  Pierzak and Daeren rushed forward, choosing to engage the leading ogre rather than wait for them all to cluster together and attack at once. Imp was right behind them. Daeren bashed it a couple of times while Pierzak poked it, but then in a demonstration of supreme skill, Pierzak took a half-step jump into the air and drove her spear darting forward, right through the creature's eye! The ogress spouted blood from its face and died on its feet.  Imp moved past them both, not hesitating to attack the next ogre in line. Krushdhead likewise passed up the pair, the four of them well out ahead of the rest of the militia. Imp swung his hammer, the ogre dodged away, and it disappeared down the gap in the ground with hardly a sound.  M and Clocks both turned to stare, startled by the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground. “...poo poo” said Clocks. 
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Jun 13, 2014 08:12
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I remember when we all thought IShitTrains would protect us from all this vile place had to offer. OhCrap, Badmunki, HalloweenJack. Bronzestabbed is running short on heroes these days. Yet, when we need one most, A hero always rises. Pierzak, we salute you. Pokeylope fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 02:50
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Aww, what an inglorious way for dorfme to go. That's dwarf fortress though.
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Jun 19, 2014 05:32
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 Fanart! Yay! Thank you Pokeylope, that's magnificent.Rawkking, my heart genuinely dropped when I saw you'd died. I really kind of forgot you were down there and then I kind of thought you'd do better against a single goblin. That's DF, as you say. I've got an update done, still working on the next one - I was able to play quite a bit last weekend. The next two weekends are booked solid, though, so I'm trying to make sure I have a little backlog this time.
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Jun 19, 2014 06:12
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28th Galena, 252 M and Clocks turned their attention back to the enemy at hand, now feeling an even greater sense of urgency. M swung his axe down with all the force he could, and chopped off the wailing ogre's right foot.  “Good” said Clocks, as she tried to brain the creature, but only managed a bright cut across its forehead. It was looking pale, blood fountaining from the stumps of its right wrist and ankle.  After two more heavy strikes and a punch, its eyes rolled back and the ogre slumped motionless.  The new arrival moaned and sat up, fifty or so yards away.>  Clocks knew how to do this part. With extreme care that belied the urgency, she stepped on the ogre's neck to brace its huge head, and then brought her axe around in a giant arc that ended with the leading tip cracking through the dense skull with a loud pop.  She closed her eyes in momentary relief. There was still the goblin, and now another ogre. She felt tired, and very thirsty, but there was no chance to rest or seek a drink. She must kill these enemies, here and now... or die, here and now. ... Above, the militia streamed forward. Thoradin took on the next ogre in line, leading with a flying kick to the head before spinning around to thrust his spear for its heart – the copper point failed to penetrate into its flesh, but the ogress coughed in pain so he knew the strike must have at least hurt.  He gave it a couple swift punches and then stabbed it hard, the heavy copper point producing a satisfying crack of the ogress' thigh bone! “Nice work” said Daeren as she stepped in to boot it in the arm; he jammed his spear into the general region of the pancreas while Daeren bashed it with her crossbow.  Bellowing with frustration and pain the ogress swung a meaty arm at Thoradin, but he was much too quick, ducking under the clumsy blow and then rapping it on the head with the blunt end of his copper spear. The two continued to do battle, as Pierzak braced herself, for she saw the next ogre was about to engage the group. The instant the hulking brute was close enough, Pierzak went for it with the long spear, hoping to distract it from the engaged dwarves by her side, whose target was now roaring with fury.  The angry ogress hurled herself forward, and agile Thoradin found himself flung to his right... and nothing beneath his feet but cool air.  As Pierzak stabbed her ogre in the foot, Thoradin fell past grass and earth and then landed surprisingly softly in the dense floor fungus. He lay there, staring up at the sky through the hole above him, not really hearing a dwarf somewhere far away saying “oh look... reinforcements!”  Pierzak focused on the ogre's foot, mangling it with several stabs, and suddenly the creature swooned in pain. As always, that was more than sufficient opening for her.  ... Thoradin levered himself to his feet with his spearshaft, looking around in the gloom. “Oy Thoradin” yelled someone, and he looked over to see M and Clocks standing near the heap of a dead ogre. “Welcome to The Crypts of Painting” added M, “now we got to kill that ogre!” Thoradin followed his pointing arm and was startled to see a lumbering ogre only a few yards away from him in the opposite direction.  Above them, six dwarves got together to beat up the enraged ogress, delivering blows to every part of her body. Imp hammered her in the back hard enough to drive the wind from her lungs, shortly before Krushdhead lopped off its foot. She followed up by slicing off its hand, and the creature was soon overwhelmed.   not shown: several more pages like the one above They assailed it for nearly a minute, bashing and hacking and chopping, before it finally gave in to pain. It took a long time after that before it died, finally, bleeding from a dozen head wounds.  Clocks peered through the darkness at that pesky goblin. “M” she said, and both M and the goblin looked at her. “That thing is gonna creep up and stab one of us in the back. I'm gonna go get it.” M sighed. Thoradin was much closer to the ogre – he might get stuck fighting it regardless. But Clocks didn't wait for him to try to change her mind – she was already charging forward, while the goblin lifted its huge sword and readied itself by loping even further away, capering between the dwarf-sized fungus growths and chattering something obscene. Within moments they were engaged, and M called out to Thoradin “nevermind, kill the goblin first I guess!”  Clocks, for her own part, had rapidly discovered that despite being much smaller than an ogre, a goblin with a two-handed sword was actually a more challenging opponent. Faster, much smarter, and despite lacking in strength, more dangerous with its crude yet deadly-sharp weapon. She was now sparring with it, a series of rapid attacks and counterattacks, each strike blocked by the other. She spared the briefest of glances to see that M was coming, but still a fair distance away – she'd have to hold out on her own for a while. Her axe was parried two more times and then suddenly the goblin made a high block and slipped his sword downward, rapping her arm hard with the heavy pommel of its iron sword! “Haha clever goblins, eh? Stupid dwarvses thinks a goblins is dumbs but a goblins isn't so dumbs, is she!”  Despite the surprise, Clocks realized as the creature dodged back that it was favoring its left leg. And her blow had not been as hard as she'd thought it would be: the creature was weak, even for its kind.  She swung, and the goblin parried and counterstruck again, this time driving the tip of her sword down and to the side – Clocks barked in pain as the tip cut deeply into her right foot! She was nearly helpless as she fell, but the goblin's sword failed to get through her trousers, which were fashioned from thick cave crocodile scale, better than ordinary leather. “Agh” she yelled, “M, hurry!”   “Em's hurrying dwarfses, em's hurrying as fast as she can!” cackled the goblin. Clocks did not comprehend whatever cruel joke it was trying to make. “Shut up” she said, as she dragged herself backwards, leaving behind a trail of blood. “No you shuts up” said the goblin, but the goblin was looking towards M now, who was charging towards her. The goblin advanced on her, but without great speed, and she crab-crawled backwards again, trying to open distance. On the ground Clocks knew she was severely disadvantaged, her feet and hands particularly vulnerable to its long reach.  Again it crept forward, again she scrambled back, and M had closed two thirds the distance. ... Krushdhead's opening move against the next ogress was to casually lop off its hand.  While the creature stood there dumbly staring at its stump, gouting spurts of blood, Krushdhead chopped off its other hand.  It howled in pain, now staring at both of its stumps, so Krushdhead ducked down and with a long swipe took off its right foot just above the ankle.  … The goblin abandoned its pursuit of Clocks entirely, turning parry and counterattack M's first swing. “Stupid dwarfses all gonna dies!” she spat as she swung at him and missed. Again she parried, riposted, and missed, M being perhaps marginally faster than Clocks.  M spun, dodging from the next swing, and brought his pommel around to rap against the goblin's left eye, but the goblin turned her head with the blow and avoided any wound. He stayed in close, trying to get in a good cut, but was parried – fighting as fast as he could, M brought his copper shield into position to catch the expected backswing from the sword, but then his own counterstrike was parried in turn. He jumped back to avoid the next swing, returning to the ready-position with weapon and shield. He faked a missing-swing and slapped the goblin's foot with the flat of his axe, which got him a good yelp of surprise but could not have wounded the creature particularly, and then followed up as she twisted off-balance by spinning a full circle and bringing his terrifically sharp edge hard against her thigh. She screamed as her right leg flew through the air.  Her broken left leg collapsed under her and she fell, shrieking in pain. He tried to kill her then, but somehow she got her left leg up and he chopped off her left foot instead, mostly by accident. He gripped his axe in reverse and slammed the pommel down on her head, but the tip glanced off of her pronounced eye-ridge. “Hold... still!” he shouted at her, and drove his axeblade through her ribs.  She crawled away, blood gurgling in her throat, turned her hed to the side to glare back at him with an expression of utter hatred, and then died. … Vetinari100 yanked the huge lever and felt the machine lurch backward as the huge bolt disappeared through the stone slot in front of him in the blink of an eye.  A moment later, an ogress yelped as the bolt slammed into her, spinning her around but somehow failing to turn her into the shower of bone and gore that Vetinari had been expecting. How disappointing!  Imp was fighting the next ogre in line. With each strike his steel warhammer broke a bone, and the ogress was pretty upset about that.  Just behind him, Krushdhead finally finished off his own ogre, chopping into its head. A moment later, he joined Imp in beating on his own ogress, while Daeren passed them up to take on the next. Pierzak came up beside the two of them. “Want some help?” she asked. “Sure” grunted Imp without looking around. Instantly, Pierzak's spear pierced the ogress's left hand.  More dwarves were coming up behind them, which was good because Daeren would not likely win a fistfight alone with an ogre, and there were two more of the huge creatures lumbering towards them. Krushdhead sliced open the ogre's foot, sending it to the ground as the others arrived. It collapsed from the onslaught and Pierzak had her spear into its brain before it had even stopped moving.  1st Limestone Daeren tumbled backward, regretting slightly the decision to box this latest ogress. She regretted it even more as the ground failed to materialize beneath her.  ... “Hi Daeren” said Thoradin, as she thumped into the moss. “We saved an ogre for you.”  … Imp glanced down the trench to confirm Daeren was still alive.. Seeing she was fine, Imp waded into the fight, breaking the ogre's leg. Soon the others joined him and they beat back the creature savagely.  Pierzak rolled away from a heavy swing and she too found open space where she'd thought there was good footing. She landed awkwardly right next to Daeren, her leg smacking against a small stone.  ... “The more the merrier!” exclaimed Thordain. “Hey look, M” he called out, “It's raining legends!” Pierzak stared at him, trying to catch her breath, and wondering if the dwarf was possibly insane. ... Krushdhead chopped off another ogre hand. Tangents bashed it with her crossbow. The mayor joined in. “We're winning,” Kalman said suddenly, surprising her a little.  “Aye, we are doing that” replied Krushdhead. “Well I only just noticed” said the mayor, as she swung her hammer again. “I've been pretty busy you know.” “Fair enough” she replied, too busy herself to converse further. Yeol slipped past them to take on another ogre. There were three here now, and two hammergoblins just across the gap to the west of them were closing in quickly. “We've not... won yet” he declared tersely. Spermy Smurf stopped outside the gate and readied his crossbow, looking for a target. Up ahead, the rest of the dwarves were getting stuck in with the gores, but much closer to him to the north was a goblin, scampering its way through the trees. Bleeding from several wounds. Escaping. Spermy decided it could use another wound or two, and shot it. It gasped in pain and shock, looking over at him as though it was completely unfair for dwarves of Bronzestabbed to be shooting goblins. He reloaded and shot it again. “Yeah!” he yelled at it. “We got more bolts! Lots more bolts!”  “...more boltses” it said weakly, and then collapsed in pain. Spermy reloaded his crossbow. ... The ogre stood halfway up the stone steps, staring at the ceiling.  “What's it doing?” asked Pierzak, as M caught up with them. “I think... I think it's trying to figure out the hatch handle” replied Thoradin. “What, you mean how to turn the wheel so the hatch opens? It's not locked, is it?” “No, not locked” said Thoradin. “But I dunno if it's ever seen a doorknob before.” “Agh!” shouted the mayor Kalman, as she landed on her head a few yards away from them.   ... Yeol, Krushdhead, Avlein, Tangents and Imp were now the only ones still fighting the ogres in the maze. “Stop jumping down the holes!” yelled Yeol in frustration. Dimly, a sheepish chorus of “sorry”s floated up from below. Krushdhead chopped open another ogre's foot. It really was starting to be a problem – two of the ogres had gotten past them, and a goblin hammerman had joined the fight as well. If they lost any more dwarves down the gap they were in danger of being overwhelmed.  ... “Welcome to The Crypts of Painting” M said to Kalman as she joined them, rubbing her head. “Pierzak, Daeren, I'd say the same to you, but you're already squad captains, and I suppose you can't join unless you're replaced, and there's no way to do the paperwork at the moment.” She shrugged helplessly. Pierzak and Daeren watched as the other three stalked forward to take on the ogre. “I suppose we could fight too?” Pierzak commented idly to Daeren. “Can't,” she replied. “Our orders are to station upstairs, in the maze, and we can't get there from here until the bridge is opened. Attacking yonder ogre would be against orders.” Pierzak nodded silently, knowing that was correct. It is often the case that a dwarf must submit to the blind rule of labyrinthine regulatory inefficiency.
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Jun 19, 2014 06:24
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Oh no. Who will kill Ogres upstairs if not Pierzak? Though I guess if Krushdhead keeps lopping bits off that might solve things. I feel though that the Maze has turned out to be a trap that catches mostly dwarves. Oh well, Thaaat's Dwarf Fortress. (nice shot by the blind Balista Engineer!)
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Jun 19, 2014 07:22
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Leperflesh posted:“Welcome to The Crypts of Painting” M said to Kalman as she joined them, rubbing her head. “Pierzak, Daeren, I'd say the same to you, but you're already squad captains, and I suppose you can't join unless you're replaced, and there's no way to do the paperwork at the moment.” She shrugged helplessly. This must be the dorfly version of Paranoia. The Overseer is your Friend.
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Jun 19, 2014 08:04
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I'm thinking that trench might have hurt more then it helped so far.
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Jun 20, 2014 00:51
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It would have worked like a charm if our siege engineers had half the courage of a damned porcupine. I'm just glad we didn't go the extra mile and put spikes down there.
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Jun 20, 2014 01:31
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Our own dwarves were never supposed to fight in the maze. If there hadn't been a gap next to the bridge, we still would have had the issue with the enemy being too close to the siege weapons, but we'd have had no need to actually fight them hand-to-hand at all. But it's probably pretty clear to Leperfish at this point that the idea needs... refinement.
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Jun 20, 2014 01:47
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1st Limestone, 252 Krushdhead slew the unconscious ogress they'd been fighting the last several minutes, and looked up to see two goblin hammermen harrying them. Hadn't all the goblins fled? That's what she'd heard, anyway. These two must have been hiding when the lookouts had made that report.   Tangents was already fighting one. Yeol cracked the other one's leg, so Krushdhead decided to help Tangents – she gave the creature a solid kick in the chest, and then rapidly dismembered it, hacking off an arm and both legs. The goblin's silver warhammer spun away as it collapsed wordlessly and soon died.  Avlein shattered the other goblin's skull, a blow which knocked it out cold, which was of course a death sentence.  Meanwhile, Spermy Smurf took careful aim, and just as his quarry sat up from the concealment of the tall grass, woozy and disoriented, let loose a bolt that neatly speared its forehead. “Plenty more boltses” he muttered, turning to assess the remaining foe.  The other dwarves were attempting to defeat the copper cap protecting the last goblin's unconscious head by recklessly pounding at it with great gusto and a lot of yelling. It was Imp who finally put paid to his monicker by headsmashing the thing with sufficient force to shatter the cap, and its forehead.  Spermy Smurf nodded to himself and started sizing up the two closest ogres, trying to decide which one he should shoot first. As he watched, Imp got after them trailed by the others, and Spermy Smurf decided they pretty much had this taken care of. His bolts were not likely to do much to those great hulks anyway, he thought, and anyway he was feeling pretty sleepy.  … Kalman charged, confident her allies were right behind her.  … Seeing Imp sent sprawling, Krushdhead knew her axe was still needed. She lopped off the ogre's hand, hopefully preventing it from throwing any more potentially-lethal punches.  … Kalman got the ogre's attention by cracking its wrist with a well-placed hammerstroke. Behind her, Pierzak and Daeren had started to follow, idly chatting between themselves about the nature of impossible orders and combat expediency. Behind them, M and Thoradin were still standing there, apparently unable to imagine how they could engage an ogre halfway up a flight of stone steps when the Mayor was already at the foot of those steps bashing at it with a warhammer.  Kalman had no attention to spare to give them suggestions. The ogre was bellowing and hooting as it tried to kick her. She dodged and baited it backwards, and it followed, abandoning the advantage of its higher ground without a thought. She gave it a couple punches and then hammered it again, feeling another bone give way.  She kicked him, and then moved around, getting between the ogre and the stairs and grinning to see Pierzak coming up quick through the somewhat trampled fungus.  “Got to kill the ogre in order to get upstairs,” she announced, “so it's part of my orders!” “We decided,” added Daeren from a few paces behind her. “Good enough” replied Kalman as she slammed her warhammer into the foe's chest, which felt similar to slamming it into a wall of mudstone. “...but,” added Pierzak, who apparently hadn't finished, “now that you've got him off the stairs...”  Kalman's eyes went wide as the legendary speardwarf neatly dodged around both her, and the ogre. She hammered at the ogre's liver (she supposed; perhaps ogres do not have livers?), more to keep it at bay than in any hope of actually wounding it that way. “You're not leaving are you?!” she demanded. Pierzak was grinning broadly, briefly tapping Kalman on the shoulder as she moved back around her left. “Hah!” she said. “Got you!” An instant later, she was battling the furious ogre as well, and Kalman felt a flood of mixed relief and joy. She couldn't help but smile at the joke.  Pierzak immediately punctuated her jest by spearing the ogre in the brain.  … The dwarves clustered around one of the ogres, letting the other one amble away for the moment as they focused their attacks. Imp got in a blow that ought to have broken the thing's neck. At the gate, Spermy Smurf waited for the elf to drag its protesting, half-mad horse through the gap before heading back in. He gave the elf a little nod, although such niceties were of course ignored by the haughty creature. “Must leave, must leave” she was muttering, dragging along the horse while also somehow using the animal to support most of her weight. “Mind the gap” he told her, thinking she likely wouldn't. If she fell into a hole and died, it would be her own fault.  The recruit Wilekat passed him going the other way. “Better hurry,” he told her, “or there won't be any ogres left.” Wilekat saw as she emerged from the gatehouse that Spermy Smurf had perhaps been exaggerating, but not by much. She counted six ogres in the maze, one on the ground being swarmed by her comrades, one between them and her, and four more further out. There were also a couple of goblins rapidly disappearing into the brush. She spared a moment to shout to the dwarves in the ballista gallery: “The siege is broken!”  As if in answer, she heard the great “thrum!” of a ballista firing, and wondered which dwarf in the gallery had been brave enough to rush forward and pull the firing lever despite the proximity of the terrifying ogres.  She watched as the enormous siege bolt whooshed through the air, missing the foe – and the battling dwarfs – by a huge margin. Perhaps it was that blind fellow she mused.  The sight of the ballista firing almost caused her to miss the sight of an ogre's head flying through the air, accompanied by the triumphant shouts of the dwarves.  2nd Limestone The Queen emerged from the ballista gallery to inform the siege is repelled although a few ogres remain which our warriors are slaying easily. I am overjoyed and also greatly burdened by grief knowing had I completed our defense-works correctly several dwarves now dead might be alive including former overseer Rawkking. She added there are dwarves stuck in the earthen hole beneath my Maze whom I ought release. I ordered the lever pulled but the bridge re-raised as soon as those dwarves exit in case another ogre or two falls in.  The burrow restriction will remain in place until all enemies are gone but I permitted it extended into the courtyard which I now believe is secure enough we can recover the bodies there. Wilekat was seen engaging one of the few ogres remaining in the maze. Krushdhead is with her and so were Imp, Tangents, Avlein, and Yeol. The ogre reportedly jumped in the hole to escape.  Yeol battled another ogre alone. He reportedly jumped in the hole to escape. Later I received paperwork that he has been added to the enrollment list of the Crypts of Pages which is a squad I do not recall creating.   The remaining dwarves in the maze engaged that ogre save for Wilekat who paced ahead to attack the next alone. Avlein was pushed through a gap.   A few moments later the ogre dodged away from Krushdhead and followed Avlein down the channel only just barely missing crushing her.   Wilekat slew her ogre opponent single-handedly with her bronze spear! I suspect she has studied Pierzak's technique. She moved to the next ogre and soon slew that one as well.    With one ogre remaining alive aboveground I was alarmed to hear a fiendish murk has been spotted. I immediately ordered all squads retreat to behind our walls for safety.  With no enemies within sight two of our siege engines were abruptly fired endangering dwarves and accomplishing nothing to attack the enemy. One passed inches over Krushdhead's head but the dwarf ducked just in time. Far out in the field the arrows arced over the heads of two retreating goblins encouraging them to retreat faster.    The report is that after some difficult engagement Pierzak slew the last ogre below the maze with assistance from her comrades.  In the year 252 Pierzak Sterusadil Oboth Uthir slew eleven ogres and ten goblins during their siege of Bronzestabbed. She is said to be an ardent worshipper of Titthal, whose domain is rumors and fame. I will wager rumors of Pierzak Drivenwalls the Droplets of Searing will be whispered by hearths across the world for as long as dwarves live.    No dwarf may call her a friend neither wife neither family but every dwarf at Bronzestabbed can call her savior. If I have erred by scribing in this journal excess detail of the siege of 252 at least it will serve as exacting record of her heroism. 3rd Limestone The foetid murk has billowed north across the river endangering no dwarves.  The elf merchant dares the maze with one ogre still present. In deference to the elves and hopes she will remove one horse load of laundry from our sight I sent the squads back out to combat the last ogre.  Silentdwarf and Wilekat were the first to respond, both armed with spears and shields. They had it on the ground in moments with wounds to its feet. Tectonis joined them, weaponless save for an iron shield, but still able to assist. Together they beat the ogress into submission and then death.  All enemies are slain or retreated. Finally, after what had seemed months but was actually only 18 days, we are free of the goblin filth and I can order all bridges lowered, all burrow restrictions taken down. We will bury our dead while our heroes take their much-deserved rest.
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Jun 20, 2014 07:27
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The Droplets of searing Ogre blood, I do wish DF would stop truncating titles....
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Jun 20, 2014 08:50
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Magnificent. Ogrekind would long remember this as 'Dat fing wen everywun died'.
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Jun 20, 2014 09:05
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I'm impressed. That was a lot of Ogres. Now the hard part, can you manage to fix the gates without somehow letting a forgotten beast out of the basement?
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Jun 20, 2014 09:06
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Maybe the thread needs a title change as '2012 succession LP' is not that fitting anymore  .
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Jun 20, 2014 10:13
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Woooooooo siege broken and many ogres slain. Did any members of the militia increase their skills to any great degree after all that fighting? I expect an increase from the sheer amount of meetings that Kalman held with all those ogres.
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Jun 22, 2014 07:09
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So I am a lazy 'swordsdwarf' who uses a crossbow and is kind of a dick? Spot on. Loving the updates too. I miss the fighting descriptions when they are not there, but when they get to be too much I may or may not skim a bit.
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Jun 23, 2014 01:41
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Trundel posted:Woooooooo siege broken and many ogres slain. Did any members of the militia increase their skills to any great degree after all that fighting? I expect an increase from the sheer amount of meetings that Kalman held with all those ogres. Oh, for sure. I didn't exactly keep track, but several crossbow dwarfs probably leveled up their wrestling (or whatever) skills a lot from all the bashing they did. Pierzak is probably extra-super-legendary now, and I think a few other dwarves like Kalman got a lot of fighting in too. Hell, if you look closely you'll notice one or two ogres leveled up - they start being called "ogre cook" or something in the combat logs when that happens. Spermy Smurf posted:So I am a lazy 'swordsdwarf' who uses a crossbow and is kind of a dick? Spot on. I know some folks like them and some don't. I definitely dragged this out way too long... after Leperfish developed a certain habit I was loathe to abandon it. But I eventually had to admit it was taking too long and getting really tedious, so the last handful of updates I tried to change it up and do different things. Now I'm really really hoping I can wrap up the fortress without having another siege.
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Jun 23, 2014 02:30
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Leperflesh posted:
Now you've really gone and jinxed it. And thus began the great Kobald siege.
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Jun 23, 2014 05:25
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I don't suppose I could get a snapshot of dorfme post negotiation marathon?
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Jun 26, 2014 03:29
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Kalman posted:I don't suppose I could get a snapshot of dorfme post negotiation marathon? Funny you should ask. There's one in this update!
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Jun 27, 2014 07:31
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