Beardrenched: Episode 7

Granite

As the calendar ticks over to 207, Beardrenched finds itself in a state of bedlam. Undead creatures drag their endtrails through the taverns, and the dwarven economy seems to rest unsteadily on the outlook of the mortuary and stone coffin industries. Some dwarven scholars speculate that this might indicate an economic bubble.

Mayor Udib Abantat looms over a shale desk littered with codices. Her head rests on her right palm as she nervously coils her brown hair around her index finger. She flips through the pages of various fortress ledgers with her left. She would ordinarily be sleeping at this hour, but the coming and going of unsettled spirits makes this an impossibility. The residents of the fortress are to modest to speak it out loud, but she gets the sense people are losing confidence. Not only in her leadership, but in Beardrenched itsef. Hell, things aren't looking to great for The Emerald Rag itself.

"We need to get our shit together," she mutters, "or we won't last another year." She works through the night, taking stock of inventory, of survivors. Scribbling plans, to-do lists. The next day, she calls a combined meeting of the fortress nobility, clergy, and guild leaders.

A number of immediate tasks are agreed upon. Something must be done about the gore pile. The Necromancers are to be placed under house arrest. And the militia needs some goddamn armor.

A few days later, the Bookkeeper Zuntir Gusgashlikot emerges from the caverns covered in blood. "Another blind cave ogre. He's dead, but Solon didn't make it." The gate is hastily sealed behind her, silencing the cacophony of an approaching crundle herd.

A week later, the Elves arrive to trade. We sell them as much tattered socks and underwear as they can carry in return for a bounty of fruits and nuts. Then they started complaining about all the trees we've been cutting down. Or something like that, I stopped paying attention.

Slate

The odor of miasma becomes overwhelming. We have a big pile of coffins which haven't been placed in tombs yet. They are lined up and many of them are filled. At least one ghost has been released to the afterlife.

A pair of kobold thieves are spotted by a goblin on the service. They're scared off.

The tavern is closed indefinitely. There is to much work to do in the fortress.

Some 20 or so migrants have arrived, "despite the danger."

Felsite

Tun Kilisash is taken by a fey mood

Three months into the year, the manager has not approved a single work order

Tun created llama wool trousers. wow.

Hematite

Turns out the "office" I assigned to the manager was furnished with a bed.

After three months of training, the reconstituted Copper Claw is deployed to explore the third cavern layer. The cavern is fairly open and sprawling, with walls of marble. There is a considerable amount of quartzite and malochite down here as well.

The Copper Claw discovers two unusual volcanic columns studded with gems, as well as another subterranean pond.

No magma

A human caravan bypasses our inaccessable trade depot. We still manage to speak with their diplomat, who compliments our digs.

That ramp is a clusterfuck

A herd of rutherers enters the fortresss from the second cavern level. The Copper Claw begins hacking them up before they can cause any trouble.

Malachite

The farmers want a grand guildhall. We'll see about that...

The fortress is attacked by Ithithe Torchgleamed the Venerable, a giant humanoid monster with two heads. The Copper Claws dispose of her before she even reaches the fortress. The children thank the gods that there will be no need for them to drag this hulking pile of gore to the pit.

Limestone

The dwarven trade caravan and mountainhome lliason arrive. Followed by a Goblin ambush!

The ambush is defeated, a weaponsmith is dead.

Whatever I did back in Hematite allowed the wagons in, but there is no way to seal the enterance.

We give them several tons of tattered clothing and carved bone doohickeys.

Sandstone

Lolor Bornmirror inherits the position of baron. Alas, we still have not found any magma, so we resign ourselves to preparing luxurious quarters.

We are visited by Ovus Ingtaksethal, a forgotten beast taking the form of a enourmous hairy scorpion with wings. It has poisonous gas, and it appears those wings are not ornamental. Commander Oreb takes two squads and establishes a defensive position near the chasm. The hammerlords and marksdwarves wait for the beast to fly up the chasm.

Mistem Olongutid withdraws from society (a kind of strange mood)

Context falls in battle, but not before wounding a number of the beasts limbs and cutting one of its wings. Ultimately the beast is slain, but the fortress mourns the loss of its most legendary miner. A true working class hero.

Commander Oreb's survivor's guilt sinks to new depths, but they have proven themselves an adept military leader, and importantly, hard to kill.

Mistem Olongutid crafts an iron buckler. wow. (legendary armor is actually pretty cool though)

More migrants arrive

The baron prohibits the export of war hammers. We can live with this. We like war hammers.

Another forgotten beast. Adag. A huge quadruped composed of vomit. At least this is a meme beast. Not worth our time. We decide to wait for it to trip over a crundle and splash onto the cavern floor.

Timber

An ambush! (a cat stumbled into a kobold. The kobold flees in terror)

A number of kobolds are cut down in the halls.

Apparently we don't have a hospital

Oh well, the guy died

Moonstone

Obi has become a lord.

Opal

A Minotaur arrives. The marksdwarves outrun the hammerdwarves and it is turned into a stinking pincushion without even being given the chance to land a blow.

A theif has stolen "Understanding the Tree."

Now the herbalists want a guildhall

Onesh Risel has been stolen

Obsidian

Besmar Lorbelal withdraws from society