The Fall of Boardsomber: Part 3
Mayor's Log: Late Spring 205I awoke all alone in the darkness.
I tried to move my limbs but found myself bound in what appeared to be a sack. A dull throb resounded in my head, as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. I did not know how long I had been unconscious, only that I was still alive.
As I looked around, I noticed there were several pools of blood not far from where I laid, and what appeared to be several large amorphous shapes on the floor. I took a closer look, and shuddered as the shapes came into focus; limbs, torsos and unidentifiable lumps of meat. I struggled again to no avail, so I tried feebly to cry for help.
It was Zuntîr that found me, still tied up in the nasty smelling troll hide sack. I sat there in the dark and dank halls trying to shake off the after effects of a nasty blow to the head, while Zuntîr stooped down to untie my bonds.
I was carried back to the workshop complex where Edëm was busy trying to staunch the bleeding wounds of our dwarven defenders on a dining room table turned into a makeshift operating table. Zuntîr placed me on a bed that they had hauled down from the bedroom complex. Zasit was being worked on by Edëm; he was unconscious and it looked like he took several heinous wounds to his upper body. Edëm was trying hard not to let him bleed out, but he wasn’t very good at it though, fumbling several times with only his dabbling levels in medical skills. From his pale facade I could tell things did not bode well for Zasit, but still he held on.
Dodók was up and about but his right hand was heavily bandaged, îton was resting on a nearby bed and his left leg was thickly bandaged.
Zuntîr filled me in on what had occurred as he went about dressing my wounds. Only then did I realize that I was lucky to have survived unscathed from
Apparently, the humans came bounding down the spiral stairway and-
while we we're still searching for supplies in the abandoned halls. Apparently this was when I got knocked out and placed in a sack. Zasit whom had been keeping guard near the stairwell only managed to give off a warning cry before being set upon by the humans. Zuntîr and îton whom were nearby when Zasit cried out came running and Zuntîr loosed all his bolts at the vile humans, managing to keep them off Zasit momentarily. îton engaged the humans in mortal combat but was quickly outnumbered. By the time Edëm and Dodók came around to see what was happening, îton was desperately trying to fend off the attackers while Zasit was unconscious on the floor.
Dodók and Edëm managed to finish off the humans but not without cost. In the process, Dodók had taken a nasty cut to his right hand that had severed several nerves - impairing his ability to grasp, while îton had suffered a broken leg.
Uzol and Nil had run off at the first warning of danger, but have since returned and have been tasked with rummaging the empty bedrooms for any medical supplies that we can use. But the situation just seems hopeless.
"How long could we hope to hold out as wretched as we were?"Those were my last thoughts as I succumbed to fatigue and let the pleasant oblivion of sleep wash over me.
...
*thump*...
...Half-conscious, I sensed the dull throb in my head-
*Thump*...getting louder-
*THUMP*I woke up with a jolt, that was no throbbing I was hearing, that was-
then came the sounds of screaming and combat.
Earlier on...
Lebes had come trudging down the stairs with a band of goblins at his heels, upon noticing the hacked up remains of the humans he gave an exasperated moan,
"Imbeciles, must I do everything myself?" he muttered under his breath.
Zuntîr had heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching from the stairwell, so he braced himself against the wall, hoping to take the assailant by surprise. He had long since run out of ammunition, so he could only wield his crossbow like a bludgeon. He tried to remain calm and focused his attention on listening for the assailants approach.
As the goblin turned the corner, Zuntîr hollered and charged with crossbow in hand, but Lebes was quick to respond. He parried the blow, side stepped to the left and beheaded the baron of Ochredips with a swift stab of the spear.
Still drowsy, I started in sudden trepidation. I wasn't the only one that had noticed the disturbance next door. The other dwarves scrambled to their feet warily, uncertain of what to expect. That was when an object was thrown into the room and rolled into our view.
It was the
severed head of
Zuntîr Cobaltwatches the Worthy Guile of Jaws.
That gave us all quite a shock and while our attention was focused on the head, the hulking form of Lebes came charging out of the shadows. The menace of the goblin was great, and everyone backed away from this new threat.
Zasit struggled to stand as Lebes loomed over him. He attempted to raise his weapon and block the coming blow but the goblin did not afford him the opportunity and
skewered him from below. With a sharp swing, the goblin dislodged its spear and down fell the limp body of
Zasit Milehelm the Speechless Girders, finally succumbing to his many wounds.
I scrambled to my feet as Lebes drove a weaponless Dodók to the corner. But a bud of courage blossomed within îton whom had been frozen in fear before and he charged at Lebes knocking the goblin aside. Dodók took the opportunity to grab a copper shield lying close by and charged into combat. îton tried to fight back against Lebes, but alas the agile goblin was too much for the limping baron of Postfortresses. He took
several stabs to the torso and crumpled to the floor in a heap. So ended the
îton Swordochre the Mellow Plaits.
As I fled from the room in fear, I stumbled onto Edëm, Uzol and Nil, whom had returned from their search of the rooms with buckets of water in hand. Noticing the battle underway, Edëm gave a yell and charged into battle while Uzol and Nil cowered in fear.
"No! Stay back! You are no match for- this- ARGH!!! This monster!" Barked Dodók as he darted around Lebes, trying to bash with his shield, taking a
wound to the shoulder in the process.
"General!" Cried Edëm as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"Hurry and run! He came alone! Now's your- GAH! Chance!" Cried Dodók as he tried to keep Lebes occupied buying time for us to escape only to take even more wounds in the process.
"Alone?" Sneered Lebes in derision as he
pinned Dodók's left shoulder to the wall with his spear. He snapped his fingers and at once, a trio of goblins swarmed into the room, with more still lurking in the shadows.
"Are you crazy!? You're in no shape to fight, you'll die alone down here without my help!" And with that said, Edëm motioned that we should leave, before charging into the fray himself.
"Hurry this way!" said Nil as he grabbed my shoulder, the first words I've heard out of his mouth. Uzol was already ahead of us, motioning that we should follow.
I gave a last glance back; Dodók had crumpled to the floor in exhaustion and I winced as Lebes raised his spear and delivered the death blow to
Dodók Bookice the Curled Duty of Foot. Edëm was wailing like a madman, but he was kept from advancing by the other goblin lackeys. I tore my eyes from the carnage and fled distraught, into the gloom.
That was the last we saw of
Edëm Arrowrhymed the Old Maw of Gifting.
The three of us barricaded ourselves in one of the bedrooms while the goblins made a search of the maze like rooms. That was when Uzol and Nil revealed to me that they had been busy digging a secret passageway to the surface in one of the bedrooms, but it was still unfinished when we found them. Now they hoped to finish the mining and escape. It was a race against time and it won't be long now before we were caught.
As we hit the ice layer indicating we had reached the glacier above, we heard a faint commotion from below.
"General Lebes! I think we've found the dwarves! This room is locked!"We dug faster as the goblins thumped on the door, and as the straining door finally gave way and broke, daylight! I'd never thought I'd been so happy to see the sun, but we were not out of the woods yet.
We had emerged to the southeast of the fortress, near the elf blood snow drifts. With a swish of the bucket, Uzol and Nil splashed the contents of their buckets at the passageway we had just emerged from. The water instantly froze over the passageway, barring the goblins from following in our wake, and not a moment sooner. We heard the goblins attempt to breach the ice to no avail, but a commotion begun to sound from the direction of the fortress, we would not be let off the hook so easily.
"Mayor Dobar! You must escape and bring the news of our fall to our other settlements! They must be warned!" Cried Uzol.
"It is futile, many of the other settlements have already fallen into the clutches of the goblins!" I replied. I must admit, I had given up on the prospect of surviving at that point.
"Not so, for as long as a remnant of us still stands, we can hope to rebuild and later return and reclaim our homeland. Head west beyond the mountains, we will cover your escape!" Said Nil as he laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"Go! Do not let our sacrifice be in vain!" Yelled Uzol over the wail of the wind.
Shirking cowardice for courage, Uzol and Nil started off in the direction of the Trade depot. Seeing that they could not be dissuaded, I turned to leave. With a heavy heart, I fled into the mountains, as a snowstorm descended upon Boardsomber, obscuring the direction of my trail.
Epilogue
I gradually made my way westwards, then northwards in search of refuge. Along the way, I passed by many of the
of our former fortresses. I shielded my eyes and pressed on, wondering if we will meet the same fate that befell that other dwarf kingdom? What was it? I can't-
*The journal entry ends abruptly here, stained with traces of vomit**There is a letter placed among the pages here*
I knew little of what transpired after I succumbed to my despair and fatigue, only that I was rescued when a passing caravan came across my unconscious body as I lay by the roadside.
I am recuperating, and have since learned much of what is going on in these lands. Murderflood, once the jewel of the former Queen's eye has been largely left unscathed by the wake of the goblin invasion, largely due to it being founded far from the proximity where the goblins of The Immortality of Battles operate. I remembered visiting there once, it was still a shoddy town, but I've heard that it has thrived in the meantime. I hope I am not misguided in placing my hopes there.
If you are reading this overseer, then I know the merchants have safely reached your borders and I can rest knowing my duty as last survivor of Boardsomber has been fulfilled. I now beseech you to stand tall and act as a shining beacon for all of dwarf kind! If you can manage to do so, perhaps we shall rise again and reclaim our ancestral lands. But beware of the imminent peril of the goblins marching on our lands now! Built what defenses you can and prepare for the worst! You must survive and carry on our legacy! Once I am fully healed, I will search for a way into your lands.
May our fortunes rise and fall together!
Yours Sincerely,
Dôbar Pearshoots
Mayor and last survivor of Boardsomber.
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