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Halloween Jack posted:Uplifting? Now I know why everyone hates you. The world is sick and ugly, but at least you made it through okay.
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Apr 8, 2014 14:41
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I am committed. I have thought about the life I wanted, but it is too late to ever want again.
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Apr 8, 2014 14:53
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Bad Munki posted:That game saps your will to live. Surely you are over-reacting. Good King Lowtax recently played the game for a solid 40 minutes without death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2UOkAXxoJ0
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Apr 9, 2014 00:54
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Angela Christine posted:Surely you are over-reacting. Good King Lowtax recently played the game for a solid 40 minutes without death. Christ. I can't believe I watched all of that. Also, Lowtax is an idiot. Literally can't figure out this highly advanced game and how to do things in it.
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Apr 9, 2014 18:48
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 20th Galena, 252 The enemy is at the gates, and the gates are down.  The first inner bridge – which used to be our outer bridge – can be raised.  But there are new ramps and stairs, leading to the upper walls.  From the walls, the catwalks above our courtyards are accessible.  One leads to the southmost tower; there is a bridge there, so that tower may be sealed.  The west tower is the problem. There is a hatch in its roof. From the west tower stair, our fortress is vulnerable.  The hatch can be locked but it is known a strong creature such as an ogre can rip open even a locked hatch. Therefore to secure the fortress we must defend that hatch. The easiest way to do that is to remove the staircase below the hatch. I yelled orders. The queen fired another ballista, taking a goblin crossbowman out of the fight.  The goblin axe lord Tode Osnunstorur boldly charged through the hole in our wall. Daeren, Fanzay, and Halloween Jack were waiting for him.   Fanzay was the fastest, stepping forward to bring his gleaming blade to bear.   The axelord ducked under the blade to slip past the one-armed swordsdwarf, coming back on his unguarded side, but Fanzay spun around and kept his weapon in play.   Another ballista bolt struck the foe, slamming into an ogress who grunted as it smacked meatily into her bulk, but the shot was mostly deflected by thick leather armor and grotesque monstrous blubber.  Tode got a strike in under Fanzay's guard, cutting deeply into his foot! Fanzay toppled with a shout but got his sword up just in time, as the goblin tried to punch him in the face. Tode reversed, squealing with delight as the huge axe's pommel caught Fanzay in the throat, although his cloak provided some padding to blunt the damage. The goblin's onslaught was furious, though: again the axe blade chopped down, cutting open Fanzay's other foot.  Daeren took advantage of Fanzay's prone position, firing a bolt which the nimble goblin somehow dodged!  Fanzay took another blow, his greaves protecting his belly, but the cruel goblin again chopped his right foot, and then with a swift cut, hacked off his left completely.  While the axe lord focused on Fanzay's legs, Halloween Jack had circled behind him, but the wary goblin was quick enough to parry her first shot, and then leap away from Daeren's next bolt, which whizzed past Halloween Jack's ear.    Desperate to rescue her comrade, Halloween Jack shouted a curse and hurled herself bodily at the goblin, tackling it to the ground! A crossbowgoblin squeezed through the gap beside the drawbridge, and for a moment we held our breaths before someone realized the creature had no remaining bolts in its quiver.  While the goblin Tode gabbered and shook off Halloween Jack, Fanzay collapsed, overcome by the pain of his wounds. Halloween was first to her feet, though, and as she ducked away, Daeren finally nailed his target with a bolt right to the back of the head! The goblin froze, stunned, his weapon and shield dropping to the ground.  The walls resounded again as our monarch continued to dance from one ballista to the next, merrily yanking levers. Her shot crashed into a nearby goblin swordsman, breaking its arm and leg as it futilely tried to protect itself with a filthy shield.  It was Tode's turn to experience the agony of dismemberment as Halloween Jack took the goblin's right hand clean off. The dwarf was then forced to dodge a clumsy attempt by the crossbowgoblin to brain her with the butt of its crude weapon.  But Halloween Jack kept her focus on the axe lord, punching him in the arm with her gauntleted fist and then driving the tip of her axe into his mouth, sending bloody teeth flying! She parried another hit from the annoying crossbow goblin and then spun, her axe slicing low through the weeds to sever Tode's foot.  Frustrated, the crossbow goblin screeched “stopses that!” and tackled Halloween Jack. It is strange to think a goblin can hold such loyalty to her leader.   They struggled entangled in the dirt, bashing at each other, forcing Daeren to shoot at the helpless axe lord instead. Even a goblin with no bolts left for her bow is dangerous. Halloween Jack found herself momentarily pinned, and the heavy copper crossbow slammed down on her right arm hard enough to crack the bone with a snap. The bright blue axe fell instantly from her numb fingers as she screamed in pain.  Rawkking joined the fight, having run down the ramps from the upper walls. Unfortunately her renowned ogre-slaying abilities are somewhat reduced by her lack of any sort of weapon beyond a bronze shield.   Halloween Jack shook off the pain and moved her shield to ward off another heavy hit before clambering to her feet. Beside her, Tode finally died, Daeren's bolt still protruding from the back of his head. Now facing four dwarves – two uninjured – alone, the crossbowgoblin spat and fled.  Angry and single-minded, Rawkking chased her. She didn't even notice as another goblin (again with an empty quiver) scampered past.  Alone, Rawkking charged across the broken bridge to take on over two dozen enemies still making their way through the trench maze.  Silently I bade her farewell.
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Apr 11, 2014 07:59
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You got this, Rawwking. I love the confidence here. "gently caress swords, I'll take them on with only my shield."
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Apr 11, 2014 16:15
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Ha ha ha, my female dwarf avatar's hair is going grey, she drinks too much, she loves tackling people but gets her bones broken doing it. How did Dwarf Fortress know I play rugby?
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Apr 11, 2014 16:28
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In her defense, I actually got a "interrupted" message when Rawkking showed up, so I think she was on an equipment gathering task and simply encountered the fight. Unlike those dwarves who show up on station unarmed. Just a reminder: I think it will be about two weeks before the next Bronzestabbed update.
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Apr 11, 2014 18:16
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Leperflesh posted:Just a reminder: I think it will be about two weeks before the next Bronzestabbed update. Get going, Munki. Horf me.
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Apr 11, 2014 18:24
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Leperflesh posted:Just a reminder: I think it will be about two weeks before the next Bronzestabbed update. Just as things were getting fun. Well worth the wait, though. I'm loving how great Sankis is with the ballistae. She's a natural.
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Apr 12, 2014 10:10
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Welp.  What a wonderful time to get caught up with this. It had been sitting in my bookmarks for ages, and on a whim I decided I'd start reading it on a slow shift at work two weeks ago, to this day.
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Apr 15, 2014 03:34
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21st Galena, 252 Fanzay lay pale in the dirt, unconscious and bleeding but, I thought, unlikely to die immediately.   Halloween Jack, her weapon arm useless, held back nearby. Behind her, Daeren reloaded her crossbow grimly. Above them, perched on the high wall, Tangents rained down bolts upon the enemy. Nearby, the mayor Kalman muttered something about meetings, but continued to loiter, watching the drama below.   Just beyond the lowered outer bridge, and the raised but useless inner bridge, Rawkking Wheeledbalds the Whip of Focus, the fifth Overseer of Bronzestabbed, charged to meet the foe, shield ready, weapon-hand empty. She spotted Rumda in the dirt, and blinked, knowing that dwarf was entirely dead, alongside Maelin's body. Her stride did not falter as she whipped past a howling lumbering ogress to engage a nearby goblin.  The ogress swiped at her, but Rawkking jumped nimbly away: she is no stranger to battling ogres and is wise to their habits.   Beneath her feet, instead of grassy dirt, she felt only empty space, and she dropped into darkness. The soft earth and her thick leather trousers protected her from the short fall. I stared incredulously as I realized: Rawkking would not die today!  Back at the entrance, a crossbowgoblin slipped passed the raised drawbridge, and was met instantly by a bolt from lunnrais's crossbow! A second shot followed, plunging deep into its stomach, as it neared helpless Fanzay.  Next to lunnrais, Enzer also took aim and fired, although her opening shot missed wide. Meanwhile, Daeren had rushed to the southwest wall: there, standing protectively over the 1-year-old child Joebles (who should not be outside!), she fired accurately on the moaning and wailing troop of ogres that were making their way through our old refuse piles.  And Tangents, seeking revenge, located the cruel goblin who had slain the infant Trundel (and then been hit by a ballista bolt) and shot him cleanly through the liver!  Lunnrais pegged the goblin in our courtyard again, puncturing its lung, and the creature lost its taste for battle and turned to flee, clutching its chest and gasping. As it squeezed through the drawbridge gap, Tangents again hit the baby-murderer, shooting it in the leg. Its blood spurted onto the clean stone as the goblin screeched its anger. Moments later, Enzer caught it from the other direction, her bolt passing right through the goblin's slimy tongue!  Lunnrais, unwilling to let her foe get away, shot the escaping goblin in the back of the leg, sending it crashing down. Halloween Jack, apparently deciding her wounds were not sufficient to excuse her from duty, charged the two wounded goblins as Fanzay, finally recovering enough to regain consciousness, began to drag himself away from the combat.  Shouting incoherently with rage, Halloween Jack bashed the infant slayer goblin hard with her shield, blows which the goblin scarcely noticed, it being too preoccupied with its newly perforated liver and tongue. Inexplicably, the lone surviving elf merchant edged around the corner of the wall, just behind Halloween Jack. The goblin ducked back, nearly colliding with the confused elf while Halloween Jack pursued, relentlessly battering and kicking.  Just as the goblin slipped past the elf, the dwarf's shield edge caught it solidly across the brow, and its skull caved in with a satisfying crunch.  Enzer knelt in the grass and took careful aim. Her next bolt was an extraordinary shot, flying forty or more yards before passing neatly through a fortification, and spearing into a goblin just on the other side of the still-lowered outer bridge! Blood spattered from its punctured leg as it howled with surprise.  It was a fortuitous shot, for that was one of the few crossbowgoblins that still carried a quiver full of bolts.  Halloween Jack turned and stepped forward to meet the next foe: the liver-shot Atu, who had just staggered across the unconscious heap of her ally Utes.  Atu retched, lunnrais fired, a bolt sprouted from his leg, and he fell right at Halloween Jack's feet. She stepped over the pathetic creature to face the lubering hulk behind: a giant ogress. The dwarf swung an opening shot with her shield, which the ogress somehow dodged. As Halloween Jack blocked the gap beside the raised bridge with her own body, she again swung at the surprisingly-nimble ogress. Tangents put an arrow into the goblin sprawled at their feet, hoping to ensure it would not distract Halloween. As the ogress glanced upward at the source of this latest volley, Jack took the opportunity to shield-bash that same goblin in the pancreas.  I write in the journal what I was told. I do not know how a dwarf can tell a goblin has been struck in the pancreas with a shield through its clothes without a surgery to investigate it. A silver bolt whizzed past Halloween Jack's head. It came from the goblins on the other side of the bridge: her decision to try to block the hole with her own body had immediate consequence.   I hoped that Halloween Jack might take the chance to retreat away from enemy fire to the safety of the walls but she chose the opposite option and stepped through to meet her assailant head-on. She struck at the nearest goblin, her shield catching it a painful glance on its raised fist, while behind her the goblin on the ground had the displeasure of being shot in the throat by the increasingly-skilled lunnrais. Enzer shot the unconscious goblin in the leg, and Jack surprised her enemy by suddenly dropping the edge of her shield to catch its foot. Unfortunately thick troll fur protected the goblin.  Behind it, we all saw the leader glide lithely forward: “Snodub,” we heard them call him, a master lasher armed with a gleaming silver scourge. Halloween Jack was undeterred, kicking viciously at her goblin's arm as it tried to twist away from her on the ground. The lasher stepped forward, actually stepping boldly on its underling's chest, grinning maniacally. “Helloes theres, dwarf” it whispered.  A few feet away, below their feet and entirely unknown to them, Rawkking heard the goblin's voice. Her eyes gained a steely focus, her breathing leveled out, and she slipped into a formidable martial trance!  If only she had a foe nearby to fight, or a spear to fight it with. Almost casually, the master lasher snapped its silver scourge into Halloween Jack's face, cracking her cheek through her ragged hood.  Somehow she ignored the scourge in her face, instead battering the goblin at her feet again with her shield. “Mines,” the lasher spat, and it neatly disarmed her with a swipe of the scourge that broke Halloween Jack's shield arm, her shield snapping away hard to the ground.  She staggered back, moaning, bouncing against the bulk of the distracted ogress behind her. Surprised, the ogress shifted into the gap, and for a second we thought Halloween Jack might have a reprieve. From above, Tangents sent down another bolt, but it missed the lasher to instead spear the hapless goblin he stood upon; that was the last straw, as the pincushioned goblin's eyes rolled back in its head. The lasher traded places with the moaning ogress. It scourged Halloween Jack's shoulder, cracking her upper arm, and then brought the cruel weapon down to tear at her foot.  It swiped the weapon across her face again, but this time she turned, and the collar of her cloak protected her mouth from worse than a bruise. She moved backwards, putting the prone and near-lifeless body of a fallen goblin between herself and the enemy. As the lasher pursued her, Enzer finally slew her target with a shot to the heart.  The blood-stained silver scourge mangled Halloween Jack's right hand. She bore it stoically.  He brought a heavy blow against her chest, and she gasped in pain but did not falter.  The lasher was joined by a healthy goblin swordsman, armed with a crude copper longsword and shield, his bare grey arms rippling with lean muscle.  She spat at both of them, a glob of blood into the goblins' faces, smiled slightly, steeled herself, and died on her feet as the silver scourge crushed her skull.  There were more goblins and another ogre behind them. We had lost the outer gatehouse now, without doubt, and only three dwarves with crossbows still defended the outer courtyard.
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Apr 25, 2014 07:05
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I am avenged! My ghost will thank you Halloween Jack... oh.
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Apr 25, 2014 16:23
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All a dwarf can ask is to die happy, drunk on booze and murder.
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Apr 25, 2014 16:42
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I didn't want to admit how far behind I am on actually reading through the updates, but...OhCrap should join Leperfish as an Overseer Emeritus. One day I will learn how to play this game. I will be a Good Overseer. I hear they have it for Mac now?
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May 1, 2014 19:16
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22nd Galena, 252 We will mourn the fallen later. Now, our survival hangs in the balance.  It is improved by the child Johnny Aztec's promising skill at stonework. He pries loose the blocks one by one.  We may secure the inner walls but it will likely be too late for Fanzay. His wounds are grevious and the goblins are almost upon him.  Lunnrais, Enzer, and Tangents ply the enemy with bolts but three crossbowdwarves even of good skill cannot hold back the goblins alone.  On the west wall Daeren delays the ogres with his own accurate volleys.  A handful more dwarves are reportedly moving to their squad stations. That will not be enough now.  A hard choice must be made. “Raise the bridges!” I ordered and the dwarves that ran with those orders wore grim faces. A thought occurred. “Also lower the west gate inner bridge!” A moment later, the goblin swordsman's blade clanged against Fanzay's shield. And then, casually, with vile contempt, the goblin crushed Fanzay's left hand, disarming him.  Although Fanzay's armor protected him from a cut to the leg, the reprieve was only brief, as the goblin put his weight behind his weapon and drove it point-first through the bronze. The three-year old child It's That Time who should not be in the courtyard jumped out from a hiding spot behind a tree and shouted defiance at Fanzay's tormenter. Almost immediately the child scampered away.  Lunnrais picked a new target: the elite goblin master lasher.  Fanzay was helpless and rapidly mangled. He died moments later, the swordsgoblin tiring of the cruel torture as his allies poured through the walls behind him.  Frenzied with bloodlust, the goblin danced forward and attacked the elf's pack horse with gusto. Lunnrais shot it in the back. Enzer shot another goblin swordsman in the leg, sending it to the ground.  It's That Time led the elite lasher away, scampering to stay ahead of the goblin, tears of fear streaming down his face. A child of only three years should not witness a dwarf's murder.   Another of lunnrais' bolts found its mark in Fanzay's murderer's leg. It too crashed to the ground. Enzer shot him as well, her bolt freeing the goblin's shield as it crunched through its hand.  In the ballista gallery, the recruit Forbodingburger found his courage and opened fire on the goblins still navigating the maze! Nearby, Gnu Sheriff in Town called out encouragment as her squad clambered around the ballistae to find firing positions.  Daeren shot an ogre in the head. Ogre heads are very tough.  The inner bridge crashed down, but failed to crush any goblins. I yelled to keep pulling the lever.  A goblin swordswoman charged lunnrais and Enzer. Enzer shot it in the kidney, a spray of blood spattering out onto the ground as the bolt exited the back of the goblin. In the courtyard Koorisch chased the lasher who was being left behind by the nimble feet of a child.  Koorisch has an adamantine sword. He is also well armored, with helm, greaves, gauntlets, mail shirt and breastplate, although he is only wearing one shoe. Salttotart came running through the main gate, also properly armed and reasonably armored although also only wearing one shoe.   The master lasher gave up on Its That Time, spinning to whip Koorisch across the arm. Koorisch's counterattack was too slow to connect with the nimble warrior.  Another strike with the silver scourge scraped loudly across Koorish's greaves and he shouted in surprise although not seriously injured.  Koorisch again could not connect and I feared he was plainly outmatched by this skilled enemy despite superior dwarven warcraft. Once more the lash drew no blood but the heavy chain must have bruised Koorish with each blow. Then we groaned as the lack of protective footwear once again proved a terrible vulnerability.  Knocked on his back and half-senseless, Koorisch could not protect his vulnerable foot. The cruel silver chains sliced through his ankle like forge-red iron through dog tallow.  The creature was a frenzy of attacks, kicking and slashing at prone Koorisch as the dwarf struggled to move or protect himself. Only his armor was keeping him alive although soon both his arms were broken. Finally, Koorisch managed to get his weapon in front of him and parried a blow, swiping back although without much hope of contact given the goblin was still standing while Koorisch lay on his back in the dirt.  Enzer put several bolts into Fanzay's killer, including one that punctured the goblin's lung. It lay senseless, clearly dying.  Forbodingburger had pinned down an enemy although the goblin's shield was proving an insurmountable obstacle.  Pierzak emerged from the entrance as the bridge behind him clanged shut; she would be the last reinforcement from that direction. However, Pierzak's skill with the spear is legendary, and she carried an adamantine spear along with her bronze shield with reassuring firmness.   In the old barracks tower, Avlein ran up the stairs past Johnny Aztec even as the youth pried loose blocks of stone from the steps.  Mercifully, Koorisch ceased to struggle, his lifeblood running out the stumps of his leg and arm. The goblin lasher hooted with delight as another of our brave warriors died.  Nearby, the mayor Kalman, not having abandoned her quest to have a meeting, lent her warhammer to the fray – she bashed Fanzay's killer, who was already near death from Enzer's barrage, firmly in the head.  A second strike ensured that he was dead. A civilian, the miner Brougal, got caught up in the melee as a swordsgoblin encountered him among the brush; at the same time, Salttotart engaged the elite lasher.  It is heartbreaking to witness the same situation twice. Unable to connect with his first slash, Salttotart was immediately caught by a lash to his vulnerable feet which tore open a foot and toppled him to the ground.  Enzer and lunnrais came to the mayor's aid, firing on an ogress that loomed behind her. The keening creature was already injured but apparently not enough to discourage the thing from pressing its attack.  Kalman spun about, putting her weight behind a strike to the upper leg that would have shattered the bones of any goblin or dwarf, but ogre bones are very strong. She tried again, a punishing hit to the stomach that resulted in a streamer of vile ogre vomit.  Salttotart was not done quite yet.  Kalman picked the smallest bones she could find and broke them with her hammer: the ogress' meaty right hand.  Salttotart lost his shield, and his right gauntlet, and his right hand, in a streamer of gore. As he lay back screaming, the lash came across his chest, and he lost his breath from the heavy blow.  And then Pierzak Drivenwalls the Droplets of Searing put her gleaming spear through the lasher's right hand! So swiftly and quietly had she moved that she caught the elite goblin lasher entirely by surprise.  Its crude iron shield, spattered with dwarven blood, clattered away as it whirled to face Pierzak, full of rage and fury and most of all shock. Pierzak gave him no reprieve. She launched into him spearpoint first, slicing through his leg as she slammed into him and tackled him to the ground.  While the goblin lay stunned, Pierzak was quickest to her feet, although not quite fast enough to catch the lasher before he rolled away.  Meanwhile, the mayor bashed away at the hapless ogress, even managing to break its leg,while lunnrais shot it.  Pierzak and her enemy sparred, spear parrying scourge and scourge blocking spear, but Pierzak proved by far the more skilled as she slipped her spearpoint into the goblin's left calf with a lightning thrust. Instantly she struck again, slicing open its left hand, and finally the horrible silver scourge was lost.  We who watched from safety could not help but cheer! Although several dwarves had fallen and the situation in the courtyard was still dire, no dwarf could help feel the joy of a fearsome enemy defeated. Her spear nearly ended him, but the goblin turned its head aside just fast enough that the point merely severed his ear. The goblin screamed with incoherent rage, its eyes wild.   Contemptuously Pierzak kicked him. She struck him with her spearshaft, and then with no particular taste for torture, Pierzak put her bright blue spearpoint through the master lasher's skull.  Even while dwarves celebrated, a fresh squad of goblins made their way through the maze, followed by a moaning, shambling mass of ogres. The siege was not broken yet. 
Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 09:05 on May 2, 2014 |
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May 2, 2014 09:02
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Not wearing Shoes - proven fatal to Dwarves.
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May 2, 2014 14:30
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They really need steel boots. Like, really badly. I'm sure there's some in the fortress, but apparently not enough, or perhaps they're all stuck in a bin somewhere that isn't accessible, or who loving knows. Also, lashers are horrifyingly lethal anyway, especially with a metal lashing weapon, and this was an elite lasher. Realistically even with metal shoes, no recruit or inexperienced warrior had much of a chance. I was really hoping that he'd get shot up a bit, but Enzer and lunnrais kept picking different targets. A legendary military dwarf with an adamantine spear, though? Yeah, that's a whole different ballgame. I was on the edge of my seat until Pierzak made it across the bridge since I had already ordered it raised. There was a real chance she'd get launched into the air and splattered against a wall. Also with the lasher's current target not quite dead yet, he ignored Pierzak, so she got the first strike in and at that point it was a done deal.
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May 2, 2014 19:20
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I also enjoy the idea of a Dwarven Mayor, complete with warhammer, desperately trying to ensure that Meetings happen.
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May 3, 2014 01:44
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What actually happened, in case anyone's curious, is that I forgot I'd extended the "inside and safe for civilians" burrow into the courtyard and onto the walls, until I noticed at the start of recording this update. So, despite being in a military squad, the mayor was pursuing the "conduct meeting" labor in a place where that labor is valid. When I reduced the burrow, she immediately went to go indoors (but still with Conduct Meeting). Once she got into contact with an enemy, though, her status as part of the military compelled her to fight rather than flee. But that's not as compelling as the image of her using her hammer, gavel-like, to formally open this town-hall-style debate with the goblins.
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May 3, 2014 01:49
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Someone had to make sure the goblins weren't making off with any valuable socks.
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May 3, 2014 03:14
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Obviously it's a meeting of the minds. Where her warhammer meets Goblin brains.
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May 3, 2014 05:26
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nvining posted:I also enjoy the idea of a Dwarven Mayor, complete with warhammer, desperately trying to ensure that Meetings happen. Surprisingly, Dwarfbert's Rules Of Order provide appropriate guidance for handling the interruption of meetings, by creatures ranging from firefiles to large eight-footed beasts made of cheese.
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May 7, 2014 02:57
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poo poo, can forgotten beasts really be made of already-food? What happens if you butcher a cheese monster?
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May 7, 2014 03:41
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Hello plump-helmet beasts.
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May 7, 2014 03:53
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Leperflesh posted:A legendary military dwarf with an adamantine spear, though? Yeah, that's a whole different ballgame. I was on the edge of my seat until Pierzak made it across the bridge since I had already ordered it raised. There was a real chance she'd get launched into the air and splattered against a wall. Also with the lasher's current target not quite dead yet, he ignored Pierzak, so she got the first strike in and at that point it was a done deal. I'm glad I gave Pierzak that spear, and I'm glad to see it being put to good use!
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May 7, 2014 04:32
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SynthOrange posted:Hello plump-helmet beasts.
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May 7, 2014 13:47
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Halloween Jack posted:Could...could a forgotten beast be...made of booze? Unlikely, but hot-drat if that isn't the secret dream of every dwarven warrior since the beginning of time.
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May 7, 2014 16:44
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23rd Galena, 252 The situation in the courtyard had improved but remained dire.  Pierzak protected salttotart from three nearby goblins with swords; two bearing small wounds and one unconscious and nearly dead. Salttotart might survive to see her triumph over them but he will not likely live longer than that.  The child It's That Time lead another swordgoblin away from the melee, dodging wildly through the weeds with elflike agility. Enzer and lunnrais were still plying their crossbows. Daeren having lost sight of the ogres from her position on the west wall had just arrived to assist them with her own crossbow although she is out of ammunition. Kalman conducted a meeting with a badly hurt ogress that despite grevious wounds did not seem especially close to death yet for those creatures' great bulk is formidable protection.   Another, much healthier-looking ogress was within a few yards of Daeren and the mayor. Above the gates, Tangents still fired down on the enemy, but she had only four bolts left.  Just beyond our near-useless gates marched reinforcements for the enemy.  Although several goblins had been lightly wounded from crossbow fire, the lead contingent included four more healthy ogres, with swordgoblins following, and a dozen fresh hammergoblins led by the other master lasher were now winding through the maze. Beyond the maze straggled another squad of ogres, hooting and singing eerily as they loped ponderously between the sparse trees. Bronzestabbed's reinforcements were separated from the battlefield by the raised bridges. Only one way into or out of our fortress remained open; and the child Johnny Aztec would soon close that way as well. I considered with trepidation opening a bridge. A fighting dwarf will not retreat while engaged with the enemy and if I allow reinforcements to go out they will face the same likely fate. If every armed dwarf in Bronzestabbed were assembled together at once they might have an advantage over the remaining foes, but our military has suffered attrition since I expanded it to ten squads and too many of those that remain are off-duty, asleep, or wandering the lower corridors seeking essential equipment.    Therefore I judge to allow a handful of dwarves to reinforce the courtyard would only serve to condemn each one as he or she arrived to be overwhelmed. Therefore I ordered the bridges remain raised and we watch from the walls and pray to Ngalak the Boulder of Mountains to give the strength of deep stone to our brave dwarves who yet fight desperately for Bronzestabbed. I pray to Etest to give us powers of war and Ugath protect us from the fiendish murk while we fight. I pray and I watch and faithfully in Igest the Silken Embrace's name I record the battle in the Overseer's Journal that no dwarf who falls may ever be forgotten. Tangents made one of her four remaining bolts count.  Kalman negotiated with implacable steel mediation. Enzer punctuated their debate with her own pointed interjections.  Pierzak attacked a lightly-bleeding swordgoblin, chopping into its leg hard enough for her blood-streaked spearpoint to stick in the bone. Her next stab went through its shoulder, forcing the screaming creature to release its oversized sword.  A moment later, she killed it with a kick to the skull.  Kalman's furious leadership finally rendered her embattled ogress unconscious, whereupon the mayor undertook to adjourn the meeting with several blows to the head.  Daeren delved into the fight, attempting to bludgeon an ogress with her heavy copper crossbow, a battle tactic I guessed unlikely to bring great success but demonstrating her unwavering bravery.  Tangents used her third-to-last bolt well.  While Kalman conducted her meeting in a one-sided manner, Daeren gamely harried her ogress, which shrank back and tried to dodge from the largely ineffective battering.   Pierzak decided to finish off the badly wounded goblin nearby, not noticing that behind her the goblin that had been chasing It's That Time had given up on the diminutive quarry and was now sneaking towards salttotart. That dwarf crawled slowly through the grass moaning softly, his skin as pale as ice from loss of blood. Tangent's second-to-last bolt thunked solidly into an ogress's chest but failed to penetrate its thick clothing and skin.  Kalman's hammer shattered the ogre's skull which apparently was not sufficient to slay it, proved by the ongoing flow of bile erupting like basaltic magma from its unconscious lips. Another blow actually served to wake the creature!  Pierzak repeated her earlier maneuver, using a spearpoint to the shoulder to disarm the goblin at her feet. She twisted the spearshaft while yanking hard to free it, and then drove back down, piercing its brain. We counted another goblin slain by her hands.   The enemy poured through the gate. The bridge raised and lowered (as some dwarf below dutifully pulled the lever repeatedly), narrowly missing goblins and ogres. I had hoped to crush one or two but it seemed they were aware of the danger enough to avoid it. As the mayor's ogress came to what passes for its senses (despite its skull fractured in several places) lunnrais shot it from just four yards away, the bolt slamming into its neck at the base of the skull with some apparent effect.  Enzer in turn gave assistance to Daeren, her bolt taking the ogress in the back of the left leg which sent it sprawling. Daeren continued to harry the creature, which rolled and grunted in evident annoyance, trying to avoid the blows which must have been at least slightly painful.  Pierzak pursued and closed with the swordgoblin that had been tracking salttotart. As it waved its sword menacingly her spear darted forward to crunch neatly into its left foot. She gave it no opportunity to defend itself, opening a deep gash in its thigh as it fell to the grass.  Kalman kept at her foe.  Six goblin swordsmen and three ogres were now entering the courtyard. Pierzak's spear delivered a lesson in swift merciless injury and finally death.  Five swordsgoblins seemed to be making directly for her. The ogress with the shattered brain finally gave up its life... by suffocating, its bruised lungs unable to cope with the onslaught.   Daeren could not make headway even with assistance lent by lunnrais. Pierzak ignored the fresh goblins, instead darting to her aid. Enzer shot Daeren's ogre in the head, her bolt cracking bone, while Pierzak's spearpoint was slowed by its thick troll-fur cloak.  Lunnrais picked one of the new ogres to shoot.  An ogress is huge and fat but a spear should be a good weapon for piercing huge fat things. Yet most of Pierzak's stabs only buried the spearpoint in wiry troll fur, bruising the creature which elicited howls of anger and pain but no sprays of ogre gore. Only cuts to the extremities drew blood.  Kalman joined them, the three dwarves fighting shoulder-to-shoulder.    I was interrupted by a ghostly presence at my side. “Leperfish” whispered the former boy overseer Pickled Tink softly. I felt my heart miss a beat in surprise. “What, what is it Tink?” I asked when I had recovered my breath. “Look!” he said, pointing with one pale transluscent arm. “Lower the inner gate, they're almost in position.  “Eh? Lower the gate?” I asked, but then I realized what he meant. “Is there a cart ready?” He nodded fiercely. “It's full of junk” he added.  I hesitated. If the goblins got past that gate, they would still be contained by the inner courtyard. “Alright” I said, and then louder, “Alright! Lower the gate! Fire the railgun!” I yelled.  I did not dare hope it would slay the goblin squad but any small advantage now was worth taking if it gave our fighting dwarves a better chance to survive. I turned back to the battle. Kalman had scored a strong blow with her warhammer, knocking the wind from the ogress. Given how the first one had died it was a good tactic. The thing gasped and then fainted. She followed up with a strike to its chin that would have shattered a horse's jaw but merely bruised its thick lower lip.  I received more good news. “The stairs are down” declared a dwarf as he ran past.  Kalman softened up a spot on the unconscious ogress's head, and then Pierzak proved that adamantium is sharp enough to pierce even the rock-like bone of an ogre skull. The sound the blade made as it drove into the thing's brain was like a bronze pick cracking a perfect stone slab from a face of basalt. 
Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 00:21 on May 10, 2014 |
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May 9, 2014 08:24
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All the ultimate weapons. What a battle!
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May 9, 2014 11:11
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Pierzak must be tired. Knowing how DF runs, it's probably been 3 days and Pierzak has killed a handful of goblins and is now going to engage 6 more while exhausted. C'mon railgun, be awesome and destructive!
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May 9, 2014 20:16
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Well, that minecart weighs 4 tons. Here's hoping it doesn't fall plumb into the dirt.
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May 9, 2014 20:53
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I don't really play ahead much when I make these updates. I always feel kind of bad when I have a cliffhanger ending to an update, because I know there's a good chance that in the next update it's going to be really anticlimactic. But maybe! It's really unlikely though, I gotta say. I have no way of timing the firing: I have to assign a "push minecart" job, and then who knows which dwarf will take the job and how far they are from the cart and how long it will take them to show up and give it a shove. The goblins probably aren't going to just stand still and wait. The odds that a single goblin gets hurt are probably much lower than the odds that some hapless dwarf gets run over. Leaving aside the minecart railgun, I've been trying hard to just summarize the fight. I know I'm still including a lot of fight logs and stuff, so it might not be obvious that I skipped over at least three quarters of the fighting in the latest update. LeJackal posted:I'm glad I gave Pierzak that spear, and I'm glad to see it being put to good use! Pierzak is our savior. Without Pierzak there's no doubt in my mind that every other dwarf out in the courtyard would be doomed. Even with her it's a pretty tough situation, but you can really see how much of a difference a single legendary fighter with an adamantine weapon makes. If only our legendary warriors would put on some goddamn metal boots.
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May 9, 2014 21:38
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My fellow dwarfs, I am honored that you have entrusted me not just with stewardship of our home and its contents, but also with the dwarven tradition of Debate with the adversary. No, no, applause should not be for me. While I serve in my small way, it is my trusty Chief of Staff (and Spear) Pierzak's aid as I Debate my opponents in the general election that truly carries the day. While I have some skill with weighty remarks delivered forcefully, it is Pierzak's talent for the pointed phrase and the cutting remark that will win my reelection and secure the safety of all inhabitants of the fortress, dwarven and pig-tail fibers alike.
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May 9, 2014 22:07
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Leperflesh posted:Another, much healthier-looking ogress was within a few yards of Daeren and the mayor. Did you leave out an image tag here?
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May 10, 2014 00:15
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Jazzimus Prime posted:Did you leave out an image tag here? Sure did! Fixed, thanks for catching that.
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May 10, 2014 00:21
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23rd Galena, 252 Almost immediately after I had ordered the bridge lowered in preparation to fire the railgun the goblins in the courtyard turned west, moving out of line of the firing line. I will hope they are retreating or if not they might come back in line if they see the bridge is down. Lunnrais had been firing on the advancing ogres near the entry way.  She loosed her last bolt before closing with them. Daeren ran forward to intercept one of the goblins, while Enzer shot another in the leg. A bolt stabbed downward to take plunk into a goblin's shield, and I looked to see Avlein was on the western wall with a crossbow! I had not realized he was outside but he must have gotten up the stairs just before they were finished being demolished.   The goblins in the courtyard were definitely running now, scampering back towards the entrance, gibbering and pointing at the gore-soaked ogre-slayers that pursued them! That is heartening although there are still more squads and experience is that one broken squad does not always break fresh squads. Lunnrais imitated Daeren, bashing at an ogress with the butt of her bronze crossbow and then bringing her copper shield down on its foot. A swipe with the edge of the shield across the ogre's throat only rebounded from the tough flesh.  The inner bridge of the outer gatehouse rose up once more, and attracted our attention as a goblin yelped and flew into the air! It lost hold of its shield at the apex of its flight, which somehow cracked its leg as it fell.  The shrieking goblin thumped satisfyingly into the dirt at the base of the bridge, its arms and legs flopping like those of a just-beheaded turkey.  Lunnrais had no more luck penetrating the thick hide of her ogress than Kalman, but we saw that sufficiently overwhelming an ogre with bruising blows has its own kind of effect, for the thing keeled over unconscious beneath her barrage. She likewise took to beating on its face with her heavy crossbow.  Daeren stood over Halloween Jack's corpse and engaged a goblin swordsman. Kalman struggled to get past her own goblin's shield. While Pierzak ran across the outer bridge in pursuit apparently of one particular goblin which had annoyed her, Daeren found herself fighting in close quarters, a nearby ogre hampering her ability to avoid her foe's two-handed sword.  Daeren switched targets, slapping at the ogress with her crossbow, while Enzer fired at a swordsgoblin that was proving a more difficult target for the mayor's hammer than the previous huge ogres.  Daeren's ogress, battered and bruised, roared in frustration suddenly, it's eerie voice echoing off the stone walls, and charged him. Lunnrais was in trouble. While she pounded on her unconscious target two other ogres now loomed around her. One charged, missing with a wild swing of its ham fist but crashing bodily into lunnrais and bowling her over.  Tangents having run out of ammunition joined in with the crossbow-bashing, picking out the third ogress which left lunnrais only battling one (conscious) foe. The ogress turned on her immediately, but she nimbly dodged away from its blustering charge.  Lunnrais rolled neatly to her feet, shaking off her surprise to face her new sparring partner. In the ballista gallery where siege engineers still feared to get too close to the goblins beyond the fortifications the recruit Forbodingburger fired through one arrow slit inexpertly, his bolts flying wide.  Daeren tried to stand, but the furious ogress slammed into her again before she could regain her feet. Almost simultaneously lunnrais suffered the same fate, as it seemed to use that the ogres had finally awoken from some sort of stupor and begun to fight in earnest, to our dismay.  Kalman could not get past her latest meeting engagement's shield.  Lunnrais grunted and rolled, again finding her feet, only to be slammed back to the ground a third time. As Pierzak having abandoned the pursuit of a retreating target made her way back through the gates, she scarcely broke her stride to drive her spear into the brain of the unconscious goblin that had been flung into the air by the bridge earlier.  The mayor finally got a swing past the goblin's guard, although she only bruised its sandaled foot as her steel warhammer grazed it.  Lunnrais, looking somewhat dizzy, once more struggled to her feet. She did not stay up long. Daeren got in a couple of hits against the crazed ogress assailing him, although of course only bruising her further. Tangents took an ogress charge with the same result as her allies: she was tossed to the dirt by the swinging bulk of the ogre's fat gut.  Pierzak came to Daeren's aid, attempting to skewer the enraged ogress although the spearpoint did not drive deep enough to penetrate the thick hide cloak. Yet the breath was driven from her howling mouth by the force of the surprise attack! As its face turned a new shade of purple the ogre whirled around, crashing into our legendary speardwarf but only enough to tumble her backwards without injury.  Enzer, who had been firing bolts into the shield of the goblin the mayor was meeting with for some time, sent a bolt into its right hand, a strike that plainly gave Kalman a sudden advantage in the debate.  Lunnrais refused to stay down, woozily getting a knee under her and then levering herself up with her crossbow, as Tangents also rose to her feet just in time to get slammed backwards again. Pierzak did a thing I have not seen with her hands over her shoulders that pushed her into the air to land on her feet while still holding her spear ready. It is amazing. I do not know what to call it. Daeren tried to distract the creature with a kick to the eye and then a punch to the hand but it was undeterred and also unimpressed with Pierzak's trick shoving her back to the ground. A fifth time lunnrais rose from the dirt.  this log describes exactly what happened to lunnrais, pierzak, and Tangents over and over The mayor still struggled to drive home her hammer blows but Enzer provided a solution by shooting the shield free from the goblin's grip.  Daeren continued to bash at the wild ogress she flanked with Pierzak but it was not enough to distract it from tossing her back to the ground once more.  A sixth time lunnrais rose from the dirt. She is indefatigable. Without its shield the goblin could no longer block Kalman's hammer.  Tangents went down again. Despite no serious injuries we all feared to see our militia could not stay afoot. Another squad of goblins with great swords led by a master lasher was steadily winding through the maze. The only hope for our dwarves rests on defeat of these ogresses before they are assailed by the fresh goblins!  Forbodingburger reportedly found goblin target practice conducive to a trance-like state of concentration. Unfortunately that was not enough to cause her next shot to hit its target.  Pierzak despite legendary spear mastery is no more able to wrestle ogres than any other dwarf.  etc. etc. Tangents went down again. Lunnrais having rolled away from the ogress knocking her down decided to focus on her previous target: she began bashing the unconscious ogress repeatedly in the head. Daren got in a blow that again knocked the wind out of that ogress, which was just enough for it to finally miss its next try at bowling over Pierzak. She ducked and then punched it smartly in its big filthy foot!  Kalman rained blows on the goblin; its feeble screams soon fell off with a wimper as it collapsed senseless.  Tangents' face hit the dirt again. Pierzak closed quarters, punching a couple times, and then stabbed the ogress through the right foot. Finally it was the ogre's turn to crash howling onto the blood-soaked ground.  Kalman adjourned another meeting with crushing finality. The goblin's corpse draped across those of two other goblins, forming a gory pile.  Pierzak pressed her advantage, avoiding the clumsy swings of the prone ogress's armes as she battered and poked at it with her adamantine spear. It seemed the ogre's rage had burned itself out, as the creature sagged and began to merely half-heartedly try to ward off blows, its spirit broken.    Tangents was back on her feet once again, for the span of almost two breaths. A fresh goblin swordsman closed with Pierzak where she was preoccupied with fighting the downed ogress.  Another swordsgoblin was approaching the bridges from the other direction when Avlein chose it as a target: her bolt caught it in the thigh.  Lunnrais' ogress received sufficient bludgeoning to the head to be woken up from her stupor. Her surprise was added to as the ogress she had been ignoring slammed into her from behind, rolling her away into the grass!  Tangents does not give up. 
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May 16, 2014 07:38
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I'm sorry for the lack of a more natural stopping point in this latest update: I played through as much as I could, and ran out of time. I also pared down a lot of fighting: what you see in this update is cut from over 250 screenshots. Most of it can be summarized by this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdmQIT6HyBA
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May 16, 2014 07:42
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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 
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May 16, 2014 16:09
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:00 |
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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.
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May 16, 2014 17:15
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