Yep. It's another DF fic. From me. I wonder how many DF fics are out here in SB? I could only remember a few... Anyways, a snippet. May or may not be expanded on the future.
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It was raining. The skies above the accursed plains were dark and grey, the sun never even shining upon the evil earth. Blood fell down from the sky. Blood that made them sick and nauseous. It was already pooling, coating the land in crimson red.
The plants that live in these lands were twisted, and frightening. Eyes that sprout from grass, tentacles that resembled worms. The creatures that lived aboveground were also terrible, yet it could be said that none lived in these lands.
None, except for the already dead. Such corpses litter the earth, all of them shambling, all of them roaming, all of them in varying degrees of rot. Some looked like normal humans, excluding their pale skin and lifeless gait. Others were corpses, whose parts had just rotted, arms and legs sometimes missing. Some were skeletons, held only together by magic, and through magic it moved. Others were simply walking skins, skins that took the shape of their former life, and moving as if they were so.
The Orichalcum leveled party did not expect such undead. While the quest they took warned them of such, they did not think it would be different from other quests.
They were wrong. Very, very wrong.
A fog had appeared just near them, blowing eastward. They had learned to avoid it, for everything it touches would be corrupted, turned into mindless husks not unlike the undead around them. But unlike the corpses, these husks were strong, as capable as they were in life as they are in death. In fact, it could be said that they had grown stronger, and faster, and better, as they never tire nor feel pain.
Their quest was supposed to be a simple investigation, checking some newfound ruins of an older civilization. They expected undead, but not on this scale.
This was different from the Katze Plains, where the dead rise from the very earth. That place was dark, and cold, and covered with ghastly smoke.
This place exuded evil unlike anything they have ever seen. The horrors that lived on the surface could be easily said as terrifying, what more about the things that lived underneath it?
Slowly, they moved their small, five-man party (they had been seven) towards the gate of the ruins. They noticed that it was made out of rock, instead of wood. Understandable, as trees were rare in these parts, and the trees that did grow here were twisted, corrupted.
What kind of unspeakable horrors would lurk underneath? he thought. What kind of things would they uncover? What tales could they discover from behind these ancient gate?
One of their party members went towards the gate, wanting to unlock it.
But something happened instead. The gate 'fell' towards them, the gears and the mechanisms activating and brought it down.
It was a drawbridge, and something beneath it was anticipating them.
Swallowing hard, the party's captain decided to enter the fortress. Staying out here would not be good, for even with their skills and magic the dead would come to kill them.
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They explored the halls. They did not expect that the drawbridge would activate. Clearly, there were people still living in here.
But who could they be?
When the drawbridge closed it was clear that they could no longer escape from here. Sighing, one of the members took out a torch. When it was lit, they were amazed at what they saw.
There were countless traps, traps made from quality metal, traps that were forged masterfully. Clearly, the people within this ruins-no, this fortress were aware of the undead threat outside them, and they were prepared.
The party tread carefully, trying not to activate the traps. They did not want to die here, after all.
After roaming around and bumbling through the hallway they arrived at another gate. This time, there were fortifications. While there was no light within them, the party members could hear their presence.
People. And they are armed.
After a few minutes, the drawbridge opened. It was a symbol, he thought. They were letting them in.
Of course, the captain said they would enter, and that they did. The halls inside was still dark, and unlit. Perhaps the inhabitants were demihumans? No human could survive living here without light.
They watched, and they waited. The demihuman member of their party, a cat-eared person, had led the way, for he could see clearly in the dark as he could in daylight. The soldiers around them were short, and stout. They were also wearing high-quality armour, their crossbows heavily encrusted with gems and bone.
Dwarves, he thought. Only the Dwarves could have these sorts of beard and metal.
They did not expect dwarves to actually live in these plains, for as far as he knew they lived in mountains and in hills. But he had never seen a dwarf before, and even now, in the absolute darkness that was only partially lit by the torches he could only glimpse parts of them.
"What sort of business do you have in this outpost?"
The voice was deep, and resonated through their bones. The tone, however, was flat, as if this was just another job him.
The captain replied; "We are an adventuring party sent here to investigate these ruins. We did not expect that there would be people living inside here."
"Ruins? I guess that's what the outside world would think of out little outpost here in the terrifying plains." the voice mused, slight laughter could be heard around them.
It kind of creeped him out.
"Very well then," the voice suddenly said. "The Overseer would like to have a word with you."
"Overseer?"
"Well," the dwarf explained. "she's the Overseer. The one who established this fortress, and the one running it."
Their captain paused for a while, and then he spoke. "Well then, we have a lot of questions in store for her."
"Care to give an example?" the voice asked.
"Like why had she thought that it would be a good idea to establish a fortress in the Katze Plains?"
"Well, you'll know soon enough..."
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