Chapter 1: The harsh trek from home and into the forbidding unknown reality has come to an end.
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Slaves To Armok: God Of Blood Chapter 2.5: Lost Fortress
Chapter 1: The harsh trek from home and into the forbidding unknown reality has come to an end.
Urist Roughstones was not having a good day. The day started off with him being rudely awoken to help his squad defend the fortress against a pair of giant snapping turtles, followed by chores till afternoon, and now, a storm of unnatural properties coming over the fortress. He swore he could hear the screams of the damned from beyond the iron gates of the fortress. His squad was assigned to station in the main hall that one entered into, to guard against any potential threat.
Beside him, his second, Thikut Strongshield, stood glaring at the doors, her steel armor and battle axe making her a menacing sight. Four other squad members, all of them fresh blood, stood behind them, walking about in their steel or iron armor, while making idle chit chat.
Together, they were the squad 1 U, the first upper floors squad.
Citizens and visitors who were stuck inside during the storm milled about in the tavern that was directly across from the main gate, while others took the left hallway to go to worship in the one temple the fortress of Omenrough had. Other dwarves hauled mudstone or jet to the right hallway, going to finish the dormitory's walls.
It was pretty boring, and therefore, frustrating. Urist had not had breakfast, or lunch, or proper sleep, and now had to stand around and do nothing. It was taking quite a toll on him. Fortunately for his desire for excitement, something did happen. One second, he was standing firm on the ground and the next, he was in the air. All the others were being flung around as well.
It was as if the storm had picked up the fortress and started throwing it around like a ball. Streaks of purple and violet energy started spilling in as the doors flung open. Urist had one look of what was beyond.
He would never forget what he saw.
Princess Celestia sat on a cushion, watching the rain patter against the glass door that led to the balcony of her room. Tonight was supposed to have a clear sky, letting her admire the beauty of the stars and lament her failure as a sister at the sight of the moon. Unfortunately, a sudden storm had rolled in from the Evergreen, leaving her with only the rain and thunder to ponder.
As she took a sip from a cup of tea she had prepared, all her hair stood on end. A bright purple flash came from the direction of the Everfree forest and waves of chaos magic residue passed over her like a shockwave. Had her sister arrived earlier than expected, or did Discord free himself somehow?
She wanted answers but had to wait till the storm cleared.
Mayor Seth Goldenbag was not having a pleasant week. At the start of the week, an idiot dwarf had managed to offend the merchant's guild when they had come to trade, making them leave without buying anything the fort had to offer while also making a promise to never return again.
Two day later, they had reached the limit of trees they could cut on an year that the elves had given them. The problem was that they still hadn't made enough beds to accomodate all the residents of the fort, and he knew what unhappy dwarves were capable of.
Nearing the end of the week, he was unpleasantly shocked by suddenly being thrown all over his office, as if the gods were punishing him for some slight.
However, when his bookkeeper rushed into the office with the news that everyone had been thrown around, he knew something was wrong. The first thing he did was call a meeting with all the nobility of the fort.
Now, before him were the sheriff, the dungeon master, the manager, the chief medical dwarf, the bookkeeper, the militia commander, and a messenger.
"Now, I'll skip the formalities and get straight to the point. What's the damage?", Seth began, knowing that it was wise to get a general idea of what was going on first.
"Oh, it's terrible! The entire fort has been trashed, masterpieces are broken on the floor, the artefact vault was almost broken, and evrything is in disarray! Absolute chaos!", the bookkeeper, Dumat Goldpen, started.
"And many dwarves and visitors were injured as well. The hospital's filled up.", the chief medical dwarf, Bembel Rockstitches, added.
"I had to mobilize all the squads we have to keep the peace and everything is decent so far, except...", the militia commander, Dodok Towermine said, hesitating a bit before continuing, "one of the captains had seen strange magic outside the gates."
"Are we under attack?", Seth asked.
"No, we're not under attack but... one of the squads went outside to inspect the perimeter and discovered that... that the fortress has been moved."
The room was silent for a moment, letting the words sink in. Dungeon master Led Woundslave then asked the question that everyone had.
"We moved?"
"Yes, it was a new moon outside two hours ago before the storm. Now, it's a full moon, and the moon doesn't look like what it was. It has the image of a unicorn instead Kol's cresent."
Seth sat back in his seat, running a hand through his short beard, deep in thought. He had appointed Dodek as the commander for his truthfulness and bravery, but seeing him shaken cemented the fact that something was very wrong.
And the worst part was that he didn't know what to do.
Captain High Moon flew alongside two dozen of his most trusted soldiers, their goal being simple: investigate the light that came from the forest.
The storm had cleared up a bit over half an hour ago, allowing the night guard captain to start the mission and now, they were almost there.
From their position, they could see that a mountain had appeared in the evergreen forest, a few kilometres east of the town of Ponyville. They were only a minute or two away from it now, and could start making out details and peculiarities of the mountain.
Broken windmills dotted the mountain, a canal ran from the Evergreen river to the mountain, and in the center of it all, a large stone gate was carved into the side of the mountain.
They prepared to land and investigate, when a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, almost hitting them. Every attempt to land made another bolt of lightning strike, ultimately forcing them to retreat.
Princess Celestia would recieve the report of the mission, but the upcoming Summer Sun celebration stopped her from acting on it.
Author's Note
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^a beautiful farm with a tree growing next to it