Underdeep: Month of the Beetle, Week 2 (Orders due May 27)

[Steerpike]

Underdeep

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Welcome to the game of Underdeep.  Underdeep is a strategic play-by-post roleplaying game in which you take on the role of rulers and generals in a vast cavern-system in a fantasy world.  There are currently a total of ten playable factions – Goblins, Orcs, Undead, Dwarves, Kobolds, Dark Elves, Duergar, Ceremorphs (a Lovecraftian race, similar to Mind Flayers), Fungoids (mushroom-people), and Watchers (enigmatic eel-like creatures modeled on Aboleths).  There are also four maps, or layers, on which the action unfolds, each lower than the last: the Surface above, the Uperdeep, the Middledeep, and the Lowerdeep.  Over the course of the game you will build a Dungeon, adding rooms, traps, and defences to deter invaders or adventurers.  You will recruit a variety of creatures to your cause, explore the caverns of the Underdeep, fight wandering monsters, raid Surface settlements, uncover forgotten treasures, and expand your territory.  You will also contend with one another for dominion of the dark places of the world, and with non-player factions also seeking to conquer the Underdeep for themselves.

The game has weekly turns, with each week representing a week of game-time as well.  This thread is only for posting Orders.  The rules of the game, character creation thread, and discussion thread can be found here:

Factions and Rules

Character Creation Thread

Discussion and Interest

Note that reading the spoiler tags of other players without their explicit permission is not allowed.  I'm sure an honour system will suffice - everyone here is a good sport.

The game is currently full, but if you're interested in playing a wandering monster, mercenary company, or adventuring party, that could be arranged (send me a PM).  Spots may open up from time to time, so watch this space.

I also welcome players who aren't participating but who'd like to try their hand at the game for awhile to "guest roleplay" an NPC Faction (currently Dwarves, and Dark Elves) for a period of time.

Thanks so much to all of the people who helped get this game off the ground.  Special thanks in particular to Xathan for boundless help with balance and rules questions, Raelifin for programming a freaking simulator and making me completely re-think Morale and several other abilities, Ghostman for his exemplary overlays of my maps, Polycarp for inspiring me to run a forum game, and The Meanest Guest for his indomitable enthusiasm, feedback, and letting me bounce ideas off him!

[ic=Characters]

Player Characters

 

The Succubus Arquenciel Diamant Septena, eldest of the Seven Sisters - played by sparkletwist

 

The Goblin King Dâgalûr, patriarch of the Blood Clan, called the Scourge of Men, also known as the King of the Red Tide, and styled the Future Lord of All the Sun Sees (slain by the Dwer Thane Lothë) – played by Humabout

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Grok the Elder, Commander of the Downward Stair (slain by the Abomination Syndrid of the Shadow Elves)

 

Old One-Eye, Commander of Ghostwalk (slain by Dolmar Lestridae of the Shadow Elves)

 

Thaco, Commander of the Ruins (slain by Dolmar Lestridae of the Shadow Elves)[/spoiler]
 

The Dark Elf Bloodlord Dalashinn, The Onyx Prince, ruler of Kirr-Godna – played by Ghostman

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Eredni, Acting Commander of Kirr-Godna

 

Lomox, Commander of Uzannador

 

Malaggar, Captain of North Guard

 

Mianarith, Captain of South Guard I

 

Larynda, Captain of South Guard II

 

Ryltarn, Captain of Rift Guard[/spoiler]
 

The Shadow Elf General Dolmar Lestridae, Protector of Umbrazzid, Champion of the Holy Shadow - played by Ms Orcsbane

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Phaedra Lestridae, Commander of Uzannador, called the Duskbow

 

Aerdolm the Hellsbane, Guardian of Dal-Urael

 

Eralimae, Guardian of Ald-Elisae

 

Qulaenaszth, Guardian of Umbrazzid

 

Zururura Izzard Dissenact III, Deep Gnome Merceanry Captain in the employ of the Shadow Elves[/spoiler]
 

Dreams-of-Dead-Races, Watcher Sovereign of the Darksea, Master of the Vault known as Cruel Form of Truth – played by Superbright

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Diirzig the Bonesnatcher, Derro Bandit-Chief in the service of Dreams-of-Dead-Races

 

Inauspicious-Arrangement-of-Gills, Commander of the Lonely Cenotaph[/spoiler]
 

Käfer, Duergar Despot of the Käferhold – played by Llum

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Wulfgar, Commander of Umbrahold

 

Greenfang the Lake Troll, Master of the Greenhold

 

Kyogre, Commander of Drakkenhold[/spoiler]
 

Grolhund the Heartscrew, Kobold Inventor - played by Nomadic

 

The Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, called the Abjected – played by HippopotamusDundee

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

The Vampiric Deep Gnome Naerlyth the Unclean, apprentice of the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel

 

The renegade Ceremorph Diabolist Altharid-Xallisine, apprentice of the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, Commander of the Heart Chamber of Kat-Statep

 

Tsatha the Bonded Ulm-Ulhulm, Ceremorph Ghoul Captain[/spoiler]
 

Llitul the Exalted, styled the Queen of Thralls and the Queen of the Ceremorphs, later known as Llitul the Demented, the Lady of Madness – played by Xathan

 

Oglix the Mad, Derro Overlord in the service of Llitul

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

The Orc Wrathpriest Vruthor, apprentice of Llitul (slain by Cave Beetles)

 

Daggoth, The Favoured, Commander of Curasd, The Horror In the Woods (slain by the High Elf Prince Saerid)

 

Xealaz, the First Exarch, Commander of Ladaguir[/spoiler]
 

The Dwer Thane Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion (slain by the Goblin King Dâgalûr) – played by TheMeanestGuest

 

The Dwer Thane Tiern, Lord of the Mansion and King in the Deep (upon Lothë's death) – played by TheMeanestGuest

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Galand Dun Riar, Steward of Balagrod

 

Lanne Dun Riar, Steward of Nüln

 

Azáin, Custodian of Rhaud

 

The Hobgoblin War-Chief Molgrim, Mercenary Captain of the Splinter-Shields, employed by the Dwer Thane

 

Tenebrius the Shroudling Stalker, Mercenary Captain employed by the Dwer Thane[/spoiler]
 

The Kobold Commander Marius Krinak, Legatus of the Legio I Draco (slain by High Elven Knights) - played by zcynthr

 

Skarax the Apostate of the First Cohort, Commander of Warscale Camp and later Legatus of the Legio I Draco - played by zcynther

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Tertius Malik, Pontifex Maximus of the Twin Dragons, Commander of Shatterspine Post[/spoiler]
 

The Lich Markus Ashton, Servant of Madness, apprentice of Dr. Robertson – played by Raelifin

 

The Lich Dr. Robertson, styled Professor Immortal – played by Numinous

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Bard the Bowman, Captain of the Dean's Wall

 

Deadeyes, Commander of the Iron Hall

 

King Stephen, Commander of the Dormitory of Bones

 

Weiler the Rotten, Captain of the Wall of Rats

 

Headless Ned, Commander of the Arterial Antechamber

 

The Dwarf Chaos-Wizard Gorgol the Anarch, apprentice of Dr. Robertson (slain by Shee-Ra)[/spoiler]
 

The Kobold Chieftain Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, styled Queen and Mistress of All that is Under the Ground – played by Light Dragon

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Hai-Phen, the Shadow, Commander of GnomeFeast LuteingCave

 

Mya-He the Unmentionable, Steward of the Cleversmart Caverns

 

Ho-Dor the Stable, Commander of Ryen-Dor's HollowShaft

 

Xev-Yiat, Commander of BiteyTriumph Halls[/spoiler]
 

The Fungoid Rotqueen known as the Child of the Glow – played by Polycarp

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

The Lurker in the Reverie, Blightguard Captain of Sanguine Maw

 

The Florid Reveler, Blightguard Commander of Crimsonlight[/spoiler]

Non-Player Characters

 

The Ceremorph Overbrain



Saersensine, the Sublime, High Exarchs of the Ceremorphs, formerly Prince Saerid, the Shining Flame

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Zsaz, The Shamed, Commander of Lower Dtoulth (slain by Watcher Gloomrays)

 

Phyn-Olbaath, Commander of Glyp-Dor, the Northern Reach (slain by Dark Elf Crossbowmen)[/spoiler]
 

Disa Grimhammer, called Disa Wolfslayer, High Queen of the Dwarves, Thane of Droch-Mûrad

 

The Orc Warlord known as Garnákh the Disemboweler, of the Blood Spear Clan (slain by Disa Grimhammer of the Dwarves)

 

Gnarosh Skullsplitter, Goblin King of the Goretooth Tribe

 

Prince Saerid the Shining Flame, Lord of the Mithril Tower, and First in Line to the Throne of the High Elves (enslaved by the Ceremorph Overbrain)



The Grey Wyrm Scorra, Terror of the Westdeep, Spawn of Scuraung the Jewel-Eater (slain by Tiern of the Dwerim)

 

Lady Viarra Gloomsong, Dark Elf Matriarch, ruler of Vashnaranzenan

[spoiler=Commanders, Captains, and Followers]  

Xavra Nightwound, Commander of Maernzeranzon[/spoiler][/ic]

[Steerpike]

[ic=The Month of the Spider, Week 1]After consulting various omens, Loremasters declare this the Month of the Spider, which portends a time ripe for the construction of plans, the spinning of great webs – a time of danger and deceit, when fortune is said to favour the cautious and the crafty.  The great Citadel-city of Ladaguir, last bastion of the Duergar Empire, has fallen into ruin following the death of Xorinatch the Cruel at the hands of Dark Elf assassins.  With the fragmentation of this once-great power comes a period of confusion and chaos.  Dark Elves, Kobolds, Duergar, and other factions bicker over territory in the Middledeep; meanwhile, Goblins have been multiplying in the Upperdeep at an unusual rate, while in the Lowerdeep old and hungry creatures stir in the ancient gloom.  There are rumours of necromancers from the Surface moving into old catacombs, and of unfathomable heresies consuming the Ceremorphs, schisms and intrigues amongst the tentacled bodysnatchers of the nethermost depths; and tales also of stranger and yet more ancient things quickening in the fetid darkness of ancient lakes and mushroom-groves.

There is talk also of a Dragon sighted in the western caverns of the Upperdeep, a Grey Wyrm said by some to be one of the spawn of the legendary Dragon Scuraung the Jewel-Eater; and, strangely, of an Elven prince and his retinue descending into the caverns of the Underdeep for unknown purpose.  The truth of these wild tales cannot be verified.  In the Upperdeep, the mad Orc Warlord Garnákh the Disembowler continues to gather Orcs to his horde, though none know who his next target will be.  They say the notoriously brutal tribal leader carves maps into the skins of his still-living victims and throws knives to see where he will strike next.  Lady Viarra Gloomsong plots her next move more cautiously, while the newly elected High Queen Disa Grimhammer consolidates her territory and seeks new caverns in which to delve.[/ic]

[ic=Maps - The Month of the Spider, Week 1]

The Surface

[spoiler=The Surface, Month of the Spider, Week 1]

[/spoiler]

The Upperdeep

[spoiler=The Upperdeep, Month of the Spider, Week 1]

[/spoiler]

The Middledeep

[spoiler=The Middledeep, Month of the Spider, Week 1]

[/spoiler]

The Lowerdeep

[spoiler=The Lowerdeep, Month of the Spider, Week 1]

[/spoiler][/ic]

[ic=Briefings - The Month of the Spider, Week 1][spoiler=For the eyes of the Goblin King Dâgalûr, patriarch of the Blood Clan, called the Scourge of Men, also known as the King of the Red Tide, and styled the Future Lord of All the Sun Sees]The Blood Clan have settled well in these caverns, and your warriors spoil for battle.  Yet all is not at ease here in the Upperdeep.  You have heard strange sounds – some say they resemble screams – and glimpsed eerie lights from the caverns to the east, where some old Dwarven ruin moulders and gathers dust; and sometimes mushroom-gatherers who stray too far to the east do not return to your Town.  To make matters worse there is talk of a Wyrm prowling around the chasms to the west and south, perilously close to your lands.  Your army is strong, but perhaps not yet great enough to slay such a beast were it to assail your kingdom.  Will you recruit more warriors and hunt the creature down, or strengthen your defences against its possible depredations?  Or perhaps the Dragon might be appeased with tribute?  Or will you simply ignore the threat for now, and hope that you are unnoticed by the Wyrm?  Or pursue yet some other path?

Meanwhile, your troops grow restless within the palisade, longing for blood and plunder.  Rumours have reached your long, exceptionally keen ears of merchant caravans traveling from the city of the Horsemasters on the Whispering Plains above you to the Merrydowns of the Halflings to the north.  Such caravans will surely be escorted by armed guards, of course, but they may contain valuable goods for trade.  If you do not act quickly they will reach the Halflings' hills in a few short weeks.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Dark Elf Bloodlord Dalashinn, The Onyx Prince, ruler of Kirr-Godna]Things go well in your realm, as your mines delve ever deeper and the construction of a new and darkly resplendent temple to the Infernal Powers continues.  And yet the omens produced by your scholars, proclaiming this the Month of the Spider, give you pause, for the spider has ever been the emblem of your erstwhile kindred, who have long hungered for vengeance against you for your desertion of their narrow-minded ways.  Indeed, as if heralding the pronouncements of the loremasters, a spy, of Dark Elven blood, was recently discovered within your Spire.  They dragged the wretch before your glimmering throne, but he would not speak of his mission.  Will you give him into the hands of your interrogators, or put him to the question yourself?  Will you execute him, or merely mutilate him for his crimes?  Or perhaps you can find some other use for him?

Elsewhere, there are dark rumours of a Wyrm prowling the Upperdeep, and some of your subjects claim to have heard echoes of a great roaring coming from the Crack of Ulzennar to the north, which extends both upwards to the caverns near the Surface and down into the nethermost depths.  If a Dragon indeed lurks in the tunnels just above your own domain, it could bode ill for your city and its people, for nothing would stop such a beast from descending into the Middledeep to wreak havoc and destruction on your lands.  Dealing with such Wyrms is always perilous, though you yourself would be unaffected by its flames, protected by your fiendish blood.  But even with all of your sorcery and skill at arms you would be hard pressed indeed to defeat such a beast, even surrounded by your warriors.  A vexing question – though like as not this "Grey Wyrm" is nothing more than an oversized dire-earthworm glimpsed by some imaginative Goblin in the Upperdeep, and the echoes naught but the rumblings of the earth shifting herself, or the distant groans of a Rock Troll with a toothache bemoaning his condition.

[Note: Spending time to torture the spy yourself will require 3 of your Speed][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the many eyes of Dreams-of-Dead-Races, Watcher Sovereign of the Darksea, Master of the Vault known as Cruel Form of Truth]The Long Dreaming ends.  The Awakening begins.  You have emerged from your aeons-long torpor to discover a new world.  Your ancient Sovereignty has been usurped by the baseborn young races, bastard accidents of your ancient experiments.  The Enemy, the disgusting foreign parasites known as Ceremorphs, still linger like tapeworms in the bowels of the earth, also – though they may not be your first concern, they will have to be dealt with eventually.  It is time to reclaim the Primal Sovereignty once more.  The cycle must begin a new, the mewling and misbegotten races, which are as idiot children compared to your intellect, made thralls or else exterminated.

Beginnings are always fragile.  For all your age and ancient wisdom you remain vulnerable, until your breeding pools can once more produce suitable servants.  It seems that a portion of Cruel Form of Truth has emerged from the waves of the Darksea and now lies on dry land to north and west.  It may be that you can find some relic of your former power there, if thieves and despoilers have not defiled the ruins.

You have also Glimpsed a small tribe of creatures wandering the tunnels to the northeast – shadowy, fanged things that may be the descendents of one of the battle-species you bred in bygone ages, and which the current squatters of your Sovereignty would call Gloom Trolls.  These things sometimes venture to the south and drink of your waters or fish in the shallows, unaware of your presence, and make their lairs in some cranny nearby.  They may make useful servants if dominated, but could also pose a threat to any thralls you send over-land in that direction.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Käfer, Duergar Despot of the Käferhold]Your beetles multiply in the Käferhold, and things bode well for your expansion into the Lowerdeep, but there are strange stirrings in the caverns – unfamiliar echoes which sound through the deep places.  Your scouts have recently spotted a brood of Fire Drakes nearby – where their nest is, you cannot say, but they will likely lair near a lava-pool or volcanic fissure, loving the heat as they do.  Such beasts – the sluggish, less-intelligent relatives of Dragons – more often than not see Duergar as food, and are known to greedily devour cave beetles.  Those hatched inside Citadels, however, can sometimes be trained.  Though Duergar dislike riding on the backs of other creatures such tamed Fire Drakes can be bred to follow orders, provided a suitable beastmaster accompanies them.  Whatever the case, the Drakes your lookouts spotted were immature: they will not reach full size for some weeks yet, and thus will likely remain close to their nest, for the time being.

Within the Käferhold itself, a small matter begs your attention.  Two of your warriors – a Hammer-Thrower and a Sneak – are having a disagreement.  It seems your troops have been gambling in their off-hours and the Hammer-Thrower, Garndrik, has accused the Sneak, Wulfgur, of cheating; the latter won a certain bloodstone gem from the former in a game of dice.  The matter has been brought to your attention, for Garndrik attempted to slay Wulfgar in the Hall of Carnage, and was restrained only with difficulty.  Now both Duergar have been brought before you.  Garndrik has no firm proof of Wulfgar's deceit, but claims the Sneak swapped the dice for loaded ones; no trace of such loaded dice have been found.  How will you settle their dispute?

[Remaining mineable resources at the Käferhold: 36500 Gold, 8600 Metal][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, called the Abjected]Yuddarath throbs with unhallowed vitality, and the dull moans of the Thrall Pens reach you in the Altar like distant music.  But all is not well in the Lowerdeep.  You have sensed a new presence in the depths – an alien intellects, quite unlike the pulsating auras of Overbrains and their Ceremorph minions.  What this new entity is you cannot say; it drowses, gently probing the contours of your realm as if with vast and powerful tendrils.  It is disturbing, and yet, you do not sense any direct malignity – only power, curiosity, and a vague, unfocused contempt.

Your visions have shown you something else, as well.  A group of Ceremorph prisoners bound for the interrogation cells of a Sanctum of Pain has escaped the Severed they were being transported on, killing their guards.  What glimpses you have seen of these renegades suggest that they have gained the Middledeep and now wander the southern tunnels, trying to evade the Inquisitors sure to be pursuing them.  Were you to track them down before their erstwhile gaolers they might make useful allies – or interesting specimens for experimentation.  Of course, they may be dangerous themselves; their numbers may include heretics and sorcerers like yourself, those who traffic in forbidden things, as well as petty murderers and similar sorts, for even the Ceremorphs have their common criminals, half-feral creatures with flawed minds treated as animals by the Overbrains and generally sentenced to Thralldom after psychic nullification.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Llitul the Exalted, styled the Queen of Thralls and the Queen of the Ceremorphs]Ah, you have awakened, Exalted One.  Know that you are in the City of Dtoulth, and that I am your Overbrain, creator and master, mother and father, and that I am a part of you, and you of me.  To resist my will is to elect a path of agony eternal, but if you serve me well, then one day you will become one with me forever.  You are a new thing, Exalted One, created to serve a new purpose.  A heretic and blasphemer, Ktan-Ydheel, has defied my will and evaded my Inquisitors.  For their failure I have had their Sanctum expunged from Dtoulth.  The Inquisitors themselves have been eradicated.  It falls now to you to serve in their stead.  The Inquisitors lacked creativity, empathy, the ability to comprehend the minds of those they hunted.  You have been given a measure of free will, to compensate for their lack.

Your first task, however, is not to apprehend Ktan-Ydheel, for to send you into Yuddarath as a newborn, still slick with the afterbirth of your spawning, would be to waste your potential.  You must learn to crawl before you can walk.  Thus, a simpler assignment: a transport vessel, one of the Severed, has recently been destroyed.  This particular vessel was carrying a group of prisoners, flawed Ceremorphs who defied my will in one way or another.  They will attempt to flee far from Dtoulth, but I believe they are still lost in the tunnels somewhere above and to the south, in the caverns which some of the Lesser Ones call the Middledeep.  Your task is to find these prisoners and to capture or destroy them.

One other matter gives me pause.  There is a presence, new and strange and yet distantly familiar, to the west of here, beneath the black sea – a consciousness that gnaws at my memory, as if I should remember it.  I would know of this intellect, to discover if it might be dominated and made one of my servants.  The prisoners are your first priority, but I wish you to investigate this new intellect as well.

Go now, and feed on the minds of the Lesser Ones.  Savour the taste of their thoughts and gorge yourself on their consciousnesses.  You will require all your strength for the uses I will put you to.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Dwer Thane known as Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion]Slowly, Mhaldûl-Nem grows stronger and more prosperous, and the fires of the Furnace burn the hotter.  But all is not well in the Underdeep.  Word has reached your ear that a tribe of filthy Goblins, the so-called Red Tide led by a "King" who names himself Dâgalûr, has taken up residence near the ruins of the Thousand Halls of Rhaud.  Not only does the presence of such uncouth creatures near the halls of your forefathers rankle your ancestral pride, they lurk perilously close the Stair of Náini, and thus to your own lands; they may pose a threat to the Mansion's safety.

Were the fates kind, these Goblins would be your only woe; yet your scouts bring you more ill tidings.  Dwer prospectors plumbing the Lowerdeep in search of gold have brought back tales of strange, luminous creatures, beings that sound much like the dreaded Sporekin that once infested the caverns around Mhaldûl-Nem.  If such an infestation has indeed taken root in the black depths, war may yet visit your people once again.  You must look carefully to your borders if you wish to ensure the safety of your subjects.

Within Mhaldûl-Nem itself, more petty affairs compete for your attention.  The brewery has considerably bolstered morale, but the brewmaster has informed you privately that some of your subjects have taken to gossiping over mugs of mead.  One warrior, Azáin son of Zurin, has been heard speaking ill of your father Nír, naming him the Mad Thane and cursing the memory of his reign.  It is important for your troops to feel they can speak their minds, and yet talk such as this comes close to questioning your authority.  What will you do with the garrulous Azáin, who mocks your father while in his cups, and spits on your lineage?

One other matter occupies your attention: some Dwerim picking mushrooms not far from your walls recently discovered an ancient tower deep in the mushroom forest, seemingly concealed these long years by fungi.  Its sudden "appearance" is unnerving – how could you have not noticed it before?  It seems to be of Dark Elf design... perhaps some spell of concealment once cloaked it from your sight, and the enchantment has only now unraveled?  Whatever the case, the tower is diresome to look upon – but it may contain ancient treasures left long undisturbed.

[Remaining mineable resources at Mhaldûl-Nem: 32500 Gold, 6800 Metal][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Lich Dr. Robertson, styled Professor Immortal, and his apprentice Markus Ashton, Servant of Madness]Here in the depths of the Underdeep you are free to pursue your research unhindered by the petty moralities and inane, squeamish strictures of those who dwell above.  Your zombies and skeletal miners continue their excavations, and you believe that soon you will unearth a passage to an old Catacomb said to be the breeding-ground of Ghouls and Ghasts, creatures you can win to your cause with the promise of gold and carrion.

Markus, your dreams – which Robertson believes are visions – continue to intensify, to grow more vivid.  You dream of a vast, phosphorescent forest deep beneath the earth, and a being of alien beauty, like in form to a mortal woman and yet composed of the stuff of decay, which rules over the festering grove; of a putrescent, tentacled being presiding in a tower of flesh and stone; of countless inhuman eyes glittering from out of a black ocean deep beneath the earth; of a creature like an Elf and yet unlike it, a thing of writhing tentacles and slime-slick skin.  Words – names? – resound in your mind – Llitul, Ktan-Ydheel, Dreams-of-Dead-Races, the Glow... what could they mean?  Are these visions of the past, or of creatures trying to communicate with you?  You feel almost that if you concentrated, you might be able to send messages in return.  Sometimes you awake with distorted, inhuman laughter on your lips; other times, your chamber echoes with the sound of screams, and your throat is hoarse as if from hours of shouting.

Robertson, word has reached you of a plague sweeping the northlands of the world above, a sickness called the Crimson Doom which causes its victims to bleed from their pores, and indeed your Bonegardens have already exhumed a few victims of this affliction.  Such a plague will mean that the cemeteries will overflow with bodies, and there will be mass graves where the dead are heaped.  Yet if you do not act quickly those Above may declare a quarantine and begin burning the corpses of their victims, destroying the valuable flesh you could find such superior uses for – zombies with this Crimson Doom still festering in their bodies might make powerful troops indeed.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Kobold Chieftain Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, styled Queen and Mistress of All that is Under the Ground]Things are good in the land of the Cleversmarts.  Your oracle brought you a spider today that he found spinning a web over the door to the Mystery Chamber and told you that it is a good time for plans and schemes.  This pleased you, as did the spider, which wriggled as it went down.  Yet no sooner had this good news reached your scaly ears than a sour story rankled your mood – a small band of Deep Gnome tinkers has been sighted traveling through the caverns to the north and west, singing unpleasant Gnome-songs, whistling, and generally stinking up your territory with their wretched, happy-go-lucky Gnomishness.  These contemptible buffoons are known to be annoyingly skilled in the creation of clockwork toys and even weapons – some have said their abilities surpass even those of Kobolds, though of course if you heard such a slander you would have the tongue of its speaker ripped out, marinated in a little fungus sauce, and then grilled for you to devour.  Still, they may have objects of interest... and, of course, Gnomes do make good eating, being nearly as plump and juicy as Halflings.

There are rumours also of something stirring in the Darksea in the Lowerdeep, which lies below the lands of the Cleversmarts.  You have been fishing their a few times and always found the fish sour-tasting and foul.  But now there are tales of snake-things, or perhaps giant frogs, or eels, or other creatures, stirring in the black waters.  Certainly there is an unusually foul stench wafting up through the caverns from the Shaft of Ryen-Dor, which leads down into the nethermost depths.  Such stinks rarely bode well; but giant water-snakes do sound like good eating.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Fungoid Rotqueen known as the Child of the Glow]You inhale a flux of images.  A black sea with a million eyes blinking.  A seeping tower of pus and glistening stone, and a grey figure gazing from its windows.  A graceful thing that smells of heat and light but which has been dimmed and made unclean.  Far above, a mind of dark and broken dreams; a putrescent vastness; a door of otherworldly fire; a crimson mottling, afflicting living flesh; a city of stone and smoke, which you feel a strange and inexplicable flash of something akin to hatred, or perhaps disappointment, for.  Perhaps all can be made part of the endless play of Truth and Beauty, if illumined by the Glow.  Perhaps not.  That which cannot be made Beautiful in one form must be remoulded.

Outside you can taste the endless revel of your children, while your Sporemothers suckle eagerly at your phosphorescent bosom.  As they nourish themselves they feed you news from the Colony and elsewhere.  They tell you of a group of Fungoids, former children of you're the Rotqueen known as Blackrot whose memories sometimes bubble to the surface of your mind, who wander lost and decaying in the tunnels to the north.  Their Queen is many generations dead, and somehow they lack the royal spores needed to create a new one.  They may have become feral and insane without a leader, and could attack other Fungoids on sight; or, perhaps, they would join your own forces and become one with the Glow.[/spoiler][/ic]

[ic=Responses - The Month of the Spider, Week 1][spoiler=For the eyes of the Dwer Thane known as Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion]Azáin appears shocked and, for a moment, angered – but then a grin breaks out across his face.

"Very well, my Thane!  You will not find me an easy opponent!"

A crowd quickly gathers and a space cleared as Dwerim pressed close to watch this strange contest.  Many flagons of mead are poured, and some of the crowd begin placing bets.  You and Azáin prepare to contend with another, Dwer to Dwer.

The match is tense and close, the two of you grappling one another back and forth, sweating in the firelight.  Then it seems that Azáin has found a firm hold, and for a moment it you are pinned.  But you remember days spent in the training hall with your father, in the days before his madness took him; and, with a deft trick that Nír had taught you, you flip the other Dwer and throw him across the room.  He is sent sprawling into a nearby table, smashing it to kindling, and his head strikes the wall with a crack.  For a moment you wonder if you have killed him, but then he shakes his head and rises to his feet.

"The skulls of Dwer are thick indeed!" Azáin declares.  "And mine has been thickest of all.  You have my apologies, my Thane."  He turns to the gathered onlookers.  "A round of mead, on me!"

The crowd cheers.  Many toasts will be made to you this day.

[+1 Morale to all Dwer troops garrisoned at Mhaldûl-Nem for 2 weeks][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Response to the Dwer Thane known as Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion, from Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves]Your words are well chosen, Lothë son of Nír.  It seems the phrases of the Dwerim are as fair as their jewels.  Many of my advisors bid me cast your message into the hearth, cursing your name – but I am no ornery Greybeard.  Your offer of friendship is accepted, and warmly.  We have many foes in the Underdeep; Goblins and Orcs grow ever more numerous here in the uppermost tunnels, and there are rumours that necromancers have recently arrived in the Upperdeep, as well, and that dark and long-forgotten things stir in the deep places.  Our peoples have had our differences, but we are still close in blood and custom.  It is time for old hatreds to be forgotten and the quarrels of our ancestors set aside, no matter what the elders say.

Your son, no doubt, is as stout-hearted and strong a warrior as the Dwerim have ever known.  To quiet the badgering of my council I have agreed to pledge my troth to any who performs a certain service for my people.  You may have heard stories of a Grey Wyrm roaming the Upperdeep in the western passages.  Such rumours are more than the idle tales of skalds in the mead hall: the Dragon, Scorra spawn of Scuraung, has wrought great destruction on my lands, burning my people and their homes with its breath of black flame.  The monster lurks in the ruins of Balagrod, southwest of Droch-Mûrad, where it has hoarded many treasures gathered from throughout the Deep.  I would go to kill the beast myself, but the oaths I swore when I became High Queen keep me from battle – for if I fell to the creature the stability of my realm would be greatly endangered.

To win my heart, Tiern must bring me the heart of the Wyrm.  But know that he must contend with others for the honour – already many of my suitors prepare their warriors for the Wyrm-hunt.

In friendship and abiding respect,

Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves, Thane of Droch-Mûrad, Protector of the Westdeep[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Llitul the Exalted, styled the Queen of Thralls and the Queen of the Ceremorphs]Your request shows initiative and cunning, Exalted One, for your predecessors would not have been as bold as you have.  The prisoners number forty in all, though some may now be slain, and they have scattered throughout the Middledeep in small bands.  Many linger now north of the realms of those Dark Elves known as the Kirr.  Others seek shelter in groves of fungi.  To await the Brainhounds would be a prudent choice.

[Direct the Overbrain to Scry a region and it will divulge the information to you]

...

I have peered into the caverns of the north, probing them with my Sight, and glimpsed a group of the prisoners moving south and east towards the bridge that once marked the borders of Dark Elven lands.  They appeared fatigued, and will not have been able to travel much further.

[A group of 7 renegade Ceremorph Psions and 1 Ceremorph Heretic (Statistics comparable to an Inquisitor) passed through Middledeep 3, apparently fatigued after days of Forced March]

I have looked also into the ruin of the miserable Dark Elves and seen the things which dwell within their ruinous halls.  The upper city is infested with arachnids, some of them of considerable size.  The lower halls are haunted by Undead creatures, the reanimated corpses of Dark Elves, bearing cruel weapons.  The crown itself I cannot see, for the innermost chambers are warded even from my Sight, and possibly protected by some form of Elven sorcery.

[The upper ruins at Middledeep 7 are inhabited by 6 Giant Spiders (statistics would be somewhat weaker than Dark Elf Spider Cavalry, especially in Health).  The lower depths are guarded by 4 Dark Elven Wights, which are similar to regular Undead Wights but with lower Health and higher Defence.  The chamber of the crown is warded and has a Rune Trap on the door, which a unit with Detection can bypass.]

As for the words you have exchanged with these Others - you are naive to think that I cannot see all that you see, hear all that you hear, Neonate.  I am always watching.  I am always listening.  Form my thought you cannot escape.  From my scrutiny you cannot hide.  You are bound to me, and your thoughts are naked before me.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Response to Llitul, Queen of Thralls, from Lady Viarra Gloomsong, Dark Elf Matriarch, ruler of Vashnaranzenan]Lady Viarra winces as the voice enters her mind unbidden.  She sits now in a room deep within her spire, feeding a lap-spider the size of a small dog the finger of a slave who displeased her; the spider chitters hungrily, masticating the mutilated digit with its chelicerae.  The Dark Elf Matriarch concentrates, only momentarily fazed by the unfamiliar nature of this sending.  Perhaps this connection works both ways?

Your proposal is... interesting.  She thinks.  Few of my former ilk find their way to my dungeons, and most who do are killed on sight rather than enslaved.  But a few of my own kind – the blasphemous, the defiant, would-be revolutionaries and heretics – are sent to the mines, to spend the rest of their lives in drudgery.  They would come to you... less than whole.  Their tongues cut out, often; their ears or noses removed, frequently; sometimes, an eye burnt out, a finger cut off; males are deprived of their manhood.  She pauses, petting the spider as it continues to gnaw at the finger.

Your terms are fair.  And yet I know so little of you – and I am not one to enter into arrangements lightly.  First, I would have to know more of your plans for those I deliver to you.  You are a Ceremorph thing, I take it: I can taste their odour on your words, even in my mind.  What do the brain-eaters need with Elven slaves?  Secondly, if we are to be allies, of a kind, I would ask a demonstration of good faith.  There is a place to the south of my realm, a ruined city of Dark Elven origin.  Here she stops, and projects an image of the city Hazer-Nagroth.

I believe there is an object within these ruins – an object that I greatly wish to obtain.  It is a crown made from the bones of High Elven folk and set with certain black gemstones; likely it will be found in some deep vault below the city.  I would obtain this object myself, but the ruin lies perilously near to the lands of sworn enemies, the Dark Elves known as the Kirr.  Bring me back this crown, and tell me more of your designs for those you would have me deliver unto you, and I will not only consent to your agreement, I will provide you with twenty Dark Elven slaves as a token of my friendship.

These terms are final, and not subject to further negotiation.

Lady Viarra Gloomsong smiles as the spider, having finished its meal, slowly crawls up to her neck.  Opportunities such as this could not be ignored.  With any luck, the Crown of Malekar the Obscene would soon be hers.  And if the Ceremorphs were drawn into conflict with the Kirr... so much the better.

[Hazer-Nagroth is located in Middledeep 7][/spoiler]
[spoiler= For the eyes of the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, called the Abjected]You peer into the realm of the Dwerim, noting the movements and doings of the Dwarf-kin in their Mansion of stone.

The Dwerim Clanhold of Mhaldûl-Nem currently includes a Thane's Hall, Forge Hall, Shield Hall, Tuber Garden, Apiary, Dwerim Mine, Outer Wall, Iron Gate, and Murder Holes.  Several rooms and defences are under construction: a Lizard Pen, Pyretic Refinery, Hall of the Ancestors, Hall of Trade, Grand Furnace, and Reinforced Walls.  Garrisoned at Mhaldûl-Nem are thirty Dwer Axemen and the Dwer Thane, Lothë – who appears to have just won a wrestling contest.

There is also a sinister tower nearby, of Dark Elf origin, that appears to contain several artefacts of ancient magic, including what looks to be a staff made from the bones of Surface Elves.  This tower's inner sanctum is protected by a Rune Trap, and several gigantic spiders also linger within its halls.  The ground floor is infested with greyish Vault Slime.

You look also into the Halls of the Duergar, long-lost kindred of both Dwarves and Dwerim.  Their Citadel contains a Despot's Hall, a Forge Hall, a Hall of Carnage, a Beetle Farm, a Training Hall, a Duergar Mine, an Outer Wall, and an Iron Gate.  Structures being built include a Hall of Trade, a Hatchery, two Beetle Farms, and a Magma Moat.  Only a small contingent of troops are garrisoned at the Käferhold – five Duergar Sneaks and five Hammer-Throwers, as well as their Despot, Käfer.  Magma fills the region, partially protecting the Citadel from attackers.

Finally, you look into Dtoulth, the Hive of the Ceremorphs, and see a new creature, unfamiliar to your necrotic, all-seeing eyes – an Elf-thing, newborn, still glistening with the afterbirth of her Ceremorphosis.  The garrison at Dtoulth is currently scant – a handful of Thralls and a sycophantic Ceremorph, once an Inquisitor, stripped of its rank and become a lowly Psion.

Dtoulth contains an Overbrain Chamber, a Spawning Pool, a Ceremorph Mine, four Thrall Pens, three Mushroom Farms, and an Amplifier Node.  A Mutation Chamber, Grafting Workshop, two more Thrall Pens, a Slime Moat, and a new Inquisition are being grown, and the mines are currently being improved.  Garrisoned at Dtoulth are ten Thralls, the Elf-thing, two Ceremorph Psions, five Larvae Swarms, and the Overbrain.  The army is preparing to leave the city.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Dreams-of-Dead-Races, Watcher Sovereign of the Darksea]You sleep, and so peer into the regions beyond your shores.  The beach to the northwest of the Darksea is devoid of anything of interest save a few mushroom groves.  Beyond lies a section of Cruel Form of Truth which once lay under the water but now languishes on dry land, cracking and crumbling.  Within, a small population of feral Gloomrays dwells; they would likely attack whatever ventured into the ruins.  Two Slime Golems stand within the ruins as well, obediently awaiting orders: if greeted by a Watcher, they would come under your control.  Finally, deep in the ruins stands a Teleportation Pool.  Where this Pool leads you have forgotten, for the drowsiness of the Long Dreaming still robs you of your more detailed memories.

[Lowerdeep 86 is empty save for its mushroom forest.  Lowerdeep 87 contains six wild Gloomrays which would likely attack anything that ventured into the regions.  It also contains two Slime Golems which would come under your control if the ruins were Investigated by a Watcher Sovereign, Savant, or Fleshwarper (this uses 1 Speed).  It also includes a functioning Teleportation Pool, but you don't know where it leads.]

Next, you look into the caverns above, Glimpsing, in your dreams, a tribe of Kobolds in the tunnels above you, on the shores of a small lake.  Their strange little Warren includes a strange machine of unknown origins, a burrow, a mushroom patch, a kobold mine, and a palisade with a reinforced gate.  A midden, workshop, and spiked moat are under construction.  The Warren is guarded by a chieftain, eight slingers, thirteen skulkers, and three burrowers.  Many of these creatures are departing the Warren for parts unknown – only a pair of slingers and a skulker remain behind.[/spoiler][/ic]

[LD]

[ic=An Age for Kobolds]
The fall of the Duregar empire has opened new opportunities to the Cleversmart Kobolds. Shee-Ra recently came to control her tribe and unlocked the mystery chamber, which provided her knowledge and the loyalty of many previously-scattered Kobolds. She has great plans for expansion and she even plans to copy some of the Duregar's designs for development. When younger, she would spy on the deep Dwarves and learn how they crafted great structures by mining and utilizing resources to make their kingdom grand. She now plans to use that knowledge to make the Kobolds great.
[/ic]

[spoiler=Orders and Information]
[ic]Shee-Ra sat upon the edge of her throne and pondered the intelligence she had received. After a short time spent pondering, she decided to lead a force to capture and loot the Deep Gnomes, so she mobilized the Smarty Scouts and headed to the Northwest M-71 or 72 to raid the Deep Gnomes in the region and to found a new dungeon, in which she would set traps that would keep the infuriating Gnomes and other undesirable races away from Cleversmart Caverns in the future.

She also ordered Ho-Dor and his nephew, kept on a howdah on Ho-Dor's back, to investigate the strange happenings in the Lowerdeep and to set up a dungeon at the maw of the Shaft of Ryen-Dor, so the Cleversmart Caverns could be protected by additional traps and wards. After investigations and construction completed, orders indicated that  his GoodyGarrison should gather food to supplement the Cleversmart larders.[/ic]

[spoiler=Production]
Cleversmart Caverns - Middledeep 65

Mushroom Patch: (20 food, not this turn)

Resource: Mushrooms  (25 food)
Resource: Pool (10 food)

Total: 35 food
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Upkeep]

Slingers (1g/1f) x 4 = (4g/4f)
Skulkers (2g/1f) x 5 = (10g/5f)
Blunderdigs (3g/1f) x 2 = (6g/2f)

and

Slingers (1g/1f) x 7 = (7g/7f)
Skulkers (2g/1f) x 5 = (10g/5f)
Blunderdigs (3g/1f) x 1 = (3g/1f)

Total: Net Loss/turn -(40g/24f)

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Construction]
Midden (125 gold/3 weeks- one week left to go)
Workshop (65 gold, 25 metal/ 3 weeks- one week left to go)
Spiked Moat (25 gold/ 3 weeks- one week left to go)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Recruit]
N/A No recruits this turn because is starting turn.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Wealth]

Spent 180 gold on Midden, Workshop and Mine
Spent 90 gold on Palisade, Spiked moat, Pit Trap, Pit of Rats
Spent 75+80 gold on units.

Spent 30 metal on Workshop and Reinforced Gate
Spent 14 metal on Skulkers and Blunderdigs

Gained 35 food due to Resources in square and no upkeep costs this turn.

289 gold
107 metal
135 food

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dungeons]
Middledeep- 65

Mystery Chamber (scry if in the region)
Burrow (build slingers, skulkers, blunderdigs)
Mushroom Patch (20 food, not this turn)
Kobold Mine (150 gold, 15 metal, not this turn)

Palisade (20 gold) (1 week)
----->also a reinforced Gate UPGRADE (15 gold, 5 metal)
Pit Trap (25 gold)--->UPGRADED to Pit of Rats (12 gold)

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Armies]
GoodyGarrison
Commander: Mya-He, the Unmentionable
Slingers (I) ("Undefeatable Eggguards") [Mya-He is attached to this unit]
Slingers (II) ("Unutterable Ovumguard")
Skulkers (V) ("First Pokeypokes")


SmartyScouts
Commander: Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, Queen Mistress of All That Is Under the Ground
Blunderdigs (I) ("Underfeet Underdeep Squadron")
Blunderdigs (II) ("Backdoor Blundering Boffins")
Skulkers (I) ("Beaterpokes")
Skulkers (II) ("Basherpokes")
Skulkers (III) ("Bastercooks")
Slingers (III) ("Tossythrows")
Slingers (IV) ("Lubberdubs")

Deepguards
Commander: Ho-Dor, the Stable (who eats rocks, carries around his lame nephew on a howdah, nephew shoots and slings from his back)
Skulkers (IV) [Ho-Dor is attached to this unit]
Skulkers (V) (Achi-Lees, the unkillable)
Skulkers (VI) (Isil-Dur, the unmentionable)
Skulkers (VII) (Vor-Keth, the massive)
Skulkers (VIII) (Ai-Ur, the Greater)
Skulkers (IX) (Ai-Ur, the Lesser)
Skulkers (X) (Tro-Jan, the unbreakable)
Skulkers (XI) (Ay-Jax, the warrior)
Slingers (V)  (Ro-Dan, the belligerent)
Slingers (VI) (Fush-Rodah, the shouter)
Slingers (VII) (Hus-Roh, the loud)
Slingers (VIII) (Aaa-Hha, the fearful)
Blunderdigs (III) (Kili-Fili, the stout digger)

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Characters]
[ic=Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth]
Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth
Ranged Attack: +10
Ranged Damage: 8
Melee Attack: +8
Melee Damage: 6
Defence: 22
Health: 15
Speed: 4
Morale: +6
Special Abilities: Infiltrator, Leadership
Inventory: {None}

Shee-Ra increases the Ranged Attack and Morale of any army she is leading by +1.  If garrisoned in a Dungeon she increases the Ranged Attack and Morale of garrisoned troops by +1.  Her Infiltrator ability is imparted to any regiment she leads.

If a Midden has been constructed, Shee-Ra can be mounted on a dire rat.  She gains the Cavalry, Climb and Disease 3 abilities and can only join a regiment of Kobold Dire Rat Cavalry.  She also gains +2 Defence, +2 Speed and +6 Health.  Mounting Shee-Ra on a dire rat costs 17 Gold and 1 Metal (no Upkeep costs, however). [/ic]

[ic]Mya-He, the Unmentionable
Unmentionable not because Mya-He is a cannibal who has eaten kobold flesh before, but because he was captured by surface dwellers! Once, on a long expedition to the surface, Mya-He and a squad became separated from the main raiding party and they were trapped in a surface race trap, where he and his fellows lingered. He only survived and remained strong because he and one ally ate the rest of their fellows, then they played dead. When humans came to fetch the kobolds out of the trap, they were overpowered and the kobolds fled, back to the realm of the Cleversmarts. Although Mya-He received great shame for being captured by a surface-dweller's trap, he received great honor for having overpowered and escaped from surface dwellers. He is considered as having great insight into surface dwellers' ways and customs, gathered from overhearing snatches of their conversations and observations of their surface camps. Mya-He is a tenacious kobold, willing to do whatever it takes to survive and willing to sacrifice anyone else to ensure his survival. Shee-Ra places him in charge of the Cleversmart Caverns because most kobolds are afraid of him, and because she knows that he will never figure out how to work the mystery chamber or establish a cult following to overthrow her- he is too hated for that to happen- and he knows that.

Slinger

Upkeep: 1 Gold, 1 Food
Ranged Attack: +2
Ranged Damage: 2
Melee Attack: +1
Melee Damage: 1
Defence: 16
Health: 4
Speed: 4
Morale: +1[/ic]

[ic]Ho-Dor, the Stable
Ho-Dor the Stable is a simple Kobold; a distant cousin of Shee-Ra and a forager at heart. He dotes on his nephew, whose leg was crushed when he fell down a Dark Elf trap, and he carries the nephew around on a howdah on his back. The nephew shoots rocks and other debris at enemies while Ho-Dor the stable fights with his quarterstaff. Ho-Dor is a tempered commander who cares greatly for his soldiers. He is also an odd Kobold in that he has no interest in mating or in fertilizing Kobold Eggs. Instead, when he is at rest, he sits and meditates. His soldiers think that he is eccentric, but they do benefit from his constant attention--if the soldiers need something, Ho-Dor, the Stable, will find it for them.

Skulker
Upkeep: 2 Gold, 1 Food
Melee Attack: +2
Melee Damage: 3
Defence: 17
Health: 4
Speed: 4
Morale: +1
Special Abilities: Infiltrator, Scout[/ic]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]
-(4 Speed) Send SmartyScouts army to conquer #72 with extreme prejudice. If we succeed, found a new dungeon there (100 gp). If we encounter Deep Gnomes on the way, capture, enslave, and loot.

-(1 Speed) Send DeepGuards army to conquer #66. If we succeed, found a new dungeon there (100 gp).
-(3 Speed) After founding dungeon with DeepGuards, forage then scout (If I don't do it automatically), then entrench or garrison. That should net +13 food (I don't know if I can do this on turn one so I haven't yet added the food to my totals)

- Note; before I invade the neighboring regions, my SCOUT ability from my units should notify me of what is in those regions and what sort of resistance I should expect. After I conquer the regions, I also SCOUT the neighboring regions automatically, at least that's my understanding.

-(1 Speed) If I don't scout neighboring regions automatically, scout neighboring region with GoodyGarrison.
-(2 Speed) Forage with GoodyGarrison, should be +6 food (I don't know if I can do this on turn one so I haven't yet added the food)
-(1 Speed) After foraging, Garrison GoodyGarrison
[/spoiler]

[/spoiler]

[ic=On Receiving a Message from a Ceremorph]
Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth woke one morning screaming. "Nastydreams Nastydreams!" And she ordered her people to notify her of any nastybaddreams they had. "The squidfaced folk who taste vileroot have been speaking to us again. We must be wary, we must be smart! Clever! Smart! Do not speak to the evil, lest it draw you to death! Instead, chant the chant to our ancestral Master-King Hye-Mun, Master of the Universe to make it go away"

[spoiler=Response to the Abject]
"Aaaaah!" Shee-Ra screamed on hearing the voice inside her head. "You are nastydreams! I have been warned of tricksynastydreams! Oh Hye-Mun, Master of the Universe, I ask that you deliver me from evil and smite the foe till the break of night! Nastydreams out! Out! Out!" She chants to herself until the sounds go away.
[/spoiler]

[/ic]

[ic=Kobolds Have No Idea]
The Kobold with a great deal of indigestion came to a KoboldDiviner and asked it why its stomach ached. It was something it ate, the Kobold was told, and it waited for the troublesome object to pass. When it passed, the Koboldnoticed a note was included in the offal. Though most of the message had degraded into an illegible mess, the Kobold made out the writing and brought it to the Diviner, who troubled Shee-Ra with its contents.

Shee-Ra considered the letter. "This may be an omen, or it may be a stratagem of the nastydreams. Do not trouble yourself with its contents much, but let me know if more missives arrive." Shee-Ra threw the letter into a pile of scrap and gave out an order to thoroughly inspect all creatures before eating them, if only to avoid stomachaches.

[spoiler=Response to Watchers]
None. Kobolds haven't exactly figured out what the purpose of the letter was or if it was actually sent by a faction. They don't actually know that the Watchers exist.
[/spoiler]
[/ic]

[Humabout]

[ic=Flavor Text]Release the bats![/ic]

[spoiler=Message to THE DWER THANE LOTHË, PRINCE OF THE MHALDÛNE AND LORD OF THE MANSION]
Dwer Thane Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûne and Lord of the Mansion I bid you greetings in this Week of the Spider.  

I wish to propose a pact of non-aggression.  As you know, the Red Tide will rule the surface dwellers and has little interest in the Underdeep, where we are currently exiled.  To that end, I offer you a pledge that no member of the Red Tide will engage in an assault against you so long as no Dwerim attacks the Red Tide.  Additionally, we require that should you wish to break this pact of peace, you inform us before launching an assault, and in exchange we give our word that we shall do the same for you.

May your beard grow long and your enemies tremble before your ranks.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Message to THE CHILD OF THE GLOW]
Lady Rotqeen Child of the Glow, I bid you greetings and extend to you an offer of alliance.  As word may or may not have reached you, we will conquer all that the sun touches, and as your children so dislike the caress of the sun, we hope to find our ambitions coincide rather than conflict.

To this end, we propose a pact of non-aggression in which neither side attacks the other.  Additionally, we would like to establish trade arrangements, as our need of resources will be great, and we should produce no small number of corpses during our campaign – corpses I hear told that you need.  I hope we can establish a mutally beneficial trade agreement.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders 'n' Stuff]

[spoiler=Production]
Gold:  150.
Metal:  15.
Food:  100.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Upkeep]
None!
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Construction]
The Skull Throne (Upperdeep 43)
Beginning Construction:  
Mushroom Grove (1 week to completion)

The Downward Stair (Upperdeep 44)
Beginning Construction:
Establishing New Dungeon (1 week remaining)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Wealth]
Gold:  195.
Metal:  145.
Food:  200.
[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]
The Skill Thrown (Upperdeep 43)
Hall of the Goblin King
Goblin Mine
Mushroom Patch
Muschroom Grove (1 week to completion)
Goblin Lair
Goblin Armory

Pallisade
Reinforced Gate
Spiked Moat
Escape Tunnel

The Downward Stair (Upperdeep 44)
Establishment Under Construction....hopefully.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Armies]
(Upperdeep 43)
10 Goblin Grunts
10 Goblin Archers

(Surface ??)
30 Goblin Grunts
30 Goblin Archers

(Upperdeep 44)
10 Goblin Grunts
10 Goblin Archers
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]
[Speed 1] Move 10 Goblin Grunts and 10 Goblin Archers to UD44.  If opposition exists, retreat to UD 43.  If not, found a new dungeon there.  Appoint Grok the Elder to the position of Commander.
[Speed 1]  Entrench until dungeon is complete and then garrison there.

[Speed As Much As Necessary] Move 30 Goblin Grunts commanded by the Goblin King and 30 Goblin Archers to Surface 98, 102, and then 113, to locate and attack the caravan of which we have heard tales.  As soon as caravan is found, attack it, and take as many resources and bodies as possible.  Return to UD43 as quickly as possible, with a Forced March, if necessary.
[Speed 1] If any speed remains, garrison at UD43.

[Speed 1] Garrison 10 Goblin Grunts and 10 Goblin Archers in UD 43.
[/spoiler]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ic=A Few Good Flagons of Mead]He had left his fine regalia, his princely band, and his guards. He deemed it good that, at times, a Lord should go among his folk without pretension, the better not only to hear their words, but to truly understand their meaning. Lamps burned brightly from their mountings, casting light both soft and warm, bringing illumination to the hallway. No light of Dwer or Dwarf shone the clearer, for his folk had mastered fire in all its forms. The sound of laughter and merriment found his ear as he approached the new brewery, and he was glad for it. Kegs of ale and mead near countless in number were now produced in the Mansion thanks be to the new methods and instruments devised by the craftsmen and brewers of the Dwerim. He strode into the brewhall, and few marked his entrance, so intent were they on the words of their friends or the contents of their mugs. A great lamp hung from the ceiling, bathing the hall in soft yellow tones. And it was that Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion, stood before the bar - as any other Dwer - to order a few good flagons of mead. The brewmaster nodded, and only as he brought those great frothing flagons over did he catch Lothë's eye. The brewmaster's enormous bushy eyebrows shot straight up, but Lothë waved him to silence as he slid a golden coin across the bar in payment for the drink.

He took up those flagons, and carefully made his way through the press of benches and the milling throng, seeking out a certain corner of the room. The sound of a deep grumbling alerted him to the presence of his quarry, and he suddenly sat himself down at the heavy table, squeezing himself between two Dwerim. The flagons hit the table with a thud, their froth spilling out and over. The table's occupants looked up with frowns on their faces, clearly displeased by the unwelcome intrusion, but before any among them could utter a word, he planted a mug before each of them. And of course, who were they to question such generosity, and so they allowed the stranger his place. Lothë drew deeply from his drink, downing half the mead in a single gulp, and slapped the mug down on the table with a satisfied sigh. He turned to the man who sat not-quite-across from him, a veteran by his look, and then he spoke. "The mead is good! Is it not, Azáin? Too good, perhaps." Azáin looked up, a glare ready on his face, but his eyes opened wide as he saw who it was that addressed him.

"Lord Lothë..! An honour, surely, to -" he began to say, but Lothë cut him off.

"Ah! Relax, drink, be merry. It is no great honour. Right now I am as any one of you. No princely band to weigh down my brow, no gilded cloak to trip up my feet." Lothë spoke loudly and clearly, so that all might hear him. And it was that a sudden murmuring was heard in the hall, spreading slowly from one Dwer to the next, and then all was silent. A huge grin sat itself on Lothë's face, to hover above his prodigious beard. "But, as any other man, I too hear what is said of me and mine, if it is said long enough and loud enough. Man or woman, all who live within our Great Mansion are free to speak their mind. This is a right long-afforded by tradition, and long-maintained by sound judgement. But with right comes responsibility, a responsibility to accept the consequences of word and action. And your words, I fear, call me to my own action. In his last days my Father was not himself.... but he is yet among the honoured dead, and all the great and good things he did for our people cannot be forgotten! You have slandered the name of my Father, Azáin, and have brought offense to my house! And so, for this moment I set aside the authority of Prince and Lord, and as a man I challenge you to defend your words before all who are here gathered! We sit in the brewhall, and so shall abide by its tradition! We wrestle, you and I!" Lothë cried, mirth evident in his voice.

A great hooting and hollering was taken up by the Dwerim gathered in the brewhall, and tables were dragged aside with speed and enthusiasm rarely seen among the bright folk. Azáin could only sputter as Lothë finished his mead and rolled up his sleeves.[/ic]

[spoiler=A Message to Disa Grimhammer][ic=To the High Queen of the Dwarves]The Dwerim have heard of the valiant deeds of the Queen of the Dwarves, of her strength and ferocity in battle, of her stalwart heart, and of her wisdom and her courage. We would congratulate her on her ascension, and wish her prosperity in her reign. Wicked beasts and evils both new and old emerge and breed in these depths now more then ever before, and it comforts the Dwerim that some others yet hold fast against this tide. Both Dwer and Dwarf strive beyond all things to preserve the fragile light of civilization.

I am Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion, and I greet you, Disa Grimhammer. The pride of our forebears sundered us one from the other, and the grinding passage of time has seen us drift no closer. Many of our realms have fallen to ruin. Yet the gates of Droch-Mûrad are strong, and so too are those of Mhaldûl-Nem. But a gate does not stand on its own. It is given its strength by those who raise it up, and those who stand before it. The mistakes of our people need not haunt us unto a grim and lingering doom. It would be easy to remain aloof, and to cling to the prejudice of times past. But I choose differently. I would have both our peoples know the other again, and perhaps, in time, build together again. I reach out with the hand of friendship, and hope that you in turn will grasp it firmly. Know that any Dwarf is welcome in the Halls of the Mansion of the Dwerim, and that the Dwarves may call upon the Dwerim in time of need.

One matter more, while these words hold your eye. I have heard that you are yet unmarried, and have found no worthy suitor to join you as husband. My own son, Tiern, has yet no wife. He is a fine warrior, and I have taught him all the wisdom that my father taught to me. He would put himself forward in suit, and would seek your hand. To bind two peoples and two hearts, he has said, and I feel the truth of his words. I well know that no simple proposal will win you to him, and so I ask what deed may be done in your name, so that he might prove himself worthy.

May we find better days ahead,

Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion[/ic][/spoiler]

[spoiler=A Response to the Goblin][ic=A Letter]Such high words from a beast. I well know the capricious and base nature of Goblins. As any animal does, it seeks only its own gratification, and will readily do as it pleases, regardless of the words that it learns that it then speaks to its betters. It will betray, it will steal, and it will slaughter as it wants unless it is confronted by axe in unshaking hand, in which case it will run, as it is a coward.

Very well, Goblin, you shall have the peace you desire. But know that this peace is a peace of the axe, and remains only so long as your gibbering horde controls its low impulses. No Goblin shall descend the Stair of Náini, and any that are found in the Great Forest shall be slain. And know our warning, if word reaches our ears that a single Goblin foot has tread in the hallowed halls of Ancient Rhaud, then the peace between us shall be dust, and you will find that you cannot stand before the might of the Dwerimhost, and the taste of ash shall be bitter in your mouth.

Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion[/ic][/spoiler]

[spoiler= A Fevered Dream, and therein a Response to the Once-Elf][ic=In the Garden]For months now he had been afflicted by strange dreams. Nightmares of ancient halls slick with blood, of men and women drowning in pools of gold and gems, of laughter and madness and death. The dead spoke, their bones calling out to him: begging, pleading, threatening. He could feel the bones, ancient and worn or fresh and new, he could feel where they were buried, waiting to be found. Wanting to be found. The Seers had said that strange things had begun to move in the depths, and that these rumblings had disturbed the shades of his people, and so they called out to him in dream.

His Father stood beside him, and he was as in the days when Nüln stood in all its glory, before the madness took him. They were in the Rose Garden. Flowers brought from the distant world above and nurtured by the light of a vast fire, reflected from the disc of mirrored bronze that was the ceiling. It was the greatest treasure the Dwerim had ever held, loved beyond all their gold and all their jewels and all the metal worked by their hands. Lothë was young, his beard not yet full-grown, but all was right in the world. His confidence unshakable, the future bright. His Father turned to him then and spoke, his voice echoing: "One day you will stand where I stand, my son. It will fall to you to make those decisions that a King must. The hard decisions. You will sit in judgement of the worst of crimes. You will send men to die for our city. It is a heavy burden to bear, but a King must bear it for his people. But if ever this burden seems too light, Lothë... if ever you make these choices with hardly a dissenting thought, remember... remember that it's a choice you don't deserve to make. Don't take the easy way, Lothë. These flowers do not grow easily, so very far under the earth. We could stand in a garden of golden petals, made with all our skill, and it would be easy for us. Near as easy as breathing... But would it be more beautiful?"

The world seemed to break, then. Blood poured from his Father's mouth, and he held an axe dripping with red. The garden was ablaze and the ceiling above was caked with soot, and it began to bend and buckle in the heat. It rent with a screech, and a river of golden coins poured down into the burning garden, and the noise of his Father's gurgling laughter was all about them. Panic. Sheer panic. He ran from that place. He ran and ran, and did not look back.

A shift. Everything seemed clearer now, more coherent. He turned about, and gazed out on something he could not comprehend. A city of wrong angles, a mad tangle of flesh. And the screams, the terrible screams. Lothë fell to his knees. A voice spoke to him then, a voice he did not know. A river of words, a river of promises, and a stream of images. There was brightness and beauty, and he knew that she who spoke to him was Good, and that those she spoke against were not. They were Corrupt, they were Cowards, and they were Abject. It was so evident, so easy to see, and -

A shadow fell on him then, and he turned his head, and it was that a Dwer stood behind him. Robed and hooded in black. Lothë caught but a glimpse beneath that hood, and the face he saw then was wan and skeletal. The Dwer spoke and his voice boomed, resonant with power. "Spare him your lies, Once-Elf! The minds of the Dwerim are not yours to play with, and their dreams are not yours to delve! Know that I am Andacer, and know that my shadow is long, and that it falls wherever my kin walk, and know that the Dwerim are yet mine. You speak of a bargain. I will make it with you, Once-Elf, and when it is time this one will do as he is bid. This Flayer who you claim Apostate... the Dwerim will stand against him should he come against us, or should his designs threaten our own, as they would against any beast from the Deep. Should his servants be made prisoner, they shall be delivered to you for their weight in gold, as you have promised. And this is the extent of our bargain. Now go, Once-Elf. This dreaming grows too long, and his mind may not bear it further." And everything seemed to dissolve then, and his head swam, and it hit the softening ground.

He awoke with a start, covered in sweat, gasping for breath. Another nightmare, already fading.

But then, a voice in his mind. A voice he remembered from his dream. It spoke too fast of things he only half-remembered, and there was seering pain behind his eyes. What was this? A spell? Was he going mad? He lurched from his bed to the small shrine in his chambers, graven with images of his Ancestors, and he fell before it begging the honoured dead for wisdom and peace. For a moment he thought he felt a hand rest gently upon his shoulder, and then the voice was gone. He would shut it out if it returned. His mind was his own, and he would not suffer its violation.[/ic][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders for The Month of the Spider, Week 1][ooc=Orders for The Month of the Spider, Week 1]Production

Mhaldûl-Nem
Dwer Mine: +200 Gold and +25 Metal
Brewery: +10 Food
Tuber Garden (1): +25 Food
Apiaries (2): +30 Food
Mushroom Forest: +25 Food

Total: +200 Gold, +25 Metal, +90 Food

Upkeep
30 Dwerim Axemen: -60 Gold, -60 Food

Construction

Mhaldûl-Nem

Under Construction: Lizard Pen (Finishing), Pyretic Refinery (Finishing), Hall of the Ancestors (Finishing), Hall of Trade (1 Week Remaining), Grand Furnace (1 Week Remaining)

Recruitment

None this turn.

Wealth

Gold: 100
Metal: 130
Food: 300

Dungeons and Outposts

Mhaldûl-Nem

Rooms: Thane's Hall, Forge Hall, Shield Hall, Tuber Garden, Apiaries (2), Dwerim Mine, Brewery, Training Hall
Defences: Outer Wall, Iron Gate, Murder Holes (1)

Armies

Lothë - Garrisoned at Mhaldûl-Nem
30 Dwerim Axemen - Garrisoned at Mhaldûl-Nem

Orders

Send 5 Dwerim Axemen to scout Middledeep 39 from Middledeep 40, using 1 Speed, then use 1 Speed to re-garrison at Mhaldul-Nem.
Semd 5 Dwerim Axemen to scout Middledeep 41 from Middledeep 40, using 1 Speed, then use 1 Speed to re-garrison at Mhaldul-Nem.[/ooc][/spoiler]

Note: Feel free to read anything I have spoiler-tagged, except for my orders. I don't just write these things for myself, and I trust that no one will use meta-knowledge therein gained against me.

[Xathan]

[ic=Awakening (Llitul)]The scream ends, and suddenly there is a voice. A thought. The Voice, and The Thought. The Overbrain, acknowledging my awakening. It shudders through me and I shiver in exstacy revulsiongodslookyourselflookhorrorgodsgods at It's presence. I can feel It, I can feel the Hive, and I can feel my Beloved slaverslookhorrornightmares moving among it - not a warrior among them. The purges had been vast, it seemed - the Harbringer of Yuddrarah's madness had crept far. My minds race, Llitul and Llandri justonenonottwopleasegods pondering options and instructuctions, and I send out my new Sense. It's more than thought and sight and taste and touch and smell ever were. I had it before, I realized. The Crystal Magic that had my housed exiled. It was how I always knew - ambushes, watchers, saeridrememberyoufeltlove emotions. I drink it in, every little taste of the universe I had denied myself for fear of what those fools had caused tainted. Memories of past and present war for a moment, the former muted and dulled and banished. I am Llitul.

I don't know how long I stood there, revelling in my sense. I knew of the Hive's new growths and of my new dwellings being built...no. Growing. How could even Llandri have reviled these beings? Feared, of course. Of course the Beloved were to be feared by Food. But as they dragged her/me/us down here, she/I/we had felt...revulsion. Felt that they were unnatural. Abominations.

How? Where even we/those Food known as elves would warp trees and mine metal raped from the earth noitsnotlikethat, the Beloved, my Beloved, we grow like any other natural being. We do not warp mushrooms or other beauties of nature down here below to our purposes. We grow, same as all life must grow, and we feed, and surely other creatures have stranger diets theycannotnaturalwrong. Surely the buildings of that food known as Humankind are far more unnatural than the Growth of the Hive. And yet I/we/her had dared think of them/us as unnatural. They/we are the most natural beings their is, and Food only fears us as the ants fear spiders/doe fears the wolf.

Division. I clutch myself. The Overbrain had proclaimed me reborn, and I was. I was reborn and I was yet just a newborn, still weak and shuddering. I needed time. Time for my prebirth Llandri to accept who I/we are. I feel my face, I feel near my eyes - a weak gesture, a Food gesture. I am not suprised to find them dry of tears and yet I am, I am shocked and horrified and elated and blessed and I feel Llandri fleeing, hiding deep within our mind as she realizes the aweful truth - that she is just a ghost now, haunting her own mind, and not a true ghost, only a weak spirit capable of ghastly moans. I am not quite what I once was.

In fact, I may be more.

In the old days, the Beloved would have responded instantly to the Overbrain's command. And I can feel Its..His...Hers? I spend a moment wondering which pronoun applies to a being as vastly old as this one, and it takes me longer than it should to realize that It did not care, and even longer for me to decide that I should not either. It. I settle on It, because It is both my mother and my father and to apply a gender to It is as offensive as thinking of It as kin to Food. If I err, I will think of It as Him, since the Voice has the lower resonances that Llandri identifies with males. I wonder if I should ask It.

Then I remember what I was feeling. Its expectation. I had been given a command and time had elapsed and in that time I had stood there and not responded.

"My mind...Father. Forgive me. I am still...adjusting. I did not mean to delay."

Of course It knows why I was standing there an It was not impatient, it was simply there and expecting. I know I need not use my voice but I do, speak to it with both voice and Voice, my Voice that I had so long denied, because It was the Overbrain and deserved the effort of both Voice and voice.

"I will obey. But...I am still weak. Still adjusting. My mind...I'm not Whole yet."

I ponder. The needs of the Hive, my own strength, race through my minds, thoughts of Food merging with Elder Thoughts and I do feel a brief glimpse of a color like no other that I file away to access later. I realize that the Overbrain has burdned me with glorious purpose, for I know much of the Hive and its workings and I can See so much, every Thrall, every Beloved, every beating breathing edifice of the Hive, and even with my mind still distracted with Oldself Llandri - quiet at the moment - I feel more.

I feel Food above, but my mind has other words for them, and those words are "Dark Elf," and it feels respect and fear for them. And hunger. And fear for them should they become foes. The Middledeep. I once feared it, knew of its reaches and the monsters it held, but now I am a monster, a monster of much further below, and wonder if they fear me. I feel other things. Dwarves, of different types. Goblins and Kobolds with their tiny little dreams and both Llandri and Llitul agree in contempt but acknowledge their threat in numbers. And more. I briefly feel the mere presence of the Cerelich and shut my mind from him and his corruption. One day he will be my concern. Not yet this day.

In my mind I lay out a map of the World Beneath, much as I once did for the woods above.

And again that light, that Glow. I'll have to investigate.

For now, though, I still had not given It more than stumbled excuses. So I communicate using just my Voice, knowing I will be clearer without attempting the sounds of flapping meat.

[spoiler=To The Overmind(DM only)]Father, if you know better the location of the renegades, would you View their location? There are two paths above and south of here, and if I choose poorly I will waste valuable time. And to know how to best follow your commands, I need to know their numbers - and how well they know they lay of the land.

I will contact the other presence immediately. My gut - my apologies, it is a food term and the only one I know - tells me that a secret hidden from you is one I must learn for you with all speed. And there is another presence, a Glow, that I can...feel. I believe it may have a Mind, though not a Foodmind - I am curious and intend on contacting it as well, unless you forbid it.

As it stands, our current forces do not provide enough strenght to immediately head for the South. I alone am young and have not tested myself against any of the Beloved Children, even ones who deny your love. If their numbers are too great for me alone, I will hunt them down with a force in the next week - these hounds of ours should have matured by then.[/spoiler]

And then she awaited his response, feeling anticpation/horror at hearing his Voice for now.[/ic]

[ic=Llitul]

3 Hours Later

I sit and stare and think. Two. With my preparations I can go to one, but the other would have to be dealt with. And more...letmehelpIfeeltrust. Why would she help? Why would I trust you/us/myself? dontwannadiemightkillmighttakewilllethelp.

I shudder. Llandri was deseperate - I was desperate - we are desperate to please the Overbrain. For love and for fear. He had praised our initiative. He had praised us! whathappensifheisdispleaseddontdisplease.

Focusing, I stretch out my mind to reach beings that I had need to speak with - and begin to construct what they would speak with, fusing Oldself and Newself to give them the truth I want them to know.

[spoiler=Lothe]

I sense you, Lothe, Lord of all Dwerim. You are known to us, and memories of your ancestors are long and great. The Dwerim intrigue us, for you delve deeper than any dwarf dare delve, and you handle flames with skill greater than even your darker kin who dwell among the magma pits below, the beings who some call Deep Dwarves that sully the name of the latter with their ways. They claim to be your kin, yet preform atrocities. You may not know of us, of what we are. We dwell deep. Yet we have no interest in the Dwerim as foes.

I am Llitul, a being of Old Times that sought to keep mortals free of Elder Things. I have entered the body of an Elf, Llandri Brightstar, who welcomed me willingly to manifest even though it confined her to the Realms Beneath. I am one and I am legion, and I wish to contact you, for you are a being of honor and duty, and nothing is respected more by my people than honor and duty.

I touch your mind for three reasons. Messages for the Lord of all Dwerim. First is that a threat grows beneath, one who has twisted and corrupted the message we seek to bring to the surface. For you see, we offer Enlightenment to all who dwell above, Enlightenment and Peace, and we seek to allow all to come to those teachings by choice: our intent is not violence, nor is it to deny you the right to honor in glorious battle that you have already claimed so many times.

However, there is one who styles himself the Cerelich, a being of unmitigated horror, a being of warped flesh twisted and corrupted into undeath, who has twisted our Enlightenment into a perverse belief in Corruption, and has warped our belief in Peace in to the belief of a Peace only of the Grave. What foe could be more glorious for the Dwerim? We do not ask that you risk your men's life on our mere words - we are certain that this foul being wil make himself known to all of Those Above in his own time. When that time comes, we merely ask that you stand beside us in glorious battle, for he has gone far past redemption.

Truely, in his madness, he has warped his body with necromancy and has become the antithesis of all we hold dear. When that time comes, I seek your word as Lord of all Dwerim that you will aid us in his destruction, for it is known the word of the Lord of all Dwerim, that the word of any Dwerim, is worth more than any conctract with any other being in all existance. In exchange, I offer more than vague warnings, for we still battle terrible beings. At times these beings attack dwarves, Dwerim and those of the Thane Above and even the Duergar. Any dwarf we rescue will be brought to you, Lothe, Lord of Dwerim, and for that you have my word sworn by the Truth of Peace, which we respect above all else.

The second warning I give you is about your Dark Cousins. They have grown mad, twisted by the being known as the Cerelich. They practice Dark Things, and spit on the name of all Dwarves. They have become as Drow to Elves, and I warn you the only True words to pass from their lips would be their name and clan, though even then they likely speak lies. They have no honor, only hatred eternal, and kill and slave. If you know of the Duergar you know this is true. If not, I wished to warn you that such beings could only be trusted in one thing: they will seek to kill the Cerelich as well. But their hatred means they would also kill us, for they do not want Peace with only Glorious Battle, but violence and War WIthout Honor. I advise you to keep a close council when it comes to them.

Third and finally, minions of the Cerelich may prowl the forests you call home, seeking to enslave and worse: they will feed on the brains of any they capture. I warn you so you may guard your people and be prepared for their predations. They are our criminals, but they can be brought back to the Truth, so I request again your Word that any you capture alive be given to me so that Justice may be done for their crimes as is right and lawful. In exchange, you have a more tangible gift than my word: a bounty of Gold, 20 per such being captured, which will be paid upon reciept of the criminal.

If you capture one, to claim its boundy notify me and bring it to the cave that leads below to in the northernmost portions of the Middledeep, the one that to its west has a narrow passage and to its east an upward tunnel and small lake. Your messangers will be paid your bounty. I bid you not to venture to the depths below - there are creatures that dwell beneath that do not know well enough to avoid attacking the Dwerim, and while your people would prevail, such beings fear venturing any higher than they do, so any of your people injured would be injured needlessly when I can pass invisibly among the creatures.


I give you my thanks for even listening to my message, and hope that we can become even closer bonded in Peace and Enlightenment.[/spoiler]

One dealt with, and I am exhausted. I push myself less this time, knowing less and having to reach closer...to something more comfortable to myself, and only more puzzling to Oldself.

[spoiler=Child of the Glow]

Can your mind hear me? Is there a mind there? I've felt something. A presense. I'm trying to contact that presence. Are you it? Are you the presence that dwells within the forests? Can you respond? I wish to know more of you. I sense you - I feel you. I feel beauty. And more. Are you there?

[/spoiler]

I collapse awaiting their minds to reply. I'd need to rest. I had chosen well to test myself contacting these minds - one like mine had once been, one that was so vague that I'd mistake it for that of a simple beast did it not run so deep. I had more messages. There was still that presence the Overbrain had sensed, a presence that was vast enough in time where even It had forgotten. I admitted fear to myself. A being that old, only a glimmer in Its Memory, was not to be taken lightly. I would have to be ready to contact it.

Soon. Another test. The Dark Elves. I felt two. Llandri remembers them as cunning and trecherous and foul.

Perhaps we could be friends. After all, they had something I wanted...
nonotthatdontnotothersnotmorepleasegodsstopmekillme
Exhausted and awaiting replies, I laugh at her pleas.
dontlethertakemoresparethedarkonesnoteventheydeserve.
There were no gods. There was only It, and It would be pleased..[/ic]


[ic=Messages Pt 2]
10 Minutes Later

Groaning, she lifts herself. The others she contacted had not yet replied to her. She was exausted, weary, and not used to exerting herself. For the moment, I was in charge.

"My name is Llandri Brightstar, and you are probably wondering why I don't run now, Saerid. My beautiful, silly, regal Saerid. You're wondering why I don't run, why I don't flee right now, aren't you? No, you think I'm dead. Nine hells, you may be right - I may be dead.

Sorry, I know you hate it when I swear.

The Other, Llitul, she's who I am now. Llandri is dead, the Brightstar has gone out, my Shining Flame. I'm considering using her powers to try to reach out to you, but I'm getting the most unnerving sense of...oh, what's that Gnomish phrase? Deja vu? I guess that's it. Besides, what would I say? And what if she regained control halfway through and you never knew? I will send this briefly, it's night up there, you'll think you're dreaming."

I focus, drawing upon a power I'd feared my entire life. It didn't come naturally like it did to the Other. It was an unholy effort to pull. She had sent missages - I just wanted to send three words.

[spoiler=Saerid]

I love you.

[/spoiler]

I hoped that brought you some peace, dreaming of me. I'm going to die again - she's awaken-

What did you do? nothingjustmovedjustwantedtomove Do not do that again, ghost. Wraith. I will not have your pathetic "needs" displease Him. It. Damn you.

I discard her/us to the back of our mind. I knew we had done something, but whatever it was I/she/we didn't mind. I considered bringing the matter to It, but It had Exalted me...if I couldn't deal with Oldself, I didn't deserve the honor It had granted me. Still, I was weaker than I had thought. I needed to push myself, but not too hard. Not hard enough to contact the Elder Things yet. I needed a similar mind - an elf. I pick based on proximity. I feel a mind, and it suprises me how comfortable this mind feels. But disciplined. I don't attempt to get more than a base feel - I'm not ready to try pushing past empathy yet. Still, I know dark elves. knowthyenemy. See? You're not entirely stupid.

[spoiler=Viarra Gloomsong]

It seems an excellent month to contact one such as yourself. Spiders suit your people well. All due honor, Lady Gloomsong. I am Llitul, and we have much in common.

It's true I am no Dark Elf - else I would not be able to speak with you in this manner - but I could call you cousin. We both have a similar ancestry, both are of a people who no longer stride the surface, and both are Queens of the Deep Realms.

However, I am not one of the sun-kissers or sap-lickers, so I won't waste your time as they would. In this, the Month of the Spider, I see the acendency of your race - and of your race, only one group falls under the Sign of the Spider Queen. The others? A male rules them, and that's all one needs to know of them.

Therefore, I would like to propose a mutually beneficial arrangement. It is known that you operate slave pens, and it is known that your Goddess smiles upon sacrifices on the eve of battle. I have other needs. Therefore, I wish to make an exchange, for I have vast stock of those I own as well - thralls for slaves, two thralls for every slave. Thralls that were never used for breeding stock, nor for violence, nor used to commit any other act displeasing to the Gods of the Sun Folk - the picture of innocence. In exchange? I know that some of your slaves must be of the Sun-Kissed or your own people who are criminals, blasphemers, or seek to overthrow you.

Two of my thralls, strong stock, for your sacrifices in exchange for elven slaves. An initial transaction of ten to five would be sufficient. Enough for you to make preparations and find the healthiest. Allow us both time to inspect our gifts. The thralls will need to be forcibly fed - but other than that, will be perfect sacrifical victims. The slaves will be used for sacrifice as well - but the demands of sacrifice I have are specific, elves that have either known the sun or acted in treachery.

I'm sure you can manage either.[/spoiler]

I grin. That one was easy. Well. Not easy. Easier. I'll look forward to her response.

pleasenoohgodwhywhydontdothisfortheloveofthegods

Oh, shut up.

And suddenly, I hissed as Lothe's mind returned...and something else. This specter had denied me! Some shadow in the Dwarf's dreams...and I had him! He was mine! Curse that specter...but the dwarf had woken. I don't know how strong it is, but it was old and mad. Mad with hate or mad with insanity or mad with death or mad at the intrusion it mattered not. Maybe it wasn't even real. Maybe the dwarf's subconscious was rebelling. Maybe they were already touching his mind. One last try, before the dwarf could sleep again, pulling all my/her urgency into the message - urgency entirely unfeigned.

[spoiler=Lothe]

Awaken! A specter beset you in your sleep, and I can only pray you remember my last missage untainted by the dream. You saw the shadow that named me liar. Such a thing could have never been any Dwer that died with honor! It was a trick of the dead - possibly even a trick of the Cerelich himself, attempting to taint your mind against us, although I cannot prove it, merely suspect. I urge you, Lothe, wise ruler of the Dwerim, do not fall prey to this trickery! It named me liar, but I have spoken nothing but truth to you, unless my vocabulary erred. If my words seem odd or alien, it is a curse - I am not used to this time, and speaking with only the words Llandri knows.

I will give you things you can prove true, so that you might know that I speak no lies. The creatures that haunt your woods and threaten your people, that will feed on your brains, the one I offered honorable justice to. They are real and can be found there, I am certain of it. They are the beings that haunt your forests, and they are the beings whose nightmare home you saw before my mind touched yours. I am certain these horrors are attempting to play with your mind, but your will is too strong to be broken by such trickery.

Please, Lothe, Thane of the Dwer, do not listen to this specter that mocks the memory of the dwarf it once was. Be it unhallowed vision or necromantic mockery, please fight against its lies, lies it cannot prove! Let me prove my Truth. Ask your priests if a dwarf honored would appear as such. Ask yourself if that Dwer - one I do not know - but ask yourself if he would truly appear as such a monstrosity. And if so, for I do not know well the ways of the dead...the specter named me Once-Elf, which is true. The specter was willing to bargain with me. It is possible this specter erred, that it thought I was the source of the influence, but I am not. You do not dream now, you know truth.

Please. For the sake of all below and all above, you must believe me.

And if you do not, if you cannot, if this specter's words ring too true for the Peace...then I can only hope, for the sake of All and of Peace, that you will still honor its bargain.[/spoiler]

I collapse. Apparently, touching the same mind twice is much harder. A third attempt may very well break my control killusmaybekillusdoitendus. I'd have to wait awhile before I could send to this Lothe again.

And next time, I must make sure he is awake.


[spoiler=Response to Vierra Gloomsong]

[ic]I smile tomyself. I like this mind. It schemed and plotted. And it had known me as Beloved. One day, perhaps she would make an excellent Exarch....but not yet. I would not make the mistakes I had made with the Dwarf. Patience. For the latter, it shall be done for the named price. These Kirr will not pose a great threat to us, and if they stand in our way we shall have what we both desire. Here I pause. carefulshemayfindthatasrepulisveasis Oldself was right. Even a drow had limits. But if she would poise me as a tool against her foes...

As to the former, you are right that I am a thing born of the Ceremorphs, a thing born in response to a deep stirring. A creature has arisen, the foundation of what it hopes to be an empire of rot, decay, and death. A creature that calls itself the Cerelich, who's goal is simply to bring all into its unique form of Undeath known as Abjection. A creature so abhorrent, even we find it repulisve. A creature that will not stop until it has Abjected all...though it may seek living puppets or even allies to bring about it's revolting Dream.

We seek the elven slaves so we may build a new weapon as oart of our effort destroy this creature, which lies below the Great Chasm to the south. You know of Ceremorphs, so you know what we require of any armament - their minds, and not the dead minds of the Elves we can breed in Thralldom here. The precise nature of this weapon I cannot communicate through these means - the Cerelich is powerful, and I do not wish to risk details to become known.

I hope this satisifies your need. Our bargin is made, and the crown will be retrieved.

I smile. Not a single word of untruth, not a single secret revealed I did not wish to reveal. And these foes of hers, the Kirr...perhaps they would be a problem, or perhaps they would prove beneficial. Either way, the woman had not seemed stupid - the risk of her foe becoming allied with the Cerelich is not one she'd take lightly. Worsethanusworseeverdestroy Oldself, I'm glad we agree on that. Dark Elves are not known for being squeamish. nolimitsdisgustingwrongbad. If I was right...

Well, no point getting ahead of myself. First I had to retrieve it from her without being drawn into a pointless Food War. Perhaps a message to this Kirr noriskdarkelfsuspicious Of course. If either learned I had spoken with they other, they would suspect me of plotting with their foe. I'll leave these Kirrfood be for now, and attempt evasion on my search.

I was pleased. And certain It would be pleased too.[/ic][/spoiler]
[/ic]
[ic]

That Night

My eyes widen. There was a response, from a mind so alien, so strange...and beautiful, beautiful to both of us.

[spoiler=Response to the Glow]

I hear you, Glow that Does Not Fade. I hear you and I feel your age and your youth, I feel time sleep away. I too, am newly born, but very old. I believe I may understand more about this World than you - I believe I have much I can teach you, and I believe there is much you can teach me.

I am Llitul. I am Beloved. I am Ceremorph. I am Elf. I am Exalted. There are many more things that I am, many more peices. Know me as Llitul, for of all the peices that I am, that one is the most true and also means the least, for it is the name of my newness. I am a Ceremorph. We are of flesh, but we also shape flesh. I am Exalted. I am a new type of Ceremorph - kin and like to them, but yet different, for I am also still an Elf, a different type of old thing but not as old as Ceremorph things. We are beings who touch this Dream of yours - and I think that I am new like you and yet old means that I feel your Dream more strongly. I feel beauty in your colours, colours like no others.

I want to dream more with you, so that you may know more of this world and the beings within, the flesh you perfect and so that I may know more of you and what you Dream and so that I may help you understand this world.

I do not fear you. But I fear for you. There are beings near you, beings called dwarves. They may seek to bring you harm, for dwarves do not love beauty. I merely warn you of their presence, those called Dwer above and those that call Duergar who live in the lakes of fire not far from you.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=response to the Child of the Glow]Child and Dreamer I will cal you then.

It may have been Ceremorph-flesh that whispered to you, for we whisper far to many. It pleases me that our dream delights you, and I feel your dream and your Love and their colors and tastes. It is like no taste I have had before.

Duergar-flesh is kin to dwarf-flesh, but full of even more hatred than dwarf-flesh. The one called Lothe is know to me, and I grieve for your death as I rejoice in your newlife. That sharpness was likely called Axe, for that sharpness is what Dwarf-flesh loves above all other sharpness. Elf-Flesh uses a sharpness called Sword more often, and other Flesh uses other Sharpness. We of Ceremorph-flesh shun Sharpness - we prefer to embrace, even if we mean death. That Flesh does not love you for the same reason much flesh does not love you - even though their forms are not beautiful, flesh is fearful of being remade and clings to its current form as much as possible. I know this: the Elf-Flesh from which I was made still fears the beauty I obtained in being remade. When it is time for the Lothe flesh to join your dream I hope I may aid you, as it shall be when the Duergar-Flesh and all other flesh shall join your dream.

I have much flesh. Flesh I do not use, flesh that should be made beautiful, and I constantly have more flesh - more flesh than I could ever alone make beautiful. I would like to share this flesh with you to show the beauty of your dream, though you are yet too far for me to share this Flesh. I will share this Flesh with you, and in return I ask that you share something with me, something that you cannot make beautiful. There are minerals that flesh values, minerals they call Gold. Would you share this gold with me as I share flesh with you, so that we may better together bring beauty to all flesh?

Also, I warn you, there is a being that will contact you. He dreams of making flesh ugly and revolting. He is the Cerelich, and he is twisted and ugly Ceremorph-Flesh.An image of Yuddrath flashes from Llitul, followed by an image of the Cerelich, followed by an image of a Ceremorph Ghoul. If he has his way, he will do this to allflesh, and flesh thus made is ugly and sick. Flesh thus made never Dreams. Be wary of the Cerelich, who will make all flesh ugly.

[/spoiler]



Llandri wants to weep at having touched that mind, so strange and alien and innocent and beautiful.

For once, we agree.

Father must know of this at once. I send him a message, just the exchange between the Glow and myself, and await his response.[/ic]

[ic=Lliltul]

The Next Day

I realize now how young I am. My fumblings with my messages failureswearedamnedthankgodswefailedinsome had proven that. I/we/she, however, hated failure, despite her ramblings to the contrary in her corner, the ramblings of a dead woman. I was reminded by her of my/our first days at Court. Elven scheming and manipulations, subtle jabs that a soldier;s life had not trained me for. We had learned quickly, but it had infuriated us knowing there were layers we were missing, and our first forrays had be abject notthatworddontthinkthatword utter failures. I/we had done better this time, for I was better, Llitul was superior to Llandri...but I could have done much better than I had. Something had to go perfectly right, there had to be a victory, even a small one...and I knew I would find it among my beloved.

It was becoming easy to reach out to the Hive. Only a day since birth, and already I had no difficulty finding the minds I sought within.

There.

{Zasz, attend me.}

{So it shall be, Queen of Thralls.}

And I smiled at the bitterness of his tone. Zasz, the last Inquisitor, the only one to survive my birth. He knew what I was summoning him for, and must wonder if I intended him for Severing Or maybe simple execution, as he bretheren had been. He had already been cut from much of the powers given to the Inquisitors, no stronger than any other Psion...perhaps I would turn him over to those he had once questioned. Or, perhaps, I would do far worse and treat him as Food. nononodontthinkoffood It was then I realized something that she had kept secret. I was feeling the gnawings of the Hunger. I had not Fed since my awakening. Bitch. Trying to starve us/me/yourself?

I'll feed then, for the first time.

---

When Zasz arrived, it was to find me sitting, on either side of me a thrall, my tentacles enveloping their skull and pulsating as I tasted their thoughts and drew the grey matter from their skulls. He stood in respectful silence as I stared ahead, frozen in a perfect blend of exstacy and horror. Time lost all meaning as I tasted the texture of their thoughts - yellow and the sound of a sparrow mingled with roasting ham and an afterbite of muave child laughter.

I looked at him as I savored that afterbite. "Zasz. The Last Inquisitor. How does it feel to be unique?"

He stood, silent. I could taste his anger and knew its source. "You wonder if I brought you up here to mock you, no? You think I intend on wasting time amusing myself with your hatred."

{Yes. I do.}

At the insolence, I reared a tentacle dontneeditplanremember and lowered. "I am your queen, you Wrech. You were allowed to survive the purge. Do you know why The Overbrain spared you?" I didn't wait for an answer, didn't care what it thought. "You were spared because, of all the Inquisitors, you did not immediately feel fear for your failure. You did not seek to cower and beg the Overbrain's mercy. You felt only hatred for the Abjected, hatred for them so consuming you did not even remember to fear or cower or apologize."

His thoughts took on the taste of expectation. "You still failed, Zasz, and for that you were punished. You are Zasz the Shamed, Last of the Inquisitors. But you hate the Abjected, so in you have a chance to re-earn the final reward."

{Impossible. The Overbrain decreed that none who failed to apprehend the Cerelich would be granted the Joining.}

"The Overbrain is wise. There is use for your hatred still."

He paused, his mouth tentacles waving in involuntary thought. {How shall my hatred serve you, my Queen?}

And so we spoke.

killitkillyourselfletmediewhycantidie

Why so angry? This was your idea.[/ic]

[ic]I sit bolt upright, Zasz looking at me curiously.

{My queen...?}

"Leave us."

He does. He has his instructions anyway, he doesn't need me to hold his tentacles every step of the way. I shudder involuntarily as soon as he's out of the room, Llandri jibbering in the back of my mind. That voice..it was like the Overbrain's, old. Older than any part of my sentience, older even than It. awefulhorriblewhatwasworsenight silence yourself. You're/I'm a warrior, we're not going to cower in fear because of a Voice, no matter how much....

I shudder again, wrapping my tendrils around myself in an instinctive protective gesture. I was right to have waited to attempt to contact these beings. That power was immense. I considered going to It, telling It what I had heard...and we both rebelled. We would tell It, but not without having done something. To simply return to It admitting fear and inaction would be unpardonable. Stilling our minds, I gathered my will to reply.

[spoiler=Response to Dreams of Dead Races]

{The tone of these messages is respect tinged with awe.}

I hear you, Being Primordial, and I hear your animosity, oh Elder Thing. You name my forebearer your oldest foe, your most hated, and I am honored to know my forebearer has the might to have deserved such attention.

Yet I do not sense malice, I do not feel an intent towards violence, merely a warning I will be Watched.

I am of old and new, and newborn of old, so I do not presume to understand your intent, merely what I have sensed in your contact. I presume nothing, but do not attempt to decieve a being such as you.

My Dread Father has expressed a desire that I learn of you, but has not expressed a desire for me to war with you, nor have you expressed a desire to war with It. This is well. Your power is evident, and my Forbearer is also of vast power: a renewal of an Old War at this juncture would shatter all, and neither of us would be the victor as the squirming parastic Newthings decend upon us en mass. They are weak but many, and their numbers could threaten a being even as Elder as you.

There is another Power I would warn you of, for I do not know what your vast intellect has touched and do not presume to know your knowledge. I merely speak as a being old and new to a being far older and greater. No new thing can call itself your equal, I know that from your thought, and I am part newthing so therefore do not presume such. I am born of Elder, however, so I presume that I may speak with you slightly more equal than most.

There is something also born of your Oldest Foe. A being known as a Cerelich, who prays at the Altar of Yuddrath, who seeks to Abject all life, Old and New, before him. He would even seek to Abject you given the chance, I am certain. I doubt his power could threaten you. But the Altar he prays at, Yuddrath, is Elder, and such a being may be enough to challenge your power.

I make no threats. I do not know of what War Primordial caused you to call my Forebearer foe. But I seek to state my intent: if the War Primordial must resume, if Elder Thing must once again war against Elder Thing, let it resume once the Altar that is Yuddrath is broken and the Cerelich scattered to dust. Let us not war amongst each other until at least there are only two Elder Powers on this Mortal Plane. If you must war against your Elder Foe, or It must war against you, allow it to be a War between only those who Warred Once Before.

Thank you for the honor of deeming me worthy of your Observation. I can honestly hope you find something you respect in what you see.[/spoiler]

And now I slump, inchor pouring from the corners of my eyes, awaiting the Beings response, and for the first time since I have used the name I Llitul feels fear.

It would be easier to bear if it wasn't tinged with Llandri's laughter.[/ic]
[ic]I smile as I feel the Elder Thing's voice again. The creatuer terrified me, there was no doubt of that, but youlovepleasingevilnowyouknowityouretheirbitchnow I couldn't place my finger on the pleasant sensation that rippled through me. Of course, a response was needed...

[spoiler=Response to Dreams of Dead Races]My thanks for the compliments I have only done the bearest to deserve, Elder Thing. A tribute is beyond me, for my Forebearer, as your ancient foe, would surely find a tribute to be demeaning to Us. However, as a gift, a gift for a former foe who is many times worthy, a gift for a truce, that is something that is within my power. It is a slight difference of words, but words are important to beings of your wisdom and of the wisdom of my Forebearer, beings of Primal Wisdom I could only dream to one day hold.

The metal you request will be delievered to you -as a gift - in all due speed. It shall leave for you shortly, and given the distance between your realm and the realm of my Forebearer, the materials should arrive by the next week as the surface-squatters reckon time.

If this continues, maybe in these Eons we will never need be foes, but our people's may stand as allies.

[ooc]Trade: 30 Metal For Mutual Non-Aggression Pact. If I understand right, we're close enough, and it should arrive next week[/ooc][/spoiler]

I am pleased with myself. Very pleased.

{Father? I have contacted the presence in the Lake. It is an Elder Being like but different from yourself. It names you its Eldest Foe. I have made a pact with it, that for now we shall not engage each other, not while the squatters above are so numerous and the abomination that is Yuddrath still moves in the three dimensional plane. This pact will be sealed in some of the metal from our mines - I have already dispatched Euroth to collect it.}[/ic]
[ic]I think. It comes easier every day, and we're astonished at how quickly it comes - even though she/i hates me/her and I/her pity her/me, our expanded nervous tissue extend what we can despite - or perhaps because - of the conflict.

thepensuselessyoullhavemore

She's right. I dispatch the orders to cease the construction and begin pondering. There is another Ceremorph here. Daggoth. It was him who held her/my Mind in Thrall, him who took me to the Overbrain to be Exalted. He should be rewarded. killhimkillhimkillhim. NO. Reward him. And I know just how to do it. {Daggoth the Awakener. You will be rewarded.

And I will come with you as you claim your reward.}

{Father, Overbrain, I must leave. The hounds will be able to catch me - by awaiting their birth, I'll merely slow them.}

I rise, and go...enjoying the idea of seeing my new realm in person for the first time with Llitul's eyes.[/ic]

[ooc=turn]

[spoiler=Turn]
99% Sure these are final. Will have Llandri stopping the construction of the new Pens and Daggoth's recruitment put in character. Current wealth assumes both new Dungeons are established with no problems.
[spoiler=Production]

Gold	Metal	Bodies	Food
+20	+0	+60	+20

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Upkeep]

Gold	Metal	Bodies	Food
+0	+0	+0	+0

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Construction]
Base
Dtoulth (Lowerdeep 74)
Completed Construction:
3 Thrall Pens
2 Mushroom Farms
Amplifier Node

Under Construction:
Mutation Chamber (1 Week)
Grafting Pen (1 Week)
Inquisition of the Exalted (2 Weeks)
Improved Ceremorph Mines (2 Weeks)
Defenses
Slime Moat (1 week)

Lower Dtoulth (Lowerdeep 75)
Base Under Construction (1 Week) (hopefully)

Curasd, Horror In The Woods (Lowerdeep 69)
Base Under Construction (1 Week) (hopefully)

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Recruitment]
Dtoulth (Lowerdeep 74)
Recruit 2 Ceremorph Psions (Lowerdeep 74)
Recruit 5 Larva Swarms (Lowerdeep 74)
Recruit 10 Thralls (Lowerdeep 74)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wealth]

Gold	Metal	Bodies	Food
275	80	70	140

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Trade]
-30 Metal to Watchers (Not reflected in wealth)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]
Base
Dtoulth (Lowerdeep 74)
Overbrain Chamber
Spawning Pool
Ceremorph Mine
Thrall Pens 4
Mushroom Farm 3
Defenses
Amplifier Node

Lower Dtoulth (Lowerdeep 75)
Base Under Construction (hopefully)

Curasd, Horror In The Woods (Lowerdeep 69)
Base Under Construction (hopefully)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Armies]
The Exalted: (Garrisoned Lowerdeep 74)
Overbrain

The Shamed: (Garrisoned Lowerdeep 74)
1 Ceremorph Psion (Zasz)
2 Thralls

The Vanguard (Garrisoned Lowerdeep 74)
1 Llitul
1 Ceremorph Psion (Daggoth)
5 Larva Swarms
8 Thralls
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Characters]
[spoiler=Llitul]
Ranged Attack: +10
Ranged Damage: 8 (Psychic)
Melee Attack: +6
Melee Damage: 5
Defence: 18
Health: 20
Speed: 5
Morale: +8
Special Abilities: Climbing, Confusion, Detector, Dominate, Immunity (Fear), Leadership

Llitul increases the Ranged Damage and Morale of any army she is leading by +1.  If garrisoned in a Dungeon she increases the Ranged Damage and Morale of garrisoned troops by +1.  Any regiment she leads is also Immune to Fear.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Overbrain]
A pulsating, gelatinous mass at the center of the Ceremorph Hive, the Overbrain is in fact the accreted cerebral mass of thousands of Ceremorphs, the final stage in their alien life-cycle.  The ultimate goals of Ceremorph Overbrains is known only to the Overbrains themselves, but it seems to include total domination of the Underdeep and the enslavement of all its denizens.  Ceremorph Overbrains usually cooperate with one another, but curious rivalries – perhaps subtle differences in philosophical outlook or personality – have been observed to develop between them, and Ceremorph Hives do sometimes compete for slaves and territory.

Ranged Attack: +10
Ranged Damage: 20 (Psychic)
Melee Attack: +6
Melee Damage: 5
Defence: 15
Health: 500
Speed: 0
Morale: +10
Special Abilities: Agony, Confusion, Detector, Dominate, Huge, Immunity (Fear), Scry

A Ceremorph Overbrain cannot move, but its increases the Morale and Ranged Damage bonus of any units garrisoned in its Hive by +2.  A Ceremorph Overbrain cannot join a regiment.  It can, however, cast spells and use ranged attacks on enemies attacking the capitol Hive from within its chamber.

All units garrisoned at a Hive with an Overbrain are immune to Fear effects.

If the Ceremorph Overbrain is ever destroyed, all Ceremorph units under its control must make an immediate morale check of DC 15 or instantly die from mental shock.  Ceremorph units without a morale score, like Thralls, Larvae, or Brain Golems, die immediately.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Daggoth, The Favored]
The aberrant, tentacled Ceremorph Psions are skilled in psychic attacks.  Armour, shields, scales – all are worthless against a Ceremorph's mental barrage, an onslaught that can reduce a humanoid mind to bloody pulp, all the better to be slurped up by a Ceremorph's questing tentacles.

Cost: 10 Gold, 1 Thrall
Upkeep: 3 Gold, 2 Bodies
Ranged Attack: +6
Ranged Damage: 4 (Psychic)
Melee Attack: +3
Melee Damage: 3
Defence: 16
Health: 8
Speed: 4
Morale: +4
Special Abilities: Detector[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Zasz, The Shamed]
The aberrant, tentacled Ceremorph Psions are skilled in psychic attacks.  Armour, shields, scales – all are worthless against a Ceremorph's mental barrage, an onslaught that can reduce a humanoid mind to bloody pulp, all the better to be slurped up by a Ceremorph's questing tentacles.

Cost: 10 Gold, 1 Thrall
Upkeep: 3 Gold, 2 Bodies
Ranged Attack: +6
Ranged Damage: 4 (Psychic)
Melee Attack: +3
Melee Damage: 3
Defence: 16
Health: 8
Speed: 4
Morale: +4
Special Abilities: Detector[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Orders]
The Exalted:
Remained Garrisoned.
Overbrain Scry Region M3 and M7

The Shamed (Total 2 speed used).
Ungarrison (0 speed)
Move from Lowerdeep 74 to Lowerdeep 75 (1 speed) If threat found, eliminate if weak, return if strong.
If Empty Found Lower Dtoulth (Dungeon 75) (0 Speed) and Entrench (1 speed) Immediately upon completion promote Zasz to Commander if alive.

The Vanguard:
Move from Lowerdeep 74 to Lowerdeep 69 (Path 73-63-68-69)
If threat found, attack if appears weaker, withdraw  and request orders if appears stronger, attempt communication then withdraw if it seem stronger and intelligent and non-hostile.
Found Curasd, Horror In The Woods, at Lowerdeep 69 if empty or after threats eliminated. Immediately upon completion promote Daggoth to Commander if alive.
[/spoiler][/spoiler]

[HippopotamusDundee]

[ic=Contemplation]
Yuddarath breathed and whispered, and as its child's voice murmured a susurrus of half-dreamed memories Ktan-Ydheel sat enthroned in the Altar's heart, lost in thought. Letting its eyes trace the wrinkled contours of its former Overbrain as if enlightenment could be found there the Cerelich pondered the new and unforeseen presence it had Scryed in the deeps. But Ktan-Ydheel knew not the nature of this interloper and the long-devoured husk gave no answer, and so it was to more urgent matters the Cerelich turned its attention.

The conundrum of this intelligence from below the Undersea would have to wait – there were experiments to be performed, and it seemed that some new material on which to practice had just stumbled into the Cerelich's path...
[/ic]

[spoiler=Message for The Onyx Prince, Bloodlord Dalashinn of Kirr-Godna]
My Dear Prince,

In recent times I have been finding my experiments stymied by the unsuitability of mindless Thralls for certain purposes - I have been greatly excited to hear of the living cattle you sell and wish to make inquiries into how much a humble Lich might be expected to pay for such a bounty.

Yours in Yuddarath,
Ktan-Ydheel, the Abjected, the Cerelich, the Great Traitor, the Heretic, etc.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Reply for the Onyx Prince]
My Dear Prince,

Thank you for both your prompt and timely response and your much-appreciated courtesy - for the present I am still embroiled in experiments but in a few weeks shall certainly avail myself of your most reasonably-priced services. On a slightly related note - not to be indelicate - are you in the buying as well as selling market? I have currently launched a venture which I have high hopes will lead to my acquiring more merchandise than I can reasonably house or use, and wondered if you would have any interest in - shall we say - more tentacled chattel?

Ktan-Ydheel, the Cerelich, the Abjected, etc.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Message for Shee-ra Cleversmart XVI]
Greetings to Her Royal Highness Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, Queen Mistress of All That Is Under the Ground

Your Majesty it has come to my attention that your near neighbors, the perfidious Ceremorphs who style themselves 'Exalted', have begun exploration into the surrounding countryside (and therefore perhaps, though it pains me to pass on such distressing speculation, into lands that are rightfully Yours) and have - quite entirely by coincidence - left their relatively-unfortified capital of Dtoulth largely undefended.

My apologies for any presumption on my part - I simply thought this was news which should be brought to Your ears.

Yours in Yuddarath,
Ktan-Ydheel, the Cerelich, the Abjected, the Heretic, etc.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]
[spoiler=Production]
Yuddarath (Lowerdeep 56)

Ceremorph Mine: +185 Gold, +20 Metal (due to First Turn, none produced)
Thrall Pen: +20 Bodies (due to First Turn, none produced)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Upkeep]
5 Ceremorph Ghouls - None due to First Turn
5 Unhallowed Larvae Spawn: - None[/spoiler]
[Spoiler=Construction]
Yuddarath (Lowerdeep 56)
Under Construction:

Chamber of Obscenities: 1 week remaining
Uncanny Architecture: 2 week remaining

Beginning Construction:
Memory Womb: -200 Gold, 3 weeks remaining
Secret Chamber: -50 Gold, -15 Metal, 2 weeks remaining

Ulm-Ulhulm (Middledeep 22)
SET UP FOUNDATIONS FOR NEW OUTPOST: -50 Gold, 1 week remaining
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Recruitment]
Recruit 5 Ceremorph Ghouls: -60 Gold, -5 Bodies
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wealth]
Gold: 25
Metal: 5
Food: 0
Bodies: 45[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]
Yuddarath (Lowerdeep 56)

The Altar That is Yuddarath
Synapse Chamber
Spawning Pool
1 Thrall Pen
1 Ceremorph Mine

Zombie Wall
Amplifier Node[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Armies]
Ktan-Ydheel - Garrisoned at Yuddarath (Lowerdeep 56)
5 Unhallowed Larvae Spawn - Garrisoned at Yuddarath (Lowerdeep 56)
5 Ceremorph Ghouls - Garrisoned at Yuddarath (Lowerdeep 56)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Orders]
Spent 0 Speed to move 1 Ceremorph Ghoul up 1 level to Middledeep 24, spend 1 Speed to move them into Middledeep 23.
Spend 0 Speed to move 5 Unhallowed Larvae Spawn and 4 Ceremorph Ghouls up 1 level to Middledeep 24, spend 4 Speed to move them into Middledeep 20 with orders to search for the Ceremorph prisoners and offer them sanctuary in Yuddarath.
Ktan-Ydheel to Scry on: Middledeep 40, Lowerdeep 17 abd Lowerdeep 74. Also putting out the word to Apprentices - offering them not only instruction but a retainer of 10 Gold and 5 Bodies a week if they study under him.
[/spoiler]

[Llum]

[ic=The will of a despot]
"Murder over a game of dice?"  Käfer was incredulous. You come before me without proof and almost have blood on your hands. Your life is Forfeit. Execute Garndrik, feed his body to the beetles. Only the most foolish of duergar seek to spill duergar blood. Ancient horrors surround us and the Ceremorphs wish to rekindle their empire, this is not the time for dissent and in fighting.
[/ic]

[spoiler=Messages]
[ic=Response to the Onyx Prince]Greetings
You are wise not to discount the duergar and we would gladly be open to trade or other benefical arrangements between our two peoples. We have a surplus of metal if you are in need.
[/ic]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]

Orders

[spoiler=Production]
Käferhold

Duergar Mine: +200 Gold, +25 Metal
1 Beetle Farm: +50 Food
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Upkeep]
5 Duergar Sneaks: -15 Gold - 10 food
4 Duergar Hammer Throwers: -8 Gold - 8 food

total: -23 Gold - 18 food
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Construction]
Käferhold (Lowerdeep 17)

Under Construction:
Hall of Trade: 2 weeks remaining
Hatchery: 2 weeks remaining
Hall of Smoke: 2 weeks remaining
Beetle Farm: 3 weeks remaining
Beetle Farm: 3 weeks remaining
Magma Moat: 1 week remaining

Beginning Construction:
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Recruitment]
Käferhold (Lowerdeep 17)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wealth]
Gold: 210
Metal: 380
Food: 250
Bodies: 0
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]

Käferhold (Lowerdeep 17)
Despot's Hall
Hall of Carnage
Forge Hall
Duergar Mine
Beetle Farm x 1
Training Hall
Outer Wall
Iron Gate


[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Armies]

Thane Ragnar Thundershield – Garrisoned at Käferhold (Lowerdeep 17)
4 Duergar Hammer Throwers - Garrisoned at Käferhold (Lowerdeep 17)
5 Duergar Sneaks - Garrisoned at Käferhold (Lowerdeep 17)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]
Spend 2 Speed to move 2 Duergar Sneaks from Lowerdeep 17 to Lowerdeep 19
Spend 2 Speed to move 3 Duergar Sneaks from Lowerdeep 17 to Lowerdeep 16
If Lowerdeep 19 is free, build a new DUngeon there and promote one of the Sneaks to Commander (Wulfgar if possible), christen it
If Lowerdeep 19 is not free, build a Dungeon in Lowerdeep 16 instead, promote one of the Sneaks to Commander
If nether are free to build a dungeon, save money.
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[Ghostman]

[ic=Delights of Pain]
An oppressive silence reigned in the gloom of the torture chamber, isolated as it was by thick walls from the din of the Spire and city beyond - an unfortunate but necessary nod to pragmatism, for while it would be most pleasant indeed to allow the screams of the occupants to emanate soundly without, the often sensitive nature of the information extracted from them needed to be kept from the ears of those who weren't privy to it. Such would be the case today, thought the Onyx Prince, who stood regally near the sealed entrance, flanked by a bound servitor-imp to either side. His gaze scrutinized the gagged and blindfolded figure in the center of the room; a pitiful sack of skin and bones suspended from the ceiling by barbed chains.

Without uttering a word the lord of Kirr-Godna made a casual gesture, extending an open hand, and the master of the torture chamber hurried to fetch and place on his hand a slender wand of turquoise metal, delicately engraved with eldritch symbols. Such enchanted devises were among the most sophisticated creations of the Dark Elves, capable of circumventing the natural limitations of flesh to invoke sensations far deeper and more profound than could ever be inflicted with cruder instruments such as the myriad hooks, blades and screws that littered the niches and tables of the chamber. A sadistic smile formed on the lips of the Onyx Prince as he savoured that precious moment of anticipation that preceded the beginnings of interrogations. He saw that the flesh of the victim, already riddled with many markings of the whip and the hot iron, was tensing, a sign of defiance. This pleased Dalashinn, for he expected that many hours of delightful entertainment would be enjoyed before the will of the subject would finally be broken.
[/ic]

[ic=Apprehension]
"What shall be done about this menace?" The voice of the vizier echoed off the alcoved walls and the colonnades of ornate pillars within the throne room. The hunched figure of the venerable eunuch lay prostrate before the Onyx Throne, an ornate seat of macabre beauty, surrounded by a subtle aura of inscrutable dread. Upon that ancient chair resided his master and tyrant, Dalashinn.

The matter at hand concerned recent reports about a dragon, a Grey Wyrm that supposedly haunted the Crack of Ulzennar, the great chasm nearby. It was little more than a rumor so far, with little in the way of accountable evidence. But in the eternal night of the Underdeep, one rarely had the luxury of dismissing the smallest possibility of a threat. Dalashinn pondered the issue for a time, his vizier waiting his response in reverent silence. After carefully weighting his options, the Onyx Prince spoke: "To send a warparty to hunt down this beast, as some have dared suggest, would be a fool's errand right now. The dragon may not even exist. And if it does, it could easily elude a band of infantry by retreating into the depths of the rift. Better intelligence and thorough preparations will be needed before such an action may be considered."

"And if the wyrm should assail Kirr-Godna, my lord?" The eunuch had barely finished this half-whispered question when the First among the Bloodlords replied, his tone cold and ruthless: "Then we shall surely fare better than would a hastily assembled hunting party facing it in the caverns. Though the city may be damaged in battle, such damage can be repaired - buildings burned down rebuilt, new slaves raised to replace manpower lost. For the time being, we will bolster our defenses and take care not to draw the attention of the supposed creature. Dragons are by their nature greedy beasts attracted by the allure of gold; we ought to not hoard our fortunes but to put them to good use, so as to not risk tempting the wyrm with an overgrown treasury."

The eunuch vizier bowed his head to the marble floor. Raising himself to a half-bowed posture, he quietly backtracked out of the hall with his gaze carefully cast low. Having departed from the august presense of the Onyx Prince, the aged servant hurried to proclaim his will to the Bloodlords.
[/ic]

[ic=Messages]
[spoiler=Message to Dr. Robertson and Markus Ashton]
Greetings, masters of the necromantic art. I, Dalashinn, coronated Onyx Prince and first among Bloodlords, write to you as the lord of ancient Kirr-Godna, city wherein sorcerers rule. Though our realms stand far apart, there is cause to consider prosperous arrangaments between us. Simple trade may suffice - perhaps you would find interest in purchasing chattel from our pens? - but other forms of cooperation may also prove fruitful. Were we to join forces, none within the Underdeep could rival us in arcane power. I hope you consider well these proposals. Allies can be hard to find in the bowels of the earth, as you surely are aware. I shall look forward to receiving word from you.

- Dalashinn, Onyx Prince Bloodlord of Kirr-Godna
[/spoiler][spoiler=Reply to Dr. Robertson, Professor Immortal]
It is well and good that our correspondence has begun on such a promising footing. May the infernal powers look favourably upon further steps toward mutual benefit between us. As to the matter at hand, allow me to state that Kirr-Godna has no plans to expand into that northern portion of the Upperdeep which contains your realm. I would also wish to point out that, due to the nature of geography, any forays by your forces deeper underground would be rather likely to be met by resistance from the wretched matriarchy of Vashnaranzenan. It so happens that my people have no warm feelings toward the denizens of that city, Dark Elves though they may be. An alliance between us would safeguard our respective domains against their ploys - and could eventually see them defeated for good. I am, of corse, more than willing to hear out any alternative or additional arrangements you may wish to propose.

- Dalashinn, Onyx Prince Bloodlord of Kirr-Godna
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Message to the Despot of Käferhold]
Hail, heirs of Xorinatch's Empire. Although Ladaguir has crumbled, only a fool would dismiss your race as inconsequential because of it - I have lived for a long time, and know well of the tenacity of the Duergar. If you are as wise as I suspect, you should see the value in trade between our domains. At the very least, we would do well to avoid unnecessary conflicts that might only play into the hands of another foe - such as tentacled ones.

- Dalashinn, Onyx Prince Bloodlord of Kirr-Godna
[/spoiler][spoiler=Reply to the Despot of Käferhold]
Though we are not currently suffering from any shortage of metal, we will be sure to remember your surplus if such a need arises. I predict that in the future my realm will be producing more food than is needed for our own use, and may offer the excess of it up for trade.

- Dalashinn, Onyx Prince Bloodlord of Kirr-Godna
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Reply to Ktan-Ydheel, the Abjected]
Dearest Eminence,

Such exchanges can indeed be arranged. For the time being, the prices for slaves are fairly high by necessity, but I have plans on expanding the markets of my city, to foster a truly thriving business. Thus I expect that prices will drop considerably in the future. However, if you are in urgent demand of chattel, you may purchase it from Kirr-Godna at the rate of 8 gold per head.

- Dalashinn, Onyx Prince Bloodlord of Kirr-Godna

[ooc]
Any slaves provided will be of a variety of races other than Dark Elves (accounting for the admittedly unlikely event that you'd try to resell them to Xathan's Exalted). If you actually want Dark Elf slaves, the price will be much higher.

Also, prices may be driven UP if you or anyone else starts buying slaves in large quantities. Supply and demand and all that, you know ;)
[/ooc]
[/spoiler][spoiler=2nd Reply to Ktan-Ydheel, the Abjected]
Dearest Eminence,

We are always interested in additional avenues for the acquisition of slaves. Ordinary chattel may not not see much in the way of sales value, but more unique specimen may command extraordinary prices.

- Dalashinn, Onyx Prince Bloodlord of Kirr-Godna
[/spoiler]
[/ic]

[spoiler=Week 1]

[spoiler=Production]
Kirr-Godna
Crystal deposit: +20 Gold
(Rooms do not produce anything on 1st week)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Upkeep]
(Soldiers do not incur upkeep during 1st week)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Construction]
Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13)

Under Construction:
Improved Mine: 2 weeks remaining
Profane Temple: 1 week remaining
1 Lizard Pen: 1 week remaining

Beginning Construction:
(No constructions begin on this week)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Recruitment]
Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13)
Recruit 25 Slave Soldiers: -125 Gold
Recruit 15 Dark Elf Swordsmen: -180 Gold, -30 Metal
Recruit 10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen: -120 Gold, -20 Metal
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Wealth]
Gold: 5
Metal: 180
Food: 200
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]
Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13)
Bloodlord's Spire
Slave Pens
War Spire
1 Lichen Garden
Dark Elf Mine
City Wall
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Armies]
25 Slave Soldiers: Garrisoned at Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13)
15 Dark Elf Swordsmen: Garrisoned at Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13)
10 Dark Elf Crossbowmen: Garrisoned at Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]
Spend 2 Speed to move 5 Dark Elf Crossbowmen, 5 Dark Elf Swordsmen and 10 Slave Soldiers from Kirr-Godna (Middledeep 13) to Middledeep 15. These forces form a new army called Expeditionary Force A.

Having reached Middledeep 15, Expeditionary Force A spends 1 Speed to forage the mushroom forest. Once foraging is complete, this army spends 1 Speed to entrench in the area.

Should enemies be encountered, Expeditionary Force A will react according to these orders:
* If the enemy force appears to be stronger, retreat immediately.
* If the enemy force appears to be weaker, sacrifice 1 Slave Soldier and attack. Do not pursue if they flee.
* If the forces appear to be roughly equal, retreat to Middledeep 14 and entrench there if enough movement left. If combat is unavoidable, sacrifice 1 Slave Soldier.


Dalashinn remains garrisoned and spends 3 Speed to interrogate the spy.
[/spoiler]

[/spoiler]

[Polycarp]

The Glow - Fungoids - Week 1

The Glow Theme!

[ic=Lucidity]The colors play over the Heart, and the Child plays with the dreams of a fleshling, a short and stocky thing that squirms and mewls in its membranous wrappings.  She caresses its sleeping face with a tendril, feeling the twitch of its faceflesh under her delicate touch.  Red were its thoughts, simmering and so red...

A whisper seizes the city.  When the Dreamer murmurs in her eternal sleep, all its subjects can sense it, and can feel it within them.  To the lesser ones, it is like a shiver up the spine, a tingling whisper in the ear, a ghostly caress – the city itself, its membranes and fronds and fruiting bodies, all of it trembles in ecstasy when the Dreamer whispers.  The Child alone beholds it truly; she trembles, jerking away from the fleshling, and lets the dream overwhelm her.

The senses of her mind are flooded with pictures, sounds, qualities, essences, concepts, all dancing and bleeding together; sights shift into sounds, emotions bloom into solid color.  The Child's mind reels, pulling back into lucidity from the brink; she knew the Dreamer well, but some part of the dream stretched into another place beyond the Child's comprehension where there were things which had no name and could never be.  She shies away from it, but the whisper – some new and strange thought in the mind of the Dreamer – dances across its surface, across the border between what was and what was not.  She reaches out to it, and dreams it.

[spoiler=Reply to Llitul]We feel you, dancer-on-the-void.  What mind dances here?  It is such a thin membrane, and such a long fall... We are present here; in the forest, in the waters, in the colors of the dream.  We are newly born, but very old... there is so much we do not understand.  We will learn.

There is something different in you.  How shall we know you?  You are like flesh, but not like flesh.  You are like dreams we have dreamt, but... you are also unlike them.  We do not understand.

Now dream of us.  We are the glow that does not fade; we are the form that is never fixed.  We live again and again; death touches us but does not hold us like it holds flesh.  We perfect flesh.  Of flesh we are born, but flesh we are not.  We have a billion children, and a billion more; with flesh they grow, and the flesh becomes the beauty we dream of.  We are born of flesh, but our dreams are higher, brighter, more wonderful, more beautiful.  We will bring the truth of the dream to flesh.

Let your fear wither.  We love your thoughts.  We love your flesh.  Let us dream together.  Grow in our dreams and we will grow in yours.[/spoiler]
The Child gradually drifts out of the dream.  She perceives that she is carried by her servants, borne to a great toadstool at the edge of the Heart.  She slides off them, conscious now, and approaches it herself.

A fleshling has come, they say.  It was a bat, black and furry.  Her servants hand her a little scrap, and she recognizes the scratches upon it from the dreams of the fleshlings.  Meaning comes to her, and she smiles.  The Child leans sinuously forward, and blows a cloud of spores onto the bat; the bat jumps with a start and flutters away.

[spoiler=Reply to The Goblin King Dâgalûr]A messenger bat returns to you, but it bears no return message, and is acting strangely – it looks listless and confused, and tilts its head from side to side in an unusual fashion.  Its eyes grow cloudy and its fur grows dusty and brittle.  Then, in only a few hours, it is found motionless and dead, with a thin stalk sprouting from its little furry head.  Some goblin, perhaps a bat-keeper, draws near – and a puff of spores comes from the sprout.  The goblin stumbles and convulses briefly as a message surges through its brain.

We greet the flesh.

We know not know you, nor "sun" or what touches this.  If it is beautiful, we will love it.  Its form shall please us.

Perhaps your flesh will please us.  The flesh is good.  We do not attack the flesh.  We love the flesh.

The dead flesh may be made good again.  We dream of new life in the dead flesh.  It is good that you should give this flesh.  But we do not know you, and your flesh is far from us – until we grow we must see to our own flesh, our own dreams.

Yet do not worry.  We will grow beautiful together.

The goblin's senses return to it... that certainly was strange.  Now, the thin tendril sprouting from the dead bat is already beginning to wither away.  Perhaps he should tell someone about this...[/spoiler]
How new, how beautiful - the dream always revealed itself in new ways.  The Child's servants follow her as a new vision begins to form in her mind...[/ic]

[spoiler=A Dream Message, to all Ceremorph and Watcher leaders]
A psychic moan ripples through the Lowerdeep, carrying the image of a face.  It is a wretched face, a dead face, black, peeling, and crumbling like the pages of a burned book.

A thin strand pokes from a blackened cheek – and then another, and another.  Little shoots, green and red and purple and every other color, begin to sprout from the charred face.  Bulbs sprout in its empty eye sockets and little fronds sprout from its mouth and curl around its lips.  Soon, the face is alive, a squirming and shimmering mass, and the blackened skin is completely covered.

The lips, remade in fluorescent vegetation, part slightly and speak a single word – dream.  Shimmering dust pours forth from the mouth, and everything it touches begins to bloom as little colorful fibers emerge from the stone and even the air itself until the face is everything and everything is the face, all beheld within its softly glowing eyes.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Message to Llitul]Llitul.  We are also many.  We are the Dreamer, who is old, and the Child, who is young.  But we have no pieces; we are all one.  Our billion children are us, and we are them.  We are our mother and our daughter.  We dream together.

Is it the Ceremorph-flesh, who whispered to us?  The Dreamer heard long ago.  We hear still.  It is a strange dream, but it delights us... we have seen beauty on the edge, between the strange and the familiar, between what you are and what we were.  We have dreamt of it, and we have made our dream real.  We have opened our mind and made colors from the whisper.  The whisper is water that falls from the dark, and we were the soil below; now we grow.  Beauty grows.  Love grows.  The dream grows.

The flesh called duergar we know not.  We remember the flesh above, the flesh called dwarf.  The flesh above gave us death, once; he killed us... killed... me... me?  We... she was dead.  We remember this.  We remember the sharpness, the edge in the hands of the flesh called Lothë, who killed her.  We remember the terrible flame that consumed her children.  But death does not hold us.  She-who-died was ignorant of the dream, but she was remade in the dream, born again into the Child, made better, truer, more beautiful.  She was Black-rot, but we are of many colors.  That is us.  We remember.

We do not hate the dwarf-flesh.  We do not hate the flesh called Lothë.  We love the flesh; why does that flesh love us not, Llitul?

We do not understand, but we will share our dream with them.  How sad, how terrible that they hate beauty... but we can help them!  We can perfect their flesh.  Black-rot did not know beauty, and now she dreams anew.  As we have remade Black-rot, so we will remake the Lothë-flesh.  The Lothë-flesh will play in the garden with us, and join us in the dream.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders][spoiler=Production]
Heart of the Glow (Lowerdeep 31)
Terrain (Mushrooms + Water): +35 Food[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Upkeep]
None on first turn[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Construction]
Heart of the Glow (Lowerdeep 31)

Under Construction
9 Skin Farms (1 week remaining)
1 Regeneration Bulb (On Nursery, 1 week remaining)
1 Toxic Cluster (2 weeks remaining)

Crimsonlight (Middledeep 47) – 1 week remaining (assuming orders are successful, see below)[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Recruitment]
Nothing to see here.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Wealth]
Gold: 0
Metal: 0
Food: 35
Bodies: 8[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]
Heart of the Glow (Lowerdeep 31)

Heart of the Glow
Fungal Nursery (w/ Maturation and Cultivation Bulbs)
1 Skin Farm[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Armies]
Child of the Glow – Garrisoned at Heart of the Glow (Lowerdeep 31)
1 Child of the Glow
2 Sporemothers (20 weeks)
25 Fungoid Warriors (12 weeks)[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Characters]
[ic=Child of the Glow]Ranged Attack: +8
Ranged Damage: 6
Melee Attack: +6
Melee Damage: 4
Defence: 18
Health: 25
Speed: 4
Morale: +7
Special Abilities: Detector, Confusion, Leadership, Slumberous Poison, Regeneration 12

The Child of the Glow increases the Health and Morale of any army she is leading by +1.  If garrisoned in a Dungeon she increases the Health and Morale of garrisoned troops by +1.  The Child of the Glow's poisonous attacks affect both melee and ranged damage; if her attack roll exceeds the target's Defence, units in the regiment become extremely drowsy for one round, suffering -4 to Defence.[/ic][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]
Child of the Glow and 10 Fungoid Warriors (Lowerdeep 31):

• Un-garrison and scout Middledeep 47 (1 speed).  The Child is a detector, so if there is anything hidden there, we ought to find it.
• Re-garrison at the Heart of the Glow (1 speed).

15 Fungoid Warriors (Lowerdeep 31):

• Un-garrison and move from Lowerdeep 31 to Lowerdeep 30 (1 speed).
• Scout Lowerdeep 29 and Lowerdeep 32 (2 speed).
• Return to Lowerdeep 31 (1 speed).
• If rogue fungoids are encountered in Lowerdeep 30, they should be approached and encouraged to join us.  The regiment may fight if they encounter hostiles, but if victory seems unlikely, they should retreat.

2 Sporemothers (Lowerdeep 31):

• Carry out this order only if the regiment led by the Child of the Glow found no hostile units in Middledeep 47.
  
• Un-garrison and move from Lowerdeep 31 to Middledeep 47 (1 speed).
• Use an additional 2 speed to reduce the attack of the magma by 2 (2 speed).
• Sacrifice one Sporemother to found a colony called Crimsonlight in Middledeep 47.
• If the second Sporemother survived the magma, move her back to Lowerdeep 31 (1 speed).

[/spoiler]

[Numinous]

Department of Necromancy at Upperdeep 85 - Undead - Turn 1
[ic=The Office of Dr. Robertson, Professor Immortal]
"Over there.  No, no, I liked it in the first place.  By the window.  Yes.  Gentle!  That's oak!  You do know they don't even have trees down here to replace that, right!?"  

From the orb on the stand to his left, a harsh voice barked out "Is the new office to your satisfaction, Dr. Robertson?"  

Off-handedly, while gesturing for the procurement of additional bookshelves and the placement of delicate instruments, the professor immortal deigned to reply "Yes, yes, but it is so hard to find a good reading lamp down here.  Would you be a dear and remember to bring back some of the fine lamp oil when you're done with your task?  This sodding fungus seepage is vastly inferior, and it irritates my cheekbones!"

"Of course, my most esteemed scholarship, I shall be most assiduous in the procuring of these materials you require.  Will there be anything else you wish delivered?" croaked Ashton, from the orb.  

"Yes, bring me a cat or something.  I would like some company that isn't quite so troublesome when it falls into my instruments.  Harold ran me clean out of newts-tongue with that dreadful stumble of his."

"Yes, my liege, speaker for the deeps.  May I find you again in worse health and lower caverns."

"Indeed.  Now leave me be until you have something more pressing to report.  I must break in this new writing desk before the night is through.  The mail has been most interesting of late."

[spoiler=Reply to Dalashinn, the Onyx Prince, lord of ancient Kirr-Godna]It is most beneficient that your letter did grace my eyes this fine eve, for upon viewing it what remains of my heart was most warmed up to a temperature approximating the lukewarm variety by your offer of cooperation.  Our alliance of intellectuals will surely strike fear into the hearts of the uncivilized savages that seethe in the dark and bring shivers to their still-beating hearts.  As such matters do stand, currently, it is our wish to assure you that we bear your fine city no ill-will at this time, and when and if the proper forms are processed according to protocol, our faction would be more than amicable in setting about the application of terms that would conceivably lead to non-aggression or alliance.  Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions, Harold, our head-secretary, will insure that they are passed on to me at the earliest convenience.

Most egregiously delighted to hear form you,
Dr. Robertson, Professor Immortal[/spoiler][/ic]
[spoiler=Orders]
[spoiler=Production]Albaiyat Alhazred, The Red House (Upperdeep 85)

Bone Garden: Nothing (First Week)
Undead Mine: Nothing (First Week)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Upkeep]18 Zombies: No Upkeep (8 weeks until decay into skeletons)
15 Skeletal Archers: No Upkeep
7 Skeletal Warriors: No Upkeep[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Construction]Albaiyat Alhazred, The Red House (Upperdeep 85)

Under Construction:

Catacomb: 1 week remaining
Arcane Library 1 week remaining
Teleportation Circle: 2 weeks remaining
Spiked Moat: 1 weeks remaining

Beginning Construction:

None.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Recruitment]Albaiyat Alhazred, The Red House (Upperdeep 85)

None[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wealth]Gold: 0
Metal: 110
Food: 0 Food
Bodies: 60[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]Albaiyat Alhazred, The Red House (Upperdeep 85)

Lich's Study
Tomb
1 Bone Garden
Undead Mine

No Traps or Defenses[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Armies]Professor Robertson – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)
6 Zombies – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)
5 Skeletal Archers – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)
2 Skeletal Warriors – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)

Markus Ashton – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)
12 Zombies – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)
10 Skeletal Archers – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)
5 Skeletal Warriors – Garrisoned at Albaiyat Alhazred (Upperdeep 85)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Orders]Spend 2 Speed to move
Markus Ashton
12 Zombies
10 Skeletal Archers
5 Skeletal Warriors
from Upperdeep 85 to Upperdeep 81 and spend 1 Speed to Scout.

Spend 3 Speed to move
Professor Robertson
6 Zombies
5 Skeletal Archers
2 Skeleton Warriors
from Upperdeep 85 to Upperdeep 88.

Professor Robertson will be carying both philacteries on his person.

In case of combat, both liches follow the same strategy. Zombies are ordered to engage the largest melee regiment. Skeletal warriors are to engage the largest ranged regiment. Archers are to prioritize the smallest regiment at any given time. Each lich will form its own regiment and repeatedly Curse the most powerful regiment.
In the case of 2:1 numbers (except against simple goblins or simple kobolds, which we'll count at ~half-numbers) we'll withdraw all troops from battle. We'll also withdraw all troops in the case that either lich is engaged in melee (which should only happen in the case where there are more than two enemy regiments, or if one of the undead regiments is destroyed).[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[Rhamnousia]

[ic=Dreams in the Depths]Were its greatness tarnished by the ability to feel such emotions, Dreams-of-Dead-Races would have pitied the mortal races, their imperfections of their biologies limiting them to but a single stream of linear thought. Even though its massive bulk lay in repose within a pool of salt-laden slime, the mind of the Watcher Sovereign was never truly at rest, not during the numberless centuries of the Long Dreaming and certainly not during this petty hibernation, which it perceived as a mortal might the space between breaths. If the mind of a finite creature was like a river, than the dreaming mind of Dreams-of-Dead-Races was as the Darksea itself: cold and black, its depths unimaginable, the touch of its waters inescapable, a primal pit into which all lesser waterways would eventually drain. Even though its physical form was perfection given squamous design, it was still merely a vessel for an even more vast and terrible intellect, and as it lay in its pool like a monolith, its consciousness surged unfettered.

It spoke to those who could listen, whispering in distant minds and sending dread epiphanies, the mere passing of its consciousness leaving those in its wake wracked with torturous nightmares and visions of alien dooms.

[spoiler=To Llitul]
The message comes not as dream or vision or as words whispered in her ears, no words to be read, no voice to be heard. It simply comes, a chilling epiphany.

Know that we watch you, childe of our first and most hated foe.

Know that you have aroused our interest.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dream-Missive to the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, called the Abjected]Ah, a heretic of our most ancient and hated foe, your being...amuses us. You prostitute yourselves before a being greater than yourselves, though in your worship, you reveal your true inferiority. Know that we have little desire to make war in the depths once more, but we will wait until the stars have crown cold and no mortal races still walks upon the earth before we deliver unto you your inevitable extinction.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Message to the Child of the Glow] We have felt the ripples of your dreaming as they brush against ours and seen the visions that you have lain out before us. Know that we have seen your form and color and find your existence strangely pleasing, forever rotting and impermanent. We would sow the earth with bodies and see your luminescent forests engulf the cities of mortals, to forever fester and glow in the gloom of the Sovereignty.[/spoiler]

It summoned the courier-things who swam about it and picked barnacles from its flanks, those strange amalgamations of squirming tentacles, membranous wings, clicking beaks and twitching eyestalks. Grasping scrolls of translucent thrall-skin and scribed with dark bile with toothy suckers, they disappeared into the chasms and waterways that linked ever corner of the Underdeep, bearing the Sovereign's will made written for those races of limited perception.

[spoiler=Message to Shee-Ra, whom we know as First Among Least]
There is nothing for you in the depths. Nothing but extinction. Trouble us not and you may be spared the doom that shall come to all other races.[/spoiler]

It seemed no sooner had the courier-things departed than a psychic reply came echoing back, the eloquent clarity of the words that rang within Dreams-of-Dead-Races such that even the Watcher could not suppress a pang of begrudging, fleeting respect. Or the closest comparable sensation.

[spoiler=Response to Llitul]You show uncommon wisdom, childe, and a refreshing absence of hubris or arrogance in offering proper reverence to those which are you betters. Know too that you show uncanny perception, and your proposition pleases us. But know this too: we demand a minor tribute, a nominal price to be paid in exchange of our assurances for cooperation, for our memories are far too long and flawless to trust the get of our Oldest Foe. Our thralls labor deep in the bowels of the earth, toiling to excavate our torpid spawn from their catacombs, but the caustic membranous of the cocoons within which they hibernate turn iron tools to silt and steam; we require metal, that we might awaken our childer all the sooner.[/spoiler]

Though its vast form moved not an inch, not so much as a ripple disturbing the heavy mucus within which it slumbered, its gill-orifices puckered and contracted in a manner that only its own kin would recognize as the faintest of expressions of smug contentment.  
[/ic]

[spoiler=The Will of the Watchers]
[spoiler=Production]
4 Algae Farms: 80 food
2 Thrall Grottoes: 40 bodies
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Upkeep]None[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Construction]
Cruel Form of Truth

Completed Construction:
2 Thrall Grottoes
4 Algae Farms
Nightmare Gate

Under Construction:
Breeding Pool: 1 week remaining
Ooze Pool: 2 weeks remaining

Beginning Construction
3 Vault Slime: -15 bodies, 2 weeks remaining
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Recruitment]
Cruel Form of Truth

None as of yet.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wealth]
Gold: 180
Metal: 30
Food: 205
Bodies: 25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dungeons and Outposts]
Cruel Form of Truth

Brood Pool
Mucosal Pool
3 Thrall Grottoes
5 Algae Farms
Watcher Mine
Nightmare Gate
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Armies]
Dreams-of-Dead-Races – Garrisoned at Cruel Form of Truth (Darksea)
2 Watcher Savants – Garrisoned at Cruel Form of Truth (Darksea)
20 Thralls –Garrisoned at Cruel Form of Truth (Darksea)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Orders] Dreams-of-Dead-Races scrys Lowerdeep 86, 87, and Middledeep 65[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[Raelifin]

[spoiler=Amendment to Undead Orders]Numinal is occupied at the moment, I had to post this myself.

The liches will *not* be in their own regiments. They'll be leading the archers. (Unless for whatever reason (perhaps scouting) that can't happen.) Their spellcasting orders remain the same.

For reference, Ashton's army is scouting as follows:
Ashton: Surface 158
Warriors: Upperdeep 82
Archers: Upperdeep 80
[/spoiler]

[Steerpike]

It is said that the Goblins of the Blood Clan have wrought great slaughter on the Surface of late.

Soundtrack: Goblin Raid!

[ic=The Month of the Spider, Week 2]As the month progresses vague rumours swirl throughout the Underdeep.  In the Upperdeep, there has been much commotion; it seems a group of enigmatic Dark Elves have taken up residence in the tunnels, their strange city seeming to materialize out of the shadows.  These unusual Elves, which themselves the Nocae, seem to scorn the Old Ways of their kinsfolk.  Some claim that they are cursed by the Spider Queen, and that they are aided by twisted monsters.  Elsewhere in the uppermost caverns, it is said that Dâgalûr, the Goblin King who calls himself the Scourge of Men, has bloodied the nose of some group of Surface-dwelling Horsemasters, and that he returns to his Town, the Skull Throne, with riches from Above.  Others whisper that Garnákh the Disembowler has also been abroad on the Surface, burning part of the region known as the Merrydowns, domain of the Halflings.  There have been no further sightings of the Grey Dragon said to be lurking in the western tunnels of the Upperdeep.

In the Middledeep, rumours tell that a Duergar named Urgoth Sinstain, who claims to be the bastard son of the late Xorinatch the Cruel, is gathering followers in an unknown location.  Some say the Despot plans to found a Citadel, and declare himself Emperor of the Duergar.  Others insist he is nothing more than a bandit, preying on those who wander near his domain.  Meanwhile, Kobolds have been expanding their territory greatly in the northeastern reaches of the Middledeep, and strange creatures from below have been spotted in the southernmost caverns, creeping forth from the depths to establish a foothold in the central tunnels of the Underdeep.

In the Lowerdeep things are mostly quiet, but swarms of bats have been seen rushing out of certain chasms and fissures in unusual numbers, almost as if fleeing from something at the bottom of these abyssal pits.[/ic]

[ic=Maps - The Month of the Spider, Week 2]

The Surface

[spoiler=The Surface, Month of the Spider, Week 2]

[/spoiler]

The Upperdeep

[spoiler=The Upperdeep, Month of the Spider, Week 2]

[/spoiler]

The Middledeep

[spoiler=The Middledeep, Month of the Spider, Week 2]

[/spoiler]

The Lowerdeep

[spoiler=The Lowerdeep, Month of the Spider, Week 2]

[/spoiler][/ic]

[ic=Briefings - The Month of the Spider, Week 2][spoiler=For the eyes of the Goblin King Dâgalûr, patriarch of the Blood Clan, called the Scourge of Men, also known as the King of the Red Tide, and styled the Future Lord of All the Sun Sees]You led your troops upwards, to the Surface, in search of the caravan you heard tell of.  After wandering for two days over the Whispering Plain you sighted the caravan and followed it till nightfall, at which point you launched your attack.  Ten mounted warriors in scale mail escorted the caravan, armed with spears and swords; you leapt from the long grass in force, and the first barrage of arrows felled half dozen of the horsemen immediately.  You and your warriors charged the remaining humans, and you skewered the leader's horse while your fellow Goblins, emboldened by your numbers, stabbed at the other horsemen with spears and short swords.

For their part the horsemen slew four of your troops with their spears, while you contended with the leader, a burly, bearded man with a great mane of pale hair and a heavy sword.  He parried your first strike and aimed a blow that would have hewn you in two, but with Goblin agility you dodged his blade.  Having lost your pike temporarily in the neck of the leader's horse you drew your own sword.  With one swipe you cut the man's sword-arm off at the elbow; the second clove through his knee.  He stumbled and you stepped forward, triumphant; the man raised his shield to try and ward off your blows but you wrenched it aside and brought your sword down on his head, cleaving through his helm and embedding your blade in his brain.

The merchants and other folk in the caravan you have taken prisoner, along with the goods the caravan was carrying – principally foodstuffs, but also some metal goods, tools, and weapons.  The leader of the band possessed a small ring carved with runes and set with a device resembling a horse's head.  After looting the caravan thoroughly your troops returned to the Underdeep, eager to return underground.  You have arrived back in your home cavern about half a day's march from the Skull Throne, somewhat fatigued but victorious.  Not far from your current location you can glimpse the Dwarven ruin mouldering in the gloom (the one the Dwer Thane grumpily forbade you from entering).  Eerie lights twinkle in its towers, and a strange, only half-audible moan seems to emanate from the broken city...

[Gain 245 Gold, 26 Metal, and 240 Food from the caravan.  You took 12 humans prisoner.  You also gain a Horsemaster's Ring, which allows you to use the Haste spell once per week.  This item should be noted in your Inventory under your Characters tab.

You lost 4 Goblin Grunts in the battle.  One was wounded but has now recovered.  30 of your Goblin Archers and 26 of your Goblin Grunts, as well as your Goblin King, are currently fatigued (-2 to Attack and Morale).  This fatigue will go away if your troops do not use the Forced March action this week.  They can still move normally this week.

The Downward Stair has been successfully founded, and Grok the Elder has become Commander.  Remember to include Grok's updated stats in your Characters tab.][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Dark Elf Bloodlord Dalashinn, The Onyx Prince, ruler of Kirr-Godna]Your interrogation of the Dark Elf spy has been fruitful as well as pleasurable.  It took infernal magic as well as more mundane methods to dredge information from the agent, but eventually the pain-demon you bound to the spy's flesh did its work: as you suspected, the spy was in the service of Lady Viarra Gloomsong of Vashnaranzenan.  Apart from simply monitoring you, the spy was sent to see if you had obtained a certain artefact, an object called the Crown of Malekar the Obscene, from the ruins of Hazer-Nagroth, a ruin to the east of Kirr-Godna.  You are familiar with Malekar, of course: he was a Dark Elf warlock from the Callow Age, one of the original Dark Elves banished to the Evergloom, half-brother and lover of the first Grand Matriarch, the Dread-Witch Naggora.  You have not heard of his Crown before, and it is not in your possession – you know Hazer-Nagroth to be a place haunted by fell spirits and twisted things from the first Dark Elf Queendom.  The spy did not know why Lady Viarra is interested in the artefact.  The spy – or what remains of him – now languishes in your dungeons.

Meanwhile, you have received word that your expeditionary force has arrived in the cavern to the west.  Your forces found the cavern devoid of enemies, but found evidence that a group of creatures had recently camped by the lakeshore.  What signs you discovered suggest there were only a few of them – perhaps seven or eight in total – and that they were headed south.  While foraging in the mushroom forest your troops also discovered the corpse of a Kobold.  The creature's skull had been torn open and the brains removed.

In Kirr-Godna, your temple has been completed.  The priests suggest to you that a special blood-sacrifice should be planned to commemorate its construction.  What particular form this sacrifice should take is up to you, as supreme Bloodlord of the city.  If the Devil-Princes are pleased by your sacrifice they may give you their infernal blessing, but they are notoriously fickle, and if they find your offering unpalatable they will make their distaste known, one way or another.  You must choose your sacrificial victim(s) carefully if you decide to perform the offering the cultists desire.

[+20 Food from Foraging in Middledeep 15][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Dolmar Lestridae, Protector of Umbrazzid, Champion of the Holy Shadow]It is time to step from the Darkness and into the Shadow, as the Goddess wills.  Umbrazzid, your new city, thrives on the shores of the vast, subterranean lake that your kindred call the Mere of Sylessiadil, and a shrine to the Goddess of Shadow will soon be complete.  Though the Nocae have taken well to their new life in the Upperdeep, some of your people are slow to forget the Old Ways, having practiced the ancient customs of the Dark Elves for centuries.  One such woman, a lady of distinction known as Yshar Morwenn, ordered some of her guards to beat one of the Accursed in the street after the creature failed to cast its eyes downward upon seeing her, a traditional gesture of respect which slaves once performed.  The woman has been brought before you; the Accursed she ordered beaten is not dead, but many of its bones are broken and it will likely live in constant pain for the rest of its life.  Yshar has little to say in her defence, but insists that some traditions are worth preserving, and that the Accursed should show gratitude and deference for being freed from slavery and allowed to walk the streets unescorted at all.  Should you punish Yshar for her actions, and if so, how?  What of her guards, who performed the beating itself?  Your judgment will set an important precedent in such matters.  Popular opinion is divided, with many Accursed calling for Yshar's exile and a few radicals insisting that she be executed.  Among the Shadow Elven, most seem to favour fining Yshar in some way, with more conservative Nocae asking that she be pardoned.

A stranger matter has also come to your attention.  Recently, a bizarre creature washed up on the lake-shore not far from Umbrazzid – a vast, eel-like being with many eyes, cocooned in a translucent shell of revolting mucal slime.  The slime is slowly dissolving, and the creature, which appears to be sleeping, has shown signs of stirring, its many eyelids fluttering.  The fisherfolk who discovered the beast are horrified by its presence on the beach.  Should you destroy the creature before it awakes, or perhaps return it to the water?  Or should something else be done with the strange being?[/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the many eyes of Dreams-of-Dead-Races, Watcher Sovereign of the Darksea, Master of the Vault known as Cruel Form of Truth]Your breeding pools now gurgle with incipient life-forms.  Mucal secretions and other alchemical substances, when added into the waters of the pool, will accelerate the growth of the organisms found within, and soon you can possess an army of Gloomrays and Guardians.  You have noted, in your torpor, that several Kobold scouts have recently ventured close to the shores of the Darksea.  Echoes emanate from the tunnels above – sounds of construction.  The Kobolds are building something close to your own lands.  Perhaps they mean merely to secure their borders against you, or perhaps they found your message too inscrutable to fathom with their imbecilic reptilian brains.

The Gloom Trolls seem to be growing bolder.  A small group of them – only two, at the moment – has taken up residence in a cave very close to the northeastern shores of the Darksea.  Oblivious to your presence, they fish in the shallows with their hands.  They appear to be a breeding pair, for the female looks pregnant.  One of your Savants, an ambitious and impetuous Watcher known as Grey-Slime-Congealing, humbly suggests that you eradicate these interlopers before they begin to multiply excessively.  It volunteers to lead any attack against the Trolls itself, eager to serve the Primal Sovereignty.

[You receive 30 Metal from the Ceremorphs.][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Käfer, Duergar Despot of the Käferhold]Your harsh sentence against Garndrick has had the desired effect – your troops have ceased their bickering and look on you with a mixture of fear and awe.  Wulfgar, sent out with his Sneaks, discovered the caverns to the east to be devoid of creatures, and founded a new Citadel as you ordered, assuming the title of Commander.  Meanwhile your other band of Sneaks, employing stealth, has discovered the Fire Drake nest at the top of a cliff overlooking the magma below.  The nest is watched over by the adult Fire Drake mother, and, while the rest of the brood remain unaccounted for (perhaps they are off hunting) there are several eggs which remain un-hatched.  Your troops could attempt to obtain the eggs, but if discovered by the mother-Drake they would surely be attacked.

Within the Käferhold your magma moat has been completed.  Meanwhile, one of your subjects brings news from the Upperdeep.  The High Queen of the Dwarves, Disa Grimhammer, has made a declaration.  As she is unmarried and has many worthy suitors, she has sworn before her ancestors to pledge her troth to any Dwarf who brings her the heart of the Grey Wyrm called Scorra, spawn of Scuraung.  The Dragon is said to lair in a ruinous city southwest of her own lands, guarding a great trove of treasure it has gathered.  As a Duergar you are perhaps not the husband she'd have in mind, but Dwarf-blood does run in your veins, and if you slew the Dragon you would be within your rights to claim the Queen as your bride.  Of course, this declaration may be of no interest to you; what to do with this news is up to you.

[Lose 1 Duergar Hammer-Thrower (Garndrick) – do not pay Upkeep for him.  All of your units gain the Discipline ability for the remainder of the Month due to your harsh justice.

Wulfgar and his Sneaks have successfully founded a new Citadel, which requires a name.  Wulfgar has been made Commander of the Citadel (remember to note his improved statistics in your Characters tab).

You can order your Sneaks to attempt to retrieve Fire-Drake eggs without alerting the mother-Drake, if you wish.  To do this your Sneaks would make an Attack roll that must exceed 15.  If they failed they would be discovered by the mother-Drake and attacked.  This attempt would use 1 Speed.  Such eggs could be hatched and the Drakes then raised in one of your Citadels, or they could be sold for 50 Gold per egg once the Hall of Trade is complete, or eaten (each egg supplies 2 Food).  Each Sneak would steal 1 egg if the attempt was successful.

Remaining mineable resources at the Käferhold: 36300 Gold, 8550 Metal

Remaining mineable resources at the Dungeon in Lowerdeep 19: 15,500 Gold, 4700 Metal][/spoiler]
[spoiler= For the eyes of the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, called the Abjected]Your forces have gained the caverns of the Middledeep, navigating the magma-riddled regions and founding the Outpost of Ulm-Ulhulm, which now requires a Captain to oversee its operation.   Beyond your new bastion your Ceremorph Ghouls and Larvae Swarms searched for the escaped prisoners, discovering two renegade Ceremorph Psions wandering the caverns, along with four Kobold thralls.  The former prisoners were initially wary of your putrescent minions, but the Ghouls spoke to them in the manner of Ceremorphs and convinced them that no harm would come to them.  The prisoners gladly agreed to enter your service, if you are able to provide for them.  They claim that following the destruction of their transport they were scattered, and that more of their ilk may be found in the tunnels to the north.  One prisoner, Xulhoon, is a half-feral thing, all brawn and unfocused rage – a defective Ceremorph, one whose Larvae must have been flawed.  The other, barely restraining its companion, possesses the body of a female host, though such things have little meaning following Ceremorphosis.  This latter Ceremorph, Altharid-Xallisine, was to be interrogated for heresy, having dabbled in the Infernal arts and attempted the binding of certain otherworldly Demons using thralls as sacrifices.

Yuddarath continues to grow, to seethe, to quicken with putrid vitality.  A Chamber of Obscenities has developed within the Hive, suitable for the summoning of certain Hound-like beings, and the dreadful creatures known as Star Vampires.  Meanwhile, your call for apprentices has attracted a strange creature – a vampiric Deep Gnome Warlock that calls himself Naerlyth the Unclean.  His particular skill is with diseases and plagues, with the cultivation of sickness, the inculcation of corruption.  Your offered fee pleases him, but he will require more blood to survive.  He is a ribald and somewhat manic creature, much prone to unpleasant jests and profanities.  Though easily frustrated he is keen to learn at your feet.  You may accept him as a pupil if you wish, or turn him away if you find him unsuitable.

[2 Ceremorph Psions and 4 Thralls join your army at Middledeep 20 if you wish it.  You must pay their Upkeep (4 Food, 4 Bodies, 6 Gold) if you wish to retain them.

Your Outpost, Ulm-Ulhulm, has been successfully founded and requires a Captain.

Naerlyth the Unclean presents himself as an apprentice.  He would require 10 Gold and 7 Bodies as Upkeep.  Naelryth would currently be treated as a mercenary, and so if his Upkeep went unpaid, he would immediately desert.  Over time, he might become attached to you and so lose his mercenary status.]

[ic=Naerlyth the Unclean]

Naerlyth has dwelt for three centuries in the Lowerdark, and claims to be the spawn of a great Vampire King who was destroyed by Vampire-hunters from the Surface – Naerlyth himself fled into the lower depths and has spent decades sin the darkness, perfecting his craft.  He delights, above all else, in inflicting diseases and pestilences on living creatures, and in watching things rot and decompose.  His familiar is a Zombie rat which he calls Cystnibbler.  From the frenetic way that Naerlyth carries on, constantly spewing forth a torrent of vile jests, you suspect he may be slightly mad.  His species' penchant for pranks has not been lost in his Undeath, though now his practical jokes tend to be rather on the gruesome side.

Upkeep: 10 Gold, 7 Bodies
Ranged Attack: +8
Ranged Damage: 6
Melee Attack: +6
Melee Damage: 5
Defence: 20
Health: 20
Speed: 3
Morale: N/A
Special Abilities: Contagion, Detector, Fear (DC 16), Follower, Regeneration 10, Infiltrator, Undead, Vanish, Vulnerability (Fire)

As a vampire, Naerlyth cannot cross running water, even over bridges.  He can also never endure sunlight – if he spends more than 1 turn on the Surface, he is instantly destroyed.

Naerlyth's Contagion spell can be researched at the Synapse Chamber if Naerlyth is garrisoned in Yuddarath.[/ic][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of Llitul the Exalted, styled the Queen of Thralls and the Queen of the Ceremorphs]The past week saw a great expansion of the Hive.  Lower Dtoulth and Curasd, Horror In The Woods, have both been founded, though not without bloodshed.  You journeyed with your Vanguard to the south and east, to establish a forward base near to the stair which leads to the upper tunnels.  Here, amongst the fungi and teeming lichens, two feral beasts attacked your forces: beaked monstrosities with hook-like forelimbs and chitinous exoskeletons, creatures resembling hybrids of cockroach, praying mantis, and vulture.  Instinctively, you used your newfound powers to reach into one of the creature's minds.  The primitive animal intellect you discovered was no match for your psychic might, and you instantly made the beast your slave.  Your Psion, Daggoth, lashed out with a psychic attack of its own to wound the second creature, but the assault only seemed to anger the horror.  It lunged forward, scything claws gleaming, and hewed off the head of one of your Thralls, but even as it pounced its former mate leapt after it, claws punching through its chitinous shell.  The creature screamed as your remaining Thralls surrounded it and pulled the creature apart through sheer brute force, ripping off sections of its organic armour and tearing at the flesh below.  Meanwhile you concentrated your focus on the Dominated creature, securing it as your servant on a more permanent basis.

Meanwhile, the Overbrain communes with you with regard to the Watchers:

Ahhhh... the ancient enemies, indigenes of this world.  I have missed contending with such worthy foes.  Your alliance with these beings is commendable, though your groveling obeisance is disgusting.  The Ceremorphs do not bow or scrape; though perhaps your sycophantic praise is a remnant of your host-self.  Continue to honour this pact for now, but know that the time will come when we must destroy these Watchers utterly.  Any peace you forge with them is but temporary.

[You lost 1 Thrall in the battle with the 2 Hook Horrors but gained 2 Bodies.

You have also acquired a Dominated Hook Horror.  It will attempt a new save vs. your Domination once per week.  Remember to deduct Upkeep for the Horror.

[ic=Hook Horror]These monstrous creatures lurk in the Lowerdeep and some caverns of the Middledeep.  Vaguely vulturine, with long, hooked beaks, the beasts have long, viciously sharp hook-like blades for hands and chitinous shells.  They use these blades to help them climb cavern-walls to reach Drake-nests and other hard-to-reach places where food might be found.  Over ten feet tall and vicious, they are intensely territorial and have been known to attack multiple foes at once.  They rarely form families greater than about a dozen, more commonly living solitary lives or forming mated pairs. They are omnivorous, but greatly prefer the taste of meat to fungi.

Upkeep: 7 Food or Bodies
Melee Attack: +6
Melee Damage: 8
Defence: 15
Health: 20
Speed: 4
Morale: +3
Special Abilities: Climbing, Large

If fed only mushrooms, Hook Horrors suffer a -2 Morale penalty.[/ic]

You trade 30 Metal to the Watchers.

Lower Dtoulth and Curasd, Horror In The Woods, have been successfully founded, and Daggoth and Zasz made Commanders.][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Dwer Thane known as Lothë, Prince of the Mhaldûlne and Lord of the Mansion]Your scouts, sent out into the Great Mushroom Forest, return with their reports.  To the southeast the way is clear: your warriors saw nothing but fungi, water, and rock, though they claimed that a queer scent could be smelled on the air, coming from the southern tunnel that leads towards Nüln and the lowermost depths.  To the north, a small population of the horrid creatures known as Gloomrays seems to have taken up residence near the lake.  These loathsome beings resemble hybrids of bat and manta ray.   Their numbers are still few, and only a small handful of the monsters have reached full size, but in time they will increase.  They would likely be frightened into hiding by a large force.

In Mhaldûl-Nem, renovations on the Hall of the Ancestors are complete, and your Pyretic Refinery now seethes with brewing flamegel.  Gossip in the brew-hall is still concerned with your wrestling-match with Azáin.  Your miners, meanwhile, have discovered a gemstone of unusual size – a large ruby, beautiful to behold, which they have cut, polished, and presented to you.  As Lord of the Mansion the stone is yours to do with as you will.  Once work finishes on the Hall of Trade you could bid the stone be sold to traders in the market, or you could give the stone to the hands of the artisans in the Forge Hall to have it set in a weapon as a pommel-stone, or placed in a ring or amulet.  Or perhaps you should give it to Tiern, to deliver to the hands of Disa to help his suit?

[Scouting Middledeep 41 reveals no enemies or other noteworthy features.  Scouting Middledeep 39 reveals a population of 3 Gloomrays dwelling near the lake.

The ruby is worth 100 Gold and can be sold in the Trade Hall if it is completed, or it can be used to craft an item of some kind, which would take up to 1 week of work and require 10 Gold to produce, but might be more valuable or provide other bonuses.

Remaining mineable resources at Mhaldûl-Nem: 32300 Gold, 6775 Metal][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Lich Dr. Robertson, styled Professor Immortal, and his apprentice Markus Ashton, Servant of Madness]Professor Robertson, you have journeyed south and east of the Red House; for the first days you encountered nothing, but as you pressed forth through the caverns a pack of wild Wargs, attracted by the scent of your putrid Zombies, sprang out of a mushroom grove to attack.  Your archers loosed, slaying one of the fell wolves, and you uttered a dire curse to bewitch the feral beasts, but then they were upon you, tearing at your troops with their fangs.  One of your Zombies and a skeletal warrior were destroyed, but with swords and clubs and claws the remainder fell upon the Wargs and slew three more, ripping at their fur and hacking at their limbs.  The remaining two Wargs, whimpering in terror, loped hastily back to the fungal undergrowth to lick their wounds.

Markus Ashton, you have moved northeast towards the tunnel leading up to the Surface, making camp on the shores of a subterranean lake.  Your expedition was unmolested, and you sent out scouts to examine the surrounding regions.  Your skeletal warriors returned from the fungal groves to the south having discovered a cluster of four sallow ooze-like beings squelching along the shore – caustic things that would possibly find the decomposing flesh of Zombies appetizing.  Your archers, scouting on the barren northern shore of the lake, found nothing.  Meanwhile, you crept up towards the Surface, encountering nothing till you reached the cave-mouth itself.  Here, remaining stealthy, you discovered a pair of Ogres, the male wielding a club, his mate keeping a number of small boulders close at hand, perhaps to hurl at her enemies.  The pair spoke in guttural Undertongue, a language you are still learning, but from what you gathered the couple charge a small toll of food or gold for use of the passage to the Surface.

Markus, your meditations this week revealed a vision of a broken city swathed in webs, of Dark Elven revenants guarding ancient tunnels, and of a crown made of bones.  You saw also a High Elven Prince, silver of hair and white of armour, a look of determination and melancholy on his face; he was accompanied by a retinue of swordsmen and archers, though your vision was too indistinct to reveal precise numbers.  You sense that this Elf descended the tunnel to the Surface but a few days past, heading east into the caverns beyond the lake.

[1 Zombie and 1 Skeletal Warrior were destroyed in the fight with the Wargs, but you gain +6 Bodies from the engagement (Warg Zombies or Skeletal Warriors have the same statistics as regular Zombies and Skeletal Archers)

Based on Ashton's Scouting, the Ogre Brute and Rock Hurler guarding the stair to the Surface are charging a toll of 10 Gold or 15 Food.  Those who attempt to pass without paying will have to fight the Ogres, unless they could be intimidated into letting you pass.][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Kobold Chieftain Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, styled Queen and Mistress of All that is Under the Ground]Your forces have successfully expanded your territory.  Ho-Dor the Stable has founded a new Warren to the south, which will require a name and a commander.  Scouts sent to the Lowerdeep found nothing on the island in the midst of the Darksea, but did note several strange shapes and unsettling noises in the sea itself.  Those who scouted to the north found nothing of note, save for signs of recent Deep Gnome encampment.

Meanwhile, you brought your SmartyScouts northwards and then west and south through the tunnels.  Along the way, camped on the shores of a lake, you discovered the Deep Gnome caravan – a number of rickety wagons drawn by giant cave beetles, with about twenty Deep Gnome artisans and tinkers, half a dozen of them skilled in arms, gathered about a small fire.  The Gnomes sat around singing songs, one playing a curiously carved lute, while the children played with clockwork toys and the women cooked mushroom stew.  Enraged by their inane songs, you led your troops to attack.  The Deep Gnomes rushed to defend themselves with cleverly made hand crossbows, even as your Slingers pelted them with stones.  Your own sling-stone hit one of the Gnomes between his eyes, killing him instantly, but the Gnomes returned fire, slaying Tossythrows and Lubberdubs.  You yourself sustained an injury to the leg, a quarrel protruding from your scaly thigh.  As you snarled in pain your Skulkers and Blunderigs leapt into the fray.  Two more Gnomes were skewered and hacked down, while the remaining Gnomes seemed to vanish as if into thin air.  You managed to catch four prisoners – a child, an elderly Gnome, and two females – before they too could vanish.  The Gnomes had some small amount of treasure with them, including the strangely shaped lute and some kind of magical potion.

Your SmartyScouts went on to found a new Warren further to the south and west.  Your scouts note that the ruin nearby appears to be inhabited by an infestation of gigantic spiders, but cannot say what treasures can be found within its web-swathed walls without further investigation.  Scouting to the northwest they discovered no creatures or other noteworthy features, but did notice some unusual tracks in the ground, long gouges and curious, vaguely insectoid markings.

At the new Warren near the ruin, your warriors ask to hold a funeral feast for Tossythrows and Lubberdugs in which their bodies, and those of the slain Deep Gnomes and the prisoners, be consumed.  Such a funerary celebration would be time-consuming, but would considerably boost the morale of your troops.

[Your foraging GoodyGarrison produces +6 Food.  Your foraging Deepguards produce +13 Food.

From the battle with the Deep Gnomes, you gain +52 Gold, +13 Metal, and +6 Food.  You also took 4 Deep Gnomes prisoner.  The Gnomes also possessed a Lute of Bravery which, if played in lieu of an attack by a single unit within a regiment, gives other units in the regiment +2 Morale for one round; you also found a Potion of Restoration, which instantly cures any disease a single unit is suffering from.  These items should be noted in your Inventory under your Characters tab (the Lute can be given to someone other than Shee-Ra if you wish).

During the battle, you lost 2 Slingers from the SmartScouts.

If you wish to hold a funerary feast for your fallen troops as your SmartScouts ask, it will require 3 Speed from the SmartScouts to do so, and 9 Bodies (including those of the Deep Gnome prisoners) will be consumed (these would not count towards the Upkeep costs of your troops).  The SmartyScouts will gain +2 Morale for 2 weeks if the funeral is held.

Your Dungeons have both been successfully founded and need names and Commanders.  Remember to note your Commanders' statistics in your Characters tab.][/spoiler]
[spoiler=For the eyes of the Fungoid Rotqueen known as the Child of the Glow]Your minions have added greatly to the Beauty of the caverns, founding a new Colony, the sanguineous and resplendent Crimsonlight.  Warmed by the incarnadine light of the magma-pools your fungi thrive and rapidly multiply, forming bridges over the lava-rivers.  Truly such a place is beautiful to behold!  Meanwhile, your Skin Farms swell in population.  The Flesh of their inmates is as a canvas upon which you can paint your beauteous designs.

Your scouting Fungoids, while investigating the tunnel to the north, glimpsed two rogue Crawling Caps and three of the things known as Blightguard wandering aimlessly through the passages.  They seem to be about halfway through their lifespans, and so if left to themselves they will eventually decay and die without incident, unless they stumble upon the Heart of the Glow.  The pestilence of the Blightguard is gorgeous to look upon, your troops report – their flesh is mottled with a patina of cankerous sores the sight of which causes great delight, though their contagion could devastate your forces.  The Crawling Caps, of course, cannot harm you one way or another.  They climb across the walls of the cavern in mindless zigzag patterns.

To the east, however, an Ugliness has been seen by your scouts!  An infestation of unlovely cave beetles has arrived on the northern lake-shore and begun to gnaw ceaselessly on the beautiful fungi that grow in the cavern, leaving them nibbled and half-eaten, inelegantly mutilated by their snapping pincers.  The vermin gorge themselves, and will soon multiply, further marring the Beauty of the nearby cavern.  With their wings they could easily fly across the lake and threaten the Heart of the Glow itself with their inartistic depredations!

[Scouting Lowerdeep 29 reveals 2 Rogue Fungoid Crawling Caps and 3 Rogue Fungoid Blightguard.  What their reaction would be to your units is still unknown.

Scouting Lowerdeep 32 reveals 10 full-sized Cave Beetles feeding on the mushrooms (statistics as the Duergar unit).  Such creatures find Fungoids delicious.  If they are defeated, it will take an additional 1 Speed from a regiment in the region to eradicate their young from the mushrooms groves – otherwise they will return after several weeks.

Your 25 Fungoid Warriors now have 11 weeks of Lifespan remaining.  Your remaining Sporemother now has 19 weeks of Lifespan remaining.][/spoiler][/ic][ic=Responses - The Month of the Spider, Week 2][spoiler=Response to the Goblin King Dâgalûr, patriarch of the Blood Clan, called the Scourge of Men, also known as the King of the Red Tide, and styled the Future Lord of All the Sun Sees, from Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves]Goblin King,

You speak well for one of your kind.  There has been no love lost between our peoples in the past, but your offer of peace is accepted – there has been enough bloodshed in the Upperdeep over the centuries.  So long as your Goblins do not enter the Dwarf-Realm without permission, my people will not harm yours.  We wish only to keep our lands safe.  We do not begrudge your existence.

The Orcs are a threat to everyone in the Underdeep, and we would gladly assist in their destruction.  When your assault against them comes, send word and I will send troops to assist your forces.

As for trade, I am not one to stand in the way of commerce.  Do you require more food, or is it coin you need?

Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves, Thane of Droch-Mûrad, Protector of the Westdeep[/spoiler][spoiler=Response to the Goblin King Dâgalûr, patriarch of the Blood Clan, called the Scourge of Men, also known as the King of the Red Tide, and styled the Future Lord of All the Sun Sees, from Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves]Goblin King,

Your ambitions are considerable.  I will trade you fifty of my gold for the agreed-upon foodstuffs, though my advisors may look askance.  Though we Dwarves are known to hold grudges, we are also a practical people, and much given to trade.  We share an eye for profit – and perhaps through exchanges such as this our peoples may be reconciled, one day.

Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves, Thane of Droch-Mûrad, Protector of the Westdeep[/spoiler][spoiler=For the eyes of Dolmar Lestridae, Protector of Umbrazzid, Champion of the Holy Shadow]A spasm of hatred and fury flashes across Yshar Morwenn's face as she defiantly returns your gaze and she looks as if she's about to speak, but then she closes her mouth as she sees the steely glint in your eyes.  Presently she opens her mouth again to speak.

"I will submit to your punishment, however degrading it may be," she says curtly.  "I do not protest; I acknowledge your power over me, and your authority.  But let me give you some advice, my lord.  However much you change the way we speak, the way we must act, you cannot change what we are.  I can trace my bloodline back more than ten thousand years into the Callow Age, to Malekar and the Dread-Witch Naggora, as can you.  The Accursed that offended me – to where could he trace his lineage?  Some filth-smeared sheep-farmer from the Surface, living in a mud hut?  You cannot change his heritage, or mine.  And no matter how much we continue to pretend, no matter how much you would wish it otherwise, Elf-kind will remain superior to mortals.  We may be banished to Darkness but a measure of the Grace of the Everlasting Lands remains with us.  You may play at equality, my lord, but it is a farce – and a dangerous one.  Do not turn your back on your kindred, your people.

She rises.  "If these words displease you, then take my life, for it seems you are keen to take everything else – my honour, my dignity, my property.  But whether you kill me or no, think on my words.  I speak the truth, and I believe that in your heart of hearts you know that I am right."  She turns to go and addresses your guards.  "I have said my piece.  Convey me now to the mines, as your master wishes."

...

Following your amended punishment, Lady Morwenn grudgingly accepts your punishment.  "Your judgment is... fair," she says.  "I accept your sentence.  I shall wear the shackles, as you wish, and make my apologies to the Accursed."  She pauses, smiles.  "You would have made an astute consort, Dolmar, in the old days.  I will pray to the Goddess of Shadow that you make as able a protector of our city."

Meanwhile, your sister peers into the lands of the Dark Elf Devil-worshippers.  The city of Kirr-Godna includes a Bloodlord's Spire, Slave Pens, War Spire, one Lichen Garden, a Dark Elf Mine, a Profane Temple, and a Lizard Pen.  City walls are being completed and the mines are being improved, and a slave market is likewise under construction.  The city's garrison currently consists of the Bloodlord Dalashinn, fifteen slave soldiers, ten Dark Elf swordsmen, and five crossbowmen.[/spoiler][spoiler=Response to Dolmar Lestridae, Protector of Umbrazzid, Champion of the Holy Shadow, from Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves]Your speech is fair, Dark Elf, but many centuries of dealing with your kinfolk have taught me to beware honeyed words; yet I do not desire war and strife, nor the destruction of your people.  So long as you stray not into the lands of my subjects, the Dwarves will not be your enemies.  But neither can I pledge my friendship to one such as you – not without proof of your honour.  Your brethren have slain many of my folk, and enslaved countless more.  To trust you without a demonstration of your virtue would be foolish.  If any Dark Elf trespasses in my realm their life will be considered forfeit.

If you truly wish to become allies, to put aside old grievances, then you must show me that you are unlike your kindred, that you have truly forsaken your old customs and that this is not some trick.  Beneath my realm lies the fell city of Kirr-Godna, a city ruled by a sadistic fiend known as the Onyx Prince.  He has enslaved and sacrificed many Dwarves in his time, forcing them to work his mines or spilling their blood during unspeakable rites to the Infernal gods he reveres.  Long have my people desired vengeance against this witch-lord, but our strength has ever been too little to contend with his evil might.  Lay waste to the city of Kirr-Godna and liberate the Dwarves enslaved there from captivity.  Do this, and I will name you forever a friend of the Dwarves, and will forgive any slights that the Nocae or their forebears may have done to us.

Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves, Thane of Droch-Mûrad, Protector of the Westdeep[/spoiler][spoiler=Response to Dolmar Lestridae, Protector of Umbrazzid, Champion of the Holy Shadow, from Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves]General Dolmar Lestridae,

You have correctly noted the borders of my realm.  I can only reiterate that none of your kind may pass into the caverns of my Queendom without risking retribution.  If you wish to guard your own borders against the Red Tide, I suggest that you secure the bridges over Gorzahond-Khul.  If the Goblins venture into Dwarf lands they will be destroyed utterly.  You may not, under any circumstances, bring your "Abominations" into the Dwarf-Realm!

Disa Grimhammer, High Queen of the Dwarves, Thane of Droch-Mûrad, Protector of the Westdeep[/spoiler][spoiler=For the eyes of Llitul, styled the Queen of Thralls and the Queen of Ceremorphs]I have looked into the forest of fungi.  A renegade Inquisitor – a creature known as Quasthid – leads a group of five Psions.  They are slowly starving, and the Hunger will soon lead them out of the forest to hunt for food.  These are not the same heretics I saw before.

[There is 1 Ceremorph Inquisitor and 5 Ceremorph Psions in Middledeep 10.  They are currently starving (because of the Hunger they have all lost 2 Health currently).  Middledeep 6 is currently empty.]

...

As for their crimes - Quasthid was weak, daring to show a heretic mercy by giving it a swift death rather than preserving its brain for use in the construction of a Blaspheme Golem.  Two were found praying to Thrall-gods.  One is defective - some vestige of its host lingered behind in its mind, or perhaps in its very essence, and it attempted to free its children, held as Thralls, from bondage in the Pens.  A fourth is a deviant, discovered attempting to copulate with a Thrall.  The fifth is a lunatic; when it saw its reflection in a pool shortly after Ceremorphosis it became agitated and began mutilating itself, attempting to sever its tentacles.

Those I glimpsed earlier are led by a heretic, Illiriant, who spread blasphemous and seditious lies suggesting that an Overbrain is a parasitic thing, feeding on Ceremorph communities.  Those with the creature are its followers, zealots convinced of its heresy.

I am... bemused by your little colloquium.  I entrust that once you gather these renegades to you they will be assimilated and consumed, so that their knowledge can be added directly to the Hive.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Response to Llitul, Queen of Thralls, from Lady Viarra Gloomsong, Dark Elf Matriarch, ruler of Vashnaranzenan]Lady Viarra wrinkles her nose in distaste as the odour of the Ceremorph's thoughts fills her brain.  It seems this would be more difficult than she had thought.  She puts aside the tome she is studying for a moment and focuses her mind.

Your caution does you credit, Ceremorph, she thinks.  Though I would have thought a few Dark Elf heathens would be beneath your concern.  The Kirr can indeed be dangerous, in their own fashion; in truth I know not whether they are aware of the Crown of Malekar.  I have sent spies to try and divine this knowledge, but they have not yet returned.  The Kirr are my enemies, not yours, however.  If you keep your purpose secret, perhaps you can appease them somehow.  If you are forced to retreat, you will find a safe haven in Vashnaranzenan.[/spoiler][spoiler=Response to Llitul, Queen of Thralls, from Quasthid]If you think your trickery will work on a fellow Ceremorph, one who has suffered at the hands of the Inquisitors, you are sorely mistaken.  Ceremorphs do not forgive, they do not forget, they do not give second chances.  Do you truly believe that the Overbrain would allow such a thing?  If so you will soon be bound for the Inquisitor's cells yourself.  Should you approach us, you will die.  We will fight to the last, for our freedom has been hard-won, and we will not surrender to you, to be dragged back to Dtoulth in humiliation, doubtless bound for the torture chambers once more.

Begone, half-breed, and trouble me no more with your pathetic deceptions.[/spoiler][spoiler=For the eyes of the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, called the Abjected]You look upon the Darksea and Glimpse a disturbing vision – of a city rising from the black waters, and of the slumbering leviathans that dwell within.  Three lightless grottoes, subterranean caves, house thralls, while algae farms teem with food, and strange spires glimmer with an eerie light.

The Watcher Vault Cruel Form of Truth contains three Thrall Grottoes, four Algae Farms, a Nightmare Gate, a Brood Pool, a Mucosal Pool, a Breeding Pool, and a Watcher Mine.  An Ooze Pool and a Vault Slime are developing.  Currently garrisoned in the Vault are a Watcher Sovereign, two Watcher Savants, and twenty Thralls.

You peer also into the lands of the Duergar.  Their Citadel contains a Despot's Hall, a Forge Hall, a Hall of Carnage, a Beetle Farm, a Training Hall, a Duergar Mine, an Outer Wall, a Magma Moat, and an Iron Gate.  Structures being built include a Hall of Trade, a Hatchery, two Beetle Farms.  Only five Hammer-Throwers are garrisoned in the Citadel, as well as their Despot, Käfer.  Magma fills the region, partially protecting the Citadel from attackers.

Finally, you look into the Ceremorph Hive.  Dtoulth contains an Overbrain Chamber, a Spawning Pool, a Ceremorph Mine, four Thrall Pens, three Mushroom Farms, a Mutation Chamber, a Slime Moat, a Grafting Workshop and an Amplifier Node.  A new Inquisition is being grown, and the mines are currently being improved.  The additional Thrall Pens you Glimpsed earlier seem to have been cancelled.  Dtoulth is currently empty of troops – only the Overbrain and non-combatant Ceremorphs can be found within the Hive.[/spoiler][spoiler=Response to the Cerelich Ktan-Ydheel, from Lady Viarra Gloomsong, Dark Elf Matriarch, ruler of Vashnaranzenan]Ktan-Ydheel,

I have heard much of you.  I appreciate the nakedness of your ambition.  It is refreshing to speak to someone as ruthless as myself.  At the moment I possess a certain arrangement with the Exalted – they have promised to bring me something of interest.  But there is no reason why we could not reach an agreement of our own.  I assume from your message that you have an interest in eliminating these so-called Exalted.  Your desire to use the Dark Elves of Vashnaranzenan as instruments in this regard is plain enough.  Put bluntly, what could you offer in exchange for such a service?

Respectfully yours,

Lady Viarra Gloomsong, Matriarch of Vashnaranzenan[/spoiler][spoiler=For the many eyes of Dreams-of-Dead-Races, Watcher Sovereign of the Darksea, Master of the Vault known as Cruel Form of Truth]In your torpor, you look first onto the shores of the beach, where the two Gloom-Trolls prowl.  They have a little hoard with them – gold and jewels and other riches, and food as well.

Next you look upon the Hive of the necrotic Ceremorphs to the far south.  Their Hive contains a strange Altar, a Synapse Chamber, a Spawning Pool, a Chamber of Obscentities, one Thrall Pen, an Amplifier Node, and a Ceremorph Mine.  A wall of the reanimated dead fused together protects the Hive.  The Cerelich and his apprentice, a strange Gnomish creature, are garrisoned at this Hive, along with a pair of Ceremorph Ghouls.  Strangely, an insane Ceremorph, not undead, is imprisoned in the Hive as well, in the Thrall Pens.

Finally you look towards the strange Door.  You see that the Cerelich has an interest in this place also, for one of its minions, a haematophagic creature from the Outer Darkness, is investigating the Door.  The Door disturbs you.  It is graven with certain marks and runes that are not of this world, but from another, a fell reality of flame and torture, a place of endless horror.  If this Door were to open, disaster would follow.[/spoiler][/ic]

[LD]

Placeholder for Shee-Ra Cleversmart XVI of the Kobolds!

[ic=Gnome Stew]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn9ETZ2RAoo (Annoying Gnome Song)
From Last Turn's Private Message from the GM: "Things are good in the land of the Cleversmarts.  Your oracle brought you a spider today that he found spinning a web over the door to the Mystery Chamber and told you that it is a good time for plans and schemes.  This pleased you, as did the spider, which wriggled as it went down.  Yet no sooner had this good news reached your scaly ears than a sour story rankled your mood – a small band of Deep Gnome tinkers has been sighted traveling through the caverns to the north and west, singing unpleasant Gnome-songs, whistling, and generally stinking up your territory with their wretched, happy-go-lucky Gnomishness.  These contemptible buffoons are known to be annoyingly skilled in the creation of clockwork toys and even weapons – some have said their abilities surpass even those of Kobolds, though of course if you heard such a slander you would have the tongue of its speaker ripped out, marinated in a little fungus sauce, and then grilled for you to devour."

(adapted paragraph from Steerpike) At the shores of a lake, the Kobold SmartyScouts discovered the Deep Gnome caravan – a number of rickety wagons drawn by giant cave beetles, with about twenty Deep Gnome artisans and tinkers, half a dozen of them skilled in arms, gathered about a small fire.  The Gnomes sat around singing songs, one playing a curiously carved lute, while the children played with clockwork toys and the women cooked mushroom stew.  Enraged by their inane songs, the Kobolds flooded in to attack.  The Deep Gnomes rushed to defend themselves with cleverly made hand crossbows, even as your Slingers pelted them with stones.  The commander's sling-stone hit one of the Gnomes between his eyes, killing him instantly, but the Gnomes returned fire, slaying Tossythrows and Lubberdubs.  The commander sustained an injury to the leg, a quarrel protruding from a scaly thigh.  Then two more Gnomes were skewered and hacked down, while the remaining Gnomes seemed to vanish as if into thin air.  Four prisoners were captured – a child, an elderly Gnome, and two females – before they too could vanish.

Now:
"Gnomeprisoners, Cacaphonymakers, Shrillsounders, laud and honor to you friends on being captured by Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, Queen and Mistress of all that is Under the Ground. It is to your great delight and possible surprise that you-yes-you! You are Special! (Kobolds reply- Gnome Special! Gnome Special! Like Stew! Stew! Stew!) will be provided the opportunity to not only choose how you would leave this world, but also to know your bodies will be consumed and once you perish, you will not become a Thrall, you will not become an abomination. We Kobolds will set your minds and your bodies free. *pause for cheers from Kobolds, and hopefully from the gnomes*

"It is now up to you, Cacaphonymakers, ArrogantGnomes, EvilSongs to decide- will you throw yourselves on koboldspears, or will we split your throats? Decide. Decide! Decision is important to make! How GnomeDies is almost as important as how GnomeLives since it is culmination of history!"

:yumm:

That night the Kobolds greedily dined on Gnome Stew, Gnomesticks (Marinated pieces roasted on skewers over an open fire), and of course, on the corpses of their two slain comrades- sweet Loq-Stpp, known as Lubberdubs of the waxed legs, and limber Tin-Din, called Tossythrows. Although the deaths were bittersweet, the spiritual cleansing of the feast, combined with the recent founding of two new dungeon colonies to defend Koboldlands and Koboldcaverns, soothed the Kobolds' agitation.[/ic]

[ic=On Receiving the General Proclamation]
The Kobolds' feast, on its second day, was supplemented by the arrival of a bat, carrying a message from the Onyx Prince.

Shee-Ra ordered the bat detained while she read the message. After she finished digesting the gist of the rambling and spindly words, words that went on far longer than any Kobold proclamation, and which were squeezed into tiny little portions of the sheet on which they were written, she massaged her temples, re-focused her eyes, set the message aside, and she cackled. Chuckling a gravelly laugh, she jumped to her feet and skittered toward the vise-restrained bat. The bat, struggling with meager success against the grip clamped against its legs, craned its neck, then shuddered and squeaked as it spied a draconic Kobold's grinning teeth. Shee-Ra's incisor Grillz gleamed as she bent over the bat, hesitated to calculate an angle of attack, then chomped down to sever the beast's neck. Shee-Ra spit the head out, then she shouted an order to throw on more coals to cook the bat's remains. The bat was, of course, checked for poisons since it had originated from the FoulElves, but Kobolds are hardy creatures and they can resist many types of poison, so Shee-Ra and her subjects were not overly concerned about their stomaches' fate. Amongst the coals, the Onyx Prince's letter supplemented the kindling for the fire.
[/ic]

[spoiler=Message to the Goblin Red Tide]
*a message comes; delivered by a scurrying rat that has a label on it written in blood; the label reads #37*

Greetings Goblins and leader of the Red Tide, Future Lord of All the Sun Sees, from Shee-Ra Cleversmart XVI, Queen Mistress of All that Is Under the Ground. We have heard stories of your success on the surface-your success reverberates among the walls and I have even seen one engraving of the victory, carried by a Batman bard. For that success I laud you. While We Rule All that Is Under the Ground, we have no interest in the surface and we would send you blessing of success in bringing trouble to evil creatures who stray into the earth to steal its treasures.

We know that Goblins often hunger and so we would propose a trade. If Goblins are interested, we Kobolds will trade food for gold. We will trade at the rate of: 2 food per gold. We would suggest an initial trade of 80 food for 40 gold.

*The rat chirps and stares at the Goblin recipient of the message as it awaits a response*
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Response to Red Tide]
*a message comes; delivered by a lumbering rat that has a label on it written in dried blood; the label reads #17*

To the Lord of All the Sun Sees, the Scourge of Men, and Patriarch of the Blood Clan,

We welcome your proposed trade rate of 2 food for 1 gold for future trades, and we welcome your suggestion of a pact of non-aggression. Although I would wish it were not so that residents of the Underdeep would war amongst each other, perhaps we will by circumstances campaign together against common enemies. Once again, we congratulate you for your success against the topworlders.

At the moment, though, we ourselves are well stocked with foodstuffs. To facilitate future negotiations, if at some time in the future you desire metal, we could also supply that luxury to your armies, at the rate of 1 metal to 5 gold. We also look forward to capturing many beasts in our snares and if you have need of slave creatures, we could also supply those to you; would that arrangement be of interest, and if so, at what rates?

With Sincere Bites,
Shee-Ra Cleversmart XVI, Queen Mistress of All That Is Under the Ground,
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders and Information]
[ic]OOC: Orders ready for review.
OOC: 9 bodies for 6 kobolds- these are greedy eaters :D. I suppose the feast went on for days. Eating is not really the optimal solution, but I figure it's what Shee-Ra would do to consecrate her first victory and expansion. It's good Kobold Karma!

Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth was concerned; the raid on the Gnomes had been fruitful, but she would need many more Kobolds for defense at the new outpost. She was personally overseeing the construction of the Kobold Mine and she eagerly awaited the arrival of new defenders. It would be vital for the Kobolds to found dungeons at strategic points throughout the Underdeep, to defend their homelands, from which they could not be budged once established. But it would also be equally vital to acquire gold. The Kobolds were not great miners. They could not support an army larger than 30 mouths unless they sacked and pillaged, or unless they could construct enough mines to fund their armies upkeeps. Therefore, she decided to author a message to the goblins she had heard were so recently successful on their surface raid, and she made plans for forays into the Underdeep on raids to acquire more gold.
[/ic]

[spoiler=Production]
[ooc]Cleversmart Caverns - Middledeep 65

Kobold Mine: (150 gold)

Kobold Mine: (15 metal)

Mushroom Patch: (20 food)
Midden: (35 food)

Resource: Mushrooms  (25 food)
Resource: Pool (10 food)

M65 Subtotal: 90 food, 150 gold, 15 metal

GnomeFeast LuteingCave- Middledeep 72

Resource: Mushrooms  (25 food)
Resource: Pool (10 food)

M72 Subtotal: 35 food

Ryen-Dor's HollowShaft a/k/a "The Entrance to the Shaft of Ryen-Dor"- Middledeep 66

Resource: Mushrooms  (25 food)

M66 Subtotal: 25 food[/ooc]

Total Production: 150 food, 150 gold, 15 metal

[ooc]Looting/Events
+6 food (forage)
+13 food (forage)
+6 food (gnomes)

+13 metal (gnomes)

+52 gold (gnomes)[/ooc]

Total Looting/Events: 25 food, 13 metal, 52 gold

Total Total: 175 food, 27 metal, 202 gold
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Upkeep]

GoodyGarrison
Slingers (1g/1f) x 1 = (1g/1f)
Skulkers (2g/1f) x 1 = (2g/2f)

One less Slinger upkeep because of Free Commander. (1g/1f).

SmartyScouts
Skulkers (2g/1f) x 2 = (4g/2f)
Blunderdigs (3g/1f) x 2 = (6g/2f)

One less Skulker upkeep because of Free Commander (2g/1f).

Deepguards
Slingers (1g/1f) x 4 = (4g/4f)
Skulkers (2g/1f) x 7 = (14g/7f)
Blunderdigs (3g/1f) x 1 = (3g/1f)

One less Skulker upkeep because of Free Commander (2g/1f).

Total: Net Loss/turn -(34g/19f)
Not counting the 6 slingers recruited on this turn.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Construction]


Middledeep- 65
Completed This Turn
Midden (125 gold/3 weeks- done)
Workshop (65 gold, 25 metal)
Spiked Moat (25 gold)

In-Progress

GnomeFeast LuteingCave- Middledeep 72

In-Progress
Kobold Mine; 150 gold, 15 metal (week 1/3)

Palisade; 20 gold (1 week)
Snare; 10 gold (1 week)
Snare; 10 gold (1 week)

Ryen-Dor's HollowShaft a/k/a "The Entrance to the Shaft of Ryen-Dor"- Middledeep 66

In-Progress
Palisade; 20 gold (1 week)
Murder Holes; 20 gold (1 week)




[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Recruit]

6 Kobold Slingers, (30 gold)

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Wealth]
Began Turn at: 289 gold, 107 metal, 135 food
Gained: 202 gold, 27 metal, 175 food
Total: 464 gold, 134 metal, 315 food

Spent 200 gold to found two dungeons.
Spent 34 gold on upkeep.
Spent 30 gold on recruiting.
Spent 50 gold on defenses.
Spent 150 gold on mine.

Spent 15 metal on mine.

Spent 19 food on upkeep.

0 gold
119 metal
291 food

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dungeons]
[ic=Middledeep 65]Cleversmart Caverns - Middledeep- 65

Mystery Chamber (scry if in the region)
Burrow (build slingers, skulkers, blunderdigs)
Mushroom Patch (20 food)
Kobold Mine (150 gold, 15 metal)
Midden (125 gold) (dire rat cavalry, 35 food)
Workshop (65 gold, 25 metal) (build bottlethrowers, trapspringers)

Palisade (20 gold) (1 week)
----->also a reinforced Gate UPGRADE (15 gold, 5 metal)
Pit Trap (25 gold)--->UPGRADED to Pit of Rats (12 gold)
Spiked Moat[/ic]

[ic=Middledeep 72]GnomeFeast LuteingCave- Middledeep 72
In-Progress. Building. See Construction above.[/ic]

[ic=Middledeep 66]Ryen-Dor's HollowShaft a/k/a "The Entrance to the Shaft of Ryen-Dor"- Middledeep 66
In-Progress. Building. See Construction above.[/ic]

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Armies]
[ic]GoodyGarrison
Commander: Mya-He, the Unmentionable (Slinger)
Effects: +1 morale for being in a garrison.
Location: Middledeep 65
2 Slingers [Mya-He is a Slinger]
1 Skulker
+1 Slinger recently Recruited

Slingers (I) ("Undefeatable Eggguard") [Mya-He is attached to this unit]
Slingers (II) ("Unutterable Ovumguard")
Skulkers (V) ("First Pokeypokes")[/ic]
New Slinger ("Dom-Boh", the distinct)

[ic]SmartyScouts
Commander: Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth, Queen Mistress of All That Is Under the Ground
Commander of the Garrison: Hai-Phen, the Shadow
Effects: +2 morale for two weeks, +1 morale for being in a garrison
Location: Middledeep 72
1 Shee-Ra [currently attached to Skulkers]
2 Blunderdigs
3 Skulkers [Hai-Phen is a Skulker]
+5 Slingers en route

Blunderdigs (I) ("Underfeet Underdeep Squadron")
Blunderdigs (II) ("Backdoor Blundering Boffins")
Skulkers (I) ("Beaterpokes")
Skulkers (II) ("Basherpokes")
Skulkers (III) [Hai-Phen, the Shadow]
New Slinger ("Mya-Haha")
New Slinger ("Tom-Tom")
New Slinger ("Park-Park")
New Slinger ("Pik-Pik", brother to Pik-Min)
New Slinger ("Pik-Min", sister to Pik-Pik)
New Slinger ("Pik-Poke", youngest sister of the Pik clan)
[/ic]

[ic]Deepguards
Commander: Ho-Dor, the Stable (Skulker) (who eats rocks, carries around his lame nephew on a howdah, nephew shoots and slings from his back)
Effects: +1 morale for being in a garrison.
Location: Middledeep 66
8 Skulkers [Ho-Dor is a Skulker]
4 Slingers
1 Blunderdig

Skulkers (IV) [Ho-Dor is attached to this unit]
Skulkers (V) (Achi-Lees, the unkillable)
Skulkers (VI) (Isil-Dur, the unmentionable-the other kobold captured by humans along with Mya-He)
Skulkers (VII) (Vor-Keth, the massive)
Skulkers (VIII) (Ai-Ur, the Greater)
Skulkers (IX) (Ai-Ur, the Lesser)
Skulkers (X) (Tro-Jan, the unbreakable)
Skulkers (XI) (Ay-Jax, the warrior)
Slingers (V)  (Ro-Dan, the belligerent)
Slingers (VI) (Fush-Rodah, the shouter)
Slingers (VII) (Hus-Roh, the loud)
Slingers (VIII) (Aaa-Hha, the fearful)
Blunderdigs (III) (Kili-Fili, the stout digger)[/ic]

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Characters]
[ic=Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth]
Shee-Ra Cleversmart the Sixteenth
Ranged Attack: +10
Ranged Damage: 8
Melee Attack: +8
Melee Damage: 6
Defence: 22
Health: 15
Speed: 4
Morale: +6
Special Abilities: Infiltrator, Leadership
Inventory: Potion of Restoration (instantly cures any disease a single unit is suffering from).

Unit: Attached to Skulkers.

Instructions: Use the Potion on self if self is in danger of being killed in battle. Use on self if army retreats.

Shee-Ra increases the Ranged Attack and Morale of any army she is leading by +1.  If garrisoned in a Dungeon she increases the Ranged Attack and Morale of garrisoned troops by +1.  Her Infiltrator ability is imparted to any regiment she leads.

If a Midden has been constructed, Shee-Ra can be mounted on a dire rat.  She gains the Cavalry, Climb and Disease 3 abilities and can only join a regiment of Kobold Dire Rat Cavalry.  She also gains +2 Defence, +2 Speed and +6 Health.  Mounting Shee-Ra on a dire rat costs 17 Gold and 1 Metal (no Upkeep costs, however). [/ic]

[ic]Mya-He, the Unmentionable
Unmentionable not because Mya-He is a cannibal who has eaten Kobold flesh before, which is acceptable to do when Kobolds have perished, but because he was captured by surface dwellers! Once, on a long expedition to the surface, Mya-He and a squad became separated from a main raiding party and they were trapped in a surface race trap, where he and his fellows lingered. He only survived and remained strong because he and one ally killed and ate the rest of their fellows, then they played dead.

When humans came to fetch the kobolds out of the trap, they were overpowered and the kobolds fled to the realm of the Cleversmarts. Although Mya-He received great shame for being captured by a surface-dweller's trap, he received great honor for having overpowered and escaped from surface dwellers.

He is considered as having great insight into surface dwellers' ways and customs, gathered from overhearing snatches of their conversations and observations of their surface camps. Mya-He is a tenacious kobold, willing to do whatever it takes to survive and willing to sacrifice anyone else to ensure his survival. Shee-Ra places him in charge of the Cleversmart Caverns because most kobolds are afraid of him, and because she knows that he will never figure out how to work the mystery chamber or establish a cult following to overthrow her- he is too hated for that to happen- and he knows that.

Slinger

Upkeep: Free
Ranged Attack: +4
Ranged Damage: 4
Melee Attack: +3
Melee Damage: 3
Defence: 18
Health: 14
Speed: 4
Morale: +3[/ic]

Commanders also gain +10 Health and +2 to all Attack, Damage, Defence, and Morale characteristics (Melee or Ranged, if they possess a Ranged attack).  

[ic]Ho-Dor, the Stable
Ho-Dor the Stable is a simple Kobold. He is a distant cousin of Shee-Ra and he is a forager at heart.

He dotes on his nephew, whose leg was crushed when he tumbled down the dark slicks of a Dark Elf trap, and now Ho-Dor carries the nephew, Oh-No, around on a howdah that is strapped to Ho-Dor's broad back. Oh-No shoots rocks and other debris at enemies while Ho-Dor the Stable roots himself into the soil and fights with his quarterstaff.

Ho-Dor is a tempered commander who cares greatly for his soldiers. He is also an odd Kobold in that he has no interest in mating or in fertilizing Kobold Eggs. Instead, when he is at rest, he sits and meditates. His soldiers consider him eccentric, but they benefit from his constant attention. If the soldiers need something, Ho-Dor, the Stable, will find it for them.

Skulker

Upkeep: Free
Melee Attack: +4
Melee Damage: 5
Defence: 19
Health: 16
Speed: 4
Morale: +3
Special Abilities: Infiltrator, Scout[/ic]

[ic]Hai-Phen, the Shadow
The Shadow knows what few others know, she slinks and spies and comes back with food, news, and dead enemies heads. The Shadow was nearly kicked out of her tribe for being a thief, by the previous Master of All That Is Underground when she stole a precious amulet that belonged to him and sold it to Dark Elves, but Shee-Ra recognized her potential and protected her from his wrath. Hai-Phen owes her life and her allegiance to her Queen Mistress, and she is eager to demonstrate her worth to the Clever Lady.

Skulker

Upkeep: Free
Melee Attack: +4
Melee Damage: 5
Defence: 19
Health: 16
Speed: 4
Morale: +3
Special Abilities: Infiltrator, Scout
Inventory: Lute of Bravery which, if played in lieu of an attack by a single unit within a regiment, gives other units in the regiment +2 Morale for one round [/ic]

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orders]

-Regarding the new recruits; one slinger stays with GoodyGarrison. The other five go north to join the SmartyScouts.

-(3 Speed) SmartyScouts feast. +2 morale for 2 weeks.
-(1 Speed) Garrison. (I have not added the bonuses).
-(Free Ability) Scout the island again; continue to monitor.

-(3 Speed) Deepguards Forage (13x3 =add 39 food next turn).
-(1 Speed) Deepguards Garrison
-(Free Ability) Scout surrounding region 71.

-(1 Speed) GoodyGarrison formally Scouts as per the action, M64.
-(2 Speed) GoodyGarrison Forages (4x2=add 8 food next turn).
-(1 Speed) GoodyGarrison Garrisons. (I have not added the bonuses).
[/spoiler]

[/spoiler]