So I had a dream last night, most of it was in DF-esque tiles (Pheobus/Obsidian-esque--sorry ASCII purists), with some actual reality thrown in here and there. It was a bunch of dwarves assaulting a long-lost fortress, now inhabited by goblins. I was one of the dwarves. Sometimes it was all caves, sometimes it was almost an escape from a modern hotel-like thing. It was kinda weird, but the ending was amazing. Figured I had to get it all written down (and dorfified) before I forgot it all.





****

****





There were ten dwarves, including me, that were going to assault a former Mountainhome, now occupied by Goblins. Well armed, well armored, we finally arrived at the entrance after many trials and tribulations. With a cheer, we ran through the ornate entranceway in the rock, not knowing what horrors awaited us inside.



One of our number fell alomost immediately, but we had to leave him behind. We were after the riches and revenge we knew waited for us deeper inside the fortress. We pushed further in, for the glory of our ancestors whom had once carved these halls. Slowly our force was winnowed down.



And then there it was: A dragon. Whether our ancestors had tamed it and it was now roaming free, whether it now commanded the goblins themselves, or whether it had just decided to make the goblin-besotted fortress its home, we didn't know.



All we did know was that with one blast, our number was now down to three, and we were running for our lives, trying to remember the way out.



Goblins attacked us at every turn, and it was a race to find the exit before the goblins cornered us.



Before long, I was the last of the survivors, and I was running as fast as I could. I was running in circles, passing the remains and still-breathing corpses of my friends. I could take no time to stop and help them, whether by dragging them out or by mercifully putting my axe through their head so they would not have to suffer goblin hospitality.



But for some reason at one point I slowed, and, through labored breathing, the dwarf told me to run. His remains were lying next to a lever, and he promised to bring down the entire mountain. If we could not reclaim this place, then no creature would have it.



And so I ran, down. Not knowing where I was going, not knowing where else to turn, I ran. Further and Further down, until I ran out of stairs. I had passed many openings in the rock walls, but none of them looked familiar. Neither did this one.



But then the mountain above me started rumbling, and the very foundation of the fortress started to tremble, and I threw myself down the hall, and made it through the hole just in time.



I found myself outside, battered, bleeding, and alone. In front of me, a female human waited, arms crossed, with a smile on her face. "It took you long enough," she crowed triumphantly as a cloud of smoke billowed through the grand entrance behind me, marking the death of the last of my comrades-in-arms, as well as the Goblin-besotted former Fortress. "I've been waiting for you."



I was too tired for words, too tired for banter. I raised my weapon gainst her, and took one, grim step forward. The sorceress' smile broadened. "Oh no," she laughed. "That isn't quite what I have in store for you. Do you remember the dragon that killed your friends? It's far behind me, waiting to feast on dwarven flesh." her feral grin cut through the cobwebs of fear, madness, and sobriety in my mind, forming a single purpose in my mind: kill the bitch.



"Goodbye, dwarf." With a yell, I ran forward, my axe raised high in preparation for a killing blow. With a gesture, she dissapeared, and behind her I could see the dragon. Already comitted to the charge, I ran forward as fast as my legs could carry me. The creature stared at imperiously, and opened its mouth, the back of its throat beginning to glow.



I knew the odds were against me, but what use did a loyal son of Armok have for odds? I was a dwarf.



Laughing in the face of bitter odds is exactly what we do. With a wild yell, I charged the dragon. In the parlance of my people, I shouted my battle cry. "Strike the Earth!"