A Dwarf Story

[Xentheous]

Title to be determined ^_^

The brisk sea air blew in over the barricades of Barak Varr, filled with the cool chill of morning the wind flowed through the watchtower. The early morning sun had just begun rising, and the hold was starting to stir with the beginnings of another busy day. The sea port of the dwarfs was an ever popular place, drawing in traders from the surrounding areas and a flow of gold unsurpassed by any other hold but that of Karaz - A - Karak.

Zharak lifted his helmet and rubbed his weary eyes, the night had been a long and very uneventful watch. Zharak was young in dwarf years barely coming to his first century, his beard had not even a twinge of gray. Though it was a great honor to be given the watch through the night, Zharak longed for battle far to much to truly comprehend the honor. He was different then the other Dwarfs he grew up with, he longed to venture out to live beyond the walls and doors of the mountain holds. The world wasn't a place to be feared, to him it was a world to conquer. Placing his helmet back on his head he gathered up his axe and shield he readied himself to be relieved. Borin, an aged old grumbler, would be along shortly to take over the watch of the eastern shore; Zharak did not wish to be caught on watch without being ready for the worst to happen. As though by some miracle of chance a black arc would roam into the harbor and begin a siege on Barak Varr. Zharak laughed at the thought as he resumed his gazing at the harbor front.

Minutes later his peaceful gazing was interrupted by the sound of scuffing feet, and ringing of full armor rustling. Borin Stepped up the last step of the watchtower, his body fully adorned in his gomril armor. The armor was the trademark of the Iron breakers guild, strong as dragons scales; an Iron breaker was the first line of defense of any hold underground. This type of armor rarely saw use anywhere but the underground tunnels, today however, as with every other day that Borin stood watch it would glisten in the sunlight. "Hail beardling, have ye anything to report."

"Nothing at all, as with every other time you've replaced me." Zharak replied turning his head to the old dwarf. "Honestly Borin, what do you expect to happen while you stand watch, that you feel it necessary to be in the full plate gomril armor?"

Borin bristled at the comment, "You'll wish to be as prepared as me one day; You youngin's have no idea the risks and perils that can affront you at any time. I was underground once when the hold was under attack, I was naught older then you but I'd already earned my gomril. Do you think if I had shirked my duties that this hold would still be standing..."

Zharak tried hard to pay attention, it was a well known fact that the knowledge of the longbeards was to be cherished as a fine piece of armor, but it was always the same story, always the same grumbling. Beardling's don't know the full hatred of goblins, their armor cant be relied upon like in the olden days, they don't know the heat of a dragons breath on their skin and should hope that they never do lest they be scorched to death. Always over and over ramblings of an older generation, Zharak longed to cross axes with a Dragon, to stand firm in the face of danger like the cliff face of Barak Varr against the water. But Alas here he was leaning against the barricades of the watchtower overlooking the harbor, while Borin berates him about being unprepared or some such thing.

Borin tapped his breastplate bringing Zharak back into his story, "... and that's how this ol' breastplate saved me from the claws of that vicious dragon. Had it not been for your father sending that beast off it may have eventually cracked this hear armor open. You would do well to listen beardling and follow in your fathers footsteps."

Zharak turned to Borin, "My apologies Borin, once again you've brought this youngling back to the earth. Although I still say that the chances of something happening to Barak Varr from the sea are very unlikely." With that Zharak headed down the staircase towards harbor front, he could still hear Borin grumbling as he went.


The Harbor front was stirring with dwarfs and men moving about in a dance of organizational brilliance as they worked to dock the ships that were arriving in the morning light; Dwarf seamen were easily identified by the headbands they wore, each bore the mark of their clan. Barak Varr was home to over 40 Clans of varying sizes, the sea faring clans were the smallest but were often times the most active with the majority of the traffic coming to Barak Varr by sea. Dwarfs by nature are adverse to water travel, fixing to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. Those who had adventured across the sea had mastered the art quickly, easily compensating for their height with their sheer strength. Not a ship was put in danger as dwarf seamen were notoriously over zealous in double or triple checking their work. It was a simple thing often over looked by dwarfs, but the seamen of the Empire and Bretonnia were always surprised at the zeal which the dwarfs put into their jobs. It was a common place for the men to challenge the dwarfs to see who could moor the ship the fastest, or ready their ship the fastest; Dwarfs being quick to accept such challenges as it was their nature were not easily beaten, and in most cases hearty laughter and a keg of ale would later be shared.

The solid oak wooden timbers of the dock, creaked and moaned as the workers moved back and forth with their merchandise. The dwarven dockyard was no small thing, as with most things the dwarfs did they made every effort to craft extraordinary works. The entrance to Barak Varr was lined with Watchtowers set out at intervals along sides of the entrance to the harbor. Built into the cliff face the watchtowers were not easily spotted by even the most common traders to Barak Varr. The watchtowers held a trio of cannons ready to unleash a terrifying payload on any ship which dared to threaten the sea fortress. The watchtowers were connected to one another by small tunnels within the cliff face which allowed dwarfs to retreat back further into the harbor if the watchtowers were compromised by ship fire. Just beyond the watchtowers a set of bulkheads were set up to protect the wooden docks from water surges. These bulkheads provided a dual purpose of protecting the docks from water surge but also from enemy ships; Squads of quarrellers and thunderers upon the sound of the alarm from the first watchtowers would flow out onto the bulkheads and unleash deadly salvos as the ship neared. Being that the bulkheads were built of solid rock, ships would never run these bulkheads and would need to slow to navigate around the bulkheads or face the danger of crashing. The dockyard was simple as any dockyard just that it was probably twice the size of any other dockyard in the world. Unlike all the other holds, Barak Varr had several boarding houses built surrounding the dockyard, this allowed for a higher traffic of seamen to come through the sea fortress. The addition of these boarding houses in effect added to the defense of the hold, as the sea seafarers would sooner defend their own ships then have any attacking force sink them.

The entrance to the hold was just as extravagant as any other hold, the great double doorway stood over the harbor front. Emblazoned with runes of protection and perseverance, decorative icons of the dwarf gods Valaya and Grungni were inset onto the doorway in mithril and gold; No force had yet been able to punch through the doors of Barak Varr. On either side of the entrance way were 2 gun emplacements each armed with 2 organ guns, the five barreled guns would survey the whole of the harbor front; Their armour piercing rounds would easily punch through the wood buildings meaning that any attacking force would have little protection from these awe-inspiring guns. These guns would be serviced daily with prayers and oaths to Grungni, under the emplacements throughout a good portion of the walls of the entrance would be small gunslots where thunderers could unleash a tremendous amount of firepower while protected behind the stone walls.

[Knowman]

Excellent start, I look forward to more!