There were towering walls of carved slate on either side of the cart as it rolled through the front gate of the grand dwarven fortress of Giltdays. Snow fell lightly around the cart as Kittew pulled on the reins of his Mammoth Beetle. The beetle was an impressive beast, weighing nearly a ton, covered in white and black fur pelts to insulate it.

Kittew, the only one on the wagon, was an interesting specimen himself. Hailing from the caverns further North and much deeper underground. He was known as a Caver and his species had grey skin, a frill running down their spine, and had webbed appendages. He wore a wide-brimmed hat to protect his beady black eyes from the snow. Although they were almost entirely useless in the light, he relied more on his sense of smell.

The fortress had a courtyard outside where several guards were stationed. There was one ballista on the wall and one ballista in the courtyard closer to the entrance to the fort’s interior. Like most dwarves, the citizens of Giltdays had dug into a stony cliff, and had made their home underground. The dwarves had once brought Cavers to the surface world and elevated his race from the dark pits of pre-tribalism.

Three dwarves walked over to Kittew. One woman in a guard uniform; chain mail with a gold pin on it. The second was a man in more fanciful attire holding a slate with some parchment on it in one hand and a piece of charcoal in the other. The third was a younger woman wearing more standard peasant clothes, a cheap wool shirt, breeches, and well-used shoes.

“Zugar, check the cart.” The guardswoman said.

“Yes, Ustuth.” Zugar, the peasant nodded.

Zugar ran over to the cart and pulled herself up to look inside.

“What is your business at the fortress?” The man asked.

“Trade, I am a chef and a merchant. I could sell you food, spices, and wine. Or I could even prepare you some meals at a higher cost.” Kittew, the Caver, explained.

“The gods smile upon us all then. Morale was low with our tasteless rations.” The man's face broke out into a large smile.

“You can go inside and do business then.” The guardswoman, Ustuth, said. “Right after my squire is finished.”

“He’s all clear. Got some pretty fancy foreign goods.” Zugar nodded to the others and stepped away from the cart.

“Very well.” Ustuth stepped back.

“If you could steer your beast in here we have a stable just inside the fort.” The man waved his arm to the large front doors to the fort.

“Will do.” Kittew nodded and lightly whipped the reins.

The beetle started to turn and walk towards the entrance to the fort.

“Close the gates!” Ustuth shouted up at those on the wall.

Three dwarves grabbed at a crank and started pulling at it, straining their muscles, as the gate started to close. The snow shifted outside, and suddenly three figures burst upward, and bolted for the entrance. Another guard on the wall aimed a crossbow down and fired with lightning-quick reflexes.

The bolt punched through one of the small figures, they stumbled, caught themself, and kept running at the gate behind the other two. They were small, covered in fur pelt armor, but their skin was green. Under their hoods were bright red eyes and their mouths were full of razor-sharp teeth. They were goblins.

Though a goblin was no match for a dwarf, let alone three goblins versus an entire fortress. It wasn’t even fair to call it a fight. Kittew knew this as he stopped his cart and watched the scene unfolding behind him.

The three goblins all slipped in past the gate before it could close all the way. They huffed hot air visible in the cold winter wind. But they looked around the clearing with the eyes of predators.

A guard near the gate quickly raised his spear and stepped toward them.

“Get back!” Ustuth called out.

It was too late. One of the goblins rolled under his spear, grabbed his leg, and yanked with all his force. The goblin tore the man’s leg right off, causing him to fall backward into the snow screaming. The green-devil continued to beat him with his own leg in the middle of the dwarf fortress’ courtyard.

“Fire!” Ustuth shouted and dwarves along the walls fired a dozen crossbows at the goblins.

Almost every shot found a mark, hitting one of the three, and dropping them. The guardswoman wiped sweat from her brow. Kittew noted a few more guards rushing past him. Including one with gold trimming on his armor. They charged out into the courtyard and along with Ustuth start to encircle the goblins.

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Kittew shrugged. The fight was over and done faster than he had expected. Although he had not expected much more. That was until laughter broke the silence.

A horrid cackling from one of the goblins, then another, and then all three. The bolts are pushed out of their flesh as their bodies stitch themselves back together. Kittew shudders from the horrid sound and sight.

One of the goblins rose to his feet, unsteady, but seemingly ready for a fight as he waved a hand goading the guards on. The guard with the gold-trimmed armor stepped forward with a silver warhammer. His step broke into a charge as he raised the warhammer above his head and crashed it against the side of the goblin.

The blow connected with the creature’s shoulder, sending its body sprawling away through the snow. As its body rolled a few feet away, its next extended, like some form of a mutated snake-like appendage. Its head remained exactly in place in front of the dwarf captain, as the neck continued to extend, and the body stopped rolling.

The Captain opened his mouth to shout an order, or maybe to shout in abject horror. But the goblin's head moved forward with surprising speed biting down on his bottom jaw. Its teeth bit through the dwarf’s, crushing them with ease before it’s head jerked back to its body taking the dwarf’s lower jaw with it.

The dwarf let out a guttural gurgling scream as he fell to his knees holding his hands where his jaw used to be.

Kittew jumped from the cart and ran forward to coax his beetle into the stables just to the side of the entrance within the fort. The beetle was slow to respond, startled by the screams from the courtyard as the guards fought whatever those goblin-beasts were.

With his cart to the side he ran back to the front door. A few more guards were running out, but the tradesman was just standing there. He was watching the battle, his slate and parchment in hand, as he trembled with fear.

The guards were spread out through the courtyard. A couple of them taking on each goblin. The first goblin was horrifying to watch fight as his body and head moved independently of each other. The second goblin was bounding around the battlefield, tearing razor sharp claws through the dwarves, moving too agile to be pinned down. The third goblin ran to the wall, spit on their hands, and began to climb the wall like some sort of lizard or spider. Going straight up the vertical surface.

A female dwarf with a tower shield and short iron sword and a male dwarf with a silver longsword charged the first goblin. The goblin’s body charged forward and tackled the man with the longsword. The neck twisted around through the air and seemed to almost fly across the battlefield towards the woman with the shield.

The woman bashed her shield against the goblin and then slammed her sword down on its neck. The blade struck true into the goblin’s extended neck and shattered. The goblin head twisted around and bit down on her fingers. She screamed as she tried to pull away, but the neck just kept extending to follow.

A dwarf with an iron breastplate and leather gloves ran forward unarmed, grabbing the head of the goblin and pulling it away from the shield dwarf. Her fingers were ripped right off and quickly swallowed by the green-devil.

Two other dwarfs pull the goblin’s body off of the longsword dwarf. As three dwarfs with crossbows surround and fire at the body of the goblin. The bolts cracked on the skin of the goblin, only managing to sunder the tattered clothes of the monster.

The dwarf with the silver sword slashed his blade across the goblin. Green blood flew through the air splattering across several dwarfs. The blood was hot and steam rose off it in the chilly air.

“It’s a werebeast!” The swords-dwarf screamed.

“Put down anyone that was bit!” Ustuth called out from her position on the ballista.

The goblin's body lunged forward clasping its hands around the throat of the sword dwarf. Two guards tried to push the goblin’s body away, but it just dragged the swords-dwarf along with its unnatural strength.

The head turned around to the wrestler that grabbed it and sunk its teeth into the meat of his shoulder. The unarmed dwarf scrambled away, breaking free from the maw of the tiny monster.

The dwarf with the silver longsword plunged his weapon through the goblin's chest and the creature’s grip on his neck was released. It fell backward and its massive neck hit the dirt as well.

Two dwarves grabbed a hold of the other goblin in the courtyard as a dwarf with a silver warhammer smashed the beast's head in like a melon.

As the lizard-like goblin on the wall tore through the three men on the gate's crank, the archers all set him in their sights and fired silver-tipped bolts. The arrows riddled his body before he plunged off the wall and into the snow below.

“Shoot the infected!” Ustuth yelled.

Silver arrows flew through the air at the shield dwarf who had her fingers bitten off. As her body dropped a man with a mace quickly stepped towards the man who was a bit on the shoulder. He slammed the mace into his gut, the man doubled over in pain, and the mace came down again. With a sharp crack to the skull, the dwarf was put down.

One by one the dwarves turned on each other. Accusations flew with silver-tipped arrows. The captain’s body twitched in the middle of the chaos. Kittew's eyes reflexively flicked over to the movement which was much more prominent in his vision than the dwarves.

“Watch out!” Kittew yelled as he charged across the courtyard, drawing two kitchen utensils.

The head of the captain jerked across the ground as the neck extended. Kittew smacked the head away with a cast iron skillet, before stabbing a silver steak knife through its chest.

The dwarf sputtered, and hot blood ran down the front of his armor, as his tongue hung loosely from where his bottom jaw was ripped off.

“Legate.” Blood and spit hit Kittew in the face as the Captain tried to speak.

He fell backward, landing in the snow once more, as Kittew’s knife slid back out of his heart.

The Caver’s eyes were drawn upward to the small gap in the unclosed gate. Several figures were peering through. Hand’s reach around, grabbing the wall. More small green-devils started to slowly bleed in through the crack.

Kittew slowly walked backward, as the remaining guards slowly shifted into defensive stances. There was no where to run. This fortress would be the tomb of many dwarves today.

The Caver couldn’t help but be enraptured by the appearance of each goblin. One had quills running up their back, another had fangs, a third had strange scaley flesh, and another had tusks. These weren’t just your random pack of lycanthropes. They were werebeasts, cursed by the Great Darkness, and driven to destroy all life.

This was an incursion.