Admiral
Auxilliary Moderator
Posts: 7,314 - May 2011
Group: Hashut's Admin
Market Rep: 10
Slaves: 591
                  
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Scribe's Contest II - Winners!Admiral  02-16-2015
Scribe's Contest II - Hobgoblins, the Middleman Slave Caste Theme
Just like the last round, we had an amazing turn out of entries, with submissions spanning a large spectrum of Hobgoblin life and death. The second Scribe's Contest had it all, from humour and cruelty to ambition and glimpses of Hobgoblin domestic life. It was great to see such excellent work written upon Dawi Zharr parchment! No doubt they were all written in slave blood upon Hobgoblin parchment or carved into desecrated Elven Waystones. 
The voting was quite even, with votes distributed to each and every entry, which is not surprising given the quality of them all.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the winners!
Entry #1: Bloodbeard (1st)
Friendship
Normally he was sneaky, always walking silently. Today there was no time for that, he was running quickly through the narrow streets of lower Zharr-Naggrund. Despite being in a hurry, he had remembered to clean his dagger. Otherwise the blood would quickly soak his sash, and the curved blade would not be secret then. Always keep some secret daggers – and dice!
The large tower city of the Dawi Zharr was always loud, filled with sounds of slaves in pain, hammers at work, a symphony of infernal industry. But this evening the noise was different, the sound of battle – screams of agony, pain and death. He had done his job well, as had all his fellow gits on this treacherous night. It was now just at matter of time before the last of the big dark skinned orcs would be slaughtered. The rewards in sight made the betrayal well worth it – they had all agreed.
Three gits had they been, three gits tasked with murdering a particularly large black orc slave boss. One git had never made it, he had chosen to run and hide in shadows, more likely he was a bloody red pulp on a black obsidian wall. That's the fate of the coward – not running fast and far enough.
Two gits remained. They had murdered together before, they knew the dance. Many a dice game had been settled with many a hidden dagger and they would split the winnings – almost equally. From the shadows they fell on the back of the big dark greenskin leader. Stabbing, slashing, slicing. Knees, armpit, groin, ribs. Soon the angry brute was spilling his black blood and stinking guts – getting weaker, getting taken by death.
Their job had been done, and very well indeed. Their little part in a much larger treason – their part in becoming the highest ranking greenskins of the Darklands. The Masters would be content, a position as overseer would be achievable. But there could be only one. A friendship ended by pointy daggers, a single git remained.
Running quickly through polluted lower Zharr-Naggrund, running towards the prize and safety of his Master. The git had always been sneaking, skulking, stalking – no git should ever change...
The cut came quickly and the blade was sharp and hard, his achilles tendons soft and naked. The git fell hard – face first on the soot coated pavement.
A git had hid, avoided both battle and avoided becoming a bloody red pulp. A git had hid and made a plan. The dagger hit like a red hot punch between his shoulder blades, his breath was forced from his lungs as they collapsed. There could be only one indeed, and it wasn't him, he realized, as his warm blood washed over the dirty ground.
For such is the nature of the hobgoblins – there will always be a sneaker git and most daggers fit perfectly into the back of a traitor.
Entry #6: MadHatter (2nd Tie)
Ghazag was a lousy git. He served the Masters of Zharr-Naggrund as turnkey of the wretched slave-pens, this position had made him grow fat and lazy. He flayed slaves and kin alike, sometimes out of pure malice but more often to cover-up his own mistakes and neglects. This time was different, however, and there was no one else to put the blame on. The sound of the Chaos Dwarf Overseer's steel-clad boots echoed through the torch-lit corridors, firm and fast approaching.
Ghazag barely had time to stutter his attempt of an apology until a steel-clad fist sent him crashing into a tunnel-wall, teeth flying. The Hobgoblin tried to roll away from what he knew was coming but the narrow corridor didn't allow such maneuvers and he felt a sharp pain as his ribs cracked from the weight behind the Overseer's kick. Before he had time to open his eyes again, he felt a hard pressure around his throat as he was hoisted into the air, choking against the Chaos Dwarf's steel-gauntlet. With fire in his eyes and a frothing mouth framed by sharp tusks and a braided beard the Overseer bellowed:
"YOU ATE THE HOSTAGE?!"
Ghazag, his characteristic cloth-cap displaced by the thrashing so that its left ear-flap now covered half his face, tried to speak, but only a cough, followed by a mouthful of blood that trickled along his pointed tongue down the Overseer's gauntlet, came out of him. Again he was sent flying towards the granite wall but this time he was heads first and as the back of his skull smashed forcefully into the solid rock the greenskin blacked out.
He regained consciousness feeling terribly ill. Vomiting, he regained clarity and found he was dragged face-down deeper into the tunnel at a relentless pace, his right foot in the Chaos Dwarf's steel-tight grip. The Overseer's grand adorned hat cast a long shadow and in this dampened torchlight the broken Hobgoblin reached with his still functional right hand into his tattered cloak and grasped a small dagger.
At the end of the tunnel was a thick and terrible smell which Ghazag recognized as the stench of sweat, feces and rot emerging from the deep, unlit darkness of the hand-dug ravine that was the wretched slave-pens. Without a word, the Overseer changed his grip, and with one armored gauntlet under each of the greenskin's arms he was about to drag Ghazag over the edge. A fitting punishment for the fat git to be eaten by the wretched slaves, as it was his appetite for slave flesh that made him overstep his boundaries, the Chaos Dwarf thought to himself.
Suddenly, in a last ditch effort to save himself, Ghazag spun around, dagger flashing. The cut was aimed at the Overseer's throat but the Chaos Dwarf quickly lowered his chin and parried the blade with a yellowed tusk then threw the screaming greenskin into the darkness below. Ghazag was a lousy git, he thought to himself.
Entry #7: Fuggit Khan (2nd tie)
Slowly, the Elf opened his eyes. The air was heavy with sulfur and ash. He tried to wipe his eyes, but then realized his hands were bound… what had happened? His ship from Eataine had run across a violent storm for three relentless days and nights… was it all a dream? Glancing about, he saw that he and one of his crew were in a wagon pulled by an Ogre… which had a copper dagger stuck cruelly in its neck. Alongside were Hobgoblin wolf riders…
"Scum!" the Elf muttered in his native Asur tongue.
Immediately there was yelling in the dialect of Ringkul, and the wagon stopped. The biggest of the Hobgoblins dismounted from his wolf and glared at the Elf, almost studying him. Then the Boss spoke in the dark tongue: "Lagg, go’s fetch my dagger."
The Hobgoblin named Lagg grinned wickedly while slowly twisting the dagger out of the Ogre's neck, and then handed it to his Boss. Lagg gave an evil glance, watching as the Hobgoblin Boss sheathed the dagger and then smiled.
Cautiously, the Elf asked, "Who are you?"
Squinting his eyes, as if in deep thought… and speaking fluent Asur, the Boss replied, "Khan of the Harghazhakh."
A Khan? The Elf had heard stories of them, but never thought he’d see one.
"You speak Asur?" the Elf asked.
"A depraved dialect, but one that my Master finds useful that I can speak," replied the Khan.
Confused, the Elf turned to his crewmate, and then realized that his companion was nearly dead, sitting in a pool of blood, with both ears cut off.
"He didn’t listen so well," said the Khan with a cruel grin.
Lagg smiled again… his red eyes looking intently at the ears of the Elf.
Looking back to the Khan, the Elf asked, "Who is your Master?"
Lagg stopped smiling as the Khan angrily snarled, "You are not worthy to speak HIS name!"
Scared, the Elf sat quietly, not daring to look the Khan in the eye.
After a few moments of silence, the Khan spoke again, calmly.
"This land bleeds lava, breathes ash, a heart that throbs to infernal machinery… it is His land.
His breath blackens the sky… we go to see Him… would you like to know how you’ll die?"
Nervously the Elf glanced up.
"My Master is here now, His Eye is upon us."
There was a sound from the sky above, looking up the Elf saw a fiery, brazen red bull flying overhead, wicked wings beating upon the ashen air and breathing flames.
Calmly, the Khan pulled out his copper dagger and spoke again:
"You are not worthy to speak His name… what makes you think you are worthy to look at Him?"
As the Khan gouged out the eyes of the screaming Elf, Lagg and the other Hobgoblins smiled… all the while keeping their eyes looking to the ground.
Entry #10: Admiral (3rd)
Twelve Little Hobgoblins
Twelve little Hobgoblins saw a comet in heaven,
one of them got flattened and then there were eleven.
Eleven little Hobgoblins shared on a hen,
one swallowed his knife and then there were ten.
Ten little Hobgoblins started to whine,
master dropped one in furnace and then there were nine.
Nine little Hobgoblins formed their own state,
there was a coup in the palace and then there were eight.
Eight little Hobgoblins diced at eleven,
one choked on the dice and then there were seven.
Seven little Hobgoblins found a pile of bricks,
they stoned one to death and then there were six.
Six little Hobgoblins started to connive,
one didn't watch his back and then there were five.
Five little Hobgoblins walked at the shore,
one pulled a dagger and then there were four.
Four little Hobgoblins splashed in the sea,
up came a Merwyrm and then there were three.
Three little Hobgoblins went to a loo,
one drowned another and then there were two.
Two little Hobgoblins sat in the sun,
down came an eagle and then there were one.
One little Hobgoblin juggled knife all alone,
it cut his own throat and then there were none.
- Chaos Dwarf children rhyme song
 1st Place - Gold Scribe Winner: Entry #1 - Bloodbeard
 2nd Place - Silver Scribe Winner: Entry #6 - MadHatter
2nd Place - Siver Scribe Winner: Entry #7 - Fuggit Khan
 3rd Place - Bronze Scribe Winner: Entry #10 - Admiral
And an honourable mention to each of Entries #3 - DAGabriel - and #8 - TheHoodedMan! (Who both trailed Bronze by one vote.)
The Entry Key!
You can share your love for each entry (found here) by donating slaves to the owners of the entries!
01 - Bloodbeard
02 - Herby
03 - DAGabriel
04 - torn
05 - Abecedar
06 - MadHatter
07 - Fuggit Khan
08 - TheHoodedMan
09 - lustig1977
10 - Admiral
Slaves and medals are incoming! If you wonder how many votes your entry received, PM me.
And now for the Gold prize, sponsored by Zanko:
The winner will be contacted shortly via PM or E-mail.
A big "thanks" to everyone who participated and voted, as well as a big thanks to Zanko for providing the prize!
Can't wait to see the entries in the blogs of everyone who entered. Also, please post them as new threads in the Stories and Background section of the CDO Forums. 
That concludes the second instalment of Scribe's Contest. It is a valuable addition to the growing mass of Chaos Dwarf and Hobgoblin culture texts accumulated on CDO. Well done, everyone!
Be sure to vote for the 2014 Community Awards! Also, stay tuned for a big Golden Hat contest around the corner.
The Staff
Join us on the new forum. Come help us test it out! https://discourse.chaos-dwarfs.com
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And thus there was Chaos. And Squats. Hobby Group Auxillia Work. On Dark Tides. Miscellaneous Commercial Sculpts. Flayman Tutorial.
Chaos Dwarf Writings: Fables. Songs. Proverbs. Quotes. Monumental Inscriptions. Religious Texts.
There's fourteen ways to skin a dwarf. Chaos Dwarf Warband Rules. Ninth Age concepts.
This post was last modified: 02-16-2015 05:00 AM by Admiral.
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Bloodbeard
Master Hellsmith of the Artillery Forge
Posts: 3,622 - Aug 2013
Group: Retired Staff
Market Rep: 18
Slaves: 834
       
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RE: Scribe's Contest II - Winners!Bloodbeard  02-16-2015
wuhuuu! That's really nice. These guys will be leading my blunderbuss unit - so I'm gonna have to find a way to give them big hats.
Thanks for all the votes guys.
@Herby: I loved your entry. Very good humour bringing in you view on fables. A great joke if you've been following the debates under Admirals story. I actually had to pause reading the entries, because I couldn't stop laughing after reading yours.
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Zanko
Prime Frurndar of Hashut
Posts: 3,374 - Dec 2008
Group: Immortals
Market Rep: 11
Slaves: 1394
      
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torn
Lord of Flaming Automatons
Posts: 1,159 - Jun 2007
Group: Immortals
Market Rep: 1
Slaves: 237
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RE: Scribe's Contest II - Winners!torn  02-16-2015
Very good work everyone it was hard to choose 3 as the quality was all similar, although I did like admirals I don't think I'll be singing it to my daughter at bedtime
current projects:-
New mask/helmet style chaos dwarfs
blood bowl necromantic repaint
beyond the gates of antares algoryn force
my own battlefield!
2014 results with chaos dwarfs
1 - 0 - 1
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Fuggit Khan
The Eye of Hashut
Posts: 1,928 - Apr 2013
Group: Immortals
Market Rep: 8
Slaves: 730
           
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RE: Scribe's Contest II - Winners!Fuggit Khan  02-17-2015
Lots of great entries...always nice to see such cool Hobgoblin fluff 
I recognized Herby's entry right away, very clever and pretty damn funny  MadHatter's entry was the only other one that I recognized, I knew it was his by his distinctive humor, YOU ATE THE HOSTAGE?! I laughed and laughed
But my personal favorite was Bloodbeard's!
Not only is it well written and extremely descriptive, but it kind of touches on a point that I have always believed:
That the Hobgoblins manipulated the Black Orc/green skin rebellions to further their own Hobgoblin cause.
Think about it: The Chaos Dwarfs were nearly wiped out, their city overrun and they were forced to the last upper level of Zharr Naggrund, vastly outnumbered and facing extinction at the hands of the green skins. White Dwarf Presents Chaos Dwarfs is very clear: "At the last hour the city was saved by the treachery of the Hobgoblins".
Hashut did not save the Chaos Dwarfs..the Hobgoblins saved them. Plain and simple.
And while its easily argued that the Hobgoblins need the Chaos Dwarfs to protect them against the other green skins...the opposite is equally true, the Chaos Dwarfs need the hobgoblins to protect them from the green skins as well.
And I find it hard to believe that in the fighting, killing and pillaging during the Black Orc rebellion that nearly wiped out the Dawi Zharr, that each and every Hobgoblin suddenly sat down and discussed switching sides at the last moment, with each and every Hobgoblin agreeing to switch sides.
Not likely.
I think it was planned, it cemented their status as the dominant green skins in the Dark Lands...with the Dawi Zharr as allies.
Clever Hobgoblins
"Where there's a whip, there's a way!"
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Bloodbeard
Master Hellsmith of the Artillery Forge
Posts: 3,622 - Aug 2013
Group: Retired Staff
Market Rep: 18
Slaves: 834
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RE: Scribe's Contest II - Winners!Bloodbeard 02-18-2015
Thank you very much! I blame Bloodbeard, he bullied me into enter where I'd have been happy with a subsequent filing. 
I'm glad I did. A thankfully you'll enter every future Scribe's Contest. That's the way it's going to be. You are the Master Scribe.
The Donation for the winner is ordered and will be directly send from Titan Wargames to Bloodbeard!
Btw. congratulations to the winners and all participants!
Thank you for you donation and fast shipping. They are gonna lead my blunderbuss unit along site the dwarf hero from the same range of miniatures. Your donation deserves some slaves, even if I hadn't won it. Sending some along.
But my personal favorite was Bloodbeard's!
Not only is it well written and extremely descriptive, but it kind of touches on a point that I have always believed:
That the Hobgoblins manipulated the Black Orc/green skin rebellions to further their own Hobgoblin cause.
Think about it: The Chaos Dwarfs were nearly wiped out, their city overrun and they were forced to the last upper level of Zharr Naggrund, vastly outnumbered and facing extinction at the hands of the green skins. White Dwarf Presents Chaos Dwarfs is very clear: "At the last hour the city was saved by the treachery of the Hobgoblins".
Hashut did not save the Chaos Dwarfs..the Hobgoblins saved them. Plain and simple.
And while its easily argued that the Hobgoblins need the Chaos Dwarfs to protect them against the other green skins...the opposite is equally true, the Chaos Dwarfs need the hobgoblins to protect them from the green skins as well.
And I find it hard to believe that in the fighting, killing and pillaging during the Black Orc rebellion that nearly wiped out the Dawi Zharr, that each and every Hobgoblin suddenly sat down and discussed switching sides at the last moment, with each and every Hobgoblin agreeing to switch sides.
Not likely.
I think it was planned, it cemented their status as the dominant green skins in the Dark Lands...with the Dawi Zharr as allies.
Clever Hobgoblins
I've never known exactly how pressed the Dawi Zharr were during the rebellion. So thanks for that history lesson. It sure alters my perception of the whole society in Zharr Naggrund. Slaves incoming.
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Bloodbeard
Master Hellsmith of the Artillery Forge
Posts: 3,622 - Aug 2013
Group: Retired Staff
Market Rep: 18
Slaves: 834
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RE: Scribe's Contest II - Winners!Bloodbeard 03-01-2015
The Donation for the winner is ordered and will be directly send from Titan Wargames to Bloodbeard!
Btw. congratulations to the winners and all participants!
Prize received! Very nice miniatures. Gonna look even better when converted with big hats!
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Roark
Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer
Posts: 343 - Feb 2014
Group: Dawi Zharr
Market Rep: 1
Slaves: 19
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RE: Scribe's Contest II - Winners!Roark  04-01-2015
A worthy winner indeed. Slaves for Bloodbeard! All of the pieces were a pleasure to read, though, and were an enrichment of our cultural vault.
"Raise the icon. Load the pyres. The Father will have the spoils today, that we may be blessed tomorrow." - Drughaz the Taker
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02-16-2015 04:50 AM
02-16-2015 05:18 AM
