The hallway was so familiar, yet tonight it had a darkness to it that gave off a sinister air. The area itself had not changed much at all, but its uniformly-spaced stone doors and neatly smoothed walls no longer welcomed dwarf that was now but a visitor. She knew that the “Evening Prayer Group” had adjourned about three hours prior, and that Vlad was now, more than likely, recovered from the effects of the alcohol. At this time, he would be lounging in his office, planning the ways by which he would make it more noble-worthy.
The door no longer bore any sign to indicate its previous owner, though there was a rectangular section of it that was not quite as worn as the rest of the stone; it existed as a permanent reminder of what was once so, but is not any longer. The visitor did not even bother to knock on the door, instead she gripped the knob with both of her hands and forced her entire weight onto it. She was by no means strong, but several years of work in the fields and in the still had made her far stronger than she was when she first came to the fortress; that, and the door was old. It was forced to swing wide open into the office, causing the baron to turn his glance towards the visitor.
“Vell, if it isn’t the stupid-plant wench, yes? You could have scheduled an appointment instead of bargingk into Vlad’s office, you know,” he said with an expression that, in any other context, may have been mistaken for cordiality.
“I’d have seen you earlier if ya’ll hadn’t been so busy in the militia,” Gnora said, visibly trying to maintain composure.
“Ah yes! Vlad remembers now! I tell my troops to let in annoyingk farm-girls. Can’t be interruptingk trainingk, yes?”
“Vlad, I was able to swallow mah pride and I was able to live with sunshine in the fort, but you going too far lately.”
“Don’t vaste my time, little trollop. Unless you have come to confess about the seeds you disintegrated, you should be leavingk before I get angry and start cuttingk you.”
Gnora’s complexion began to turn pink, then her hands began to quiver. She tilted her head down and bit her lips.
“Fine then,” she whispered at last. “It was me; I was the one that did kill those seeds.”
“I knew it! Good to get off unsatisfyingkly unattractive chest, yes?”
Gnora paused for a minute and looked up at Vlad, who had taken to scribbling on a trade agreement from a past year whilst pretending to not notice her presence. The sight of the mercenary in her old office was almost too much to bear.
“Vlad?” she choked out.
“Vhat is it, plantophile?”
“Why have you done all this to me?”
Vlad smiled playfully. “You’re goingk to need to elaborate. My memory is beingk fuzzy.”
“You read my private letters, you call me out in your public addresses, you bring in drink from way out yonder, and then send in some goons to mock me with it; and now you take mah office. And what have you done to the others? Nothing. Ya’ll are hanging out late at night with the Padre; Brenzin, Barkov, Dantheman, and Miss Thane are all soldiers; now you the damn baron of this entire fort. I helped to found this fort, but I get the short end of this stick!
“I never liked you, I admit, but I was once overseer mahself. During that time, I did nothing to you; I left you be in your position as captain. I even ordered our smiths to forge more armor for ya’ll in the militia! Why are you purposely messing with me now that you in charge?”
Heretofore, Vlad’s expression was a sort of sadistic amusement derived from watching the tearful, exasperated dwarf before him. After Gnora was finished, however, his mood changed. He became annoyed with his visitor, and he was well prepared to put her in her place.
“Ugh! you really don’t get it, do you? The simple answer for you is that you’re useless, yes? You sit around all day pushingk seeds into ground and yankingk them up, just like all the other farmers. You’re no better than them, nor are you any more important. You’re veak, not very smart, and—most importantly—annoyingk to Vlad and the entire fortress. Is that reason enough for you? Vell?”
The tears were now streaming down Gnora’s cheeks, and she could no longer keep any of her emotion inside of her. She wasted no more time, rushing to the door and pulling it open. Before slamming the door shut behind her, she screamed to Vlad how much she truly hated him. After she was long-gone, Vlad began to stroke his beard thoughtfully.
“Talonis Volf might need to be vatchingk this one.”
Gnora’s Journal
Betrayed
--
It’s over; it’s all over. Everything that I did do for this fort, for my name, or for my life; they’ve all amounted to nothing. With Vlad’s politikal position, he might could change the fort’s opinions on me overnite. He’s already taken my office, but now he’s gone and taken my pride. Miss Thane: how could she sit back and let Vlad do all this to me? Is she still my friend? Was she ever? After all that’s happened, it’s posible that Vlad and her were just playing with me all along. Do I have a friend in anyone?
I’m gonna to stay as far away from those two as possible from now on. Ya’ll don’t have Miss Gnora to kick around anymore.
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Topic: Demongate: Wrapping up the Loose Ends. (Read 696778 times)