The Events of the 18th of Granite, 1075
"There you are," Rice said. He was surprised by the calmness in his voice. It helped that Lucy was beside him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. It also helped that he had an entourage - Quote, Aya, Mookie, Makrond, Lugnut - even some of the guardsmen in Crispin, Varen, Luke, and a recently freed Jools. They kept their silence, but their lined faces and haunted eyes spoke more than they ever could. Even a Grov was represented, though It didn't know why, the dense child staring at the sun unblinking.
"You're a hard man to find, ah, Captain Fillwhip..."
Stravitch sat cross-legged in the shade of his poison temple, his hairy chest bare, prodigious gut spilling out over the waist of his pants. He only briefly glanced up, the bare and empty right socket oozing fluids. He was covered in cats, the ratty beasts purring loud enough to be deafening, rubbing themselves upon him. Held against him with one hand, was a small kitten, mewling and kneading into his chest.
"I'm not hard to find. You lot have gone out of your way to avoid me."
Rice didn't let emotion show on his face. He didn't want the Old Goat to see just how true those words were. Taking a deep breath, he forced a weak smile. "We've been busy in the domes. Preparing. Aryn is wanting to furnished and finished soon. Then he's condemning the fortress."
"He thinks to much," Stravitch murmured. Fingers fat as sausages stroked under the kittens chin, and it stretched out nearly twice it's length in the luxury of it. "Much too much. Thinking has gotten him no where."
Pursing his mouth briefly, Rice finally worked up the saliva to speak. "We need you, Stravitch. Everyone is dying. Jotwebe was put to death by Wallgirders. Howard went mad and killed a fisher, and maimed a few others before he was brought down, and children have... children are winding up dead in the wastes. I don't know how much longer Neo will list, he's destroyed his cot already, and-"
"I've been turned down at every turn! I try to help, and-"
"No, NO!" Luke exploded, "You've punished us unfairly, you've beaten us unmercifully, you've used our land as your own personal playground, never mind all the things you've done we don't know about. Your drunken antics, you're abuses, your..."
"Fine! I've been fought at every turn, you sour little shits. I've been kept from doing what I want, and in the end I'm tossed aside to die! I'm not doing anything for anyone but myself anymore, and you know what I want?"
He stretched, and slowly stood. The cats continued to cling to him, their claws digging into his back-pelt, his shoulders, his pants, all unnoticed despite the trickles of blood. "I'm going to go eat a live Fox, and drink a barrel of rum, and I'm going to listen to these weird little roasts hum until I pass out on top of a bed made of solid gold."
"Those are coffins," Lucy said quietly.
"I'm going to pass out on top of four coffins made of solid gold," He corrected himself. "And then I'm going to piss off the highest wall I can find. Leave me out of your politics, I'm done with them! Don't come to me for help - no one has..." he paused, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not helping you, there's no profit in it. Be gone. Leave my temples, Lenod's fiery gaze has been shuttered with sleep. Out! All of ya'!"
In seconds, the doors slammed shut. Lucy slid her arms around Rice's side, hugging him tightly. From the back, Makrond wheezed, "We'll survive wi-ith out him... come, we need to talk to the other soldiers."
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Topic: Migrursut: What Comes After The World Ends? [Epilogue] (A Community Fort) (Read 390253 times)