“How is he doing?”
“Still demanding cloth, still throwing things at anyone who walks by.”
Aban, Turk, Karakzon, Nix, and Derm were waiting outside the workshop. Occasionally another dwarf would stop by with a new piece of silk or reed cloth, but Gar simply stared through all of them, uninterested. Well, he stared through them, and violently flung mugs at their faces, which made his lack of interest pretty clear.
They’d been waiting for a while now. Nix was the first to give up. He shook his head and said, “This is a death watch, isn’t it? I mean, what can we do? If he’s going to lose his mind, I’d rather not be here to see it. I’d rather be working.” He turned to Karakzon. “We still need to get that pit dug for the Mayor. You coming?”
Karakzon shrugged, but followed Nix after a few minutes. Before he turned to walk up the stairs, he said "Well, I hope it works out, if only for your son's sake, Aban."
Aban looked puzzled. "My son?"
"Yeah, you know. Your kid. The one who's in the bag on your back right now."
Understanding dawned in Aban's eyes. "Oh, right! He's so quiet back there, I completely forgot..."
.............................................................
About an hour after Nix and Karakzon had left, a weaver approached the group cautiously. “Say, are all you fellows still looking for cloth? Only I’ve got this piece of wool cloth here that I’ve been saving for-“
He hadn’t held the cloth up for more than a second before Gar was on his feet, shouting, “Emademuth! Lanzilemal!” He took the cloth from the stunned weavers hands and dove back into the workshop, upsetting a stack of uneaten food and filthy dishes as he did. Ignoring the mess, Gar went to work.
Aban turned to the others, and, smiling in relief, said "Well, maybe he's not doomed after all!"
The weaver nodded, saying. "Yes, it would have been terrible for you to lose your husband, I'm sure..."
"My what?"
........................................................
One week later Gar emerged, exhausted and hungry, holding a mechanism in his hands that he could swear he did not remember making.
Most critics found it rather wanting, considering all the fuss.
Next: Mandates, Guards, and JUSTICE
((So it was wool cloth that he wanted. It was right down to the wire, but there was one piece of wool left in the entire fortress. So Gar lives for another day.))
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Topic: Oceanbridge - A Fortress Defense Community Fort: Reclaimed, Again! (And Again) (Read 180233 times)