((I always like your contributions, Rhaken. And it fits with what I'm planning. And I'll try, Count Crosby! I haven't seen a vampire yet, so I have no idea what to expect with them))
From the Journals of Asmel Machinepartnered:Spring and summer are gone, without a fuss.
One of the undead birds jumped back up, and got put down again by the dogs. Bayar came up with a good solution to that problem. We dumped all the bodies in a pile and walled and roofed it up.
They can come back to undead life all they want now! The only thing they have to eat is each other.
I keep busy taking note of things. How many basalt rocks, and so on. I’m also working on a “Why Are We Here” thing. So I can take it out and remind myself, mainly. Here it is:
1. What happened? What we know is: the dwarfs here built a bridge. At some point, awful things happened. Many died. Shortly after, the world fell to pieces. The dead came back to life. It would be nice to know why.
2. Build the bridge. It's important, enough for people like Bayar and Gar to want to do it. Why? A good question.
3. ?
I'll hold that last one. Noises at the wall! It could mean anything...
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Meanwhile, Very Elsewhere:
Neo's spirit drifted through... something. There was no sense of time here, or of place, only an endlessly unfolding now. Dim, grey shapes moved in and out of his senses, and the only sound was a distant, all pervading hum. There was a sense of almost infinite peace that filled the... air, for lack of a better word.
In short, it was very, very dull.
He didn't know how long he'd been there, but he remembered enough to know that he had to get out. And he spent every moment he could straining to remember who he was, where he was, and that he was, that he nearly missed the opportunity when it arrived.
The first thing he noticed was a different sort of sound, and a shape that was almost solid. There were five of them, and they were very close. (Though, since there was no sense of place, they weren't close at all. Or they were right on top of him. It was, Neo admitted, confusing.) He knew, without knowing how he knew, that they were living things. And that if he found the path, he could follow into one of them and... escape.
He watched (or didn't, as he had no eyes, but "watched" was probably the closest word) for some time until... ah! There it was!
With a mental apology to whomever he had found, Neo leapt.
And opened his eyes.
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"Well, my boy? What now? Do we run for it, or die standing here?"
The first thing that Neo saw was another dwarf, fortunately enough.
He was looking at Neo with one eyebrow raised. Looking around, he saw that he was standing, surrounded by four other dwarfs. They were standing on vile, diseased grass, with only a few broken tree stumps to break the monotony. But in the distance he could hear waves crashing. He could also hear howling, which sounded much, much closer.
The other dwarf started tapping his foot.
Neo guessed. "Run?"
"Right! The rest of you jackasses, see that wall over there?" There was one, fairly far away. "That tells me there's dwarfs here. Safety. We make it there, I'll brew you all a barrel of booze apiece! Now, run!"
It was a damn close thing, but they made it in.
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From the Journals of Asmel Machinepartnered, Continued:More dwarfs at the gate! Bayar says they're survivors from the expedition. We aren't the only ones!
The names are: Ishar, Jacen, Di-IV, Alkhemia and Neo. All familiar. I'm sure we met when the expedition started. That would explain it, I think.
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Dwarfs:
Next: Introductions all Around, and A Severe Lack of Beds.