Questions for Tea
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 84341
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Lord Fred follows Henry back to his "shack," which actually turns out to
be an unfittingly modest descriptin for the fairly large and well-
maintained adobe structure which it really is. The entranceway lets into
a tidy and cozy, albeit sparsely-decorated, living area, dimly lit by
candles on a shelves on either side of a window which sits directly
opposite the entrance door, as well as a small brick fire-pit which sits
in the middle of the room. The fire-pit is stationed below what appears
to be a smoke vent which has an assortment of cookingware and eating
utensils hanging from hooks on its sides, from which Henry removes a
teapot.
"Well, I guess I'm the first to welcome you to Farthington. I can tell, Lord Fred," Henry said as he filled the teapot with water from a large brass basin, "that you are a warrior. That armour of yours is of top-notch craftsmanship, and the way you fought those zombies, I've gotta say--" "What was that you called them? Zombies?" "Yeah, Zombies." He filled a mesh ball with loose, dried tea leaves from a green-glazed clay jar from the cupboard below the basin. "They attack our city... Hell, at least once a week. They attack in massive hordes. Wave after wave, thousands of them, all at once." "Where do they come from?" Inquired Lord Fred, as he hung his cape over the back of a chair by the fire-pit and sat his helmet underneath. "We're not sure," Henry said, as Fred sat down, "but we do know that they're undead, and the corpses appear to be from various nationalities. So it seems, Fred, that they pretty much come from all over. We have no idea what could be re-animating corpses, though we assume it's due to some very, very dark magic. We do know, however, that if a person is bitten by one of these bastards, they become one." Henry placed the pot onto a steel grate in the fire, inserting the ball into the top. "You say these... Zombies? They attack in such large numbers, how do you defend yourselves?""Oh, we've got plenty of defense against them. That wall I helped you scale surrounds the entire city. Sure, they can climb up the damn thing, but it still slows 'em down just enough that we can take care of 'em before they get into town and start causing any real problems. Still..." "Still, what?" Fred inquired. "Still, that doesn't stop the little shits from taking the lives... And bodies... Of our people. Our friends. Family. I've even seen children get bitten and brutally rip their parents apart after the transformation... Everyone's life in this town has been made worse in some way or another by these things. But we still fight every day. It's all we really can do to survive. You do what you've got to, right?" "Indeed, one must. It sounds like a very hard life you all live here." "We get by. We all work hard, and we all work together. Heh, I guess since we all have to worry about the next horde attack, we really don't have enough time to fight amongst one another. Plus we've got pretty strong leadership in King Helmut. We really couldn't ask for a better leader." "And what of your military?" "Our military is composed of the finest men in the world. Brave and selfless. And armed to the teeth!" Henry says with a laugh, "Riffington, our master craftmage, makes sure our men have the kind of equipment they need to keep us safe. You've gotta meet this guy, he's quite a trip. Ah, looks like the tea's done. Do you take yours with honey, cane juice? Anything, Fred?" "Plain, please," Lord Fred states as Henry prepares two cups, one plain as Fred requested, and one with honey and cane juice for himself. "So what brings you out to these parts, Fred? I know we're a ways away from any other town, and you speak Allarian, so you've gotta be from somewhere either North, West, or both from here." "Well, you see," Lord Fred answered, sipping his tea, "The King of Allaria sent me on a quest to slay the dragon. Your original observation of me as being a warrior was, in fact, quite astute. I am, in fact, a knight of nobility. However, the brief version of my story is that the King sent me to slay the dragon of the Southern Caves, as it has been ravaging the countryside for some time, causing our people much grief. During my quest in the caves, I became lost. When I attempted to regain my bearings, I lost my direction even further, and noticed a flame in the distance. I immediately assumed the dragon had something to do with it and ventured out to investigate, hoping to intercept him, or gather clues, or perhaps even slay him before he could do any more damage. But it seems as though I was mistaken. In fact, I've been wondering for quite some time, just what is the business with that fire, anyway, if you don't mind my inquiry?" "Ah, yes. That's my job. After we fend off the day's horde of zombies, we have to burn all the bodies to make sure none of them come back to life, or spread their curse. So we pretty much pile 'em all up and burn 'em. Makes a nice, big pile of ashes which Riffington, the blacksmiths, and the farmers can use for various things. It sure does stink, but we've grown used to it." All of a sudden, their pleasant conversation is disturbed by a massive explosion from within the town. Both men raise to their feet in alarm as a light dusting of adobe falls from a thin crack in the ceiling, Fred grabbing his sword in preparation for the worst... Henry opens his mouth to speak...
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Stan Phylipth
11/24/2008 5:53:23 AM
Extending Enabled
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