The events of the 9th of Felsite, 1067 Small groups of happy, chatting dwarves left the Temple of Zefon, prepared to either head to work or head to the mess for a large, late breakfast. Vash began, and ended, every sermon with a prayer for the safety of their leader Kuli, and made sure to keep the sessions upbeat and uplifting.
Last out of the church, Vash locked the front doors and sighed, feeling as if the weight of the world was pressing down on his shoulders. As he turned to walk across the bridge, he spotted his old friend Jool's leaning against one of the posts in full plate, waving. Smiling slightly, Vash offered a wave of his own, heading over to his friends side.
"Haven't seen much of you lately," Vash said, "You must be busy."
"Yeah, well, you know how it goes... I make sure to come to ever sermon though."
"Really?"
"Of course," Jools said. "I wouldn't miss them. I also make sure to take Maester Kuli his daily meals, to keep his spirits up. Or Vatek does it if I can't... he seems like a good egg, despite being in the Guard."
The pair of friends stood in silence, watching the water in the lake. With a sigh, Vash turned to Jools and asked, "Do you think this place would be better without Captain Fillwhip?"
"...what?" Jools blinked, turning to look at Vash.
"Do you think our home would be... better off without Stravitch around."
Jools thought about this for a few minutes in silence. Eventually, he spoke, "I don't know, probably not. I know he has differences with us, but he does keep this fortress... well, safe from things that aren't him."
"You didn't say that in the past..." Vash said quietly, "you were all for a Stravitch-Free fortress."
"...Yeah. I know. But you have to look at the things he does. What do merchants fear? Stravitch's wrath. What do the goblins fear? Running across The Captain in the battlefield, even more than they do Sulari and Merkil. Who has first dibs on meals? Stravitch. I heard this story about a team of Goblin Commandos that snuck into Dodik's while the Captain was in there. That's why they shut it down, because they needed to set up a series of pumps to get all the blood out of there.
"I know he's hard on us Zefonists, and especially on Maester Kuli... but the Maester seems to take it in stride. They've never hurt him, and the Hammerer seems to be a believer of Honest Justice. While I think he needs to be brought down a peg, and I wish, perhaps, Johnny was still around to keep him in check, I think... perhaps Stravitch is a necessity for our safety."
Vash gave a little nod, and a weak smile. "You're... probably right. I'm sorry, I've just been feeling out of order as of late. Things happen so fast around her."
"They sure do," Jools said. He reached over, giving Vash a light clap on the shoulder. "I have to get back to training, or Kib will beat me with a stick for being late. Maybe I'll see you in the mess soon."
"Yeah, sure, I'd like that."
Vash waited until Jools had left, just watching the slow ripples running in the pond. Slowly he reached into his jacket, pulled a small, folded sheet of paper from the inside pocket. Unfolding it, he frowned at the words on the sheet.
You bought a life with steel. The Captain's time will come, but first there is preperation. Payment cannot be withdrawn. Be happy with the choices you have made.
Author
Topic: Migrursut: What Comes After The World Ends? [Epilogue] (A Community Fort) (Read 374525 times)