Abandonment on Evergracia

Thickerwood Town by Lupine

FellFallow was becoming increasingly annoyed with the other boy in the society of the ninth wall. The other boy seemed to be jovial enough when it suited him but in a few short hours he had also shown himself to be capable of acting the cantankerous lout and the obnoxious loudmouth.

At the moment he was giving all manner of sharp talk to the watch warden. This concerned FellFallow not only because the watch warden had the heavy responsibility of this overnight guard duty but because in a moment…

“That is rank insubordination boy! And I have under our binding articles but to withhold tonight’s hot rations from the entire society.”

This had FellFallow scowling, as he had not eaten since yesterday. A few of the older men seemed to be displeased as well.

But some old gentlemen said to him “Now, now, mustn’t judge our best scraper too harshly.” FellFallow realized that he must still have his face twisted into a scowl. FellFallow tried to summon his normal impassive expression but had no way of knowing whether or not he succeeded.

The old gentleman continued “You seem to like your vittles, I guess all boys of your age have a strong appetite. Isn’t it better though, to live?”

“What do you mean by that?” FellFallow asked back trying to keep his voice low. FellFallows voice was quite loud though and the man took a step back because of the unexpected of it.

“Well it will be a fight night tonight so an empty stomach works best. Also, those vittles was poisoned.” The old dandy said matter-of-factly.

“POISONED? Really?” Asked the boy incredulously.

“Aye… aye. It’s the or the pains or maybe the sleep.” Sighed the old gentleman knowingly.

“You seem to know a great deal about it.” Said the boy, looking askance at the old gentlemen.

“I’m a trade fellow of the droppers, of course, of course, didn’t I say? No? Well, to each man a trade. Every man has a trade, yes sir, except for our young scraper there he has a station all to himself. When he aint too busy saving the sorry hides of our society he gets up to a great deal of enriching himself via the letter and the law.”

“Really.” Said the boy, realizing he would need to make the acquaintance of the other boy. “Wait, so, the scraper argued with the watch warden with full intention of scuttling the ration?”

“Of course, of course, that’s the scraper top and up.”

“But why not just warn us against the vittles?” Asked the boy although he suspected he might know the answer already.

“To befuddle his enemies and the enemies of Thickerwood and our society. His aim is to know at all times who the enemies are and what they are about. All the while they can’t fathom who he is and what he’s about. Like the First Lord, or the stories about him anyway.”

“Those are good stories.” Said the boy with a glint in his eye.

The bedrolls were set up for the night. FellFallow had to be issued a new one since it was his first night. Before he could track what had happened he had fallen into a deep sleep and was rudely awakened by the ninth wall alarm call. Everyone with their individual arms in hand seemed to be scrambling out the giant horizontal air vents which were built into the wall just above ground level. FellFallow wondered why they did not close the mighty wooden shutters thus sealing any hostiles outside of the town’s walls. At this time of year no citizens would be in the fields.

He stumbled along the unseen terrain, only the nighttime silhouettes of the great horizontal vents to guide him. FellFallow pulled free his rapier with his good hand and his blocking puncher with his off hand. Now he slid ass first over the vent wall.

The society was already spread out far into the blackness in a single row parallel to the wall of the city. That was a formation for archers maybe, not for city guards. FellFallows initial excitement began to fade.

“It’ll be the quickfoot Gnolls. Aye, I spots them. Just like our old scrapper warned us.” Then the poisoner glanced over at Fellfallow who was the second man down the line from him. “Just keep them Gnolls off your vitals boy! When combat starts move behind the line, behind me, on no account get in front of me, move behind the line towards the scrapper.”

Fellfallow didn’t fully comprehend what these instructions meant. But he saw the other boy on a hillock. He was down the line past the old poisoner. He was singing one of the summer operas, loudly and wiggling around as he did so.

“Most of them will run past you at first, but then later they might get angry. You are new to these blood fights so always try to be in a space where you are able to either see or hear the scrapper! No more talk now, they come!”

At first FellFallow could hear them. The large paws of the demon dogs scraping away at the earth at an impossible pace and volume.

“Too many!” Thought FellFallow. But he did not know fright, he only thought that many members of the society would die tonight and the city might be breached.

He could hear the old poisoner grunting as he sloshed large amounts of liquid from one container to another. He started hurling glass jars into the night. The sound of them smashing onto the ground echoed in the night.

Fellfallow thought he heard a Gnoll falter, yelp and crash into the earth. Just then a gust of wind flew right past him. FellFallow sensed that it was no wind at all but a Gnoll moving past him at great speed.

They were getting past all up and down the line! They were getting in through the open vents!

The other boy momentarily paused then began bawling out some battle shanty. As he did so Fellfallow heard a great creaking and then a SLAM that made his nerves try to jump out of his body.

The great shutters had been loosed and where crashing down and slamming shut. Gnolls yelped and squealed in pain. Some were trapped inside against the society spearmen and archers. Some were crushed to by the shutters some slammed into the wall before they knew what was happening.

“Now lads, NOW!” Shouted the poisoner. The other boy continued his bawdy song even as he reached out with a curved blade and gutted a passing gnoll. Without stopping the other boy freed his blade spun in the air and brought down a gnoll on the other side by slamming the pommel of his weapon into the things hip with some sort of titanic strength.

“Not human…” Thought FellFallow even as he moved towards the other boy. He heard sloshing liquid and a shriek. The poisoner was wrestling with a Gnoll twice his height, the flesh on the Gnoll’s face seemed to be melting off.

FellFallow snuck behind the poisoner and did a triple thrust with his rapier. Thigh, groin, buttocks. This only seemed to anger the Gnoll and it snapped down at Fellfallow with its impossible jaws but the poisoner wouldn’t let it loose.

Out of the darkness another Gnoll, who must have been watching Fellfallow’s underhanded attack, emerged on all fours. So sudden its appearance and so menacing its purpose that Fellfallow froze in place and let out a cry. Then the other boy was there floating above the gnoll matching its speed.

“is he, is he flying?” Wondered FellFallow. Then the weapon of the other boy pierced the charging Gnoll, it registered only surprise before the life left its eyes. The other boys face though covered in swear appeared to be in grace. As if tonight the goddess of the moon, war and justice favored only this boy.

FellFallow realized that less then a heartbeat had gone by and yet that he had been frozen for an eternity. He spun around himself and did a scissor stab with both his weapons into the wrestling, ruined faced Gnoll. The poisoner cursed, got a hand free and pulled a lid off of a jug. Only it wasn’t a lid it was a narrow blade with no hilt. He stabbed the gnoll in the arm. The Gnoll shook violently looked at Fellfallow in confusion and collapsed.

“Draught…” Mumbled the poisoner as he desperately dipped the blade back into the jug.

Back on his hillock surrounded by four gnolls the boy began his third song, it was in another language and very strange to FellFallows ears.

“Third verse!” Wheezed the poisoner “Third verse or nothing, you damned mother lovers!”

“Third verse!” Unseen society members took up the call down the line as more and more called back.

The poisoner was limping along back toward the wall, waving his whetted blade around at unseen foes.

“Which one? Which one?” He cursed to himself.

FellFallow began to realize that the society was breaking formation and heading back towards the wall. The other boy was going too only he was facing out and walking backwards. His Gnoll opponents were aghast at this even as he slipped past them. Then one of them caught a spear from the receding tide of society men.

Then the other boy changed his mind and charged back into the group of Gnolls not slicing or striking them but greatly confusing them with his proximity.

Every tenth shutter was creaking slowly open.

“There! There!” Whispered the poisoner.

Men and Gnolls both found themselves struck during this retreat. But the injured men were hurried inside the injured Gnolls had nowhere to go. FellFallow saw the wisdom of this, the crazy, crazy wisdom.

Before he knew it he was arrived at a vent where the great wooden shutter was ajar. He looked down upon a Gnoll who had gotten his head crushed.

A voice right next to FellFallow said.

“They keep their talons in a waist pouch. I’ve already got mine. And its tradition for new men to get theirs if they survive their first fight night.”

Feeling greatly put upon, FellFallow sheathed his rapier located the jingle pouch and cut it loose with his off hand weapon. He did need the gold after all.

After FellFallow slipped back under the shutter he peaked out and saw Gnolls slowly gathering and approaching and the last of the men running in.

The other boy reared up and flung his weapon with such alacrity that the Gnolls could scarcely have noticed that another of their pack had just dropped dead. The other boy made some wild taunting gestures and the Gnolls charged.

The other boy was the last one in as all the shutters shut.