CHRONICLES OF GEMCLOD
Mid-Autumn 262: Do You Like It?
How does autumn look like in a swamp? The same way as any other time in the year, I found out. Hot, humid, squelching, full of annoying mosquitoes. Anyway, it was a nice autumn day and I found Pozzo doing something very suspicious: drinking water.
“What are you doing, Pozzo?” I asked.
“Drinking.”
Well, I shouldn't have expected a better answer. She was kneeling in mud by the rancid brook, gulping the water by handfuls. Coincidentally, it was mere feet from the place where we poured dirty bucketwater after washing CommaToes. Pozzo didn't seem to mind.
“Why?” I asked.
“I'm thirsty,” said Pozzo.
No explanation again. “Do you like it?”
“No.”
It was a mystery.
But there was no time to think about it, since we were interrupted by an approaching group of strangers. There was no need of panic, though. It was dwarves. Weird, I thought, as I left Pozzo to greet them. Two groups of dwarves in two seasons? Did we settle on a high road or what?
State of the Fortress
Population: 18 (incl. 1 infected)
Leading the group was, of all the people, my third detached cousin Munki! I was astonished. “Munki? What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” countered Munki.
“What do you mean what are we doing here? We live here!” I said.
“You can't live here! This is greenskin territory!”
And here we went again. The usual round of explanations and interrogations. Munki and his companions were refugees from a recently sacked dwarven outpost, who decided to brave the Swamp of Malodors (that's how this place is called, apparently) to escape through goblin territory to the other side of the mountain range. They didn't expect to find us. I explained our position and invited them to a drink.
This is when I realised the truth behind Pozzo's mystery. We were almost out of alcohol.
“Never mind,” said Munki. “How about you show us around instead?”
“So how do you like it?” I asked.
“And that's it?” replied Munki.
“I beg you pardon?”
“That's it? This place is horrible! You wrote me many letters about your plans, and this is the reality? You wrote there would be magnificent statues, windows made of the rarest gems, magma floor heating! You wrote it would be grandiose! You poisoned me by your pretty words, while in fact you're living in a stinky swamp, having no booze, working under the sun, for gods' sake, and slowly digging this puny hole you have the impudence to call the Great Hall! I'm glad I came here only by accident.”
I think I cried a little.
“And you know what?” triumphed Munki. “We'll be staying here to see if you can fix it!”
I guess it was true what they said about my third detached cousin. He was Bad.