CLYRIA – CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3: THE TOWN

After evading the rock slide, Sgt. Fabian and Veggie head towards the village, eager to get to civilisation, seeing that they were running low on supplies like food and water.

When they arrived at the village, they were shocked to find the townspeople severely malnourished and sick. You knew that the village had never been exactly as advanced as Gildford, but you never expected this. Both of you wandered on, looking for anyone who looked healthy, but you found none.

Veggie marched up to an lady who looked older than she probably was, given the unfortunate circumstances of the village.

He asked, “Hello, we’re passing through this village to get somewhere else. What happened here? Is there anywhere we can get supplies?”

The woman slowly shook her head, her eyes glazing over as though she was in a trance, “No. Almost everything here is ruined,” and went on to tell the story.

——–

Budsworth was once a lovely, quaint town – one that was not excessively wealthy or flourishing with an abundance of resources, but it had just enough for the people to get by. Its inhabitants were simple, with little knowledge about the outside world, as they were content with the basic items they had. About three months ago, crops started failing, and the water supply was consistently yellowed and unsanitary. The villagers panicked, but believed there would be an improvement. The town was almost spent – they had come to the last few grains they had in storage, and if things didn’t turn around by the next month, they could only expect the worst. They beseeched the leaders of Uthad, but received no replies. Anyone who travelled to Myra was turned away after being repeatedly assured that the situation would be taken care of.

It never was.

——-

The both of you find something amiss, and decide to stay the night at a cheap inn. Anyway, you had to rest to prepare for another arduous day ahead that consisted of more hiking. During the night, the faint sound of propellers woke Sgt. Fabian up as he could distinctly recognise what a helicopter sounded like, given his military background.

He woke Veggie up, surprised that no one else had risen due to the sound. After some deliberation, he was positive that it was because they probably thought it was some sort of meteor passing by, which was a pretty common occurrence.

What was a helicopter doing so far from The Force’s base at 3am in the morning?

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3 thoughts on “CLYRIA – CHAPTER 3”

  1. Veggie: Sgt Fabian, its a chopper. I’m positive, I heard it too. What should we do? We can’t possibly wake the whole village up now, it’ll alarm them as well as the potential attackers. We need to be tactical about this!

  2. Sgt. Fabian: Veggie, I think we should wait it out. Go look out the cracks on the side and observe the helicopters or any movements. I’ll go and find someone to talk to.

    I pick up my weapons and tactically leave the room, hoping to find someone awake to talk to. I want to start with the innkeeper.

  3. After the chopper cannot be heard anymore, the two of you wait for another five minutes before quickly going down the creaky wooden stairs and approaching the old man at the inn’s counter.

    Dressed in lightweight material that was slightly rumpled and had stitches in the corners holding together rips at the seams, the old man peered up and smiled slowly – a weak attempt at that, given the evident tiredness in his mannerisms and eyes.

    Sgt. Fabian begins, “Hello, we’re not sure if you heard it, but there was some sort of helicopter that passed by here and went towards the East. Is that…normal?”

    “Helicopter? Errr, sorry young man, I’m not sure what that was. Never seen it in my life. We villagers tried looking out for it at night, but we’ve never seen anything. After a few nights we stopped looking. But no doubt, it passes by every day,” the old man replied, pausing, “what’s this about?”

    Veggie chimes in, looking at the man in surprise, “Everyday? But you’ve never seen it?”

    “Aye, never been seen.”

    Sgt. Fabian and Veggie furtively exchange a look, indicating their suspicion. How could a helicopter not be seen? The Force didn’t have that sort of technology.

    Veggie presses the issue just a little further, asking “So you have no idea what it is?”

    “Afraid not. But it started a while back. About the time this town started wasting away.”

    Certain something is up, both of you thank the man and head back to your room. You have a choice – to leave the next morning and continue your quest or stay behind for a couple days and find a way to help the villagers.

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