L
Lady Mana
Guest
A knock sounded on the lady’s door. It was long after hours, and she had been slowly preparing to head home for the night. Things had gone so bad lately; surely this knock at the door could not bear even more horrifying news. Chanting under her breath, she telekinetically opened the door with a wave of her hand. An old man stumbled in, catching himself a bit too late. Dusting himself off, he looked ahead and glared angrily at the lady before him. Limping forward rather loudly, he threw himself in to a seat adjacent from the lady he had so carelessly disturbed. When asked what his business was, he slammed his fist on the table and yelled;
“Gracious! First we’re all subjected to the ravings of a lunatic old crone, then we go helter-skelter looking for that thief, Ricardo. Before you know it, Moonglow goes haywire and the Shadowlords are back. The Shadowlords! Of all things! Times went down the sewer in a handbasket, I tell you. The poor Royal Council… slain! Their restless souls undoubtedly roam the castle halls, still. I’ve heard rumours, you know. Speaking of restless souls, I’ve never seen so many before! And the skeletal liches? I sure hope that totem goes away soon, it creeps me right out. Now, as to what I’m doing here, I’m just an old man begging for a bit of attention. Hear me out!
The poor souls roaming our doomed city, Magincia, still saturate the island with their haunted presence. I can’t stand it, I tell you! We need as many exorcists, clair..voyan..cists… clairvoyants! Yes, as many of those and as many warriors as you can muster. Honestly, why do I get the feeling that if I were a young man again this problem would be taken care of by now!? You young whippersnappers don’t seem to have any sense of responsibility; and you’re gonnah get it for being so slack! I sure hope when I die, and become a restless soul, someone puts me out of my misery straight away. NO FIDDLE FADDLING.
And one more thing. You’re in the news, right? Have you heard anything about the cities besieged lately? I went to visit my cousin in Vesper and he ran away from me screaming like a lunatic on fire! I can’t say I’ve ever felt any more indignant than at that moment. Sure, there are things roaming the lands that frighten you to your very core, but we never had to live in fear like this before! It’s simply … not the way we are! We are Britannians! Lord British, wherever he may be, never would have let this happen. Where’s a hero when you need him? Are all the legends a lie? Honestly…
I’ve half a mind to join up with the Shadowlord faction right now; at least they seem to be accomplishing something. What have I seen out of everyone here? Little swings of a sword at a giant spider? Pul-eeze. Don’t joke around with an old man.
The lady folded her hands together, taking a deep sigh as she scowled at the old man. He wasn’t the first to storm in to her office and ramble out such remarks. In fact, it seemed to be a habit of Britannia’s cowards to help themselves to her time and remind her of the world’s problems. Funny thing was, she thought, none of them seemed willing to do anything about it. None of them, that is, except the countless men and women of wit and daring whom she saw on the battlefield day after day. If the future of Britannia lay at rest in the hands of cowards such as this man, surely all would be lost.
“No matter what you say, missy, nothing you do is going to get the job done. You just have to get out there and do it! By the sight of ya, you’d not last longer than a heartbeat, though. Your last heartbeat! Haha… ha! Hem. I tell ya, if I ever find myself a fountain of youth, I’d be this world’s hero. No lies! Dragon slaying… ha! Killing a dragon was as easy as baking pie, in my day. You just needed the nerves, the guts! Why do you lot seem to have such a sore time with it? I’m fed up. Fed up I say!!!”
Standing suddenly, he crashed his fists upon the lady’s desk and left her presence in a heated huff. The lady smiled. Indeed, the future of Britannia was not left in the hands of men such as this. It was in much more capable hands. The frightening question remains, though – to which allegiance do those hands lay? Shivering from the thought, the lady shook her head in deep contemplation. These are indeed dire times, and the first that we’ve experienced such without a strong leader to offer guidance. With that in mind, she began packing up her things and headed out in to the chill night air.
“Gracious! First we’re all subjected to the ravings of a lunatic old crone, then we go helter-skelter looking for that thief, Ricardo. Before you know it, Moonglow goes haywire and the Shadowlords are back. The Shadowlords! Of all things! Times went down the sewer in a handbasket, I tell you. The poor Royal Council… slain! Their restless souls undoubtedly roam the castle halls, still. I’ve heard rumours, you know. Speaking of restless souls, I’ve never seen so many before! And the skeletal liches? I sure hope that totem goes away soon, it creeps me right out. Now, as to what I’m doing here, I’m just an old man begging for a bit of attention. Hear me out!
The poor souls roaming our doomed city, Magincia, still saturate the island with their haunted presence. I can’t stand it, I tell you! We need as many exorcists, clair..voyan..cists… clairvoyants! Yes, as many of those and as many warriors as you can muster. Honestly, why do I get the feeling that if I were a young man again this problem would be taken care of by now!? You young whippersnappers don’t seem to have any sense of responsibility; and you’re gonnah get it for being so slack! I sure hope when I die, and become a restless soul, someone puts me out of my misery straight away. NO FIDDLE FADDLING.
And one more thing. You’re in the news, right? Have you heard anything about the cities besieged lately? I went to visit my cousin in Vesper and he ran away from me screaming like a lunatic on fire! I can’t say I’ve ever felt any more indignant than at that moment. Sure, there are things roaming the lands that frighten you to your very core, but we never had to live in fear like this before! It’s simply … not the way we are! We are Britannians! Lord British, wherever he may be, never would have let this happen. Where’s a hero when you need him? Are all the legends a lie? Honestly…
I’ve half a mind to join up with the Shadowlord faction right now; at least they seem to be accomplishing something. What have I seen out of everyone here? Little swings of a sword at a giant spider? Pul-eeze. Don’t joke around with an old man.
The lady folded her hands together, taking a deep sigh as she scowled at the old man. He wasn’t the first to storm in to her office and ramble out such remarks. In fact, it seemed to be a habit of Britannia’s cowards to help themselves to her time and remind her of the world’s problems. Funny thing was, she thought, none of them seemed willing to do anything about it. None of them, that is, except the countless men and women of wit and daring whom she saw on the battlefield day after day. If the future of Britannia lay at rest in the hands of cowards such as this man, surely all would be lost.
“No matter what you say, missy, nothing you do is going to get the job done. You just have to get out there and do it! By the sight of ya, you’d not last longer than a heartbeat, though. Your last heartbeat! Haha… ha! Hem. I tell ya, if I ever find myself a fountain of youth, I’d be this world’s hero. No lies! Dragon slaying… ha! Killing a dragon was as easy as baking pie, in my day. You just needed the nerves, the guts! Why do you lot seem to have such a sore time with it? I’m fed up. Fed up I say!!!”
Standing suddenly, he crashed his fists upon the lady’s desk and left her presence in a heated huff. The lady smiled. Indeed, the future of Britannia was not left in the hands of men such as this. It was in much more capable hands. The frightening question remains, though – to which allegiance do those hands lay? Shivering from the thought, the lady shook her head in deep contemplation. These are indeed dire times, and the first that we’ve experienced such without a strong leader to offer guidance. With that in mind, she began packing up her things and headed out in to the chill night air.
