Doom Next Door

Decimation or Preposterous

"Decimation is knocking next door,'' Senator Miles said, his voice stifled by the gray stained handkerchief covering his nose and mouth. Despite the carnage, the Senator struggled to keep his eyes open with the moon so peaked.

"I have never witnessed such savage entities" Governor Kent watched as smoke drifted into his face burning his unblinking eyes. He would not look away. A woman ripped her small child from the earth sprinting away from the burning camp. What looked to be the father catapults as much water as his buckets could carry at a house. Covering his face the father darts into the slightly less on-fire structure and emerges, with his musket. Others of the tribe scramble like an awakened hive of bees irresolute on whether to run away or put out the fires. The father drops to a knee aiming his musket at a charging beast, a Reptilian. The bipedal predator towered over the people, violently displaying its serrated teeth and three-fingered forelimbs. Each finger was equipped with a long curved black claw that glowed with the surrounding fires. Miles thanked the Priesthood that the Reptilian was on the opposite side of the river. White smoke, an echoing bang and a piercing wail announced the father's success. The creature stumbled back only its massive tail prevented its fall. Indiscriminately ejecting ignited lumber previewed a second Reptilian thrusting through a flaming wall of the camp. Hurling his double-bladed axe at the father the newly appeared Reptilian then dragged his injured companion to the safety of the forest shadows. With another howl, a few more Reptilians threw down their torches and shrank back into the forest leaving behind the forsaken camp.

"This could fracture our ethnology," Senator Miles said. Governor Kent merely nodded in response.

Two neighbouring tea cups glimmered in the midday sun. Fashion-forward Senator Miles, having just awoken, had the full cup. Plainly dressed Governor Kent, having not slept since the night before, had the empty cup. Both sat at a table in the Senator's palace that was too long by many dozens of chairs for the small group assembled. Kent's blinks were becoming longer and more frequent while Miles rocked intensively in his chair quietly fiddling with his jewelry.

"Ack!" Miles's emotional spasm sent towers of papers into the air sending Milly and Tilly scrambling faster than the blowing wind to recollect the pages. The two elves neatly file the papers back in front of the unnoticing Senator. Kent's eyes never opened. "Half our enterprise is with the Revir tribe, if they get ravaged then we are forfeit a consequential volume of tax revenue."

"Agreed," Kent replied, still leaning back in his chair. "We also have to take into consideration our food supply. Without fish from the Revir tribe, we will have to switch to wheat. Wheat is costly as the army tax takes much. I do not think our current nor future treasury can necessitate the difference if we have to buy from other Sectors. Unless we borrow?" Kent forced his eyes open to study Miles's reaction.

"Another loan!?! Do you not recollect how I was gawked at for appealing for out of Sector coin. I will not even contemplate it. This plight and begging would be worse as now we need coin simply to feed our subjects." During his tirade, Miles knocked over his tea. Once he noticed his elves not replacing the now empty cup Miles went searching for the teapot while quietly whispering to himself "That is not even an investment that is just admittance of failure."

"No loans then," Kent said to Miles's back too quiet to be heard. He continued thinking aloud. "If we can not buy more food then we must protect our current supply. That means protecting our investment across the river. We can not ourselves stop the Reptilians, we have no army in Sector Six." Miles finds his seat while balancing his tea cup and the Governor's words. "We would need the King's army."

"UUGGHHH do not require me to carry that burden. Journeying to the center of the Kingdom, requesting court, waiting for the council to arrive and pleading the case uck. Even toiling through procedure does not guarantee the timely arrival of men or any Kingly avail."