Fort Irrigan, moar questions dhan answers

in da mornin we was treated ta lotsa fruits and grains fer breakfast, curtesy of da kenkus. it was not so filling, but dey had plenty n it was yummy. luna came outta her room last, we was kinda worried about her so was glad ta hear she wanted ta show us her new magick lantern. it was a crazy thing like i never seen before – it was able ta grow, da shimmering blue light enveloped us, n luna explained what looked like a star map, with one constellation glowing ‘specially bright. im happy luna could share dat wif us, i hope it helps her feel less alone in doze big emotions.
from dere drexla rejoined us n we all met wif lady kree again ta discuss our next shtep. its decided dat we should go ta da hume settlement in da fergotten lands: fort irragin. dere will hopefully be a “lab-oro-tory” fer luna, n more information or help against da knoll threat. da kenku gabe us permission ta use deir short cut through an underground river (fuckim cool) and mr. v’s boat will havta meet us dere a week after (drexla is sending da message wif her robo-owl, gods speed!)
we say goodbye ta miss pipp before leaving on da jade run. she can’t get luna’s tries at encouragement, cuz we learned her power isn’t trained for it is just passed down. dat means her gramma hasta die, and den she has all da powers, plus responsibility, plus dead gramma. her life is already laid out fer her, and dat sucks.
 
da jade run led us on a stone platform down a waterfall, which sounds so dangerous but we worked real good as a team ta keep balance n kicked dat river’s ass! soon as we got ta dry land, we made a smol camp where tobias teaches us how ta make a stealthy fire in a tranch. luna and tobicat kept watch n told us they seen spazzy groups of knolls traveling in da night..
dere is a week of travel still before we reach da fort, n while da knolls are often seen or heard at night we are lucky not ta draw deir interest. dis land is so barren dat most of our group has trouble gathering any materials, its just dirt and thin dead trees eberywhere. an occasional tumbleweed.. i sees why da myrin would ferget dis place.
after what bwicky taught me was a five (5) days of walkin, fort irragin was finally in view. as we appwoach from da hillcrest, we can see the land around da fort is super different from da rest. many metal poles are staked into da ground, and emit a green glow at da tops (i compare da shade ta bricky’s green eye). where da poles are, on either side of a single wood n metal road into da fort, is farmland tended by mechanical doodahs. drexla flits around ta peek at deez robo-farmers as well as da poles, and tells us dey boff have buttons dat need a sort of key ta use. luna and v say passing closer under da lights gives dem a good feeling, like dey got a real good sleep or sometin. da rest of us just look at eachuver and shrug?
 
as we arrive at da door, ders already a few carts in line and pepol are sayin its gonna take til tomorrow ta get in! deyr bein extra careful ta check everyone fer knoll infection, and den some. tobias shares food with da cart in front of us n makes friends with grundle, a yellow lionen who tells us what he knows about da intake process. der will be another door after dis one, and it wont be opened til everyone is cleared and da main gate is secured again.
when soldiers approach us, they ask who we all is, and why we’re here. most of us tell truths, like mr. v said he’s gonna sell stuff (lucky dey didnt ask him what, hah!). i thinks itd be easier ta agree when dey asks if bricky’s my papa, but once day heard hims accent we both had ta step in a different line.. (im sweating so baddd. does bwicky even sweat??)
 
drexla is found when da cart is searched, but she is playing possum in disguise ta look completely mechamnical so da soldier assumes shes my doll. i want her outta deir grubby humey hands fast so i take her, i just hope my careful-as-possible was careful enuff >_<”
everyone else is granted entry, but before attention is back ta bricky n me, i shmell putrid knoll ass all around us! time ta fight, n deez humes better appreciate us fer dis.
da knolls, which da humes called “chimera,” were surrounded da whole courtyard area and was climbin da side walls. bwicky and i held off da ones near da door, and drexla flew up da outer wall while tobias was quick ta set up his healing bubble in da doorway for all da pepol ta pass through. i got real mad da knolls were making us hafta wait even longer to get in dis city, and grew my jaws out. cuz if they could take a bite of me i gotta return da favor. i ended up using my sickle a lot moar since drexla made it retracktable, and bricky literally melted one of dem in front of my face!! so cool and grossss hehehee. we ran towards da door so we can helps secure da inside, n da soldiers gabe bricky no problems wooo~
because of him n everyone’s quick actions, we was able ta murk all doze chimera wifout dem killin anyone! ‘cept one got away – drexla said she had grappled a big guy offa da wall, and when he got back up ta see we killed da rest he decided ta run.. well da outer door was shut now, n da chatter is quieting down, but knowing dey can climb walls still dont make me feel too good.
we regroup, and besides me using all ma energy we see dat bricky gots (one,, two,,) two arrows in hisself! tobias musta been so tired too after da battle, but he still immediately offers ta heal bwicky n me. tobicat is da only one i know who puts others before himself liek dis, but i couldnt keep fighting liek i have wifout him. he also lost hims spear in battle, it just poofed away when he struck da chimera.. (if it was me i would cryyyy)
a hume approaches, looking very official wif (..two..tree..) 3 emblems on hims chest. he is shocked ta see tobias do magicks, liek i guess its not very common for myrin ta be capable so at first everyone believes it was all luna’s work. da fancy man tells tobicat his name is commander garrett, n ta visit da garrison commander seráphia highbloom if we wanna help some moar.
 
from dere we are admitted ta da city proper, where we see very diffren typsa buildings all togevver. we all head towards a board in da market clearing where pepols post deir problems. i wanna look for mr. peepers and ask bricky ta hold me up high so i can see moar, but no signs of doze yellow eyes yet.. and now all da humes are staring at us…. ugh if dey gonna galk i shoulda asks fer some shinies. drexla uses her goggles on da crowd, and she says quite a few humes have a demon red aura in dem.. so maybe peepers are here after all.
 
da group takes a few bulletins from da board n we decide ta first visit a momma whos lil boy wont sleep. it says he has nightmares, and me luna and tobias ‘specially wanna redeem ourselves from what happened ta ella..
on our way ta dis persons “house” we pass da laughing rogue inn, and a blacksmith. i start noticin dat most places inside fort irrigan have distinct boundaries. da smells are thicker in places, and i dunno.. feels liek i dunno any of deez stupid humey rules, so i will be extra careful. when we arrive, bwicky and i volunteer ta stay wif da cart on da street n evryone else goes inside. i know she asks for a sleep potion, but i dont tinks mr v’s drugs are what she’s talkin about..
soon mr. v is sent out ta trade me places, so its otay right.. i step over da door frame, n take a deep breaf. dis one was pretty easy ta find, i could still shmell a trace of lady kree’s perfumes on my friens and followed it ta de right room. but as soon as i found dem, tobias poofs da kid asleep and da mom is pisssssed! why tho?? quickest job everrr. da next minute, shes kicking us out. no moneys either!
tobicat has us take da cart just up da street, and ‘splains how dis is actually good still and he can take us ta his dream from in here. luna and i nod, n brace for da trip.
in da dreamscape we save da boi named rowan from three shadow giants in da form of his mom, one of dem wif familiar yellow eyes. tobias has ta help drag us against da wind force of deir angry screams ta even reach rowan, n den all our energy is taken just ta shield him while tobias concentrates on taking us away into his safe dream. feeling da winds calm n seeing da red sky fade ta soft purple was such a relief. rowan was able ta stay and have a nice sleep fer da first time in a long time, and tobias gabe him a symbol of his twilight mommy ta protec him before we went back in da waking world. so no moneys, which im still sad about, but it feels good ta help make rowan safe.
now we wanna make our way ta de barracks, where tobias told dat he would help out wif healing some soldiers. on da way, we pass by an open area where a man seems ta be giving away supplies. we kinda peer over, just ta see what deyre offerin. free is good right?
dis man is loudly declaring dis stuff is aid from “da iron realm of undabar” and it quickly draws a crowd. we see a lot of da potions are red, and drexla is keen ta put her goggles on. she watches a regular hume drink one of deez “healing tonics” n right den a demon aura embodies dem!! dis man,, he has a very toofy grin. v surprisingly volunteers da information dat he has done business wif dis man before.. its mathias. mr. smiley. i grit my teefs, and bricky’s shoulders tense.
as the supply dwindles, a few of our party manage ta get hold of some red vials so dey can study how it werks. but before mathias leaves, he looks over, n tips his hat toward bricky n me. bricky is shaking,, my blood is boiling. it takes ebryting i has ta bite my tongue n stay put. instead of “making a scene” i pat bricky’s other shoulder, but i know it dont help..
 
again we try ta make it ta de garrison barracks, but we run into some familiar faces – mr. hamptony, grindlethorp, n kabana. dey persuade da group ta follow dem into a place called da minotaur n da star, where da smells were very loose n mixed up. da main shmell was something luna explains is “alky-hol.” myrins dont really use it, but humes like how it makes dem feel weird. it seems like fun, so i take mr. hamptony’s lead n drink.
combersation inevitably turns ta bwicky, and tony starts talkin something about 7 lord and lady litches dat rule undabar, and how mr. smiley is actually known in da hume continent as a hero by lotsa pepol (uuggghhhh). da litches only care about “results” so dont have any rules, making fer some fucked up goings on.. ders a quiet moment where tony n bricky exchange some inarian words, a private understanding.. tony den draws bricky a map, showing where castle eisenstadt is relative ta da rest of da continent. hahah pretty cool dey have a swamp real close ta der too.
i end up feeling “fuzzy” liek luna said, and now i understand its not real fur hahah its moar like under yer skin. mr tony kinda stumbles as he gets up and leans on hims friends as dey walk back ta deir inn, letting us know its “da bull n da bandit” so we can find dem again laters. real helpful pepol fer some reason.
 
we finally reach da barracks, which are split in thurds between da tree ruling bodies of da fort. da group splits up: luna and tobias wanna find commander highbloom n heal some soldiers, v n drexla wanna help da c.o.g. organization, and i stand watch over da cart wif bricky. he says he doesn’t feel safe going in dere at all right now, n im inclined ta agree wif him..
 
ta pass da time, we play some cat’s cradle and have a heated bout of patty cakes. a while passes, den a sudden chill in da air. mathias approaches bricky n me, flanked by cronies. bofa us are stiff as boards, n im sweatin again.
mathias commends us for getting dis far by coming to fort irragin, and his casual way just disgusts me. i let him know wif a low growl, n he responds by commanding bricky ta muzzle me wif his hands. whatever, i wasnt even tryin ta do anything wif all deez pepols around.. but dis cocky fucker. its not enuff we suffer his voice. he steps forward, looming over n reaching out ta pat bricky’s shoulder! i really dont liek dat, and im also a cocky fucker..
so i jump up ta take his hand fer myself.
 
as soon as i clamped my jaws down inta his arm, his open flesh smelt foul n stung my gums. mr. smiley just laughed at me, n said i deserved a “lil treat”. hims firm hand takes place under my jaw n squeezes my mouf open, forcing all his nasty black blood down my throat! its liek a sulfurous sludge, n it burns n twsits all my insides up. when im dropped ta de ground i can barely take a breath before lurching over ta choke out all his rancid piss-blood.. n when i think it couldnt be worse, i watch da blood writhe and burrow its way down into da earf.
 
mr. smiley musta left cuz bwicky soon carefully scooped me up.. what must he be thinkin right now? i feel sad he sees me so weak. i cant avenge myself, much less my frien right now.. mathias is so strong.
 
i rest my eyes as bricky finds da rest of our friens, n we decide ta go wif luna ta see tony again. she was given permission ta study a dead chimera, so she needs ta see grindlethorp first.
tony takes one look at my exhausted, sallow face n thinks i kept drankin da fuzzy drinks. we tell hims what really happened, but den he asks some questions about me. got nuffin ta hide, so i tell him all about my shape shifting, making fire, seein magicks, n da lil bit i know about my momma. he takes notes, n thinks on it for a moment.
“so you really don’t know what you are? well..”
i learn how a bogbean is actually a dimmin (like drexla?!) but a speshul kind dat mutates and adapts. mr. tony said da c.o.g. organization we’ve seen around da fort cuts dem up for study, and dont let dem live to be adults. so cuz im da weirdest and da oldest, regular pepols never recognized me. that could change as we travel, so i has a lot ta think about ta keep me safe.
feels weird, knowing a whole instatushun wants me dead fer no reason.. just cuz im green huh.
 
we thank tony fer hims help, n meet back up wif da group after v acquires a room fer da night. as drained as i ams, da distant giggling n chittering of chimera outside da walls is enuff ta unsettle me.. im sorry bricky hasta listen all night, but im glad he stays wif me while i slep.