Façades

[Proto Man]

Day Eleven.

As I am well aware that no one will read this pending my death, I can safely say that I hope someone burns this town to the ground.

When Blues and I returned to the barracks after our discussion with Dmitri, do you know how many members of our garrison remained? Five.

And that numbers included myself and my favorite metal kid.

The only soldiers left were Abigail, a scrawny man with a mohawk named ‘Lex,’ and a man with no tongue! No tongue! I found the irony astounding, although it seemed to go right over Blues’ head, bless his little circuits. I was very happy when he didn’t realize what Dmitri was saying when he had the rest of our garrison ‘reassigned.’ I figured there was something less than virtuous about that remark, and the night we returned, I had a long discussion with Abigail on the matter.

If what the blonde says is true (and as I mentioned, she has given me no reason to believe she is dishonest), the rest of our garrison was placed into ‘Special Ops Brigades.’ The purpose of these brigades is labeled ‘exploration’ and ‘hinterland expansion.’ You can tell from how many damn quotation marks I have to use that the whole thing is a bullshit excuse to send off a bunch of politically incorrect or criminal soldiers to their deaths. While I didn’t really bond with any of the soldiers in this terrible little room, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be happy with the knowledge that they’re going to be sent to their deaths simply for doing their damn jobs.

Blues remains ignorant of this truth, and I intend to make sure it stays that way. He already carries too much on those scrawny little shoulders, so this is a burden I can prevent him from having to carry.

Want to know another fun fact?

They never replaced the forty or so people who used to sleep in this room. The five of us have to do the work of fifty soldiers. Sleeping for only an hour or so is okay for Blues and me, but the other three have already started to look like skeletons from lack of sleep and the fact that rations were also cut. It’s almost as if they expect us to stand here like statues for all eternity.

Fortunately for Abigail, Lex, and Midge (the mute guy), Blues summons food at night and leaves it on top of the chests at the foot of their beds. He never takes credit for it, but I was feigning sleep one night while he was laying out breakfast for our fellow soldiers. For someone who has had three of his siblings die in his arms, I’m amazed that he manages to not become sullen, taciturn, or worse. I’ve seen hard times turn even the best of people into monsters. The people in my community back in Camelot were like angels before the harvests came up short and the animals started to migrate. After that, they sought to blame everyone and everything they could. I don’t miss a single one of those conniving, hateful bastards, and I hope that entire verse falls into a pit. And you know what? This place can join it too.

I’ve never been to Coruscant, but I’m sure most of it could likewise be burned to the ground, with the exception of the bottom parts. I believe Blues when he says that the majority of people down there are genuine and worth saving (at least the ones who aren’t criminals or addicted to drugs and tech implants).

I need to thank Blues one of these days. I feel like I probably have some anger issues. As much as I try and help him avoid some of the worst parts of humanity, I’m certain our meeting helped me in more than a few ways. If he hadn’t pulled me out of that slump, I’d probably be in a much darker place than I am right now. A mentally dark place… because there is nothing worse than the Pale Moors.

With any luck, they won’t need us soon, and Blues and I can head back to the Tangled Green. I’m not sure where our path will take us after that point, but I’d rather deal with the jungle than the despair that permeates everything in this place…

Oh.

Before I forget… I learned something about what is happening in Darkshire.

Abigail apparently has some connections with some soldiers stationed near the Town Hall building. If they are to be believed, it seems like the mayor is attempting to replace both the town council and the leaders of the town’s militia. This would explain why Dobson’s nowhere to be seen, but I still can’t figure out why. There are rumors that someone of importance was found murdered, but like many things in this town, the story has been withheld from the public.

If anything, I wish Dobson the best of luck dealing with bureaucrats. The upper class in Camelot’s ‘duchies’ represented a special breed of filth, and I can’t imagine that Darkshire is any differently. While I’d never tell Blues this, I wasn’t a fan of the mayor when we met him. There was just something about him that was off...

I’m not complicated enough for the mysteries that pervade every facet of Darkshire’s society. Give me a bow and a spear, and I’ll catch you a nice meal. Give me a good hide, and I can get you some quality leather armor in a few days. I’m not built for politics or backroom deals, and despite his desire to do everything he can to make life better for people, that’s not a world Blues would thrive in either.

This isn’t a place for a half-elf exile and her idealistic robot companion.

I only hope we can get out of here before we are pulled down with the rest of this place.