Smunstu was refilling his quiver, counting the copper arrows. Twenty-five of them, that was the norm for a stack. They were used, but still good. The secretary approached, as the goblin adjusted the pull on his +silver bow+.
''Sir, we have a request from Dark Two, of the Order of the...
-Yes I know who Dark Two is.
-He seeks to access the diary of the dreadful Dark One.
-Alright. Granted.
-Are you sure, Prime Minister? Those books, they contain...
-Yes, dark arts and whatnot. Secret alchemical recipes and so on. Have a copy of the diary delivered to him by the end of the week.''
The secretary gathered some folders, and began transcribing the manuscript. an old, tarnished journal dating from over a decade ago,. It smelled of rot and blood and wetness, like anything that survives too long in Doomforests. Miss Taupe III started filling page after page, filling every sheet of parchment into a large, sealable binder. The original would of course remain safely in the artefact coffer, once the copy was finished. The secretary had an uncertain look on her face; visibly, the dwarf did not approve. Part of her waited for the reveal of a scheme, or some sort of double cross. ''Surely you don't intend to just hand over such documents to someone'' her eyes seemed to ask, when they periodically met the goblin's gaze. The goblin stood in the middle of the main room, his bow drawn. After a year of practice, he could reach the target even from here, most of the time. He let an arrow fly, and casually explained:
''We may have secured those occult books, but this is Doomforests. More necromancers and cultists will come, and bring their double-edged knowledge with them. If Dark Two seeks some of it, there truly isn't much we can do to stop him, in the long run. Some dwarves are on our side and support us for the time being, but few will call themselves our allies to the end. They are like children begging for candy, and will follow anyone who claims to have the biggest sugar bag at the moment. Those PsychoAngels and Longshanks and Senshukens, they love us now, but in a year they'll forget why, and follow someone else. The inquisition, the mechatechnosect, we can buy their support for a time, but they have their own agendas. They are unpredictable and reckless. Dark Two has been our fiercest supporter. We cannot lose him, and his loyalty will survive where others would fall. Giving him what he seeks is just a safe way to ensure this, given how easy he could aquire strange books here otherwise. ''
The pink gold circle emitted a ''twomp''as the arrowhead lodged clumsily in the second ring. the Prime Minister readied another shot.
''And to be frank, if someone seeks to acquire some obscure knowledge, I'd rather he be on my side when he starts using it...''
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Topic: The Hastening of Doomforests (Read 455632 times)