Rubbah was minding his own business as he walked through Brez. These were good times for him. The new boss was easy. He got to beat up on Ur Rhug when he needed, but there was none of that hatred that used to exist under his old boss. He was happy he left his old boss and joined the Great Northern Army. He and Skoolz came over together, and life was good for the both of them. He got laid this morning, so he felt extra good as he walked down the street. Then, out of nowhere, his shadow disappeared.
At first, he was confused. When he snapped out of his daydreams, he looked up and saw that he was not alone in his confusion. Then they all at once saw a scene unfold before them. A strange robed figure pulled 12 other stange robed figures out. They looked ugly. He’s seen uglier, but they were ugly. One of them was talking to his buddy, Skoolz. Skoolz did not look happy.
“Yo! Skoolz, Wat the &*^%$ is goin’ on here?!”
Skoolz kept calm. “Rubbah, ya got the worse timin’!”
Rubbah was confused. Timing? Was that why he didn’t have a shadow?? He looked up to the sky, knowing it was daytime and that he should have a shadow. “What’s goin’ on?!”
Skoolz responsed, “Behol’ the Herald of Wintermute and his Twilight Guard. They ask’d to speak to da council.” Rubbah nodded, as if it all made sense. Shirley happened. He looked around, Shirley was nowhere to be seen.
Rubbah asked, “Where’s Shirley?”
Somebody in the street answered, “She wen’ off with Grubb.” Most of the men in the crowd shuddered silently. Gooberz, grinned and looked sad at the same time. The women smirked. Shirley’s appetites were notorious. Even Urog seemed worse for the wear after spending time with her. He didn’t seem to mind. She always looked worse than he did, but with a bigger smile. Gooberz would rather be anywhere but here at the moment.
Rubbah continued, “So wat they want?”
Skoolz, impassively responded while trying to keep his cool. Rubbah was his best mate, but dumb as door nails. There was a reason he was called Rubbah. “They want to see another council member or a rival gang.”
Rubbah looked even more confused, “But Shirley’s tha only one here. Tha other council members don’ live in Brez.”
Skoolz sighed, “I know, Rubbah, I know. I wuz 'bout to tell 'em that when ya interrup’ed.”
Rubbah, not understanding the gravity of the situation, continued, “But why they look ready for a fight?”
Skoolz continued, “Because they don’ understan’ how Brez work. Oh, an’ cuz we ignoran’.” Rubbah didn’t like the sound of that. Nobody called him stupid. Except Skoolz… and Vektor… and the boss. And Rapiogna… once. But nobody else.
Skoolz turned over to the Herald. “Ignorance goes both ways.” Urog said that once to him, now sounded like a good time to repeat it. “If ya knew ‘bout us, ya wudn’t be yappin’ like ya are, ya wudn’t ‘ave pulled out a small patrol like ya did, and ya wudda listen’ to me. Ya ain’t allowed to walk through our terr’tory without us. That be the rulez. If ya do, it’s considered an attack. If ya wanna talk to otha rival gangs, then we walk ya to tha border of our lands. We won’t go beyon’ 'em. Roam thru the rest of Brez for all we care. And as Rubbah said, Lalder is in Tla’loc’al. You can take the train to see ‘im if ya like. By tha time ya get there, he’d be expectin’ ya.”
Skoolz stood straight, with conviction, “But since it don’ seem like to us ya be lookin’ to talk much longer. And if it’s a fight ya lookin’ for, well…” He finally smirked, “ya’ve come to the right place. So it be your choice. Either we gets to walkin’,” he points to their intended destination, “or we have ourselves a good ol’ Brezan time.”
Many in the crowd smiled. The rest remained serious and wary. Most crowd members, a variety of ur rhug, vandals, some Gang of Uf Mag’og tribals and citizens all began looking for the nearest object that they could use as a weapon if they didn’t already have one. Many ran out, spreading rumors of an impending fight with undead foreigners who had called Brezans stupid. Being Brezan, they were used to it. Most of the crowd would rather not fight, but everyone in Brez was always ready for a fight. They all looked at the Herald and his guard, waiting for an answer.