Parade time again.
The villagers occasionally have parades. They march across the swamp and right up to the castle, carrying flaming torches, brandishing farming implements and shouting a lot.
They had one last night. I watched from the high tower, as always, and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. However, it ended badly once again. The Ferals always spoil it.I’m not sure where the Ferals came from, but they’ve been a fixture of the swamp for a long time now. Even longer than the Rarely-Glimpsed Slimy Swamp Thing. They’ve never bothered me, but then I cross the swamp quietly, and without any kind of light.
Currently, I think it most likely that the Ferals were the result of one of Great-Grandfather Dume’s experiments. According to his notebooks, he had an idea that people could be surgically manipulated in order to survive in the swamp. Gills, tails, long teeth, that sort of thing. Of course he went overboard and added claws, extra eyes, horns and so forth. Great-Grandfather Dume was known for his imagination, if not for his restraint.Now, if his notebooks are correct—and if I’ve decoded them correctly—the earliest conversions became somewhat agitated after the surgery. He kept them caged, naturally, but unfortunately he had also enhanced their strength. Some escaped and ran off into the swamp.
Great-Grandfather attempted to recapture his subjects, but since he had made them far more suited to swamp life than he was, he simply could not find them. His notes suggest he lost contact with them, never saw them again and assumed they had died out. So he marked the experiment a failure.His remaining subjects had become even more agitated by now, so he let them go. In those days, there were no such things as radio-collars or he could have tracked their progress. As it was, Great-Grandfather had no option but to assume his modifications had failed and his subjects had died out.
The Ferals first appeared while Grandfather Dume was in charge here. He treated them to showers of boiling lead a few times, until they learned to stay away from the castle. Nowadays they are an unusual sight, except during the villager’s parades.It seems the Ferals don’t like loud noise and bright light. It makes them impossible to reason with. Still, it does mean I don’t have to feed them.
Pity about the parade though. I hope they have another one soon.
Comments
yes! I've decoded the secret handshake of how to leave comments!
*hmm, where did I put that bloody hand? and where's Rover?*
Posted by: David de Beer | January 16, 2007 06:14 AM
the most heartwarming aspect of parades is that it gives you a chance to feed the poor. Och, the tomato may smell a little off, but it;s still perfectly edible!
Pity the peasants catching is so bad, but then I reckon they're used to having food stains all over their clothes, and my mama says excercise is good for you. Improves that hand-eye coordination.
Posted by: David de Beer | January 16, 2007 09:41 PM
Unfortunately, the only ones to get fed during these parades are the Ferals.
Once in a while the Scaly Swamp Thing gets a bite though.
Good thing those villagers breed fast.
Posted by: Dr. Dume | January 16, 2007 10:06 PM