BNN: Something New Coming to Skara Brae?
Bonny the Town Crier Aug 13 2000 4:00PM
I was minding my own business and reporting to the people of the recent occurrence of a rabid beast on the loose within our fair city of Skara Brae the other day when I heard two farmers speaking amongst each other in hushed tones. At first ‘twas nothing out of the normal, yet as they spoke my attention was quickly snagged. It seems they had noticed unusual activity and an influx of people onto one of the northernmost farms on the mainland near to Skara Brae. As all news is my business, and I have a duty to the people of Skara to report the goings-on in their city, I decided to investigate.
My first stop was, without doubt, the Shattered Skull Tavern to speak to Flynn, the slightly rotund tavern keeper. He had a straggly beard, deep set eyes, and a mop of hair the color of tarnished gold. Some might avoid the fellow, but over time I have learned this man to be a goldmine of information.
When asked what he knew about this farm and the rumors, and donating a few gold coins, Flynn was quite informative, “Yer one persistant lass... Well, wha I ‘eard an what I seen be tha there’s been lots ‘o new folks comin’ inta town ‘o late. Specially carpenters an artisans. Nobody knows fer sure what all the bloody activity be about yet, but I don’t mind meself. The more people what come ‘ere ta Skara, the more money me makes! Them carpenters from Yew be a thirsty lot, tha they do!” It was not a lot to go on, but it was a start. Not about to let this subject drop, I took the ferry into the mainland and knocked politely on the door of one of the first farmhouses I came to. A lovely woman opened the door... she seemed to be near to middle age, but still had the glow of youth about her, and lightly brown skin from working in the fields under the warm Britannian sun, no doubt. She told me her name was Allyn, and when I mentioned the rumors I had heard, she practically bubbled over with information.
“Ah! Ah! Ye be talking ‘bout just the thing me an Sherri were talking ‘bout the other day, doncha know. Ever since that good fer nothin Bert got ahold of that farm north of here, it’s become a mess. Hardly nothing grows up there now, ‘cept the occasional bit of wheat, an nobody is e’er ‘round. But lately, that fellers been up ‘an about e’ery day, doncha know. Pokin his nose ‘round with that seedy ‘lil grin of his an those beady eyes. An Sherri heard from Gladice, what heard from Ethan’s friend tha there were carpenters up round his place measurin’ stuff an the like. That fellers up ta somethin, hon, ye can be sure of that. Sherri an me an Gladice were talkin, an the word is tha they are gonna tear all our farms down an build some sort of somethin. Can ye believe that? Course, nobody cares much what we farmers ‘ere think, what matters is what those people up in town think. Why, the other day I saw Lord Agnacio ‘imself walkin round the area. Now what do ye think a ‘body like that be doin’ in these parts? Nice fella an all, but ye rarely see ‘is type these days out ‘ere an all, doncha know.” The woman barely paused to take a breath the entire time. It seems the old adage that beauty is only skin deep might apply here, I certainly would not trust such a gossipy person with any secrets of mine!
The last stop I made was to the home of one of the town elders, asking him about the activity up at this Bert’s place over the last few days and what this meant for our city. His response was somewhat cryptic, “I cannot speak about this matter in much depth with thee at this time, my Lady Bonny, except to say that after a period of great turmoil the City of Spirituality will finally regain its spirit. The traditions which kept us a happy and enlightened people will once again restore us, and I can foresee prosperity in our near future. Have patience, my Lady, for all shall be revealed in due time.” This leaves me with perhaps more questions than I started with. What did the man mean about traditions being restored... or about our city’s Spirituality? True, with the great move from Felucca to Trammel and the tragedies occurring of late many have forgotten to keep faithful to the traditions of our forefathers. Yet what does this have to do with rumors of farms being torn down, artisans and carpenters flooding into the city, and what will all this mean for the future of Skara Brae? Only time will tell.