FREEDOM FOUR FEED THE MASSES WITH HOPE AND PUMPKIN BREAD
Every three days, Anduvin Rathnapuri joins dozens of other shoppers at the Open Market in Three Points, a working class neighborhood in Throal. There, he picks up vegetables, fruits, and, especially, pumpkin bread for his family. But recently, the price of pumpkin bread has skyrocketed. "It's difficult for us, now. The pumpkin bread was the cheapest loaf we could buy but now I can only afford it once a week at most," said Anduvin.
The problem is one of supply. "Look, if we were getting our supply of pumpkins, this wouldn't be a problem," reports Dary, a baker in the town of Sosanopa. Their supplier, the Circle K ranch, has changed ownership and Regan, the new owner, has been scarce. No one in Sosanopa has seen him in the last two months. And with his absence, the pumpkin supply has dried up.
One woman, who asked not to be named, says, "It's horrible there. Ever since Regan took over, people have started to vanish. There are strange sounds in the woods. I had to run. To stay would have been worse than any other fate." As she recounts her story, she turns white. Tears stream down her innocent features.
The ranch itself, the once famous Circle K, is now a place of despair and anguish. Hard-faced women and men, so-called 'Managers', patrol the fields, whipping workers who fail to meet impossible and diabolical standards of productivity. The wails and moans of long-suffering laborers fill the air, a storm of heart-breaking agony. There are mysterious side-trips. The new boss, the villainous Regan, departs for parts unknown with a henchman and a wagon full of prisoners.
At the Circle K, they once grew pumpkins. Now their only harvest is evil.
"I hate these people. Also, there was a Horror. It was like a pumpkin. We killed it. Stop asking me questions." These are the words of Jarock, a Weaponsmith from Throal who has come here to help these unfortunate laborers. "What kind of man - no, monster - masters the whip, of all weapons? This Regan killed Juniper, bravest and best of our companions. It's a good thing we found a Last Chance salve, or he would have deprived of us a great man," declares Redsun, an Archer and honorable Troll. "These men are slavers, and allied with a Horror. They are the worst sort of scum," adds Dale, an Illusionist. "I am so grateful for Juniper, who brought us here and gave us the opportunity to be heroes," he concludes.
The heroes describe their terrible battle with Regan and the Horrors. They speak in hushed tones of scarecrows come to life, only to be lit aflame by Jarock. They bear the physical scars of whip marks and the emotional scars of a pumpkin patch that came to life and tried to drag them into the abyss. All of them have a new light in their eyes. And that light is determination. They have seen the face of evil, and they have driven it back, though it has cost them.
The Circle K Ranch now belongs to the workers that toiled there. They will grow pumpkins that are not also Horrors from magical outer space. They will share in the profits, free from the yoke of tyranny and oppression. And Anduvin Rathnapuri will be able to buy pumpkin bread every three days at the Open Market in Three Points.
News from the Underground - "Like Regular News, but Way Cooler"Statistics:Posted by bronzemountain — Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:11 pm
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