Page 1 of 28 §4
No Country
for
Oldfriends
---
Volume I
Page 2 of 28 §3Chapter I: The Nobody§r
§0§r
§0The horsemaster awoke in his loft on yet a nothing depressingly sunny day in Civcraft. He climbed down the stairs, grazing his fingers along the old barn's brickwork. Outside the only
Page 3 of 28 §0indifferent and indistinuishable chickens. Like the years that preceded this moment, Neondan dutiful found tasks to complete at Chiltern Traders. Recently, he struck out from anonymity and build his fledgling town of Chiltern. However the shadow of§r
Page 4 of 28 §0namelessness has a way of following some oldfriends long after their arrival on Civcraft. Everyone has a hypothesis of why this is. Everyone, that is, who still is relegated to the status of an extra, an addition.§r
Page 5 of 28 §0Dan saddles one of his most prized mules. It doesn't have a nametag because it doesn't need one. This morning the pair rides out across the plains, investigating occurances logged on his otherwise silent snitch network. There was§r
Page 6 of 28 §0quite an unusual amount of activity the night before and with the recent surge of Springtime newfriends, Dan wants to ensure that his well-bred stock doesn't become some dickhead's short joyride. He crests a ridge he knows all too well and that's
Page 7 of 28 §0he sees it. Littered across the landscape, the dancing glow of dropped gear. Something happened here; something bad. Having lived through the worst of NDZ's history and a veteran of the Titan War, NeonDan surveys the
Page 8 of 28 §0with a steely gaze. He rides down the slope, kicking up dust towards what used to be a blistering front line. As he rides, ill-gotten loot fills his inventory. As his inventory fills, he clues into the treasure trove of tears that he has found.
Page 9 of 28 §0that it all could despawn at any moment, he stuff's his mule's double chest full and hauls ass to run multiple trips. As dusk stretches across his town's empty skies, the flicker of torchlight eminates from his perched room. Account after§r
Page 10 of 28 §0account, debt after debt, NeonDan crosses out his dues and it starts to dawn on him that this was not just any old good find. This changes everything. Little did he know, it would.§r
Page 11 of 28 §9Chapter II: When you Gamble...§r
§0With the sense he has, Neondan rides out the next morning to Mount Augusta. An old friend of his of similar circumstances is waiting for him, ready to help launder Dan's findings. The road is rough and he
Page 12 of 28 §0a few spills however, by the third day, an exhausted NeonDan trots into town on his trusty mule. Des23, his quiet conspirator awaits cloistered in a vacant shop in the Al Ishaar Trade District. Through another connection in Mount Augusta,
Page 13 of 28 §0merchants knowingly take little notice to the evidently rough rider. The pair draw the shades and start unloading the spoils. Though he should be rejoicing at his vast wealth, NeonDan lies awake all night listening to the droning snores
Page 14 of 28 §0compatriot. The next morning, Dan unceremoniously mounts his lightened mule, nods to Des23, and begins the journey back to his home of Chiltern, deep in the PlusPlus. Dan finds himself slower on his return route. Probably just the sleep...§r
Page 15 of 28 §0As he nears his town's coords, a thin plume of dark ash cracks silently across the blue sky. Dan's hands tighten against the reigns and his mule's hooves clap quicker against the rock, gravel, and soil. Crossing the old battlefield, Dan climbs once
Page 16 of 28 §0up that well known ridgeline. Only to see the reddish brickwork of Chiltern seared unsparingly a deep, hateful black. On the reminants of the fountain at the town plaza, a note flutters from a crooked nail. Dan dismounts and walks toward the note.§r
Page 17 of 28 §0In his head, he ponders about the various "newfriends" he saw littering the battlefield. All clad in prot, all younger than their looter. With a shaking hand, Dan grasps the note and rips it from its post. In the dankest of memespeech, Dan reads a
Page 18 of 28 §0penned by those who's prot Dan took: Damn Commies. The battle suddenly made sense. The battle was part of a new push from the south. A bunch of really oldfriends, older than NeonDan, used to reside in the country of the Reunion of Soviet§r
Page 19 of 28 §0Socialist Republics. After sometime, they fell due to poor leadership but have since returned with the express purpose to marching against the Holy Krautchan Empire. Rumour was the war was just a way for oldfriends with nothing else to do to keep§r
Page 20 of 28 §0relevant. Eitherway, Dan surmised they this contingent was likely intercepted on a march to New Salisbury. These old souls evidently were no match for the newer and better equiped Grundies. Neon Dan sighs in defeat as he
Page 21 of 28 §0threatening note. Even though he has just stolen a vast amount of the Zombie RSSR's gear, there is no way the Grundies would protect him. Dan's past with New Danzilona during the Riverford Crisis ensured that Empress Screenname would not hear
Page 22 of 28 §0pleas for military support. Moreover, as an oldfriend, he knows that "military support" can quickly slide into a military occupation. "Fuck" Dan mumbles as he sifts through the charred remains of his Civcraftian wealth. Horses, books - Dan lost it
Page 23 of 28 §1Chapter III - What Makes an Oldfriend§r
§0§r
§0Dan mounts his mule and types in /msg Des23 before hesitating. Why do I even say? "Looks like I'm going to be a Mount Augusta Citizen for awhile..." He manages. Trekking down that old
Page 24 of 28 §0the hazy plume of smoke fades into the distance behind him as his mule negotiates the hostile, rocky terrain. Dan doesn't look back because there is nothing left for him to see. It takes him 4 days to make Mount Augusta howerver he barely notices day§r
Page 25 of 28 §0turn to night on his voyage. He mind lies charred in the ruin that is his predicament. All over some prot and a few heaps of diamond. He laughs quickly to himself while traversing the dark, blue-tinged terrain. "How fortune I am..." he giggles
Page 26 of 28 §0Des solemnly greets his old adventuring companion with a quiet salute at the gates of Al Ishaar. The Flag of the market is inexplicably lowered, though the locals barely notice or care. There's alwats a bright side though, for the first time in his
Page 27 of 28 §0on Civcraft, NeonDan99 makes front page on /r/civcraft.§r
§0§r
§0250D Bounty on NeonDan§r
§0§r
§0Dan wryly smiles in well-earned delight.§r
Page 28 of 28 ()---------------()
Official Book of the
Libratorium
at the Al Ishaar
Trade District
of the
Graceful State
of
Mount Augusta
Written 25 Apr, '15
()---------------()
