The refugees, 2nd draft

Fourteen, Patrick's gnomes

Ligh

5th month, March 51st

Aspira was training the Void's Watch when I showed up. "What do you hear when I say stealth bendan!?" Aspira yelled at a man who had been trying to sneak up on her. "Either he is not meeting your masterful expectations, or you're annoyed." She threw a blunt knife at me, and I just barely caught it. Those things are made of stone and don't cut but do give large bruises. If Aspira's speaking things, you don't understand then she's speaking traditional Chinese, and you should fear for your life.

"You see that Haizimen!?" Aspira demanded of people who dropped out of what seemed to be normal shadows a moment ago. "That's what practice gets you!" "Not a kid," one of the watch muttered. Aspira rolled her eyes and turned to me, saying "Class dismissed, practice self- defence tonight, test tomorrow." The watch bowed and slipped away.

Aspira sighed heavily and tucked a lose strand of her red-streaked black hair behind her ears saying, "Good morning, Ligh." I walked up to her and fixed her sloppy braid, she always liked to have at least one braid when fighting. "You can un-braid it." Aspira said, sheathing her knives. I smiled and removed the braids and flattened out her hair, feeling the warm touch of her skin as I smoothed her shoulder length hair.

We then started to walk to the mine's ad Aspira said, "good job catching the knife," I blushed and said, "thank you," Aspira smiled at me and said, "why you're welcome," "Why were you yelling in traditional Chinese?" I asked her, nudging her softly. She sighed and said, "two of them were acting like idiots and tried to steal Peykter. I had to steal it back and it turned out that they were trying to make illegal copies with a diamond that they found. I had to steal and destroy the documents as well, but they hid them and that took all night, so I haven't slept." She said dejectedly, Peykter was her left knife, "for close range," she once told me. *

I smiled and said, "we'll make it up to you." She turned her head briefly and smiled saying, "I charge interest." I smiled and stopped, and she stopped as well, tuning to me as I hugged her, running my hand through her hair, "Then I guess I can't leave you." I said as she kissed me.

-O-*

When we got to the winding platforms and paths at the entrance of the void's maw, we saw much to our surprise people running around excitedly and carts going up to the surface with gold along with the normal stone going up to the surface. "Jackpot! We found it! There's gold!" we heard. "What's happening?" Aspira asked, clutching my hand, I smiled giddily and hugged her saying, we knew that there was gold farther down, but it was too far to reach, but now look! We have reached the right depth!"

In council that day Akran and Lenox brought up the fact that weeds had turned into clovers, some are even four-leaved. Then we noticed the day and Akran consulted an almanac to say with certainty that these miraculous events happened on March 17, Saint Patrick's Day, Cordlen also mentioned that doggerel was running with green water but was still safe to drink.

Then Falon master of whispers stepped forward. "Several of the younger nights saw small, funny looking men dressed in traditional Irish clothes, a few even swear that they saw a tall man in green robes and a green staff shaped like a four-leaf clover. I believe that they saw Saint Patrick and his leprechauns, they made gold and iron more plentiful and tinted the river." He then tipped his hat at us and sat back down.

Let us talk about Falon for a moment, he is about thirteen years old and only about five feet tall. However, what he lacks in height he makes up for in intelligence, he knows things that most others do not and dresses in an immaculate suit with a hat. He is the kind of person that the guardians try to always keep eyes on, however he is one of the void's watch and has mastered all the stealth lessons Aspira can give him. Kara claims that he would disappear sometimes, only to return up to days later looking exactly as he looked when he left.

The Guardians saw no evidence that Falon even existed other than his sudden appearances in court or all over the city. Whatever that kid does he is good at it. When the undead came after us on all soul's day the city bells began ringing and the people who normally operate them did not know why, but I think that Falon did it.

Anyway, we found all that gold and the farmers also saw wide swaths of plants placed on their fields. The farmers' fields are the largest thing our people have ever done, and they added walls at irregular intervals, so many that the fields began being called the fields of a hundred walls. The farmers would place walls around certain farmsteads or strategic area so the trained eye can still see logic to them.

Also, there is a graveyard just outside the city that Falon claims people say is haunted. There are about a hundred markers there already and I do not want to contemplate what it will look like in years from now.

Aspira has moved her trained regiment of assassins to Minestone** where they could train us on how to defend Diag. Aspira lives with me in my mansion, although to be fair about five people can comfortably live in the mansion and every other house in Minestone. Aspira rises with the sun and sleeps at 40 O'clock. Aspira usually serves us breakfast in the morning, and I make us Lunch, mid-meal, and dinner.

Why am I going on so long about small topics? Well because there are a lot of things that shape our world in ways that are specific and small. Things like that do not appear normally. Look for the details, what make something unique, you may be surprised at what you find.

*Aspira's left-handed and she named Peykter in her words, "after it told me"

**Also known as Chinatown

Agriculture: Lenox,44

Water & irrigation: cordlen,37

Guardians: Gabriel, 17

The army: Aspira, 18

Economy: Alizee, 19

Labour: Granger, 20

Health & human services: Alvaro, 11

Housing & urban development: Ligh, 34

Transportation: Niki, 15

Energy: Charolotte, 23

Surveyors: Akran, 40

Education: Kara, 12

Whispers: Falon, ?

The night's watch: Shiani, 27

322 employed