Skylands Historia - Duality

Chapter 10 - The Grumbletown

Kaos struggled to fully unfold the gigantic map in the cramped space he and Glumshanks were holed up in. The two sat crouched at a low, wooden table. It looked to be homemade, with knobbly legs and indented sides. A lone lamp was strung from the slanted mud ceiling, wooden cross beams seeming to be the only thing keeping it up. Even Kaos felt slightly cramped as he wrestled with the huge slab of crumpled parchment, twice the size of the table he sat at, if not more. The sound of crackling fire, rambunctious trolls and electronic music outside was muffled by the poorly fortified clay walls, flecks of dirt falling down from the ceiling with every thump of the beat. Kaos' attention wandered as he watched stout silhouettes run past the clouded windows, followed by a loud CRASH as one of them came catapulting through the glass, rolling across the floor before coming to a stop, beady eyes spinning in their sockets. The troll shook their head, locked eyes with Kaos, then scuttled out of the room through the unlocked front door, leaving it open behind them. Kaos huffed, then slid off of his stool, peering out into the chaotic street. Trolls of all shapes and sizes looked to be having the time of their lives; some were sprawled out across barrels (the ones they weren't smashing at least), enjoying bottles of 'soda' and other treats Kaos didn't quite recognize. Others were chasing each other around the winding dirt paths, or chasing what Kaos assumed to be the previous residents of the commandeered village - Rats. Kaos didn't mean that as an insult, no, they looked like literal rats, with matted grey fur, long snouts and worm like tails. Judging by the architecture, the assumption seemed to track. Kaos pulled his head back in as someone threw a cart of wrinkled produce against the wall, the wooden cart splintering and fruits splattering into a multicolored mess of foul smelling slop. Kaos slammed the door shut, looking back to Glumshanks, who had managed to tame the wild map.

"What in Skylands are they even doing out there?" Kaos asked, brushing a few hanging roots out of his way as he walked back to Glumshanks' side.

"Christening." Glumshanks answered plainly, sighing. "They do this every time. Make a mess of the place to show 'dominance'... or something. 'Cause running out an entire settlement doesn't do that already, I suppose."

Kaos frowned, then looked down at the map, trying to pick out any details he might recognize now that he could more easily look over it. But the more he looked, the less he seemed to recognize. Noted landmarks and island formations he had first thought were possible leads were nothing but red herrings. How had he gotten himself so lost?

"If this one doesn't work, I should have a few others."

"No no, I'm sure this one is fine. I can't have gone that far from home." Kaos waved Glumshanks off, squinting at the map. He tapped one of the sepia-toned islands, frowning. "This is where we are, right?"

"Uhh, I think it's here actually."

"Troll. I'm pretty sure I know the location of a place I've never been on a map in a language I don't know."

"...please tell me that was sarcasm."

Kaos just looked up, a deadpan expression on his face, before looking back down without another word. He scanned the map once more, mumbling incoherent words under his breath. This wasn't right. Kaos winced, rubbing his temples as he felt a throbbing pain start creeping its way in, followed by the feeling of a damp rag pressed against his forehead. Kaos opened one eye, looking up as he watched Glumshanks gently dabbing the dried blood away, a concerned look on his green face.

"What do you think you're doing, troll."

"Cleaning the wound?" He phrased it more like a question, rather than a clean cut statement.

Kaos furrowed his brow, but didn't object, simply squirming in his seat as Glumshanks began inspecting the small, albeit quite bloody, cut in his forehead. It didn't quite hurt, but the sensation wasn't all that nice either.