[RPG] [BT][Rio] Delvin Anaris ~ Memories and Confrontation in an Occupied City

[Timothy Collett]

This city was mine once...now look what has become of it.

Delvin's face is bleak as he walks through the streets of Irombro.   
At his back march the 52 men of the Flame of Riombara.  Ahead, he can  
see a few shutters crack open, then shut hastily as the people see  
who is coming.  He glances up to the nearby fortification wall, where  
he can see several men in Riombaran colours working to bring it  
down.  Those walls...I remember building them--or their predecessors-- 
when I was Duke of Irombro.  They were torn down by the undead, and  
we spared no expense to rebuild them.  And now we must tear them  
down, as we are tearing down the entire ersatz "realm" of  
"Irombrozia"...

He turns along another street, this one leading to a watchtower along  
the wall (one that has not yet been damaged or destroyed by his  
troops).  Delvin orders his men to stand guard at the base of the  
steps, and goes up the tower to the top.  From there, he can see much  
of the city.

To the west is the outer city, beyond the wall.  The buildings there  
are the newest ones, all built since the invasion.  It was largely a  
commercial district before the war; judging from what he can see, it  
was swelled with refugees after the war began.  Now, much of it lies  
in ruins from the battles fought in the area.  There is a large area  
of scorched ground somewhat to the north: it had been covered in  
refugee tents, all burned now.  "I wonder where the refugees went,"  
he murmurs to himself.  "...I wonder how many of them lie there among  
their burned tents..."

Delvin leans on the tower wall, remembering the sea of undead outside  
that wall, pressing upon the city, ever menacing, killing wantonly  
and without pattern, attacking at random, wearing down the militia,  
slaughtering the guards, and finally bursting into the city in a grey  
tide.

"And now we are the invaders...Lady of the Sun, how did this happen?"

Turning to the north, along the wall, he sees a figure approaching,  
escorted by a small detachment of Riombaran soldiers.  His face  
twists from a bleak frown to a snarl as he recognizes Hireshmont.   
Closing his eyes, he composes himself, then descends the stairs to  
the wall to go meet him.

"Welcome back, Hireshmont.  I trust your voyages were unpleasant?"

--

"Those who take the time to argue will rarely be swayed."
  - Dave Shea


--

"The only thing you can't trade for your heart's desire is your heart."
  ~ Miles Naismith Vorkosigan

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