Part 124: Epilogues: Secondary Characters
Epilogues
The Barony of Spielburg
Barnard.
My angst can be heard from five miles off.quote:
Since his father had stepped down and his sister run off, Baron Barnard was left as the sole ruler of Spielburg Valley. Thankfully, he was just a baron, not a king, and the town pretty much ran itself, so the only people who had to deal with his personality issues were the poor guards he hired to fill his castle. Unfortunately, this didn’t apply to the animals in the forest; apparently getting turned into a bear did nothing to counter his love of hunting. After the dangerous monsters were driven out, the game animals in the woods suffered a severe population decline. That is, until the baron “mysteriously disappeared” on another hunting trip. This time, he simply outpaced his companions, who spoke of a strange white stag who none of the rest could catch. I wouldn’t be surprised if those hunters were to find a second white stag on another hunt. And although it may be a while until another hero comes along to rescue the baron, I don’t think the valley will be in much trouble.
Ending: Gaia’s Vengeance
Shameen and Sheema
Alas, the caravan that Abdulla Doo, Sheema, and I were traveling with was attacked by the brigands of this valley. All of our wealth was stolen, and I had barely enough left over to purchase this house and open an inn.
That must have been a lot of money. When did this all happen? Last week.
I feel so confused.quote:
Nothing much changed for Nike’s Katta friends after his encounter with them. Although the sultan offered to pay for any Katta who wanted to move back to Raseir after Zayishah officially ended their exile, Shameen and Sheema were content to stay where they were, and they still run the Katta’s Tale Inn to this day. They’ve always left a room open for when Nike visits, but considering how he also has a room in the palace, it’s seldom used. He does make sure to keep up with them, but only on days when Sheema isn’t dancing.
Ending: Ambiguously Jewish
Johari and Yesufu
Want to make out?
Oh, why not.
Look at their magic! It turns them into animals. That is the way of magic. The prisoner tried many spells to get out of the cage, but the cage stops the magic. It is good. Wow, these people really don’t know the first thing about spells.quote:
After coming so close to war and seeing both their chieftains die, the peace between the Simbani and the Leopardmen was tenuous, to say the least. The choice of the old chiefs' children to marry one another did wonders to reconcile the two, however. Johari was remarkably strong willed, even for a Leopardwoman, and she insisted not only on being allowed to continue practicing magic, but to openly demonstrate it, and teach others of the Simbani tribes as well. Even so, the hostility the two tribes held for each other has only simmered down to the usual antipathy and avoidance, and only time will tell if they will ever reconcile completely. Change may come to the savanna, but it will be a slow process.
Ending: Mixed Marriage
Boris and Olga
You just tell that man about my avocado and garlic sandwiches. People come in and buy them all the time!
How I used to love her avocado and garlic sandwiches! We had them on our wedding night, you know. You should have seen the garlic and avocado flowers decorating our wedding cake! Beautiful! And she baked the cake herself! She always was a good cook. She was so beautiful in her gown. She had even embroidered little garlic cloves and avocados around the edges. We danced the night away.quote:
Boris and Olga remained reconciled after Nike brought them back together. Though they were both too old by then to try for more children, they showed their love in other ways. Olga would pack sandwiches for Boris, and Boris would bring her nettle flowers from the castle. Boris remained with his job as gatekeeper even after the Dark Master’s defeat. When I asked him why, he told me that Dmitri still needed the position filled, and besides, “I enjoy having the space to myself.” The shop has gotten quite busy since Nike left, but Olga has proven quite capable of handling the business herself. With their only son gone off to bigger things, no one’s quite sure what will happen to the store once the two pass, but it’s rumored that Igor has been seen at the shop more frequently these days…
Ending: Happily Married
Drs. Praetorius and Mobius
Oh, hey, didn’t see you there.
Yes, yes, I’ve been told I have that effect on people.
Ah, Gort, now there is a truly worthwhile specimen! Have you noticed his magnificent upper body development, the finely tuned coordination in his extremities? And he manages to keep his mouth shut, unlike some.quote:
“Distributing illegal drugs” carries a relatively light sentence in Silmaria, particularly since those drugs were virtually unknown to the government at the time. But by the time the good doctor(s) was let out of confinement, most of the scientists who had left had come back, in part thanks to a subsidy laid by the ruler of Silmaria, and the positions of Head of Research and Chief Instructor were already filled by other scientists. To his/their even greater consternation, Gort, whom Mobius had written off as a failure due to “unfortunate” heroic tendencies, was considered a shining example of success by the other researchers. While Praetorius might have considered this a positive outcome, Gort was insistent on not producing any more of himself, aside from…well, I’ll get to that in his section. Since the other scientists wouldn’t listen to him, Mobius left in a huff, vowing to continue his experiment “to perfection” in a place where he wouldn’t be disturbed. The last I heard of him, he had moved to a large mansion somewhere in the hills of Germania. I think perhaps that another visit by a hero may be in the good doctor’s future.
Ending: Mad Science
