Things are moving fast now, and The Realm is a lot closer to collapsing than its inhabitants realize. Let’s unpack.

We Need Him

I’ve been trying to figure out why Sills wanted to bring Fineflin along. He exists as a stand-in for the Elves we were originally going to meet in the Board of Governors, but those plans exploded ¹. He’s great for occasional comic relief, but even I find him tedious.

So why does Sills want him along? For the same reason Grimby puts up with him. He’s kindupath ². That is, he senses danger when it draws near. When you’re heading into a war zone it’s a useful ability to have around, and it saved the group from the brunt of the ambush.

I told you I was going to give him something useful to do!

Bug’s Driving

The unnamed gnome ³ who is in charge of the convoy argued to have Sindy and Bug remain behind in The Empty Throne. When Nobody insisted they be allowed to come along he insisted the pair pull their weight. While putting him behind the wheel of the transport containing the only hope for The Realm might seem reckless, Bug isn’t exactly a novice when it comes to driving a military vehicle. He did serve in The Realm’s military, prior to the war. Even so, had the people who organized the convoy expected the Horde’s ambush he would have been relegated to a passenger.

It’s a good thing they didn’t expect danger, because Bug’s naturally reckless. Next week, he’s going to get to shine.

Refugees

To be honest, I’m a bit bummed Will has been stuck getting VIP protection during his journey. He’s been hanging around the military and the IBI, which are the most stable environments in The Realm at the moment. Everything else has been teetering on the edge for a while, and the destruction of most of the civilian government set things into a spiral. Refugees are flooding from the North towards The Empty Throne and No Entry. Some have escaped to Boarsblemish, but many more a terrified by that city’s proximity to the Horde’s staging area. The cessation of train service is the least of the problems facing the civilian population.

Several mobs have tried to force their way past the gates of No Entry. These have been repulsed with minimal force, but has caused resentment to grow.

Dwarfish transplants who were living on the plains have tried to return to their ancestral home through the Little Firewall, only to be denied access. In response, several hacking collectives have tried to bring down to barrier. The Little Firewall is going to collapse sooner than even Nobody believes.

The elves are refusing to allow entry to anyone with less than 500 socks. Since they’ve closed the currency exchange, and no one in their right mind uses socks as currency, this has barred the refugee flood from entry to their forest.

The Classics have withdrawn from The Realm completely, and many are looking forward to the entire thing burning so they can return to a position of prominence.

The Realm is in trouble.

Lost Communication

Sills’ explaination about radio waves and the satire shield is correct. Any radio signal passing through the shield is transformed into two soup cans connected by string.

The communications’ towers are connected to the city via underground cable and guarded by a battalion of troops. Even so, the Horde manages to several the connection to the towers at least once a week. Unfortunately for our protagonists, this current incursion is actually a siege and the troops guarding the towers have been decimated.