The Great Disaster - An eyewitness account by Lieutenant Galverston.

I was standing at my usual spot at the gates when the shock came, and hurled me against the opposite tower. I sat up, and, holding firmly to the pavement managed to reach the gate. The shock was constantly growing heavier; rumbles, crackling noises, and falling objects already commenced the din.

The gate refused to open. The earthquake had wedged it in the door-frame. Guards were pushing on the opposite side and I pulled with all my strength, when a twist of the building released it, and the doors sprang open. We braced ourselves in the doorway, clinging to the casing. Civilians appeared in front of the Temple, and Sgt Bompers motioned to them to come his way so they could leave the city.

It grew constantly worse, the noise deafening; the crash of stones on the pavement, falling chimneys, the rattle of the Temple doors, benches being overturned, the groaning and straining of the buildings around us, broken glass and falling plaster, made such a roar that no one noise could be distinguished.

We never knew when Haur's Forge next to us collapsed; we never knew when a great balista weighing three hundred and twenty-five pounds crashed down, not eight feet away from us; we were frequently shaken loose from our hold on the doorposts, and only kept our feet by mutual help and our utmost efforts, the pavement moved like short, choppy waves of the sea, crisscrossed by a tide as mighty as themselves. The city walls responded to all the angles of the floor. I never expected to come out alive. I looked across the Temple Square at the white faces of those civilians, and feared that the Temple front wall would fall upon them. How a building could stand such motion and keep its frame intact is still a mystery to me.

After a few minutes the shocks subsided and we started to take an inventory of the situation. Apparently the earth had split below the library, for a large body of water now separated the market area from what once used to be the maproom. I walked back over the remains the market, without a feeling of regret or a sigh or tear. Everything seemed so insignificant, and the world so far away. That is, the world we had lived in. All estimates of value were annihilated. We took a few bricks and built a fire between them in the middle of the street, like every one else, and ate our breakfast on the steps of the Gate.

_________________
Say 'no' to JSBF!

The Great Disaster - An eyewitness account by Auguste Millimar d'Albe, Trader.

The fire raged all the next day and well into the morning after, when the sea broke the spread of the flames. The fair city of Cordor lay devastated with hardly a building intact. Within a day a committee of outstanding citizens met with the Duke and the military authorities and it was unanimously voted that the Guard be empowered to draw checks for any amount for the relief of the sufferers – the committee guaranteeing the payment. The relief measures were carried out with remarkable efficiency. All foodstuffs were commandeered for the public good. No food was sold in the shops. Rich and poor had to stand in line at the relief stations to receive their daily rations. In the Outskirts a city of tents had sprung up affording a shelter for hundreds of homeless, the occupants readily adapting themselves to this new mode of housekeeping. Some of these shacks were marked "Ye Finest Hostel," "The Ritz", or "The New Cordorian Palace". It's amazing how much humour one can find in such dire circumstances.

_________________
Say 'no' to JSBF!

Griff's account

I was sitting in my bar counting the previous day's profits when the tremors started. I went out to the main bar from my back room and found my patrons in a state of panic, saying the city was falling down around them. I naturally thought they were exaggerating. I had no idea how wrong I was.

As I stepped out the door into the street the ground gave way beneath my feet. I heard the rumbling of my beautiful bar collapsing behind me...*He pauses here and wipes away a tear*.....excuse me, this is a bit difficult. I fell for a long time. I'm not sure how long, as somewhere during the fall I was knocked on the head and lost consciousness. When I awoke I was the prisoner of a group of foul derro deep beneath the ground. I was sure their intentions were not pure.

As I sat in the cage they had me in contemplating how I would get out of my current dilema I heard a large commotion. It appeared I wasn't the only poor soul to be trapped in this forsaken cavern! What could have only been a large battle had commenced by the sound of it, and all of the dirty dwarves guarding me rushed to the fray leaving me unattended. This was just the opportunity I needed.

Remembering some of the training I had in my younger days I picked the lock on the cage and slipped out unnoticed. The derro near where I was were much too distracted with those who were assaulting their small settlement to bother with what they thought was an unthreatening prisoner. *wink*

When I reached the scene of the battle I was dismayed to find that all of my would be rescuers had fallen to the derro save one, a rather small fellow. The attackers had thinned the ranks of the foul dwarves enough for me to take up a sword and dispatch those that remained. I had a supply of scrolls to raise the fallen I had lifted from my captors and proceeded to begin restoring life to their limp bodies. Even in defeat this ragtag group of adventurers and heros had been victorious, as they had given me the distraction and the time I needed to escape, as well as thinned the ranks of the derro.

It was at this time that a greedy little goblin named Emo appeared from the shadows and offered to lead us to safety for the price of a few hundred gold. Some in the group were happy to pay it to get us out of that dreaded cave, and we proceeded to make our way through the winding caverns toward what the goblin said was the way out. After encountering many more of the foul dwarves we came to a passage leadin up. Freedom at last!

We emerged in the area near Bendir Dale, far from where the ground had swallowed me up. All of those I encountered in the caves below seemed to be there, even the blasted duergar who wouldn't stop hugging me. *Shudders*

I made my way back to Cordor only to find my beloved Nomad as a heap of rubble. I don't know what I will do now. Rebuild, I suppose.... or I could get myself a nice quiet tavern at the coast.

*Griff starts counting his money*

[edit by Disco: added two lines ]

_________________
According to Dictionary.com:
Liberal: Relating to or having social and political views that favor progress and reform
Conservative: Favoring the preservation of established customs, values, etc, and opposing innovation.
'Nuff said.