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Old 10-06-2019, 04:02 AM   #4
Izz
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Dekhn 18 - Penterham Palace - Hall of Chiefs

Dekhn 18 - Penterham Palace - Hall of Chiefs

The murmur of conversation filled the great Hall of Chiefs, bouncing off the rock walls and floating into the ceiling timbers. Rush, from his stone seat on the platform at the head of the room, hadn’t expected quite this turnout. Actually, he’d expected barely a showing at all, especially with the way he’d worded the invitation.

In the stone chair to his left, Hassen leaned over and said, “Should we get this started, Fred?”

Rush grunted. “I suppose so.”

“And don’t worry. Most of the talk I’ve heard has been positive.”

Rush shot Hassen a dirty look. The man knew full well how Rush felt about Kambeka’s proposal.

Hassen smiled. “Fred, the world is changing. There’s word out of Froia that the Waldlanders are building some sort of great network of roads to be travelled across by mammoth metal vehicles powered by steam. One of the Avillalan universities is even proposing a voyage across the ocean just to see if there’s anything on the other side. A national four-bases competition doesn’t sound quite so outlandish in comparison, does it?”

It sounded more outlandish, in Rush’s opinion. Mammoth metal machines might be able to carry goods and men quickly across country. An ocean voyage sounded bizarre on its face but if the Avillalans were serious about doing so they’d invest much research and resources into improving their fleet. What benefits would a four-base competition bring? But Rush had heard the same positive chatter as Hassen. For reasons he couldn’t begin to fathom the citizens of Penterham found the idea exciting. And while that frustrated him, he also couldn’t ignore the fact that the people in this room were not here due to fear. That alone was positive.

He stood and lumbered to the edge of the dais. At least Kambeka wasn’t around to ruin things. Rush had sent him to the Lingian front, far north of Hertford, on a ‘fact-finding’ mission. He would then patrol the border until he got back around to Blandre. That should keep the moron out of everybody’s hair for a good long while. And, perhaps, without his presence and winsome words everybody would realize how foolish this all was.

“Welcome,” he boomed, arms open wide. After the room had quieted, he continued, “Shall we get underway?”

#

Kambeka’s absence did not dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. Yes, there were a few skeptics amongst the gathered city elders, and there were plenty of others with genuine questions about how the competition would work but the overall opinion did not sway towards the negative.

Three days later, after much discussion, the basic details of the National Penterham Four-Bases Association were agreed upon.
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A brief history of the Australia-New Zealand Baseball League (AUNZBL 2019-2119)--A Dynasty Report
The National Penterham Four-Bases Association--A Dynasty Report

Last edited by Izz; 10-06-2019 at 04:28 AM.
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