Mornington has just finished a long list of items due for import and was heading to the City Hall. It was the month of October, that infamous month when the city suddenly goes insane, either due to viruses, plagues, or the undead… or all three.
This year though Mornington was sufficiently convinced that there would be no problems. The foundation of the new hotel was sitting on a 4m thick slab of concrete, which inturn sat on a 2m bed of gravel. So far he had heard no strange noises from beneath the hotel.
Mornington walked into the Office of Imports and Shipping and was about to read out his list of items for export when the shipping manifest officer turned and said…
“No”
“No… what do ya mean.. No?” Asked Mornington.
“The clockwinders ban on you importing stuff during the month of October was never lifted by the Clockwinder”
“WHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!”
Several urchins reported hearing loud screams and shouts eminating from City Hall for about 20 minutes, and an angry hotelier being dragged outside by the Militia due to the shipping manifest officer being in fear of his life.
Perhaps you need a shipping proxy arrangement. Import for delivery to the Gangplank, give us a cut, and we’ll “sell” you the remainder. We are excellent import agents.
*walks outside and nails a sign to the old dead tree in front “FREE ZOMBIE INOCULATIONS! OCTOBER ONLY! INQUIRE WITHIN”
In the middle of pumping water through the portal a letter arrives…
Unit #6 reads the letter and lets on a loud sigh…
As Unit #6 ponders the options several gears pop out of their mountings…
With a last shuder of movement Unit #6 cuts off the outgoing feed conduit, causing a very large quantity of water to pour out onto the floor of the power station…
With no one left manning the controls lights flickr all over New-Babbage as the power station diverts more and more of its power to flooding Clockhaven with fresh Caledonian water…
The water is pouring in from above this time. I hope we will not have to return to the surface.
I suspect that somehow this tragedy is the result of actions by those succulent little morsels the top-siders call “urchins.” Perhaps this is the right time of year to seek them out.
I believe our accord with the little foxboy is still in play so while we can technically still eat the tender ones we may not kill them to do so… if one were to float by however, drown by misdaventure say, then crack your knuckles and dig in.
*stares down at the cellar, where water is flooding in from the wall above and leaking through cracks in the floor to the cavern below*
“WHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!”
If those oven fires go out, I’m blaming Victor. And I’ll just have to find a new place to store all that air kraken, wiggyfish and Fells worm waiting to be cooked…
Can we sue Victor for water damage? Are there any lawyers in New Babbage anymore? Where is that guy Mumsy retained?
Emerson looks at the lake in the cellar as the name comes to him…
We need that Palmer guy.
Avariel Falcon sat waiting for the early morning portal back to New-Babbage… which was late… very late…
“….which inturn sat on a 2m bed of gravel.”
I hope that didn’t come from the Olde Ye Burying Ground Gravel Pit.
The dark unicorn sat in the cargo hold of a cramped mail airship. Maybe not the most comfortable passage, but it was the the fastest ship available for the return journey to New-Babbage…
Meanwhile at the Lovelace power station the supervisor on duty pondered a strange and rather massive increase in demand for power from New-Babbage…
Avariel surveyed the scene of chaos at the power station…
Water cascaded everywhere!
Small bunny clockwork hopped about in a futile attempt to cean up the torrent with feather dusters, while in the control room Unit #6 lay slumped over the control panel as thousands of gallons of water poured through an open portal!
Amid the panic the dark unicorn could think of only one thing to say…
“MOOOOORNINGTON!!!!”.
This was obviously his fault.
I think its traditional that when things go wrong in October then it is Mr Morningtons fault. *nods*
[Note: The water effects in the portal room at the power station will be removed on Saturday as the cleanup bunnies finally get on top of the slight technical malfunction]