CeteltVol2

Of course, Cetelt knew it was too steep for any kind of foundation, but his boys and girls they were fanatic like and tried anyway. Three times they tried to build there only to see the whole thing crumble."

Cetty said that the only thing a castle would get him would be some young punk looking for a siege. That reminds me of a joke: There was this young girl who's father tried to protect her chastity." [I have omitted this rather vulgar anecdote to speed up this narrative.]

Sooooo, after about a year Cetelt snaps, like I said, and calls all o' his people around him and sez, ' You all wanna do something? Then build a wall. A wall betwixt these fine people, (meanin' the halfies) and the foul breath of doom that constantly threatens them.' [I think he meant the goblins of Runny Eye.]

So his punks, feverish with love for the old boy, went a working. None too fast now. You gotta 'member, these were adventurers [said with a sneer], not real workers like you and me. So, by the by it takes 'em fifteen years to finish this one little wall. Lazy bastards. Why, in my day I coulda shown any one of 'em how the world really works. Not a one of 'em knew their arse end from..." [Another tedious monologue deleted. I bought more grog for Dremond]

Well, thash it really. As shoon as the wall was done, Cetty took a big long looky-poo and marched through the gatesh. He said., 'Hold these gatesh for my return.' He shouted a few curses and was gone. Then he headed into Runny eye and hashn't bin sheen shinze ..ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

[At this point the Halfling woman that was serving us, Rollies, was kind enough to recount her version of the events]

Oh, yes, I remember when Cetelt came here and decided to retire. He could not seem to be rid of his hangers-on. They begged to do some task for him and he obliged them by asking that they build a fort on Cair Leima. I'm quite sure that Cetelt, having taken quite a shine to us wee folk, was intent on giving this land some protection from the goblins that roamed incessantly here. But Cetelt's people were not architects, alas. They never could get the foundation for the fort right and it tumbled down, again and again."

Finally, Cetelt ordered that a wall be built across the breadth of the woods. He had it built tall and strong and cleared the trees on the bad side so that the goblins could be seen coming from quite a ways."

Strangely enough though, as soon as the wall was finished he shut himself on the bad side and with a shout of, 'I will be rid of this curse!' disappeared. It didn't take long for his people to weary of waiting for him and to trickle out of these parts; looking for other adventures, I would wager."

Now the wall stands mostly undefended and the gates are rotted off. Some still stand the vigil, but most halflings have little to do with them. There are more merry pursuits here on the edge of Rivervale."

[Rollies left me then and I left Dremond to his cups. The wall has since come to be known by the denizens of Rivervale as the Great Wall of Serilis, for one of their gods, though there are many who remember how it came to be, and who sometimes call it by this name.]