Subterforge: Prologue
In Which It All Goes Horribly Wrong
Started: 18/07/07
Completed: 19/11/07
Length: 29 pages.
Synopsis: The story opens to show Carter (jackdaw), Fallbuck (cat), Tai (red squirrel) and two accomplices preparing to perform a scam at the palace of Khvorser. Carter and Tai split off, Tai killing two guards while Carter gets the gates open. After doing so, he hears voices and realises two guards are about to go on shift. One notices Carter, assumes him to be a spy and challenges him. Carter escapes into the air, while the other guard fetches Commander Pennington (peregrine falcon), who captures the jackdaw after a brief battle. He gets dragged off for interrogation.
Meanwhile, Fallbuck and the rest are carrying out the theft quite casually and successfully. Carter is then interrogated by Captain Brandt Tearwood (wolf), who first tries to bribe him, and then threatens him with fire. Carter confesses to being a thief, and meanwhile Brandt is called away to see to the guard murdered at the front gate, so Brandt leaves, but not before making Carter unconscious. The narrative line switches to Brandt for a while, and he begins investigating. He finds out about Fallbuck and discovers the crates Fallbuck left were full of bricks. After burning these, he returns to Carter and throws meths on him to wake him up. The prospect of getting burned alive drives Carter to finally tell Brandt where he can find Fallbuck. With a company of guards, Brandt heads off to the river where the cart can be found, along with Fallbuck and co. Brandt makes short work of them, gouging out Fallbuck's right eye, strangling and burning Taikip, then ordering the other guards to kill the rest outright. Fallbuck crawls into the river and is presumably dead.
After burning the cart, Brandt goes back to the interrogation room and orders Carter's death. He gets interrupted by Ashiko Mile (cat), the Commander's secretary, who insists the criminal be freed. Carter signs the documents and is allowed to walk free. The end of prologue page shows children torturing frogs in the ashes of the burned cart.