Zounds! Another scary german song - hang on, is that peter stormare on guitar?
Zazak, it's a pity your enthusiasm has been killed but thank you for sticking around. No matter, "Onwards and upwards" as someone, somewhere probably said at some point. My opinion is that we're lucky to have got the 'jesters' out of the way, we can point fingers at the mod later. Obviously seeing as the jesters weren't real scum we can still do some wagon analysis.
Very happy to report that i didn't have any strange dreams on NIGHT 2, but lift told me i am allowed to quote it verbatim.
THE SNOW
The wind deafened you, the snow throwing itself against your face blinded you. You were painfully walking in the middle of a vast white plain, although you could not see far. Eventually you find tracks, you decided to follow them. Your hands hurt. The tempest did not seem to be getting any better. You could not feel your feet. You wondered what would they look like. What were you doing here? You could not remember.
You thought you heard someone yelling at you. A hand sets firmly on your shoulder. A voice speaks to you in English with a heavy accent. “Follow me”. He was a broad, strongly-built man, from what you could tell. He wore a thick, old-fashioned jacket. You did. Now and them you stumbled. If not for him, you might have fallen twice. He moves well in the snow, while you painfully trod as you could. Eventually he caught your hand and led you, as you could see less and less.
After what might have been half an hour, or an eternity, you reached what seemed to be a sailing ship. It was surrounded by snow-covered ice. You climbed up the plank. The hull was painted black, and the sail rigs had been retired. You could distinguish the word ‘Fram’ on the side. Four men seemed to be spreading a tarp over the deck. Your rescuer talked with them in a language you could not understand. He took you downstairs. It is not the largest ship ever, but it seems to be sturdy, with quite a beam for its length. There was a spacious cabin with a sizable wooden table, together with comfortable chairs, a pianola, and, most important of all, a stove.
Soon you have a blanket wrapped around you. You get your hands closer to the stove. When your fingers started coming back to life the first you felt was an acute pain. The broad man had left. A crewman replaced him. He did not speak English, but he had a warm smile and a blonde mustache. He even played checkers with you. This feels like a nice place. When was the last time that you felt this comfortable? Out of the chamber, the rest of the crew seemed to be rather busy, but you could not tell what were they doing exactly.
After a couple of games, your companion left as your savior came back. He had shed his jacket and was holding a couple of mugs. “Here”, he said, “some prefer coffee, others, cocoa, but I have nothing against some warm punch, especially on long watches.” You accepted one. Your hands hurt even more when holding it, but you knew it was a good thing. The man went on. “You are safe now. Now, will you tell me what you were doing here? What is your ship?”. You tried to explain but you really did not know. In fact, you find that no words come out of your throat. For some reason, you suddenly realize that both the sound of the wind and the noises of a busy crew had vanished. The man, a minute before friendly and somewhat laid-back, looked concerned for the first time. He rose from the chair. “Wait here”, he said. Then, after what seemed a second of hesitation: “It’s not your fault”. He departed. You could hear his step as he climbed towards the deck.
The whiteness you could see through the porthole had turned dark gray. You expected something to happen. An argument, a fight. Instead, only silence. How could this happen. Suddenly you realized that, under your jacket, you were wearing what seemed to be a sort of funny pajamas, stamped with drawings of little cute baby elephants. There is only the candle to lighten the chamber. No other light is visible through the door of the ship. You heard one heavy step. Then another. A pause. The kerosene light died. You were all alone in the darkness now. Another step. And another. Soon you are going to meet whoever, whatever is coming down. You wish you could move, but your limbs do not obey you. Terror has chilled you to the bones. You hardly dare breathing for fear of making any noise. Then, what feels like a small hand grabbed your left wrist. “Come with me”. The most subtle of whispers, from what seems to be a girl. In total darkness it suddenly pulled you with unexpected strength, almost dislodging your shoulder and elbow.
