Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.

"-ve. Clive."

Clive peeked open a tired eye to see who was bothering him. It was Hamish. Of course it was, he thought as he mumbled something, anything as response so the halfling could leave him alone and let him sleep.

"Clive? Does yer town do any celebrations?" Hamish asked, not bothering to leave him alone.

"Yeah. We do some small parades now and then and a festival for Christmas and New Years."

"Oh. Is one 'sposed ta 'appen anytime soon?"

"No. Thanksgiving isn't for a three more weeks, and Christmas is next month." Clive explained as he realized he wasn't going to be able to return to blissful sleep.

"Well, there sure is alot o' folk in town fer somethin'."

"Did you ask Sam or anyone ELSE before coming to wake me up?" Clive asked a little irritable.

"No. They're not 'ere yet." Hamish claimed as Clive sat up and stretched.

"Not here yet? What time is it?" Clive asked as he tried to see through the tent flap.

"Just an hour or so before sun up."

"The sun isn't even up yet?! Why are you telling me now?!"

"Well, they showed up late yesterday 'nd you was already in bed when we thought ta tell you."

Clive groaned.

"And you couldn't ask Sam or anyone else when they got here?"

"We would. But there are ALOT o' 'em! It has folk feelin' uneasy like."

"Fine. I'll get ready and head into town. See what the fuss is about." Clive said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Hamish nodded with a smile before leaving. Clive grumbled as he slipped on his clothes. Once all dressed he crawled out the tent. He stood and stretched as he rubbed his arms to slightly ward off the cold early morning.

"Maybe I should have gotten a battery heater while I was at Skeeter's with Jeb."

Unlike the halflings, Clive wasn't quite as well... insulated, against the cold. Not that they needed electrical heaters or anything. They were content to let fires burn night and day. They had the dual purpose of cooking food and keeping warm at the same time. But the wood they collected would only last so long. Especially with how often the little spuds feasted or celebrated something.

Unlike Hamish though, Clive didn't want to bother Skeeter this early in the morning. Maybe he'll hang around town for a time while he was "investigating". Plan decided, Clive walked to his car and started it up, then the heater, before driving towards town.

The sky was just starting to turn blue when he reached town. The sun hasn't crested the mountains yet but its light still cast the night away somewhat. As he got closer he did start to notice that the town was a bit more cramped than it used to.

People were bundled in blankets and coats while they huddled around fires. As he drove, these people would act like the halflings did when they first interacted with his car. Like some beast was coming to get them. While they had since grown used to the motor vehicle, these people shrunk back and away as he cruised by.

His headlights made it so he could see them in the early twilight. At first he was confused as to why so many people were here as well. Then he saw some noticeable features. Pointed ears. Long thick beards. Even some smaller people like the halflings, only skinnier and many had large glasses on their bulbus heads. Though he did notice a actual halfling here and there, what REALLY sold him that these weren't some Ren fare LARPers, were the giant turtle people.

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"This isn't good." Clive said aloud. This wasn't just the small groups that him, Jeb, and Morty got. This was more people than were in Somewhere before! ALOT more!

Somewhere isn't prepared for something like this, he thought as he weaved around groups of people crowding the street. Hell, he wasn't even sure what that meant for him, his friends, the halflings! Were these people friends to them? Were they enemies? Clive tried to look as best he could to see any sort of banner or coat of arms. Something he could bring back to Hamish that might better help determine what to do and how to prepare.

Because it was evident that they weren't going to stay in Somewhere. At least not all of them. There was simply no room to house this many people. Which means temporary housing is going to get set up in and around the town. That means near the halflings.

Cursing, Clive turned around and headed back to the halflings. There were too many people and he couldn't get through town to anybody he knew that might be able to tell him what's going on. He tried to call Sam and Jeb to see if they might know something, but it was still too early for either of them and all he got was voicemails.

He doubt Morty would know anymore than they did, if they weren't up at this hour he sure as hell wouldn't be, Clive thought as he sped along the road. Cursing once more, Clive remembered Morty's little scheme to take over the town. He could only hope he didn't do anything too in line with his usual methods lately.

This many people HAS to be met with a response from the government. It HAS to! That'll come with its own problems. People around here tend to hold grudges and aren't too quick to forget the past.

"Fuck!" Things were getting messy and there wasn't much of anything he could do! All he CAN do is hurry back and tell the halflings. Once that's done, they'll be better informed and can make a better decision.

His tires skidded against the gravel and dirt. Startling a few halfling sentries that were watching the road. It seems they weren't early morning people either. Clive got out and walked briskly into the colony. Looking franticly for Hamish.

He found the halfling with his family as they were walking to the tent for breakfast.

"Hamish!"

"Aye lad?"

"It's alot of people in town!"

"Well aye! We know tha'! Tha's why I came 'nd got you!"

"It's people from YOUR world!"

That got him to clam up. As did everyone else that was within earshot. Hamish looked around. A worried look on his face as he spoke.

"'Nd, wha' were these folk?"

"I don't know. I didn't see any flags, banners, coat of arms."

"No lad! Wha' were they?! Wha' did they look like?!"

"Oh? Uhm. Humans. Dwarves. Some skinny looking halflings." The increasing crowd of curious halflings grumbled at that.

"Gnomes! Pompous folk with they're 'eads in books!" Someone said.

"Some turtle people. And even some actual halflings." Clive said.

The crowd murmured and talk amongst themselves. Clive could get snippets here and there.

"Dwarves is good folk. Ain't nothin' ta worry 'bout!"

"Halflin's? In a mixed group? Are they buggered in tha 'ead!?"

"Ne'er met turtle folk befer. Wonder if they make good stew?"

"Oh?!" Clive exclaimed.

"There were also elves!"

That got the crowd to go quiet and a tenseness filled the air.

"Did you say elves?!"

"Yeah? Tall, sharp features, pointed ears? That's an elf right?" Clive said as he tried to recall the people that fit said description.

Someone spit onto the ground, as did many others.

"Buncha knife-ears?! Near our 'ome?! This cannae go unchallenged!"

A cheer came up from the crowd in agreement with the voice. Clive felt like it was a bit much and tried to calm tempers.

"It was only a few! There were mostly humans and dwarves that I could see!"

"Tha only good knife-ear is a dead one!" Hamish cried to many repeating the same.

"Gnomes! Urban Halflin's! 'Nd now knife-ears! Wha' next?! Trolls?!"

"We should go 'nd give 'em a good Bullyin'!" That got a round of 'Ayes' from the crowd.

Clive had no clue what "Bullyin'" meant to the halflings, but he could give a pretty accurate guess if the crowd gathering clubs was anything to go by.

"Come on lads! Lets show 'em they ain't wanted!"

For once, Clive didn't have a clue what to do. This wasn't like with Sloth, where he was firmly on the giant's side. According to every halfling he spoke to, there was actual history between the two groups. Clive knew enough from Somewhere's own bloody history that trying to get in the middle of a feud like this was asking to be a casualty.

But, fortunately, he didn't have to. As the halflings raised torches and clubs into the air and started to march to town. Women waving off their husbands and sons like soldiers going to war. A voice full of command filled the air.

"WHA'S ALL THIS RUCKUS!?!?!"

Everyone turned to the voice of Carl Fallmeadow. Even this early in the morning he was stuffing his greasy face with equally greasy food. His poor sons huffed and heaved as they pushed the large tonnage of their father around in his wheelbarrow.

A halfling stepped forwards.

"Elves, Fallmeadow! Just there in town! O'er a thousand o' 'em!"

"Nay! Its a million!"

"More like a few dozen from what I saw." Clive mumbled to himself. Though not quiet enough as Fallmeadow gave him a knowing wink. Or at least Clive thought it was a wink.

"'Nd you boys was goin' ta *munch munch* show 'em wha' fer right?" Fallmeadow said between bites of a haunch of goat.

"Tha's right! Like you did ta 'em at River Bend!"

Fallmeadow got a nostalgic look on his face. It lasted for but a moment before it fell into something that looked to Clive like guilt or shame. But it was gone before anyone slightly farther away could notice.

"'Nd tell me boys. Wha' *crunch crunch* is you gonna do ta a 'million' knife-ears armed only with *munch belch* clubs?"

The group shuffled a bit.

"Well, you took 'em on!"

"Aye! But I *hack cough* were also better armed! 'Nd trained! 'Nd 'ad more than a tent ta call 'ome!"

"So... wha' are we ta do? We cannae leave 'em be! Not after e'erythin'!"

"Nay! We won't! But we are guests in this world 'nd this *hack munch* town, 'nd we'll act like good 'nd proper guests should! In tha mean time. We'll *belch munch* do wha' we always do! We'll feast! We'll celebrate! We'll grow 'nd multiply! 'Nd when those *hack crunch* knife-ears bum it up like they always want ta do! We'll be there with tha humans 'nd 'elp 'em plant a good sized foot up their dainty rears!"

The crowd cheered, and just like that, talk of "Bullyin" was gone and instead fires were re-lit and burned brighter as food was pulled out and drinking and merrymaking was held. So was singing and dancing and other activities that usually accompany it all. It seemed the halflings were very enthusiastic about the speech. Feasting and multiplying. The only things the halflings were good at. Clive had yet to actually witness their claim of being master farmers so the jury was still out on that.

Clive turned to thank Fallmeadow but he had already gone. The only sign he was even there was the tracks left by his wheelbarrow and a pungent smell in the air. He figured that he would be all for a mob against the elves. But if anything, he seemed like he wanted nothing to do with it, nor his people.

Maybe he could catch him at another time. As things calmed, or more like the energy had transferred to the usual, and slightly less violent, pastime of eating and fornicating. Clive decided to get a few more winks in.