Chief Deputy Tammy was up and around though, the night's sudden and violent storm having kept her awake in the Sheriff's Office where she had decided to wait it out while "holding the fort". It was not like she had been abel to do much other that secure the shutters on the office and check in on the cells, hoping the rest of the town would make it through. The storm had come all of sudden in the midde of the night, thundering through the streets, shaking the Buildings and probably waking up a lot of people. It was a miracle nothing was broken or damaged saved for a few barrels and Loose items blowing through the streets, Sammy had looked out numerous times duing the night, and though she in the flashes from the strange lighting the storm had brought with it could see Buildings shiver and shake in the storm, everything stayed together... as far as she knew.
All of sudden the storm had ended with a sudden boom that had shaked the building, and the... silence.
Tammy was just about to pull on her belt and pick her rifle to go out and see how the town had fared when the door opened and her friend Drop Forge barged in, carrying a swinging lantern in her hand.
"Buy the Black Hammer, its good to see you still hanging on girl" he bellowed as he set Down the lantern, a weak lighting slowly seeping in through the door behind him.
"Hey Drop, should have know you would make it out and through before first light" Tammy responded with a smile while buckling her belt. "How's the the town faring?"
"The town's fair and Square me girl, not a Loose board though I think some clothes out to dry has been lost, but there's... something not quite right in the air, I can feel it!". Drop Forge pazed back and forth in the office like an angry bear while Tammy got the rest of her equipment.
"Then lets go put your mind at ease Drop" Tammy said seriously, Drop Forge was rarely wrong when it came to his 'hunches'. "If you feel something is odd after we've had our communication lines cut, our Town Council running away and Elves Assassins prowling the night, THEN I am starting to get worried... lets go and see what there's in store for us." She grabbed her rifle and went out the door.
"I don't think we'll get to the other end before we find something" Drop Forge rumbled, then went after her out on the office's porch, into the slowly rising sun.
Actually they didn't even get off the front porch before they stopped speechless, staring down main street at the Yellow Brick Road that started right where the street ended and winded its way out in the desert beyond, disappering in the distance where the green tips of forests and hills could be seen in the dawning light as compared to the usual view from Shelterville... that is... desert, mountains and some more mountains...
The road seem to be shining in the hazy mist of the rising sun and, Tammy thought, it almost seemed like she could spot the outline of people walking down on it toward the town...
Tammy was just about to point out this to Drop Forge who have pulled out a brass looking glasss and was inspecting a mountainrange that could now be spotted to the other end of the town, though these were green and yellow, not the usual grey Mountains that normally could be see from Shelterville, when they were suddenly interrupted by Nine-Willey coming running down the street...
"Sheri... eh, Deputy Tammy! Deputy Tammy!" he called while running towards them, "The Silver Pen Saloon has been invaded by Flying Monkeys... and they are getting into the beer!" he stuttered when he came up to them, weezing after the brisk run.
Tammy shook her head and grumbled... "I hate days that starts like this!"
Basically Shelterville have somehow taken the place of the Emerald City, the town itself being in the Heart of what used to be the Capital, its surrounding desert and mountains filling out the rest to the edges of the Space the City previously occupied.
All the roads that lead to the Emerald City still stands, especially the Yellow Brick Road which now have become a one-way conduit, leading people from faraway realms and places to Shelterville...
Where is the Emerald City? who or what orchestered its deplacement by Shelterville? Is it possible to get the cities back where they belong before chaos breaks out in the lands of Oz? Is the Transdimensional abilities of the Yellow Brick Road intentional or not? And if yes, who is behind THAT? Will the towspeople of the Shelterville ever get back so they can deal with the relative peace of High Elven attacks? And what does flying Monkeys drink?
... this is what this Caper is all about
Sketches, questions and general talk about the setting of Oz/Shelterville which are not orientated towards any of the participating comics, goes to this thread.
For show, here's an experimental site I'm working on, showcasing and fleshing out the town, surroundings and people of Shelterville as they are introduced in the current tales of Cowboys & Crossovers and Shelterville Shuffle, with art from the various contributors.
It hope to be able to devote more time to this site both before and under the Caper, and who knows? Perhaps the Caper will bring more fleshing out to parts of Shelterville and its residents we can add?
