---

The quiet place still exists.

---

That surprises Mara.

---

No taverns.

No music.

No festivals.

No shouting.

---

Only the river.

---

The Reik moves slowly through the darkness beyond the warehouses of Altdorf.

For the first time in weeks—

nothing is demanding attention.

---

Mara sits on an old wooden dock.

Chibi beside her.

Neither speaks for a while.

---

The silence feels strange.

---

Not frightening.

---

Forgotten.

---

Far away, fireworks illuminate the clouds above the city.

The cheering arrives several seconds later.

Weak.

Distant.

---

The city celebrating itself again.

---

Always again.

---

Mara:
“Why doesn’t anyone come here?”

---

Chibi watches the water.

---

Chibi:
“They used to.”

---

The answer feels heavier than it should.

---

Mara:
“What changed?”

---

The distant city roars once more.

---

Chibi:
“They stopped liking quiet.”

---

Silence settles between them.

---

Mara thinks about the taverns.

The festivals.

The endless music.

The crowds.

The noise.

---

Nobody stays quiet anymore.

---

Not for long.

---

Mara:
“They’re afraid of it.”

---

Chibi:
“Yes.”

---

The river continues flowing.

Unconcerned.

Unafraid.

---

People drink to interrupt exhaustion.

Celebrate to interrupt grief.

Make noise to interrupt thought.

---

And eventually—

the interruption becomes more familiar than the feeling itself.

---

Another firework explodes far away.

The city cheers.

---

Mara:
“Is that why people listen?”

---

Chibi already knows the question.

---

“The Ruinous Powers.”

---

A long silence.

The kind most of Altdorf can no longer tolerate.

---

Chibi:
“Sometimes.”

---

Mara:
“Why?”

---

Rain drifts across the river.

The city glows in the distance.

Beautiful.

Alive.

Hungry.

---

Chibi:
“They offer something.”

---

“What?”

---

The answer comes immediately.

---

“Whatever people want most.”

---

Silence again.

---

Khorne offers rage.

Nurgle offers relief.

Tzeentch offers hope.

Slaanesh offers more.

---

Different promises.

The same hunger.

---

Mara:
“They make it sound good.”

---

Chibi watches the distant lights carefully.

---

Chibi:
“Because sometimes it is.”

---

That answer frightens her more than any daemon story.

---

Because monsters are easy.

---

People don’t follow Chaos because it begins with evil.

---

They follow because it begins with something they genuinely need.

---

Hope.

Relief.

Purpose.

Belonging.

Feeling.

---

The city cheers again.

Louder than before.

Brighter than before.

Hungrier than before.

---

Mara looks around the empty dock.

The sleeping river.

The forgotten silence.

---

Mara:
“Do you think they’ll remember this place?”

---

For a moment Chibi looks much older than a child should.

---

Then he smiles faintly.

---

Chibi:
“Only when they need it.”

---

And beyond the river—

Altdorf continues celebrating.

---

As if it has forgotten that silence was once part of being alive.

---

⚒️ Month 5 — Sacrifice & Belief

⚒️ Week 4 — The Last Quiet Place

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game — The Old World

Sigmar suffered for the Empire himself.

Later generations discovered it was easier to ask others to suffer in his place.

The Empire learned celebration was easier than healing.

What once dulled the pain slowly became impossible to live without.

Eventually the Empire stopped asking whether something was good.

It only asked whether it felt strong enough.

---

If you remember what this felt like —
you already know what you’re missing.

Step back into it.
Or keep missing it.

👉 https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan

Want to go deeper?
Then don’t stop at the surface.

The full stories. The dossiers. The things behind it —
they’re waiting. Or they’re not.

👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames