As a continuation of the expansion program set forth by his father, Esc I Lexing, Escs third grown son, Admont Escsson, would command a ship filled with warriors and settlers across the Straits of Shepleigh to establish a base on the island to aid future settlement. Only fishermen in search of new shoals of cloams have ventured near Shepleigh, and many of them reported towers of smoke pillowing out of the pines, clear signs of habitation. Moreover, cloamsmen have reported increased harassment by ships with no colors in increasing frequency, a sign of something sinister.
These natives of Shepleigh, Sheplings, have existed outside the collective consciousnesses of the rulers whove sat on the Cholk Throne. The harassment was nothing more than a nuisance, nothing unlike in other borderlands. However, after several cloamsmen reported these raids in the straits, it was decided that civilization ought to be brought to these Sheplings. A sturdy boat was launched from Clifton wharf filled with Admont Escsson, Admonts son Cinebalt, the sherman of Shepleighshere, fifty warriors, and several maids.
It should be noted that the sherman of Shepleighshere, an elder named Duda Colasson, possessed the title in spirit only and never before had set foot on Shepleigh. The title was bestowed upon him as an honorary title more than anything, as no Cliftonlings, besides pirates and vagabonds, lived on Shepleigh. Hence, the sherman of Sheleighshere possess no clout, political or otherwise. He did sit on the meetings of the members of court which were periodically summoned. Hence, the title was given by the rulers of Clifton to particularly members for their lifetime achievements.
Regardless, Duda Colasson was not infirm; he was an active, patient, and wise man, contrasting greatly with the brashness of Admont and the warriors on board. The warriors manned the oars and set sail for Shepleigh, which are barely visible on the horizon from the highest hill in Clifton. The crew sailed south for a bay on Shepleigh known as Kese. The bay provided satisfactory shelter for the vessel from the wind and waves. The crew disembarked.
Admont proclaimed the entire island as part of the Cliftonling matrimony. The land nearby Kese was flat and forested, giving the men many resources to construct the first dwellings in the newly founded town of Keswick. Several native shepe were found by the encampment and were quickly slaughtered for meat and wool. Several more were kept in pens.
The first several days on island were about making sure that the foundations of Keswick, both literal and figurative, were strong. The galley was sent back to Clifton with Admonts assurance that the land was peaceful and fit for settlement. Duda Colasson quickly set up his office of sherman in one of the first buildings built on the island.
Meanwhile, Admonts son, Cinebalt, seventeen, lead a scouting expedition towards the interior of the island to located any water resources and natives. The party reached the south shore of the island, to an endless ocean. Cinebalt entered the water and exclaimed in the Cliftonling language:
My, such enormity! May Clifton rule all the land this water touches!
The waters were named the Faring See. The party continued along, enjoying their long walk on the beach. A warrior remarked that the population of craebs was nothing like hed ever seen. Indeed, the south shore of Shepleigh possessed large populations of crustaceans, many of which were fit for consumption. The party, after a long night of roasting and eating craebs, headed back to the base camp. Cinebalt relayed the news of an endless southern sea and crustaceans to his father, who was pleased at the news. Keswick will be a great city one day, remarked Admont.
Many weeks later, Keswick received its second load of men and women from the mainland; Keswicks population increased nearly threefold as a result. Duda Colasson was much pleased.
However, Keswick attracted the attention of the Sheplings, whom of many the land around Keswick was their home. On a blustery day in the fall, a fair-skinned, amber haired man of great stature and build emerged from the bush with several other men. The warriors approached Admont unabashedly. The giant of a man spoke a dialect of Cliftonling in a brutish accent, making it hard to decipher. What Admont understood was that the man was named Yngvy Tirsson and he was a chieftain of the Skesperlings, the native term for Shepling.
Yngvy spoke for the other chieftains on the island when he denounced the settlement of the island by the ugly, filthy, and weak1. Admont did not hesitate when he drew his weapon, a stone tipped curved spear known as a Shillæla, and pointed it towards the chieftain. Despite Admonts above average height, his Shillæla was angled high for to point at Yngvys face. The chieftains facial expression remained cold and stone-like. Yngvy had seen enough of Admont and the skrælings intruders. Yngvy muttered something in his native tongue and turned around, disappearing into the forest.
Admont, despite winning this altercation, was visible shocked. A man essentially vowed to remove him and his people, almost personally, from the island.
Yngvy did not return to the village for many weeks, in which time several more shiploads of settlers and increasing number of warriors arrived. A rudimentary palisade was erected around the domiciles and workshops of Keswick. Admont's bushy beard grew with his anxiety and anticipation.
Finally, several warriors preforming a routine, nightly check around the palisades spotted several women running through the forest.2 Suspicions aroused, they scouts quickly reentered Keswick to alert Admont. As they were doing, several screams were heard in the forest, which awoke many people within the town. Several Skesperling men and women were attacking one of the entrances into Keswick. Admont quickly scrambled his men around the gates of Keswick to defend against an assault.
One of the gates was breached and dozens of Skesperling poured in. The warriors were in a defensible position when the human wave reached them. Slaughter and chaos ensued. Many citizens entered the fray with household objects, such as shovels and hoes, as weapons. The melee continued for perhaps thirty minutes when someone outside of the action commented:
"The ground is quaking."
At the breached gate was the colossus himself. Yngvy entered the scrum armed with a massive club made from am entire tree trunk. One swing of his club could kill five men and wound five more. Fortunately for the settlers, the Skesperling regulars were falling faster than the Cliftonling warriors were. Soon enough, only Yngvy and a handful of his woman archers (who'd run out of arrows in the process). Yngvy was surrounded near the center of Keswick, by the wharf. The full moon glistened in the waters of the strait behind Yngvy. The cold coming-winter air blew through the now leafless trees.
Yngvy erupted:
"For every man and woman you have killed, fivefold more will join in the fight against you. Give up, you cannot hold on to your pansy little town. The fight will not end with the death of me; only with the death of you."
A standoff between Yngvy and the entire town of Keswick ensued. Yngvy towered over the townlings like a tree in a meadow. A bolt then suddenly entered Yngvy's side. A female archer on top of one of the roofs delivered an impeccably aimed arrow right under his arm. Yngvy did not flinch, despite half of the arrow lodged inside of him. Then another arrow from the near the rear striked Yngvy, this time in the left thigh. Yngvy recoiled from the shot. Then the town realized that they overtake the giant, for he was now hobbled. A charge was called for by Admont. Despite Yngvy's best efforts, wildly whacking his club, far too many people were starting to club him. A well placed hit on his stomach caused him to buckle.
Another to his shoulder made him fall onto his knees.
A third to his head made him collapse to the ground.
The melee continued until it was almost certain that Yngvy was dead. Even then, Yngvy was able to summon enough of his seemingly infinite strength to attempt to lift himself from the ground, but the death knell was delivered. The Skespering chieftain laid in a puddle of blood, with two arrows sticking out of him, battered and bruised. Keswick had survived.
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Word returned to the Cholk Throne of the battle. Esc I Lexing was shocked to learn the dimensions of the chieftain. Nearly the height of an liphant and half its weight, Esc I could not believe such a being could exist. Hhe remained in that state until Yngvy's corpse was transported back. The disbelief quickly became thankfulness as he realized that a town of his people defeated this mountain of a man. He was especially proud of his third son, Admont, summoning him back to Clifton for special commendation, Admont's son Cinebalt, the sherman Duda Colasson, and the people of Keswick.
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1It should be noted that Cliftonling and Skesperling, the two languages in question, share many of the same words for adjectives. Hence, Admont was able to understand without needing a translation of what Yngvy meant: insults against his people.
2Being a tribe of few people, man and women, the Skesperlings had to rely on both genders to handle the other's duties. Hence women often fought, usually with bows, in the underbrush. Due to their smaller size, the women were adept are running through the forest, as opposed to someone such as Yngvy.
