Gaunt Town March

By Kat Delarus

creeping darkness
swaddles our souls
we hide without light
to keep us from dying

Longer and longer
the time stretches out
we’ve seen what grows
beyond the horizon

beat does the heart
does the heart of madness
that way lies nothing
familiar or sacred

pitchforks and torches
and flasks of oil
wooden planks and nails
and chunks of stone

there is no way
to stop it from coming
the townsfolk marching
aren’t coming back

beat does the heart
does the heart of madness
that way lies flesh
an abyss that kills

back to the town
we hurry and we scamper
packing our bags
we flee what’s inevitable

quick, take a knife
it’s already here
are we too late?
there’s no time to think

beat does the heart
does the heart of madness
ever growing, ever reaching
Do nothing but flee

beat does the heart
does the heart of madness
in your blood and in your head
it’s far too late

(Art by Tom Brown shows the Bridge of Bottles, which crosses the Gaunt River into Gaunt Town, the oldest part of the main settlement on the island.)