Oh, sorrow and woe!

[Dushara]

---

Bernie

Cleverinteract with humans, understand them: 1 | Fiercescare, drag, push, carry, bite, scratch: 3 | Slysneak, steal, hide: 0 | Quickoutpace, climb, evade: 1 | Danger: 0 | Make book read itself out loud

---

Trotting along at a steady, loping pace, Bernie tirelessly follows the trail, not slowed in the slightest by his rodent rider, though of course he lags behind the rabbits.  “I don’t think cheese is a forest food,” he advises the rat in his deep, resonant voice.  “At least, I’ve never been able to find any in the woods.  I think it’s more of a village food.” 

The dog’s ever hungry stomach rumbles, like an earthquake prompted by the mention of food.  “But we can eat later—can’t you hear the forest wind telling us to hurry?  Maybe at the village I can sniff out some cheese for you.  But right now, the witch’s eyes are more important than aching paws and empty bellies.”

Edited November 7, 2023 by Dushara (see edit history)

[Anthr4xus]

The pack moves on through the night, ignoring their empty bellies and aching paws. As the dawn began to break over the horizon, the group looked down from a small rise across a quaint and beautiful collection of flower gardens leading up to a low wooden wall that sounds a village.

The village itself is was surprisingly clean and well structured. The buildings were squared and neatly in rows and lines. Low lights and fires were regularly spaced to provide surprisingly even illumination over much of the small town. There were delicate flowers and bowers festooned on the buildings, walls and across the larger streets. A large banner hangs across the open main gate into the village and the other two gates in the wall were still closed. A few people move among the clean and narrow streets, yet most of the pristine, white washed cottages were still dark and quiet. Smells of fresh bread and the earliest fish drifted up the rise from the village.

This is the start of day 2. Day 2 will run from 11/7/23 until 11/18/23.

[ariel]

---

Broom

Clever: 2 | Fierce: 1 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 1 | Danger: 1 | Tidy, clean and mend

---

While crossing the landscape, Broom flies over the entourage of familiars, not far away, just above them. He is not used to being outside or away from the Witch, so the presence of the group comforts his nerves.

The cleanliness of the town is also a balm to his soul. "Straight lines, tidy, very neat indeed... hard to believe our killer is here." He glances around pointedly, as if a stray pile of trash could direct them to the culprit.

"I will look... from above." The crow circles up in a slow arc to get a better view and mutters to himself. "I wonder if any cousin saw horses coming into town..."

 

OOCBroom is taking a brief look around for two things:

1) horses in town? are there many? are their groups tied up anywhere or an obvious stable?
2) other crows or ravens to ask about a group of people, perhaps with horses entering the town from the direction of the witch's body over the past "day or so"?

[Anthr4xus]

With his height advantage, Broom can get a broader view of the village and surrounds. A broad stone-paved road runs east to west just a short walk to the north of the main village entrance. Also on that side of the village, but outside of the wooden wall, stands a large building surrounded by well-trod and equally well-swept dirt. Broom would think that there would be evidence of horses around, but the area around the obvious barn is cleaned to a degree that even Broom finds unusual. He also notices that each building he sees the front of, whether they have additional signage or not, has a single horseshoe nailed above their main door, open end up.

There are no birds nested within the wall of the village that Broom can see, although he can hear calls of various fowl both in the straight rowed fields of corn, grains and soybeans that create a second ring of the village outside the wall and in the forest beyond. The fields are spaced out and rigidly cut into what must have at one point been a broad plain of grasses. Not only were the fields as straight and precise as the streets and houses of the village, but even the grassy berms between the fields were close-cropped to the ground and free of weeds and other non-grasses.

As Broom took one last slow sweep over the closest side of the town, he was almost convinced that there were no animals at all within the town. At the last moment before he turned back to the other familiars, he spotted a single white cat, wearing a red velvet band around it's neck, making it's way down one of the empty streets. As Broom pauses for a moment, considering if he should risk trying to call out it, it sudden rushes forward and leaps out of sight between two buildings. It emerged a second later with a thin and unsavory looking rat between it's teeth. Still carrying it's catch, the cat quickly began moving again, headed in the direction of the wooden wall around the town.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Anthr4xus (see edit history)

[Dushara]

---

Bernie

Cleverinteract with humans, understand them: 1 | Fiercescare, drag, push, carry, bite, scratch: 3 | Slysneak, steal, hide: 0 | Quickoutpace, climb, evade: 1 | Danger: 1 | Make book read itself out loud

---

Bernie woofs a quiet acknowledgment at the flying Broom, but keeps his nose low to the ground, sniffing out the trail of humans and horses.  He doggedly follows the scent as best he can, unconcerned with subtlety or stealth, and staying true to his task despite the enticing aromas of freshly caught fish and freshly baked bread.  His stomach can wait.  However, he remains protective of the rat on his back.  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a nostril open for your cheese too.”

To the pair of rabbits he adds helpfully "There are tons of flowers everywhere if you want a quick bite. I don't know if they're good to eat, but they smell kind of nice."

[ariel]

 

---

Broom

Clever: 2 | Fierce: 1 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 1 | Danger: 1 | Tidy, clean and mend

---

Broom returns to his companions and in his warm but economical way of speaking, reports to the others."Everything, everything very tidy."

"Lots of horsehoes... tacked above every door, but no horses to be seen... no animals excepting one white cat catching an unfortunate rat." He glances at Asteroth, tilting his head his head as if suddenly realizing that Asteroth was also a rat. If a crow could shrug, Broom does and continues.

"Cat was heading out, toward the wall of wood. Could rescue the rat... or perhaps find another to speak to?"

 

OOCPlease assume that Broom reveals every detail he saw.

[MysteriousMiller]

---

"Dash"

Clever: 0 | Fierce: 0 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 3 | Danger: 0 | Lock/Unlock, Open/Close

---

The sight of the well ordered village causes Dash some mixed emotions. On the one hand his anxiety goes up a hundred-fold, for folk like these have no great fondness for his kind (save when baked in a pie!) On the other, villages mean farming and those farmers always have the tastiest treats...his stomach rumbles ominously!

Dash nods gratefully to Bernie at his suggestion that there were plenty of flowers to nibble on and thoughtfully chews on a Dandelion to take his mind off the farmer's crops as Broom describes what he has seen.

"From what I know of cats, there won't be much rat left to rescue..." he comments, then sees Asteroth's expression and adds "...but don't worry. If you feel it's worth a try, well...I'm sure Bernie could see off the moggie!"

OOCnone

Edited November 12, 2023 by MysteriousMiller (see edit history)

[ariel]

---

Broom

Clever: 2 | Fierce: 1 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 1 | Danger: 1 | Tidy, clean and mend

---

Broom looks to Bernie, seeing the dog with his nose to the ground. So much fur, thank goodness I still have someone to tidy after... with the rabbits, it's just pellets.

"What do you think Bernie? Smell horse? Saw only the cat and rat from the air. And, where there's one rat... there's usually two, or seven, so if no other signs we could go that way?"

[Anthr4xus]

Even from this distance Bernie can pick up the scent of horses coming from the distant barn as the wind begins to shift. A disconcordant clanging began to arise from the streets of the village below. The clamor continued to rise and spread. Lights began to appear in windows and doors began to open as people came out to hail greetings to the chimers that walked the street, jangling collections of bar like chimes mounted on large forked poles. Scents of cooking foods and the appearance smoke drifting up from chimneys give further evidence to the sudden awakening of the town as the sun continues to climb into the sky.

[Dushara]

---

Bernie

Cleverinteract with humans, understand them: 1 | Fiercescare, drag, push, carry, bite, scratch: 3 | Slysneak, steal, hide: 0 | Quickoutpace, climb, evade: 1 | Danger: 1 | Make book read itself out loud

---

In response to Broom’s question, Bernie wags his tail eagerly and points his nose at the barn.  “Yes, I can smell horses from the big far house.  Let’s hurry!  We need to help our witch first.  Cat and rat can wait.”  The big dog excitedly breaks into a run, heading straight for the barn, knowing neither subtlety nor fear.

“No scent from the other houses though,” he woofs to the crow, “so I’m not sure why there would be horseshoes above every door.  Maybe they’re just storing them there, the way our witch stored her shoes on a rack by our door?”

When the clanging starts, Bernie slows for a second, but then quickly redoubles his speed.  “Hurry!  I think that must be their feeding bell—I can smell more food being prepared.  We can find the eyes while they’re distracted eating.”

Edited November 14, 2023 by Dushara (see edit history)

[Civit]

"That poor rat... Well if he had been smarter... The only reason to go that way is to beat... err get information out of the c-- WHAT IS THAT CLANGING? I can barely hear myself think. Some stupid human festival I would surmise."

[Anthr4xus]

After a little while the clanging and chiming died down and life within the village began to work through it's day. Brooms were deployed to sweep the stoops and streets. People began moving about, many heading out into the fields around the small town. A few even started stopping by the big building outside of the town walls. Once the doors were opened it was easy to tell that there were numerous horses kept inside. Some people even began riding horses out towards the farthest ends of the field. Few eyes seemed to turn to the group of animals on the hit outside of town. Bernie kept running further from the group and back again, urging them to move.

[Civit]

Asteroth holds on for dear life. When we get our dear Mistress up, I must ask her about a spell or concoction to stop motion sickness. "Ahh, the horses. If they were the ones from the site of the attack, perhaps they could be persuaded to tell us about the foul scum that rode them."

[Dushara]

---

Bernie

Cleverinteract with humans, understand them: 1 | Fiercescare, drag, push, carry, bite, scratch: 3 | Slysneak, steal, hide: 0 | Quickoutpace, climb, evade: 1 | Danger: 1 | Make book read itself out loud

---

“Come on, come on, come on!”  Bernie woofs at the others repeatedly, clearly surprised at how slow the rabbits are today.  “It sounds like they’ve already finished eating now that the bells have stopped.  Elora, do you need a ride?” he offers helpfully to the tiny toad.

The rat’s suggestion elicits a deep throated exclamation of wondrous praise.  “You’re so smart Asteroth!  That’s a brilliant idea!  I didn’t know you could talk to horses too.  Let’s go!”  With his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, the big dog sprints excitedly towards the barn, spraying gooey globules of saliva everywhere, adding yet another hazard for the poor rodent clinging desperately to his back.  Even if no one else follows, Bernie and Asteroth will head into the barn alone.

[ariel]

---

Broom

Clever: 2 | Fierce: 1 | Sly: 2 | Quick: 1 | Danger: 1 | Tidy, clean and mend

---

Watching the St. Bernard run away, the old crow slides a side-eye over the rest of the companions. His expression is quizzical, but not fussed, and he gives an encouraging nod in dog's direction. He really didn't care as long as the group was together.

With an awkward ruffle of feathered wings, Broom lifted himself into the air to follow the Bernie and Asteroth.