>>6109347>>6109341Better check the village - no good leaving someone in trouble.
It's a quant place, sticking to the windsafe side of a large rock eruption like a barnacle on a ship. Though tell the truth, it's probably only Edward around here who even knows what a proper barnacle is meant to be.
Few kids running around when you went trough here last but an hour later and road-sore, you find nothing. Scarlett and the spearmen are flagging, though Zivka manages recently well, all things considered.
>Scarlett Fatigued!>Spearmen Fatigued!>Zivka's Fine Walking, Thanks.Usually, places like this, they have a . . . eh let's not use the word <span class="mu-i">watch</span> or <span class="mu-i">guard</span>, no, that's too formal, too structured, but they have youths with clubs hanging about coincidentally at the roads leading in a ways, the places where strangers meet family, that little subtle perimeter between "out there" and "in here with us". They're not meant to frighten anyone off, just keep an eye on things. Long way to the nearest legion post out here, and all praise be to the Pytherii polity, they probably have enough troubles lately of their own that their overwarked Dispatched Legion troopers don't need to come a-checking for local trouble all that often.
Point being someone should have been here to wave a sullen looking hand at you and beg a few scraps of water and share some news.
There's no one.
Ringposts for animals are empty, though the through is gone, curiously enough. That same tension in the air back a ways. The scraghounds have their heckles raised.
The village proper is still down a fair bit, but there's a building owed by some well-to-do who-even-knows out here, set aside for itself. Quick peek through the windows and a rap on the doors gets nothing, place is deserted.
The wind howls.
This . . . this might not be as normal as it should be. Still, these people keep a bevy of holidays and holy days and other things. Pass-me-down things to do and not do when the mood strikes. Two months ago half the towns we passed through were deserted, it was all kinds of eerie, and then as it happens it turns out that was because everyone had trekked to one of the larger villages for a come-every-century feast and weren't we the fools for coming into the market square guns out swords up armour on and frightening the children half way through their snacks. Egg on our face, tell you what.
Maybe we don't go repeating accidents of improper decorum - Scarlett's WELL MANNERED enough that if we send her in first, she'll charm anyone we come across and we can avoid an incident.
'Course wise then we'll have to send her in first. Maybe tag along a few troopers, for company.
Otherwise maybe there's some other way to figure out what in the Void is going on around here?
Frankly, recruits, I'm out of ideas. This was always going to be a four Banner-leader job, but you're half of the hoped for strength and <span class="mu-i">way out</span> on your lonesomes . . .
>... ??? 