[Game Thread] Evergreen: Population 93

[Cloudpiroth]

Father Paul Tristan stands off to one side of the hall. He is leaning upon his walking staff and watching the whole meeting with benign amusement. My children can't seem to get along Father Paul muses to himself. I wish Pelor would guide them with his radiant light and show them that conflict amongst ourselves will only divide us when the time comes

The decision of the mayor to send the whole town guard after one thief intrigues Father Paul. This boy must have stole something of great importance if he sent them all. A little rash, but still interesting

As the meeting comes to an end, Father Paul approaches Ben Hope, the new captain. "Congratulations my son," Father Paul says in a warm tone, placing his left hand on Ben's right shoulder. "Pelor has decided to smile upon you. It is a shame that your promotion has come in these dark times but Pelor has a reason for everything. I would like to offer my services of healing and protection. I'm afraid that I would be of little use on patrols but I still believe that I may be of some help." Father Paul takes his hand of the man's shoulder and faces the rest of the town.

"My dear children," Father Paul announces to the townsfolk. "I am offering protection to those who wish so. My doors are always open to those in need. Remember to keep your faith in the great Sun Lord and that there are strength in numbers."

[Alesch]

William Fields takes a step back as his conversation with the newly appointed Captain gets cut into from all sides. "Right," he mutters, "well, I'll speak to you later then Captain Hope. Congratulations again on the promotion". Thus excusing himself, the trapper turns to walk away. He pauses briefly to put a hand on young Sigurd's shoulder. "The girl's right lad, you'd best not linger out. I'm sure you've been told this before but I'll say it all the same; keep away from the woods Sigurd" he says, sparing a sad smile before walking off towards the edge of the crowd. Patches pads along silently behind him, as usual.

As he walks the trapper's thoughts are occupied with memories of another boy who had been Sigurd's age once. Lost in thought, William does not pay much mind to what is in front of him. Bumping into the village tailor snaps him out of his reminiscence however. "Oh," he says, with an expression that might be described as sheepish or which might be described as a scowl, William Field's thick facial hair makes it difficult to tell. "Sorry Solana, I didn't see you there. I must not have been paying attention. Are you alright?" The De'Cortez girl, he thinks, I think she's about the same age Philip was when he left.

[Storm]

It seemed in all the confusion that Ben Hope was going to be a busy man. In gest, Jennavoia walks past the others and slightly nods in approval trying to keep warm from the snow. Wanting to get back home, Jennavoia briskly walks in an effort to make reservation for an upcoming event. Wanting to prepare, he needed a few things from his home and immediately retreats home trying to shake off the cold that seems to exhale at each warm breath. With a flip of the collar the snow immediately falls off his shoulder as he rubs his hands together to warm them so. The time to be cordial was not needed. Jennavoia was concerned but it seemed that Ben Hope and the others would be able to have this whole ordeal taken care of by morning. His attention before continuing, he hears Brecks voice and turns his attention to him. " Yes Breck what can I do for you?"

[Moth]

The sun peeks through the clouds for a moment, casting a grasp of slim sunbeams through the clouds before becoming engulfed once again. The momentary light seems to coincide well with Father Tristan's speech, but as the sun once again hides itself the winds begin to blow harder. The day was getting on in the afternoon and many of the crowd had begun to disperse. Evening would be coming along before too long, and the Mayor's speech had caused many citizens to become concerned. A steady line of people were heading to Beckson's General Store as well, apparently taking the Mayor seriously at his words that True Winter was around the bend.

[CrimsonKnight]

Orson silently listened as their fool of a mayor and his heckler traded insults (though Orson did share Byron's sentiments towards the idiot), their newly promoted guard captain failed to be at all reassuring, and that one girl, what was her name... Breck, right, voiced the fear everyone present was feeling. One of his massive hands was clasped by both hands of his wife, Sophia. The other was wrapped around the tiny shoulders of his young daughter, Tana. In contrast to her husband's stony gaze, Sophia was looking extremely worried by the entire situation. Tana, too young to understand why everyone was gathered in the first place, was simply excited due to the large gathering. Noticing that the Mayor had finally finished the ill-prompted gathering, Orson sighed. This had been... less than helpful. The whole town gathered and freezing in the winter weather, and all they'd learned was that the entire town guard was gone and the mayor was even more incompetent than Orson had thought during his reelection campaign.

He felt a hand on his bicep, and turned towards his wife. "Orson, what... what will we do? This could... I mean..." Her small hands were dwarfed by Orson's mitts as he grasped them. "Shh, marm. Nothing will happen. You hear me? NOTHING will happen to her." He looked down at his beloved angel, who was shivering a bit in the cold but was otherwise happy and serene between her parents. "Take Tana back to the house. I'll be along shortly. Just need to talk to the new 'guard captain' for a bit. And make sure all the doors and windows are locked... we can't be too careful." His wife nodded, then took their daughter by the hand and started walking back towards the smithy. Orson watched them go for a few seconds before sighing and walking over to Ben.

"Excuse me Captain Hope, may I have a moment of your time? I understand you've probably got a lot to deal with at the moment, but I just wanted to let you know: if you're in need of any weapons or armor, my smithy is well stocked at the moment, and I'll gladly provide whatever you need. Payment's not an issue, at least not while this... intruder continues to threaten our little ones."

[Bade]

Ben closed his one eye for a moment amidst the continued deluge of talking. So help me Sopp. If we get through this in one piece I'm going to stove your head in. They can hang me for it and I'll die with a big !@#$ing grin on my face.

He turns his head towards Magnus. The judge had been in town for nearly as long as he had and Ben had a lot of respect for the man, he was tough but fair and Ben couldn't ask for a better man to be on his side. Now if only the two of us were 30... hell, 40 years younger, we'd have nothing to worry about. He fixes eye contact and gives a single, slow nod, indicating his acceptance of the explanation, agreement to cooperate and the offer to help in that one gesture. It relied on the connection the two men experienced from having worked side-by-side towards justice in their end of the world to give its meaning. It was a nod with a lot to say for itself.

He turned then to the priest, Father Paul. Ben had never really been particularly devout. Pelor had yet to bother or help him much, so he figured it was a case of live and let live. But he knew people in town looked there for guidance, so he appreciated the help. It didn't help to ease the permanent sour expression on his face though. "Well let's hope Pelor comes down and helps out then. Until then however, I'm sure you'll be able to help out and I'll keep your offer in mind."

Ben nods to William as the tracker steps back into the crowd to talk to someone else, before turning to the blacksmith. Though the man towered over him by a half foot or more and was easily twice as broad, Ben showed not the slightest sign of being intimidated by the man's size. He felt for the man's concern about his daughter, and did his best to moderate his tone... but a lifetime of being rough-tongued and cantankerousness is a hard habit to break and his tone is scarcely modified from its gruffness. "Right, no doubt once we get a few volunteers those armor and weapons will be handy. The guards took their equipment with them, so unless they come back we're out of our own. A very kind offer Orson, much obliged."

He noted with something approaching delight that the crowds were starting to disperse.

[Melchior]

Magnus returns Ben's nod, a gesture of solidarity in these trying times. Ben Hope was a good man, who had served Evergreen for forty long years. Magnus did not enjoy thrusting so much pressure on the man when the grizzled old guard deserved to relax and enjoy his retirement. But if he had to choose any of the guard to get them through this by himself, Magnus would have chosen Ben. With any luck though, they wouldn't have to rely on only one man. With luck, Brind Nunce would return from the forest before long; though Magnus was starting to lose hope of that, especially if the Mayor's pet soothsayer was right about the storm. And he usually was.

Magnus turned from the acting guard captain without saying anything else. Nothing else needed to be said. The priest, Father Triton, had come over, offering Pelor's blessing. Perhaps the light of the sun god would show the people the way in these dark times. It was a reassuring thought, if an ultimately pointless one. Magnus had never been what people would call a devout man. He attended all the services and even believed much of what he said, but he did not really buy into the idea that Pelor cared much for simple people and their farms. Surely a god had more important things to concern himself with than a simple town like Evergreen. 'He certainly had more important things to concern himself with than Robert,' the old judge thought bitterly; before catching himself before it could show on his face. His son's death was not Father Triton's fault, and he had nothing against the man. He did not deserve scorn simply because of his faith, and if he was offering help and assurance in a time of crisis than Magnus could certainly put aside his own theological dilemmas. Magnus nods towards the old priest with a warm smile, "Yes, thank you for your kind offer, Father. And thank Pelor as well, for help and guidance in times of unrest."

Magnus turns towards Orson, giving the man a sympathetic smile. The blacksmith absolutely adored his daughter, everyone in town new it, and Magnus could empathize with his distress. The old judge looks past the large man at the retreating back of the man's wife and daughter. The little girl seemed in high spirits, despite all that had happened recently. Magnus frowned at the thought that Orson had to bring a young girl out into the cold for fear of leaving the child alone, just to attend a town meeting. Perhaps he would have to talk to the man. Offer his house as a safe place in the future. Tam was friends with the girl and young Tana would be safe there; though Elizabeth seemed to resent her newfound position as permanent babysitter to her younger sister and brother. An idea for another day, perhaps.

Magnus nodded to the blacksmith, giving him a reassuring smile. "You're a good man, Orson. If necessary, I'll make sure you're reimbursed for your generosity. Though hopefully it won't be needed." Magnus tried to keep his skepticism out of his voice, but he did not think he managed to succeed. Magnus knew that the Mayor's official stance on the issue was that there was nothing to fear. That the disappearances were just a series of unfortunate coincidences. It sounded far-fetched to Magnus, but he tried not to voice such opinions. "I'm glad that your Tana seems to have recovered from the attack. Tam still has some scratches and bruises but at least he is alive. Thank the Light." Magnus' eyes widen and he mentally berates himself for the slip up. Cal and Garret were both in attendance, and their children had not yet been found after the wolf attack. Fortunately neither of them were close enough to hear over the murmur of the crowd. He had seen poor Cal Tobith's face when they had found the blood, and was surprised the poor man had managed to bring himself to attend this meeting. "I don't know what wolves were doing so close to town. He shakes his head sadly. Wolf attacks were uncommon to be sure, but not unheard of around Evergreen and Tam had been insistent that he and his friends had been attacked by wolves. He believed his son wouldn't lie about something as important as that, and tracks found at the scene seemed to verify the child's claims.

[Moth]

The chill strengthens and the first flake floats past the dispersing crowd. Another follows soon after and another and another. Soon a light downfall is noticeable. It's snowing.

OOC Reminder: Evening/Night begins at 12:01AM tonight. That period will cover 8pm - 6am in game time and will last two days in real time.

[jwert02]

Heritl lingers as the crowd disperses and moves toward Ben, Magnus and Orson. Fine people, people I can trust. After a little bit, the conversation turned grimmer as Magnus discusses the wolf attacks. Hertil shifted uncomfortably, wolves he did not like at all. Once he had been cornered and spent a long night at the entrance to a small mine, but that was something he really didn't want think about again. Besides, most folks in town knew he hated the grey furred curs with a passion. Well after plenty of time, most folks knew a lot about Hertil and his talks.

Eyeing the weather, Hertil turned back to Ben and Magnus. "Um Captain Ben, I have a thought. Its starting to get nasty out, bit too nasty if you ask me, but how do you want to handle the watches? I myself have always thought a nice fire kept away the shadows and I'd be happy to bring out some wood and get a fire or two burning. If you thought it would help and all, Captain." Shifting nervously, Hertil hope he hadn't offended Ben. Just it was starting to get dark, and Hertil just didnt like the feel of things.

Hertil spent plenty of time in the dark, and was not afraid of it, but a bit of light always helps in the darker days. And if there is a witch about, the days are dark indeed. Pausing a second for Ben to think, Hertil turned to Magnus. "Judge Magnus sir, good to see you. I hope that your time with the Mayor has been fruitful. I do hope he comes around to events and all. Do you think that the wolves and witch are related? Myself, its not a far leap to believe a creature of foulness would cavort with creatures of the night."

[Rissa]

Solana let out a soft chuckle towards Marra's statement about her husband "Well you could always send him my way, I have needed a man's touch around my house for a while now, it seems as soon as I repair one thing another one goes and with only myself running the shop I don't have much time to keep up with the maintenance. Especially at this time of the year when everyone expects new winter layers of c----" Unexpectedly Solana was knocked off balance during her sentence by William. "Ouch" she exclaimed as her first reaction. Slowly she turned around to be greeted with an apology from the old trapper. "It's quite alright Sir, just startled me is all. How is your take on this whole thing?" she asked curiously. "I personally find it shocking, I keep hoping I will wake up to find out this is all a bad dream." She paused for a moment to stare off blankly into the sky as the first snowflakes began to fall. "Looks like we are in for a storm tonight... Some of us villagers should gather over supper and converse about this whole thing" she suggested. "Myself and I bet many others find it nerve racking to speak up in front of the mayor and Capitan Hope, personally I would rather not get yelled at for speaking my mind..."

She once again began to emit rapid bursts of oxygen caused by a quivering jaw as she began to shiver "I h-hate the c-coldd"

[Alesch]

The trapper laughs merrily. "Well I'd never have thought..." he shakes his head and smiles, "There's no reason to be nervous about speaking to Ben, lass. He's just an old fart like me, just because the Mayor says he's a Captain doesn't make him one. As for Sopp, well, it's sometimes best not to speak in front of him just in case he gets it in his head to start speaking himself. The man's always been one for talking". He rolls his eyes as he discusses the Mayor but there's no real resentment in his tone.

"As for what I think of the recent happenings, well..." he hesitates for a moment before sighing, "let's just say that telling Cal and Garret that I couldn't find their kids may well have been the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I'd rather not repeat the experience". In contrast to Solana's shivering, Mr. Fields seems rather unaffected by the cold in his heavy furs. Falling snowflakes land on his beard and coat, speckling them with white. "Well, I suppose this is no weather to be standing about in" he says. His beard bristles as he smiles. "And if that was an invitation to dinner Miss De'Cortez, then I accept. I'm old enough to know better than to refuse a meal and it has been awhile since I've eaten anything that I haven't cooked myself". He stoops slightly and scratches his dog behind the ear. "I'll have ol' Patches here see you home if you'd like. I have some business to discuss with Ben once the hangers-on leave him alone, so I'll wait for a little while longer".

[Bade]

Ben turned to Hertil, "Good idea Hertil, I'm sure a fire certainly can't hurt. Feel free to bring some wood in, we'll get some watchfires going. After you're done there, grab Byron and head over to Orson's and get whatever armor you think you can use. Grab a weapon too, but make sure you can use it. Don't just grab anything with a blade and assume it's like cutting wood. If you don't know which end of the weapon is which, it's more of a threat to you than someone else. Come see me once you're all set up." The children so far all vanished during broad daylight. I doubt a fire will help, but it can't hurt. He looked around at the few people still near him. "Alright folks. If I'm going to do this job, I better get started." He walks away from the group and heads towards where William is talking to Solana.

"William, I just wanted to be sure I can count on you and your tracking skills in the coming days. I hope like hell we won't need them, but I'd like to know you're on board if we do. I'd like you to take a look at the sites where the kids have vanished. It's old, I know, but you might find something the guard missed."

[copatt]

Though it likely takes her several stops, Breck finally finishes her shopping. With Daisyeye burdened beneath lumber, a sack of nails, and assorted carpentry tools, Breck turns to make her way toward home. She scans the crowd, looking for Sigurd or, perhaps, someone to escort her back to her family's farm. Hopefully, the lad's already found 'is way 'ome.

Breck considers asking Ben to serve as her escort, but eventually discounts the idea. The poor man 'as enough to do already-- besides it's a short walk. Breck tromps toward home, alone save Daisyeye's company, silently considering the best way to build bars for her home's doors.

[Rissa]

Blushes childishly "Well I only get nervous around him because he likes to use a stern voice and is pretty harsh and blunt when it comes to verbal retaliation... It's not that i'm scared or anything, I would just prefer not to be made a fool of in front of this crowd." Solana gives a wide grin as William offers her to be escorted home by his dog. Carefully she knelt down in the snow to pet the dog on his head "He's lovely" she said, looking up at Mr. Feilds "But I was going to see if anyone else would care to join us for a nice warm meal and possibly some ale, all of these events have us wound up so tightly that none of us have had a chance to relax. I was thinking at my house and I could cook up some stew over the fire, but if this becomes a rather large crowd than we may have to relocate to the Icecap Pub."

Solana stared at the ground in silence as Ben Hope approached William hoping he did not overhear her talking about him only moments ago. Nervously she directed her attention back to Patches "Such a good doggie" she said in a playful voice while rubbing his back and ears. From her still kneeling position she glanced around to see who else might be interested in partaking in the event, although she did not want the whole town taking advantage of her ale and food due to the price of the aftermath.

Snow was beginning to fall slightly harder now, it could be seen accumulating on the shoulders and heads of the still remaining audience. "Hrm, better hurry and decide before the storm gets here" she mumbled as she carefully inspected the faces of those around her.

[Alesch]

William grunts in response to Hope's request. "You know Ben," he muses, "we're too old for this sh..." he catches himself mid-word and glances at Solana, "er, stuff. If anyone else disappears then Patches and I'll take a look for them. You just concentrate on making sure that we don't have to". He glances up at the sky and scowls. "As for the other children, well, that trail isn't just old Ben. It's more than a week old. Even old Patches won't likely sniff out a trail that long past. Finding anything now will be a long shot. Don't think I'm just being modest either Ben. From what I've heard those trails start by the river and in the middle of town. Neither of those are ideal for tracking in the first place". He shakes his head. "And with the sun going down like this, sorry Ben but it'll have to wait until morning. Tracking at night is difficult even with fresh tracks. With a trail as old as this one it'll be impossible".

Turning to the young Tailor "I'm sure there must be a young bachelor or two who'd jump at the chance to eat some of your cooking Miss De'Cortez. That fancy gentleman from the south, perhaps". He furrows his brow and snaps his fingers. "What's his name?" he mutters, "Something odd. Jennervoya Noir I think it was? Bah, I can't remember".