[Game Thread] Evergreen: Population 93

[jwert02]

Sunlight strained in through the window and Hertil woke to the slow warmth on his cheeks. Realizing his mug was sitting on the floor and he was still in his rocking chair gave Hertil a sudden start. "Damnation, I nodded off." he said to no one in particular and stood in his wrinkled clothes.

What kind of help are you? Sleeping the night away? Hertil quickly organized his hammer and pack and walked out into the morning air. The remains of the watchfire glimmered in the snow, the ashes and coals still glowing hot. Traces of footsteps in the snow indicate that someone had tended the fire in the night. The temperature was warmer than Hertil expected, creating a thin glaze of sweat under his clothes as he wandered the streets.

The sunlight and day cheered Hertil and it appeared folks were not up and about, but the village was stirring to life. Deciding to take a stroll towards the north end of the village, Hertil walked beyond the wall and approached the Northern Wilderness. Hertil's eye watched for signs of anyone entering or leaving the forest. Might as well and try to be useful after sleeping like an old man all night.

Ignoring animal tracks and such in the deep snow, Hertil carefully searched the northern area.

[copatt]

Slowed by snow and a yoke weighted with two buckets of milk and a basket of eggs, the walk into Evergreen proper takes Breck longer than did the walk home the previous night. Though riding Daisyeye would have made the trip quicker and more enjoyable, Breck had no heavy goods with which to return home and feared the horse might slip on ice and come up lame; as such Daisyeye remained in the family barn.

Breck's first stop is, of course, Beckson's General Store. As is routine, Breck simply lets herself in. Good morn', Master Beckson, she says softly, knowing the man to have lost his own son not long after Brand went missing and not wanting to sound to loud or chipper, I've brought milk and eggs, slim choosin's I know, but it is winter. Breck sets the two buckets of milk and the basket of eggs on the store counter, then props her yoke in a nearby corner. Aiming to get business out of the way quickly, she adds, We don't need much right now, maybe another loaf of bread or two; the rest you can put toward our store credit.

Breck bites her lip nervously while Sewell Beckson inspects the eggs. She has no doubts about their quality, but something else weighs on Breck's mind. Master Beckson, I thought I might search the southern woods today-- for Brand and Frederick. I was hopin' maybe I could leave my yoke here for the time bein'-- and maybe you could tell me anythin' you can about Frederick goin' missin'. I still can't shake the feelin' he and Brand might be together.

[Cidolfas]

Byron shields his eyes as the morning sun shines down on him. The unshaven man was clearly bothered by the light and he very much looked like he had slept on a bench all night. He walks as quickly as he can through the snow to his hut. He should be ice fishing, but he could afford to skip one day if need be. He would be on patrol that afternoon and he wanted to see if there was any news to be had prior to that. He grabs his sling, knife and old padded armor so he won't have to return before his shift. Finally he grabbed the leash to Grumps and called Shags to follow along before heading back into town.

Once back in the square, he goes in search of the new guard captain. He agreed to doing his part in the patrol already yet he has questions about what was going on. Byron also wants to make sure there was nothing else that had happened in the time he was drinking. The fisherman reaches for his flask, before the thought of his daughter stops his hand. His hands shake and its all the man can do to fight off the tears that welled in his eyes. Wiping them away briefly he continues his search for Ben Hope.

[Cloudpiroth]

Father Paul slowly rose from his sleep. His old bones popped and creaked as he began to move. Althair stirred at his feet, looking at Father Paul with his ice blue eyes. Slowly, Father Paul rose from his bed and donned his white priest robe. He walked over to his small, personal shrine to the sun god Pelor. He light the two white candles at each end of the altar. Father Paul took out a small loaf of bread and ripped a hunk of it off, giving it as an offering to the Sun Lord.

"Merciful Pelor," Father Paul murmurs in Celestial. May your light shine through the day and protect my good children. They fear for their own children and no person should have to do so. May your light guide and protect them from the dark forces about. May you bring warmth and comfort to those who need it. Merciful Pelor, may you show us the way to enlightenment. Thank you."

Father Paul stands up from the altar and goes into the main hall. Once again, the fire has dimmed and Father Paul tends to it until it is glowing with heat and light. Father Paul roams around the room, checking for anything or anyone that may have come during the night. After he is done with his rounds, Father Paul has a simple meal of bread, cheese, and eggs. I need to pick up some food stocks Father Paul thinks to himself. Mine are getting low

[Alesch]

In the center of the Southern Borough the old trapper and his dog stand out in the morning snow. The trapper's heavy furs were no where to be seen, instead he wears armour made of supple leather. He holds his hunting crossbow loosely in his left hand and a long boar spear in his right. His hunting knife is in its sheath at his hip. Strapped across his back are a spade and a woodcutting axe. A lantern and a small linen sack are tied to his right hip. He frowns.

"This is pointless," he mutters, "the trail's more than a week old and covered under snow. Bah, oh well. Have a sniff around Patches, we may as well try and pick up a track".

The dog sniffs along the ground, while William himself stoops every now and again and peers at the ground intently.

[Melchior]

Magnus blinks as glare from the white snow catches him in the eyes as soon as he opens his door. Raising a hand to cover his eyes, the old judge smiles at the pristine beauty of the morning sun on a crisp blanket of new fallen snow. During his schooling he had met those who had praised to greatest of grand city life, but he had been born here in Evergreen and he supposed that he would always be a small town man. The town, still and silent in the early morning, was so serene that it seemed impossible that there could be anything malevolent hiding somewhere.

Magnus frowned. It seemed the problems and turmoil the town was facing had gotten to him. He could not afford to be overcome by negativity. Turning back to face his youngest child, who was standing in the doorway, Magnus put a stern look on his face, "Alright Tam, you and Lydia behave for your sister today. I don't want to hear that you've been giving her a hard time again, alright." Magnus gave the boy a look that showed that he meant it. Apparently his two youngest had grown tired of their sister's attempts to order them around and had tied Elizabeth to a chair and locked her in the pantry. She had been absolutely livid when he had returned home that night. Cassandra was now in charge of watching the children, they would at least listen to her, and perhaps the pain in their backsides would prevent any further behavior. Magnus did not enjoy hurting his children, but it was his duty to them to discipline them so that they were prepared to live in the real world. 'Spare the rod, spoil the child,' as the church said. When the boy nodded abashedly, Magnus allowed himself to smile. "That's a good boy," he said, clasping the boy's shoulder. "Now go get something to eat, I'll be back before long." Watching his young son dutifully run off, Magnus frowned slightly. His family would be safe. He had to believe that.

Closing the door, Magnus turned and began making his way towards Town Hall, moving at his usual pace, hands clasped behind his back and walking with the air of dignity he tried to keep up at all times. He did not have a great deal of work to do today, just go over a few documents, and he hoped that he might be able to finish early. As he passes through the square he notices Byron making his way through the snow. Glad to see the man wasn't trying to drown himself in his ale already the judge nods to the old fisherman, "Morning, Byron. What brings you into town so early?"

[Cidolfas]

The fisherman looks an Magnus and shrugs. He didn't socialize with the man often but the judge was much better to deal with than the mayor. "I'm doing alright I guess. What about you?" He pauses for a moment before continuing on. "Anything new? Been quite an unusual few tendays hear and I fear widespread panic if things continue." He pet the mule as he spoke, though he stopped to scratch behind the dog's ears as well after it rubbed against him jealously.

[Rissa]

Solana rises to the break of morning, still in a good mood from the pleasant eve she had with Jennavoia she walked over and opened her shutters to let the sunlight brighten the small house. The coals were almost burned out, and the cauldron was cold. Solana began to clean up the dishes from the night before. "My my, I have quite the headache from all that ale last night." she said to herself as she proceeded to tidy her house.

She then fetched her needle and thread and went back to work, she had a long list of warm clothing that needed to be sized and fixed.

[Melchior]

Magnus nods at the man's concerns. The things got much worse, they probably could expect to see widespread panic break out in the village. Frightened people often did foolish things, and Magnus hoped that it would not come to that. "Well, we will have to hope that our new guard captain can find out what's been going on before that happens."

Magnus clasped his arms behind his back again, and nodded towards the Town Hall. "I'm just have some business to take care of," Magnus says. "I'll let you get back to your own business." With a final nod to the old fisherman, Magnus once again begins making his way towards the Town Hall.

[Bade]

Ben was just finishing his morning patrol when he caught a glimpse of Hertil searching through the snow. "Ah, there you are! I've been looking for you. I've been thinking and so far there's just the three of us. We're useless if none of us get any sleep, so I figure we break it into three shifts. Would you patrol this morning? Byron agreed to take the afternoon and I'll come back on tonight." Ben looked tiredly at him, "Pelor, I'm too old for this crap. If that's alright with you I'm heading home to get some sleep. Wake me up if there's any trouble." He waited for Hertil's response.

[Moth]

Hertil dragged the snow for important clues, but he seemed somewhat distracted by Cpt. Hope's arrival.[secrt="jwert02"]Indeed, it seemed that the trail had gone too cold.[/secret]

---

Sewell was an average man of average build with an average face and an average sort of personality. These were the kinds of virtues that allowed him to thrive at peddling generic wares in town. He had never known to offend, never to stay out late at night, nor even speak up when the time called for it. He had always seemed content - up until the day that his son disappeared.[secrt=copatt]He looked at young Breck now and gave her a weary smile, a smile with eyes that said they had not slept through a full night for quite sometime. He looked at her but said nothing until he gave a hoarse, "Here are two loaves, and that's 5 silver to your credit. Thank you for stopping by, young Breck."

He turned away from her and went to rearranging items on shelves.[/secret]

---

The good Father finds his church empty at daybreak - but a few worshippers stumble in a few minutes after sunrise. Some priests of Pelor would not admit them after the beginning of the sunrise: it was the most holiest time of the day, after all. But Father Paul had always thought to cast his net wide rather than deep. Better that they had some faith than none, he often thought.

The Tobith family were the first to arrive, delayed in their travel by the fallen snow. Of course, Penny Jerner was never with them, preferring to tend to the farm on her own. He had tried to get her to attend at least one service, but she had always refused. Fedor and Maddie came next. They had been coming to the church steadily after the loss of their daughter. Finally, a new and odd addition arrived: Yoril Swinson. He had never attended before and looked out of place as he stood at the back of the church, gazing about trying to take in the whole of the building.

---

William pokes around in the snow, but the many days of changing weather and passing citizens and critters have erased any sign of what might have once been Brand's footprints.

---

Magnus left Byron in the town square and headed off to Town Hall. It was already busy with activity. He had to nearly stifle a laugh. In lieu of any proper guards being available, Thomas Eggle was standing watch from the entrance. Whether he would ever be able to stop an intruder was a rather silly question.

The Town Hall rose in a great dome at the edge of the square. It had been constructed of a soft veined stone mined from the mountain. It had two levels: the first contained two meeting rooms, a waiting room, Magnus's chambers, a room for eating, two temporary holding cells, and a large entrance hall that sometimes doubled as a palce of public address. The second floor, mostly hidden within its domed top, was much smaller. It contained the Mayor's office, a smaller meeting room, and a room of rest.[secrt=melchior]Magnus stepped through the door and nodded to Thomas. He replied with a smile on his face, "Ah, Judge Bergmann. You have two petitioners today. Anita Wolbrook is here with her daughter Blessy. And young Penny Jerner of the Tobith farm has arrived as well. They are both in the waiting room. We are understaffed today, so I am afraid that I will be unable to leave my post and fetch them for their audiences. With great apologies, I must tell you that you must fetch them yourself before their audience. I apologize again. We are looking to remedy the situation, soon, Judge." The man gave another weak smile.[/secret]

OOC: 2,000th Post!

[copatt]

[SECRT="Moth"]Adding the two loaves of bread to her backpack, Breck nods and smiles at Sewell. Though trying her best to appear optimistic, the sadness of a shared loss haunts Breck's smile. Leaving her carrying yoke in the corner, Breck quietly lets herself out of the general store.[/SECRET]

Breck takes a left out of Beckson's general store and briskly makes her way toward town hall. The day has proven warmer than expected, so she doffs her hat and lets her red-orange curls fall down around her shoulders; the fur hat she stuffs in her pack. Outside town hall, Breck reads through the bulletin board's newer posts. Though she reads slowly, Breck's comprehension is not bad, and calls for able bodied men from both Ben Hope and the mayor almost make her laugh aloud. I'm as able-bodied as any man in the village. It's just as well though, I'll be able to do more for these missin' children workin' alone anyway. The mayor's request for a woman or some kind of child to work as a second assistant also catches her attention, albeit not in a good way. Last thing we need's a child runnin' around at all 'ours doin' the mayor biddin' by his lonesome. Breck's cheeks flush red with anger.

[SECRT="Moth"]Looking over her shoulder to be sure that no one will see her, Breck tears the mayor's post down from the bulleting board and stuffs it in the pocket of her coat. I 'ope no one saw that. I've spent many a day in the town stocks for less, and with a storm maybe comin', that's the last place I want to spend today.[/SECRET]

Breck walks away from town hall, shaking her head and heads south toward the Southern Borough. She spies Hertil and his hound sniffing through the snow and offers them a 'ello and a wave. Good to see somebody else out actually tryin' to do somethin' about these missin' kids. I was startin' to think I might be the only one. Breck passes quickly through the Southern Borough, en route to the Southern Wilds. As she approaches the treeeline, she removes her club from her belt. No need to go in unprepared.

[SECRT="Moth"]Unless someone stops her or joins her, Breck will spend the day alone, searching the Southern Wilds.[/SECRET]

[Stormhammer]

Leaving his house just after the crack of dawn, Sigurd scoops up his sling and bag full of heavy stones, and wanders off towards the Southern Wilderness. His mother, frightened that her only child is trying to find his missing friends and may run afoul the witch himself, sternly yells at Sigurd to get back in the house, but the stout youth simply ignores her. Trudging some distance into the trees, but making sure to keep the buildings of the village in sight so as not to get lost, Sigurd begins calling out the names of his missing friends, his voice travelling through the winter air. "Brand! Frederick!" Attempting to yell out even louder, Sigured shouts, "Brand! Frederick! Where are you?" Sigurd stops, stretches out his ear, and listens to see if he can hear any reply from the forest!

[copatt]

Breck's head shoots up when she hears the sound of a child calling her brother's name-- and nearby. Sigurd, I know it, and if I know Sigurd, 'e's out 'ere alone. Breck picks up her pace, heading in the direction of the lad's voice. Sigurd, it's me, Breck. Can you 'ear me?

[Stormhammer]

"Aye, I can hear 'ya!" Sigurd follows the sound of Breck's voice until he finds her not too far from the village. "I just wanted to look for my friends," Sigurd said almost somberly. "Should we look 'ound the woods for a bit?"