Chapter 7

The adventuring trio made it to the village without any more problems, but as the King’s Way led out of the forest they passed by a ring of farmsteads that looked like they had seen better days. Some were occupied, but the people working them didn’t call out greetings, only stopping what they were doing and staring at them until they had walked down the road. Others were clearly abandoned, the elements slowly wearing on the properties, even though they seemed to be in prime agricultural areas.

The village of Tremulous Crook was a collection of about three dozen homes and another dozen buildings that included minor trade shops and businesses, a small Inn, a granary and the Town Hall. The girls headed straight for the Town Hall, wanting to deliver their letter to the Headswoman there, who ended up being a friendly but tired woman in her late forties. They got a bit more of a rundown of the state of things - the Headswoman, Pelli Mason, was a widow whose three sons had all gone off to the war more than five years ago, having expected that they would return well before then. The town was struggling to meet the Duke’s Tax, and she broke down a little when she read the letter the girls had delivered and found out that the King had levied an additional War Tax on the entire realm to help combat the vermin tides of the Dark Tyrant.

The girls spent time trying to comfort her, and she invited them to stay in her home rather than at the Inn - it was the most profitable business in town, so they couldn’t shut it down, but the ne’er-do-wells who had been frequenting it recently were suspected to be the same men and women who were causing problems all over the countryside.

Of course, the girls immediately wanted to confront the first batch of miscreants they could find, but Pelli convinced them that doing so in town would only bring their anger down on the people of the town. If anything was to be done, it had to be outside of town and with a proper Writ of Law allowing them to act as Sheriffs of the Duchy.

That information, of course, led the girls to ask the obvious question.

“Well, how can we do that?”

I’d been DMing for a long time. I was still constantly surprised by what my players would do or say in any given situation, but I knew how to lay down tempting clues for the players to pick up.

“Well, our last Sheriff and his two deputies were conscripted by the Duke two years ago,” Pelli said. “As Headswoman, I have the ability to name a new interim Sheriff, but only if the Village Elders agree on who it is. No one has wanted the job since then other than a few strangers that we haven’t really trusted, so no one can agree or not. We might be able to convince them, though. We can’t send you against the bandits without the title and the writ, but there’s nothing that says you can’t help us out with a different problem.”

“That’s perfect,” Olivia said. “We’ll take care of this other problem, and then we’ll throw a celebration party and invite all the locals in the village.”

“Well, hold on,” Jade said. “What is this other problem? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and leap in without lookin’.”

Pelli told them that there had been strange things happening with the wolves out on the hinterlands to the west, closer to the mountains. There had always been wolves, and every year someone had a story about losing a couple of sheep, or a goat, or even a cow - but this year it wasn’t just one or two. Dozens of sheep from a single flock would get savaged in the night, their bodies dragged into the forests instead of eaten where they were killed. Three cows had been killed on one farm in a single night. Even several wolfhounds and sheepdogs had been killed. Farms, the ones that weren’t bound to fall into financial ruin from the losses, were being abandoned as farmers moved their livestock closer to town, but the wolves seemed to be following their source of food.

And, worst of all, three farmhands and two shepherds had gone missing in the last week. Rumours were going around that a thing had been sighted in the forest, with big golden eyes staring out and watching the farmers from the dark of the tree line. They claimed it was as big as a bull, but could move as fast as lightning and would disappear as soon as someone saw it and looked away.

“Alright, well, wolves we can take care of,” Jade said. “I don’t know about ‘big as a bull, fast as lightning’ monsters though.”

“Oh, that’s just a rumour,” Oliva assured her. “It’s probably just some sort of alpha wolf and is bigger than the rest, and has a taste for human flesh and isn’t scared of people.”

“Because that sounds so much better,” Renee said, rolling her eyes.

“We’ll hunt down the wolves, Headswoman,” Olivia promised. “Count on us.”

The girls then roleplayed through staying the night at Pelli’s, a few more cracks getting made at Jade’s expense about getting shot in the butt. Then, the next morning, they were ready to set out for the hills to the west.