He chuckles slightly at the womans response...

"Well I suppose you may be right."

Pleased thst the day passed both quickly and without incident Justin thanked the Stable owner for allowing him to be of service. Joining the other prisoners as they were escorted back to the cells.

On the way back to the cells Myranda considers her revelation specifically how to achieve this.

"Let's visit the lady of the last house, the one who raised the bounty. Probably she will be the most informed one of the lot. For almost all missing people the river mosters could be responsible. But people living so close to that danger will be vigilant and not often surprised. Four missing is too much coïncidence in my book." Kr'wyn walks besides Haildas to the last house.

  The bid the older  woman, good day and walked  down the Bumpy  , rutted  road, to the last house of  this patch.

  There was a tendril of smoke coming from the chimney, the door was slightly open. The   temperature is starting to fall as the clouds on the high peaks  got darker.

 There were  2 goats in an enclosted pen, a couple  chickens  walked around.

"We must ask if they miss a lot of cattle. If the monsters are responsible, there will be a lot of cattle missing too, I would think," says Kr'wyn to Haildas as they approach the last house.

"I am almost certain we are not dealing with any sort of monster...at least not in the traditional sense."

His eyes began to scan the surrounding lands and off into the distance.  He makes mental note of any landmarks that stand out.

  They get close to the door, they hear the  steady sound of a loom...along  with  a humming of a song...now  and then there is  some  'sniffing" intermixed with the sounds.

  There is a small little girl sitting on the  floor of the  cabin, Holding two small rag and stick dolls,, as she  plays  with them , a few feet from the fire... there is a  small Black kettle..smells  seem like it may be a  porridge , of some type.

Haildas gently knocks upon the frame of the door...

"Excuse me, dear madame, but my compatriot and I have been sent here as aid.  Are you the one whom requested assistance?"

  The Little Girl  looked up at the two, she hugged her  stick dolls tight as she tried to curl up  and protect them.

 The  woman gasped at first...then slowly rose,..In Truth? You came to fine the lost ones?.....   she looked from one to the other... the  little  girl still looked afraid.

"My deepest apologies, we did not mean to frighten anyone., motioning to both himself and Krwyn.  My name is Haildas and this fine gentleman is Krwyn.  You have nothing to fear from us.  We are here about the missing people and were informed that you were the one seeking assistance."

 She   waves to her Table,..Please...sit .. I will put on tea... i have some  Honey to mix...Sugar is  hard to come by... she moves to the rudimentary sink and begins to pump water for the Pot.

 The Little  girl  still holds her  dolls tight  as she  cowers near the fireplace.

 ..we ....we  sent  for the  Bowshot guards.... They...added an extra patrol....but  2 more   people are not goign to save our people.... Some of the tohters..they gave  coin to help try and get a bounty....Most who come..turn away...poor  people..our livves, it seems... are not  as important, as rich people... I wanted to visit the City..myself...go to the FAmed...Plank? Seek the one called Kree... They say, he cares not   for money...but..to right the scales  of fate?.... I could not go... I cannot life  Issa with any one..she is feared, of strangers...

 she moves the  kettles to the fire place, then stops....she looks sheepishly at the two men,...you...did...come..to help?  aye?  the last few words  were almost a whisper...

"You're right about Kree; we're two of his men whowere sent to see what we can do for you. Can you describe in detail what you know about the missing people and why you think there is more that meets the eye than only river monsters?". Kr'wyn tries to make the old woman and the little girl comfortable with the two armed men in her house

  The woman was in her late 20s or so.  She  set out   cups and Honey for  Tea.

 The Little  girl moved to her as she  set the kettle to boil.

 she  is holding her hands in her apron as she  smiles at the little girl then looks up at the other two. When Serpants  take  some one... you hear screams....unless a very big one  can surprise a Bank  Walker and Pull thenm under.... there is also ..what we call .." the Thrashing"....if  some one..person or  animal gets attacked.. other serpants, mostly smaller ones will swarm and  attack, the water  is churned up and noise is made...and?..if ...for some reason..no one would see or hear..there would still be bits of clothing, or even bits of flesh that come to shore....we spot those, many a time...you will see roiling  close to short and see a bit of flesh being Chewed on by smaller serpents, or Crabs  and other flesh eating fish...

 ...we find goblins and gnomes, that are  folating near sure, bobbing around as the smaller  creatures  feed.....sometimes..Bank Walkers are rewarded by finding equipment that was dropped or left behind, by thos etaken by the water beasts...


 she looks  down as if embarrassed,..some guards, think folks leave to find a better life...i am no fool? I can see people trying to go to earn more coin...or find more comley spouses...but one does not leave little ones behind, without some thought or care? For My part?  I think it is slavers... they grow bold, or perhaps...desperate and  try to cull  people from Patch Houses..hoping  the serpents take the blame.

"There is no reason to feel ashamed...I for one believe you, that this is no work of ordinary beasts of the wild."

He flashes a brief smile at the young girl before turning back to her mother...

"Please, continue...any information you may have, no matter how small it may seem, can be of value to us."

Kr'wyn adds to Haildas question: "Are there some obvious changes for the last 6 months or so, traces ad tracks that are new. People who come along and are too curious for your appetite, missing small things. ALl things that could, or could not be related to the missing people?"

  The woman pours   The  tea,  and motions  for the honey, if they want to sweeten it.

  ..the  only  things, some folk have said...well.. boys fishing the river to get some extra food... They set trpas  for some of the smaller  serpents..... anyway... two of the boys  from the PAtch up the road, said they saw some  Goblins ...most folk  think it is somehting the boys said, to keep folks  away from thier traps...goblins like to attack humans, but, normally, near the swamp, or  on the  far side of the bank...rarely enar a patch of houses...

Once back at the goal and after their meal when locked in the holding cells Justin cleaned up, as best as he could considering the circumstances, then offered Eta thanks for the day and waited.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:38, Fri 30 Dec 2016.

  Justin and   Myra , along with the Others, are sent back to   the  gaol .  Food  is set on tables inside the  gaol for them to sit   an eat by the fire.

  The  SGT in charge  says,Fine day's work it was, ye be gettin' the ahy in the barn, and repaired the loft and  cleaned the road leadin' ta it.... so's you get to  eat by the  fire tonight....Captain says.. ye  each lose  a day from yer  sentence as well... so...

 he points to the skinny guy near the fire,..Eben?... ye get to leave, soon as yer  done  with yer  supper.....

 The skinny guy looks  around and smiles and begins to eat faster.

In reply to Bowshot (msg # 900):

Myra contented herself with the meal, by the fire, glancing at the other prisoner The Sisters of Fate have smiled on you. she congratulated Eben for his good fortune.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:25, Mon 02 Jan 2017.

The night passes quietly Justin wakes early as he normally does for predawn prayers and devotion. Once finished he refreshes himself and tidies up in preparation for the day ahead.

Having a restful nights sleep Myranda also rose before daybreak and held her daily devotions to the Sisters of Fate.

"Goblins."

The words part from his lips as they recede into a half snarl.  He remembers the frightened young girl, however, and quickly returns his expression to a much gentler visage.  His interest was now fully peaked...river monsters, goblins, necromancers, slavers...this was going to get interesting regardless of the source.

Mystal stares out through the bars watching the passage for signs of activity.

  Justin and Myra ( and the other prisoners) are given breakfast and tie to wash up.

   Once that is done, they are lead to the outside  of the  stockaded walls,  to being to   Cut Grass with  Farmer's  tools. Some  children ..ranging in age, from  6-16 or so  Bundle the   grasses  tight, for use  as  fuel, or fodder.

   Guards  with   Bows and Cross bows ,,watch the   prisoners. As the round the southeast corner , The  Captain of the guard  and a pair  of troopers   walk purposefully towards the  prisoners .

  He motions to the   SGT who blows a whistle , signaling for the prisoners to stop and see what the CAptain has to say.

  Pointing to the Big Fellow, ,as one of the  other  troopers begin to read from the Scroll... Marg The  Broad... you are to be sent to Ironmound , to take party in the Arena , as a Murder of a woman and child near Mok has been found, to be an act of you and  the people you worked for . Because of the time laspe, you will be allowed to fight  for freedom, rather  then suffer a 'river drag'...

 handing the scroll to the captain, the two troopers   mover to the big fellow,locking his wrists begins his  back, and chain his legs...a small prison wagon  , bearing the Ironmound  shield rounds the corner as well.

 ..you all better hope they kill me... if i get out...

 ..if you survive..it will be through the Blessings of the Sisters..and you would do well...not to squander that blessing.

 as they  lead the hobbled   fellow to the wagon, The Captain turns to the SGT,...The  guard  has  also recieved  a payment from The Arrows... these two should be released after they have  dinner  this  night....Carry on...

 The wagon  turned   in a circle  with  the  angry fellow  bellowing curses.

 The SGT  snorted  and looked at Justin and Myra,well?..seems  the Arrows  have deep pockets, eh?...look..this don't mean you don't work.. you'er still under sentence  until dinner...

 Waving a hand for the Prisoners get back to work, he goes back to keeping an eye out around them.