Of Wine and Wolves
Twenty Third Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC
"Whoever or whatever did this is skilled in covering their tracks," you sigh, rising from the moss covered stump in the middle of the clearing where almost three months ago the fateful meeting of Bracken and Blackwood took place. It does not look like much, just a rough tear in the canopy caused by some long ago fire or storm, with marks of more recent devastation still fresh upon its ragged edges. The beasts and the bugs have not colonized all the logs just yet, but they are getting on. Sadly that the driving rain and booming thunder is all you can sense
scrying the past for answers.
"Maybe," your mother frowns in thought, fingers sliding absently along the strings of Jenny's enchanted fiddle. "Mayhap it is old and does not know or care how the world has changed, treading ever upon the same path."
"If only there were some fey or fiend upon which to blame all the follies and evils of this unhappy land," Rina sighs. "I suspect, though, that mortal greed and spite have more than their fair share of blame, no matter what might await us."
Ser Richard shrugs with a faint clink of armor. "Whatever the Hells this is, I'd wager it's easier to deal with by sword and spell than either Lord would be."
"Trying to bridge two canals at once makes for poor arches," you agree. Thus you split the tasks ahead of you. Along with Ser Richard you will speak to the Bracken guards to see it any of them have odd recollections of that day or any other that might relate, while Dany, Rina and your mother will see to Copperidge and the strange sickness upon it in those days. To keep the wheels of the investigation running smoothly, you also bind everyone by
spell so that help is never more than a thought away, should it be needed.
***
Alas, finding answers proves no easier once you are back in the village at the foot of Bracken Keep. It soon transpires that all the armsmen who were part of Lady Catelyn's escort that day also accompanied her, knowingly or not, the tales are conflicting, to
other assignations. The usual strategy of buying drinks until someone's tongue is loosened finds scant success. No one wants to talk about it, be it from fear of Lord Jonos, shame at allowing matters to progress that far, or even suspicion that any travelers might be 'Blackwood spies'. While the smallfolk may not be as invested in the feud with the House on the other side of the Red Fork as their lords, there has been enough blood shed on both sides to breed the sort of distrust from Marchers speaking of Dornishmen or the reverse.
In the end it is the local septon who finally gives you the answers you seek. Young and full of passion to 'do the Seven's work', as well as fully embracing the proclamations of the Conclave of Oldtown. He is eager to know more of magic and even the Old Gods, with little interest in the local feud save in the way it sometimes disturbs his congregation.
"Most of those unfortunate enough to earn Lord Jonos' wrath have left for greener pastures, but there are two still close by... relatively close in one case. There's Brill, who took to the bottle after he lost his posting. You will find him doing small tasks around the village or mucking out the stables. No one trusts him around a horse anymore."
"And the other?" you prompt, as though only mildly curious.
"That's Red Rick. Supposedly he always was always a good hunter and he just decided to live in the woods, if folk don't want him among them," the septon explains.
Being in possession of a name, you ask nothing further lest you arouse suspicions, and instead scry the former armsman's location. Before you can follow the lead, however, Dany's voice rings out in your mind:
"We traced every case of sickness to clothes being washed and set out to dry on the same night during the dark of the moon. We couldn't find all the clothes in question, but divining from the ones we did get our hands on, we found something... strange. Every one of them had been licked by a black wolf."
What do you do?
[] Continue to trace the two threads separately
[] Help with the search at Copperidge since it had been more fruitful
[] Write in
OOC: That was a roll of 1 for diplomacy following a low background roll, though after all the bonuses the result was still too high for a major setback while dealing with village rumor. you guys just lost time while the other party had a more fruitful investigation. Not yet edited.
