Arc 721, 7th of Cylus
It was the canvas of a tent, at first. A tiny hole, barely even noticed by most of the settlers of Hopetoun. And any who did presumed it to have been a victim of transit, with the canvas having been caught against a tree branch or something similar en route from Almund to their new future.
But then it had begun to grow. Little by little, the hole had become a tiny tear, and then others had dared to reveal themselves. One of the settlers discovered a hole in her leggings where they were certain no hold had previously existed. Another swore he'd heard a scurrying sound, accompanied by the occasional squeak, outside his tent the previous night. The situation finally became impossible to ignore when someone a small amount of excrement by one of the sacks that was being used to store some of Hopetoun's grain.
Darius' only experience with anything remotely similar related rather specifically to how ineffective bunny rabbit poop was for attracting the opposite sex, and he doubted that would be of much use in the present situation, but one of the settlers, a man named Lars, was something of a nature expert. Or, rather, he was the closest the settlement had to such a thing, and so hopes were unceremoniously pinned on his broad shoulders.
Kirt, too, who was always eager to talk about animals and how excited he was to be able to farm on Faldrass, was more than willing to lend some insight on the vermin and how to deal with them. And to the other folk of Hopetoun, having Kirt talking about something other than farming was seen as a silver lining to just about any dilemma facing the settlement.
And so it was that one morning, just a few trials after arriving on Faldrass, Darius Baer, hopeful leader of a town of Hope, awoke to the sound of concerned voices outside his tent.
Katara, invisible to anyone she didn't want to be seen by, was draped across his neck, happily nuzzling against the ward she had been tasked to protect. The hawk diri was quick to move, however, when Darius stirred, and the tendrils of smoke that rose from her flaming feathers were scattered as the human stepped outside.
The cool air enveloped him, but as ever, did not impact him in the way it did to the trio of settlers who were wrapped up in their coats, scarves, and ushanka hats. Darius stepped across the fresh layer of snow towards them, and quickly realised they were by the food stocks.
"We need to do something about the rats before they bite one of us," said one.
"Yes, rats carry disease, don't they?" asked another.
"We can't risk people getting sick," affirmed the first.
The voice carried across the still air to reach Darius' ears, and as he joined the group, he could see that one of the sacks of grain had split, a small pile of the food resting in the snow. One of the settlers scooped up a handful of the spoilt seeds, and after briefly sifting through them, found small amounts of fecal matter buried within.
Darius nodded at the sight, before peering out across the ground, as if doing so might reveal where the rats had come from, but any tracks they might have left had been covered up in the latest snowfall.
"We'll deal to them," he assured the group. "We just need to figure out a plan..."
But then it had begun to grow. Little by little, the hole had become a tiny tear, and then others had dared to reveal themselves. One of the settlers discovered a hole in her leggings where they were certain no hold had previously existed. Another swore he'd heard a scurrying sound, accompanied by the occasional squeak, outside his tent the previous night. The situation finally became impossible to ignore when someone a small amount of excrement by one of the sacks that was being used to store some of Hopetoun's grain.
Darius' only experience with anything remotely similar related rather specifically to how ineffective bunny rabbit poop was for attracting the opposite sex, and he doubted that would be of much use in the present situation, but one of the settlers, a man named Lars, was something of a nature expert. Or, rather, he was the closest the settlement had to such a thing, and so hopes were unceremoniously pinned on his broad shoulders.
Kirt, too, who was always eager to talk about animals and how excited he was to be able to farm on Faldrass, was more than willing to lend some insight on the vermin and how to deal with them. And to the other folk of Hopetoun, having Kirt talking about something other than farming was seen as a silver lining to just about any dilemma facing the settlement.
And so it was that one morning, just a few trials after arriving on Faldrass, Darius Baer, hopeful leader of a town of Hope, awoke to the sound of concerned voices outside his tent.
Katara, invisible to anyone she didn't want to be seen by, was draped across his neck, happily nuzzling against the ward she had been tasked to protect. The hawk diri was quick to move, however, when Darius stirred, and the tendrils of smoke that rose from her flaming feathers were scattered as the human stepped outside.
The cool air enveloped him, but as ever, did not impact him in the way it did to the trio of settlers who were wrapped up in their coats, scarves, and ushanka hats. Darius stepped across the fresh layer of snow towards them, and quickly realised they were by the food stocks.
"We need to do something about the rats before they bite one of us," said one.
"Yes, rats carry disease, don't they?" asked another.
"We can't risk people getting sick," affirmed the first.
The voice carried across the still air to reach Darius' ears, and as he joined the group, he could see that one of the sacks of grain had split, a small pile of the food resting in the snow. One of the settlers scooped up a handful of the spoilt seeds, and after briefly sifting through them, found small amounts of fecal matter buried within.
Darius nodded at the sight, before peering out across the ground, as if doing so might reveal where the rats had come from, but any tracks they might have left had been covered up in the latest snowfall.
"We'll deal to them," he assured the group. "We just need to figure out a plan..."
