Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

So, the consensus seemed to be that they searched the house for a little while and then, when they were ready to, they followed the hellhound cute and shaggy dog. The girls all held hands, walking together through each house and one might notice that they always did it in the same order. Tallest, shortest, one in the middle. Or, Wren, Delilah and then Emma. They searched all three houses and between them, they found a few things, noticed a few more.

The three houses all had similarities. It was like there was someone there one minute, who had gone the next. Emma's house, there was some evidence of there having been some kind of scuffle, maybe, what with the knocked down chair. Delilah's was just empty of people. No signs of a struggle, but things like a mug of tea half drunk, that sort of thing. Wren's house, though? It was chaos. There had obviously been a fight in here, when they examined it. What might have caused the different reactions in the three sets of adults? Well, who knew? Maybe it was the dog.

No outdoor shoes or coats were taken, they were still there and it really didn't look like anyone had got ready to leave and then left. No indication of any preparation at all. It was strange, truly strange because in each house there was a feeling of unease. Like the very air was charged somehow. Or maybe it was just their imaginations running wild.

And the other thing they noticed was that, inside the houses, each one of them, it was colder than it was outside. Which just couldn't be right, yet was.
"Yes, ma'am", Emma answered Rynata. Emma seemed to be very much the spokesperson of the girls. "Six. Three fathers and three mothers." Wren piped up, "Tiddles will stay with us, so if you want him to lead you to the woods, we'll need to come with you." The other two girls looked at Wren, as though asking a question and Wren shrugged. "If I was a grown up, I'd leave us behind," she explained.

Delilah nodded. "I'm scared," she admitted. "But Wren's right. You need Tiddles and Tiddles will stay with us."
As they searched the houses, they found that there was not a robbery going on. Although there was little of value here, what little there was, was still here, whether there was no sign of struggle or a lot, the few valuables remained. The longer they looked, though, the more it became apparent that the people here had, literally, just disappeared. The dog grew more and more impatient, trying to get them to head towards the woodland.

Three pairs of eyes and an impatient shaggy dog looked at the adults. "We have to come with you," Emma said and it was obvious that the statement was much more of a question. "Are we allowed?" Delilah asked and Wren added, much more firmly. "We have to."

Whatever they did, the walk to the woods was not likely to be a pleasant one. There were a number of items of clothing and so on in the houses which would bundle up girls and adults alike.

After they had examined the houses, the three heroes and the three children made their way out towards the woods. The weather was awful and they did indeed need to wrap up. The dog was very keen and kept running forward, turning and giving deep wuff-wuff noises then running back to them. He was a friendly creature and he seemed to be utterly entranced by Tio, who he insisted on bounding up to, tail wagging and tongue lolling. As worried as they were, the children giggled at the dog's antics. Emma slipped her hand into Tio's, though, and she looked up at him. "Are you ok? He won't hurt you, I promise. He's a nice dog." She squeezed his hand and kept hold of it as they walked. Entirely to support him, of course.

Meanwhile Delilah walked alongside Rynata and she spoke to her quietly. "I'm worried." That much was obvious by the girl's face. "If our parents are gone, who's going to look after us?" She looked at the other two girls, Emma and Wren and she spoke quietly to Rynata. "We've been best friends all our lives. If... " tears sprang into the little girl's eyes and she looked up, trying to be brave but not managing it very well. "If I've lost my parents, I can't lose them, too." She sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets, a deep frown on her face.

Wren, meanwhile was talking to Amaris. "You're the tallest person I've ever met," Wren said, looking at Amaris curiously. However, she said no more than that, apparently content to walk along, side by side with Armaris. It was strange, Wren didn't move far away, always in close proximity to "her" person, for all that she was friendly to Tio and Rynata, Amaris was obviously Wren's focus. She didn't speak much, but she walked with a look of worry on her young face.

And so, the bounding happy, large and Tio-focused dog led them. Wind whipped in their faces and no matter how well wrapped up they were, the wind gusted at such a speed that it burnt their noses as they breathed in. Hailstones started after about forty bits of travel, shards of ice so sharp and cold that they stung. The only one not affected was the dog, whose large coat protected him.

Eventually. they got to the woods, stepping into through the tree line and each of them felt the difference as they did. From out in the open to in the deep and thick woodland, the battering of the wind and hail stopped almost as soon as they moved into forest, but it was dark and overbearing, too. The sounds were muffled and the deep, thick snow gave everything a strange feeling.

As they arrived in the woods, though, the dog led them. After about a break of walking, they came to a place where there were three "paths", using the term rather loosely. Three possible directions they could go, pathways in the woods. To the left was a dark, overhanging, tight and restricted path. Straight ahead was wide, but that width meant that there were lots of animal tracks - some with some very big paw-prints, if they looked. And to the right the path was wide enough for them to walk two people side by side, there were less animal tracks and they were less likely to get cut to pieces by overhanging branches. The dog stood and wuffed, apparently waiting for them to decide.

And so, they took the path to the right. Emma seemed to sense that Tio was actually genuinely afraid of the dog (maybe by the way he threw her in front of it) and she caught hold of Tio's hand. Suddenly, without apparent reason she held on to his hand and she looked up at him with wide eyes. "It's alright to be afraid, but you don't need to be you know. Tiddles is a well trained dog, and will listen to commands. Tell him to sit and he will. He's very obedient," Should Tio (or any of the adults) try it they'd find that she was absolutely right. Tiddles was a very, very well trained dog. He obeyed commands to sit, to stay, to guard. All sorts. But Emma kept ahold of Tio's hand.

Delilah, meanwhile, looked at Rynata and nodded, as bravely as she could manage. It was good advice after all, but the young woman's lip trembled slightly at the thought of the what ifs and could bes. Rynata was right, so she kept walking. Quiet, not speaking and without anything further to say, the girl just kept very very close to Rynata and seemed, frankly, to be struggling more than a bit.

Wren, however, seemed to be suddenly, nervously, prone to talking. "I think we should go down the right path too. I think that because that one is just scary and the one that's all wide and comfortable looking is still filled with tracks. Let's go that way. So, when you were growing up were you tall then?" Question after question, comment after comment. It seemed that whilst Delilah dealt with nerves by becoming introverted, Wren did the exact opposite.

They continued to walk and the dog continued to lead them. After another break, they came to an opening in the trees around them. The path they had chosen had been, it seemed, the correct one. In front of them was a small cove with a jetty. There was a man sitting there, leaning on a post and ignoring the weather. He looked up when they arrived and grinned as he saw the three children. It was not a good, friendly or welcoming smile, it was a predatory and hungry looking one. "Excellen'! You've brought three more? We'll 'ave ta'store em till the next shipment is due to leave but children an' girls too. Nice." He stood and, as he did, it became obvious that he was a strong, well put together and clearly experienced chap, muscles were evident and the sword he wore at his side was worn with a very practiced ease. "They'll be worth a pretty coin. Not to bashed up neither,"

Next to Tio, the dog growled low and deep in its throat.