Arundal Trouble on the horizon

Rorgan and Derrin discover some disturbing news about their parents and meet an old enemy.

Arundal. The village itself is set upon the hill side over looking a valley. The market of the village is cut in two by a shallow but fast moving river. Well used cobble stones are set under paw and the market is buslting with various woodlander merchants and towns folk. Occasionally a few foxes, stoats, and weasels can be seen wandering the market stalls along side woodlanders dressed in Militia uniforms. Both vermin and Militia give each other a wide berth so as to avoid eventual conflict. Henri ignores all the beasts completely coming to a large bridge spanning over the rivver and connecting the two markets, "Well...here we are in Arundal. The question is now what do we do?"

The twin otters are both at a loss for ideas, which is unusual given the amount of times where coming up with a plan would've saved their lives. "Well...we would need t' find somebeast who would remember wot happened t' the vermin that lived here, right?" Ventures Rorgan, eliciting a nod of agreement from his twin. "But we need a place t' look. We don't even know where t' begin!" Responds Derrin, scratching the back of his head in thought.

Henri thinks about this for a second, "Well, a place to start would be the court house. They have deeds to the properties here and should know which tribes and comminities of Vermin are in the woods around us. There is even a vermin mining town at the bottom of the valley." Several beasts pass by them on the bridge as they talk

Derrin looks around the area, noting the tension between the militia and vermin. "Interesting...Well let's start there." Rorgan nods in response. "Mayhaps they can tell us if the vermin took anybeast with them or not. Either way, it's as good a place as any t' start."

"Sounds like a plan. I have business there anyway." The otter turns to lead Rorgan and Derrin through the market place and up a gradual slope to Main Street. A team of shackled vermin are working on refilling a pot hole in the road under the super vission of two police beasts in red uniforms. The otter walks on however onto a road called King's Road. As he moves away from the city the buildings start to be replaced by woods and trees. There is a large two story building up ahead along with in the far distance what looks like to be the ruins of some forgotten castle.

Despite their curiosity as to what Henri meant by 'business', Rorgan and Derrin decide it's better to just shut up and follow without asking. After all, the old otter had gotten them this far already, so why should they question? "Do you think they'll help us Henri?" Asks Derrin suddenly as they walk, which is more his way of trying to break the verbal silence than anything else

Henri chuckles as he makes a swift left turn for the large wooden building. "Your guess is as good as mine." The otter approaches a red uniformed officer, interestingly enough its a brown furred stoat. The stoat looks up to Henri with a raised eyebrow, "Can...I help you?" Henri nods, "Where is Edwin? I need to talk with the Mayor." The stoat, a young beast blurts out with out thinking, "Oh, he's in his office with Byron and a guest but...HEY! You can't go in there! He's in a meeting!" The stoat calls out as Henri pushes open the door and steps into an empty court room.

Ignoring the stoat, both otters enter the courthouse with Henri, looking around. "Interestin' t' think that our parents might've lived in this area afore the vermin were driven out.." Remarks Rorgan as they walk. Derrin slowly nods, thinking about the trials that were likely carried out in here. Despite that, he mostly can't help but think about what type of beast the mayor will be, and whether he would help them or not.

The Otter laughs, "Your parents lived in a village south of here. This is where the vermin lived, mostly fox's, stoats, weasels, a few other species. They lived mostly in tents. Everything you see in the village, save for the ruins, has been built in the last seven seasons." Henri Leads the otters into the back room next to the judges, traveling up a set of simple stairs they come to a series of offices. With out knocking Henri barges through the office of the mayor.

Derrin raises an eyebrow at Rorgan, but follows Henri straight into the mayor's office without hesitation along with Rorgan, though both otters are tensed just in case the barging in elicits an unfavorable reaction from anybeast inside.

In retrospect the otter twins make a good point. Three heads turn at the sudden interuption. A small slender shrew in a blue vest glares murder at the intrusion from behind the mayors desk. Standing off to the side near a large shelf of books a very large and fat bellied grey fox turns a blue and brown eye at the otters. He is wearing a simular uniform to the guard outside but with a badge on his chest marking him as the town Sherrif. And then there is the mouse standing next to the desk with his paws folded behind his back. One must admit, Tavis looks much smaller when wearing chainmail and not his usuall plate armor. The scarred grey furred mouse narrows his eyes and sighs, "Oh you have got to be kidding me..."

The moment Derrin sights Tavis, his eyes widen, but his fists also tighten as well, more out of reflex than anything. Nothing could've prepared him to meet this mouse again, and definitely not in a place like this. "Henri..." He whispers. "Mayhaps I should wait outside.." He really didn't want to jeopardize anything by creating more undue tension between him and the mouse, not to mention the daggers that Rorgan is glaring at Tavis.

Henri only chuckles at the reaction he gets as the shrew replies to the otters whisper. "No, stay. Might as well since we were just talking about you." The shrew says in a polite mannor that suggests he is thinking about tossing the otter out a window. "Commander Tavis this Is Henri Tronchon. He is helping us with out...vermin problem, Im not sure who the others are but..."

"Rorgan and Derrin. Two fugitives from the Militia with kill on sight orders." Tavis keeps his voice calm and stares unblinkingly at the otters. He loses some of his facade when teh fat fox across the room chuckles, "Oh good, everyone knows each other. This will speed things up a bit.

Honestly, nothing could've thrown Derrin or Rorgan off worse than this had, but the 'kill on sight' bit from Tavis really didn't serve to make either of them happy. Instead, they both let out low growls, their teeth bared in the same exact way so that they look exactly alike aside from their clothing. "Aye, we know each other from when you tried t' kill Rorgan!" Snaps Derrin.

Henri chuckles again at the chaos around him. Oh this just makes things perfect. Standing between Derrin and the mouse Henri holds up his paws, "Gentle beasts, please, let us not forget who the real enemy is here, the Bush Folk." The Sharif nods his head, "They attacked a pair of travelers just this morning." The shrew pulls at his ears, "Again? How long are you going to just stand there Tavis? How many more beasts have to get hurt before your Militia take these 'animals' as a threat!"

For the moment Tavis looks away from the otters, "Oh, we consider ALL vermin a threat, especially this tribe...just not a credible threat we should send forces to destroy right here and now."

Both otters look almost confused at once, caught off guard by the mention of this random tribe. Neither of them wanted to ask what was going on since they could simply figure it out from what had been said so far, and it was clear that these 'bush folk' were going to be an annoying threat down the road, but how much further would be a different story alltogether.

"Really? This tribe wiped out an entire village nearly ten seasons ago. That's not credible enough?" The shrew nearly snarles. Used to being barked at by annoying leaders Tavis shrugs. "Exactly, ten seasons ago. Unless you bring me proof these...bush folk...are planning to attack you, my troops will stay where they are /needed/. Send your 'dog' to the Inn when you think you have something that won't waste my time." Tavis turns for the door, stopping only to glare at the otters on the way out.

Byron the sharrif waves his paw, "It's part Wolf actually." He sighs, "Arrogant Jackwaggon. Oh nice to meet you both by the way." The fox says to Derrin and Rorgan.

Derrin had been glaring straight back at Tavis, but at the sound of the sherrif's voice, he turns back and around and both he and Rorgan give a nod of their heads. "Pleased t' meet you as well sir," Says Rorgan. "You heard our names already, so would you mind honoring us with yers?"

The fox chuckles taking a bow, his pot belly nearly grazes the floor as he does, "Byron, Sherif of Arundal at your service." Henri crosses his arms saying, "Actually it's going to be the other way around. Derrin and Rorgan here are going to help me scout out the Bush Folk village." He turns to The mayor, "These, Edwin, are the sons of Faigai and Gahal." The shrew twitches an eye as he hears the two older otter names. Byron doesn't miss a beat, "Small world isn't it."

"Indeed." The shrew leans back in his chair. "I take it then you have heard that they have been taken by the Bush Folk?"

Derrin has to try with all his willpower not to tear out of the courthouse and find these bushfolk, and Rorgan would've done the same exact thing, but they both simply nod, doing a good job of keeping themselves in check. "Well...we have now," replies Rorgan rather quickly.

Henri looks shocked, "Really? So they were in the village?" The mayor raises an eyebrow at their different reactions, "Not quite...they lived out in the woods and...how much do they know about the Bush Folk?" Henri shakes his head, "They just found out their mum and dad were alive. They don't know nothin about the vermin." With a court nod Edwin continues, "Ah, well then. The bush folk are not just one tribe, but, many tribes of vermin. Fox's, weasels, ferrets, stoats, what have you. All spread around the area they have made a camp site to the North. Tribal barbarians if you ask me. We have tried to appease them for years but our efforts just always seem to fail. Well, now they are on the war path, looting, raiding and pillaging farms and homesteads out north."

Byron replies, "Your, parent's, home was the first to get sacked." Edwin nods sadly, "Tragic too, they were on such good terms with them."

The older otter Henri cracks a smile. "How about I leave good ol' Byron to help you with that." With a wag of his tail and paws on his hips Byron replies, "Right lads, before we go marching out into the woods we need a plan, strategy, good food, and a keg of wine. Follow me down to the sheriff's office. I'll show you a map of where we will be going in the morning."

Rorgan nods again, exchanging glances with Derrin. "Alright, well consider us at yer service Byron," He says, giving a bow of his head along with Derrin. "We'll do wotever we can do t' help you with the bush folk, an' hopefully we'll find our parents."

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Derrin is a jet black colored otter that wears a green vest with no undertunic. His pants are black lace up pants that fit tightly to his legs, as does his vest. He is around six feet tall and his body appears to be very well built, though not overly muscular. That you can tell, he carries no weapons with him, but has white handwraps around his paws, signifying him as a hand to hand fighter. His eyes are a piercing ice blue and hold a large degree of calm in them and they look at everything with a strong

Rorgan is an otter that stands at around 6 feet tall with piercing ice blue eyes. His black fur is mostly covered save his arms, head, and tail by a suit of black leather armor. A brown leather sheath can be seen on his back containing his bow. In his belt are three different scabbards that contain his three daggers.Two of them are identical in design; their hilts a dull silver from use. have a red gem set in the centers and their scabbards appear to be replicas of each other. The third, however, has a different look about it. Its hilt is wrapped in a leather grip and seems to be rather new, though still gently used. Its sheath looks almost brand new, like it had just been made yesterday. The most noteable feature about him, however, is the bright red tattoo that marks his right arm. It is an intricate circular design that resembles a very large arm band that somebeast had cut complex designs into.

My alts and npcs

Tavis Longtail is anything but a cute and cuddly looking mouse. This grey furred beast has a scruffy appearence to his poorly groomed pelt. A sizable notch is missing from his left ear and a trio of claw like scars runs from the base of the ear to the far end of his snout. His hazle colored eyes have a certain fiercness and fire that makes most beasts uneasy around him.

The mouse covers himself in what ever armor he can find, most of it is dented and scratched from constant use. He wears a heavy iron breast plate and shoulder pads. His belly is covered by a chain mail tunic and his legs are covered in a studded leather pair of greeves. A pair of steel toed boots adorn his foot paws.

The mouse also wears a long flowing red cape with the Militia company he serves, a crude picture of a mouse running a fox through with a spear.

The beasts weapon of choice is the long paw and a half sword at his waist. The blade closest to the hilt is serrated. The mouse also carries a back up dagger on the other side of his belt and in his boot.

Byron is tall and very fat grey furred fox in his 15th or 16th season. His long ears and mix match of colors in his eyes, one blue the other brown suggest that not all of his ancenstors were foxes. His fur starts at a light shade of grey on his middle and gradually grows darker along his body until forming an almost black stripe down his back. He is also an incredibly heavy set vulpine. His obese body is saturated with rolls of fat and clothed in garments fitting a sheriff. A long sleeved red shirt is folded under a brown, sleeveless tunic that buttons down the middle. A large cloth belt with a golden buckle wraps around the tunic under his bulging stomach. Usually Byron is seen with a long sword at his side.

Edwin Orelia has spent most of his life looking up at others. Not out of admiration no, but mostly because he is rather short even for a shrew. He has well groomed brown furred pelt with a light yellow patch on his chin. The shrew has his lithe body dressed in an light purple tunic tucked into his trousers embroidered deep red vest.

henri...has not been made into a zombie yet XD