Beasts are Never as they seem

Location: Mossflower Woods

Characters Involved: Goran, Rhydderch, Shar

Goran is homeless! After finally haven gotten away from the horrible place he and his family were being held, They're making their way to the abbey. Goran, his wife, And two small children. They're close together as not to get lost as they go. The family looks...poor...poor, hungry and...poor. Their clothes tattered, Their bodies thin. But at least they've got their health.

- They have their health, and it seems they may just have some luck to go with it! The smell of a

campfire wafts upon the breeze, warm and inviting, mingling with the warm, homely scent of something cooking - a stew perhaps, even a little bit of bread above it. The scent is mouthwatering, and it seems to be coming from just up the trail they are following, just on the edge of the meadow. From a distance, thereis just one lone figure in a bright green cape, feeding teh fire and whistling merrily. Red fur hints at maybe a fox or a stoat... but that food does smell good... and he is alone, and that song is terribly cheerful.

The family pause to take in the smell before they continue. Once they are in hearing range, Goran calls out to the beast. "Ex...Excuse me..." he says. "I dont...dont mean to trouble you...but...my family and I are so hungry...we were wondering if you might be willing to Share what you have? We cant pay but...I'm sure I could...trade something of what we have..." And all they have is a sword...

- The beast at the fire turns and flashes a big grin. It's a stoat, that is certain enough now. He laughs merrily and waves towards the family of squirrels, "Oh ho friend! Tis your lucky day! Come, come and enjoy, I have plenty to go about, no need to worry of pay of course of course." he says, his

voice a plasant lilt. Vermin he may be of the species, but he doesn;t look the part, or even act like it.

Buckled-on weapons there are none; musty, filthy armour and fur there is not. Even his accent has a cheerful tone to it's rolling R's and skipped vowels. The Stoat simply grins and goes back to putting another log on the fire, "More are always welcome, yes indeed sar!"

They all smile and sort of bow as they go closer, slowly sitting near the fire. "Thank you Sir...Thank you..." Goran smiles some. "This means a lot to us...I'm Goran...This is my wife Jaha, And My children, Garrath and Bluepaw" And...the kid has blue paws...go figure >.>

Rhydderch grins broadly as the group settle in at the fire. The stoat shakes Goran's paw warmly, chuckling, "Ah, it's a right pleasure to meet you. Er, I'm afraid I've only one bowl, so I hope you don't mind sharing and passing it amongst yourself. I must say, you do look right starved, yea." he says, chipper and chuckling as he moves to his pack and pulls out a simply wooden bowl and a ladle. He scoops out a generous portion, filling it to the brim with warm, veggie-ladden goodness and offers it to the young Squirrelmum Jaha. "'Ere you are miss, a pleasure to meet you and yer fine family." he says, touching a paw to his forelock in as charming a fashion as he can - which is to say it rather is, the Stoat is the picture of a gentleman

Goran nods and smiles some. The Squirrel Maid nods and takes it, taking a small drink before giving it to her youngest son, then to her other son. Goran is the last to drink some before handing the bowl back. "Thank you...thank you..." he smiles some.

Rhydderch tsks and chuckles at the sight, "Come now, no need to be spare, there is plenty to go around." says the Stoat cheerfully, "Me name's Rhydderch, though usually I go by Rhyd, Red and in a few select cases, 'Sir'." he says, grinning as he takes a seat next to Goran, giving the squirrel a gentle pat on the back, "So, what brings you wandering around six ways to nowhere, friend?" he asks, then grins and gentle pokes Bluepaw in the side, leaning over to him, "Arful funny paws you got there.. you been snuffling up blueberries like no tomorra I bet, eh?" he asks in a playful voice.

The Dibbun giggles and smiles before Goran sighs. "Our home was burned a while back...we were held captive somewhere for a while...got away. Now we're going to the abbey..."

Rhydderch huhs and scratches his nose a bit, leaning back as he thinks on that. One might notice that the Stoat is indeed armed - but it's a single short spear, about five feet tall, and that is resting up against a tree opposite the camp. The way it has rope tied around it's shaft near the bit suggests that it's likely more of a walking stick than anything. "Burned down, you say? Arful terrible that is, shame, for such a nice family to have to go through that twice." he says.

Goran Sort of smiles before going blank. "Twice? no friend...it only happened once" he replies with a quiet chuckle. Though the other family members dont find it funny.

Rhydderch grins amiably and leans an elbow gently on Goran's shoulder. He stares at the squirrel for a moment... letting it stretch on, watching him, his grin never faltering. Just as it might dawn on the father, the stoat says softly, "No, see... it's happening twice."

Goran frowns. "What do you mean friend?" He asks with a slight realization what he means.

Rhydderch chuckles, still his cheerful, good-natured self. Hegives Goran a playful wobble with his elbow before pushing himself upright. he takes a loaf of bread out from his satchel by the fire and tears it in half, offering it to the little Bluepaw while nibbling on the other half himself. "Well, y'see... When I toldjer some beasts call me 'Sir', well, that's no real joke. A fair few beasts actually do call me that." he swallows, nodding and dipping the heel of bread into the bubbling cauldron. If this is a hold-up or a threat, it has to be the most amiable, easy-going threat ever concieved. "Not the least of whom are the Longtail up in the trees here with the flatbows." he says, thumbing up to one of the branches above. You wouldn;t have seen him if he wasn;t pointed out... a rat wrapped in a mottley grey, blue and green cloak, almost invisible in the branches, and sporting a heavy-looking crossbow.

Goran doesn't notice the rat, even thought it was pointed out. "I think...we should go" he urges his family up and start to move. "Thank you for the food...Good day to you!

Rhydderch tsks, shaking his head slowly as he takes a bite out of the steaming chunk of bread. The food was rather good, he thought... maybe he should have put in more salt... everyone always likes more salt, ah well. The Stoat simply stands beside the fire and cauldron, watching the squirrels bustle and start to move. He makes no move to follow, and the cloaked rat above doesn't even look like he would deign to leave his branch. "Arful pityt that. They coud have finished the meal, at least. Terrible rude. Ah well, they'll learn right quick." he says, then hunches down and pulls the bowl over, taking a few bites of the borth, unconcerned.

Goran just keeps starting to rush his family away. "Thank you again!" Someone better do something or the slaves will get away!

- Oh someone is doing something. From grasslands around the fire, figures start to rise... hoods are pushes back, robes unfurled to reveal a ring of rats, circling the family of squirrels. They are grey rats, each one in mottley grey cloaks that mae them almost invisible when they were laying in the grass and snow, but not revealed. Each one sports a heavy crossbow, each one has a determined look in their eye. One of them stride forward, flatbow cradled in one arm, peering at Goran, then his wife and children. She raises one finger and points to the fire, her voice is like words that would come from a corpse; whispery and gravelly at the same time. "Sit down."

They all stop suddenly. "No! please Sir! Please! Let my family go! Please, just take me...please..." His wife places a paw on his shoulder, trying to get them to just run, but he doesn't run.

Rhydderch grins from where he's still crouched at the fire, chewing thoughtfully on the loaf of bread.

He takes a long moment to think on this offer. The rats are all around now, each one with a flatbow, each one levelled. "Ehhh..." says the Stoat. "No. You were terribly rude to just up and leave like

that. I might have considered it, I really would have... but I'm afraid, well." he smiles enigmatically,

"There really are a couple of good uses for younglings that small, you see? They can fit into tight spots down in the mine." he says. One can almost detect a hint of sorrow in his voice, like he doesn't have a choice in the matter.

Shar shifts herbow up, bringing the iron tip to within an inch of Jaha's nose. Run? No, that would not get one far, the rat seems to say, without any words at all.

Goran goes and pushes his kids and his wife away. "Go! Quickly!" he goes to run to but falls. "Dont stop! Run! Run quickly!" he cries out. The Wife Ad the kids start to run away.

Rhydderch calls out as they start to run, his voice cheerful, "No killing if you can avoid it!"

Shar does, to her credit, not pull the mechanism on her flatbow. Instead, he pushes to one side as

Jaha start to move, and slams the butt of the weapon into the side of her head, quick as a flash. Jaha barely makes a sound as she is flung sidelong into the dirt, snow and dead grass, out cold. Startled, the children try to flee, but the Longtail rats move quickly and round them up neatly, holding them bodily by arms and legs and in one case by the tail. That leaves Goran... who now has the icy tip of an iron crossbow bolt jammed into the back of his neck. Shar growls at him, her voice like icewater in his ears, "You run, and I kill your wife." she hisses, then backs off.

Goran freezes. "No...please...I'll do anything...leave my family...let them go...please, I'll do anything you ask without fight, just dont hurt my family!" he falls to his knees and starts to sob. "Please....please...please..."

Rhydderch's feet crunch in the snow as he approaches. The stoat steps gingerly around the prone, softly groaning jaha, and gently taps the botom of his shortspear on Goran's chin, lifting it up so he has to stare up at the pleasantly grinning Rhydderch. "Oh, sorry. Too late for that now, I really do say! First it was running off like that, then trying to run off -again-, hah!" he laughs, head bobbing as he nods, like it's all a grand joke. "Nope, I'll have to say that you're all coming with me." he says, the crouches down so he's face to face with Goran, "Now look, no need to be sore about it... The work is hrd and, well, it is dangerous, heh." he flashes his neat white smile, "But there is shelter, and food for you and your family. I may indeed be a Slavemaster, but I'm not necessarily cruel. You just have to remember the rules: You work, you eat. if you don't work, you die, and then we-" he motions to the rats. A few grin, "We get to eat -you-." he punctuates the last work by touching Goran's nose with a finger tip.

Goran looks to his wife then to his kids...Then to the stoat before the rat behind him gets a glance then back to the stoat. "Please...At least...at least let my kids go...please, they're so young..." he says. "Take my wife and I...but dont condemn my kids to hard work...it would surely kill them...They're no older then five seasons...please..." he says. "I'll do all their work as well as mine...You wont lose out, I promise...just let them go..."

Rhydderch sighs and rocks back on his haunches, shaking his head theatrically. "Please please please... everyone always gives me pleases, and they always try ta bargain with me. Well, no soap, I'm afraid." he says, then grins at the struggling, upside-down Bluepaw, currently held up by his tail. "I'd not suffer a child to grow up without their parents. Anyways, like I said, I'm not cruel, I don;t starve you or anything." he says, then winks, "I'll just eat you if you -don't- work. Stringy meat never appealed to me, so there you are." The stoat says, the chuckles... and in the approaching gloom of the night, rattling chains can be heard as a small herd of despondent, shuffling forms are brought out of the forest... Squirrels and voles and mice, there an otter, there a hedgehog... and all of them shackled.

Goran was...so hurt now...he didn't want his children to live a life of slavery...Since they had a hard time getting them to do what they were told anyways. "Then...can I at least talk to them, tell them it will be okay...?" he asks. "At least...grant me that much..."

- A pair of rats start to drag the semi-conscious, groaning form of Jaha away towards the camp, and the children are brought that way too, leaving just the Stoat Rhydderch and that rat Shar staring at him. Rhyd smiles. Shar has the emotional ability of a brick. "Oh, you can talk all you want. We're done here for now... but, keep it quiet. no yelling, no calls." he says, his voice calm and cheerful, like he's lecturing a student. The tip of his spear is waggling in the air, doing small loops as he intones the words, like a prayer. "No cries forhelp, no stubling, and of course, most definitely..." he flips the spear around in a flick of the wrist and jams the blade into the earth at Goran's feet. "Definitely NO running away. You understand?"

Goran extends a paw out to his family as they're dragged off. "I...I...I understand..." he says before breaking down again. "I will...talk with them quietly..." he just watches Rhydderch for a few moments.

"But...why? you seemed...seemed so nice..."

Rhydderch ahhs and nods, crossing his legs at the ankle and leaning with one elbow on the haft of the spear. "Indeed! I actually am rather nice, no real turning of cloaks and colours, I'm quite the stoat you see before you!" he says, all good cheer. "Shar here and her Longtails have the cheer and friendliness of cie-cold stone, so I suppose I had to make up for it, eh? Hah!" he laughs. "Ah, see, the reason for it all... is that you-" he gently pokes Goran's head, "You reacted so happily to the sight of one lone, clean and utterly cheerful stoat, bearing food. That is why, above all else. I'm the perfect bait." he flashes that cheerful white smile. "No one ever suspects that good-natured fellow over there, that kind-hearted, Stoat to be a Slavemaster who will snatch up them, their family and everyone they know and put them to backbreaking labour ten dozen steps underground. Nope, I'm that smiling stoaty, your best friend." he sniggers, winking again. "And now, you are nothing more than my property.. .If you don't behave, then you'll be dinner. Now, go and get shackled." he says, pointing...

Goran will probably end up just doing as he's told. The squirrel nods and breaks into tears yet again.

"But...but....but..." he pauses and looks back to the stoat. "Yes....s-s-sir..." the squirrel stands before being lead off calmly to be shackled...later on that night though...Two loud...snaps were heard...and Goran...just lays there...sobbing as quietly as he possibly can, which isn't very quiet at all, which will probably attract attention, as he hugs his two...dead...children. He did, indeed...snap their necks...so that they would not be brought up in slavery.