A loud pop

[Pierre]

[Time stamp: Sunday just after Sunday game, approx 5 or 6 in the evening]

A loud pop, almost like a single firecracker, or the sound of lightning striking, can be heard off in the distance. The sky is clear.

[Ceridwynn Fildais]

"What the fuck" Ceridwynn stops in the middle of field, toward the sound of the noise

[Verbena Domitia]

"Ceridwynn!" Verbena approaches the faun. "Shall we see if assistance is required?"

[Ceridwynn Fildais]

"I guess? Dunno what that was." They look around for the source of the noise "Where do you think it came from?"

[Verbena Domitia]

"Perhaps the citadel?"

[Ceridwynn Fildais]

Ceridwynn nods, turning around and heading towards the camp around the citadel "Hey Verbena? You think some of them finally blew eachother up? How much do you wanna bet Datura tried to raise some monster as his minion and it exploded instead?" The faun giggles

[Auron Warfield]

(OOG: An investigation of the Guild camp and the Citadel reveals that everything is normal - although Auron, Degren, Pierre, and Winnie are absent.)

(as an additional bit of info, the extremely loud pop came from the direction of the road leading to Applevale.)

[Verbena Domitia]

"Well then, perhaps the other end of town?"

[Ceridwynn Fildais]

Ceridwynn nods "May as well. Dont like being around here when most of the sensible ones are gone anyway." They head back across the field and past the forge

[Degren Brightforge]

(The road up to edge of town is normal. Note: Does anyone in the area possess any levels of tracker or hunter?)

[Hunter ツ]

Hunter, the hunter, sits idly in his perch above the Order's camp. On the ground beneath the tree is a ripe piece of fruit resting on a sheet of paper. on a corner of the page is a note reading "Bait: Do not steal"

Hearing the pop, and seeing the commotion, he flips upside down in his perch, hanging from his ankles, to see below the branches, across the camp, towards where Ceridwynn and Verbena are conversing.

From his inverted, presumably visible, position, he watches them walk to and fro as they search for the source of the noise.

[Dimitri]

*Dimitri stops winterizing his new shack on the edge of town and walks over to the Inn*

Everything seems fine, He just sees Verbeena, she seems to be walking to the fire circle... or is being kidnapped again, better follow just to be sure.

*Dimitri sets off at a quiet Jog after Verbeena*

[Auron Warfield]

(OOG: Anyone on the road will see the following: There are many footprints in the damp dirt of the road. However, there are also two solid, parallel lines in the dirt heading out of town towards Applevale. Something heavy, perhaps? Being dragged? Without further skill, it's hard to tell.)

(If anyone has any skills in tracking or something similar, more information may be gathered.)

[Ceridwynn Fildais]

Ceridwynn waves to Dimitri "Hey Dimitri, what do you make of this?" They squint across the field and wave to Hunter as well

[Dimitri]

"Ze loud Sound? *Dimitri Sniffs the air*

"I Don't know, Dimitri Vill scout ahead and find vantage points to observe the area. Stick to the road, Dimitri will find you soon, make sure Verbena doesn't get taken again, We do not have Penderghast to do his rituals right now"

*Dimitri runs off to see if he can find the location of the pop*

(Life skill Scout 1)

[Degren Brightforge]

(oog: The trail is easy to follow, and leads up towards Applevale. The deep parallel grooves wind with the road, leaving wide furrows in the mud. After just over an hour, a large blackened area can be found. Spanning an area of over 60ft, the charred ground shows signs of a recent fire; a shortlived, yet fierce flame.

Small chunks of blackened boards can be seen laying around, haphazardly discarded-- among them, a few burned pieces of red cloth.

Signs of hectic movement can be seen in the hardened mud-- several boot prints show a dizzying amount of movement, and the clear muddy prints of 3 people can be seen, as if they had laid down for a short rest in the mud. The parallel grooves continue towards Applevale, with the addition of 2 sets of cloven hoof prints)

[Sponsored content]