Wild-Men

"Alright, lets get started," you state while looking around the room, "What do we have for our first topic." You glance at Lord Gilbert who starts reading from his list of issues. You stop him after he mentions the third topic. "What are you talking about, Lord Gilbert? Wild-Men?"

Lord Gilbert clears his throat before explaining, "Yes, In the areas around the Little Forest. Especially the small villages of Warthford and Arcton." The Little Forest is in the south-east, within the kingdom. "Many of the villagers and their farm animals have vanished mysteriously, we only know about the Wild-men because one villager spotted a few attacking his sheep." Lord Gilbert pauses for a moment as if he is contemplating what to say next, then continues, "The villager is here and we can hear his story in a moment. As you know Warthford and Arcton are on the other side of Little Forest and surround the little village of Claethorpes, the beast-folk village."

You watch as Lord Gilbert steps back and motions that he is done speaking. You stop and think about all that he said for a moment. It is likely that these creatures come from Little Forest and the only way to the villages being attacked is through the forest. The villages are also along the coast. The beast-folk have characteristics of animals but are mostly human and some are used in water based military attacks. Although they have recently been more integrated into society, they maintain their own village because they are still treated as second class citizens. Could these wild-men be a new type of beast-folk? You stop pondering and announce, "Will the villager please step forward and explain what he saw?"

An older man wobbles forward using a stick to support his weight. He takes a heavy breath before moaning, "I was inside and heard a howl, so I looked out the door thinking wolves were going to be attacking our sheep." The man stops momentarily to catch his breath as if just speaking uses most of his energy. He catches his breath and continues, "I saw a man covered in hair claw and bite one of my sheep. He must have heard me gasp because he looked up at me, grabbed the sheep and ran back into Little Forest."

The crowd suddenly starts erupting in voices trying to figure out what the creature was. The guards bang their spears on the ground to quiet the people as you speak up and ask your advisers for their opinions.

Sir Garret steps forward and says "I think our best course of action would be to send a small army to take care of these creatures."

Count Erwin speaks up to agree, but is countered by Lord Gilbert. "There is an owl-folk, in Claethorpes, who is very knowledgeable. He could probably tell us what these are; I recommend that you visit him."

Lady Vessa steps forward and agrees with Lord Gilbert. She adds "Sir Garret can gather together guards for your journey as it will take a few days on a dangerous path." She causes a split decision between your advisers, so you think very carefully before making a decision.