"Did peasant wench know name and town of lost persons of ... most new? Times?"
"She wasn't very specific, she said she knew the story but she doesn't seems to know places where it happens. I can ask her..."
going back to the woman
"Do you know a specific village where some sheeps were attacked, or where a shepherd was killed. Maybe a village has suffered more attack than others"
"well... I dunno..." the woman scratches her head again. "Recent-like? Hmmm... I heard Flat Rock had one of theirs disappear last year, but the tinker who came through few weeks ago mentioned that ol' Chuzo in Crooked Fork had lost two dogs this spring." She thinks some more before adding, "Most of them that tell of it don't say where that happen, just in and around the Heath, you know..."
When Burkhard asks where Flat Rock and Crooked Fork are located, she give him (fairly vague but useable) indications as to their approximate location. They are about half a day's walking distance.
he reports to the magus " she gave me indication to two places, the most recent attack occurred this spring at the crooked fork where chuzo lost two dogs, there was also an attack at flat rock last yeat at flat rock. She explained me how to get there. To be honest this wasn't very clear, but I think i'll manage. they're both about half a day's."
Where shall we go now ?
Ludovicus looks lost as Burkhardt rattles off the details. He shrugs and picks one at random, "Crooked Fork?"
(german)"Alright, let's meet this ol'chuzo guy"
He start his travel towards the crooked fork, leading the party to the best of his ability...
"More walking?" Andreas asks. "I'm glad I brought food along. This looks like it's gonna take a while to figure out."
(german)"You won't be able to sleep at the tower this evening , I hope this isn't a problem Ludovicus"
Martin growls at Burkhard, "That would be master Ludovicus to you. Show some respect to the magus."
"Alright, Alright...Master Ludovicus"
After a bit of wandering about, bringing you to late afternoon, the group reaches what must be Crooked Fork. The gathering of houses is set up at the confluence of two small streams flowing into a larger one, near a bend into the resulting larger stream -- hence the name, probably. You see a few flocks of sheep being watched by shepherds on various rises nearby, some of whom are making their way back home. The air smells of sheep dung, wood smoke and fresh grass, with a hint of food being cooked.
"At least we're near sheep," Andreas says. "Seems more likely that the shepherds here might have head about the purple sheep."
"Thanks you, Andreas. Magus better. Sleep outside is fine."
As they approach the village, "We ask for Chuzo here first, ask only him first."
After asking a few of the villagers, the group is pointed towards the outskirts of the village, to a more distant house where Chuzo apparently lives. The house looks less well-maintained than the others, with its garden more or less unattended and some clutter around it. There is a small fence where sheep can be kept at night and a a lean-to that probably protects them from the wind in the winter. You can hear some dogs barking in the distance and, when you look in that direction, can see a man leading a flock of thirty or forty sheep in your direction.
As the flock moves closer to your group, it looses some cohesion, particularly when the sheep feel the effect of Ludovicus' Gift. Some of the sheep try to run away, scattering. The shepherd's dogs are kept busy trying to control the flock and lead it back towards the sheepfold. It takes some time before all are the sheep are led back inside.
"You!" The now-irate old shepherd says, "What are you doing there frightening my sheep? Shoo! Go away!" The man seems to be in his fifties or sixties, with long unkept grey hair and beard. His startling pale blue eyes are angrily looking at your group, apparently unconcerned about the armed men as he shakes his shepherd's crook at you from several paces away.
(OOC: This is not a threatening move, the movements of the staff are more up and down in emphasis of his words than the kind you would use to attack someone. And he is keeping some distance between himself and the group.)
Ludovicus takes a few steps back and away from the sheep, then waits for the grogs to interrogate the shepherd.
"Hello there, you must be Chuzo. Sorry to frighten you sheep. Once you're done with them, we'd like to talk to you for a minute."
(Sorry for the delay)
"Shoo! Shoo!" His words seem to be just the reaction of an old man uncomfortable with the presence of so many strangers at once. Or perhaps they are directed at his sheep, which he drives towards the sheep pen. Or tries to, at least, for your group is right in the path of the pen. So, when Ludovicus tries to move out of the way, no matter which way he goes, sheet bleat in panic and try to get away.
So the flock is scattered and it takes the shepherd quite a bit of time to get them all in the pen, with the help of his well-trained dogs. He is quite irrate with your group when he is finally done. "What is it that you want?"
"We should just say sorry and move on," Andreas says. "Angry people don't give good answers. We'll find another shepherd down the road some more. Then we'll keep Master Ludocivus back and just send one of us to talk with him."
OOC: We'll get nowhere trying to deal with someone who's annoyed at us from the get go. There are plenty of shepherds around. Let's use this as a learning experience and move on. I would have thought that we'd have kept Ludovicus away from the animals given the effects of the Gift. But I guess we were stupid this go around. Yes, I know the sheep were approaching us. But we might well have moved Ludovicus off the road/trail or back down the road/trail when we saw them coming if given the opportunity. I suggest we be more careful the next time and perhaps set forth more detailed parameters for how we'll deal with the next shepherd we meet.
A PROPOSED PLAN:
(1) Find another shepherd.
(1a) During the search, have Ludovicus stay away from any sheep he sees. (We may find sheep before we find a shepherd.) If this requires shooing some sheep off the path, then others will do that.
(2) As soon as we see a shepherd, stop moving and have only one of our group move toward him to talk to him.
(2a) if we are too close when we do find the shepherd, have the others back off a little bit.
(3) The others will guard Ludovicus.
(4) If the sheep approach the main group, Ludovicus and the others will back off; the spokesman can say that Ludovicus is a well-to-do merchant who doesn't want to get too close to sheep. (That will also explain Ludovicus' nicer clothes.)
(5) If the sheep charge the group with Ludovicus, they prepare for a fight with the purple sheep, because normal sheep don't charge.
(6) The spokesman will ask about the purple sheep. If questioned about Ludovicus and the others, say that Ludovicus a rich merchant who's interested in buying a purple sheep if such a thing exists, and the others are his guards (no other explanation is likely to hold water since the others are armed).
(7) If asked why the others are staying away, the spokesman can truthfully answer that it was so as not to alarm the shepherd.
(8) Once questions are answered, the group will depart in a direction that will not disturb the shepherd's flock. If that means backtracking some, then so be it. Better that than causing the flock to scatter.
It occurs to me now just how [strike]crippled[/strike] disadvantaged we are in this saga without companions. Typically in an Ars Magica saga the companions are responsible for interactions with normal people. We don't have that option and must either (a) rely upon relatively unskilled grogs for that; or (b) have the magi do it themselves and suffer from the effects of the Gift. In restrospect, I should have kept the Gentle Gift for my character. But hindsight is always 20/20.
((I'm on board. Let's see what happens.))