TW: Hints of cruelty to animals.
We turn into tracking beasts the minute the guards announce that Lady Lamrmoor and Shade have sohow escaped. In particular, all of us sniff every inch of the estate, or so it seems, for one smoking gun: fetid BO that could knock out everyone on the property.
Viscount Rossa has a new na. Stink Man. It sounds like a super villain. There was that old villain from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Stinkor. Maybe I’ll nickna Rossa Stinkor instead.
[Achievent Unlocked: Advanced Tracking Beast.]
Wow, that seems to level up my Hunting skill. Tracking, while related, is different than Hunting. Also, we already practiced Tracking at the Riddlehoeven house, searching for clues as to the disappearance of Judo and mo. But it’s a different thing to hunt and track fugitives on another estate, especially two disgraced nobles and a fox who is along for the ride.
Already I can see scent trails. Not just sll them, see them. Winding blue-green and red threads. Blue-green for Lady Lamrmoor, red for Shade. But it is hard picking out those threads, untangling them from all the other scent threads, including blue-green, red, yellow, gray, and purple.
[Demos? Do you see those threads?]
He looks at as if I’ve just asked if at is good to eat. [Yes. You can’t?]
[No!]
He grunts. [Novice.]
I fluff my fur. [I’ll be Journeyman soon enough after we bond Lobo with Minette, and we untangle these threads.]
Demos flashes his teeth. [But until that ti, just follow my lead.]
[I’ll just grin and bear it.]
THUMP. He whacks my side. [No bear puns!]
[You two!] Lightning growls. [Stop your tomfoolery. We have a job to do. Mind your scents.]
But it’s difficult, because there are multiple red and blue-green threads. Only one of those scent trails leads to Lady Lamrmoor and Shade. Actually, Lady L’s scent is all over the grounds. Is she hiding on the grounds?
Hans, Lord Lamrmoor, Vedette, Kaline, and Niall direct us, splitting us up so that we cover more ground. Lord Lamrmoor’s beast, a male wild pig nad Einswine (seriously), accompanies Demos. Lightning and I are tead up. Although Lobo is between tars, he works with Gussie.
"Should Lobo be on his own?" Kaline asks. "We were going to bond him with my mother, unless Niall wants--"
"No." Niall is humble. "Minette Riddlehoeven should have him. After all, she had her beast stolen from her recently and runs a great house. I have been without a beast for a long ti."
Kaline and Vedette express their appreciation for Niall, for his selflessness and generosity. Interestingly, for the first ti, he lets out a series of hiccups.
Since that’s sorted, we continue to scour the estate grounds.
Mansion: Clear. Servants and guards still searching.
Gardens: Clear. Sa.
Shrine on the grounds: Sacred elven shrine. Can only be searched by the family’s priestess and by Lightning. Lightning ventures inside with the priestess while I stand watch outside.
Shrine clear.
Storehouse, armory, servants’ areas, and other buildings: Clear.
Everything else: Clear.
Only one possibility remains. The Shed.
Naturally, the blue-green trail and red trail leads in the general direction of The Shed, which looks like an ordinary wooden building that could very well be a storage space. "It’s the workshop," Hans announces, his voice trembling. "That’s what it’s been, anyway. The workshop for skilled craftsn. I do not think that the beasts should see this..."
"Hans..." Kaline struggles to comprehend this. "Your family is supposed to protect and cherish beasts. How could your family have this place?"
"I don’t know."
Hans strides forward, resolute, one foot planted in front of the other as if he’s marching in military review. I have to rember that, even though he is the elf equivalent of a teenager, he’s being trained to be a lord and the head of his house.
How could he not know that there was this awful place there?
I guess he was blind to his parents. As much as I had issues with my parents, I never doubted deep down that they were good people. And they were. My heart attack was maybe not looking after my own health or managing my stress, or maybe I had risk factors I didn’t understand. Maybe Dad and Mom could have tried to help more, or ease the pressure on .
However, they weren’t concealing the dark secrets that Lady Lamrmoor was. Everything from her real husband being alive to Hans being his child to this Shed place.
Lightning yowls. Hans has opened the Shed door. Lord Lamrmoor and Niall and the guards have surrounded the Shed, blocking whatever is inside from view.
From the collective silence, and Lightning’s shallow breathing, I know that whatever Hans has discovered in the Shed is sothing I do not want to see. That no beast wants to see. And we saved Lobo from it.
The stench hits .
Not the sa stench from Stinkor, but sothing indescribable. Sothing I do not want to describe. The other beasts are whining and growling and Gussie is screeching.
Niall rounds us all up and says, his eyes hard, "That’s enough Tracking for today. There is no sign of Lady Lamrmoor and Shade anywhere. And it’s late."
For the first ti, I see the night vision glow of Lobo’s, Lightning’s, Demos’, Einswine’s, and even Gussie’s eyes. It’s dark.
Niall, Kaline, and Vedette take us back to the mansion. Kaline keeps stopping, waiting for hans, until Vedette pushes her onward. "Hans has his duty," Vedette barks. "We need to protect our beasts. Move!"
After that, Kaline doesn’t dawdle further, but keeps on walking until we reach the safety and firelit warmth of the mansion. Tomas’ friend greets us and shows us to a bathroom where we can wash up. "A welco feast has been laid in the dining room to honor Lord Lamrmoor’s return," he announces. "Co. co. You all have earned your dinner this night."
Subdued, Kaline says, "I’m saving a plate for Hans."
"That is a kind gesture," Tomas’ friend complints.
My stomach growls, and suddenly, dinner seems like the cure for all the evils of the world.
Tomas’ friend guides us to the big dining room, which is full of elven grace and beauty and style that does not fit the abominable behavior of Lady Rosabel. A long feast table groans with all manner of food, enough to reward the entire household. Dishes of fish, at, crunchy exotic fruits, and, of course, seeds and nuts for Gussie await us beasts.
Kaline’s shout even distracts from the mouthwatering food. "Mother! Father!"
Blocking us from dinner are Minette and Lamant, their faces full of concern and fury. They sll like worry and fiery indignation.
"Why?" Minette asks. "Why in the world would you not tell us what you were doing?"
"You deceived us," Lamant shouts, full of righteous rage.
"We didn’t lie. We were helping a friend on an errand of rcy," Vedette defends us. "But I am the oldest, and I should have known better."
"But we didn’t want Blaze to get stolen again," Kaline adds. "And we’re really sorry. But we stopped Lady Lamrmoor. And Niall helped us."
Niall bows. "I was looking out for the Young Misses the entire ti. I would not have let anything happen to them. And I found a curse on your family--"
Lamant and Minette ignore the curse for the mont, which speaks to their worry.
"How did you know?" Vedette asks.
"Lord Lamrmoor sent a ssage," Lamant snaps, his strong jaw clenching. "By his swiftest ssenger. Fortunately for you two."
Gussie, Demos, and I throw ourselves on the rcy of Lamant and Minette. I purr and lick their hands, and Demos rubs up against them, and Gussie keeps saying, "Sorry," over and over until Lamant shushes her.
"Our beasts just did what we wanted," Kaline cries out. "Don’t punish them."
"You can punish us," Vedette adds, fervent in her desire to make ands. "You can do everything except not have us compete in the Beast Taming Elimination Tournant, which is important for our house. But everything else...we will do extra chores, we will say no to friends’ invitations, and we will do anything else."
"But we saved Lobo," Kaline reminds them. "And Blaze."
"And that’s a good thing. However, you still could have done that without breaking the rules," Lamant lectures. His eyebrows are thick and ominous. "Or risking your lives."
Minette’s gentle but capable hands scratch behind my ears. Aw
Kaline wipes away tears. "We only wanted to help. Hans needed us."
"We’ll discuss the consequences of your actions later," Minette says, softening. "For now, you must be starved. And there’s a delicious feast waiting for us and getting cold. Let’s eat. Niall, please join us."
That is the best news I’ve heard all night.
Demos, Gussie, and I are happily unconcerned with anything else other than dinner. Lightning and Einswine also are lost in their food. Let’s take the win!
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