The Greenfield Ranch doesn't have much to see at the first glance. Simple fences around the pastures, a barn out in the distance, and a small, plain house in the middle. The duo see an old but functional track in the driveway as they approach. No one approaches or responds as the two get out of the car.
Pea Pod
Pea Pod looks around and says to Esta "I guess we go knock on the door?"
Esta
shrugs "seems like a place to start"
Pea Pod
Pea Pod walks to the front door and knocks firmly
Arbiter Dox
A few moments after the knocking, a small goat girl--maybe 8-9 years old--cracks the door and peers out. "Uhm... Are you lookin' for papaw?"
Pea Pod
Pea Pod nods and says "yes were are, can you tell us where he is?"
Arbiter Dox
"He's workin'. I'm s'posed to call 'im and tell 'im what you want."
Pea Pod
"Oh ok, well can you tell him some people are here to talk to him about the mysterious things going on around the farm."
Esta
while Pea Pod is talking with the child Esta takes a step back and has a look at the outside of the house.
Arbiter Dox
She hesitates for a moment at that. "Uh... Okay. One second." She closes the door and walks away from it for a moment.
The house Esta's looking at is old. Its wooden siding painted a color that was probably supposed to be white, but has over time faded to a dull hue. Looking close, Esta can spot places where the house has been damaged and repaired. It's big enough for a maximum of two bedrooms.
The girl comes back to the door again, smartphone in hand. "Papaw says he wants to know if you're with the po-lice or uh--the feds?"
Pea Pod
Pea Pod chuckles to himself and then says "I am a film maker working on documenting the unknown and this is my assistant. We have no affiliation with the pigs or the feds."
Arbiter Dox
She speaks into the phone, "He says no." A pause as she listens to the reply, and then she says, "He says he'll be here in a few minutes. I'm not s'posed to let strangers in the house, but I can bring you some water if you need?"
Pea Pod
"I am ok, thank you though."
Esta
"same"
Arbiter Dox
"Mmmkay." She leaves the door, closing it behind her.
A couple of minutes later a figure approaches.
This is an older goat man, about 5'6" tall and with an average build. He has curved ram horns, hazel eyes, and flowing white fur. An earring is placed in his left ear, a simple copper loop. He's allowed the fur on his chin to grow much longer and has it gathered into a simple braid. He wears a simple brown shirt and blue jeans.
https://pin.it/6sUKRDc
He approaches, eyeing the duo critically as he approaches. "I'm Goat Kyle." After that curt introduction, he adds, "Got a busy day 'head a' me, strangers, so I ain' got a lotta time for ya. Who are ya, why you here, what you want?"
Pea Pod
Pea Pod bows slightly and says "Hello Mr. Kyle my Name is Pea Pod and this is Esta. we are here trying to document the unexplanied. I was told by the very friendly Rawlins that you had some interesting things happen hear at the ranch. Do you mind telling us all about it?"
Esta
Esta give a similar bow & nod arms folded into her sleeves.
Arbiter Dox
He snorts. "Interestin' ain't the right word. 'S fuckin' weird." He gives Pea Pod's camera a glare. "You some kind a' reporter then?"
Pea Pod
Pea Pod shakes his head no, and says "I am a film maker. I am working on a documentary of the unexplained. Can we film here Mr. Kyle?"
Arbiter Dox
"Huh." Kyle tilts his head, clearly not expecting that answer. After a moment of thought, he says, "I'll allow it, but 'cha got two rules to follow. No filmin' inside any a' my buildin's, an' no filmin' any of my people unless you ask 'em first. Some a' my ranch-hands are gonna wanna ham it up for yer camera, an' the rest ain' gonna want anythin' to do with it."
"We got an understandin'?"
Pea Pod
"Its a deal."
Arbiter Dox
Kyle nods and says, "Follow me, got a couple minutes a' walkin'. Tell ya what I know on th' way."
Pea Pod
Pea Pod grabs his camera and gets it ready and starts following.
Arbiter Dox
Goat Kyle start walking and talking. "So. This's about three weeks ago. Ranch-hands are out countin' horns like normal, and they come up two heads short. Cows tend t' like t' stick t'gether so that ain't normal. We start lookin' for our missin' stock. 'Sa big ranch so that takes a while."
"Eventually one a' th' ranch hands comes back, tells me he's found a buncha sliced up cows near th' south edga a' the ranch." He points a direction to clarify. "I come by, sure 'nuff couple my girls 're dead, missin' their skin, an' several of their organs. Left a lotta meat behind on 'em, so we figure it cain't be no animal attack; they'd a' ate it."
"An' that's 'bout all I know. We set up a couple game cameras in th' area, ain't seen a damn thing worth seein' with 'em. We got no idea what happened."
Pea Pod
"That is quite a unique story Mr. Kyle, I don't think I have heard any similar to that in my travels. Is the ranch-hand that found the bodies here today?"
Arbiter Dox
"Yup. Youngin' loves a camera too, betcha he'll be eager t' talk."
At this point the group has nearly reached the main herd. There are folks on horseback and on foot, going about the everyday work of taking care of cattle.
Pea Pod
As Pea Pod approaches he takes a few panning shots of the animals, making sure to avoid the folks on horseback.
Esta
while Pea Pod is taking photos Esta takes out her phone and takes some notes on the tail Goat Kyle told while they walk.
Arbiter Dox
As the approach, Kyle takes a pager from his belt. "Approachin' from the farmhouse. Chuck, got some folks who're gonna wanna talk to ya, come pay us a visit."
From the pager, a deep voice replies, "On th' way, boss." One of the ranch-hands breaks away and starts approaching the group.
The man who approaches is a muscular wolf-man. He has mostly gray fur, aside from the white on his face. He has hazel eyes and a short snout. He wears a simple black shirt, blue jeans, and a light patterned scarf around his neck.
https://pin.it/4s0F9L3
He reigns his horse in and asks, "What's up, boss?"
Kyle introduces Esta and Pea Pod. "These two are here ta make a 'documentary of th' unexplained.' They're interested in whatcha found a few weeks ago. Take an hour an' help them out?"
Chuck perks up at this news. "Uuuh, yeah, sure, I can do that."
Kyle beckons him downward. "Lemme get that horse."
Once Kyle is back on his way to ranch work, the wolf man approaches the two. "Call me Chuck. Been workin' for Goat Kyle for about five years now. You guys here 'bout the dead cows?"
Pea Pod
Pea Pod nods and says "yeah that is something else. You mind telling us all about it?"
Esta
nods at chuck in acknowledgement
Arbiter Dox
"Yeah, we can talk about it. Weird stuff, man. Here, I'll show ya where they were." He beckons for them to follow.
Pea Pod
Pea Pod gets camera ready and follows
Arbiter Dox
As the group wanders to ground zero, Chuck attempts small talk. "So, documentary maker. How's that life go, man?"
Pea Pod
"It's a unique line of work. Everyday is something unexpected."
Arbiter Dox
He chuckles at that. "I think that'd drive me crazy. I like a lotta routine in my day."
Pea Pod
Pea Pod looks at his camera to make sure its recording then says, "I don't doubt it."
Arbiter Dox
Chuck stops. "Right. So, here's the place." The group is at the top of a small hill at the moment. A few yards from the bottom of the hill there's a simple perimeter fence.
He points at a spot at the base of the hill. "Found one of our stock there. I'm guessin' she started at the top a' this here hill and rolled down." He moves forward a bit and points at the fence. "Second one was over there."
Pea Pod
Pea Pod pans his camera accordingly
Then Pea Pod says to Chuck "now explain in great detail what you saw."
Arbiter Dox
"Right, so. This's gonna get gross."
Chuck puts his hands on his hips and says, "Weren't an inch a' skin or a drop a' blood left on 'em when I found 'em. Completely stripped and drained, bones and meat left t' rot."
"Th' one down there--" he points to the base of the hill, "--had all her stomachs and intestines removed." He points to the fence again. "The one over there had no head, heart, or lungs."
He opens his mouth to say something more, but stops and seems to decide to keep it to himself.
Pea Pod
Pea Pod looks up from behind the camera and says "is everything ok?"
Esta
looks up from taking notes on her phone to look up at Chuck at Pea Pod's question.
Arbiter Dox
"Yyyeah," he replies. "Uh, where was I... Right! So, uhm... After we find 'em, we radio in to th' boss. Goat Kyle comes down here, we spend a few minutes tryin' t' figure what coulda done this, an' we get nowhere."
"Finally, boss just says 'waste not want not' and we get the bodies ready for compost. Couple a' guys wanna call the police, but boss ain't exactly friendly with the cops, so that ain' happenin'. Since then it's been a buncha speculatin' an' lookin' at random critters trippin' our game cameras."
Pea Pod
Pea Pod looks up from the camera again and says "wow that is quite the ordeal. Did you get sick or feel ill at all?"
Arbiter Dox
Chuck raises an eyebrow at that question and replies, "Uh... not really? Not that I can remember. Had a bit a' bile when we first saw the corpses, I guess. Even without blood, it was a hell of a mess. Whatever did this just tossed aside th' organs it didn't take."
Pea Pod
"Interesting, it took the blood and skin but left the organs." Pea Pod stops recording. He says to Chuck "well that was good, I think I have a good start, if you need to get back to work I can poke around and if I have any more questions I can ask for ya." Pea Pod turns his camera back on and says "Oh one last question, did this "thing" leave any tracks or marks?"
Arbiter Dox
Chuck shakes his head. "If it did we couldn't find 'em."
Pea Pod
"Shit" Pea Pod says rather aggressively
"Well I guess I can try to get some B-roll and then that might be it for now, unless Esta you have anything that I might have missed?"
Esta
she pauses looking over her notes... looking up a Chuck "did the butchering look clean like knives or was it rough like bites?"
Arbiter Dox
He replies, "I ain' an expert in animal bites, but if I had to guess I'd say knives. Weren't any big hunks outta the muscle or anythin'."
Esta
nods at Chuck once again. Looks at Pea Pod "That's all I've got..."
Pea Pod
Pea Pod says "Thank you Chuck, if you think of anything else here is info" and Pea Pod hands him a business card.
Arbiter Dox
Chuck takes the card and nods. "Arright, yeah, I'll keep you in mind. We've been on the lookout for repeats; if that happens I'll give you a call."
"Anythin' else?"
Pea Pod
"Nope I think we got a lot here."
Arbiter Dox
Chuck nods. "Arright. Hope yer documentary turns out good. Lemme walk ya'll to your car."
Pea Pod
Pea Pod says "thank you, I hope so too" and follows Chuck
Arbiter Dox
=*=Meanwhile=*=
H.Ex.E.
Having only light luggage, she is done rather fast. A PDA, a set of tools for finer mechanical workings and some other items are stored in convenient easy-to reach places.
She checks the door with a look over her shoulder before she reaches deep down into the bag and pulls out a somewhat ragged brown plushy bunny. The button eyes have been reattached several times, the stuffing could probably be a bit more voluminous and the fur has definitely seen better days. She gently pets its head and lays it into the bed, covering it up to its neck with the blanket.
Then Hexe leaves her room and knocks at the Doctors' one to check whether she needs some help to settle in.
Dr. Skren
Skren doesn't really have a lot of luggage either, mostly a laptop and a bit of medical equipment, that she's already set up on the table. She gets up from the laptop and opens the door to see Hexe. "Better than some of the places we've stayed at, before, for sure."
H.Ex.E.
Hexe enters.
"I am genuinely surprised our host, or rather his ToB community has built themselves such an elaborate haven without the officials catching wind of it.
However, I do feel a little bad that we cannot really share much more with Mr Metalmender. We are putting the entire village at risk after all."
She sighs audibly.
"As usual."
She tries to look at the screen.
"Already hard at work again?"
Dr. Skren
"Always!" Skren laughs "Nah, just reading the news right now. We still don't know 100% just how much we messed up, last time"
H.Ex.E.
Hexe frowns at the memory before she seems to remember something.
"I have some good news, though. While you were asleep last night, I battled it out with myself again and made a breakthrough."
She points at her eyes using her middle and index finger.
"With my new control over the sensors, I can likely look even further than what I attempted out of the inn's window, given a suitable vantage point. Or tell you the eye colour of that bird in the nearest trees across a meadow."
She does not exactly beam with pride, but the Doctor might get the impression that she would love to.
Dr. Skren
"You are absolutely amazing, girl!" Skren moves in to hug her
H.Ex.E.
"That's... it's... Nothing really...
Thank you, Samantha." Hexe mumbles into the doctor's fur as she rests her head on her shoulder for a moment.
"It's still a long way to go. But at least I feel more in control now. I am still... unsure whether I should be glad or afraid of this potential, given how all of this turned out." , she speaks into the Doctors's ear in a low voice.
Dr. Skren
"Yeah, I understand... we'll get this worked out. I just want you to be able to accept yourself and be happy..." she whispers
H.Ex.E.
She can feel Hexe nodding silently at her shoulder, enjoying the hug just a bit longer before stepping away again.
"Sooooo..."
A moment of awkward silence follows and Hexe scratches the back of her head.
"Anything of worth in the news? And speaking of worth, I hate to bring it up, but.... You probably drank our last money away yesterday."
There is no reproach in the girls' voice. She just spoke as matter of fact. They duo is broke.
Arbiter Dox
There is not a damned thing of worth in the news.
Dr. Skren
"Nothing! I was mostly worried about our faces popping up somewhere, but I guess we're safe. And I'm not in the mood to start doomscrolling social media to see some neckbeards complain about the graphics in the latest video game for kids, so..." she closes the laptop.
H.Ex.E.
Hexe smirks at that but says nothing.
Dr. Skren
"Wanna catch some fresh air? Although the ventilation system down here is damn good."
H.Ex.E.
"Sure. Maybe we even get an assignment to fill our pockets and your belly." Hexe winks at the Doctor and opens the door for her, doing a mocking bow again before her face is back to a neutral expression and she is back in her usual position at Skren's heels.
Arbiter Dox
The two leave the rooms they've claimed. Heading back to the living area, the two would find a sheet of notebook paper with text written by a sharpie. "Went back to work upstairs -M"
H.Ex.E.
"Shall we?" Hexe throw's the note away in the bin after checking it carefully for some less obvious message before she opens the door to the stairway back to the workshop.
Dr. Skren
"Sure!" Skren follows
Arbiter Dox
A trip back upstairs sees them coming out in Murdock's shop. The stonebrother is currently putting the finishing touches on the vehicle he was working on before, re-doing the paint job where the frame previously had a hole in it. He and the woman who was working in the bar that morning are idly chatting as he works.
There's brief pause in the music he's listening to as his bot assistant announces, "People approaching."
Marle looks up and spots the two at this message. "Oh, hey. You two must be M's new guests?"
Dr. Skren
"That's us" Skren responds with a slight smile
Arbiter Dox
"Well. I'm Marle Janice Lee. Me, Rawlins, and Murdock go way back."
Without looking up from his work, Murdock adds, "Show knows everything I know; we don't keep secrets."
H.Ex.E.
Back in her public role, Hexe just nods politely and leaves the conversation to the Doctor.
Arbiter Dox
Marle looks to Hexe with concern. "Y' didn't tell me the ToB were sending kids out on mission now."
Murdock replies dryly, "I saw her fight. She can handle herself."
Marle looks unconvinced, but lets the subject drop. "How you two like the hideout?"
Dr. Skren
"Comfier than I could have possible expected. We're really grateful"
H.Ex.E.
"We really are. Soft beds, a safe haven..."
Then her age gets the better of her.
"..and even games! Thanks a bunch."
Arbiter Dox
"Eh, 'nother gamer?" Murdock says, still not looking up from the car he's working on. "Feel free to start your own profile on the Gamestation 6."
H.Ex.E.
"I may? Cool! I am pretty good, you know." she proclaims with the blissful ignorance of an enthusiastic child before she notices that this is probably not of much concern right now.
"I mean... thank you." She hides behind her jacket's collar, slightly embarrassed now.
Dr. Skren
The doctor grins.
Arbiter Dox
"Yeah? Guess we'll put that to th' test later then."
Marle smiles and says, "You might've just walked into a trap there. Murdock plays so many games that he's colored his armor after one."
He replies, "The character's name is Rockman and he fights with an arm cannon. What'm I s'posed to do, pretend that's not perfect?"
Dr. Skren
The doctor audibly snorts now and ruffles Hexe's hair a little.
"I'll try to keep the fridge stocked, once we earn some money, so no worries, I won't drink all your beer"
Arbiter Dox
Murdock replies, "Well first off, don't worry 'bout food at all. Rawlins takes care 'v that. He's made it his personal mission that no one in 50 miles goes hungry. As for th' drinks, yer fine t' drink mine while yer figurin' things out 'round here."
Marle says, "I might be able to help with the money a bit. What're you good at? I know folks."
H.Ex.E.
Hexe side-eyes the doctor. There is plenty she could do, but some of it she definitely should not do. Or Skren does not allow her to do.
Dr. Skren
"Tech shit and medicine, I guess. The girl's amazing at surveillance and stuff"
H.Ex.E.
"Tinkering with software is also my forte. She is better with hardware." Hexe nods towards the car Murdock is working on.
Arbiter Dox
The idea of Hexe working seems to set off Marle, but she holds her tongue for now.
Murdock replies, "Honestly, I might hire you two m'self for some tech shit. Someone else helping build and coordinate bots could be helpful."
"You showed 'em th' real garage yet?" Marle asks.
"Not yet. Later. Need t' finish this first; folks need these vehicles to get to their jobs."
Dr. Skren
"The real garage, eh? Color me intrigued."
Arbiter Dox
"Like I said, later," Murdock replies.
Murdock steps back from the vehicle he's working on. There's still a slight mark where the damage was done, but it's subtle. "Almost good as new." He steps back and says, "Gonna get this 'n outta the way and started on th' next."
Marle says, "We aughta get outta Murdock's business for a bit, he's busy." She beckons for the other two to follow her while Murdock starts rolling the car out of place in neutral. (He is too big to fit in the car to drive it into place.)
Once clear, Marle says, "Rawlins takes care 'v food, Murdock takes care 'v tech, I take care of th' rest. Anything I aughta do or set up for you two, make your stay a little better?"
H.Ex.E.
Hexe thinks for a moment. Given her rather limited demand when it comes to comfort she cannot come up with anything.
"Nothing I could think of off the top of my head. Thank you for the open welcome of us strangers."
A tiny hint of guilt is in those words.
Arbiter Dox
She shrugs. "If you're in th' ToB enough for 'em to send you to us, we're on the same team. No worries."
Dr. Skren
"I can't think of anything either right now. Maybe some spare clothes if we're gonna stay here a while? We're used to travelling light."
Arbiter Dox
Marle nods. "I can make that happen, sure."
She looks over the two's current outfits and says, "What I get's prolly gonna be a bit less... loud. Just so y' know."
Dr. Skren
Skren shifty-eyes Hexe and rubs her neck in embarrassment "Uh... yeah, I imagined. Thank you"
===END SESSION 5===
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