Antsgiving

The town of Clacton. This village is known for its wood and furniture crafters, thanks to their access to premium forest resources. Those resources come at a cost, however... The forest is teeming with an odd variety of wildlife, among them being a few species of giant insect that sometimes cause issues for the locals. Thankfully, these are fairly timid creatures that try to avoid direct confrontation until ecological pressures set in, like when winter starts encroaching and the local animals need to start stockpiling supplies to survive the bitter cold.

But they've never before done what the locals are reporting now. Apparently, one of the houses was broken into while the owners were away, and the cupboards and food supplies were ransacked for anything of nutritional value. Apparently, they didn't stop there, because the local shepherd has locked them in a small barn. The skittering and scrabbling noises can be heard inside.

He tells the party, "They's two giant ants, I say. Big as a man! They got one of my sheep, dragged it right off into the woods!"

Karasu eyes the man in question curiously. "If you captured them, why have you not killed them?" It's a simple enough question really, though perhaps an obvious one. His raven sits on his shoulder quitely regarding the man with black unblinking eyes. Wuya hardly looks alive he's moving so little, but proof that he is was seen on the way here, so at least those with Karasu know that the xian man's familiar is still of this world. "Why call the adventurer's guild rather than burning them yourselves?"

"They want their food back, I expect." Muses Strike distantly, scanning the area as she does. She hasn't demonstrated a particular need to engage in smalltalk, though she doesn't actively avoid conversation. Her dark eyes turn to the client and, "Have there been any injuries?"

Burai has been standing hear one of the barn doors, head tilted to the side as he listens to the sounds from within. He looks thoughtful at Karasu's question. "Did anyone see them? Just how big are they?" he asks.

"Ah... eh..." The shepherd looks bashful about that. "I... ah... I'm 'fraid of the giant bugs, sir. And they've never done this 'fore, they're actin'... weird," he explains, the half-elf pulling his hat off and fiddling with it. "Didn't really... 'catch' them, just trapped 'em in this barn." He taps the barn a couple times. "And I can't burn it, too expensive to replace. Especially when it's gettin' so cold. Where would I keep my sheep?"

"Please help...? I can pay good for your help, but I can't afford losin' anymore livestock, or... or replacin' any buildin'."

Seems it's just too costly to risk some untrained shepherd dealing with an infestation.

Strike's inquiry gets a response: "No, no. No one's hurt."

Hearing the conversation outside the barn, someone, or something, inside speaks up in a strange voice.

"RELEASE US!! We must return! We cannot fail!" The door rattles as the creature on the other end shifts the door on its hinges trying to break out.

The shepherd blanches, and says, "See? Big ants, size o' a man... and they talk! Why're they talkin'? I don't want any o' that."

Burai looks surprised. "They speak? Those are unlike any vermin I've heard of. If they are intelligent, they can be reasoned with, or bargained with." He glances at the other party members, judging their diplomatic ability. Despite his profession Burai always has trouble influencing animals. Intelligent beings are even harder.

Karasu looks at the shepherd. "If they are intelligent..." He motions to Burai who explains the situation. "Open the door. If nothing else we can follow them back to where they come from. An intelligent ant must have an intelligent queen no?" His accent thickens briefly at the end of his words and he just... stares judgingly at the shepherd.

Strike nods simply to the man and looks to her companions, "We can start with reason, I suppose." Her grip shifts on her staff and she begins to approach the bar, "We should probably see if they understand what a bargain is."

Burai places his own hands on the door, and then hesitates. He calls out in a loud shout, "Step away from the door! We're opening it. We want to parlay!" He waits for a moment and tilts his head to the side, listening once more.

The ants stop scrabbling when addressed. You all hear them chitter between each other in quick, clipped tradespeak. And then they say, "Yes," and you hear them back up from the door. The shepherd rather quickly flees the scene back to his home and slams his door behind him. He wasn't kidding, he's got a major fear of bugs.

Karasu waits patiently for the man to open the door only for him to flee rather than doing so. It seemed that the matter was one more of fear more than danger... so far. The ants could still attack. "If you would open the door?" He asks of Burai whom is already touching the handle, not wanting to put more of them in danger than is strictly necessary.

Well, it's a start. Strike considers the two with her, then the door and nods, leaning against her staff, "As you would, then." Let's see what they do, hmm?

The door opens and reveals the contents of the barn. There are no sheep, thankfully, but the party sees two pony-sized red ants that click their mandibles with a nervous energy. They seem to have a strange glow beneath their exoskeletons, like their blood is radioactive, but it's a subtle shine only emphasized by the shadow of the darkened room. They stand there, their large solid black eyes watching everyone cautiously.

"Hurry, hurry," the one on the right says, "Speak. We must return." The other one says, "We must!" in agreement.

Well... they seem open to negotiation, but impatient.

Burai watches the creatures. No it's more then that. He studies them. This is indeed outside the realm of his experience, and he's spent the vast majority of his life outside of cities, traveling and exploring the wilds. He's come across all manner of insects and animals and has never encountered something like this. "To your home? Your colony? Why must you return..." he finally ventures. "Is something amiss?"

"Tell us why you took the farmer's sheep, at the very least." Karasu adds to Burai's questions quietly, his eyes hesitant on the creatures. Their nature is unusual and he is cautious of it. Yet he has heard of such things through local gossip, and he does not want to kill the creatures without cause. The farmer himself had stated that the ants were not usually behaving in this manner.

That's something, anyway. Strike nods then and ventures a guess that, "Winter is coming soon, I imagine they feel they must bring as many supplies back as possible in as short a time as they are able." She considers the odd luminance then, "Has a sudden change come over your hive?"

The pair of ants swivel their heads and wiggle their antennae in near unison, listening to the party. Seems they're quite capable of understanding spoken word as it's said to them as they follow the conversation without interruption. "Yes! Winter approaches and we must protect the nest! The queen must be fed, the colony must live!" says the more eloquent of the pair. It steps forward to continue speaking.

"The queen has fallen ill! She requires more food for her recovery! We must not be delayed. The colony will not survive without protection!"

As for the change, the ant just looks at Strike with an unreadable insectoid visage.

"We must leave," the ant says, and then it tries to step past them, quickly skittering off if not stopped.

The other ant hesitantly approaches the party, but is more mindful of them. It doesn't want to make them angry, it seems. "No food," it tells them, "A monster scares away food."

So apparently food competition and the approaching winter drove these magical beasts to robbing the local settlement, out of fear that the lack of food would kill their leader.

Burai glances at the others in the party and then turns back to the ants. "What sort of monster...?" he asks evenly. He's somehow not surprised that there is more at work here than at first it seemed. Others who have been members of the Adventurer's Guild for far longer than he, seem to never stop reminding him of it. "Perhaps we can help. And then you and these farmers can return to your normal ways. The way things were before."

Karasu steps aside to allow the ants passage. They are merely doing what is necessary for survival, and he can not begrudge them that. "Can you tell us about this monster before you go?" He asks politely of the second ant, trying to get some information that might be valuable to the ending of the ants stealing food. "Where it can be located and what it is?" With that they can kill the thing, and set the natural cycle back in order. As much as it can be with man-sized ants.

Simple enough, at least conceptually. With a casual roll of her shoulders, the half-mul decides to follow, "We will try to make things right." she assures the insects.

One of the ants just leaves. Apparently the issue is quite urgent. The other remains to explain the problem.

"A wolf! A very big wolf, with white fur, and blue eyes. It attacks us, it attacks everything, and it kills the plants we eat. It wants us dead and we have little ways to stop it. Fighting it has failed numerous times. It calls us weak and won't stop until we are dead!"

GAME: Karasu rolls Knowledge/arcana: (7)+8: 15

Burai steps aside to let the first ant go, although he tries to note which way it leaves. He turns to listen to the description of the monster, then looks at the other party members. "I've met wolves, and at times driven them off. But this seems something different."

Karasu's eyes narrow at the description, but otherwise he doesn't react. He nods politely to the ant. "Thank you for your assistance." He steps aside again, to allow this ant to move on with its fellow, then turns to his allies in this endeavor. "We hunt a Winter Wolf. A magical beast that can breathe freezing air. It is a creature of the frosts, and thus vulnerable to fire. I suggest we take torches with us when we leave. I have some fire that might aid us as well."

Strike frowns a bit and nods, "There are worse wolves." she comments, but, "I have flash powder, a smoke bomb and a thunderstone, in case that helps. Do you think you can track it?"

-TBC