Mice in black

After the patrol had recovered from it´s ordeals the started their journey towards Copperwood with Radulf in lead. When they arrived, they went to Gunrey's parents to rest and recuperate. All other wounds healed just fine, but Gill´s got infected, and didn´t start to heal.

Beagan went to check the streets for rumors, hoping to shed some light to the puzzle of grain peddler from Barkstone having a detailed map of Lockhaven. The hottest topic of the town was the worsening relationship between Copperwood and Barkstone: for years, Barkstone had produced the majority of quality earthware used in the territories, and it´s fine and durable porcelain was greatly appreciated. Lately, the coppersmiths in Copperwood had started to produce greatn quantities of copperware to compete on the same market, and the coppersmiths and potters were up to each others throats.

Gunrey started to ask his father, a local coppersmith, if he knew something about the argument between the towns. Father and son had grown quite distant, however, due to the delinquent past of Gunrey, and the long journey between them, and the discussion evolved into shouting argument. He did find something out: one morning, completely without warning, hired caprenters had demolished a part of the guildhouse and startet rebuilding it. Radulf, as a carpenter's son, went to ask a few questions, and found out the cause of sudden redecoration: at night there had been a fire, and they tried to cover it up as quickly and silently as possible. There was a rumor going on with the carpenters, that some mysterious mouse had been sneaking around just before the fire.

The patrol had already decided to journey to barkstone to continue their invstigation there, but during their last night, they woke up to clang of alarm bells and terrible ruckus. They ran out of the motel thy were staying in, they climbed to the roof to get a better look. They saw two fires to the north, near the marketplace, one fier to the south, near the barracks and the coppersmith guildhouse, and heard sounds of battle from east, near the local prison. Gill and Gunrey went to north, Beagan to south and Radulf to east.

When Gill an dGunrey arrived to the scene at north, Gunrey helped to put the fires out, while Gill tried to find out what on earth was happening. Young and strong as he was, Gunrey did a great deal to put out the fires, and the townsfolk were impressed, getting the patrol good reputation. Gill kept his ears open, and heard a lot of rumors about the events in town: that a fire arrow had light the fires, that mysterious mice had lit the fires, and that a lightning bolt had lit up the fires. Were are these mice in black coming from?

Vankilan portit

Radulf, meanwhile, found himself in the middle of a full blown riot: the prisoners were escaping, civilians were running away terrified and the few town guardmice were trying to control the riot. He not only managed to emerge without a scratch, he practically held a street on his own. By standing there, on the middle off the street, with his eapon drawn and the cape of the guard flapping in the wind, he inspired the guard and terrified the rioters. He got a reputation of heroism with the town guard.

Beagan also tried to find out what was happening, but a crowd, ranning panicking from west, near the city hall caused the area to also panic and escape, and there was nobody to ask questions from. After the dust had settled the patrol, tired and dirty, went to local tavern for a breakfast and listen to rumors, and they did hear a lot of things: that the cash in city hall had been stolen, that Barkstone with the cursed potters were resposible, and that some prisoners were missing. After getting their bellies full, the patrol decided to go to the city hall to sort out the rumors and find out why there was a panic near the city hall.

Near the city hall the patrol found out that the crowd had indeed come from the city hall, not the marketplace. At the city hall they managed the adminstrators to tell that during the night, some mysterious mice were found in the archives, and the fight that evolved had got the crowd, out of their houses due to the noise from fires, to panic. Two guards were wounded, but the culprits escaped. The patrol talked its way to the arhives, and Gunrey, helped by the rest and his mom, who works there as an archivist, found out that the letters of pardon had been stolen.

Visit to the prison proved unhelpfull: while Radulf´s reputation got the guards talking, none of the prisoners were in any way importanta; just normal thiefs, conmen and a murderer or two. However, some of the prisoners were missing, and escape over manned walls was deemed impropable. The patrol decided to do a little scouting for hiding spots, thinking that the prisoners might be lying low, but found something strange instead: a deserted inner yard with bloody dragging marks leading in, with big puddles of water and small piles of fallen grain on the fround, and over the dragging marks, a trail of cart was leading out.

When there was nothing more to be found out in the city, the patrol decided to camp outside the city gates, on the barkstone side, to check for strange traffick. The traffick was cut off after the gates were shut, but in the middle of the night a fine carriage was traveling on the read. Gunrey, on watch at the time, drew his sword and stopped the train, waking rest of the patrol with the noise. Because he was supposed to wake the patrol, not run towards trouble by himself, Gill unseremoniously knocked him out with his staff (again). The patrol managed to lie that Gunrey was a bandit (as a tenderpaw, he didn't have a cape of the guard), and after a long and arduous argument, got some information out from the rich merchant (he was from Barkstone). The merchant was a son of the Rynbeldel-family, extremenly rich and influental one in Barkstone, and his mission was use provide an excuse for armsmen of his family to enter town and do something to the coppesmiths. With no evidence, the patrol couldn't detain the merchant with good conscience, and let him go.

How are a spy from barkstone, mice in black, missing prisoners and a strange merchant connected? Where did the cart from the inner yard go, and what are the letters of pardon for? Is lockhaven in some danger?

Snakes and knockouts

Route of the grain peddler

After a long winter, spring has finally arrived to Lockhaven, and the patrols of the Mouse Guard depart all over the territories to their missions. Gill's patrol has got a new member this spring, the tenderpaw Gunrey, while guardmouse Beagan and patrol guard Radulf continue in the patrol.

Gwendolyn gave them a mission to find a grain peddler, who was traveling from Lockhaven, via Rootwallov, Copperwood and Elmoss to Barkstone, but how never arrived to Copperwood. To Gill Gwendolyn also told, that the peddler might be a spy, trying to sell infromation from Lockhaven to Barkstone, trying to hide within normal commercial traffic.

The patrol was traveling the road between Rootwalloc and Copperwood, Radulf scouting ahead. A bit off the main trail he found an overturned grain cart, but he was soon to regret going alone to investigate the cart: Radulf heard an angry hiss coming from behind him, and saw a snake hissing and baring it's teeth. Alone he could not survive, so he ran away with the snake hot on his heels. At last he managed to escape, but he was really tired after all the excercise.

After Radulf had returned and received his reproaches form his foolhardy actions, the patrol decided that only way ahead was to kill the snake: it´s a risk to travellers, and the grain cart was their only lead. Even for a whole patrol the snake was not an easy prey: after the dust settled, Gill and Gunrey were lying on the ground, unable to keep fighting, but their brave charge wounded the snake enough for Beagan and Radulf to kill it. Tired and wounded, the patrol slept the night with their bellies full of fried snake. Gill suprised everybody by making something edible from the snake! 

In the morning the patrol finds the peddler, killed by snake poison, lying nearby: the snake musta have been starting its diner when the patrol went by! Gunrey examines the body, and finds a detailed map of Lockhaven, but tries to hide it. Beagan notices, and Gunrey tries to attack with his fists. Seeing his pupil´s actions, Gill jumps between them and easily knocks Gunrey unconscious with his staff.

The patrol is tired, wounded, in the middle of forest with a dead spy. Who was the spy working for? How will Radulf react, if somebody from his hometown is scheming against the Guard? Why did Gunrey try to hide the map?