Chapter 1 - Introductions

Bay is a brave little mouse - always had a sense of adventure, loved loved LOVED being a Sparrow Rider, soaring above her home settlement, keeping an eye out for incoming threats, on occasion raining mousy wrath down from above on the rare occasions they were attacked. Probably the hardest part for Bay about leaving with Sky to head out for adventures in the wide world, was leaving behind Brown Muffin, her sparrow steed - they had been working together for many years, love each other, and Bay misses her dearly.

But the call to see more, to experience more, was too strong for her. So, finally, she resolved, it was time to head out and learn more of what the world has to offer. She hopes she will experience marvels, feel and see and learn new things! But she is also ready to look out for herself, her companions...! And hopefully also do some good for others along the way.

Bay hefts her trident and runs over towards the sounds of the cries. She's a good-hearted generous mouse, and would want to help out someone in distress if she could!

Seeing the scene before them, Bay shouts out:

"Hey! Rat! What are you doing there?! Stop throwing those stones this instant!"

With that, Bay moves towards the rat, her fur standing up straight, a look of fury in her eyes at what seems to be a scene of bullying and malice.

"Dear me...! What on earth is going on here?" Sky calls out incredulously as her nose twitches and her whiskers immediately start to vibrate. Her luminous eyes dart around the scene quickly to see if there is anything dangerous about. More dangerous than the stone throwing rodent before them.

Her ears twitch as well, however this has more to do with the distinctive sound of the falling pips than with the pleading creature. Sky glances at Bay as she orders the attacker to stop and admires her friend's determination, before taking a place next to her. One hand rests on the hilt of her sword - more for show than with actual intent. She is certain Hazel is by their side as always and likes their current odds ... and the possible compensation of their heroic actions.

"Explain yourself, vagrant!"

It seems her grandstanding has done little to dissuade the rat from entering violent conflict. Sky ignores the blood rushing in her ears and draws her sword. She would not let that stick come down on her friends.

Although the motion is less fluid than she hoped it would be, Sky's sword is out and she moves forward to meet the brute. Sharp end in front, that's the important part. She focuses on the offending stick as well, its length and thickness and tries to calculate its reach and weight. Each blow that is about to come has a certain chance of hitting her and she likes to be prepared - ideally to get out of the way before being clobbered.

Hazel looks at the rat with her deep, black button eyes and twitches her delicate whiskers. The lightly clad woman stands proud and upright, holding her bow and arrow in skillful paws. She hasn't pulled the string yet, but she will do so quickly if the situation requires it.

The hazelnut brown mouse tilts her head slightly and replies admonishingly: "Now there are four of us and you are alone - rat. Wouldn't you like to think about it again, before you do something... rash?"

Confident that she and her two daring friends could scare the rat away, Hazel tries words one last time before taking action.

Bay is furious - letting all her anger out here, blazing it all directly at this rat. But she still sees what Hazel is trying here, and yeah, Bay would be much happier if we could get through this without coming to more blows.

Bay, though, doesn't feel any uncertainty about how to push forward here - this rat isn't for persuading, it's for scaring out of its skin...

"Rat! You've tasted some of what we three have got coming for you! Three hardened mouse warriors against a mangy ner-do-well rat? I know who comes out best here...!"

Bay moves closer to the rat, huge-for-her double-handed trident pushed out towards it.

"We're giving you until the count of three to scram - or you'll be tasting even more of our mousy steel!

Pointing her pointy nose, pointedly up to Gideon, Hazel asks: "How did you get up there in the first place... stranger?" Talking to three women without giving his own name first. How rude of this keg-bellied rat-victim!

Nonetheless, looking for something that could aid this ... wealthy mouse to get out of his predicament, the brown furred archer tries to see if there is a rickety wagon, a barrel, or even a ladder to help him.

She would do so anyway, a fellow mouse in need and so on, but knowledge of a mystery seems too redolent of adventure and fame to be passed lightly.

Bay's eyes light up at this talk of skills and valour and adventure...! That's exactly what this band of friends was looking for when they left Muusdorf!

And for sure she wants to help out this, hm, indisposed stranger they've encountered.

Various ideas go through her head about how they might be able to help him down...

- Strike through and break his belt with Bay's long trident, and cushion his fall as he, er, descends from the branch?
- Throwing something up to weigh down the end of the branch, hopefully bringing Mr Hanging Mouse closer to the ground?
- Climbing up the tree themselves, and somehow helping him down? But that sounds very difficult.
- Building an acrobatic tower of three mice to reach up and help him down?

None of them sounds easy!

Bay's favourite would be to climb the tree and with the use of some rope or something like that, work out a way to lower Mr Hanging Mouse down to the ground - hm, although, do they have any rope with them here?

With a sideways glance and a shrug Sky gets closer to the tree to climb it. Unfortunately the bark turns out to be rotting away and she cannot get a good foothold. "Sorry, I'll try again. And Gideon, if you fall ... we'd almost certainly catch you in any case."

Sky takes a run-up towards the trunk and manages to get quite a bit higher this time. She even manages to grab onto a bit of the branch the fat mouse is hanging on before she slips...

Laying her bow to the side, Hazel opens the clasp that holds her traveling cloak and folds it quiet nicely. Then the brown mouse crack her tiny mouse knuckles with intention in her eyes and steps under the tree. "I will catch you." she proclaims.

All of this would seem rather comical to an onlooker, as Hazel is the smallest of the three Muusdorf adventurers.

"Thank you!" Sky exclaims, thinking Hazel means her rather than the strange fellow. She is hanging onto the branch with her hands, while she is trying to get a good position for her feet. The blue-coated mouse shimmies towards Gideon with her fingers and gets close, but without the help of her feet she is not strong enough to secure her own position.

It turns out that the bark is not the only thing half-rotten. A sudden cracking noise makes Sky's heart jump. She looks to the source and sees that the branch cannot carry their combined weight for much longer. With a desperate determination Sky builds up some momentum and swings herself towards the equally worried mouse hanging upside down in front of her. She manages to grab onto his jacket, the piece of clothing immediately slides down, the buttons tear of, then the weak wood breaks and both, Sky and Gideon, plummet downwards.

Because of the momentum, Hazel cannot anticipate their trajectory fast enough. Sky falls to the ground not far from her friend's outstretched hands. The ground is soft enough though and for a split second Sky feels relieved - that is until - BAM! - the fat mouse lands directly on top of her. The mouse is so stunned that it takes her a moment to throw Gideon off and curse under her whiskers. When she tries to get up, Sky feels a sharp pain where the heavier mouse has landed. ""Told you we'd catch you" she says in a strained voice as her hands rub over the ribs that are very likely cracked. She breathes with some difficulty.

Bay rushes up to the pile of wounded mice made up of Hazel, Sky, and Gideon - helps them up, looks with them at their injuries, an anxious look on her face. Those were some nasty falls and some nasty landings.

But Bay doesn't have anything on her to help them heal up or recover - she can only offer her concern and sympathy. She thinks to herself:

"I guess things like this are a part of adventuring that I haven't thought about before. I'd only really thought about the exciting fun parts..."

Once they're all standing up again, and Gideon has told them about Mr Filmon, Bay says to Gideon:

"Glad you're OK, Gideon. Sorry that you had such a mishap! That does sound intriguing - I've got a few questions I'd like to ask, though, before I feel ready to go to the Manor as you suggest"

Bay then asks Gideon:

- what are the "more pressing matters" that have called him away - you like to understand the kind of thing he finds more important than this exciting mystery
- it sounds like Gideon already has some ideas about what mystery, what enigma, may be within the manor - what does he think is going on?
- why do we need to bring Filmon the letter? And what is in it?

Shocked that the fat Gideon buried her friend under his mass, Hazel is quick to roll the mouser off her friend. Lending a helping hand to Sky, the brown mouse dusts her off a bit, but stops immediately as she notices the wincing in pain.

Giving Gideon a dark look, the archer starts to listen to his story and raises an eyebrow sceptically. Manor, six peaces, medallion. Sounds strange enough. Listenening to Bay's variaity of questions, Hazel is more than a little thankfull for her companions quick wit. All of them good inquiries.

"What kind of establishment is the Squeakydoor Manor?" asks the moon-signed mouse interested. They would see in a short time of course. But maybe there could be something gained by appearing there in a certain way.

"This hotel doesn't by any chance have a healer, does it?" Sky grimaces as she touches her ribs with her right hand. She looks down to see if there are any more pips on the ground. Then asks: "Are you a rich ... investigator then, if I may ask? Who has paid for the room or in other words - whom do we owe?"

Sky brings some order to her dishevelled clothes, then quickly combs her face with her fingertips. She is almost ready to make for the manor.

This Gideon character still rubs Hazel the wrong way and all his blundering doesn't change that a bit. Make it even worse. Nonetheless the story he told them sounds to exciting, to not to take a closer look. The prospect of a few nights in a fancy manor? Well, there are worse things in a wandering mouses' life. Ain't it?

Hurrying to pick up some of the coins, so that Sky won't get all of them — experience have tought Hazel that a coin left to Sky means a lost coin in a cardgame — the brown mouse stashes some of them in her pocket for later use. Maybe the room is already paid, but are the beverages as well?

"Strange fellow. Makes my tail curl." she confesses with a shudder to her friends as she finishes up. "Let's do exactly as he told us." Hazel continues with a dry grin and the wink of her left eye.

Sky mumbles indignantly as she has to split up the pips in equal parts. Sometimes she thinks her friends do not trust her - at least not with her financial prowess. "Alright then, let us go to this manor and see for ourselves, if what there is some truth to what the clumsy fellow told us." Bay agrees and takes her share of the forgotten treasure.
Sky is looking forward to a soft bed for her next rest.

Taking note of the paper blocking the view above, Hazel follows her two friends into the manor. At first the adventurous mouse is a bit tense, but all the soft lighting and wooden floors seem to calm her down. Especially her whiskers.

Hazel hadn't seen anything so beautiful in a long time and with eyes opened wide, she takes in the room with admiration. But they weren't just here to have a good time. There is a secret to be revealed. And that's why the mouse-brown archer whistles innocently, "Could you be so kind and show us to our room - Mr. Filmon?"

On her way up, she asks in a friendly manner: ""Please tell us something about the history of the house - it looks sooo impressive. Have you lived here for a long time?"

"Are you the son, Mr. Filmon?" Hazel asks interested, without any concerns for manners or suchlike.

"So how did you come by the house then?" nosey Hazel asks further.

Sky uses the time it takes Hazel to make her inquiries to swiftly check the contents of the writing desk. Is the sixth of the medallion still there? If so, Sky puts it in one of her pockets to await further scrutiny as soon as the mouses are amongst themselves.

Meanwhile Bay looks out the window and looks for anything interesting within the truly beautiful view.

Both finish the task. While Bay tests the level of comfort her matress will provide, Sky steps outside to join Hazel and the hotel owner.
"What a modern room. I am sure it will serve us well. To be honest, however, I am much more interested in the older parts of this magnificent structure. Especially the fine courtyard we were able to glimpse on our way up. The architecture, at least to the adoring but untrained eye, looks quite marvellous and I shall spend some time there I think. Anything in particular I should pay attention to, Mr Filmore? Is the ivy as stately in the courtyard as it is out front? Oh and the library should prove worthy of our time as well. I guess many of your guests are equally impressed - is the hotel fully occupied at the moment, sir?"

Bay waits for Mr Filmon to leave the room, closes the door after he leaves, and then turns excitedly towards Sky and Hazel.

"I saw you snaffle the medallion fragment, Sky! Nice work there! Would be great if you could show it to us!"

Whiskers twitching in enthusiasm, Bay looks expectantly up at Sky.

"Maybe there are some clues within the shape of the medallion, about what might be going on here? What do you think? Is it ornamented? Does the ornament remind us of anything?"

Puzzling over the medallion fragment, Bay looks up and squeaks:

"It looks like Gideon really did send us on a proper adventure, on a proper mystery here - I definitely want to know more about the medallion, and the story behind it!".

She pauses for a moment, getting ready to deliver her mom joke.

"Or is it a moustery, rather than a mystery?"

(for the next few seconds she can't stop giggling at her own bad "joke"...)

"Anyway! How about we each go off and explore the manor on our own, and then we meet back here in our room before we go to dinner today? When we meet back up, we could compare notes, see what each of us has found out?".

If the others agree, Bay plans to head out to the library - to see if she can find any more information about the medallion in the books there - and perhaps to encounter one of the guests and see what she can find out from them.

"All of this is very mousterios." replies Hazel while she lowers her voice. "Have you noticed the strange scene on the stairs? What was that?" the adventurer asks as she refers to Mr. Filomon's exclamation.

When Bay suggests visiting the library herself, the brown archer gives her friend Sky a sideways glance. The snowwhite mouse would certainly be interested in books too. But perhaps there was enough material there to keep two mice busy. Besides, two noses smelled more than just one.

Hazel, on the other hand, has not forgotten Mr. Filmon's advice against the courtyard and plans to visit it. Aiming to be there as unseen as possible so that she is not immediately scared away.

On the way down she stops briefly on the steps and shouts: "And the prodigal son appeared again and brought life with him!" Hazel then pauses for a moment with her whiskers twitching and her ears swiveling to see if that triggered a reaction.

Maybe she would take a look into the kitchen later. There could be a cook who could give her further insights into this house and its history and residents.