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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Whizbang Dustyboots" data-source="post: 4347671" data-attributes="member: 11760">Tucker Gallaway puts two fingers in the corner of his mouth, blasting out a whistle that can be heard even over the din of the crowd. Those closest to him clap their hands over their ears to mute the sound."What I am going to do about it is go into the woods and find them," he says, nearly shouting, making sure to be heard by the assembled villagers. "What you are going to do is go back to town, and stop tramping all over any trace that the twins were even here."The townsfolk start to protest, but Tucker cuts them off."I know you want to help. I know I'll likely need your help -- but not yet! Father Grant and I will enter the woods, and make sure there are no dangerous beasts lurking around, either of the two- or four-footed variety. The last thing we need is more missing or injured people."Go back to town. Eat a good meal, and get your warm clothes. Collect everyone who is able or willing to help in an organized search, and meet back here in two hours. Little ... uh," Tucker pauses, fumbling for the kids' names."Pentagruel," offers Emmerson. "And Rutiger.""Little Pentagruel and Rutiger will be hungry when we find them, so bring something for them to eat. Torches and lanterns, too, in case it gets dark. And at least two big blankets."Now, if any of you saw the twins at all between the time their stepmother left them here and the time she came back to find them missing, please stay and answer a few quick questions. Everyone else, go home, and we'll see you back here in two hours." "Your cooperation will be invaluable to our search, folks," Emmerson says, as the crowd begins to disperse. "And it will help Pentagruel and Rutiger. Please heed Deputy Gallaway's words and be prepared for their return. We will find them. It's just a matter of time."Once the Bridgers have left, the pair begins a search of the orchard in earnest. At first, they mostly only find signs that the townsfolk have been trampling around the edge of the orchard.But pushing into the brush, even the untutored eyes of the deputy and paladin soon spot signs that the children headed north: Here is an apple core, there is a scuffle of tiny footprints, suggesting a game of tag or something of the sort, and there two branches, at chest height to the men, have been tied together to create a tiny archway. A simple gouge in the dirt shows that at least one child dragged a stick with them as they headed wherever they ultimately decided to go."So this is tracking," Emmerson says, as he carefully ducks under the arch, "It's not that hard."Saying a prayer of thanks to Lothian for the clear markers, Tucker follows the children's trail, keeping an eye out to the woods on either side, looking for more evidence of the Kramer twins' passing.The drag-mark of the stick vanishes in the soft wet soil, and Emmerson and Tucker look around with worry until they start finding marks about a foot and a half off the ground where the child was striking it against saplings as they went wherever they were going.The pair follows, and eventually finds a path through fallen leaves that leads them deeper into the woods, now well out of sight of the orchard."I'm starting to think we should have left some breadcrumbs behind us," Tucker sighs. "What do you think the odds are that these two kids wandered this far off by themselves? There's plenty of stuff to follow that wouldn't leave any track that the two of us could spot.""One time, Jeroen, my sister Alexa's youngest son, got lost in the brewery. How he managed to climb all the way to the fermenting vats is something we'll never know. We found him skunk drunk on Three Mix-Bitter after Thomas finally thought about looking in the restricted zones of the brewery."But you make a good point. Best be on guard."The trail stops meandering quite so much, as though the children had become firm of purpose -- or at least as firm of purpose as children can get -- and it begins arrowing through the woods northward.Eventually, it leaves the fallen leaves and damp ground and Emmerson and Tucker have to admit that they've lost the trail entirely. But they are now a long way from Maidensbridge, in the middle of the Tulgey Wood. It would be as easy to go to Green Mountain or Moss Pond from here as it would to return to Maidensbridge. If the children became lost at this point, finding their way home would be difficult indeed for those their age."Pentagruel! Rutiger!" Tucker shouts, turning in a slow circle as he does so. "Crap. What I wouldn't give for a real tracker right now."</blockquote>

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