The Forgotten Zodiac

"No, there were centaurs here," Eve said, looking worried. She glanced once over to Bermuda's tub, but he was apparently asleep - he would have to hear this news later.

"Centaurs! Goodness me, why would they attack such a defenseless creature as you, dear Verdi?" Bershee puzzled, starting to work on fixing his wounds.

"I bit them. They took Allie and Tobias, so I bit one on the leg..." Verdi muttered unhappily.

"You were right to, then. Eve, Manny, you both know how important that man and that girl is to this little town." Bershee said, quite serious. "But you must also understand that Centaurs are a peaceful race. They would not attack out of spite or anger, nor is this territory theirs. They must have a reason for attack. Do whatever you can to keep the talk between you lot and them peaceful, and try not to start a fight. I'm starting to run out of medical supplies."

"It will be done," Eve said with a grim nod, heading out of the tent to find the others. "Come on, Manny, we don't have a lot of time to waste."

"It's just one thing after another, isn't it?" L'arc asked dejectedly, running a hand through his hair.

"That's our life, L'arc." Verolen sighed, shaking his head. "You're the king of the forest now. Even though Centaurs are only half-foresters, you still have to help us work this out. Goodness knows we don't want me doing the talking."

"That would end badly," Sylas muttered, shaking his head. Kendra was close behind him, her scythe ready, though they all hoped no weapons would be needed in the end.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," L'arc said, waving his hand in the air randomly as a sign of slight exasperation. "Let's get moving, then. Does anyone know where the centaurs went?"

"Verdi pointed beyond the gardens, to the east." Verolen said with a short nod. "There was blood at the attack site, too. There might be a trail."

"I remember what Aries taught me about tracking." Sylas said. "I can help with that, too."

"Great," L'arc said, heading east already. He had his sword with him in the sheath, and Kendra followed, shouldering her scythe, but centaurs were usually peaceful. A silent threat might go better than a spoken one, though, so it didn't seem too contrary to their purposes to bring a show of strength and force, even if they didn't need it.

"Right. Let's move out, then." Verolen took point until they reached the edge of town, when Sylas took over the tracking. It was a fairly straight path, with only a few blood splatters here and there, but most obviously hoofprints.

It didn't take too long for the group to find the centaurs. The sun was sinking in the sky by the time they saw the smoke from a campfire. Sylas fell back from the front of their little line, taking up his place behind L'arc and next to Kendra. "So...what's our approach? We should probably be careful, I mean...we don't want to be seen as sneaking in and attacked on the spot." He frowned. "Maybe we should signal them somehow?"

"We could always just announce ourselves," L'arc said, speaking louder than normal on purpose. Then, he called, "Hail, centaurs! This is L'arc Semperverde, king of the forest! May I and my me-- group approach?"

There was a hush that feel over the previously noisy camp, and a voice called back. "Approach, noble Semperverde!" A group of five or so Centaurs departed from the camp, trotting out to meet the group.

"What have we to owe for this visit, lord Semperverde? Word of your coronation travels quickly; the birds and foxes alike sing your praise from the treeline." The one at the front of the herd said upon stopping in front of them. "I am Persha, chief of the Kiraz Tribe. Have you come to aid my efforts?"

"I have come to... inquire about your efforts," L'arc said, phrasing his words carefully to avoid making any offense.

"Inquire? What is there to inquire upon?" Persha frowned. "The human settlement nearby has wronged me and my people! So we return the unkindness. Simple as such. As is the Centaurian way, as it has been for centuries. An eye for an eye."

"Wronged you?" L'arc asked. "How so?"

Persha furrowed his brow. "They took a young girl from my village, and my wife! The evidence was clear as day; signs of a struggle, small footprints, tracks leading to their nasty little town. From the tracks, five humans or more. I followed them from my village to here; where you stand is the place my wife was found. A corpse. So, the human male will be burned, a death fitting for a murderer. The human girl's fate depends on whether we find the missing child alive or not. For every scratch we find on ours, little 'Allie' will recieve the same."

L'arc brow furrowed. "This can't be right," he muttered, but loud enough for the centaur to hear. "Persha, we have been living in the human village for more than a week now - I can assure you no one from the nearby village harmed any centuars. I am not trying to belittle your loss, by any means, and I will indeed help you figure out who murdered your family, but the people you have taken are innocent. Killing them will avail you nothing, when the true murderer is still out there," the young king reasoned.

Persha considered L'arc's words. At last, someone who listened to reason. "Very well. The humans will remain in captivity for now, and if our searches turn up nothing, I will continue as planned. But I will give you a chance to prove them innocent, as you claim. Yesha, Solam, see to it that the human male is put back with his daughter to keep them both calm, but keep them tied. I will go with King Semperverde to seek out the truth."

"Thank goodness. It would've been just our luck to run into someone who was stubborn and senseless," Sylas muttered under his breath. A little louder, he said, "If we can find the girl, we may be able to find the culprit."

L'arc let a sigh of relief move through him at Sylas' words, and he nodded. "I will help you in whatever way I am able," he said, then looked around. "So this is where you said you found them?" he asked, trying to place his words carefully.

"My wife, yes. Before you question, the young girl's tracks are gone. The rest lead straight to the human village." Persha said.

"What evidence do you have to accuse the humans?" Verolen asked. "Aside from the tracks."

"A torn piece of cloth with human scent all over it. Obviously worn by the attacker, likely torn off by my wife in the struggle. And a strange black sludge of some kind. Doubtlessly human feces."

"...black sludge?" Sylas raised a brow. "Feces? I think someone needs to see a doctor if they've got black feces."

"And how would you--oh. Well...that certainly explains why you are so eager to defend this species, King Semperverde..."

L'arc seemed to bristle slightly, but he shoved his emotions back under control and focused on finding a way to end this conflict. "Well, it looks like the trail starts here, at any rate. Verolen, Sylas, take a look around. I, in the meantime," here, he paused, and looked up at Persha, "if it is permissible, would like to see the humans you've taken. Just to clear all doubts in my mind, I wish to hear what they have to say of this," he said.

"Certainly. And if you wish to see the ooze as well, we kept that. The more evidence, the better. Even if it is foul." Persha shook his head with disgust, then trotted off towards the camp, allowing L'arc to follow.

Tobias was tied with his hand above his head, secured to a stake. "L'arc!" He cried out, but was quickly silenced as his daughter was brought over. She had her ankle tied to the same post, with some slack on it, so she could curl up in her father's lap. Which, she did, clinging to him desperately.