Recruiting for the Crones of the Below

       Many markets of Fort Sterling have refused to release their chickens from the small cages and despite the beautiful song as well as the extra prayers and efforts, many people have spread the Tickle throughout the land. Since it seemed to originate from Fort Sterling this time around we were sent there to investigate further to be sure that it was the mistreatment of the chickens causing the spread of the Tickle and not something that we had over-looked.

       Birds are unlike other creatures and when eaten, those nearby who are free often fly away and then return later so this is what we suspect is the cause of the Tickle and for the most people they remember their sickness started with their last bite of the flesh from a bird and if its not the flesh than its an egg as if they belonged in the skies before anything else. Their eyes are needed for the skies and it is believed in our mythology that they were on land before everything else which came later from the sea.

       Rather than becoming unable to function with the risk of death like many others but still feeling under the weather, we have been carrying carrots, and have been having to keep a mouthful chewed up and ready to swallow that is timed just right so that the cough is suppressed and the Tickle goes away should anyone itch at all. Some of us had to sit and meditate toward the Sun while stretching for a few hours to ensure that no one among us started to cough but this did not make us feel invulnerable by any means. We knew that we had to do something about where the Tickle comes from or it could spread and infect every person who ever shakes the hand of another or walks nearby...

       This investigation has lead some of the Watchers on a hunt for relics and rumors regarding a cult of vampires in Fort Sterling area due to some rumors at various bars and some gruesome murders which had never been solved. Although we think that it is almost guaranteed that the Tickle comes from the birds this time around, still there is this need to explain what has been a mystery. Some Watchers among us have some of their contacts involved in smuggling illegal goods so have gone under cover for us and are off on their own in an attempt to find out everything in the underground culture of Fort Sterling.

       Other than that we have been trying to find a way to convince the chicken owners to make sure that all of their chickens are at least cage-free or that they perhaps only kill the ones for food which are nearing the end of their lives anyways. Every attempt has been laughed off or insulted, threatened sometimes, and otherwise unwilling to cooperate. We made an attempt to buy off the favor of them but there was too much pride and ignorance due to the guilt felt from being the cause of the Tickle's fast spread. We have been criticized and the chicken owners have pointed their finger everywhere else rather than accept responsibility or even the possibility of being the cause... or the solution after badgered.

       Unable to do something about it because of our nonviolent customs of the Heavens Above, the want to help them rather than hurt them, and the law of Fort Sterling protecting them making it impossible for us to intervene legally... we have decided that it may be necessary to take some more drastic measures.

       One of the Oxen trains are preparing a huge shipment of caged chickens for transport to Caerlon so the only opportunity that we have to put a stop to it exists on the road in the wild between here and there.

       For peace we will make one last attempt to convince them of at least talking about it... but if they continue to risk not only our lives but the lives of those in the Heavens Above, we must do something about it!

       The Tickle has been spreading and spreading fast it has!

       They are going to be sorry that one of our Watchers was locked up for the night due to one of the arguments over this dispute. The guards automatically favored this House of the Cock over any of us due to the amount of money that they make and what that they are worth to the long-term residents. 

       We fear that we may have to intervene with travelers going North as well since word has reached us that they have ignored all warnings and reasons to turn around and avoid the Heavens Above. We must be sure to prevent the spread of the Tickle even if this means dying for our people dwelling in the sky. At least they will remain human and not become transformed as some of the now mutants found in the area as of lately around the Yellow and Violet.

       The Watchers have been busy spreading word, collecting the knowledge of everything, and recruiting people from every village in the Below where ever major crossroads meet. The Crones have all been helpful and have all had many people available to assist with this potential disaster we must face.

       Some of those who became sick first in other parts of the land are from cultures who have always been quite anti-social and native to many residents and it was recently discovered that the myths about their cannibalism have been true. They may have been somewhat peaceful and secretive about it but many tribes of the Natives who had occupied the Below before any other had taken up the practice of eating other people when they are starving so often that in some parts it is a sought after and even encouraged activity.

       Recently a Watcher visiting one of these Native villages came across ritualistic killing and sacrifices to their many deities, barely escaping with his life... and he has been speeding up our process of gathering more potential Watchers from every good village who wants to put an end to the Tickle once and for all.

       We meet occasionally and talk with the fire... with the good Natives of the Below and they have been able to help us understand better regarding which ones have become cannibals and which ones have remained loyal to the True Source. In ancient times, everyone shared the same language and religious beliefs but as so many hundreds or thousands of generations progressed, so did every tribes way of life or even their entire language and way of life. Still though, there are those who remember their meeting with our ancestors who were here before us and had developed the secret meetings in the North between those who stay loyal to the True Source and keep out others who are not yet ready to know about it or about where it leads to. They assist us whenever we find a fallen star in the Below if it were to crash in their lands. It is the fragments from the fallen stars which we fear others infected may find and suddenly have unexpected motivation to find out where the magnets lead and where the True Source leads.

      We know that the True Source is there because of our love and respect for nature. It is what holds everything that we know together and keeps us from straying too far from where we are all one... with every kill and every sacrifice, if it is done properly, and with utmost respect... it is said to be forgiven and we must never forget that even some of our recent ancestors had red meat in their diet from the Boar or the Ram, maybe even the Bull. We are still here and still thankful... know that there are respectful farmers and those who eat the red and they never seem to be the target of the Tickle or where it originates from. Something makes them different and it is their use and belief of the True Source. Livestock and pets are loved in an act called the Stroking. This is believed to be what created magnetism. Respect and love for all things, even those who may have the need to hurt us to survive.

       With the inability to convince the House of the Cock at Fort Sterling to partake in the Stroking like we would like to has forced us to consider many things that we may regret forever. Only time will tell what will happen as those who have certain foods or customs seem to be unnaturally blinded to the truth in which all Watchers know and understand. Of course, they are not even aware of the True Source and it is them who would possibly wipe out our people from the Heavens should they ever discover what it is or where it goes....

       Luckily, no one has reported any fallen stars lately, so this has allowed us to focus more on recruiting and the more immediate threats facing us and the Heavens Above as well as in the Below. Some chicken traders have helped up while others... well... we will see...