[b]Tristan and Constance[/b]

For the moment, you are undisturbed. Mort is given a smaller room next to yours and the rest of the inhabitants are about their business. Please continue to plan.

[b]Robena[/b]

The task is an arduous one. From the forest trail, the dogs have to backtrack, which forces you into an embarrassing loop around the hunting party in which the knights and servants are all giving you side eye for keeping them still in the chill forest. But the dogs do pick up the scent, and when they do it is a moment of riotous joy. They have a direction! Bark bark bark! They're off like an arrow, straight and true, and you right behind them, and then the entire hunting party with a whoop of joy and the clatter of hooves and harness. It is as though the whole forest were lying in wait behind a bush until just this moment to pounce and now it's a new place, full of life and power. Your heart beats faster and the wind caresses your face with a cool touch as you urge Apricot onward. 

The first trick is a simple double back, the dogs cut, turn, circle a series of trees and then come back on themselves, excited yelping as they go in a full circle and look poised to do it again. The trick there is easy enough though, you know the way the beast would go and this is just a short diversion. You find the dog that hesitates on the cutback and, with a sharp whistle, you call him to you and as soon as he gets ahead of the section, he's on the scent and the other dogs have perked up their heads and are again hot on the trail.

The second trick is a bit of a swim. The dogs don't hesitate when they hit the creek (though the frigid water that splashes your heels as you cross sends shivers up your spine). But when they come out the other side, they switch suddenly into confused whines and whimpers and the rest of the hunting party behind you pulls up behind the creek. You have to spend some time searching. The fox must have swum, and downriver is a good guess, but how long? You end up having to dismount and look for signs before finally finding a tuft of fur caught on some low holly leaves and a few trampled berries. You call the dogs again, and again the chase is on.

The last almost breaks you. The dogs, ever eager, lead themselves nearly head first into a wall at least ten feet high. It's not hard to realize what happened: the fox used a low tree to scamper upwards, then jumped to a higher branch, then scrambled it's way up the last bit of shale and was off. What surprises you is the fluffy red and white snout peaking downwards and the high barking laugh from the top of the ridge. "You can't catch me!" it seems to say with those eeee heeee heeee heees! And for a moment, you're really worried. The whole hunting party is going to have to divert around who knows how far to find a trail that the horses can climb and the fox will have enough lead to disappear again. It's cold, the dogs are sweating, and you start to wonder how many clever tricks can you really overcome before dusk? 

But, then you remember, if the fox weren't just as exhausted, it would be long gone by now. That it's here, taunting you at all, means you've nearly done the task. You order the dogs to stay, make a gut decision, and sprint east where you find a more gentle incline within five minutes. You're back quickly, the dogs with you, and the hunting party behind. Once you've crested the ridge, the fox's trail is clear, and when you drive it to cliff face, this time it has no trees to climb. The hunters spread out so that there can be no escape, and you allow the dogs to complete their work as they bring the fox at bay. It's over in an instant, the villain defeated, and you find yourself surrounded by hounds clambering all about you.

How do you feel after the day's work? What do you look forward to most when you get to the Castle Sauvage?