[h2][color=af9d80][b]Roger Falkner and Shortclaw[/b][/color][/h2]

[i][color=af9d80]There's is something strange about the ground down there.[/color][/i]

From above, Roger could see splotches of terrain taking on a different color as they got closer to the bandits' hideout.  They had been flying low to avoid detection, but it was still high enough to see a stark difference from the surrounding land.

It wasn't unusual to see land of different colors whenever they flew over farmland, but this was no freshly tilled field, ready for planting, and it was far too extensive to be the work of small burrowing animals.  This was...well, he had no idea what it was.  Even stranger, he glimpsed a few objects on the ground that looked a little like scarecrows.  Surely the bandits couldn't actually be trying to work the land down there, especially in this rocky area, right?

It was a curious enough matter that Roger opted to take a closer look.  He circled around, then signaled his mount to descend and land.  The griffin slowed its flight and touched down on the suffiently large clearing of disturbed earth, bounding off the ground once before coming to a stop, causing Roger to bounce in his saddle.  The first thing the rider did was take a few moments to glance around the area to ensure there was no trouble awaiting them..  He hadn't seen anyone when flying overhead, but it paid to be cautious.  Shortclaw turned his head around as well, also on the lookout for trouble.

[color=af9d80][i]If he doesn't see anything, we should be clear.  His eyes are keener than mine.[/i][/color]  As he looked around, he noticed one of the "scarecrows" he had thought he spotted.

[i][color=af9d80]That's no scarecrow,[/color][/i] he thought to himself, uneasy at what he beheld.  It was a crude, macabre effigy of some sort, crafted with bones and topped with a humanoid skull, creaking eerily as it rocked in the strong wind.  Just what were these bandits doing out here, and why would they create such twisted totems?  He already knew that these bandits were doing some strange and unsettling things, and the fact that they'd construct these things raised some questions as to just what they were up to.

In contrast to his increasingly uneasy rider, Shortclaw seemed completely unfazed and uninterested in the effigy, probably because there was no meat on the bones.

[color=af9d80]"Let's get back to the camp,"[/color] Roger spoke, signaling the griffin to take flight.  Shortclaw began to run forward and flap his wings, leapt into the air against the wind, and began gaining altitude.  There wasn't much else to do here, so once they climbed above the treetops, Roger directed his mount back to the camp.  He wasn't entirely sure what these strange effigies meant, but whatever it was, it wasn't good.  Perhaps the Steel Princess or one of the Lions' more learned members, or one of the other scouts, would have a better idea.