Cheese Wheel

The cheese is gone. That was the first thing that Howard noticed when he made it back home. The large cheese wheel his mother gifted him as a house warming gift was gone. Wax cloth and all. The door was also open however that could have just been the wind. It wasn't a very sturdy door to begin with.

Howard stared at the empty table blankly. Worry about what his food would become if he ended up having to leave more of it alone in his home. A scuttling just outside the house just solidified the culprit in his mind.

It had been mice, rats, rodents of some kind. He just knew it. He left perfectly good food in an empty house in the fields. Nothing to guard it. Of course it would be the pests of the countryside that commandeered his food. Howard was so convinced of his theory that he completely dismissed the fact that the wax cloth was gone as well. Not a crumb in sight and no mess to clean. It was as if someone had walked into the house saw the cheese and took it.

With a huff Howard throw his pack down. The puppy exploring its new home with extreme curiosity. Strangely animated shadows ghosting in its steps. It was fine. The cheese wasn't truly a terrible loss. He still had the food he packed and he can just go buy more while he is in the village.

Sitting on the stone table Howard pet the pup and thought about what he needed to get. There was still a lot of things he needed to do before he could really buy the goats. First he needed to train the puppy to be able to herd goats. This means that he needs to ask his father for the training planks.

Next he needed to buy food. He would not be able to stay out here for long if there was nothing to eat. Plus the puppy needed food as well. Though it should be fine with cutoffs from his own meals. So it wasn't too big a concern. He would also need mouse traps to keep their food safe while he stored it. If the rodents were confident enough to invade his home and steal a whole wheel of cheese then he would need a lot.

Finally Howard needed to talk to the carpenters in town. He had his location chosen and enough space cleared off that they should be able to start work soon. The quicker he had a sturdy home the quicker he would be free of pests.

Pulling out his pouch he looked at his funds. He was down to nine gold and ten copper. Plenty for what he needed and still have a lot left for the goats. He swayed back and forth in joy. The puppy watching with confused amusement. Far too much intelligence in its eyes.

"Come on Dog. Let's go to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day." He called while setting up the pallet on the floor. Dog, the pitch black puppy, woofed softly and bounded over. Shadows pulling up around its legs as if trying to suck it in. Howard chuckled and pet its head before falling asleep.

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

The day thankfully started without the obnoxious wake up call of Screech. Instead it was to the death throughs of one abnormally large rodent being dismembered by an overly enthusiastic fuzzy puppy. Shadows eroding away at the skin of the house cat sized rat. Dog, as named by its new pack leader, drug in its prize and swung it onto Howard knocking the breath out of him.

Howard started awake coughing and wheezing trying to relearn the concept of breathing. The mangled bloody lump of fur taking second place to this necessary bodily function. Once calmed down and no longer under threat of suffocation he registered the offering.

A soft smile gracing his lips. It would seem that Dog had hunted breakfast for them. He was also going to need a lot more mouse traps if the other pests were this big. After spit roasting the mouse, thankful for the lessons on cooking his mother dragged him through, the two headed to the village.

Dog bounding up and down the path filled to the brim with excited energy. The way to the village unusually absent of ambient sound. Soon they passed the fence and headed for their first stop the Hunters Guild. Every city, town, or village had a Hunters Guild. It is mandatory unlike the Adventures Guild. The Hunters Guild didn't so much take requests as it was the one to provide food and raw materials for the different places.

If a village did not have a Hunters Guild then they were not going to last long. It was impossible to provide food with just what was grown. So the Hunters Guild became a necessity. It was also convenient especially for small villages like Mudtrap when you needed to buy traps.

Howard walked into the oddly nice building in the rough rural village. Though nice was objective as it was in fact still a rural area and nice for them would be considered rundown or shoddy to a city dweller. Maybe 'rustic' if they were trying to be polite. Still it was one of the better building in Mudtrap only beat by the Village Hall. For obvious reasons.

Dog quietly followed its owner in keeping in his shadow so as not to be noticed by the strange humans. "Good morning Grover." Howard called to a pudgy man sitting at one of the many tables around the room. Random scraps of metal, wire, wood, and rope lay scattered in front of him seemingly in chaos, but was orderly in its own way.

"Mornin' Howie. What can I do for you?" Grover asked setting down a strange rope and peg ensemble. His rough callused hands folding on the table as he gave his full attention to Howard.

"Well I just came back from Helmshire last night where I bought this pup." He gestured down to Dog who peeked around Howard's leg when it heard the conversation drift to it. Grover barely glanced at the puppy before concentrating back on its human allowing it to fade back into the shadows. "When I got home the wheel of cheese Mother gave me was gone."

"Ho, that is quite a waste. Marge's cheese is some of the best stuff I ever tasted. What happened to it?" Grover asked in interest pulling a strand of hair from his face and pushing it behind his ear. The leather cord holding it back chiming where the metal ends knocked. "Couldn't have been stolen if your comin' here."

"No, it was the rats. The fields that I picked seems to be full of them. I need mouse traps to keep my food safe. They are a bit big though so I need to buy a lot." He placed 20 copper on the table causing Grover's eyebrows to raise.

"That's a lot of traps Howie. How many rats are there? It would have to be an army if your buy this much." He stood and made his way to the back while Howard followed. "I don't think we even have that many traps."

"I'll just take what you have. I am waging war on the pests. They took Mother's cheese. You know how it is." A booming laugh echoed around the building. Grover gathered all the mouse traps available shoving them into a rough sack.

"Well I hope you win this war of yours. It is a right shame to have such good cheese stolen. Especially when you had so much left." He passed the bag to Howard and plucked thirteen coins from the table. "Let me know if you need more. With you wiping us out it will be good practice for the young ones."

"Thanks, Grover. I'll be sure to." Howard walked out of the guild and off to complete his other chores for the day. By the time he made it back to his hut it was almost dark. Dog wove in and out of the tall grass while Howard set the bag on the floor.

The carpenters said they could start working on the house in a couple days. While the wooden goat cut outs would be delivered tomorrow. Meaning training Dog was set to start then.

With a huff he set about placing mouse traps all along the outside of the hovel. Making a deadly barricade for all the rodents daring enough to come close to his dwelling. Then he set off placing more traps in the house. Strategically located near food containers and hidden in shady corners. Howard chuckled darkly as he observed his handy work. He couldn't wait for those pest to just try and take his food.

Satisfied it was time to go to sleep. It would be a big day tomorrow and he wanted to be well rested before he started training Dog. With a smile on his face the two fell asleep surrounded by the fifty odd mouse traps he had strewn around the property in an attempt to keep the rodents out. It was definitely the start of a war although not one with the poor local rodentia who by this point had been frightened away by the new predator in the area.