It's a quiet evening in the Shady Corner. The regular patrons sit, having a pint after dinner. At the corner of the bar is a middle aged man who appears to be attempting to drown himslef in flagons of ale. He wears light clothes suitable for working in the heat of the day.
"What brings you in here so late, Jeb?" The barkeep asks the gentleman. The man lets out a grunt.
"Can't be home. I..." He starts to say something, but shivers instead. "I just can't." He slams back the rest of his ale, and motions to the barkeeper to keep them coming. The barkeeper sighs and turns away from him.
Taklinn sidles up to the bar with his customary plate of food and pitcher of holy water. He grunts quietly "Hoot" to Akon in his customary greeting and then ignores her completely after seeing Jeb sitting there. "Hey there lad, in town deliverin' some more of the Bumgartner's Best? It's been too long since last I spoke with ye. If fact, I think it has almost been a year, and the last time I saw ye was shootin' through the air like ye had a rocket up yer arse, trailin' poor Stier's along like a kite ribbon! How have ye fared since last I saw ye?"
Jeb looks over at Taklinn for a split second before turning back down and staring longingly into the bottom of his mug.
"How have I fared?" He says, repeating the question. "Not too great, Taklinn." His voice shakes with the soung of the oldest and greatest emotion. Fear. He swallows hard as the barkeep sets down a fresh mug. Jeb picks it up and begins nursing it.
The farmer drains his, what you can assume to be third, drink. He stares longingly into the bottom of the glass mug, moving it around on the table, mesmerized by the magnified grains in the wood. He looks up to Taklinn, smiling lightly. "it's nothing, yeah, nothing." he says, clearly feigning comfort. His smile slips after a few moments of silence. "you wouldn't believe me if I told you. I know I wouldn't. I'd think I were crazy. Yeah, that's it, crazy." Jeb licks his lips nervously, before turning to look around the tavern. "you ever feel like you was being watched, Taklinn?"
"Bah with all the Hoots in this town, all the time. But I have seen other things in me long life that the prospect of bein' watched wouldn't surprise me, especially around here. Why one I was in a mine, and didn't shore up the supports well enough, had a good vein I was explorin' ye see, an' there was a partial collapse of the tunnel. I could swear that me father appeared and led me to safety. This was after coming to the surface though, an' me father had fallen several years afore this instance. Some things ye just can't explain. So what have ye seen, or do ye think is seein' you?" he says as he comes out of his contemplation.
"nah, nah, it ain't the hoots." he says, drunkenly shaking his head, "Ees somethin else." He snatches the next full mug that the barkeep sets down. He gazes over at Taklinn, some something different in his eyes. "scarecrows." he slurs. "sometimes I'm standing out in me field. And...." he quickly turns away. "It's like they're staring at me."
Jeb seems to ignore your offer. His eyes glaze over in a haze. "sometimes," he barely makes out the word, his voice quivers. "Sometimes when I look at em, really... Look em in the eyes, it's like theyre looking back at me." He swallows. "I hear em too, whispering in the night. And when I'm out, tending to my field. There's a cold feeling. Like a shadow passin over your soul."
Looking back in the tavern at the approaching avalancher, Richter signals to the barkeep. "It's like a cat... but not... Could you get me one bowl of milk, one of water. Most animals are skiddish around me but this one has some gall to him. We shall continue our discussion in a moment." Taking the two bowls, the Empyrean walks to 6 feet of the avalancher, lowers both bowls to the ground and slides them to the beast. He then turns and resumes his conversation with the barkeep, keeping his ear open to Takklin's conversation while doing so.
"Have they moved or spoken to ye, or are they just watchin' ye. More important will be to see why they seem to be gaining sentience. That hoot Akon hasnt been around blessin' yer crops with dead things has she?" he says casting his eyes around, as if he is trying to discern someone watching or listening to their conversation other than the Empyrean at the bar.
Farmer Jeb lets out a cough. "No, no. They don't move." He says quickly. "They're always good at stayin' put. All they do is stare." He swallows hard. "All they ever do is stare." He shakes his head a few times. "Crazy, eh? I told you so. Just me goin' slightly mad."
"Why not just tear em down? the end of the season is here, and most yer crops should be harvested. Least ways, the birds are flyin' off to wherever they go to, an' we could just build new ones that don't have eyes. 'Course if there is something haunting the land, then we will see other problems as well. Me axe is yers if ye want me to go check it out, an' I'm sure I can find others to go investigate with me. As much o' yer ale as we drink, I'm sure the people of this town would be happy to ensure that the kegs keep coming. I've heared more crazy talk from people I didn't trust afore, only to see em being right. Don't be so hard on yerself lad, ye are just followin' what ye know to be true in yer heart, even if yer eyes are tellin' ye that yer stark ravin' mad."
Akon slid up to the barkeep, glancing at the man, eyeing him over, then back to the barkeep. "Wine. Red." She stated gently, slapping a coin down up on the bar as she did so.