Play@YSDC

"In all the previous sightings' reports, were there any cases of the hounds attacking people? What we saw last night only seemed to be interested in the farmer's chickens. In fact the farmer seemed more bothered at the loss of livestock than worried about potential danger to himself." Dr. Porter asked.

There was 1 incident where a person was found dead, and his death was attributed to the hound.

"Doctor, it's a good question you asked; and I must tell you that there was 1 incident in which a person's death had been directly attributed to the hound. Other than that, no." Tobias offered helpfully pulling a few dozen references to further support his claim.

"But nobody's ever seen the hound murder anything but chickens as far as I know," says Eddie. "Were there any witnesses? Just because the death was attributed to the hound, it doesn't mean the hound was responsible. It's possible someone else committed a murder and made it look as though the hound did it to deflect blame."

Tobias nodded, "That's what I thought as well. But I thought we are operating under the assumption that the Hounds exist and are a dangerous bunch."

Maria

“Well, we should take precautions. But maybe we shouldn’t be too quick to suspect the worst of these hounds, or hound. It certainly was strange though.” She goes silent, thinking back to the night before.

"I don't suppose you can tell Bret and I more details, pretty miss?" Tobias said in a friendly manner. He smiled.

“My name is Maria Adams, young man” Maria says firmly. “You may address me as Miss Adams. I will not be condescended to by any of this group.”

She looks pointedly at the reporter, Bret, as she says this.

She takes the sketch she made from last night’s encounter from her pocket and shows them.

“This is the best I could do. The hound is black, jet black, like ebony. It has red eyes and is the size of a fairly large dog. But it most certainly isn’t a dog.”

Ah, the lady's one of those, Tobias thought, careful not to show his cynicism towards Ms. Adams. He looked at Bret. "Journalist guy, what do you think?"

"Well, professor, I think what Miss Adams says confirms this is no ordinary pooch. But I'm also wondering if there's some connection between the hound and the native Indians who lived here. Maybe there are still some Indian folks living nearby who know the history."

"Guess we'll find out. But first, we gotta buy some camping gear. How much you got in your wallet right now? There's a store down the block that sells all we need and more. Do you want to go right now or stick around for another while?" Tobias said to Bret while counting the money he has left in his wallet and making a mental list of the thing he needs to buy.

"It's possible that someone is controlling the hound," says Eddie, "just like someone might command a normal dog. I heard cheering coming from the swamp in the direction the hound fled with the chicken. I don't think it was the hound that was cheering. Sounds like someone's using it to fetch chickens."

"But...why? Why chickens? You say there's some hidden puppeteer hidden behind the scenes for hundreds of years, controlling some dangerous beasts invulnerable to bullet wounds just to...steal chickens?" Tobias said incredulously, as he stared at Eddie with a complicated expression on his face.

"I said it's possible someone's controlling the hound," says Eddie, "not a certainty, and it may be used for other things, not just for stealing chickens. I don't believe it's impervious to bullets. Mr. Jenkins just shot it with either rock salt or birdshot, that's all. 00 buckshot may have an entirely different effect."

Maria

“If there’s nothing else why don’t we get moving? We can talk while we walk.”

She addresses Tobias and Bret. “You should go and get yourself equipped. We can wait here for you”.

"Sure." Tobias said enthusiastically, as he walked towards the front door.

Tobias and Brett:
You can find a clothing store pretty easy. They sell both new and used clothing.

A gentleman walks up and asks you what you are looking to buy.

Everyone else:
Are you doing anything while Tobias and Brett are going shopping?

"Hello there, good sir." Tobias said cheerfully. "We are looking for some hiking gear and heavy boots, preferably new, but I'm fine with used as well. How much would that come to be?"