Rowan left Sylvie Perrault’s cottage in the morning fog of Gascar and set his first steps toward the Yawning Mastiff Inn. The inn, normally lively, was subdued, its decorations faded and its patrons quiet under the weight of recent disappearances. Rowan approached the bar and met Mayor Bastien Hugo, who clarified he owns the inn but Baptiste is the true innkeeper. Rowan introduced himself, and they shared talk of Chronicler licenses and the missing villagers.
Hugo shared information about Pierre Vercher, the hunter, who had stayed at the Mastiff before vanishing. Rowan took the key to Pierre’s old room. Upstairs, he found the room curiously undisturbed—boots neatly placed, bow by the hearth, cider mug on the sill. Using his Awareness, Rowan noticed a faint trace of calming herbs in the cider, unusual for Pierre. He dismantled the bow in a gesture of peace, signaling to any unseen presence that he meant no harm.
Rowan questioned Hugo about the herbs, who suggested they might have come from Sylvie, Baptiste, or perhaps Elodie Laval, who often used them in small acts of kindness. Rowan then returned to Sylvie’s cottage, showed her the mug, and learned that she had not given Pierre any herbs, though she agreed Elodie or Baptiste might have. She also found it notable that Pierre, proud and dismissive of such remedies, had accepted the tea at all.
Rowan and Sylvie ended the night sharing tea and lighter conversation, briefly lifting the mood. Rowan then retired to the small Chronicler’s room she kept ready, resting before whatever the next day in Gascar would bring.