|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 18:59:39 GMT -6
There weren't many times where Briar found himself wishing for different creature companions than the ones he had, but... well... The request had seemed simple enough, when he had first received it. Help deal with the mouse problem faced by a farmer with his barn. At first he had almost considered asking Yeo-reum to help. But he didn't know how he would convey the objective to the Tat, and anyway Yeo-reum wasn't really the charitable favors type, not anymore. He was as likely to deface the barn as to help rid it of pests, and he certainly wouldn't have stood for meeting a farmer to hear out the man's grievances. He couldn't take any of his Houluh either, not really. They weren't trained for this kind of thing, and Joker and Lyra would have just made a game of it. Loki, maybe, but... somehow Briar didn't really want to use Loki to kill anything. 1
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:20:22 GMT -6
It wasn't that he didn't think Loki could do it. Loki had been a stray before Briar found him, and who knew what he had had to do for food; and of all of Briar's Houluh, he had the most aptitude for actually attacking -- not that he had ever had to bite a live target, but he knew the commands, at least.
That was just the problem though. It wasn't really the kind of aptitude Briar wanted to nurture too much, lest Loki start to get an actual taste for it. He already had trouble talking Yeo-reum out of starting trouble, and he didn't want to compound his problems by bringing Loki into the mix.
So in the end, his companion as he made his way to the barn was... a puppy of a different kind. He didn't expect the pup to be of any practical use though, not this young.
2
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:22:36 GMT -6
The most that they could accomplish together was getting to know each other better, but Briar had already resigned himself to the idea that he was going to have to do this with wits and his own two hands. And probably traps, to be honest. He didn't know if the farmer had already tried it, but it was possible that the man was too busy doing actual farming to keep a proper eye on the traps, or to make proper use of them. And Briar was being paid for his time, so he had as much of it as he could spare from his duties back at the Gracehaven estate.
... Which wasn't all that much, actually. It was probably best that he be quick about this.
The pup was in a little sling that Briar wore on his back. If the pup started to get real wiggly, Briar could put it down.
3
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:24:35 GMT -6
So far though, it seemed content to take a nap there. As a pup, it slept a lot; it was still quite young, probably too young to be away from its parents. But a lot of these lab creatures didn't have parents proper to speak of anyway, so maybe it was a moot point. At any rate, that made things easier, and was part of why Briar had chosen the pup over any other candidates. If they were going to be no significant help to him, at least they might not hinder him too much by his having to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't make trouble. He couldn't say that for the friendlier two of his three grown Houluh, that much was for sure.
The barn was in pretty good shape still, as far as he could tell, when he arrived at the farm.
4
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:29:06 GMT -6
He didn't know a lot about barns. The family that used to have him definitely didn't have a barn. There had been a shed, but that was just for storing tools, and for locking Briar into on hot days when he did something to upset one or another of them. The barn was nothing like that, too large in scope, thought perhaps it would still be unpleasant to be locked inside, for different reasons.
Still, there was no one else here. The farmer hadn't elected to come along, and considering that the farmer was paying Briar through the quest board, Briar didn't think he would have too much incentive to resort to funny business. Someone would raise a fuss, surely, if something suspicious happened to someone who took a job.
Actually, maybe Noa would raise a fuss too. Rich people didn't like it when others messed with what was theirs.
5
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:31:32 GMT -6
And while Briar wasn't employed by Noa for the fun of it, it was... in some ways a very familiar arrangement, and sometimes the familiarity helped him understand what to expect.
But the idea of Noa meting out his own form of revenge was just as unthinkable, so Briar figured he might as well do his best to stay out of trouble.
He hitched the bundle with the pup in it a little further up, since it was starting to slide off his shoulder. The puppy was almost dead asleep, and only whined a little at being jostled before quieting back down into slumber. Then, Briar set about with the work of setting up the traps. He'd brought a lot, since the farmer had made it sound like this was a pretty serious infestation. A cat of some sort would probably have been better, but he couldn't find one on short notice.
6
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:34:07 GMT -6
And maybe if it were that simple, the farmer would have installed one on the premises already. Briar didn't have one of his own trained up to be a mouser, and that would have been even harder to manage than just sourcing a cat in the first place. Mouse traps it was.
Since this was his first attempt at it, he baited the traps with a variety of things. Cheese, peanut butter, bread, whatever it seemed like rodents might like. He would check later to see which traps performed the best. Incidentally his dogs also liked quite a few of these things, so at least whatever didn't work out wouldn't go to waste... though it was probably better for them not to have too much cheese, for their sake and for Briar's.
As for their placement, he tried to pick nooks and crannies where it seemed like mice might travel.
7
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:36:08 GMT -6
They probably wouldn't scuttle across open areas very often, and anyway putting traps out in the open just felt like a shot in the dark. Sure, the food would attract them, but they would only let their guard down so far, right? A trap placed in a location where they felt a bit safer was more likely to entice a mouse to its prize, he thought.
But again, he would find out the next day, when he came back to check on them.
Once he was done with it, he stepped back and admired his handiwork -- not that there was much to look at, considering how the traps were placed mostly in corners and against walls, spread out around the barn. The pup wiggled a bit, so Briar adjusted his sling again, but he was done with the work of it, so if the pup wanted out, that was no longer an issue.
8
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:39:21 GMT -6
He would leave for now, and come back to see if any of his efforts had borne fruit -- grisly as the fruit might be, in this case. ----- The next day, he returned in the morning. It was the only time he could get away from his other work, and anyway the night would have been time enough for the mice to come out and wander around as they pleased. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of one while he was setting his traps yesterday, so clearly they didn't come out when there was light or people around -- or both. Fortunately, he found that many of his traps had landed their mark. Peanut butter, as it turned out, was the most effective, but some of the other traps were sprung and sporting a dead rodent in their jaws as well. He carefully removed these and reset the traps one by one. 9
|
|
|
Post by Briar on Aug 31, 2021 19:42:03 GMT -6
It took him a little time to go over each of the traps, but not as long as it had taken yesterday. And the walk was good for getting him some air -- and the pup too, come to that.
Over the next few days they formed something of a routine, returning every morning to check and reset the traps, or maybe move them around a bit if they weren't catching anything. There were fewer and fewer rodents as time went on, but Briar was hopeful that this meant their numbers were reducing, rather than that they were wising up. After all, rodents were quick breeders, but probably not that quick.
Only time would tell whether they succeeded, but he was sure the farmer who had posted the job would come see them about it soon either way. He'd keep at it until he had word of whether it was working or not.
10
|
|
|
Post by NPC on Oct 12, 2021 15:54:26 GMT -6
Congratulations, you've successfully completed the quest! Your QP will be added to your bank shortly.
|
|