In a macabre way, the winter is an almost cleansing time in the Territories. The air is cold and still. The trees, bereft of leaves, sway in the wind like skeletons marching across barren fields in great armies. The sky is gray, all-consuming, the dominant color of the season. Yet, when the snow falls in huge quiet flakes, the wilderness breathes in dormant slumber, and is most definitely alive.<br/><br/>Marlie stood out on the ramparts guarding Lockhaven watching snowflakes the size of her ears falling from a white sky. There was no wind and the air was silent. Only the slightest hint of spring could be detected in the scent of the dry, aseptic air, but she could smell it as if she were a fox on the hunt. Spring was coming. Another season, another winter past, another year in the Guard, another spring a widow, alone.<br/><br/>Though one was never truly alone in the Guard. Life on the road led to an easy camaraderie; a mousehood that was as close as any family could be borne from honor and codes of conduct, valor and loyalty. George was the embodiment of those ideals. Born and raised with the Guard all around him, its tenants of duty and service clung to him as tightly as any innate instincts. He was young, hardworking, generous, resourceful, loyal, gregarious. He was one of the best smiths in the whole Territories, and could seemingly make anything out of anything. His story was yet to be written.<br/><br/>Lucretzia. Her name, when spoken, was as delicate as the flakes of snow falling onto frozen ground. She was even younger than George, a tenderpaw, the product of the intellectual nobility from the town of Sprucetuck. Inevitably she was a scientist, but she dabbled in many endeavors: beekeeping, beetle husbandry, medicine, even hunting. She and George represented the “next generation” of the Guard. Marlie had never had children. Instead, she groomed mice into heroes.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/82/Gwendolynmg.jpg)</div>Three days later Marlie’s prediction proved true, the first spring day arrived, and her Patrol departed Lockhaven. Gwendolyn needed to explain little about her mission. Marlie was perhaps the most trusted Patrol Leader in the Guard. The only reason she wasn’t a Guard Captain was because she was better suited to life on the road. Posting her in Lockhaven with Captain’s duties would be like trapping her in a snare. Marlie was a doer. Gwendolyn, the Matriarch, personally assigned missions to the Patrols. She was slightly older than Marlie, though still vibrant, with grey-blonde fur and a sky-blue cloak that draped around her shoulders like a shawl, held in place by a rust-colored buckle. She always hovered over a desk of maps, charts, and other scrolls, each keeping a memorandum of a particular Patrol.<br/><br/>Marlie’s Patrol would be the first of the spring, charged with renewing the scent border along the eastern edge of the Territories. It was a common assignment for Patrols in the spring, tasking more than half the Guard. The scent border was laid with a concoction brewed by the scientists of Sprucetuck. Its aim was to deter predators, especially wolves, from entering the Territories by giving off a scent that was both foul and hid the presence of mice beyond. Timing was critical on the mission, as the eastern border was a distant journey from Lockhaven, and hibernating and hungry predators and grazers would be eager to trespass into the territories to find food.<br/><br/>If possible, there would be no major stops along the way. The towns would be bypassed in order to save time and avoid being caught up in some local matter that would have inevitably have risen over the winter. Once the scent had been deployed, the Patrol would report to Rustleaf to check in for further instructions or to proceed with Patrol.<br/><br/>The scent itself was stored in small barrels that could be worn by a mouse like a backpack. All three mice would be so encumbered. The concoction was concentrated, and would need to be mixed and diluted with water before being poured. The amount of water required was far too much to carry, and would be foraged for at the pouring site.<br/><br/>When the Patrol left Lockhaven that morning the air was crisp and cold, and the sky bright with sunshine. The mice took one last look at the walls of Lockhaven and then turned, trekking into the sunrise.<br/><br/><em><strong>GM to Players:</strong> The Patrol will be travelling through the wilderness until it reaches the eastern scent border. This doesn’t mean there aren’t a few interesting stories to tell between here and there. In your first post you may cover whatever you like about the Patrol’s journey through the very early spring wilderness centering around your character. You can write a full narrative of the journey, but I think it might be more interesting to cover a topic or event personal to your character that happens along the way. Briar Rose, if you want Marlie to make a Weather Watcher test, now’s the time to do it. We can work on that together in a table talk thread.<br/><br/>My point is, don’t feel you have to cover everything your character does on the journey, but instead give us a snapshot of an occurrence along the way that introduces us to your character and how they think and act. Don’t feel like you have to go chronologically after the player after whom you post. By all means, you don’t have to write how I have suggested. Write what and how you want to, and cover what you’d like to.<br/><br/>Limited godmodding will be allowed under the following guidelines. You may include another player’s character in your post, but you need to have that character using their Instinct or one of their Traits in your post. Use some common sense and common courtesy: don’t make another character express an opinion, don’t embarrass the character, and don’t make the character do anything that could cause a reaction. This is being allowed for flavor purposes because you’ll all working together as a group, and are constantly around each other. If someone asks you to remove their character from your post, or change what they’re doing in your post, please comply. If you abuse this privilege, you’ll lose it. Of course, anything worked up and agreed to by the players on the side is not subject to these rules.<br/><br/>Below I’m providing some info on the places through which you’ll be traveling. <br/><br/></em><hr/><br/><div align="center">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8b/Mgmap.jpg)</div><br/><strong>The Territories</strong><em><br/>The mouse settlements are nestled in dense, rugged terrain. A little more than half of the territories are forested, much of the remainder could be described as rocky. There are also plenty of other surface features including lakes, ponds, streams, swamps, mud, tall grass, brambles and thorns, leaf cover, coastal beach, and open ground. In general, most types of terrain will be found on the routes the Patrol happens to be traveling, so feel free to use any terrain you need in your posts. There are eight principle settlements in the Territories. In alphabetical order they are: Barkstone, Copperwood, Elmoss, Ivydale, Lockhaven, Port Sumac, Shaleburrow, and Sprucetuck. I’ll only be describing them as we come to them.<br/><br/></em><hr/><br/><strong>Lockhaven</strong><br/><div class="floatright">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/16/Lockhaven.jpg)</div><em>Home of the Mouse Guard, Lockhaven is carved deep into stone. Only the ivy-covered face is visible from the outside. Lockhaven serves as a base of operations for the Guard and is not an open city. While there are mouse citizens that live there, they are invited guests of the Guard. The Guard extends invitations to skilled and trustworthy mice and their families. Staple foods are stored in abundance, while prepared foods are made as needed, as it is unknown how many or how few will be fed on any given day. Lockhaven is known for </em>gabcroon<em>: a dense bread filled with seeds, fruit and nuts that travels well and stays warm long after baking. Lockhaven is built of stone blocks and wood, but mainly carved deep into a large stone outcropping. It has a very large cistern that collects water from a fresh spring deep under the larder. <br/><br/>The Matriarch keeps a secret document that names her successor. The document is only to be opened in the event of her death. The Matriarch operates as a strategist, ambassador and administrator. She has several captains and administrators beneath her, including a scribe, castellan, and quartermaster. Textiles, weapons and armor, prepared foods, honey and wax are Lockhaven’s major trades. Harvesters, masons and carpenters live there as guests of the Guard to keep it running and self-sufficient. Lockhaven is sustained by donations. Many cities give grain as thanks to the guardmice at harvest time.</em>