If You Go Down To The Woods Today... (MT, Open)

[Pontiva]

The call had come at four in the morning. It was urgent, apparently. Something had turned up in the western forests of Pontiva that no man could explain. He, however, was expected to do just that. Zachariah Lowe, head of genetic research at the Institute of Biological Studies. A tall, slim man, he looked out of place riding besides a trio of mid-level, toned military officers. Whatever it was he needed to look at, it certainly must be special to get this much attention at this early hour.

After what seemed like a days driving, but was less than three hours, the car halted. Through the windscreen Zachariah could see an army flatbed truck, its cargo covered by a dark green tarpaulin. He stepped out of the car, his shoe sinking slightly into the muddy ground. He was directed to the truck with a friendly gesture, or at least a wave of the arm he guess was meant to be friendly.

The two soldiers pulled the plastic sheet off the bed of the lorry, revealing the strange cargo it carried. He looked the body over, quickly examining it, "No obvious cause of death. All limbs attached, the skin is unbroken. Could be a natural death."

"What do you think it is?" one of the soldiers asked idly.

"Honestly, I don't know. Who found him?" Professor Lowe climbed onto the truck and gave the creature a quick once over before stepping back down onto the muddy track.

"Him?" there was a quizzical tone in the young Lieutenants voice.

"Yes. It has a flat chest and, more definitively, testicles, so he is a he." The scientists hand reached out and groped around the bodies crotch, "Definitely a he."

The soldier cringed at the sight of an older man handling the genitals of a dead body, "OK. It's not my job to check. I just loaded him on the truck"

"So, who found him?"

"A local forester, didn't know what he'd stumbled on. He's been taken to a secure facility for debriefing. Thought it could be an alien." The officer paused momentarily, "Could it be an alien?"

"Alien?" Lowe snorted, shooting the idea down without a word. He had to hammer the point home though, "Do you know the odds on any extraterrestrial life-form being bipedal, let alone resembling anything we know from this planet?"

The soldiers cheeks flushed. It obviously wasn't an alien. Little green men? Not likely. The best he could do was salvage some dignity, "Not very high?"

"Actually, that depends on if you're asking a convergionist or divergionist," he responded, removing his spectacles, "but I don't think this guy came from anywhere other than this earth."

"Oh? Any reasoning?"

The scientist slipped a small notebook from his pocket and wrote a few lines before responding to the soldier, "Call it a hunch."

"Well, what here could have created it?"

Lowe, such a curious, yet undereducated mind. He counted the possibilities on this fingers as he spoke, "Genetic experimentation, evolution, disease, mutation, many different things could cause this. I'll need to run a lot more tests before we find out exactly how he came to be. If we ever find that out."

(OoC: More coming soon)

[Pontiva]

The creature was laid out on a steel table. Next to it, in a collection of containers, various organs were sitting, ready to be examined in further detail later. So far Professor Lowe hadn't seen anything he hadn't expected, apart from the outward appearance of the corpse.

He removed the latex gloves he'd been wearing and dropped them into a bio-hazardous waste bin before turning to face his assistant, "I've ruled out genetic experimentation. The military flat-out deny they've had any success with splicing genes, and I don't see how they could without being extremely lucky. You see, just as a human body can reject donor tissue, so too can the creations of genetic engineering. We've had our problems with it at the Institute, and apparently the military have had the same issues."

His assistant, a young man, no more than twenty-five, looked over the top of his laptop and smiled, "So you take their word for it?"

"Yes, but also the word of Friedrich Miescher." Zachariah scribbled a few notes in the notebook on hi desk before picking up a sheet of paper and waving it around, "You see our cold chum here shares ninety-seven percent of his DNA with wolves. That's about how much humans share with chimps. It looks overwhelmingly as if our fuzzy friend here is an evolution of the common wolf. Right now, he has to be classified as a sample of the previously-unknown species 'Canis Lupus Erectus', although I do feel I may need to change that sooner rather than later."

"Changed? Why?"

"Judging by the fact his brain, which is just under sixteen-hunderd cubic centimetres, is a similar size to what we'd see in a male human of his size. It's likely these creatures are capable of learning on a similar level to ourselves." Lowe picked up the phone and cradled the handset between his head and shoulder.

"So you mean there could actually be a whole race of advanced werewolves? A whole civilisation?"

Zachariah paused dialled for a few seconds, then replaced the handset, "Werewolves? Heavens no. Although having seen this I'm not too sure what's real any more. There might, however, be a whole civilisation of Canis Lupus Erectus, yes. It would have to be small though, numbering a few hundred, possibly a thousand or so at most."

"But they're out there, living and breeding, completely isolated from humans?"

Lowe was now idly fingering the coiled cord between phone and handset, a flare of something special in his eyes, something that had not been there before, "Not necessarily isolated. Back to werewolves; every legend has a grain of truth in it. What if this species has been living in harmony with our own. People revered many creatures over time. 'Werewolves' weren't always evil, man eating beasts. Many cultures did, and some still do, treat wolfmen with respect. Creatures that wanted to help men, or just leave them alone."

"So they could have been living with us, for centuries?"

At one point maybe, but not recently. The idea of animal gods dies out over a millennia ago, and the thought of werewolves being man-eaters came about some seven centuries ago. What led them to retreat out of the spotlight isn't known. Was it because a new religion came and denounced them as false gods? Or did their disappearance have nothing to do with that and simply clear the way for new beliefs?

"You were going to call someone, professor?"

"Oh yes, got distracted, Kevin. I need to let the military know my preliminary findings, I promised them I'd call by noon."

"And it's now twenty-past-three."

"All the more reason to call them now then, yes?"

Kevin shook his head as the professor picked up the phone once more and stabbed his finger at the keypad.


PBC Afternoon News
...and finally, there are unconfirmed reports from the western town of Grubyjkamyen claiming the military have recovered an alien spacecraft and its occupants. No one from the Ministry of Defence was immediately available to comment on the story, although we hope to have a statement in time for our evening bulletin. Strange sightings are not out of the normal in that part of the country. For several decades there have been reports of UFO's, aliens, ghosts and other paranormal activity, most of which were considered spurious. Will this turn out to be little more than a weather balloon or military exercise? Only time will tell. I'm Richard O'Niell, goodbye.

[Pontiva]

The Chancellor was agitated. It wasn't everyday someone told him the military had found what appeared to be a second intelligent species in his country. Nor was it everyday the national media got into a frenzy about alien invaders and spaceships. Today was going to be one of those days.

Standing in front of him was an old friend and a good soldier. He and Mohammad Connor had been through national service together, and whilst Dieter had decided to move in to politics, Mohammad had risen steadily through the ranks to become a General. Now, he had been specifically asked to bring the latest developments to the Chancellors attention. Thankfully, he had enough new information to bring to the table.

"Professor Lowe is over ninety percent certain our werewolf is a natural evolution of the common grey wolf. We don't know how long they've been around, or anything else about them. This information is what we are currently trying to discover."

"So it's natural? How does that happen?" Dieter drummed his fingers idly on the mahogany desk.

"Pretty much how we happened. Evolution isn't an exact science but things like this were always suggested as a possibility."

Pontiva's Chancellor frowned a little, creasing his brow, "So we have a second race on the island?"

The General nodded, "Pretty much, although we are currently trying to identify where they live and how advanced they are. Also, the media are sniffing around it, something about a UFO. It's completely unbelievable, but considering the major national news is the new trains on the South Coast line, it was going to sneak in. The fact we've had a professor on site hasn't leaked out yet, but it will. We've given a statement to the effect of 'move along, nothing to see here', which should give us a bit more breathing space."


PBC News at Ten
Latest news on the recovered UFO. The Ministry of Defence earlier issued a statement over the matter, 'We can categorically state there has been no unidentified flying objects sighted or recovered inside Pontivan borders. We do not have any extraterrestrial life-forms in our custody nor have we ever. The increased military activity in the region has nothing to do with aliens, and everything to do with a routine training exercise." This would appear to dispel the recent rumours, although some locals still report the military appearing out of nowhere, removing something from the woodland then leaving within forty-eight hours.

(OoC: I'll update again come morning BST, because 2am isn't a good time to be typing Update 0840 BST/2340 Forum Time: New post coming soon)

[Pontiva]

Rumours had persisted from many centuries throughout Pontiva of werewolves, particularly in the dense forest of the west. Few gave the stories any credibility. After centuries of revering the wolf, there would always be stories about the creature, some more credible than others.

Unlike werewolf legends around the globe, however, there were still some hard to dismiss sightings right up to eight years ago, when several members of a government-backed expedition to survey a series of linked fortifications reported seeing a 'pack of wolf-like men' moving through the forest near to their camp. They had dutifully logged the incident, but nothing more came of it.

Recently, however the sightings had all but dropped off to nothing, and the legends remained exactly that. If one examined the reports over the last century, they would notice that with the exception of one or two, they were all reputed to be in the heavily wooded and sparsely inhabited hills western Pontiva.

Lieutenant Pawel Myska had looked at the past reports, and had seen that the vast forests of Eichensteinberg Province seemed to be the likely home to this strange breed of creature, if more did exist. Over the next three days he prepared to mount a search to find the animals. He estimated a thorough search would take hundreds of men weeks, and that sort of operation was out of his reach. He would have a single platoon, at most, and would have less than six weeks. That's all the top echelon had given him, and he needed to get results. In order to get them, he'd need more than just soldiers. Almost without thinking he began dialling a number on his mobile.

"Professor Lowe? It's Lieutenant Myska. We met during the Charlie-Lime-Echo recovery three days ago." There was pause as Pawel listened to the professors response before continuing, "Actually, it's not about test results. I've been given the task of locating more of these creatures, if more do indeed exist, and would very much like you to be a part of that expedition, even if it isn't your area of expertise." Another pause, "Excellent. I'll have a car sent to collect you tomorrow evening, around seven."


PBC Breakfast News
Werewolves. Fictional beast, or real monster? In an unexpected twist, whilst we have been told the military did not remove a UFO from the area surrounding Grubyjkamyen, it has come to light that they did removed what one local described as the body of a werewolf. Once again no one from the Ministry of Defence was available to give a statement. Sightings of werewolves have been recorded in the area prior to this incident, the most recent credible incident was some eight years ago when a team studying ancient ruins reported a run in with 'wolf-like men'. Is it possible the MoD has captured one of these creatures? Well bring you more as soon as we get it.

[Pontiva]

The sun was creeping towards its apex as General James Roundtree shuffled through the briefing his aide has delivered not three minutes ago. He always had to know what was happening as soon as the Ministry caught wind of it. One piece of news in particular caught his attention and he slid the sheet onto the top of his 'to-do' pile before moving on to the next.

Eventually he was finished sifting wheat from chaff, and reached for the ageing, discoloured phone on the far right of his desk. The line was a direct connection to the Chancellors office, bypassing the government switchboard. It was a perk of the job. He waited for the familiar voice of Dieter Abendroth's secretary before asking to be transferred to Dieter himself.

"General Roundtree, what can I do for you?"

The military leader spoke quickly, "I assume you've seen the news? We have a leak, most likely it's the damn forester who reported the whole thing. Some people can't keep their mouths shut."

The Chancellor sounded irritated, more so than if James was just repeating something both men knew, "How do we cope with this?"

The general explained his idea whilst idly scribbling names on a sheet of paper, then crossing some off, "Simple: We give the media what they want. They'll find out anyway, so if we tell them, we can control the flow a little more than if they find out themselves." There was a pause, if it wasn't for Dieters breathing, James would have tried redialing.

"You're suggesting a press conference? You are aware of what the story is, right."

"I am fully aware of the creature, what it is and what we're currently doing. I still suggest a press release and the a conference. We have pre-autopsy photographs of the creature taken both by soldiers who recovered it and the professor who is handling the research, and we should use them to our advantage. Hoaxes can look mighty believable these days."

"You want to get the press speculating as to if it's real or not?" There was the slightest hint of mischief in the Chancellors voice, and that made James feel more comfortable with his idea.

"I want them to chase their tails, get their experts in to examine the photos and, most importantly, to keep off our backs until we know exactly what's going on. I've one of my finest Lieutenants organising a mission to find any other specimens of this species that may exist in the wild, an his efforts would be helped greatly if we can keep the press away for where we found this guy."

"It's your call, Jim. You want a media circus, you call it. This order isn't coming from me."

"Understood." There was a click as James hung up the phone and pressed his intercom.

--------------------

One thing Chris Spencer, a mid-level spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, had expected was media interest. Having read the information on the discovery, and compressed it down into a short statement, he was acutely aware of the fact this was unusual in the extreme, and if the media liked anything, it was the extreme. As he walked into the room he smiled to himself. There were journalists in every seat, several of whom were clearly from the major Pontivan news networks and were backed by the high-tech cameras and broadcast technology that would deliver the entire statement into millions of Pontivan homes live.

He waited at the podium for the room to fall quiet, the noisy click of camera shutters getting ever more noticeable over the receding voices until it was silent but for the click, hum and whirr of technology. This was now his moment, his time. For the next minute he was akin to their god. No point in waiting any longer.

"I am here to announce that four days ago the Ministry of Defence recovered the body of what appears to be a bipedal wolf. Tests are still ongoing to try and uncovered how this being came to be, and if there are more like it in the wild. This was the recovery which was falsely reported to the media as being of a UFO. We have released several photographs of the creature into the public domain, all of which are available in the physical packs at the rear of the room, and in digital formal from the press centre on the MoD website. Finally, I will not be taking questions at this point as there will be a press conference at sixteen-hundred hours tomorrow, held at Basonuteca Town Hall Chambers. I wish you all a good day."

As quickly as he'd arrived, he left, ignoring the questions being called at him unanswered for the moment.


(OoC: I know you've not had much chance to join in yet, that changes slightly here, and will open right up after another post or two. For now, anyone interested can TG me questions they'd like putting to the conference and I'll try and work them into my next post. I'm going to give around three or four hours for this, so you have until approximately 1500 BST (1400 GMT) to send your questions.)

[Pontiva]

The Chambers inside Basonuteca town hall was a grand room, with oak panelling and brass trim. It was an up market area for such a gathering, press conferences were usually held in drab sports halls or community centres. There was a massive presence here, from the big hitters like the Pontivan Broadcast Corporation, National Television Pontiva and the Pontivan News Company, right down to the local papers including the Basonuteca Star, Grubyjkamyen Herald and the Linstor News. The footage would be sent live around the nation and, through the power of internet streaming, across the globe.

For the second time in as many days, Chris Spencer was preparing to face the media. He'd spent all morning, and the afternoon so far, being briefed on developments, the science behind it all and facing tester questions. He felt as ready as he could be. Slipping the small earpiece into place, he nodded at his assistant who tested the feed. It was loud and clear. Should he find himself stuck with a question, needing more information or assistance, it would be fed to him by a small band of specialists. He crossed his fingers and hoped he didn't need it, having someone talking in his ear whilst he was talking to the crowd was disorienting.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind, took a deep breath and stepped into the fray. Flashbulbs popped and shutters clicked. It was almost an exact rerun of yesterdays briefing so far, but that's where the similarities would end.

Standing at the front of the crowd, partially obscured by microphones from the neck down, Chris began, "Four days ago a citizen reported the discovery of a body in the forest south of Grubyjkamyen. Upon arriving at the location, local police were greeted not with a human corpse, but the body of the creature you see in the photographs.

He paused as the a blown-up version of the full body shot circulated to the press appeared on a screen behind him, "At this point, the matter was handed to the Ministry of Defence who sent a small detachment of soldiers to recover the body and take it to a secure location for a full autopsy and other medical tests to try and establish its origins. Through these tests have discovered that it is genetically linked to the common Grey Wolf in a similar way that humans are linked to chimpanzees. That's pretty much the long and short of it. I'll now field some questions."

A reporter in the front row raised his hand quickly, catching the attention of Chris who gave him the nod. The man stood up, clutching his notepad and spoke, "Is the Pontivan military involved in genetic engineering, and if so, is this one of their projects?"

"I can assure you this creature is not the result of any Pontivan military research carried out at any time in this nations history." Chris was firm and definitive with his answer. This one was too easy, even a six year old would have asked it. Time for round two

"If it's not a genetic experiment, how long would such a creature take to evolve?"

Better, but not really answerable, "I'm not a scientist so I couldn't rightly say. There's the possibility they've been around as long as us, longer, or they're more recent. Evolution isn't an exact science."

Another reporter, another question, "Are there more of these creatures in Pontiva?"

"We're not certain, but are working to ascertain that as soon as possible. Rest assured there have been no confirmed deaths caused by these creatures, so there is no need to panic."

"No need to panic? Strong words when there could be an entire race of werewolves, wouldn't you say?"

Chris smiled, he liked "I stand by my advice not to panic. Given that there are no confirmed deaths caused by encounters with these creature, I think it's a justifiable standpoint. After all, people die each year falling out of bed, and we don't panic about that."

A low chuckle rolled around the room, although Chris doubted just how many of those enjoying the joke would actually encourage their audience not to panic. The questions continued for another five minutes or so, until finally Chris stepped out of the spotlight, leaving several reporters without the answers they wanted.

"Sounds like you played that one well. Rolling news are chewing over what you said as we speak, it's mostly positive."

Chris tossed his jacket over the back of an armchair and sank into a large leather sofa, "I hope so. Only tomorrow's papers will say for definite."

(OoC: As Pontiva is sending a group to track down this civilisation, maybe some other nations, for whatever reason, would try the same? Just make it realistic (in a thread about werewolf-like creatures, I know the irony that statement holds), since I don't want to be starting any wars over a few hundred or so creatures, unless you can give me a damn good reason by TG why your country would send anything more than a handful of men.)

[Pontiva]

The evening was drawing on. It didn't seem too long since the clock had chimed eight, and now it was drawing close to midnight. Zachariah Lowe and Pawel Myska were well on their way to finishing a bottle of thirty year old single malt whisky, the evenings plotting and planning. Professor Lowe had been in the house less than fifteen minutes when he agreed to accompany Lieutenant Myska on his mission to search for any more of these mysterious beings. After the better part of four hours the conversation had drifted to and from the main topic, and now lingered on the cause of this operation.

"What did you do to end up with this?" Zachariah asked before taking a sip from the glass, savouring the whisky for as long as he dared.

The Lieutenant set his own glass on the table and thought for a moment, trying to find a way to put it politely, "Let's just say I pissed off someone who could shit from a massive height."

"Top Brass?"

Myska just nodded.

"At least you could go down in the history books."

"First confirmed man to be eaten by a werewolf? No thanks, I'll let you have that honour."

"Sometimes you've got to die for what you believe in, you should know that, Lieutenant."

"War is a different cup of tea to genetics though. Me dying fighting for our country is different to you getting eaten alive by a wolf, right?"

"Maybe both our deaths are worthless?" Zachariah topped up both glasses as he spoke those incredible sombre words.

"Perhaps, but what would we care? We'd be dead." There was a pause, and neither man could decide if it was an awkward silence or not. Eventually, Pawel plucked up the courage to speak up and continue the conversation, "So... business. We have you, me and half a platoon of men. Less than twenty people to find out if there's a whole other civilisation in this country. If we're lucky, we'll find a few traces they exist. My money's on us not finding squat."

Lowe smiled and took a sip of his whisky before speaking, "Such an optimist, but it has to be said I doubt we'll find much conclusive proof. It's such a large area, they could be anywhere."

The pair looked at the map, Pawel was placing markers to show the locations of the past sightings. Zachariah watched intently, swirling the whisky in his glass. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and a near manic grin spread across his face.

He'd thought of something and in a flash his finger landed right on top of a marker, "These forts. They're where the sighting happened eight years ago, right?"

"Yeah. Old ruins, in pretty poor shape now. Shame really." Lieutenant Myska had a love for ancient architecture, that was plainly obvious from the paintings on his wall.

"When were they built?" Zachariah really thought he was on to something, something big.

Pawel flicked through a few sheets of paper, eyes darted left to right, skimming over the text. After thirty seconds he shook his head, "No record. That's why the research team was so interested. They share similarities with other fortifications in the area, but whereas the others can be traced through contemporary texts, these couldn't. The researchers were seeing if they could find any information about when they were build and by whom."

"What if the aren't in the books because we didn't build them?" And that was the climax the Professor had been working towards.

For a fraction of a second, Lieutenant Myska looked completely bewildered. It then dawned on him and for a further moment he was lost for words, instead reaching for his whisky. In the end, he could only muster less than ten words, "You're not seriously suggesting the wolves built them, right?"

"They architecturally match other structures from a period where everything was written down and preserved for the future, yet they mysteriously aren't in the records." Zachariah smiled, mostly to himself. He enjoyed this sort of

Pawel traced a finger in a circle around the chain of forts, "So you want to focus the search around here?"

"The most recent sighting prior to this was there, so why not?"

Myska nodded, although he did have some reservations, "The survey team swept the place, couldn't find anything to date the buildings, why would we find anything to prove they were home to a pack of wolves when someone else has already looked for it?"

Zachariah loved to illustrate points with almost pointless imagery, and this seemed to be as good a chance as any, "You've got a box of pens in front of you with dozens of different kinds of pen. You want a red, click-top pen, so you have a rummage looking for a red, click-top pen. You don't really notice if there's a blue biro in there, or a fountain pen. If it's not a click-top, you're not interested at all."

Pawel boiled it down to a fairly accurate, if cliché, sentence, "You don't see the forest for the trees."

"Sort of. They weren't looking for proof of a new species, just proof of age. We are, so we might spot something they missed."

The Lieutenant still had several concerns, but right now only one truly bothered him, and he wanted it to bother his educated friend, "You are aware headquarters will think we're mad?

"For wanting to start our search where there have been sightings?"

"You're not going to tell them you think we have castle-building werewolves, are you?"

"Not until I can show them one dressed in overalls, putting up a conservatory, no."

"I don't blame you."

(OoC: Maybe there's a bit too much stuff here before anything happens, but I don't like rushing when I've got an idea like this. I really do promise you'll be able to jump in by this time tomorrow. That or the thread will have died a slow, painful death.)

[Bears Armed]

Beorra o Berrum, the 'Chairbear of the Committee for The Strangers' (i.e. 'Foreign Minister') was idly paging through her aides' summary of items from other countries' newspapers that they thought she might find interesting, during her afternoon cocoa-break, and happened across this story.
"Sapient and bipedal Wolves? she mused quietly to herself: "That could be a new 'People', of course, but then on the other paw it could be survivors of the Wulfen instead. We'd better keep a nose on how this business progresses. Hr'rmm"

"Ilsa! Move the story about the 'Werewolves' in this 'Pontiva' place onto the regular watchlist..."


________________________________________________________________________

(OOC: Yes, this nation is inhabited [mainly] by sapient/bipedal/talking Bears...)

[Pontiva]

Sixteen soldiers, one Lieutenant, a professor and a pair of local guides. Twenty men to hunt for creatures that didn't want to be found. The odds were stacked against them, but at the end of it all they would at least be able to say they tried.

The sky was an ominous shade of grey as far as the eye could see. Much of the eastern parts of the ruin were shrouded in a swirling, almost ethereal mist. Crumbling stone walls spread across the landscape, a testament to natures dominance over man. A single tower remained mostly intact, no doubt at one time the castles keep, although the history of this place had long been shrouded in mystery.

Less than one-hundred feet above ground, just above the tree-tops, a military helicopter approached the landing site, taking extra care as it navigating through the poor weather and the reaching plant-life below.

"I still don't see why we're even here. It's a ghost town. No-ones lived here for hundreds of years. Why would they? It's the middle of nowhere, there's no food or water for miles. You don't even get wildlife round here, and look at that." The private pointed at a particularly gnarled birch tree, "You cannot tell me that's a normal looking tree. How many of those do we have in town? It's an evil, ancient place and we shouldn't be here."

The section leader, a man in his early thirties, laughed and shook here head. "Give over, you superstitious nut. Headquarters say they've had reports of unusual activity here from hikers, and the last recorded sighting was at his particular ruin, so we may as well start looking here. You know the drill." The helicopter came to a sudden, shuddering halt as the pilot set it down hard in the soft earth. "Time to go. Remember the ROE and try not to get killed."

The ten man team spread out across the site of the historic stronghold, carefully picking their way around fallen masonry and tangled undergrowth. The air was thick, almost tangible, and as still as stagnant water.

"Bugger this, there's nothing here, it's just bricks, weeds and shit weather." The private shook his head. How HQ had decided this was worth their time was beyond him. "I bet even the rats have given up on this place."

A young woman turned to him as smiled, "You know it's the supposed burial place of some ancient ruler or another. What's his face? The one who ruled with an iron fist from his sprawling walled city."

"They all ruled with an iron fist." Professor Lowe interjected, "Well, that or they were the most benevolent ruler ever. History has a way of doing that. I suppose someone could be buried here though. I mean, it's the sort of place I'd rule a nation from. Forget cushy offices and executive cars, if the people turn against you, ten feet thick walls of stone are a good defence."

"Unless they've got aircraft." she replied, still keeping abreast of her surroundings and her footsteps carefully placed.

"But they didn't back then, did they? Only had swords and arrows, basic weaponry. The castle was king."

The conversation fizzled out from there as the eight man squad, Lieutenant Myska and Professor Lowe advanced towards a huge archway in a long neglected tower.

"Bravo, sweep that building, we'll push towards the keep."

The old tower was in a desperate condition. ceilings had partially collapsed, with rubble strewn across the floor. Ivy, bindweed and similar climbing plants had long since taken hold along the walls, hiding most of the stone work.

"Sir, look at this, will you? I found a door."

There was a perfectly clear recess in the wall, six feet across and eight or so tall. It was void of any debris or plant life, standing out amid the natural chaos that surrounded it. Set to the rear of the recess, down a flight of old stone steps, sat a huge oak door, slightly ajar.

Myska nodded and signalled the group to stop, "Secure it, but don't go in. The research team didn't mention it in their reports, but it could just be an alternate entrance."

"You'll get no arguments from me on that. I'm not about to go exploring ancient undercrofts, especially not if some dead dictator might be down there."

"Don't worry about the dusty dictator, it's the wolves that might get you."

"Brilliant. I might end my days as dog food..."

"Let command know we're moving into the ruins and will give a sitrep in sixty minutes."

The comms operator nodded and adjusted his frequency.

--------------------

There were solemn faces around the control room, some hunched over computers, others examining maps. A pair stood ominously over a desk, riffling through old maps, typed reports and photos. Something was clearly amiss with the operation.

One of the pair, the insignia of a Major on his shoulder picked up a stack of aerial photos and flicked through them until he found the one he wanted, a close-up of the ruins Lieutenant Myska and his men had entered earlier in the day. Laying it down on his table, he began speaking, "The team entered the ruins two and a half hours ago. due to check in after one hour, which they did, and then again after two. That didn't happen. The second squad is being routed to the area and has an ETA of under two hours. In the meantime, I've got the radio operators broadcasting on high-gain antennas into the area in the hope that those on the ground will at least hear we are sending help."

His compatriot was one rank below him, a captain, picked up the photo and studies it intently. His main concern was one of security, "What about third parties receiving the transmission?"

"It's a possibility. The antenna is direction, but theoretically the transmission could be listened in on." the Major spoke monotonously, as if reciting from a page. Military communications wasn't his strong suite, but he knew a little about radios from his youth, "If that's so, all they'll know is we're trying to make contact with a missing squad within our borders. It could be a test of the system, an exercise or any number of things as far as they are aware."

The Captain was still concerned, "But could they put two and two together and figure out what's happened?"

"Yes, but again, we either do it or do nothing until the second section arrives on scene."

The pair fell silent. There was nothing more to say. They were in the worst scenario anyone had imagined. A team had gone missing, which was always a nightmarish situation, but when that team included a highly regarded, well-known civilian scientist, it made for an incredibly bad news day. They had to find the team, and they had to find them alive.


(OoC: And a quick run-down of everything above, for those who don't feel like reading it all. I would encourage you to read it, as I hope it's entertaining, but for those who want the fast and dirty version, here goes. Body is found, it's clearly vaguely werewolfish. DNA testing confirms it's an evolution of the wolf, and there thus could be an entire race of the things. Military plan to search for them, genetics expert who examined the body is brought on board, and that's where we get to at the start of this post.)

[Pontiva]

The area immediately around the main entrance to the ruined fortress was humming with activity. Some soldiers boiled water to make coffee with, other sat picking over the contents of their rations. The commanders stood around talking, discussing what was going to happen.

One man, a radio operator, had extablished a link back to headquarters and was bringing them up to speed with the latest developments, "We got team , they found a pair of the creatures in deep inside the underground system."

"What is their status?"

"They're fine, a little dirty but otherwise they're as they were this morning."

"Any reason they didn't maintain contact?"

"They were apparently tracking the creatures and didn't want them to elude them."

"That's a poor excuse. Command out."

Myska had been half-listening to the radio chatter. He knew he'd broken contact with HQ, now knew he'd sparked a panic and he suspected he would be court-martialled on his return, as was normal for such an oversight. These were not normal situations, however, and right now him and Zachariah were discussing the operations immediate needs. If someone wanted to bust his ass out of the force, they'd have to contend with a successful mission and proof of a whole new race within Pontiva.

Slipping fully into the conversation he was holding with the professor, Pawel summarised what he knew, "It's obvious from our interactions that they don't speak Pontivan. So far it looks like they communicate using a combination of howls, barking and body language. We're going to need someone who can translate for us, but right now I don't know if that means a linguist or a dog trainer. Either way, you did pretty well down there."

"They were frightened, I could tell that from their posture." Zachariah spoke softly, glancing at the two wolves presently sat by one of the stoves, "I just did what I used to do with my pet dog when she was scared. They didn't bark or howl, which means there probably weren't any others nearby, so they were scared. If it was two of our children facing ten of them, I think being scared is a normal response."

"Maybe I don't need a linguist or a dog trainer. You seem pretty adept at understanding them." The Lieutenant smiled briefly before glancing at his watch. Just under five and a half hours had passed since he first set foot in the ruins. So much had changed in that time he couldn't quite take it all in.

"I wouldn't say that, I'm no expert so I wouldn't want to risk making a hash of it." Lowe was being modest again. He'd studied canines during his time at university and understood roughly what their body language meant. He also knew that the keys to effective communication with them were excellent vocalisations and a tail, neither of which he had.

"It'll take time to find someone who can understand them. What do you suggest we do with them for now?"

Zachariah was blunt and to the point, "Let them go."

"Are you mad? They're what we came here for."

"No, Lieutenant, proof of them is what we came for and don't ever confuse proof with prisoners." There was a fire in Professor Lowe's eyes as he spoke that Pawel hadn't seen before, "We let them go, they tell their pack-mates what happened. We stay in the local area and see what finds us."

Myska shook his head, "And if they hunt us down and kill us?"

"I made a bad judgement and you have gloating rights."

Grudgingly, the Lieutenant waved over his second in command, the leader of One Section.

"Sergeant, cut them loose." Pawel gestured at the two wolves, "Give them food and let them free. We're not here to take prisoners or make enemies. We're here for proof they edist, which I think we've got."

"Yessir, I'll send them back with a couple of MRE's. I take it we're heading back home then?"

"Pretty much. We'll stay the night here and head back come morning."

(OoC: Slowly, slowly catchy monkey wolfy. I'll try and pick up the pace some over the next few posts. Maybe then it'll become a roleplay as opposed to a narrative, but I don't want to rush it too much for fear of not mentioning something I later rely on in court)

[Pontiva]

It was around half-past two in the morning when the sentry spotted movement and fingered the PTT button on his radio three times, the near-silent signal for an unknown contact. Through the trees he'd caught several glimpses of figures moving slowly, almost deliberately. At first he'd put it down to shadows cast by the trees, but now he was certain it was something more solid.

"You have something?" The voice seemed disconnected, almost removed from the situation. It was understandable, most men were on their low ebb now, and there had redoubtably been several false sighings already.

"In the trees, yes. West of the encampment. Less than two-hundred yards and advancing slowly."

"Identification?" They seemed a little more interested this time.

"Negative, they're just figures in the dark at the moment."

"Roger that. Hold your fire, I'll get you some support."

It took less than five minutes for the entire camp to be roused from their slumber. In less than ten the figures had revealed themselves to be several of the bipedal wolves. It appeared they were friendly, or at least not agressive, but each kept their distance.

"They're incredible. A full family unit. It's incredible how much they have in common with wolves." Professor Lowe took a single step forwards as he spoke.

"They are wolves."

Zachariah shook his head, "In the same way we're apes, yes."

"You seriously think they're an evolution, don't you?"

"What else would they be?"

The young soldier had no response to that and stood silent. He knew the scientist had logic on his side and no private would be able to argue him down.

Throughout the conversation, the six creatures had stood near perfectly still, their heads cocked slightly as if pondering this new species before them in the same manner as the soldiers.

"Bring some MRE's, I want to show them we mean no harm."

--------------------

The TV droned quietly away in the corner of his office as Chancellor Abendroth sifted through his daily briefings. He'd already seen the footage that had been released to the mass media twice, once before its release and once on the breakfast news, but he knew it would be repeated shortly. As was rolling news, stories looped until something else came along.

Here it came, the presenter was wrapping up the piece on reduced manufacturing outputs and soon enough it would be the same shaky footage of the creatures breaking biscuits and tearing open silver packets of food, accompanied by a typically newsy voiceover about the discovery.

The images were more than capable of speaking for themselves, but the mass media had to have its say so it was overdubbed with the semi-stern tones of a reporter.

However the images were delivered, they were out there now, proof of a second race of intelligent, humanoid creatures in Pontiva. Dieter still questioned the logic of such an announcement, but what was done was done.

(OoC: Sorry for the lower quality of this post. Still sleep deprived after the weekend, things should get better as my normal sleep pattern returns)

[Pontiva]

The public reaction had been mixed. Some accepted the news with open arms, most didn't pay it too much attention. There was a part of the far-right that called the new species "Beasts" and "Abominations". They were small but loud, and had organised several rallies across the country since news of the discovery first broke.

One such rally, although the organisers would prefer it wasn't called that, was being held in a pub just outside Linstor city centre. The car park was full, which was unusually in itself for this time of the week. Inside, an ageing man stood atop a table, a pint-pot clenched in his left hand, his right gesticulating wildly as he spoke.

"These wolves aren't people, they're just animals! The government's talking about recognising them as a second intelligent species along side mankind. They're talking about comparing us with mindless beasts. They won't listen to logic and reason. Only one species in Pontiva was given the intelligence needed to become a civilisation, us! These usurpers and their supporters much be put down lest they risk the social stability of this great nation!"

And so it continued in a similar vein for over an hour. Free speech was held in the highest regard across Pontiva. If someone had something to say it was their right to say it, and this gathering was little more than a collection of like-minded individuals grinding their collective axe.

They hadn't, however, gone unnoticed by local law enforcement. Half expecting a flare up, the riot vans had been put on alert and were now patrolling the surrounding area in lieu of the usual response vehicles that were commonplace in this district. Things had a habit of getting out of hand when tempers flared up, and it was best to be prepared for the eventuality ahead of time.

---------------

Pawel Myska had been given the role of permanent advisor to the project, acting as an intermediary between the military and civilian sides. Whatever one side needed from the other, he'd deliver the request. Today, he had met with Zachariah Lowe to discuss the mans future ideas. It seemed the scientist knew exactly what he wanted. To communicate verbally with the creature.

"Can they speak?" Pawel asked inquisitively, gazing out across the Institute's grounds. It was a large, green space, kept impeccably tidy by what he imagined must be a tireless army of dozens, if not hundreds, of groundskeepers, gardeners and maintenance workers. There wasn't a single unpruned bush in the gardens or cracked slate on the roof. It was picture perfect.

Professor Lowe straightened up and scratched the back of his neck, he seemed somewhat distracted, almost distant as he spoke, "Their own language? Certainly. Pontivan? It's possible they'll learn, but it will take time to teach them the skill."

"But you think they're capable of learning that?" Pawel asked. He himself wasn't sure about this, so sought a more educated opinion than his.

Zachariah frowned and shuffled some post into the tray by the door before speaking, "Perhaps, perhaps not, but we have to at least try."

That sounded promising. the Lieutenant pulled a palmtop computer from his coat and started scribbling, "What do you need?"

Lowe frowned for a moment, the recited a list slowly, deliberately, as if trying not to forget an important part, "A small military escort, a handful of the countries best language teachers, preferably pre-school and infant level, and a lot of MRE's."

"Should be doable, and you can forget the MRE's, you'd get rations anyway.

"No no, not for us, for the creature. Sort of a reward system. They do well, they get a treat."

"Like training dogs?" Pawel questioned.

Zachariah's brow scrunched up and his features hardened, "It's the best idea I have at the moment."

"I'll see about making the arrangements and let you know the result." With that, Myska turned and left, closing the door as he went. Professor Lowe shook his head and thumbed through the mail, pausing for a moment on a type-written envelope.

[Autesia]

OOC: I hope it's ok for me to assume that prior to this, neccessary govenment arrangements have been made- they're not exactly my RPing strong point.

Professor Keyra Shase stepped off out of the Pontivan(?) airport, her tidy knee length red jacket rippling slightly in the breeze, making her incredibly noticeable among the 4 grey and black suits of her aide and bodyguards. She drew a breath, looking around her, before polishing her just-noticeable brooch, displaying a circular version of the Autesian flag, pushing a strand of brown hair out of her face, cleaned her gasses with a little cloth, and smoothed down her clothes. she was a very fussy person who had to have everything just so, especially on important visits like this.

As the Cryptozoologist sat in the leather interior of the car, an excited smile played upon her lips. She was a fairly young scientist in a fairly young department (cryptozoology was not something most countries funded), and the events in Pontiva were likely to be the most significant in Cryptozoological history, and she was going to be a part of it; she would never have to worry about a Sasquatch hoax again.
"How long until we reach the Genetics Institute?" she asked her driver, whilst fiddling with her jacket buttons.
"Not long now, Professor Shase," he replied "maybe 20 minutes or so"
"excellent" she said drumming her fingers on her briefcase.

[Pontiva]

(OoC: No probs, the government chit-chat would only hold things up anyway)

Zachariah straightened his tie and re-combed his hair. It had been so long since he'd last worn a tie he couldn't actually place the date. Was it three or four years ago? July or Septembr? Was it the Central Pontivan University graduation ceremony or a state dinner? No matter, today seemed as good a day as any to start again, and at least he could remember the date in future years.

The papers had arrived shortly after Pawel had left earlier that week, and they had taken him by surprise. A foreign professor, a Cryptozoologist no less, had shown interest in the Canis Lupus Erectus discovery and had been given authorisation to work with him on furthering the research. Not that he minded, an extra pair of hands was never a bad thing.

Her name escaped him momentarily, but he knew she was due to arrive soon. Ten minutes? Twenty? He wasn't sure. What he did know was there was a folder with all the collated knowledge sitting on his desk, awaiting her arrival. Pawel was due soon, too. In fact, he was overdue. This puzzled Zachariah, used to the Lieutenants strict adherence to schedule. Suddenly, without warning, the phone on his desk rang and he staggered quickly to answer it.

"Hello. I see. Well, hopefully I'll see you before the end of the day."

It had been Pawel. His car had given up the ghost in a fit of steam and spilled coolant. There wasn't much hope of him getting it going again by the brief description he'd been given. It could be summed up with two words: Engine kaput. His arrival had now been delayed indefinitely. He only hoped that Professor... Shase! That was her name, yes. He only hoped that Professor Shase didn't ask too many questions about the logistics of tracing the creatures, all he knew was the army took him there and pitched his tent for him.

[Autesia]

Professor Shase's car pulled up as near to the main entrance of the Genetics Institute. Her driver disembarked first and courteously opened her door , helping her out and handing her her briefcase. Her aide and a bodyguard also climbed out of the car.
"This is the place, Professor" the driver said in his deep gruff voice.
"Thank Mr. Lare" she replied, before setting off at an excited pace through the pristine gardens of the Institute to the front door,
"Come along now, we mustn't be late," she said over shoulder, sounding every bit like a teacher on a school outing.

OOC: By the way, here is a picture of Professor Shase:http://profile.imageshack.us/user/autesia/images/detail/#7/shase.jpg although there will probably be a new one soon as I'm not totally happy with it.

[Pontiva]

The receptionist had spotted the approaching car, and then the small group moving towards the main entrance. He sighed and waved a nearby security guard over.

"I think they are the group from Autesia, check their papers and show them to Professor Lowe's office if they are."

The guard just nodded and waited for the visitors to arrive. Once everything matched what was expected they would be taken upstairs to Zachariah, who would undoubtedly fill them in on every detail they ever wanted and then some. Not that he cared, once they crossed the threshold into the office he was gone. Genetics wasn't his idea of a fun topic, and he had a half finished crossword to get back to.

[Autesia]

Professor Shase and her small entourage reached the door and, guessing without having to ask, what the security guard was looking for, she lifted her briefcase, turned the wheels to the correct code anfd flicked it open, retrieving her papers, and those of her entourage.
"Good morning, sir. I assume these are what you are looking for?" she said cheerily, handing the man the folder of papers.

[Pontiva]

The guard took the papers, glanced at them, then at the group, the once more at the papers before handing them back.

"Follow me."

He clearly wasn't one for pleasantries as he strode off towards the elevator, barely even checking to ensure the party was following him. During the entire four or five minutes he was leading them to the professor, he didn't speak more than a dozen words. Finally, they reached their destination and the guard knocked twice before opening the door.

"Professor Lowe, visitors. From Autesia."

"Ah, excellent, send them in, I've been expecting them." Zachariah's cheerful tones were a million miles from the dull, monotonous manner in which their escort had spoke his few words.

(OoC: Busy mornings suck, sorry for the rush-job)

[Autesia]

OOC: ha, I know the feeling!

Professor Shase had drifted off from paying attention to the guard's occasional bored words and her eyes were wandering over her surroundings, taking everything in, this was, with any luck, going to be a very important place in her career, and cryptozoology as a whole, she wanted to remember as much of it as possible.
She was jolted out of her excited thoughts by the guard speaking through a door, and was heartened by the cheerful-sounding reply he received, she had not even seen Professor Lowe yet, but already he was giving a good impression, although Professor Shase was already impressed by his work.

[Pontiva]

Zachariah had made an effort to tidy his office, books that normally lay in random heaps had been hastily placed back on the shelves the lined one wall. The thick coat of dust covering those tomes that hadn't be touched in months gave away the recent clean up.

"Ah yes, Professor... oh dear, I've forgotten again." For a brief moment he looked disappointed with himself, but that passed quickly as he continued, "Nevermind, it'll come back to me. I believe you're a cyrptozoologist? We could use one of those on the team. You undoubtedly have a much greater knowledge of global fauna than myself. Have you been keeping up with developments or do you want me to bring you up to speed?"

[Autesia]

"Shase," she said, holding out her hand to shake and smiling warmly.
"I know as much as the news does, this whole thing's been monitored pretty closely by the RCCR, but if there are any details that haven't been released yet I would be delighted to hear them,"