The Burnsey, it turns out, had a small farm just a bit out from the outskirts of Turn. You had to cross a quarter of a mile of woods, passing through a narrow path, just large enough for a small cart alone to pass without many issues. There weren't predators, beasts or night spawns in that stretch of the forest, thanks to the Numens and their holy protection. Or, we'll, the runic scripting placed by the temple clerics and enchantment specialists. The wind whistled through the leaves, giving the passage a calming feeling. You could notice, if you were really attentive, the shimmering of the barriers put in place. At the end of the path, the farm of the Burnsey could be seen: it was in the middle of a large clearing, and it was actually pretty big, with various buildings littering the cleared up section of the woods.

  There was a main house, made of wood and stone, which seemed solid, new, and almost out of place since all the other structures seemed… older. More worn out. And they were all wooden, from the stables to a couple small warehouses to the side of the big house.

  Near the entrance, there was a small tombstone, the name a bit faded away. Time had worn out all the letters except for a C and an M. There was a patch of white petaled flowers growing in front of it.

  The clearing had some animals roaming around inside a tall fence, and the pillar of that same fence had some runic script on it. There were chickens, sheeps, goats, pigs and cows roaming gently and sometimes stopping to frolic on the green tinted grass or on one of the hay bales purposely put there for them. Unfortunately for Liliane, there were also a couple horses. They were very small, tho, like miniatures mocking the usually majestic animal. It didn't scare her any less.

  “Very rustic, don’t you think, dear?” said Lazar to Liliane, who was now following with her eyes the mini horses moving around, a bit pale in the face.

  “Yes dear, very… very rustic indeed. I think we should be quick to find someone to speak to, take the oxen and be on our merry way. As soon as possible. Please.”

  “Look away dear! They won’t harm you, and you have me as your protector, you know that, right?” Lazar laughed. “And they are pocket sized. What could they do?”

  “That doesn’t make it better in the slightest, dear. One of those… night spawns ate your hat once. Your hat! An entire hat! Smiling!”

  Lazar barked a small laugh.

  “Horses, like every other animal that the Numens saved from the Night, don’t smile, dear. He was only eating. They are very gentle souls, I still can’t comprehend why you hate them so much.” He looked towards the two small horses, now trotting around a bit one after the other. Their short legs seemed to keep up with the speed only just. “They seem so silly.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it” she answered, frowning. “It's early. It's late. Stop asking me.”

  She crossed her arms.

  “Case in point. Come on,let’s stop dilly dallying and look around for the homeowners.”

  The old couple slowly got near the complex, trying to find someone they could speak to. They felt a bit of pressure traversing the main gate, and they took a look around. From where they were, they managed to see someone.

  It seemed to be a man, working in a small orchard next to the smaller building, with high working boots, a dirty overall and a shovel in his hand. A large wicker hat completed his countryside look. He had a full beard but no hair could be seen under the hat.

  “Ho, hello, good sir!” bellowed Lazar, walking towards the farmer with Liliane in tow.

  “Uhm, hello to you, too, sir!” he said, raising his hat towards Liliane. He was tall, with broad shoulders, an obvious tan and at least a third of their age. “And you too, ma’am. What brings you here to my farm? I have never seen you around. Are you foreigners?”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “We actually live on the outskirts of the wood, to the south, but we seldom go out. You know, with age and all…” The young man nodded at that, and seemed a bit embarrassed for the off hand comment he made. Liliane continued “We spoke with Gino, the cart maker, who told us you were willing to part with a couple of oxen, and to tell you he sent us here”, said Liliane, watching the man attentively, “can we see them? Oh, and I don’t think we ever had the pleasure of introducing ourselves before” She extended her hand in greeting. “I am called Liliane, and this old coot here is my dear husband, Lazar.”

  The young man seemed a bit taken aback by her gesture, but mostly by their names.

  “Oh, uhm, I am Joseph. Joseph Burnsey. Please call me Joseph, not mr. Burnsey. Mr Burnsey was my father, Philip.”

  He took her hand and shook it. It was a very firm handshake, a bit weird for someone of age like the woman seemed to be. It was him that, Numens protect his new body in the next world, told me about you. Still, I know you by fame alone, so please tell me a bit more about you. And, sure, I would be delighted to show them to you two”.

  “Wasn’t Philip the one who-ugh” muttered Lazar, before a sharp elbow to the side stopped him from finishing, and a side eyed look froze him in place.

  Liliane started speaking again.

  “Oh, I hope he told you only good things about us!” she smirked, and both men felt a shiver down their backs from the tone she used. “Tell us then, Joseph, do you have other animals that you could maybe sell to us? Maybe a chicken? They could be useful on a long journey, as we think ours will be.”

  “I am afraid we can’t, ma’am. We hate to sell our animals. It's something I got from my father, actually. They are family to us, they give us everything they need to pass the season without too much worry, so they are not generally for sale, except in rare cases. But we need to recoup some losses, after the horrible fire that burned our house to the ground.” He pointed to the main building. “All of that was built only recently, using what remained of the foundations of my father's house. I have to admit that it's better than his was, because it feels more… personal, you know? More familiar. I helped making it, and it feels like I know every rock and every plank. Plus, now I can sleep under the fruits of my own labor. It's nice.” He smiled, content. He breathed in, probably reminiscing about something, then he started to move towards a shed, under which two oxen were resting and eating, placidly, an absent-minded expression on their faces. “Thankfully we had some savings,” said Joseph, “and the fire didn’t spread to the warehouse and the workshop, but we’re still a bit out of money right now. Every lyreling counts. We may sell you a couple bottles of fire water, still!”

  “Then, good man, what pushed you to sell them, if you did not need that much more?”

  “To tell you the truth… Well, it pains me a bit to admit this, but these two oxen are pretty weird. They scare me a bit. Well, one of them, actually, the brown one, but every time I tried to separate the two, Poppy” he gestured towards one of the oxen, a black one with three white spots between the eyes “cried so hard and threw such tantrums that it broke my heart to do it. He seemed inconsolable. He can’t be convinced to leave his brother Peony’s side.” The seemingly sensitive ox came closer, to get a pet out of Joseph. The man ruffled his fur, then tried to caress the head of the other ox, a brown one with four small spots on the snout, but he avoided the hand and mooed, displeased. Joseph chuckled. “Even though he is always hazing him in some way. Even some… unusual ones. I once saw him put a bench upside down so Poppy, or other animals passing by, would trip on it and fall. Peony actually seemed to smile watching his brother stumble. He let out a weird moo. It seemed like… Laughter. As I said: he’s pretty peculiar.”

  Lazar regarded the two animals. They seemed pretty robust, and had a weird glint in their eyes, even if right now they were feigning to be just a couple dull beasts. That twinkle was a sign of intelligence that he had already seen other times, in pretty special cases. And they needed a good beast of burden to pull their carriage, so having a smart ally doing it... It may actually be useful in the future. And in those eyes, Lazar felt like there was also something else…

  “Sorry to interrupt you, I know you may probably be in a hurry, but could I invite you two to lunch?” Joseph said, clapping his hands and smiling toward the couple. “It’s almost time to eat and I’d hate to send you back on an empty stomach. My wife is making a mushroom pie today and I can assure you, it will be the best you have ever eaten.”

  “What do you say, my dear? Do you think we should just make the deal, or could we spare an hour with this lovely gentleman?” asked Liliane to her husband, smiling.

  “I think we should-” his belly gurgled loudly. They did forget to eat, and in that moment he realized he was famished. “I think we should accept his gracious invitation. Numens know how much I love pies.”

  Joseph laughed, followed by the old couple.

  “Perfect then! Let me go check on my wife and tell her we’re having guests, I’ll be back soon!”

  The man walked hurriedly toward the main building, disappearing behind the main door.

  Lazar looked at Liliane, a bit pensive. He sighed.

  “So”, he started saying, while twirling his ring finger in the air in strange patterns that were creating a sort of invisible cocoon around the two of them, which was isolating all the sounds from within and without “do you think we should tell Joseph that the oxen are probably being possessed?”