A man sat at the entrance of the tanner's house, working on a pair of boots. Peeking over the low wall, Colin noticed the yard was completely empty; there wasn't a single leather-stretching rack in sight.
"Do you have any hyena pelts?" Colin asked, walking up to the man.
"Nope."
The man glanced at the uninvited guest, gave his one-word reply, and went back to fiddling with the boots in his hands.
Colin grunted in acknowledgment, then strode out of the village with Kase.
After walking several hundred meters, they looked at each other and said in unison, "This village is a little strange."
Kase rubbed his nose with a finger and said, "I smelled a hint of blood on that village chief. A very faint scent. It wasn't like he'd just killed something, nor was it like he hadn't bathed after a kill. It was just... weird."
