Session : The Goat Escape

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A solitary raven perches high in a tree top, hidden from view, peering down at the swampy ground below. The new arrivals are starting to stir. Two white goats are awake now, in the pen. One jumping around like a new born lamb, the other standing motionless, appearing to look around, then letting out a strange bleat-sigh. This catches the attention of the jumper, who excitedly starts to shuffle around the pen, leaving a trail in the mud, gradually a shape forms... the letter D? The raven twitches its head quizzically.

Another bleat-sigh. Now the grumpy goat is moving, it looks like it is going to try to ram the fence. Another goat has woken up to watch and Jumpy is prancing around excitedly. The raven nervously twitches and glances at the skulls atop the fence posts, it twitches again, looking between Grumpy and the skulls and begins shuffling further back into the foliage of its hiding place, keeping its head lowered as if cowering.

The goat charges, a loud thud and the fence shakes, unleashing a wail of screams from the terrifying skulls. Grumpy races to lie with the other unconscious goats, lying motionless, as do all the goats except for Jumpy. Jumpy begins to jump around even more in the commotion. The raven tilts its head, its gaze flitting between Jumpy and then up to the sky with a look of urgency in its eyes. Then it looks to the surrounding woods.

The raven shivers as its feathers stand on end. It hears them lurching first of all, then from out of the mist the scarecrows emerge, rushing towards the wailing noise, then standing guard around the paddock, waiting. 

Then, she arrives. The raven freezes, petrified, as a shape sweeps past in the sky in a rush of wind. A giant upturned skull descends from the sky, she stands within it scowling. The witch is here. The raven risks a look down at Jumpy.

With her face contorted, her eyes blazing, she yells and gestures at the stunned Jumpy goat with a coarse rage in her voice. Then she reaches out and calms the nearest screaming skull with a caress of her discoloured hand, silencing the cacophony.

It never ends well for any of the goats in that pen, but that Jumpy one is going to get eaten first. 

The witch climbs back in her horrifying levitating skull and eerily flies off into the night. Shortly thereafter the scarecrows wade away slowly into the swamp to resume their vigilant watch. The raven fluffs up its jet-black feathers and settles back down on its branch, watching again. Did the goats learn their lesson?

No. Something is happening. Grumpy is digging this time and Jumpy... leaps on Grumpy's back and tries to jump clear, failing spectacularly. For a moment everyone stops, both goats and raven, looking to the skulls. The raven untenses as silence continues to sound out. But now the goats seem to have changed tack. The raven perks up and stares in disbelief as the goats begin to work as a team. It seems Grumpy is on board with Jumpy's plan... As the raven shuffles forward to look closer, a pyramid of goats starts to form in the pen, each climbing on top of another and Jumpy careers forward, leaping up the pyramid and over the fence, a hoof missing the nearest skull by millimetres.
The pyramid collapses, Jumpy lands roughly outside the pen. But the silence continues. The witch won't like this. But at least there are not enough goats for the rest to do the same and Jumpy won't get far on its own.

There is something very strange about these goats.

Grumpy goes back to digging, but rather than running off, Jumpy is building, piling up earth, dragging broken wood. It seems there is method in the madness after all. Eventually, a stunned raven watches as all the goats leave the pen by their makeshift escape route and trot off into the swamp. The raven sits for a while contemplatively. That witch is going to be very angry. I think I would rather be somewhere else. The raven swoops out of the tree and off into the sky.


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