They came up the south road this week, Bureau officers, in numbers, and with them the animals, the serpent-mousers that folk have taken to calling mantimousers. When the Board asked what had brought so many of them onto the strip all at once, we were told it was a “routine scouting mission,” and nothing further.
Until we know more, we ask every household on the strip to keep to the following.
Look after our serpent-folk neighbours first. Walk with them, wait with them, and do not let one of them travel a dark stretch of road alone. If you see a neighbour being stopped, do not walk on past, and record. Stop a safe distance off, stay in plain sight, and wait until it is over.
Travel by daylight, and travel together. These animals were bred to hunt by scent and in the dark, and by every account we have been able to gather they cannot always tell a serpent from a serpent-folk neighbour walking home at dusk. Do not walk the south road alone after dark. If you must go out, go in a group and carry a lamp.
Keep your papers on you, and keep your words few. If an officer stops you, be plain, be polite, and answer only what you are asked. Do not argue the law with them at the roadside, and do not run. Give no one a reason to make a routine stop into something worse.
Keep your own animals penned and your children close. A serpent-mouser is a hunting animal, not a pet, and a startled one is worse than a calm one. Keep your livestock, and your pet manticores leashed or penned, most of all anywhere near where the patrols are running, and keep the little ones off the roads at dusk entirely.
Write it down, and tell the Board. If you are stopped, searched, or frightened, if you see an animal loosed or an officer lay hands on anyone, write down the day, the hour, the place, and what you saw, and send word to the Board by owl. We are keeping a record. Send in any recordings you have as well.
We do not know yet what this is, and we will not pretend that we do. So look after each other, the way we always have.
If you have seen these patrols, know where the animals are being kept, or have been stopped by an officer this week, send word to the Faded Lands Community Board by owl. Your account will be held in confidence.