After a slightly unpleasant bus ride, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire were deposited—a word which here means “dropped off without any accompanying adult or much reassurance”— on a piece of dry, flat land that stretched out as far as the eye could see, with a few flying newspaper sheets flitting by.
After a very long walk, the Baudelaires saw V.F.D. for the first time. The entire town, buildings, streets, lampposts and flagpoles, was very black, and was hazy and shaky from being covered in hundreds of crows. The village was filled with the sounds they made whilst moving about.
The V.F.D. Town Hall was a tall, impressive building made of white marble, and just like the other buildings, had a few crows nestling on it. Inside, the hall was a large room with a high ceiling and polished floor. Detailed portraits of crows hung on the walls.
In front of a long bench was a platform, and behind that were a hundred or so folding chairs for the townspeople to sit on during proceedings.
The 25 people sitting on the bench were the Council of Elders. They were all very old—at least older than 81 years of age—and wore black hats in the shape of crows.
Quite frankly, this council was quite dotty.
Besides the Town Hall, V.F.D was home to other unpleasantries such as Fowl Fountain (a hideous new monument in the uptown courtyard), the Snack Hut and the Deluxe Cell of the uptown jail (which was dim and filthy with a heavy door and a small, barred window).
