Stories in the Forest (IC)

[Harbertia]

==OOC LINK==

This trip had been in planning for a long time. Starting out as plans for a post-graduation outing it was put on the back burner when Evan had to aid his family on the farm in light of misfortune that year. Latter it was Monty having to drive the family truck into town to make sells. Things just kept getting in the way but the planned group stayed in touch.
Now that the trip is underway all should be fine- but it's simply not so. While they get along Donny and Will still have a competitive tension between them and Monty has insisted on bringing Lucas along. Will and Donny are not pleased with this- something about Lucas is just- off putting.

------------------
--THE NIGHT--
-----------------

The fire crackled softly illuminating night and creating an oasis of warmth amid the cold air of the night. Monty knew how to make a fire- a good fire and had gotten creative with a Log Cabin style fire pit. Other seating wasn't ideal- having to have been unloaded rather then a few good logs as she would have liked. So far it was a rather routine camping trip, and that was concerning to her. Sure it was fine enough when it started- when she picked up Lucas and they just had the radio on for a bit. Donny was next, followed by Will. It was already crowded in Monty's truck by then with Evan and Carl following Monty in their own cars towards the camp site.

It was out of city limits in the mountains; not a long drive from Monty's place but a good distance out of town. Now that night had fallen over the camp site and some tension had faded it seemed a good enough time as any to break the ice further. The atmosphere was unsettling; "Ya'll ever see anything about?" She said slowly to test the waters, "Like- where ya'll live?" she said, something on her mind.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Carl

Carl was finishing up the first draft of the text adventure he was planning, when he checked his watch inside of his bedroom. It was almost time. He might as well get his stuff for the camping trip. After having his father help him put his supplies in the back of his Ford Del Ray, he wished them goodbye, as he drove off to head to the camping site that Monica told him. Eventually, he managed to find Evan's car and had him follow him to try to find Monty's truck, which was heading the same direction. When they got there, Carl parked his car on the side of the road, as he got his stuff from the back of the car.

After the sun faded from view, Carl was tending towards how many people wanted to make s'mores, since he brought some marshmallows from the grocery store and some sausages from the convenience store to roast by the fire. As Carl was by the firepit, he heard Monty say something, but he dismissed it as he was still busy checking the food he brought. Carl knew Monica from high school, since both of them graduated the same year. Carl wasn't an athlete, but he was friends with Monty, along with having her test some of the games he had been making on his computer.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

==OOC LINK==

This trip had been in planning for a long time. Starting out as plans for a post-graduation outing it was put on the back burner when Evan had to aid his family on the farm in light of misfortune that year. Latter it was Monty having to drive the family truck into town to make sells. Things just kept getting in the way but the planned group stayed in touch.
Now that the trip is underway all should be fine- but it's simply not so. While they get along Donny and Will still have a competitive tension between them and Monty has insisted on bringing Lucas along. Will and Donny are not pleased with this- something about Lucas is just- off putting.

------------------
--THE NIGHT--
-----------------

The fire crackled softly illuminating night and creating an oasis of warmth amid the cold air of the night. Monty knew how to make a fire- a good fire and had gotten creative with a Log Cabin style fire pit. Other seating wasn't ideal- having to have been unloaded rather then a few good logs as she would have liked. So far it was a rather routine camping trip, and that was concerning to her. Sure it was fine enough when it started- when she picked up Lucas and they just had the radio on for a bit. Donny was next, followed by Will. It was already crowded in Monty's truck by then with Evan and Carl following Monty in their own cars towards the camp site.

It was out of city limits in the mountains; not a long drive from Monty's place but a good distance out of town. Now that night had fallen over the camp site and some tension had faded it seemed a good enough time as any to break the ice further. The atmosphere was unsettling; "Ya'll ever see anything about?" She said slowly to test the waters, "Like- where ya'll live?" she said, something on her mind.

''In Woodview, here and there but not for much longer,'' replied Marco petting a small puppy that had black hair and blue eyes just like he did.

''Captain Marvel here's gonna be mighty glad to be moving into a place of our own. You could say we'll be leaving town for good.''

The pup stared silently at the bonfire.

''Can't say I've seen much of anything out here,'' he continued. ''Haven't ventured this far out in years. Gotta say though the air feels a little... heavy. Probably just imaging just it ain't I? This place is pretty far off, you and Notebook camped out here alone before?'' he asked with a teasing grin directed at Lucas.

Marco didn't particularly dislike Lucas, in a sense the two were similar in deviating from the norm and living life their own way and pursuing whatever interested them. Except Lucas was a ghost nerd that would creep out most people save Monty while Marco considered himself a cool and easygoing motorcycle kid that usually got along well with others. Well he would be a motorcycle kid, though he dressed like one he didn't own the complementary vehicle, not since he crashed his secondhand Honda CMX 450 last month. Of course he planned to buy a new one when the money would come through.

''Thanks for the ride, man'' he turned raising a toast to Carl Merrick, whose own car he had fixed up at the scrapyard for a subsidised price.

[Harbertia]

Monty grimaced as Marco made mention of Lucas and her having camped out alone before. She was certain such was on Donny and Will's minds. To her relief Marco turned his attention to Carl but as she sat herself around the fire. She could tell from Marco's tone that he wanted to know more, and to that task she would leave to Lucas.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Will

His day had been rather uneventful leading up to the trip. He had spent most of it working on an absolutely totalled pick-up that some guy had brought in last week, saying that his wife had wrecked it. Will didn't totally buy it but he learned a long time ago that you didn't ask questions in Woodview. That was for the police and Will's father. Will just fixed the cars and sent the folks on their merry way. One day it could be different though. One day.

After heading back to his apartment and washing the grease from work off, he put on some of his camping gear, including some old boots he had found at a garage sail and an old military jacket he had stolen from his parent's house. Packing a small rucksack and retrieving his sleeping bag from his building's storage closet, he turned around to find his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Delcroix. Jumping a little from the shock he said "Christ you scared me Mrs. Delcroix."

The old woman quickly gave him a pat on the shoulder and said "No harm intended honey, I'm just trying to reach some of my stuff. You mind gettin out of the way."

Will smiled at the older woman's typical no nonsense demeanor as he returned to his apartment and packed a book and some toiletries, as well as grabbing his wallet and pocket knife. His hand briefly hovered over his flip phone but he decided against bringing it, no service out in the woods. He heard Monty honk her car horn, so he went outside, tossed his stuff in the flat bed and hopped in it himself, putting on his walkman and listening to a John Denver cassette.

That night

Will had just finished brushing his teeth nearby when he returned to the campfire, hearing Monty's question about seeing things. Putting his stuff back in his bag and sitting down, his more upper class accent shining through "Personally, I haven't ever seen stuff round here, but if you dig and listen, all sorts of weird shit pops up. Fuckin shit from native ghost stories to god damn cults. One thing my Dad ever actually taught to me was never to trust anything in this damn valley. Even the woods are out to get you."

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

That night

Will had just finished brushing his teeth nearby when he returned to the campfire, hearing Monty's question about seeing things. Putting his stuff back in his bag and sitting down, his more upper class accent shining through "Personally, I haven't ever seen stuff round here, but if you dig and listen, all sorts of weird shit pops up. Fuckin shit from native ghost stories to god damn cults. One thing my Dad ever actually taught to me was never to trust anything in this damn valley. Even the woods are out to get you."

''Hocus-pocus is all it is. I grew up in a circus and saw this guy that looked like he could eat fire, course it was just a pile of horse****. I mean... not literally but you get what I'm sayin? Stuff that goes bump at night? Vengeful spirits in some forgotten burial ground, obviously. There ain't nothing out there man, I say just chill and... let all chill. Totally.''

He finished off awkwardly, remembering that despite appearances Will was still a Denson.

And Marco had history with the Densons, specifically the Mayor and his eldest daughter Regina, an old flame from a month ago. Except she was now engaged to some banking grad from the city and the Mayor himself offered Marco good money to keep his distance or preferably leave Woodview.

He raged at the road which lost him his motorcycle so afterwards he accepted the Mayor's deal and didn't return Regina's calls. Except by the end of this week he'd be given his promised sum, he'd use it to get a new bike and supplies and ask Regina to leave Woodview with him and Captain Marvel to keep them company. Might as well have enjoyed a nice camping trip before leaving for good.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan
Evan looked at the flickering orange flames of the campfire. He loved nights like this, sitting next to a fire, sharing ghost stories. At the mention of burial grounds he spoke up. He said,"There's an old graveyard on the back of my farm. It's a creepy little place, that's up against the tree line, an' mostly overgrown. According to legend, that's where they buried Old Man Johnson, the axe murderer who killed his wife, in the mid 1800s. Anyway, I was out there one time, mowin' the pasture, an' I saw something weird. It was dusk, on a late summer evenin'. I was just gettin' ready to head back up to the house. There was this weird white shape hangin' over one of the graves. I had also been doin' a little plinkin', so I had a .22 with me on the tractor. I climbed down outta the tractor, and grabbed the .22. I walked up to the fence, an' looked over at the grave. It was so weathered that I couldn't read what it said. Then, the thing came towards me. I started runnin' for the tractor, an' I drove the tractor back to the barn like I was bein' chased by demons. After that encounter, I try to avoid goin' down there unless I have to." He took a sip of water from his canteen. He continued,"That creepy enough for y'all?"

[Danceria]

Donny however was incredulous. "Ya really givin' Carl some helluva good ideas.", he chuckled, shaking his head with a curly nest of medium blond hair. "Must've been souped up, most tractors I know ain't exactly known for clocking high speeds." his tone then became playfully sarcastic, something renowned whenever he was faced with any obstacle, in this case, mocking Old Man Johnson. "Rawr, I am the evil hatchet slasher of undeath! I will approach you...veerryyy slowly...slow down youngin' so I can kill ya, I can't move like I used to." he chuckled, turning a sideways smirk towards Lucas, "I'm no expert on th' matter, but if somethin' wanted ta' kill ye, ye wouldn't be 'ere tellin' us about it, Evan."

He then thought on Marco's words. "Yeah, the air's a bit...thicker, heavier. Like you should be smellin' something rancid but yer not. Weirder still considerin' the air's supposed ta' get thinner when ya go uphill." the Blond would then smile at Will, whose Denson heritage would no doubt know of the story as much as Donny's Dorian heritage. "Maybe it's th' Coal-Black Banshee o' Blackroof Manor."

[Harbertia]

Donny however was incredulous. "Ya really givin' Carl some helluva good ideas.", he chuckled, shaking his head with a curly nest of medium blond hair. "Must've been souped up, most tractors I know ain't exactly known for clocking high speeds." his tone then became playfully sarcastic, something renowned whenever he was faced with any obstacle, in this case, mocking Old Man Johnson. "Rawr, I am the evil hatchet slasher of undeath! I will approach you...veerryyy slowly...slow down youngin' so I can kill ya, I can't move like I used to." he chuckled, turning a sideways smirk towards Lucas, "I'm no expert on th' matter, but if somethin' wanted ta' kill ye, ye wouldn't be 'ere tellin' us about it, Evan."

He then thought on Marco's words. "Yeah, the air's a bit...thicker, heavier. Like you should be smellin' something rancid but yer not. Weirder still considerin' the air's supposed ta' get thinner when ya go uphill." the Blond would then smile at Will, whose Denson heritage would no doubt know of the story as much as Donny's Dorian heritage. "Maybe it's th' Coal-Black Banshee o' Blackroof Manor."

Monty
"Ah com'on we're no where near Blackroof, the closest resident I know of is my house. What would the Banshee be doing this far out?" Then she smirked and turned to Will, "OH," she chuckled before taking on a tone of playfully ill intent, "maybe she's come," she rose a bit from her seat, "to get revenge on Drenson blood." She said acknowledging Will's family's role in the Coal Mines and iterating references to the version she was most familiar with, "oh yes she's rose out from the old mines in search of Drenson blood-" Monty got a little closer, "and she's gonna suffocate a DRENSON!" she said as she nudged Will with the intent of knocking him back enough to stumble in his seat.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Donny however was incredulous. "Ya really givin' Carl some helluva good ideas.", he chuckled, shaking his head with a curly nest of medium blond hair. "Must've been souped up, most tractors I know ain't exactly known for clocking high speeds." his tone then became playfully sarcastic, something renowned whenever he was faced with any obstacle, in this case, mocking Old Man Johnson. "Rawr, I am the evil hatchet slasher of undeath! I will approach you...veerryyy slowly...slow down youngin' so I can kill ya, I can't move like I used to." he chuckled, turning a sideways smirk towards Lucas, "I'm no expert on th' matter, but if somethin' wanted ta' kill ye, ye wouldn't be 'ere tellin' us about it, Evan."

He then thought on Marco's words. "Yeah, the air's a bit...thicker, heavier. Like you should be smellin' something rancid but yer not. Weirder still considerin' the air's supposed ta' get thinner when ya go uphill." the Blond would then smile at Will, whose Denson heritage would no doubt know of the story as much as Donny's Dorian heritage. "Maybe it's th' Coal-Black Banshee o' Blackroof Manor."

So it wasn't just him who felt it then, unless Donny was well and truly f*****g with him. The air was thick where it should have been thin, meaning something here was off which gave rise to just the slightest inkling of disconcertment. It was a stupid feeling, to complain about air being normal when it should have been lighter. No, it wasn't normal. It was heavy. Maybe he was just imagining but it felt like there was something else in the air, maybe some colourless and odourless smoke.

''Gotta light one up,'' he said holding out a cigarette. He was here to relax and unwind, maybe the woods were just getting to him.

Donny however was incredulous. "Ya really givin' Carl some helluva good ideas.", he chuckled, shaking his head with a curly nest of medium blond hair. "Must've been souped up, most tractors I know ain't exactly known for clocking high speeds." his tone then became playfully sarcastic, something renowned whenever he was faced with any obstacle, in this case, mocking Old Man Johnson. "Rawr, I am the evil hatchet slasher of undeath! I will approach you...veerryyy slowly...slow down youngin' so I can kill ya, I can't move like I used to." he chuckled, turning a sideways smirk towards Lucas, "I'm no expert on th' matter, but if somethin' wanted ta' kill ye, ye wouldn't be 'ere tellin' us about it, Evan."

He then thought on Marco's words. "Yeah, the air's a bit...thicker, heavier. Like you should be smellin' something rancid but yer not. Weirder still considerin' the air's supposed ta' get thinner when ya go uphill." the Blond would then smile at Will, whose Denson heritage would no doubt know of the story as much as Donny's Dorian heritage. "Maybe it's th' Coal-Black Banshee o' Blackroof Manor."

Monty
"Ah com'on we're no where near Blackroof, the closest resident I know of is my house. What would the Banshee be doing this far out?" Then she smirked and turned to Will, "OH," she chuckled before taking on a tone of playfully ill intent, "maybe she's come," she rose a bit from her seat, "to get revenge on Drenson blood." She said acknowledging Will's family's role in the Coal Mines and iterating references to the version she was most familiar with, "oh yes she's rose out from the old mines in search of Drenson blood-" Monty got a little closer, "and she's gonna suffocate a DRENSON!" she said as she nudged Will with the intent of knocking him back enough to stumble in his seat.

''Damn, Dreson. Looks like ya inherited some bad blood. You gonna apologise to this wraith, hope she see's the good in you and passes on?'' he mused with a smile. Finally some entertainment, at a Drenson's expense no less.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Carl

Carl was busy getting the bag of marshmallows, when Will mentioned about ghost stories happening. "Weird stuff does happen every now and then, but nobody really bats an eye. It isn't really anyone's concern." Carl said, though he did realize that the air was getting to thicker. "I done some coding for some games. Some of them were horror. Some were almost ripoffs of other Infocom's games. I seen some stuff online that got me creeped out, but then again, you shouldn't trust the internet. There were the typical unsolved serial killers, urban legends, and there was this one time where I found this blog. Couldn't remember the link, since I cleared out my personal history, but it was about this some random small town in Ohio called Hawthrone, though the stuff I read from that blog seemed bullshit."

After Carl managed to get the bag of marshmallows open, he sarcastically asked, "Anyone want s'mores? Helps gets the air to thin out."

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan Hunter
Donny was incredulous at his story. Evan said,"The tractor wasn't souped up or anythin' like that. I went as fast as I could push it. I hope whatever that thing was isn't comin' after me." He saw Carl was pulling out some marshmallows and asking if anyone wanted s'mores. Evan said,"Sure, I'll take some s'mores. I can start whittling some sticks to roast 'em." With that, Evan grabbed a couple of nearby branches, pulled out his Swiss Army Knife, and began sharpening them. The wood shavings drifted down onto the ground. He finished the first one, and stuck the sharp end into the fire to sanitize and harden it. He repeated the process a few more times, until he had six sticks sharpened. He passed them to Carl.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Will

Will was chowing down on a s'more when Monty gave a whack to the chest. The impact hit him with a mild thump as he stayed up on his seat. Setting his stick down and licking his fingers, he stared at no one in particular whiled he said "That's basic stuff Monty, I'd have thought you would know a better ghost story than something that was made up to try and keep people from sneaking onto our property. Y'all don't even know half the history of the town. Now if y'all want a real story, sit back, get cozy, and eat your damn s'mores, cause you ain't gonna be sleeping tonight."

"Most of y'all know the basic history of this place, chartered in 1802 by the various residents and presented to the state senate by Red Bill Denson. But what y'all don't know about is how the town is built on blood. Way back in the day, this valley was first charted by Henry Denson, my couple of greats grandfather, who explored the land and eventually established a rather sucessful fur post on the river, just south of where Blackroof stands today. Henry had managed to capture the intrests of several settlers in the area, and was well on the way into turning his little post into a proper village. There was just one thing in his way. Dark Bear.

Dark Bear was a native chief. Whatever tribe he was is long forgotten, but it doesn't really matter, because they had long since exiled him and his followers and chased Dark Bear to this valley itself. He was a cruel and mysterious bastard, making sacrifices and dark rituals and the whole shit. Well, he fancied the valley his own personal heart of darkness, where he could create his own tribe, with him as a god-king at the center of it. And Dark Bear didn't take to kindly to Henry's little trade company.

In Henry's fifth year in the valley, a tribesmen from Dark Bear's people came down from the foothills and issued this proclamation, Henry had a week to depart along with all his settlers, or have all his men and children killed and all his women taken. Laughing at the native, for by even this point the Natives were in retreat, Henry told him that he and his people were there to stay. The messenger departed like a ghost, and sure enough, after a week, a small force of natives appeared outside the settlement, armed with tomahawks and bows. They began to hack at the wall before Henry had the men unleash a wave of musketballs on them from above. The survivors dragged the bodies back into the woods, and through the rest of the night the whole world seemed on edge.

The next day, an even bigger force appeared. Once more they were cut down, and once more the natives dragged the bodies into the dark. This process continued until the settlement was practically attacked by a small army every night. The men began to feel something was off. At times they thought they were killing a man that they shot the day before, and upon closer inspection quite a few of the natives seemed to bleed a black ichor instead of blood. As the forces grew bigger and bigger, Henry decided to stop letting them fight on their terms. The next day when the natives appeared, Henry had boiling grease poured on them, and threw torches on the enemy from above. The terrible screams of the natives were second to the whispers that followed afterward, echoing through the post like a terrible wind, speaking in some evil tongue that not even the few Iroquois guides that Henry kept employed could decipher.

The following day, what seemed like an unstoppable horde came flowing out of the trees. The men tried to keep firing, but there were purportedly more that by the time the settlers killed one, reloaded their rifles and aimed again, there were two new enemies. By Henry's own estimate, there must have been at least a thousand. Dark Bear had been gathering strength for years by that point, but no one had expected a force of this size. Then Dark Bear himself took to the field, riding upon a massive deer, his head covered in a dark shawl stolen from some other poor settler who happened to cross his path. Recognizing that they could not hold out much longer, Henry took aim with his musket and shot at the leader from afar. Dark Bear was hit in the sternum and left bleeding out on the ground. The natives either fell to the ground in a seizure or fled back into the woods in sheer terror, as though awaking from a dream. Henry strode across the field of war to the dying body of Dark Bear, who with his last breaths uttered in garbled french that Henry would later translate to 'May the river take you'.

Henry's settlement seemed to have some peaceful years, though supernatural sightings and events, as well as the memory of the horror forced them to flee further north, near where Blackroof stands today. Around two decades after the incident with Dark Bear however, a plague of a sort began to affect the town. For some it was like hysteria, for some it was like typhoid, for others it was described as near demonic possession. On top of that, people were being found mauled in the street. So Henry took it upon himself to find the source behind the problems. He set a watch along with his son Daniel, and for a fortnite he waited, always seeing nothing or arriving a split second too late to the scene of a mauling.

Finally, he made a confrontation with the source two weeks after he began. At first he thought it was a rabid cougar. But as he got a better look at it, he saw that this was an entirely different kind of critter. It had almost reptilian spines down its back, its claws appeared to be serrerated, it breathed some form of green gas, and it was much, much larger than any cougar seen since in the country. Henry took aim at it like he had at Dark Bear, but the beast almost instinctevly turned around and pounced on him. If it were not for Daniel turning the corner and shooting the beast in the side, Henry would have died then.

Daniel now faced the beast, and recognizing the futility of facing it with his gun after seeing how fast it moved, he grabbed a nearby axe. For the rest of the night, Daniel played a dangerous game of cat and mouse, drawing the beast close before taking a swing, slowly doing more damage while also recieving some wounds from the monster. Finally, the great cougar managed to slice the back of Daniel's knee, sending Daniel into a kneeling position. Daniel now looked his fate in the face, and with a mighty swing, buried the axe in the creatures head before it could take a bite out of his.

Daniel managed to get him and his father to the settlement doctor that night. Henry lived long enough to record his final memories and say goodbye to his family, while Daniel mostly recovered, albeit with a limp in his leg for the rest of his life. Daniel one day became the grandfather of Red Bill, and thus our town was founded. But it ain't all right. The woods where the original settlement stood lie, oh, about a mile west of here on our land. Ghostwoods as my family likes to call it. Animals avoid the area like the plague, and it's always a few degress colder there. The shadows move around you and you can hear whispers from time to time. The river itself has been quiet since then, but you can sometimes see eyeshine from just in the water, way to big for even a bear, and you can still hear cougar screams. That's where the basis for y'alls little banshee myth. And if y'all don't believe me, they still got the skull in the Library museum. Not even scientists can say for sure what the hell it is, some think it's a giant cougar, other think it's a bear. Either way, their ain't no banshee and there's still something off with this valley."

Will skewered another marshmellow on his stick and started roasting it. He nodded and said "That ain't even the weirdest shit that's happened here either."

[Harbertia]

Monty sank back into her seat as Will told the tale. Becoming more invested as Dark Bear's chapter came to a close. Rubbing her forearms even while close to the fire. Silent she took upon herself a marshmallow. Making an effort not to look into Will's eyes as the tale came to a close. The air was indeed thick as the others had said, and she felt it now.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Monty sank back into her seat as Will told the tale. Becoming more invested as Dark Bear's chapter came to a close. Rubbing her forearms even while close to the fire. Silent she took upon herself a marshmallow. Making an effort not to look into Will's eyes as the tale came to a close. The air was indeed thick as the others had said, and she felt it now.

''That's um... quite the tale you cooked up,'' Marco began trying to piece together everything Will just said. This wasn't the fun hangout he had expected but at least Monty got the spooky story she was asking for. Even his puppy was now whimpering as if it understood the strange tale.

Letting out a short sigh he tossed his barely finished cigarette into the campfire and reached out for a can of cola and took in a long gulp to drown out the ever persisting sense of nausea. The story had made him recall the day his stepfather the lumberjack gained brief infamy in dying from wounds he sustained during an illegal axe duel against a fellow woodcutter. To this day he never understood what the hell possessed that old bastard or his mad opponent to duke it out medieval style in the forest outback.

''There, there Captain, Will's just recalling some old urban legend, no doubt embellished to give some badass points to his old folk and family name. Obviously there wasn't ever any dark army of a thousand undead led by some necromancing indian warlord, that's some Call of Cthulu s***t right there. I ain't no historian but if such an army would waste their time on one fort surely there woulda been... I dunno, some kind of witness testimony that's reliable. As for your reptile cougar skull, maybe it was some of mutant freak, it happens, like them albino lions and ligers I read about in the magazine.''

''But speaking of cougars, they're all gone now right?''

[Pax Nerdvana]

Evan Hunter
Evan said,"I don't know 'bout that. I once saw a cougar track out in the woods durin' deer season last year. At least I think it was a cougar track, cause it sure as crap looked like one. 'Course, I'm not a tracker, so I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they're still around here. Now, I know we have wolves an' coyotes. I hear 'em at night, sometimes. They always get the dogs barkin'." He finished off his s'more, and looked up at the stars, twinkling in the night sky.

[Harbertia]

Monty looked upon Evan as he stared into the night sky, and took a breath, "I've-" she gulped slightly, and cleared her throat, "My place isn't far from here. Pa made it very clear that we should never go into it-" she glanced at Will, and back to the fire; "it's not our land to harvest but it's still close. Close enough for us to know it's reputation." she looked as if gazing a far distance in fire, "When I was- it was shortly after- when I was in the eight grade I remember waking up in the night. I had fallen asleep in the living room, bundled up near the fire place- and the fire was out. It was cold. I wasn't up for lighting the fire again and started to close my eyes when I- saw a light. At the window. Then two lights, and there it was- in the window gazing in breathing upon the glass. It had antlers like a deer, glowing eyes- yellow- like candle light with faint blue. It's face- it's face was like that of a dog but it had no cheeks- just teeth- and the torso of a man. I - I was silent just looking at it looking at me- unable to scream, so I started to whisper 'dad' 'dad' 'dad' - and I stopped just looking at this thing. It began to raise it's hand- it's hand- was like a man's but with fingers like a bear. It put it upon the window, I thought I heard dad for a moment. But I guess I didn't, and I don't remember anything else- I guess just." She sat back straightening herself though nerves still shown, "fell back asleep." I didn't mention it the next day, and wanted to see if it left any prints but I was late for school- I had overslept and all was a rush. I figured I just- had a bad dream- until I finally did ask my dad." She turned to Marco, "He got agitated and clammed after that- I haven't asked him since so- when- when Will mentioned that thing I thought about it and even if that army was made up- I know as sure as the sky what I saw."

She motioned to Marco for a smoke.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Monty looked upon Evan as he stared into the night sky, and took a breath, "I've-" she gulped slightly, and cleared her throat, "My place isn't far from here. Pa made it very clear that we should never go into it-" she glanced at Will, and back to the fire; "it's not our land to harvest but it's still close. Close enough for us to know it's reputation." she looked as if gazing a far distance in fire, "When I was- it was shortly after- when I was in the eight grade I remember waking up in the night. I had fallen asleep in the living room, bundled up near the fire place- and the fire was out. It was cold. I wasn't up for lighting the fire again and started to close my eyes when I- saw a light. At the window. Then two lights, and there it was- in the window gazing in breathing upon the glass. It had antlers like a deer, glowing eyes- yellow- like candle light with faint blue. It's face- it's face was like that of a dog but it had no cheeks- just teeth- and the torso of a man. I - I was silent just looking at it looking at me- unable to scream, so I started to whisper 'dad' 'dad' 'dad' - and I stopped just looking at this thing. It began to raise it's hand- it's hand- was like a man's but with fingers like a bear. It put it upon the window, I thought I heard dad for a moment. But I guess I didn't, and I don't remember anything else- I guess just." She sat back straightening herself though nerves still shown, "fell back asleep." I didn't mention it the next day, and wanted to see if it left any prints but I was late for school- I had overslept and all was a rush. I figured I just- had a bad dream- until I finally did ask my dad." She turned to Marco, "He got agitated and clammed after that- I haven't asked him since so- when- when Will mentioned that thing I thought about it and even if that army was made up- I know as sure as the sky what I saw."

She motioned to Marco for a smoke.

Marco obliged and passed her a cigarette, lighting it for her when she took it.

The image of the bear-fingered dog-mouth man felt at once bizarre and bone chilling. He grit his teeth in anger over the thought that some weirdo wearing animal skin went up to Monty's window to give her a fright. He didn't think Monty was lying and believed that she did indeed see someone that looked like some kind of monster. The fact that her father didn't look into it meant that he either didn't believe her or knew something but was afraid of bringing it up.

First Evan's ghost, then Drenson's fortress and now even Monty... guess there really is something going out here.

''Ya'll remember the news of how my step douche died in a duel all them years back? Some say he and his rival went mad working out here in the woods, like something compelled them to spill each other's blood. Like... damn... I ain't saying it was some vengeful Indian spirit or a Dog Bear Man but maybe... its like that movie, you know - The Shining where this guy goes mad from being snowed in and tries to kill his wife and son. Well maybe these here woods do the same... you know like being forrested in...? '' he let out a nervous chuckle with his last statement.

''Ya'll can feel it right? The air ain't supposed to be this thick. Maybe those who stay here long enough end up seeing crazy s**t that ain't really there and do stuff they shouldn't.''

The hell was he doing buying into this hocus pocus? A sense of weariness came over him and without even realising it he eyed Lucas wearily.

Yes. Lucas the Woods Dwelling Weirdo. He'd have to keep his guard up around him. His sense of fun and enjoyment was beginning to wane with a bubbling tension.

His puppy Captain Marvel as if sensing his thoughts stood up to growl directly at Lucas.

[Codagh]

"There's definitely something really out here. Not just in these woods, but in this entire town." Lucas said, finally piping up, "I've been keeping a journal of everything that's been happening since... my mother."

Lucas looked at the others for the first time, ignoring the dog growling at him. He took a survey of the group and took a moment to steady himself. Monty was the only other person besides his father who knew what had happened to his mother, and father denied it. Lucas stood and grabbed some kindling, tossing it into the fire and watching as the flames rose a bit, smoke bursting out of it.

"As I'm sure you all know, my mother died quiet a while back." he began, "Coroner said it was a house fire. Technically true, and we did lose everything in the fire. What he didn't report was the arrowheads in my mom's heart, or the dark oil. Look, I can't confirm all of what you've said, but a lot of it lines up with what other folks have seen. And what I saw.

I came home one evening after my dad took me to a football game at Woodview High. Dad was getting some groceries out of the car, so I went on into the house. I yelled for my mom, telling her we were home. I yelled... and yelled... I ran through the house, trying to find her. It wasn't like her not to answer when we got back. Well, I ran through and saw the basement door was open... which was weird, we never left that door open, it made a weird draft.

So I hollered to dad and went down. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. My mom was pinned to the wall, an arrowhead sticking out her back and through both hands. Only thing was, there was no entrance wounds for them. Out of the exit wounds a dark oil-like substance flowed instead of blood. This crap was coming out of her ears, her mouth, her nose, and her eyes. Her mouth was sewn shut, and she was crying like I'd never seen her cry before. Standing beside her was a guy dressed like a native chief. He had a dark shawl about his head, and black eyes. He looked at me, smirked, and disappeared.

About the time my dad got down the stairs, the oil ignited. He got me out as quickly as possible before going back in to try to rescue mom. It was too late, though. By the time he got down there, the fire had spread to the house. I could hear her screaming outside! The neighbors called the fire department once they saw smoke, and the firemen rescued my dad and... recovered my mom's body... I still relive that evening sometimes...

They couldn't find a cause for the fire... They didn't talk about her mouth being sewn, the arrowheads sticking out of her back and hands, or the oil. As far as anyone was concerned, the fire was mysterious and my mom simply didn't get out in time.

That's when I started keeping the journal, trying to find answers, to find connections. Hell, I even began digging up some of the old legends trying to figure out what it was. That's why I come out here so often, to see if I can find any clues to what's going on in this place. And other than seeing some weird crap, I'm not much closer now than I was back then."

Lucas took a deep breath, fighting back the tears that had swelled as he allowed his mind to return to that evening once more.

[Danceria]

"Mont..." Donny began, before being interrupted by Lucas's own story. He had heard bits and pieces about the fire, and his blood went cold. "Oh god." he looked briefly at Monty, then to Lucas then to the fire. Almost instinctively he went for the knife he kept hidden, then looked up ad Lucas. His face oddly stern "You swear it? I get some people claimin' ta' see Skinwalkers, th' Grasper, all sorts o' shit. But...do you swear Lucas I-don't-foockin'-know-yer-last-name. Tha's what happened, no bull?"

This was a sharp change from the usually devil-may-care attitude associated with the Dorian. This was someone who needed to know, and who was side-hugging Monty more to reassure himself rather than her. But in his eyes was the unmistakable glint of fear.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Carl

Carl was handing out the sticks to impale the marshmallows to everyone. After listening to the Evan's ghost story, the lore of Dark Bear, Monty's stalker, and now Lucas story about his dead mother. Carl ate his s'more silently, until he started to feel his blood go cold. Then, he let out a small belch. That was when Carl sighed, where his face looked like it had gone gray. "You think this whole forest is a giant Indian burial ground? I'm no cultural anthropologist, but I seen Pet Semetary." Carl said, offering a possible answer that might be connecting these stories. Until he remembered something that made him look like Marco's cigarette to which he immediately shook his head to clear his thoughts from the cobwebs.

"I don't think this is just some Indian curse or whatever. I... No one probably was in school with me back in middle school, but I know for a fact that no one seems to talk about so-called "Belching Benny" anymore. I'm probably the only guy who still remembers him. Maybe with the expectation of my parents and probably everyone from my street. I guess I see it as a childhood memory that I tried to see the least bad of and assumed that they just moved out of town and that Benny is just some random homeless boy now." Carl said.

"I'm going to need some beer for this shit. Might as well remove this from my chest, since it's more better to get rid of the secrets." Carl said, waiting for someone to hand him a beer or something similar.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Will

Will was oddly nonchalant about the whole thing, chowing down on another s'more as he listened to the other stories that the group told. It wasn't an urban legend for him, this shit was family history that he had been raised with since he was a kid. Licking his fingers as Carl finished talking, Will reached into his bag and pulled out a joint and offered it to Carl "It's not beer but it'll calm yah down."

He looked up at the sky, particularly good looking tonight, nice and clear. He scoffed a bit and said "Indian burial ground is two miles north by the way, near the old mine. They burned all the dead from Dark Bear's tribe, didn't want to take a chance after all that shit. Still though, ghosts don't like moving around too much, especially when there's some cult shit keeping them around."

Will saw some flashes of confusion at that last statement "What, y'all never seen the markers? Weird little charms made of stick and bone hangin from a birch tree, Triangular symbol carved into something, those weird little shrines you find on the trails, not like cairns but like proper weird shrines? People have been up to weird shit in this town forever, and most people think my family are the evil ones. This whole damn valley is cursed."

[Danceria]

Will

Will was oddly nonchalant about the whole thing, chowing down on another s'more as he listened to the other stories that the group told. It wasn't an urban legend for him, this shit was family history that he had been raised with since he was a kid. Licking his fingers as Carl finished talking, Will reached into his bag and pulled out a joint and offered it to Carl "It's not beer but it'll calm yah down."

He looked up at the sky, particularly good looking tonight, nice and clear. He scoffed a bit and said "Indian burial ground is two miles north by the way, near the old mine. They burned all the dead from Dark Bear's tribe, didn't want to take a chance after all that shit. Still though, ghosts don't like moving around too much, especially when there's some cult shit keeping them around."

Will saw some flashes of confusion at that last statement "What, y'all never seen the markers? Weird little charms made of stick and bone hangin from a birch tree, Triangular symbol carved into something, those weird little shrines you find on the trails, not like cairns but like proper weird shrines? People have been up to weird shit in this town forever, and most people think my family are the evil ones. This whole damn valley is cursed."

"Yeah, pass me with whatever you're chowing down on." Donny smirked and chuckled. "The old Greyflow Manor's there, near the river by the coal mine. My Great-great-grandfolks built a manor and grew a couple o' Faerie Circles o'er there, kept some of the charms about th' manor. Half to appease the ghosts tha' could be appeased, and tell th' ones who were pricks ta' fuck right off. Dorians are crazy folks, always 'ave been, always will be. Especially when it came ta' butting 'eads with th' Densons..."

Donablain smirked. "I keep a bible, a blade, and a gun nearby at all times. Never know what's out there."

[Main Nation Ministry]

Carl

Carl was asking for a beer, until Will offered him a joint. "I don't smoke that crap. Dad would think I became a stoner." Carl said. "Besides, I don't even think it will calm me down for this. Even if this valley is cursed, they ought to have it burned down. This isn't a story about the Greyflow Manor. This is the story about another house. So horrible that people just let it burn down in my neighborhood." Carl said, before taking a deep breath. Putting both of his hands on his head, he started to tell the story about Belching Benny and a memory that Carl wanted to avoid.

"Alright.. There is...well was a house on our street which was called the Murder House, as the sadistic 8th graders would say to the freshmen in my middle school. I lived across the street from it and it stood out as a sore thumb, because the paint job for it was so grey and black that it looked like all of the woods built for it had rotted away. It was by the woods, so it could have been the zombie Indians. But even the zombie Indians would probably not lay a finger on it or stare at it. Even before I was born, some kids would say that, at least, two horrible events happened there before Belching Benny arrived with his parents. Back in the early 90's, there was a family with some girl that was said to be perfect. Popular in school. Easy to make friends with. Good grades. Perfect, as you say. However, her family... They were a different story. Mother had cancer. Father had his money stolen and gotten himself some gout. The son had his legs crippled, due to some hit and run accident, where he wanted to be an athletic in football. I guess they were a family of Jobs, because they were said to been through some shit to the point where they cannot take it anymore. So one day, they just did that.

The mail man was the first to notice the large amount of mail piling up in the mailbox. Their car was still there and the door was unlocked. He thought some sort of burglary happened in there, so he called the cops. When they got there, they found the family dead. Father blew his brains out in the living room in the middle of the night, mother hung herself in the kitchen and the son drank some bleach that was in the bathroom. But when they checked the bathroom for the daughter, all they found was literally a large puddle of blood. They never found her body. The kids would scare the 6th graders that she was the only one to not kill herself, which her family decided to murder her to have her join them. Then, there is another theory that someone either from the family or some drifter who entered the house took her body and decided to drag it into the woods to make it into a scarecrow.

After the murders, the house was cleaned and left empty, until another family entered the house in the mid-90's. The family was literally the same with a always perfect daughter and a struggling family. The big difference was that the family didn't have plans on suicide. They were just dysfunctional. So they hired a family therapist to help. That was when the whole "Murder House" curse started to reveal itself to the neighbors. So, one day, again...after the therapist left for the day, the family was supposed to go on vacation to the Bahamas or something. This time, it took much longer from them to discover the bodies. This time, it wasn't suicide. It was flat-out murder. They were all found in the dining room, where they were posed like they were eating dinner. They had all of their throat slashed open. Again, the daughter wasn't found. When they caught the bastard who was found in another town several miles away, he just said he did it "for fun". When the daughter wasn't found, he claimed to have saved her for last and drowned her in clay. He never told them of what happened to her body or where he hid it. Everyone assumed it, he buried it somewhere in the woods. It was the same thing as the last family. They hauled his ass over to prison after a life sentence, where several days after he was thrown in jail, another inmate killed him over a heated argument.

So, after that. The house just stood there. For almost a decade. When I was in middle school, a family moved in. This time, it was just a simple mother, father, and son. This was where Belching Benny appeared. Now.. Benny was... "different" if I may add. Not troubled, I would say he was more challenged. They moved into the Murder House and they didn't seem to worry. Parents were told, but they kept it a secret from their son. Benny didn't seem to notice anything bad, while he was there. When Benny arrived in school, my own parents had me be friends with him, since they thought he was getting lonely. I didn't mind, though some kids did make fun of him. Things were starting to look good. Until they found something in the attic. A couple months after Benny's family moved in, the family had a pest problem, so they had an exterminator try to find the source. He found a secret opening in one of the closets, where he discovered the attic. It wasn't soaked with blood or anything. Just filled with some junk. They did a garage sale, where Benny found something interesting. It was a VHS that had a label simply reading "Candyland". From what he said, he saw it like it a whole lot to the point. It kept saying that every time he watched it, it was always different. I thought it was nonsense or his imagination.

When he knew I didn't believe him, he had me over for a sleepover. My own parents didn't want me to go to the Murder House, but I told them that it will upset Benny if I didn't go. After Benny dragged me inside the house, he brought him to his bedroom, where he had a VHS player set up and everything. I know this wasn't some random cartoon that came out, which everyone watched. The only people I knew who watched it was me, Benny, and his parents. The VHS tape Candyland was some weird cartoon which I would describe as having mediocre animation. There were bits of static in it, also. But Benny didn't care. The episode I watched of it showed the setting being a land made out of candy, as the name would suggest. The two main characters were some Tom and Jerry rip-offs, so back then I thought his parents got this from a dollar store. What made me uncomfortable was the villain that was at the near of the episode. He was this clown that looked like he had every color imaginable to the point your eyes would go blind from looking at it. His teeth was supposed to made out of candy canes, but due to the animation it looked like they were stained with blood. Then, there were his eyes that were supposed to represent lollipops, but they looked like the ones from that movie with Christopher Lloyd and the talking rabbit.

So Benny let me leave, since he wanted me to believe him. Then, that was when the bad shit happened. Not the curse. But probably something different. Benny started talking to an "imaginary friend" in school. No one really knew what he was doing. He started to isolate himself away from everyone. I tried to head over to his house once, but Benny refused to let me be with him, because he was playing with his friend. What makes me guilty was that I don't think I could have warned anyone. I was probably a coward or people would not believe me. So one day...

Benny was just gone.

Out of thin air. Completely gone. Then his parents checked the bedroom and both of them went crazy. The VHS player was still on and Benny's mother started to ramble about the TV eating Benny, because he was on the tape. I don't know what happened, because when the police checked, they didn't find any VHS tape or anything. Benny's father ate his gun, while Benny's mother was send to a mental hospital. I tried to tell the police about Benny and the VHS tape, but I didn't think they believed me. After I attended high school, someone lit the Murder House on fire. And everyone in the street just let it burn to the ground. It was better than preserving it. I wanted to believe that Benny is still alive. Maybe he ran off into the woods. Maybe he did die and it's possible to find his body. Or maybe Benny is still around, but didn't want to head back. I still remembered it, but I usually tried to get rid of the worst parts of it. I had it be remembered as some house with a kid that just ran away. That would have been the end of the story there. I guess there is a solution to all of our problems, but I'm only glad that that house is gone."

Carl finished his story. Jesus Christ, he actually said it in front of everyone. "You still have that joint. I'm going to need it." Carl said, reaching his hand out for Will's joint.

[Codagh]

"It's Jackson, and yes, it's true." Lucas said, sitting back down. He listened as the conversation continued, pulling out his journal and a pencil. He quickly jotted down the name 'Belching Benny' and looked up to Carl.

Running a hand through his dark hair, Lucas watched intently, taking note of everyone's expressions. Something certainly wasn't right about the forest tonight. Everyone was clearly on edge, save for Will who mentioned the valley being cursed whilst passing a joint. This was clearly going to be an interesting night. He kept a weathered eye out on the woods around them as he listened.

That's was when Donny mentioned Faerie Circles. He quickly marked the 'Belching Benny' spot, and flipped over to a section about weird plant formations he'd come across. It took only a few seconds to find the Faerie Circle section, before looking at a map he had drawn detailing the locations of the Faerie Circles he had found. Lucas double-checked their current location.

"Unless I'm mistaken on where we are exactly, I've found a few Faerie Circles around here." he piped in before turning back to the new section he was creating. That's when Carl began speaking, Lucas taking as many notes as possible. He could tell it had taken a toll on Carl, something Lucas truly was sympathetic about. He finished jotting down the story and closed the journal. This was going to be a long night.