TDM #1 - The Vengeful Forest

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Pumpkin Hollow Gazette

6/7/23 | TDM #1: "The Vengeful Forest"
Content Warnings: body horror mentioned, article 2

A typical view from Jack's Marina

FIRST NEW ARRIVALS IN HALF-DECADE: MORE TO FOLLOW?

By Yorick Aberdeen

TAWNY BEACH - Big news at Jack’s Marina--- for the first time in roughly five years, the Marrow Isle Port Authority has reported a new arrival by ferry. And it’s not just one person.

Since the advent of the Barrier that has plagued our fair island for the past 5 years, no transport vessels have been logged for departure or arrival by the Port Authority. And for good reason! Any boat that attempted to make the journey beyond the blackened waters surrounding the island has met with a terrible fate ranging from property destruction to untimely demise. While said casualties don’t quite carry the sting they used to, the situation has obviously proven less than ideal for those looking to leave and ultimately halted the mass exodus from Pumpkin Hollow indefinitely.

Today, for the first time since the formation of the Barrier, we are seeing brand new faces arrive at the docks. All of them have been somewhat disoriented and some have claimed to be from locations that do not exist in our world. We approached one of these new arrivals, Milo Fields, for comment on his experience.

“A lady in an office told me I was dead and then I woke up on a boat,” Fields, 26, was quoted as stating on the matter. Succinct and fascinating, indeed! It would seem that for once, our island’s propensity for supernatural oddities has brought us something that we can be hopeful about. More on this as it develops.

‘CREEPY LITTLE TREES’ SEEN IN TOWN

By Yorick Aberdeen

Artist rendition of a "Brutok".

NORTHWEST HOLLOW (Prague Mills) - This morning Town Hall received a report from the road by the lumber mill, which leads out to Crane’s Ridge, that there have been more sightings of the “tiny tree people” that have been appearing around Lockwood Forest. Over the past few weeks there have been multiple sightings of short-statured creatures with gnarled limbs, bark complexions, and leaf-shaped masks moving about among the trees. There have also been several reports claiming that they have been in town. These reports are particularly prominent in areas toward the outskirts of the forest such as the aforementioned Prague Mills.

However, movement is not the only activity people claim to have seen. Many of these sightings detail more insidious behaviors such as mean-spirited practical jokes, theft, and attempted kidnapping.

The Pumpkin Hollow Gazette reached out to local historian and town council member Dahlia Leeds for any insight on these creatures from her research.

“These creatures appear to be Brutoks,” Leeds, 23, concluded in her interview with us on Tuesday evening. “They’re angry woodland spirits known to appear in cursed forests, much like our own.”

Ms. Leeds went on to issue a number of safety warnings for residents. According to her research, these Brutoks often move in groups and will lock on to woodland travelers who make eye contact with them. Their eyes are not visible so this can be done by accident quite easily if one spends too much time staring into trees. If Brutoks attach themselves to you, they will follow you home, proceeding to destroy your property, hide your personal items, attempt to cause you bodily harm, tear up your garden, and eventually spirit you away to the woods. Victims of these kidnappings will be “planted” in the woods by the Brutoks and spend the next several hours enduring the deeply unpleasant process of being turned into a tree, ultimately killing the individual. A gruesome affair.

There are several ways to dispel a Brutok invasion before it escalates to kidnapping. Ms. Leeds recommends observing their behavior for clues and keeping an eye out for puzzles set by the creatures while outside, though there may be other solutions. If you are unable to dispel them, it is possible to fight them off with brute force. Those walking in or near the woods are advised to keep their eyes on the trail but listen carefully for sounds of distress and be prepared to intervene. Should you encounter any trees that look like people, Ms. Leeds has also cited the unfortunate need to burn the unsettling foliage in order to release the spirit of the victim so that they can regenerate as usual.

As always, the sharing of information and community vigilance are imperative in warding off this new threat. Please share any information you have on the message boards at town hall or with your neighbors, and consider reaching out to Ms. Leeds or any other respected community figure if you find yourself in a bind. Keep your lanterns lit, Pumpkin Hollow. We’re in for quite the summer.

CUCUMBER FESTIVAL CANCELED DUE TO UNFORTUNATE TURNIP HEX; REPLACED WITH POTLUCK

By Yorick Aberdeen

They haunt my dinner plate and my dreams.

DOWNTOWN (Temple of Sacred Roots) - In lighter news, a solution has been found to the much-loathed Turnip Hex debacle.

As most residents of Pumpkin Hollow are aware, earlier in spring a crop hex was placed on the island by an unidentified witch that turned all ground crops sown at the time into turnips. While this is not as bad as it could be, it has resulted in mounds upon mounds of turnips and a complete lack of other crops until later harvests. The witch who cast this hex is still at large.

An unfortunate side effect of the hex has been that the beloved and highly anticipated Cucumber Festival, which normally takes place in early June, had to be canceled due to a lack of cucumbers. This has earned the ire of a great many residents who have cited the festival as “their last source of a modicum of joy on this goddess-forsaken island”, among other more colorful statements.

Reverend Degas Clayton of the Temple of Sacred Roots of our Four Earthly Mothers has proposed an alternative to the festival. While not nearly as exciting, Clayton, 57, believes that a turnip potluck is still a great community-building exercise and excuse for a social gathering. He encourages attendees to find the most inventive ways they can think of to cook up excess turnips and present their dishes on the temple lawn during the party. “The sooner we eat the blasted things, the sooner we’ll no longer have to look at them anymore,” said Mayor Poe in her endorsement of the event. It would appear she plans to be in attendance.

To participate, please bring an appropriate dish to the Temple of Sacred Roots on Friday at noon. The party will run until sundown and wine will be provided, which may improve the taste of the turnips. New residents are encouraged to attend even if they are not able to provide a dish so that they can meet their local community and learn more about the church.

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Comments

Oh hey boo <3

[pinandcove]

Milo looked up from his work, packing hay on top of the shallow potato trenches he's dug up. He tucked his rake under his half-arm so that he could use the whole one to wave back. "Hiya! Nice day!"

haaaaay!

[woocas]

"Nice view," Lucas shoots back, wincing only slightly at himself. Hopefully the dopey grin makes the comment less weird.

"I guess we're kinda neighbors, so I thought I'd say hi. You been here long?"

[pinandcove]

Milo let out a chuckle at the first remark, assuming Lucas meant the mountains behind him.

"Yeah, I guess we are! I just got here yesterday. You?"

[woocas]

Foiled right off the bat!

"About the same I think. The days kind of blurred together at first, if I'm honest." Shock is a funny thing, but he doesn't linger on the thought long. Shoulders scrunched into a brief shrug. "You need a ha---"

Don't say it Lucas, don't say it.

"--elp?" Nailed it.

[pinandcove]

"Ah, nope, you were totally gonna say it," Milo teased, grinning. He seemed to take it in stride, pointing with feigned accusation with his remaining hand. "Be brave. Commit to that pun."

[woocas]

"Aaaw man, why do you have to call me out like this?" Lucas buries his head in his hands. Then he peeks out, grinning like an idiot.

"At least you're pretty handy, so it doesn't slow you down."

[pinandcove]

"Well, I'm about half as handy as I used to be," he joked. "Name's Milo Fields. You?"

[woocas]

Lucas snorts, hopping up atop the fence he'd been leaning on and takes a seat there. He kicks his feet a bit while talking.

"I picked up a gig as some kind of cop around this place, but uh. You know, if you need a little help I'm just down the road." He grins, "Lucas Kovach! I'm glad I'm not the only newbie around here. Seems like there's a few of us wandering around, you know?"

[pinandcove]

"Well, put 'er there, Mr. Kovach!" He offered a handshake heartily. "Hopefully you're the good kind of cop. Where I come from, they're bastards, but you seem alright."

[woocas]

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Fields!" He snickers, giving Milo a vigorous handshake in return. It turns a bit sheepish at the man's second comment.

"Well, to be fair...I'm not really a cop back home either. More like a supernatural investigator, but you know. Semantics, right?"

[pinandcove]

"Oooh, a supernatural investigator," Milo praised. "That sounds pretty dope. We coulda used one of those around back home. I bet you'll be a real help around here."

[woocas]

"Yeah? You think so?" His heart flutters just a bit, that kind of praise is rare back home.

"I guess we'll find out, but...back home. For you. What's going on there?"

[pinandcove]

"Oh Christ, what isn't going on? I was a normal guy, you know? But then my arm got cursed and my whole world turned insane and now I know werewolves and exorcists and people who are possessed by elder gods and shit." Milo chuckled. What a wild statement to make so candidly.

[woocas]

Lucas raises both eyebrows. Man, he thought he was chill about weird stuff happening in his life!

"That's like, a lot. Even for me! How'd your arm get cursed?" Lucas winces immediately after the question gets blurted out. "I mean, you don't have to tell me, but it sure makes me glad I don't have to deal with elder gods on the daily. Just regular spooks!"

[pinandcove]

"Man, that shit was fucked up." His expression turned more dour at that question. "They called it 'void touch,' the people who were helping me. My arm got caught in this--- black hole looking thing... sorta. It's not really fun to talk about." Milo paused. "But hey, I got better!"

[woocas]

"That sounds like...a lot. Yeah." he says a bit sheepishly, kicking himself mentally the whole time. What a dumb question to ask!

"At least you got a sense of humor about it. So, you thinking farming on a cursed island's gonna be an upgrade or what? I'm still not sure what to think about this place..."

[pinandcove]

"I got a sense of humor about everything, don't worry." He brushed it off easily enough, at least. "I dunno about 'upgrade,' but I think it'll be alright! Lots of cool people so far. There's apparently demon trees but I've been mindin' my business till they fuck off. At least I hope they fuck off eventually... What about you? What've you been getting up to?"

[woocas]

"That's a good way of looking at things though." Lucas is definitely no stranger to laughing off some truly bizarre happenings.

"I've been looking into the little buggers, actually. Trying to figure out what makes them tick or at least to go away. Maybe something's out there that sparked this whole invasion in the first place."

Or maybe there wasn't! That's half of his job in a nutshell really. "I just miss having the resources I did back home but...eh? Settling okay. I'm just down the road from here, actually. So I'll pop by, if that's okay?"

[pinandcove]

"Oh sure, any old time," Milo gladly agreed. "Where you livin' at?"

[woocas]

"Just down the road, by the trolley station. That seems to be where they shack up the Enforcers anyways." Lucas jabs his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the direction he had originally come from.

"So, I won't be a stranger, that's for sure. You want some help, or should I let you get back to it?"