TDM #1 - The Vengeful Forest

[pumpkinhollow]

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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

Re: Arrival

[icanmakeit]

Nieve prided herself in looking normal because it helped to make people underestimate her all the time in her dealings. No one ever actually expected her to be the Broker unless they were already in the know and there were few that knew that particular tidbit of information.

Not that anyone knew or cared about that title here. She was unknown here and growing increasingly frustrated by the fact that her magic wasn’t working the way it should.

Stepping out again, she paused when she heard a lovely accented voice and turned her attention to the man who was walking towards her. She considered him before huffing and looking at the door, pulling it closed.

“It’s nothing terrible, it’s just not doing what it’s supposed to do,” she replied as she flung the door open again and stared at the small room they had given her. It was a lovely room but it wasn’t her home.

Then she turned to him because he said that she wouldn’t shock him and that was intriguing. Giving him a once over, she tilted her head. “I’m trying to reach my home and work station but I can’t seem to. Something here is blocking me.”

[needmetodoanyattacking]

Ianto opened his mouth, then closed it to avoid speaking the obvious: a door opens to grant access to a room, and hers appeared to be doing precisely that. He didn't need to deal with alien nonsense on a daily basis to deal with that particular brand of puzzlement. He did, after all, manage one Jack Harkness on a daily basis: the man who couldn't figure out anything more complicated in terms of communication than a flip phone.

Plus, holding one's tongue can often produce results, and this did. To anyone else, the explanation would still be mostly nonsense, but Ianto was well familiar with the Torchwood archive, and had done his fair share of reading on the Doctor and his TARDIS back at One.

So he's now peering at the door much the same way she is--less puzzled, more introspective.

"This whole place seems to be working off of a technological level that can best be described as 'steampunk' at its most advanced." he pointed out pragmatically, glancing at the young woman again. "Are you using a specific device? Or trying to access your ship?"

Because that's the obvious explanation, of course--alien girl with alien tech, or future girl with future tech. Nothing Ianto hasn't seen before.

[icanmakeit]

“My ship?” Now that was an intriguing thought and the fact that he had come up with it made him all the more interesting to her. Studying with a renewed spark, she arched a brow as though she found something mildly amusing before shaking her head and looking back at the door.

“That would be bloody brilliant but no. Think of it more like a little pocket dimension I’ve carved out for myself. Now to access it and to keep others from doing it, I can move my door around to wherever I want it. It’s really quite convenient until it’s not doing what it’s supposed,” she sighed as she looked at the door and stared inward at the room again.

“It’s a fine room,” she continued, waving a hand. “But it’s not mine and it doesn’t have what I need. It seems there is something here blocking me which isn’t really a surprise but still frustrating.”

“I guess if I died, I’m powerless?” That was a troubling thought.