Welcome to Hemlock Falls

[Craft]

"Had you ever heard of anyone seeing anything there before? Any stories or ... anything? Something that you assumed was a crazy story because how could it be real?" Craft offers a wry grin.

"We just want to help, Sarah." He looks around the table, "We're here to help."

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah nods, and downs another swig of whiskey.

After a long pause, she shakes her head. "Just the usual nonsense. Heck, even the story I told you guys about the mansion was just taken from a hundred other ghost stories. Jilted at the alter is one of the ... " She frowns, looks around the table. "Wait. How close was that to what I told you all?"

 

[Craft]

Craft chuckles, "Close-ish." He looks down at his glass of beer, "The stories tend to ... change ... in cases like this."

He lifts the glass and takes a drink before continuing in a low whisper, glancing around the room first, "And to be honest, we didn't show up here to look for ghosts, really. We had other reasons to come check out Hemlock Falls. And ideally, we'd have gotten here and moved on without you..."

He pauses for a moment, "Without you seeing a ghost."

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah nods, chugs down the whiskey in one reckless gulp. She closes her eyes, lets the alcohol hit her. Then re-opens them, and nods again. "Pump me for information on the local sites which might harbour ... ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night."

A pause, then. "And then investigate -without- bringing the innocent - or is that ignorant - outsider." She nods, turns her glass in her hand. "Makes sense."

 

[Craft]

Craft shrugs, "Well, you did seem the most willing to show us around. Ideally we'd have left here and you'd not have been aware there was anything ...spooky... out there."

He pauses a moment, "It wasn't actually the Harpes mansion we came to check out. There's been a transmission coming from the radio tower... late at night. That's why we wanted to visit the place. See if there was anything off about it. The transmission had some numbers, and mentioned... a black dance. And a signal."

He takes a drink of beer and waits to see if any of those things would mean anything to Sarah.

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah actually waits to see if Craft says anything else about the radio transmission. No immediate reactions. Nothing seems to trigger an immediate response.

When it's obvious that's all Craft is about to mention, Sarah stares into her empty glass. Then into space. After a reasonable amount of thinking time, she shakes her head. "I got nothing."

 

[Marcos Medeiros]

“And we probably won’t be getting much more,” Marcos says as he eyes the front door. “This sheriff... I have a feeling that he will be making any investigations difficult.”

 

[The Dullahan]

Rourke kept quiet during all of this. He was relatively new to this world himself and he had once been in Sarah shoes. He tried to give her a reassuring smile but otherwise let the others handle...the truth is out there speech.

 

[Craft]

Craft had the entire message typed in his phone, but was hesitant to share it in such a public place. He'd find time to return to the conversation somewhere other than a bar.

He looks to Marcos and nods, "We're strangers in town, arriving just after a local dies... And that we showed interest in the radio tower."

He thinks on this a moment, then continues, "But, if the Sheriff really thought we were trouble, I'm pretty sure there'd have been more of a polite request to return to the Firs."

Most of his dealings with law enforcement since becoming aware of the paranormal had been aiding them with what they didn't have the expertise to handle. It didn't mean that he was going to hand over a business card to the Sheriff without getting a better feel for what was going on in Hemlock Falls though.

"When it comes down to it, we're here to try and help." He offers a smile to Sarah, before looking back to the other two.

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah corrects Craft, murmurs "Just before Lisbeth died." A pause, then "Or at least, before she was found." She concentrates on nothing, staring into her whiskey glass, having the most conveniently rapid reaction to the 'Everything is real' speech ever.

 

[Atrus]

As the hours pass, though, it becomes evident that neither the Sheriff nor Deputy Taliaferro will be coming soon. The sky takes a turn for the worse and the floodgates of heaven open, even though the worst of the rain and thunder seems to be avoiding the town. Reports come in via truckers and locals of the river road being flooded, and fallen trees blocking the mountain road, and -this garners an "awww" even from the most toughened road warrior- a cat being stuck in a tree. (A second report comes in later to say that the cat has been saved by town mechanic Jackie Slacum)

As terrible as a murder investigation is, unfortunately that needs to come second to the more immediate needs of the small town.
As the time passes, though, one of the men sitting at the front of the bar grows more and more restless with each new crack of thunder.
Eventually Joe leaves his place behind the bar and goes to check on his customer. "Dave. Hey, Dave. Are you here with us?"
Rather than replying, Dave suddenly bolts from his chair, sending it crashing to the floor, and shoves Joe away forcefully. Before anyone can react, the middle-aged man runs out of the main door, muttering nervously about "the booming black".

Joe gives an apologetic smile to Mat, who has helped him back to his feet. "Sorry about that. Dave has always had a touch of PTSD since his tour in Iraq. Thunderstorms remind him of firefights." He sighs. "I should go and look for him. I can't trust him to get home safely during an episode, particularly after a few drinks."

 

[Craft]

Craft watches the commotion and and looks to Joe, "Want some help finding your friend? Sounds like it's a bit of a mess out there..."

As much as Craft usually enjoyed the comfort of a warm bar with plentiful cold beer, they'd not gotten much closer to any answers waiting for the sheriff or the deputy to arrive. He was getting a little antsy just sitting around when something could be happening out at the radio tower. There could be another broadcast or... something.

He wasn't expecting an affirmative answer. He was an outsider, one that the police had requested to stay back at the bar. But he wondered what was going on out there in the thunderstorm.

 

[The Dullahan]

When the man called Dave jumped up from his seat, Rourke's eyes had immediately gone to him. Watching. He notices Joe's attempt to calm the man before he stormed out. At the mention of Iraq, Rourke tensed. Reminded of his own ghosts. Rourke took a deep breath, and stood from his chair. He was going to let a follow military man wander around in this storm. "I served." He said quietly to Joe, "I'll help." And without any other explanation or waiting for permission, Rourke pulled his jacket back on, and headed towards the door and the thundering storm outside.

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah gets up as well. "Headtorches, first aid pouches and mobile phones, people. CHARGED mobile phones. Noone goes out into an unfamiliar forest at night without, no matter how good your intentions."

Wow, she sounds .... okay, she sounds nothing like a real drill sargeant. But she does sound authoritative.

 

[Craft]

With Rourke making his way to the door, Craft realized that there wasn't going to be a lot of waiting for permission. He fishes through his bag for his compass, flashlight and a metal container of waterproof matches. He does his usual 'wallet, keys, phone' pat as he stands, ensuring those important items were present as well.

"Probably should stick together... otherwise there'll be more than one missing person."

 

[Atrus]

"That sounds wise," Joe says, "and keep the bar's phone number handy. Station's number too. Cell phones and emergency services work even more spotty than usual under this weather."
Joe pulls Sarah aside and asks if she's OK with taking lead in finding Dave, so he can stay at the Firs. He'll explain the situation to the deputy if he turns up. He also tells her that he lives in one of the barracks by the old mines, so he might be headed there. They can try and reach him cutting into the fields, or anticipate him by taking the main road.
Those who decided to follow Dave make themselves as ready as they can and go out into the rain.

Rourke, who anticipated them, is faced with the same sort of decision. Where to go to try and find Dave?

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah nods to Joe, and promises to try to keep the group together. She grabs the most essential of her own kit - including a camelpack water pouch and a small first aid it - and then covers it and herself with a hooded rain poncho.

She explains what Joe said about where Dave lives, and the fields-vs-road option, to the others. Waits for suggestions. She might be the local expert, but she's still looking a bit shaky. Long-leggity beasties ARE out there, and she's going into the night. In the rain. With strangers.

 

[Craft]

"He'd most likely be headed home, right?"

Craft offers his advice, "Shortest distance between two points is a straight line... and he looked like he was ready to bee-line it home."

He hoped that statement would help nudge the newly appointed leader of the search party into making a decision. He was feeling a bit uneasy about the whole situation, but pushed that uneasiness back down. Sure, searching for someone who was lost in a thunderstorm raised almost every red flag possible considering WHY they were in Hemlock Falls. But they couldn't sit idly by as Dave was, potentially, lost in the storm.

 

[Atrus]

Since no one else chimes in, they decide to try for the fields. The first few minutes seem to go well, and despite the rain and the reduced visibility from their hats and ponchos they're able to make some good road toward the mine barracks. About halfway through, though, a mist starts rising from the damp earth. Not only it's really hard to see where they're going, but their shoes and boots dip into the soggy ground and come back with a squelching sound. Someone almost trips over their own feet once or twice.

It's around the time where they start admitting that maybe they're headed in the wrong direction that a light appears in the mist. A red light, blurry at first, but that coalesces into the neon-red outline of a huge, irregular triangle, each side a different length, and apparently several meters away from them. Assuming it actually exists, and it's not just a trick of the light.

 

[Sarah Whittaker]

Sarah frowns when there's mist, and starts to mutter to herself. When the ground gets marshy, she looks worried. "This ... this is wrong."

The neon-red triangle of light makes her stop. She puts an arm out to stop whoever's walking beside her. "This is very wrong. There's nothing that should look like that here."