Play@YSDC

It's an early summer Sunday evening in the town of Paradise Falls, Virginia. The town itself is a friendly community of around ten thousand folks or so. It maintains a cozy feel but is close enough to the cities to possess many of the amenities of its larger brethren. The town motto is “A nice place to raise a family' and everyone here has certainly found that to be more or less true.

Here presently is the home of Rachel and Paul Parker. The Parkers are a pillar of the community. Paul works as a software developer, and Rachel is a lawyer. Both are friendly and outgoing people, and all of you like the Parkers. For various reasons they've invited you to a barbecue at their home. This is a fairly common occurrence, especially during the summer.

The Parkers have three children, all adopted. Daniella is the baby of the family, and insists on showing everyone the dance steps she has been learning in ballet class. She's a happy girl, and even those of you who dislike children don't find her too annoying. Freddie is twelve, and starting to go through the awkward years of adolescence. He greats his parents guests and then returns to his room, mumbling something about a “raid”. He won't be down until dinner. A quiet boy, he's something of an outcast but generally polite and keeps to himself.

The other Parker child is Karen. She's an active girl, popular in her own way. She's one of Catherine's best students, and has never caused any problems. Though she's usually at these dinners, presently she is out with some friends on a camping excursion. Rachel did say that she passes on her love.

Paul is presently out back cooking up burgers and hot dogs on the grill while the group of friends and family sit at a backyard table. Rachel is passing around her famous potato salad and some iced tea. She insists on letting none of you help her.

“It feels like forever since we've had a chance to catch up like this. I'm sorry about that. Things have been very hectic at work, and arranging all our schedules has been a nightmare. But it's nice to relax and be with friends and family.” She smiles. “So, how have you all been?”

Tobias walked in on crutches, placed it near a way, before awkwardly stumbling his way into the embrace of a nearby chair. He looked around at everyone gathered around and attempted a friendly smile. "Humour me,
would you? I'm sure there's a thing or two to talk about. Don't leave Rachel waiting for too long now, eh?"

He started with a slightly wheezy cough. "Well, I'll start it off for those who doesn't know me as well. I'm Tobias Jerkins, and my body's not as good as it had been back in the old days, and recently, my antique collection were thrown into the backyard shed rather ceremoniously by a certain someone. Now, I'm going to name any names; but it's Paul Parker, my son-in-law did it." He glanced at Paul Parker with mock anger in his eyes and took a swig of really strong Bourbon from an army flask.

"I've been great, Rachel," says Catherine Levesque with a smile. "As much as I love teaching, it's nice to have off for the summer."

Tobias looked at the woman with a respectful nod and a friendly smile. "Teachers truly are one of the better professions out there, inspiring the young minds of the next generation, eh? I would certainly hope your summer holiday is a successful one. Sorry about our young Freddie, I'm sure he doesn't mean to be impolite, he's just a bit...distracted sometimes by his hobbies. How is Karen doing with schoolwork? I mean, I believe you're one of the teachers that teach at Karen's school, right? My memories are a bit hazy and unreliable at times, and I never really got the chance to visit her school, so I assume it's you, right? Or is it someone else that I'm mis-remembering?" He chatted with Catherine, and drank another mouthful of bourbon coupled with warm, buttery toast.

"Yes, Karen's in my history class," says Catherine. "She's always been an excellent student, very bright. I'm sure she'll do very well in college, wherever she goes." She always enjoys talking to Tobias. She is an avid historian, and he has lived through so much of it, but that is not the only reason. She also likes his sense of humor and interesting personality.

Daniel Parker accepts his iced tea from Rachel with a smile and walks over to where his brother is grilling. "Careful there Paul,
keep those on for much longer and all we'll have to eat will be ashes," he says jokingly.

Tobias chuckled slightly at Daniel's jokes. "I'm afraid, you're gonna have to listen to your brother on this one, eh, Paul? I think it's about time you stopped grilling them." He said with mock seriousness as he looked at Paul standing in the distance.

“You can hardly blame me,” Grinning, Paul protests Tobias account. “Rach made me put all my model trains out there as well. She likes everything orderly. Still waiting to win that Good Housekeeping award.

“I make no apologies for liking to keep the house tidy.” Rachel says in response. “But I'm glad to hear Karen is doing so well. She's looking at school over in Richmond, though is also considering Georgetown.”

Paul laughs at Daniel's ribbing. “What, and give you an excuse to take me in? No thanks, little bro. I'd let you try, but I think we all remember the hamburger incident fire of '06.”

“Paul, behave.” Rachel chides gently. She seems about to say more when her phone vibrates. “Oops. It's Kim Hodge.” All three know the woman. She has a daughter named Ali who is Karen's age, and also her best friend. Presently she's one of the chaperons of the hiking trip. “I'll be right back.” She steps away and answers the phone, though all can still hear her.

“Hey Kim, how are you? Hmm? No, I haven't, why?” Her smile fades. “I'm sorry, when did you say she left?” “Oh my God.”

Paul looks up from the grill, concerned. “Honey, what's going on?”

“Yes, please do.” Rachel continues. “And give us a call if you hear anything.” She hangs up the phone and looks close to tears.

“Sweetheart, what is it?”

“That was Kim Hodge,” she explains looking at all present. “She said that Ali and Karen had a fight early this morning, and Karen said she'd be taking the bus home. That was around eight or so. It's nearly six now. It's a half hour trip, Paul.” She dials another number on her phone. “Her phone's off. She never keeps it off. Something's wrong, I can feel it.”

Now Paul looks concerned. “Let's just try and relax. Karen said she was leaving, right? Maybe she stopped somewhere.”

“She'd be home by now, Paul!” Rachel snaps. She does not truly seem angry with her husband, but close to hysteria.

Paul turns to Daniel. “Dan, can you do anything? Get some guys together, go out and check the campground?” He rubs his wife's back and is trying to hold it together, but all of you realize he looks very nervous.

OOC:   Everyone can roll idea. Success indicates that maybe it's a good idea to take a few minutes to interview the family and perhaps look through Karen's room for any ideas where she may have gone.

Tobias stood up, all trace of relaxation gone from his posture. ”I may be getting senile; I don’t recall Karen as a misbehaving child growing up. Tell me the address, if needed, I’ll take a look around the area.” He said eagerly, as he attempted to comfort Rachel. “I’m going to go upstairs to go and have a talk with Fredrick and Daniella in case they have some idea of where Karen may be.”

Idea 80%,[dice]0[/dice]

Daniel surprised and more than a little worried by this news immediately starts heading towards his car. Before leaving he says, "Paul,
you and Rachel stay here and file a report with the station. I will head to the campground and look around there." On his way to the campground, Daniel also calls someone he knows is on duty today to see if he can get some help.

"Good idea," says Catherine to Tobias. "I'll go with you."

OOC,Idea roll (65% stat) about how to find more information: [dice]0[/dice]

"Thanks for the offer, Miss Catherine. I'm sure I'll all the help I can get. Two heads is better than one." Tobias nodded appreciatively.

Paul nods at his brother's suggestion. Daniel knows there's not much the police can do so early on, but it might help to calm the Parkers down at least.

He contacts the chief of police, a fellow by the name of Earl Taylor. He's been in charge of the police in Paradise Falls for almost twenty years. Earl's sympathetic but does not know Karen personally.

“I'm sorry to hear that, Daniel. At the moment we can't do much. Sad to say that the majority of teens who run away are just hiding out at a friend's house to blow off some steam. If she's still missing tomorrow I'll see about sending a few officers out, but we're hard pressed as it is.” The town was having a budget crunch, and Earl seemed reluctant to pay more officers for overtime. “Keep in touch though, and let me know if you find anything that suggests foul play. Alternatively, you may want to poke around and determine if you can figure out if she had reason to run off so suddenly. Talk ot her friends,c heck her social media history, that sort of thing.”

***

Tobias and Catherine meanwhile trek up the stairs, where they question both of the other children. Neither seem to know much. Daniella seems a bit too young to fully grasp what's going on, and the team may not wish to press her much further unless they wanted to risk upsetting her. Frederick pauses his game long enough to express some concern, but it is quickly swallowed by tween apathy. “I'm sure she'll turn up. Karen and I don't talk much. But she and mom had a huge fight last week about curfew or something. She's probably just with a friend.”

Tobias raised an eyebrow and led Daniella outside for about before returning. "And I suppose that explains why she turned off her phone; trekked off all along; and gave no indication of anything upsetting her or a premeditated plan? Young man, I don't remember raising you to give illogical deductions. Furthermore, if she was angry with her situation, which I highly doubt, why would she choose to disappear in the afternoon? It would be more logical to run away in the morning or at night. There no notes, and she's indicated that she had planned to the bus home. I think this is a situation outside of Karen's control. We don't know enough to make a conclusion yet, so we are going to check all the leads before doing anything rash. Fredrick, go downstairs and calm your mother down before she does something too rash." A glint of vitality gradually lightened up his eyes. Something is afoot and it's placing the people he treasures in danger, which is something he can't allow.

Catherine, I hate to do this, but just in case we missed anything, I'm afraid I'll have to search her room to see if there's any notes or if there's any red flags such as online stalkers. I wouldn't reccomend you searching the room of a student, if word gets out that a teacher probed a student's room, it wouldn't look good for either of us. After all, Fred and Dani probably already have some idea of what I plan to do. I don't think they are going to be good secret keepers in the event you follow me into her room."

"It's a good idea to look through her room for her online history and diary and such," says Catherine, "but why not just ask Paul and Rachel for permission? I'm sure they'd agree, seeing as it might yield clues to their daughter's whereabouts."

Tobias stopped in his tracks and looked around sheepishly. “I suppose so. Old age is making me careless, I suppose. But I do quite believe that there’s quite a few ways to go about it. I mean, you could go and ask Paul and Rachel for permission to look around, it just that...I thought that a teacher looking around their student’s possessions, ah geez, that don’t exactly sound like a very teacher-ly thing to do. I mean, I’m their grandfather, I don’t think it’ll be too awkward around the family dinner table even if I had snooped around a little in Karen’s room. But...yeah, I’ll have a quick look around to see if there’s any obvious clues like a written note or anything as such. If we can eliminate the possibility that she merely ran off as soon as possible, then I think there’ll be more incentive for the cops to get involved in the investigation.”

Daniel, remembering that Rachel had mentioned that Karen and her friend had had a fight, will set to interviewing each member of the Hodge family individually once he arrives at the campground. He is looking for information about the fight and if this Ali girl has some idea as to where Karen might have gone that her parents might not.

Cotton,The campground is a half hour away, so to keep the timeline close I'm going to say you arrive the next time I post after this. I'll let you know specifically when.

Tobias enters Karen's room, as can Catherine if she wishes. It's obviously a teenage girl's room and looks outwardly to be that of of a happy one. The walls are painted a cheerful blue, and all the pictures on display show Karen looking rather happy. She's a pretty girl, possessing long, straight, dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She's thin but not unhealthily so, and looks a little older than she actually is. In the pictures on display she tends to dress in shorts and t-shirts, more sportswear and casual clothing than dresses and showy outfits. She has a slight tan and shining smile that makes her fit in with the popular kids. Her only physical flaw (if it can be called such) is a small red birthmark on the back of her right hand, but it's hardly noticeable and she has never received much grief for it.

As for the room itself, a few large posters of current pop stars adorn the walls, and the bookcase is lined with dark young adult fantasy novels. A discarded flyer on the dresser advertises a nearby bar called Spotlights, and offers a list of bands none of them have ever heard of.

In addition to all the other furniture there is a laptop, currently plugged in and in sleep mode. Did they wish to start by going through that, or would they prefer a more general sheep of the room and its contents?

OOC:   If you want to look around the room, give me a spot hidden to find any pertinent clues. A look through the computer requires a Library Use roll to ensure you find everything.

Catherine goes back downstairs for now to speak to Paul and Rachel. "Would it be all right if we look through Karen's room?" she asks. "There may be something in there that could tell us where she's gone."

Paul looks speaking quietly to Rachel and nods. "Absolutely, Ms.Levesque. Do whatever you can think of to help us find out where Karen went."

Tobias scanned the room generally, ignoring the boy band posters, the weird gadgets and fancy gizmos that he doesn't understand and planned to search for clues hidden in the room using the good-ol'-fashioned way. He'll probably have a look at the bar Spotlight after investigating the camp.

Spot Hidden 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

"Thank you," says Catherine. "I'll do my best." She heads back upstairs and into Karen's room. It is more important to find her than to worry whether it is appropriate for her to search the room, especially since she isn't even currently her teacher now that the school year is over. She goes over to the computer and moves the mouse to wake it up, then looks through the files and browser history.

OOC,Library Use roll (65% skill) searching the computer: [dice]0[/dice]

Cotton:

Daniel arrives at the campgrounds around 6:30. It's a small area, with a shower block and some picnic tables and chairs set up nearby. The tends of the campers are set up in a small field on the edge of the woods, and a gravel parking lot allows entry into the campground. There's only one other vehicle in the lot at the time Daniel arrives,a camper van that he estimates could seat maybe a dozen people.

Daniel spies four teens huddled around the campground (three boys and a girl) and one parent. Kim Hodge approaches, her pretty features creased with worry.

“Officer Parker, I'm glad you're here. I am so, so sorry. As soon as Ali came back and told us about the fight I sent my husband Graham out to search the woods for her, to see if she made it to the bus stop. Steve Taylor, one of the boys, went with him, and they've yet to come back. From talking to him on the phone though they haven't found anything yet.

“Again I'm so sorry. I love Karen, I hope to god she's alright.” she seems pretty close to tears.


***

Tobias finds what he sees is largely what he gets. There are no hidden diaries, no drugs stashed under the bedframe. He's nearly given up on finding anything when he opens one of Karen's books and finds a letter stashed inside. The envelope is gone, and with it the address and information, but he's able to read it.

Dear Karen,[i]I've wanted to write to you for so long. My name is Joy, and I'm your real mother. I'm sure you may have conflicted feelings about me. Perhaps you may even hate me. I don't begrudge you for it. I was unprepared to raise you, and I had to give you up for adoption only a few weeks after you were born. It was the hardest decision of my life, and not a day goes by when I don't wish I had chosen differently. I hope you are happy in Paradise Falls. I live in Geverlon. We're a small town, a few hours away. I wish that I could see you on your upcoming birthday. Oh, 18th is so exciting for a girl! I know mine was. I've so much to tell you, if you want to hear it, but unfortunately I'll be unable to see you. I'm not even sure your adopted family would allow it. They may not wish for us to meet. Enclosed is a photograph of me. A girl should know what her mother looks like. I hope you will write back, but I understand if you don't. Geverlon is such a friendly community; I wish you had been raised here. You would have loved it, I'm sure. All my love, Joy[/i]

There is no photo enclosed with the letter.

OOC:   Tobias can make a psychology roll.

***

Catherine finds little interesting in Karen's files, but she does not delete her browser history. There are several sites the girl has bookmarked. She has a blog on tumblr, but a quick glance shows it's not been updated since March. Most of the posts seem to be reblogs of various art, but a few do seem to be personal accounts of her life. It's fairly generic, and nothing here seems unusual.

The second site bookmarked is her email, but it requires a password that Catherine does not have.

Several yotuube videos are marked of a singer called Scarlet Swimmer. If the pair of investigators exchange notes, they discover this performer was featured on the Starlight Flier.

Karen also has a Facebook account,and is luckily still logged in. She's far more active on here, and a quick glance at her friends list indicates that most of them are students Catherine knows well. It may be a bit uncomfortable for the teacher to go through the private messages between her students, but she has little choice. It takes some time, but Catherine discovers that Karen was a popular girl, and frequently attending invites to events held within town, most notably at the Starlight bar. This upcoming week though she has refused all invites, and a post on one of her friend's walls she offers a cryptic explanation of expecting to be busy for a few days.

Karen seems to message a circle of four or five friends near exclusively. Ali Hodge is one of them, but Catherine also recognizes Max Jenson. If she recalls, he lives right next door. He's a sweet enough kid, if a bit awkward. It also is pretty evident in his messages that he has a thing for Karen, though she either misses this or chooses to ignore it. None of the messages to Max or Ali turn up anything too suspicious, though Karen does tell Ali in her last message that she needs to talk to her about “something, like, super important.”

The only other thing of note is a few searches for the town of Geverlon in Google Maps and the like.

Tobias reeled from shock as he struggled this new information. True, the orphanage had never disclosed the biological parents' name, but he hadn't thought much about it then. The same couldn't be said right now. His instinct is telling him that something is amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The tone of the message felt somewhat...off.

Science (Forensics) 50%,[dice]0[/dice] [ooc]I feel like it would make more sense to use Forensic Science here rather than psychology. Besides, [b]Tobias[/b] was an expert on Forensic Document Analysis, wouldn't it make more sense for his first instincts to be to check the validity of the handwriting and attempt to identify whether it was forged by a man first rather than trying to guess the intent of the writer first? :D[/ooc]

Catherine lets Tobias know what she has found and looks at the maps of Geverlon. "I have no idea what her interest in this place is," she says, "but she may have gone there. We could try guessing her email password. It could have something to do with Scarlet Swimmer."

Tobias shrugged. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, I don’t know much about these fancy computers, I barely knew how to use a satellite phone, much less be capable of offering you help in this matter, miss Catherine, but have you tried entering any combination of Karen’s birthday into it? I imagine there’s a possibility of Karen using a weak password. I think that Geverlon may be a significant location to keep in mind, she might’ve gone off to find her biological parents there, but I don’t necessarily believe that she would do this in the middle of a camping trip.”

He sighed deeply. “She should’ve told me. I mean, I would’ve certainly approved of her going off as long as she knows when to play it safe. I thought she trusted us.”

"Biological parents?" says Catherine. "I never knew she was adopted."

Tobias winced. “Well, it was long time ago, and there’s a pretty complicated story behind it. After this thing blows over, I might talk about it, but now’s probably not a good time to discuss it.”

"It's the best lead we have right now," says Catherine. "Do you know their address?" She tries Scarlet Swimmer and variations on it as the password, in the hopes that she can get into the email account.

“Unfortunately, I don’t.” Tobias said regretfully.

Tobias can discern that the writer was most likely a woman, probably middle age from the calligraphy.

There is something off about the letter though. The writing itself... Tobias can't be sure, but it seems a bit unusual, as if the letter writer was stressed in some way, or possibly disturbed. In addition, the wording seems intentionally designed to pique Karen's interest in Geverlon and her family there.

Catherine's hunch pays off, and Scarlet Swimmer opens Karen's email. Most of it seems fairly standard, but a recent correspondence with the New Hope Adoption agency catches her eye. They seem to have responded to an earlier email from Karen, and tell her that unfortunately due to the nature of her adoption, they cannot disclose the name or location of her birth family without her adopted family's permission. Checking her outbox indicates that Karen had sent the agency a request a few weeks ago and asked them to tell her if “Joy” was her birth mother.

Over many years of working as a private investigator, Tobias was almost entirely certain that this message was designed in such a way that Karen was baited there. The nature surrounding Karen’s adoption led to him to a more pressing question, how did ‘Joy’, if that’s really the woman’s name, ever manage to locate Karen without directly consulting the adoption agency? “Miss Catherine, say, how do you feel about a quick trip to Geverlon? I’ll pack a few thing and we’ll head off as soon as possible.”

He walked off, planning to pick up his Glock pistol and the emergency cash that he had stashed in his room in case things go awry. He tapped his fingers nervously over The Talisman, which he had sewn onto a cheap leather wallet filled with generic and excessively florid patterns in an attempt to disguise the true nature of the thing.

"That sounds like the logical next step," says Catherine. "We'll let Paul and Rachel know what we found and then go."

Tobias nodded in agreement and headed downstairs.

Actually, it occurs to the team of investigators that neither of them really know where Geverlon is. Thankfully Karen had been looking the town up in google maps, so they're able to easily look it up. Geverlon appears to be a small and insular community of less than 1000 people. It's based around a central road and town square, with a patchwork of small, orderly farm fields, surrounded on all sides by acres of woodland, and connected to the world outside the woods by only one road that runs to it and a river than flows nearby. Interestingly, the campsite Karen was at with her friends is only a few hours away from Geverlon. There seems to be a bus line that runs from the campsite down the route Geverlon is located on, but there's no direct path to reach the town. It's located on a side road off the main route through the woods.

Karen's parents are somewhat devastated by this update.

"I don't understand," says Rachel. "How did this 'Joy' find Karen? And where does she get off communicating with her behind our backs?"

"At least we know Karen was not abducted." Paul says.

"No, we don't know that. I don't trust this woman. What does she want with our daughter? Dad, Catherine, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you please go out to Geverlon and find Karen? These woods are very remote, and I've only heard of Geverlon in passing. I just worry about her, being on her own. Oh Karen, why didn't you talk to us..." she sobs softly.

OOC:   Do you want to stop at the campsite first and interview the people there, or will you be attempting to head straight to Geverlon?

"Of course we'll go to Geverlon to look for her," says Catherine. "We'll stop by the campsite on the way and see if anyone there knows anything about it, and we can also pick up Daniel. Having a Sheriff's Deputy along will help."

Daniel tries his best to console Kim, "Dont you worry Mrs. Hodge, you know how teenagers are she's most likely just run off to a friend's house to blow off steam. If you could though, I'd like you to call your husband and tell him and that boy to head on back here. We don't need anyone wandering around in the dark." While Kim Hodge does that Daniel will start interviewing each of the teenagers separately. He'll start with Ali, and ask her to recount the events leading up to her fight with Karen and the fight itself. He also take notes on his phone in his personal shorthand.

Tobias nodded. “Catherine’s right. In a situation like this, it is a very good idea to have a sheriff with us in case we need to help from the Law Enforcement. Besides, you can’t fear what you already know.”

He had packed up items that he plans to take along with him and, from the looks of it, it would be a good time as any to leave.

Receiving instruction seems to bring Kim out of the panic she finds herself in. Nodding, she pulls out her cell and gives her husband a call. They'll be back shortly.

Daniel approaches the teens, who introduce themselves as Max, Bill, Gordon, and Ali. He starts with Ali.

“I can't really tell you much. The boys and dad were playing football, but we got tired and went for a walk. Things were okay but then Karen, she just started accusing me of all sorts of things! She said I was flirting with other guys but she knows I've been going out with Gordon for over two years! I kinda called her a bitch, and she got mad and stormed off, saying she was taking the bus home. I was pretty pissed so I came back and told my mom, and we assumed she went home. Then my mom called the Parker's to check up on her, and we learned she never arrived.”

It's around this time Tobias and Catherine's car pulls into the campsite. It's just after seven now, and the sky is getting dark.

OOC:   You're all together once again, and can fill each other in on what you learned. Kim Hodge is around, as are four of the five teens along on the trip. Daniel is currently finishing up his interview with Ali. Speaking of Daniel, he can make a psychology roll.

Tobias hobbled out of the car. It's been a long time since he had ridden one of those things, most of places he usually needed to go to are within walking distance. He prepared to exchange information with Daniel as he looked around the campsite and tried to see if he could retrace Karen's activities around the campsite, identify if there's any additional footprints that does not belong to the camp group, and to find some more answers.

Spot hidden 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

Daniel listens to Ali's account of the fight, but doesn't gleam as much from it as he had hoped.

"Did Karen ever mention a place called Geverlon or a woman named Joy?" Catherine asks Ali when she arrives.

Tobias finds nothing out of the ordinary. The prints seem to match up to the number of people said to be here, but other than that reveal little.

HelplessBystander,Just out of curiosity, is Tobias wearing the tailsman?

Daniel can't gleam much from Ali's words, but it sounds truthful enough. The boys all tell a similar tale. They were playing football when the girls headed off into the woods. Maybe a half hour later, Ali came back, seemingly angry at Karen.

Catherine and Tobias if he wishes can quickly speak to Ali and the other kids. The pretty young girl shakes her head.

“No, I didn't hear anything like that. It was all accusing me of cheating on Gordon.”

OOC:   Both Catherine and Tobias can roll psychology to get a general feel of things.

It's around this time that a car emerges out of the woods and pulls into the campground. A man and a teenage boy get out, both look quite grave. Kim looks to her husband but he gives her a shake of the head before heading over to the investigators.

“I'm Graham Hodge, Kim's husband.” Steve and I have been looking out there for any signs of her, but there's nothing. We've been to the bus stop and there was no sign of her. Same with the gas station a few miles away. It's the closest building around these parts, and no one there has seen her.”

Steve nods in confirmation, looking rather anxious and worried.

OOC:   it’s sewn into the design of his leather wallet. One of those cheap ones filled with floral line patterns.

Psychology 60%,[dice]0[/dice]

"We have an idea of where she may have gone," Catherine says. "We're planning to head there next to see if she's there. She may in fact have taken the bus, but not home."

OOC,Psychology roll (65% skill) about [b]Ali[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

As best as the trio can tell, Ali is telling the truth.

Graham Hodge seems relieved that they have some idea where Karen went. "Thank God. Honestly, it's not even so much the fear of foul play as it is nature itself. These woods can get pretty thick. I'd hate for her to have started off and gotten injured somewhere along the way."

"We've searched the surrounding area pretty well though," pipes up Steve. "And I don't think she's here. You guys should definitely check further north. Maybe she went up that way." From the maps Catherine and Tobias had seen, Geverlon is northwest of here.

There's only one road connecting the campsite to civilization. Following it to the south, it leads along the edge of the woods before joining a four way intersection and bus station. A road here to the north leads through the woods and towards Geverlon. If Karen went to the town, she probably went this way, unless she decided to go off the beaten path and trek through the woods directly.

OOC:   Not trying to force you guys hand as it were. If you'd like to interview anyone further or do anything else before checking out the road, it's entirely possible.

Tobias plans to interview the remainder of the kids there to see if they can help reconstruct a clearer picture of what happened.

"You have a picture of Karen, right?" Catherine asks Tobias. "That way we can show it to people where we're going so we can find out if anyone's seen her."

Tobias nodded in affirmation, before handing it to her. "Here's the photo. Do you think it would be a good idea to print multiple copies of it to pass around?"

"Thanks," says Catherine. "Yes, it's a good idea, as long as it doesn't take too much time."

Tobias nodded, “Well, there’s a few stationery shops nearby, and I’m sure there’s few printers there that we use.”

OOC:   Here's Tobias most recent picture of Karen,a fairly recent one:

Karen,[img]https://s1.postimg.org/960tiaobcv/Karen.png[/img]

The other teens and Graham seem to collaborate Ali's story. With the exception of Steve, they were all playing football when they and saw her and Karen going off into the woods early that morning. Maybe a half hour later Ali returned, complaing loudly about what Karen had said.

There's no area to print copies of the pictures around, but the maps Tobias and Catherine saw pointed out a gas station about halfway down the road between here and Geverlon. There might be printers there. Or they could go back to town and try their luck there.

Tobias peered more closely at the maps. "Hmm...Maybe we could go to the gas station and make a few photocopies there. It shouldn't take long and it's basically pretty close to where we are as of now. What do you guys say?"

"All right," says Catherine. "We'll stop at the gas station."

Tobias nodded and said, "Thank you for being agreeable, madam."

Daniel will call both his brother and one of his coworkers at the station, and let them know what the plan is. He knows that his colleagues can't do much as of right now, but it never hurts to have everyone updated. Past that he will follow Tobias and Catherine's lead, but will take his own car.

Paul is appreciative of Daniel's feedback, and promises to call if they hear anything. The police as well say to keep them informed, though Daniel suspects they're doing this more to placate him and still are treating this as a runaway.

The investigators retrace their steps and quickly leave the campsite behind, going down the road until they reach the intersection along with a bus stop. The road heads further north, and as that's the road to both Geverlon and the gas station, they follow it. Only a few minutes into their drive do they spy a boarded up shack on the side of the road. A sign nearby warns the building is structurally dangerous, which it certainly looks to be, and it does not seem that anything has been in it recently. Here too there is another bus stop leading further north, with one on the other side of the road leading back the way they came.

OOC:   Let me know if anyone wants to do anything with the shack, but other than that, there's really nothing to see here but road and dense foliage.

A short way up north, the trio spy a gas station on the opposite side of the road. Attached to it is a modest garage for working on vehicles. It seems fairly modern, if somewhat rundown. But the price for gas seems reasonable for these parts. The team could certainly stop here and head inside the main station; lights are on and it seems occupied.

Tobias headed into the gas station and had look around before talking to the receptionist. "Excuse me, do you mind if we were use your printer to print a few things-or-two?"

The insides of the gas station are filled with a few rows of cheap magazines and snacks and sodas. Behind the counter sits a large, tough looking woman who looks to be in her thirties. She's wearing glasses and neat overalls, and looks up from the magazine she's reading with a scowl.

"Printer's for paying customers only."

Tobias looked at the woman with the sympathetic charming smile and took out his wallet. He figured he’d be a bit grouchy too if he was stuck working a dead-end job at a gas station with no hope of promotion. “Excuse me, miss, how much would seven photocopies cost?”

"That'll put you back fifteen." comes the reply.

The woman looks up, giving Tobias a look that makes it clear she views this as a stupid question. "Dollars."

Catherine waits in the car while Tobias talks to the attendant.

Tobias had some difficulty managing his smile. As someone who seen quite a lot in his past, he'd say that this wasn't the worst he had ever seen, but he had still felt a bit insulted to think that the woman in front of him would charge such a high price. He attempted to try and lower the prices a bit. “Fair Madame, would it be cheaper than to print this on recycled A4 paper, black-and-white, with no gloss or paper bag? I think we can do without a proper photocopy. It'll do.”

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

The woman seems uncharmed by Tobias, but she gives a small nod in acquiescence. "That'll do. Still be nice if you bought something, though."

Tobias chuckled slightly. “Sure. I’ll take a bag of chips, two bars of chocolate, and a box of cereal. Does that make you feel better, Madam?”

"Call me Cheryll. I ain't that old."

She rings up Tobias' purchase. "So why you in this neck of the woods anyway?"

"Well, Miss Cheryll, thanks for your help. I'm actually trying to find my granddaughter; I believe she had went to Geverlon." Tobias said amicably, as he paid for everything and then prepared to head for the door.

Daniel will head over to the garage and see if anyone is working in there at the moment.

"Geverlon? Kinda a sleepy town. Can't imagine what anyone would want out there. They mostly keep to themselves.

"We're on the way to the town and don't get that many customers. If she stopped in here I'd let you know, but honestly I don't remember seeing any young girls come in here alone."

OOC:   Tobias can roll psychology.

Daniel finds someone working in the garage.A heavyset man in dirty greese covered overalls is just finishing up work on a vehicle when the cop enters. He gets up and smiles at him jovially.

"Well howdy! Name's Hezekiah Smith. What can I do you for?" He looks a little bit like famed comic Drew Carey.

Picture,[img]https://s1.postimg.org/4ldq0m45vj/qr_C5_Gh.png[/img]

When Catherine sees Daniel head over to the garage, she joins him.

Tobias,Cheryll seems to be telling the truth, insofar as she has not seen Karen. But when you mention Geverlon, her left eyebrow raises ever so slightly. It could mean nothing or anything, but there seems to be something about the mention of the town that led her to react.

Seeing Catherine enter, Hezekiah's grin widens.

"Is this the missus? Pleased to meet ya. I'm Hezekiah Smith, the mechanic 'round these parts. I'd shake your hand but...." he holds his up, both of which are strained with grease.

Tobias took note of this, thanked her for her assistance, and walked back towards the car with photocopies and food.

Daniel corrects the man, "Oh no my girl is back home. I'm Daniel Parker and this is Catherine Levesque. We're actually out this way looking for my niece." Daniel shows the mechanic a picture of Karen on his phone. "Have you seen her by any chance?"

After seeing no one in the car, Tobias placed a few things in the backseat before walking off towards the garage to see if there's anyone there.

"We believe she may have gone to Geverlon," adds Catherine.

Hezekiah gives a friendly nod to Tobias, but seems concerned with the new information.

"Your niece? She uh, run away or something? I'm right sorry to hear that, I am. I go out to Geverlon on occasion, if one of them folk have car trouble or something. It's a quiet community, no trouble. No disrespect, but I don't exactly see what a pretty young thing like herwould find interesting there. It's not exactly the big city.

"But no, haven't seen her. Hope you folks find her. If nothing else though, 'fraid I gotta get back to work." He motions towards the car. "Owner's expecting it by the end of the day."

"Thanks for the help." Tobias said appreciatively at the man, as he realised that he may have walked in too late to learn of any other information.

"Yes, thank you," says Catherine, heading back to the cars with the others.

The investigators continue north. A few miles later they happen upon another two bus stops, along with a little used road that juts off west of the main route. A cracked and fading sign indicates that it leads to Geverlon.

Instantly it becomes apparent that this road lacks the care and upkeep of the main path. The team has to drive slowly, for in many instances the path is nearly overgrown with foliage and the surrounding woods. It seems unlikely it is used often. The further down it they drive, the stronger a scent becomes, even with the windows up. It is wild and musky, and none of them can quite place it. But it surely belongs to some sort of animal that marks its territory around here.

Around five minutes down the road another sign is seen. It too is faded, but can just be made out:

Welcome to Geverlon, Virginia

Where Family Still Means Something.

Less than a minute later, the town comes into sight. The woods give way to a large open space, in which the small town has been built. It appears for a moment as if the road leaves the woods, but the trees still stretch away to either side, curving around to line the horizon in each direction, with the town actually being in
the center of a large clearing. The town looks idyllic, houses largely painted white, with large front lawns facing the road. The whole place has
the appearance of perfect small town America, although it seems to be a little dated. It's on this street leading into town that the the first non residential identifiable building is spotted. The sign reads Althea's Diner, and it seems to be just that. Further down the path seems to be the Main street of the town. It's a good bet City Hall would be there, if Geverlon did in fact have one. Other roads branch off to the east and west, leading to more residents and from them to farmland.

OOC:   What would the investigators like to do first? Explore the town further, head to City Hall, stop at the diner? It's around dusk now and rapidly turning towards pitch black. Even if you all wanted to, getting back out of the town the way you just came would be tricky until the light of morning.

"Maybe we should stop at the diner and ask around about Karen and Joy," suggests Catherine. "Supper wouldn't be bad either."

Daniel follows his companions lead and turns into the dinner. He'll go ahead and head inside to look around for Karen.

Tobias followed suit.

The diner is charmingly old fashioned, with 70's decor and a jukebox blaring classics in the corner. There are about a dozen booths lined up against the wall here, but only around three are occupied. The one nearest the entrance is home to six teenagers, four girls and two boys, all of whom look up as the newcomers enter. Daniel notices he gets more than one whisper and some giggling from the females. None of the girls are Karen, unfortunately. The other two booths are occupied by older pairs. They too look up, their gazes curious but not hostile.

Two pretty college aged girls are manning the counter. One of them, hair in a bun and dressed in an only slightly dirty waitress uniform, smiles at the new group and reaches for the menu.

"Well hi there! What can I get ya folks?"

"Hi," says Catherine. "We'd like some dinner, please, with a side order of information." She shows the girl a picture of Karen. "This is Karen Parker, and she's missing. We believe she may have come to Geverlon."

The girl leans in close, getting a good look at the picture. "'Fraid I ain't seen her. Hey Abbie, you seen this girl?"

The other waitress also inspects the picture, pausing only briefly in chewing her gum. ""Nope. I'll check with Althie though, maybe she has." She disappears into the back of the restaurant,while the other girl leads the three tourists to a booth and hands out menus. "Just give a yell when you pick something." The food itself is typical diner fair, only interesting in that it's really cheap.

The other thing of interest is that the rest of the diners are still checking out the newcomers, trying but failing to be subtle. It seems likely that Geverlon does not get many visitors.

One of the girls catches Daniel's eye. She looks to be in her mid teens, 16 or so at most. "YYou're looking for a girl? Will I do?" Her friends giggle.

OOC:   Everyone can make a psychology roll.

Before it can go much further, the door to the kitchen opens, and a plump matron emerges. Seeing the giggling girls, she shots them a stern look that silences them before making her way to the trio's table. Even though it's in the heat of summer, she's dressed in a long sweater that shows off very little flesh. Her expression is presently guarded.

"Well howdy folks, welcome to Althie's. Heard you're looking for a girl?" If offered, she looks at the picture before shaking her head. "Never seen her, I'm afraid."

"Also, she may or may be accompanied by a middle-aged woman who shares an uncanny resemblance with her. The woman, I believe, goes by the name Joy and are a member of the town." Tobias added, looking with a strained smile. The events of the last few hours are a bit...taxing to say the least.

Psychology 60%,[dice]0[/dice]

Tobias,Maybe it is just because Tobias was raised in a different era, but the girl seemed rather forceful in her flirting. This is not playful; She seems to honestly be attempting to seduce Daniel, and it's a bit unnerving to see. What's more, the other girls seem to be similarly interested. The boys though are averting their eyes and seemingly wanting no part in the matter. Something about that strikes him as strange, and somewhat unfitting with what he knows about teenagers.

"Joy?" Althie's eyes widen in surprise. "Yeah, I know her. But she's a bit of a spinster. Doesn't have a car either. Still, you folks need her address?" She grabs a napkin and begins to draw a picture. "Here,I can tell y'all are new to town so I'll go head and draw you a map."

Geverlon,[img]https://s33.postimg.org/w4r1kt8b3/415x_Jd.jpg[/img]

"Aside from Joy, you might want to check with the sheriff in the morning. My cousin works there. If there's any hint of trouble in town, they'd have heard about it. 'Course, I hope you folks will stay for supper first."

"Sure, absolutely no worries. We would go and have a little chat with Joy tomorrow morning." Tobias said, and stared coldly at the teens. Blocking the way between Daniel and the teens slightly. Meaning to make sure these young women knew when to back off.

"Thank you," says Catherine, perusing the menu while she surveys the people with more subtlety than they display.

OOC,Psychology roll (65% skill) about the people in the diner: [dice]0[/dice]

Upon hearing that no one in the diner has seen Karen, Daniel turns his attention to the menu in his hand. He hadn't realized before now how hungry he was, what with skipping out on the barbecue and all.

Tobias finds the girls undeterred. Their stares are nearly predatory, but Althie's chastisement seems to keep them in line, and they gradually go back to their own dinner, only occasionally shooting looks Daniel's way.

"Speaking of, you folks have any accommodations set up for the night? Geverlon doesn't have a motel or anything of that sort. We don't get too many outside visitors. Tell you what though, You folks enjoy the meal, and I'll arrange for y'all to spend the night at Father Allberry's house. He puts travelers up now and again, and should have room for all of you." Althie waits to see if this is acceptable. Assuming it is, she goes off to make a call. A short time later one of the girls brings the investigator's orders out. It's typical dinner fare, though the produce is of exceptional quality. If asked, the waitress gives the credit to the local farms in Geverlon.

Tobias nodded agreeably. Deciding that this choice of accommodations is fine with him. However, he did wonder why there's a lack of motel, though. It is extremely unusual to see a town in the 21st century to be without a motel or any temporary lodging. Through experience and a sixth sense he had honed over time, he could tell that something is going on in this town that isn't quite right.

"Thank you, that would be great," says Catherine in response to Althie's offer. She is glad she ordered the steak, as it both tastes wonderful and is affordable.

After a nice and leisurely meal (Alfie insists on everyone trying her 'world famous' pie. And if it's not, it should be.) The trio leave and head a few blocks to Father Allberry's home. It's an unremarkable home in a street full of them. A statue of Mary sits in the yard, the figure looking radiant. A mat on the front door welcomes visitors to the home.

As soon as one of the investigators knocks, the door opens almost immediately, and a man pokes his head out. He's dressed in a priest's flock and has wispy grey hair,a long beard, and a wide grin that seems to light up his elderly face.

"Hello there. I assume you're the newcomers to town? I'm Father Allberry. It's good to meet you." He shakes each of your hands in turn.

OOC:   Tobias only can make a 1d100 roll. Everyone can make a hard spot hidden roll at half.

"Now, come on in. I'll make you some coffee and you can tell me about this girl you're looking for. I'm not sure I can be of service, but my faith dictates I provide shelter for travelers."

Tobias knocked on the door and saw the man. Not quite sure whether the guy was older or younger than him. He wondered how the man heard that they were looking for a girl so quickly.

OOC:   [dice]0[/dice]

"Thank you, Father," says Catherine. "It's kind of you to take us in on such short notice."

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (60 / 2 = 30% skill) outside the house: [dice]0[/dice]

"No trouble, my dear." Allberry responds. Tobias thinks he's younger than him, perhaps in his late seventies. "Now come in. Please, make yourselves at home."

Catherine,Catherine noticed that upon touching Tobias, The Father's grin strained slightly and he quickly ended his contact with the older man.With the other investigators, he had lingered for longer.

The home is small, but cozy more than cramped. Father Allberry leads the trio into a sitting room and quickly returns with drinks. He hands a cup of hot coffee to each, but does not seem insitant that they drink. He settles down into a chair himself, looking as though the movement pains him.

"Now, Althie told me you're all looking for a young lady? Would you care to describe her further?" He listens intently to any description the investigators give, taking a sip from his cup from time to time.

OOC:   I assume you tell him everything, let me know if you want to omit any details

"Interesting, though I'm afraid I can't be of much help. I haven't seen this Karen. I do know Joy in passing. Henderson, I believe her surname is. But honestly I can't remember the last time she left Geverlon. She likes to keep to herself, you understand. She's never mentioned a daughter during ah, confession, either. I'd ring her up, but it is rather late. but if you'd all like to visit her tomorrow I'd be happy to accompany you. Serve as a bit of an intermediary." Though his tone is serious, he continues to smile reassuringly.

"Here's a picture of Karen," says Catherine, showing him one of the pictures they had printed. "What can you tell us about Joy Henderson, and about Geverlon?"

Father Allberry takes the picture and examines it carefully.

"She's a very pretty girl. It would be a shame if harm had befallen her, but I promise you that nothing would have happened to her in Geverlon.The townsfolk are a peaceful stock."

"Joy Henderson has like most of us lived here her entire life. She was married once, briefly, but her husband passed sometime ago. She rarely gets out. She's friendly enough, mind, but not much interested in company.

"As for Geverlon? Oh, we've been here since before America! The town was established in 1760, by explorers who happened upon the area and a local Indian tribe. Unlike most such encounters in the area, the two groups managed to integrate and the town quickly grew into a small, peaceful village. We've never been a metropolis, understand; presently we harbor about 800 souls. But we're a nice, friendly little community who haven't forgotten the importance of hard work and family.

"The name Geverlon actually derives from the natives that inhabited the area. It means Tree Of Life, or Iron Wood, depending on whom you ask."

The Father finishes his coffee. "If you have any more questions I am of course all ears. If not however, I'll show you to your accommodations."

“Interesting. This...I’ll see whether any of these information become relevant. Thank you for your help. Please, do show us our accomodations.” Tobias fingered his gun, eyeing the man suspiciously. Something about him—no, the whole town doesn’t seem right. They are all acting too unnaturally. It’s almost as if their actions were...anticipated by the townsfolk. Something is very wrong.

OOC:   If you have any further questions do feel free to ask, but I'll move us on.

"Please, follow me." Father Goodberry leads the investigators down the hallway. Two rooms are across from one another here. He turns to the group with an apologetic look upon his face. "You'll have to sleep in separate rooms, I'm afraid. They each only have two beds."

He opens the first door. The bedroom is largely unremarkable, if a bit small. Two beds are here however, along with closet space and a dresser.

"I think the gentleman should sleep in here. Madame, you can sleep in the other room. Normally it is my own, but I have business to attend to and will just stay in my study tonight. You are our guests, after all. "He continues to smile. "The bathroom is just down the hall. Goodnight to you all. And try not to worry; it's all under control." He heads back into the living room and leaves the three of you to settle in.

OOC:   Everyone can give me a spot hidden roll as you examine the bedrooms.

If Passed,The rooms are not only dated, dust has accumulated on much of the furniture throughout the house as well, suggesting it sees little use. In addition, despite being a priest's home there's no religious icons anywhere that any of you can see.

Spot Hidden 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

For a devoutly religious person, it is unusual for them to not have religious symbols or statues in the guests' room. Many religions advocate hospitality, and no guardian statues or scriptures seemed...odd. No statues of Jesus Christ nor signs of a bible or any indication of religious beliefs. Tobias believes that unless they have something to hide, there should be some sort of religious symbolisms in the guest room.

Geverlon...Tree of Life...all of it sounds awfully Pagan. There may be a root of nature worship behind the history of the town. Unusual backstory there.

He checks the closest and everywhere else. Attempting to find any out of the ordinary. If worst comes to worst, he'll have a look around by pretending to go to the toilet. "Quick question, am I correct in assuming that we are resting in the house of the Lord?"

The unusual lack of religious symbols are concerning, but there are no signs of anything Tobias can recognize as belonging to the occult or even darker things he had stumbled upon throughout his life.

He encounters Father Allberry in his study, and poses the question to him. The man chuckles. "One could say everywhere belongs to the Lord, don't you think? But yes, I am a priest. Overt religious symbols may make some folks uncomfortable, and I have no wish to do so. But if you or your friends would like me to proselytize..." his grin widens. "However, I imagine your search for this Karen will take precedence at the moment. So please, don't let me keep you. Get some rest and we can visit Joy in the morning."

Daniel notices the lack of religious iconography, the dust on the furniture, and Tobias' nervousness. Once they're both alone in their room he says, "Do you think there's something about Karen that the Father isn't telling us? I can't put my finger on it exactly, but something seems off about this town."

"Yeah, I think so too." Tobias muttered uncertainly.

The next morning comes after perhaps uneasy sleep for our investigators. But they all rise, still in one piece.

Father Allberry offers a simple breakfast. It is nowhere near as good as the diner.

"So, I imagine you would like to start by interviewing Joy. I'd be happy to accompany you. She can be rather shy with outsiders. I think having me around would encourage her to be more talkative."

It would seem the investigators now had a choice. Did theywant the Father to accompany them, or did they instead want to try and confront Joy alone?

Tobias do not trust the priest. He would much rather do the interview without the priest shadowing their every move.

Daniel is certain he'll be able to handle the interview without the odd priest's help.

Catherine is also suspicious of the priest, particularly from the lack of use of what he said was his own room, and she would prefer that the three of them interview Joy without him.

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (60% skill) in the bedroom: [dice]0[/dice]

Father Allberry is kindly informed his presence is not required. He takes this news as well as anything else, and continues to grin.

"Ah, well fair enough. I may just get in the way. Well then; good hunting." He lets them leave without another word.

Joy's home is another modest structure on another street filled with more or less identical homes. The front is painted white and she has a beautiful flower garden that is flourishing on the patio just outside her home.

A knock on the door soon has it open, and a woman answers. She is mousy, looking rather quiet and unassuming. If this is Joy, she looks little like Karen in either appearance or personality.

Picture,[img]https://snag.gy/TSIO2L.jpg[/img]

"Yes?" The woman says, her voice quiet and carrying with it a soft southern twang. "Can I help you?"

OOC:   Anyone making a psychology roll can tell the woman's nervous, especially of Tobias and Daniel. Her eyes seem to focus on them more than Catherine.

"Good morning," says Catheine. "Are you Joy Henderson?"

OOC,Psychology roll (65% skill) about the woman: [dice]0[/dice]

The woman seems to relax ever so slightly when Catherine is the first to speak, but she still seems cautious.

"Yes I am. May I help you?" She keeps the door only half open and does not extend an invitation.

Psychology 60%,[dice]0[/dice]

Tobias grimaced as he observed the change in Joy's expression. She knew about them. Something's definitely going on. She's not supposed to know anything about them. Disguising his expression, he feigned politeness, "Bonjour, Madame. I am here to enquire after my granddaughter, I am of the understanding that you're her biological mother, no? She had ran away from home recently. Va savoir pourquoi !"

He threw his hands up in the air as he said so in resignation.

"Oh. I see." Reluctantly, Joy opens the door and motions. "Please, come in."

She leads the group to a table in the kitchen and offers them all a seat.

"You said that Karen ran away? She's not here. I hope she's alright," she asks with concern.

OOC:   I won't even make you roll. Her reaction shifts from resignation to your visit to concern very quickly. It's too early in the conversation to tell if she's trying to mislead you all, however. You'll need to ask some more questions and then roll psychology to see to that.

"So do we," says Catherine. "We were hoping that she'd come here. If she hasn't, that makes me worried. When was the last time you had contact with her?"

"I sent her a letter about a month ago. I've been looking to get in touch with her for some time, and the adoption agency gave me her information. We exchanged a few letters back and forth. She mentioned she'd be visiting me soon. I assumed this would be after her 18th birthday, but that's not for a few weeks yet. I do hate to think she got lost on her way here." Joy looks upset. "The woods around here are vast and difficult for folks unaccustomed to them to navigate. If she tried to make it on foot I fear she may have lost her way."

"If you truly do think she's lost, I suggest contacting the sheriff and letting her start a search. I'd offer to help look for her but i don't go into the woods. The other side of Owle Creek, just north of town, that's where my husband died. Car accident, just a few months after we got married. I was left to raise Karen alone. You understand why I had to give her up. But I've never stopped thinking about her. Not one single day. I wanted to bring her home."

OOC:   Psychology rolls tell you Joy does not seem all that saddened by Karen going missing. She doesn't seem particularly happy about it either, but there's no real emotion to her words. Also, there's one other thing she let slip here that may raise some questions. If you can't remember feel free to roll idea.

"Well, that's strange, I thought the adoption agency don't disclose information like this without the consent of both parties. Furthermore, I'm sure they would've contacted me in a situation like as well." Tobias said, raising an eyebrow. "Ms. Henderson, I don't suppose you would mind elaborating a bit more on the situation surrounding how you knew about Karen, now, would you?"

IDEA 80,[dice]0[/dice]

"Yes, how did you get her information from the adoption agency?" asks Catherine. "I wouldn't think they could just give that out, especially as she isn't eighteen yet."

OOC,Psychology roll (65% skill) about [b]Joy[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Idea roll (65% stat) about what [b]Joy[/b] said: [dice]1[/dice]

Indeed, both Tobias and Catherine recall the email from the adoption agency to Karen specifically said they could not give out any information about her birth mother, or indeed, give any information to them about her. Of course that was standard procedure. There's a possibility someone within the agency could have given the records over without permission, but it would be very illegal and surely heavily frowned upon.

Joy's expression narrows, and a flash of something like annoyance crosses her face upon being questioned. "I don't know what more you want from me. I spoke to a woman at the agency and she was sympathetic. She understood a mother's desire to be with her child. She gave me Karen's address and that was how I contacted her, though yes, she did encourage me to keep things quiet."

"I really wish I could help more than that, but I can't. You're welcome to search the house or interview my neighbors; but she's not here."

"Thank you, we would like to take a look around," says Catherine.

Joy tuts disapprovingly but motions for them to do so.

It's a small home, quiet and unremarkable. Joy seems to like romance novels and knitting. There's only one bedroom, and bed in it. The few closets are packed with what look like homemade doodads, suggesting a tendency to hoarding but nothing otherwise incriminating. Unless there's a secret passage, Karen's not here.

Joy does have some pictures up, but they're always only of her or an older woman who looks to be her mother. Neither baby Karen nor her late husband are pictured at all.

After they've searched the house to their satisfaction, Joy speaks again. "If you're satisfied now, I really would prefer you leave. I don't wish to be rude, but I'd really rather be alone. I am worried sick about Karen however. Please contact the sheriff and let her handle things. If Karen's around here, she'll find her." If nothing else, she shows the trio to the door.

"Actually, Ms. Henderson, do you mind allowing a few moments of your time to answer a few more of my questions?" Tobias said with as much politeness as he could muster. "Who are your neighbours, do you mind describing the type of people you associate with in the town? That would be appreciated. Furthermore, where were you and what were you doing during the morning around 7~8 am on Sunday? Do you know the sheriff of this town personally? I would appreciate it if you answer these pointless little questions that an old man like me has."

Joy looks very angry, and like she's about to snap, but something in Tobias grandfatherly concern seems to touch her. Still annoyed, she nonetheless cooperates.

"Everyone on this street can attest to me, and you're more than welcome to ask them questions. At that time I was home. Believe me, if I left the house people would notice. It's not exactly common.

"The sheriff? Yes, I know of her. It's a small town, sir. I know everyone. We're not close, if that's what you're asking. She's a little younger than me and we've never much interacted socially."

Her look softens, and she sighs. "Look, all of you seem like nice enough people, and I understand your concern. But Karen's not here. If she turns up, I'll give y'all a call. But here's something to consider. If Karen decided to run away, she clearly must have been unhappy in her home life. I don't mean to make any insinuations, I'm sure her adopted family did as well as they could. But sometimes a girl craves knowing where she came from. If y'all love Karen as much as you seem to, maybe you should respect that."

"By all means do whatever you think is best, but personally I advice you folks to leave Geverlon. There's nothing for you here." If there's nothing else, she shows everyone to the door.

OOC:   Two things. First, any of you can feel free to roll psychology any time you wish to try and confirm if someone's telling you the truth. I'll save you the time and tell you Joy seems sincere with everything she's just said. Secondly, everyone can roll idea. Success indicates that none of you have received calls from people who you'd expected to have, such as Karen's parents or the police.

IDEA 80,[dice]0[/dice] [ooc]Can I spend one point of luck to make that an extreme success? :D[/ooc]

Tobias realised something. He found a deeper connection.

Daniel is angered by the woman's suggestion that Karen would run away because she was unhappy at home, and is about to say so but stops when he realizes that no one has called to check in.

"Shouldn't we have gotten some calls by now?" asks Catherine, taking out her smartphone and checking for a signal. "I wonder if there's even cell service out here."

OOC,Idea roll (65% stat) about the phones: [dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   That's a good enough roll for Tobias and Catherine that I can give you guys more, and will when it becomes noticeable.

Indeed,a quick check of the phones indicates that there is absolutely no signal. This is rather unusual. Even though Geverlon is rather isolated, it's maybe an hour away from larger metropolitan areas. It could be the forest that surrounds the town is interfering with the signal. Or there could be a something blocking cell signals from getting out of the town. But that too would be highly unusual. Not to mention rather concerning. Why would a town want to keep its contact with the outside world limited?

The team should be able to make it back to Paradise Falls and reconnect with friends, families, and colleagues, and that seems to be what Joy wants them to do. But Karen is still missing.

Tobias realised that there's something deeply wrong here in this town. First, with the suspicious actions of the residents, intentionally misleading explanations, and now, it is discovered that Geverlon doesn't even have working cell service. With one possible reason be the forests around town interfering with the signal. He worries about his family, but he knew through his gut instincts that Karen is in this town. "Something unusual is going on. Let's interview the neighbours and get to the bottom of the truth as quickly as possible."

"All right," says Catherine, "but at some point we're going to have to get far enough away from here to call Paradise Falls. Otherwise, they may send out a search party to find us."

The investigators spend an hour or so visiting Joy's neighbors. Most of these folks seem hesitant to speak to outsider,s but they seem more receptive to Catherine then the others. All express sympathy for Karen's disappearance, but claim to know nothing about it. And many of them vouch for Joy's location.

There are a few things that stand out to Catherine and Tobias. First, most of the neighbors seem to be single women. The few men they meet are likewise not married. Not a single person they have encountered so far has been married. In a small town like Geverlon that seems rather unusual. And while there are children around they do seem to disproportionately favor girls. Maybe 8 of the 10 kids they see are girls, all of whom are being raised by a single mother. Asking questions about these children's fathers get a dismissive answer. They died sometime back, though most are evasive as to exactly when.

Secondly, the answers the residents of Geverlon give are somewhat uniform. All suggest asking the sheriff for help, and letting her handle it.It's almost like they're reading from a script. Pressing any further gets nervous looks and vague responses, and they are quickly asked to leave.

Finally, Catherine and Tobias have noticed something perplexing. A few of the residents they've spoken to have the same exact red birthmark on the back of their right hands as Karen does. While they can't of course examine everyone in town, everyone, man, woman, or child, who they've been able to see has had the birthmark in the exact same place. It should be nearly impossible. And none of the investigators can escape the feeling that there is something very unusual about this town.

Tobias especially feels this. Maybe it's his old adventures, but something about Geverlon seems related to that which he was once on the active lines of fighting.

OOC:   Everyone can make a san roll 0f 0/1 due to these recent developments. The town for all its small town charm is not normal, and it is becoming increasingly disturbing. The question becomes, what's your next course of action. As a reminder, here's a map of the town and surroundings

"There's definitely something hinky about this place," says Catherine. "There are just so many things that are off about it. Why are there so few men? Joy clearly doesn't trust men. Even the priest reacted weirdly to Tobias. I think we should head back part of the way until we can get a cell signal and then call the Parkers and fill them in on what we've found so far before we dig deeper."

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 65) about Geverlon: [dice]0[/dice]

There's something about this town that gives Daniel an uneasy feeling. "Yeah that's probably for the best. Maybe I can talk to my coworkers and get some help looking for Karen."

Tobias agrees. Something about this place exudes an aura of activity that he had seen before. It reminded him of the Swamp. He shivered relentlessly.

SAN 76,[dice]0[/dice] SAN LOST: 1 REMAINING SAN: 75

OOC:   You're all doing what characters in horror media never do. I'm impressed.

The plan made, the team prepares to leave Geverlon. But before they make it to their car, another vehicle turns down the street. Stopping in front of them, the driver gets out. He's a dark haired and boyishly handsome man in his early 30's, and wears a police uniform that says DEPUTY on it. He smiles disarmingly at the three visitors.

"Howdy folks. I'm deputy Alex Steel. I know what you're thinkin, but I swear that's my real name, ha ha. I've gotten ribbin's for it my whole life." He chuckles.

"We've gotten some concerned calls from locals about y'all. Geverlon is a pretty quiet place,and three tourists just showin up and askin questions... well it causes some folks to feel uneasy. So beggin your pardin, but the sheriff would like y'all to swing on by and elaborate a little more about what you're lookin for here. Put everyone's minds to rest, you know how it is." He looks at them, pleasant but expecting them to comply.

Alex Steel,[img]https://s33.postimg.org/97768eg8f/INmcq_X.png[/img]

At this point, Tobias believes that they should do the opposite of the townsfolk is telling them to do. He has never seen a town filled with people so eager for them to go to the sheriff.

He made a smile, and said, "I'm an old man, I suppose it's bad for my health to be going too far at any given moment. Do you mind if I talk with someone else instead? I don't believe this proper police procedure here, Monsieur."

Fast talk 65,[dice]0[/dice]

Alex considers. "Well if that's the case I suppose you could give me a statement and we could sort this out down at Alfie's. I haven't had lunch yet."

"That sounds like an appropriate arrangement, mon ami. Let's go." Tobias nodded amicably.

Presuming the others agree, Alex leads them to Alfie's. There's a few other folks in the restaurant, but overall it's still more empty than not. They share lunch as Alex listens as the three visitors to Geverlon tell him exactly why they are in town.

OOC:   We don't need to go through the entire story, but I'd like a brief summary. Are you guys planning to be mostly honest with him, or are you looking to maybe try and mislead him at all, either about your reasons for being in town or your growing suspicions about the people of Geverlon?

"My granddaughter, Karen Parker, went missing at around 8~9am yesterday. We believe she may be in Geverlon and suspects foul play. Thus far, the proper authorities proposed for us to perform an investigation independent of them as there's not enough time for them to assess the situation and due to the unfortunate lack of evidence." Tobias said, giving a brief summary of the events. He did not reveal Karen's relationship with Joy nor did he allude to his now growing mistrust of the town. "Have you had any reports of a young woman around 18, about 5'7" with brown hair and plain features? She's wearing plain clothing and hiking wear. Has there been any reports concerning her at all? Curiously enquiring, of course."

Catherine shows the deputy a picture of Karen and backs up what Tobias is saying, also keeping her suspicions about Geverlon to herself.

Alex takes copious notes, at least attempting to appear interested. After everyone gives their statement, he looks up and smiles.

"Thanks everyone. I'll take this to the sheriff. I can tell you we've not gotten any reports of a missing girl around here, and Geverlon is small enough we would have if someone spotted her. Now, what we can do is limited, given she ain't been reported missing. But we'll form a search party and search the woods and surrounding areas. If she came here on foot she may have gotten lost. Path can be tricky."

"As for you folks, I'm afraid it's 'bout time for you to leave. We've received some complaints. Now, I know you're scared and anxious, but I think it would be best if y'all went home and let the professionals handle this. We'll call your sheriff in a few days if we've learned anything about this Karen, and keep y'all fully abreast. But we can all do our jobs a lot easier if we don't have to worry about watching out for the three of you. The woods around here can be pretty dangerous, and if y'all went nosing around you might just end up as lost as Karen. And none of us went that."

"Just let us handle things. go back home, tell everyone we've got things under control."

OOC:   Everyone can make a psychology roll.

Psychology,The deputy slipped a threat in there while speaking to you, but did so in a deniable way. Still, it's clear he's insinuating bad things will happen if you don't leave town immediately. His expression briefly grew steely as he delivered this news. Based on this knowledge, it seems reasonably certain that any search conducted for Karen will be rather limited. Alex seems to want to do enough to reassure outsiders and get them to drop the matter.

Psychology 60,[dice]0[/dice]

Tobias didn't notice the threat and didn't care. He smiled amicably and nodded, he plans stay and investigate this town. He turned to Catherine and Daniel for a second and said, "Let's buy some supplies and stay here for a bit longer."

"I think we'd better do as he says," replies Catherine. At least for now, she thinks.

OOC,Psychology roll (65% skill) about [b]Alex Steel[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

"There's a general store not far down from Althea's diner. There's a few supplies like water, food, a compass, and other miscellaneous items that I'm sure we could. After all, wether you like it or not, we are here to stay and find Karen" Tobias is old, and his stubbornness had only gotten worse with age.

Daniel still isn't keen on staying here. "Now Tobias I think we should at least drive out of town to update everyone else on the situation, and then we can figure out what to do from there."

"Let's do that first, and we'll talk about to do next afterwards." Tobias conceded.

Alex seems happy with the decision they've reached. "I knew you folks would understand. Just leave this to us, you hear. We'll find your Karen if she's within Geverlon or its vicinity. Y'all just go back home and let the professionals handle it." He even pays for the meal. "Safe travels, now!"

Afterwards the team finds themselves expected to leave town, no closer to finding Karen. But the deputy had promised to look into it. For some reason however, that brings the investigators little in the way of comfort.

OOC:   So, back home? If so you reach there unmolested. What are you all planning to do? I presume Tobias and maybe Catherine want to talk with the Parkers, and Daniel to the police? There's also the possibility of doing some research on Geverlon, be it online or at the library.

Tobias had already decided with Catherine and Daniel beforehand to drive out of town and update their family and friends on the situation first via mobile phone. He also intends to do some research over the internet on Geverlon, as he had decided that going to a library is going to waste an unnecessarily long time when every second could be vital to finding Karen.

"Miss Catherine, how do I turn on...Google?" He said uncertainly, squinting at the screen.

Library Use 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

"My smartphone's an Android," says Catherine, taking it out, "so Google is the home page by default." She looks online to see what she can find out about Geverlon.

OOC,Library Use roll (65% skill) researching Geverlon: [dice]0[/dice]

"Bah. These newfangled devices. Dunno how to use 'em. may be I should attend one of those IT classes Karen had said I should go to." Tobias grumbled, trying to find some useful information on the internet.

Tobias and Catherine do find some information on Geverlon. The town lacks even a website, but there are a few historical and governmental sites that discuss it. Most of them more or less offer the same story Father Allberry had given, though a few do note that the town is unusually isolated even today. Oddly, Alfie's dinner has a few Yelp reviews. It's given 4 stars. The three reviews all praise the food, but the lowest rated review admitted that the town gave him the creeps, and he left soon after the meal. Even one of the others confessed that the town was a "little weird, had had little else to recommend it."

But digging deeper will take time. There may be more information to find. Being a history teacher, Catherine has a subscription to the local paper. The Paradise Falls Gazette Has been published since early America, and their archives are entirely available online. But going through them will take at least a few hours, and someone would have to commit to browsing the archives to see if anything interesting turns up. And they'd probably want to head back to town, if only for comfort and convenience.

The Parkers meanwhile are relieved to hear from the investigators. Having grown worried. They are understandably upset that Karen is still missing, but do have some information to report. Kim Hodge had found Karen's phone in her tent, left behind when she went missing. After some badgering of her daughter she found the password for Karen's phone and went through her last few texts. The last one she received was after she went missing, sent by Ali who asked if "she had made it to Geverlon yet." After a brief amount of questioning, Ali broke down and reported that Karen had been planning to use the camping trip to sneak off to Geverlon for some time now. She had not expected Karen to leave her phone behind, and honestly thinks it's a mistake. Still, Ali now seems as worried as everyone else and committed to helping bring her home. She reports that Karen went off to the bus stop and said she was taking the bus as close to Geverlon as she could, and she'd walk the rest of the way.

The investigators have taken the path from the bus stop to Geverlon. It's very narrow and covered on both sides by the heavy forest that envelopes the town. It would be a difficult path to walk. But as long as Karen stayed on the path she should have been alright.

Tobias looked to see if he could find anything of note.

"I could look through the online archives of The Paradise Falls Gazette to see what else I can find out about Geverlon and its history," says Catherine, "but that would take time. Still, we might not want to go directly back there after being driven out of town, especially when there's so much we don't know."

"Agreed. But what do you propose to be our next course action then?" Tobias asked.

"Well, that depends on what we learn," says Catherine, "but sooner or later we'll have to return to Geverlon and be more subtle about it."

Daniel says, "I don't mind pitching in with going through those papers. I'm not really sure what else we could do besides that and just starting to comb the forest. And I'm not sure I really want to be out in the woods if those people from that town are also out in them."

So it is that the investigators return home, still determined to discover Karen's whereabouts. The Parker's are more than happy to let them use their home, and very soon reliable internet access is found.

It's tedious work, going through 300 years of history, but given how close to town it is, Geverlon is mentioned surprisingly little. The town founding and early history seems to match up, but there are one or two reports of "UnChristian" activity taking place in the town starting in the later 18th century. In 1795 a militia entered the town and expelled the "demonic elements", whatever that means. The next few mentions of the town are not until nearly a decade later, and it's only mentioned as an afterthought in the article. No further mentions of demonic taint or even dark rumors are found.

There's really not much here for awhile after that. Geverlon is mentioned now and then, largely during historical events. It sends its sons off to war and was a backer of the Temperance and Suffragist movements. But nothing all that useful. A few mentions are made of the odd gender discrepancy that must have occurred even back then, but this is explained by the war taking an awful toll on the men folk. Strangely, this same excuse is used after almost every war.

Coming into the 20th century, one thing does stick out. People seem to go missing around Geverlon and the woods that surround it. These reports are centered around the area where the gas station now sits and move further north even past town, centering on the lone road that leads to the northern highway. It's never very many, but a few people seem to without fail go missing around that town every decade. None of them are from Geverlon originally, and in fact many of them were not even heading to the town, but traveling along the roads at night. Geverlon never seems to be suspected, and indeed generally positive reports are made that the townsfolk mounted a search for the missing. But they are almost never found.

These reports continue up to the present millennium.

One story from 1999 seems especially interesting, in that it's different from what the investigators have come to expect. A married couple named Rachel and Jeff Durham reported their college aged daughter Beth missing. Beth was a Feminist Literature student at Paradise Falls University and was visiting Geverlon to trace its maternal history and strong tradition of female activism. After a week without hearing from her, The Durhams claimed they drove down to Geverlon themselves to look for their daughter, only to be stonewalled and given the run around. They then went to the Gazette and told her story, pleading with folks to help bring Beth home. When contacted by the paper, Geverlon officials expressed sympathy but reported that no sign of Beth had been found within their town, but a search was underway.

There is a phone number and address for the Durhams. They lived only a few blocks away, though given how many years have passed it's tough to say if they're even still alive.

"I think we should call the Durhams' number," says Catherine. "If they're still around, we need to talk to them."

The number still works, and after a few rings a woman answers the phone.

"Hello?" Her tone is pleasant enough.

If the investigators explain they're looking for more information about Geverlon and her daughter however, this changes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't wish to talk about it, goodbye." She seems about to hang up. If the investigators want to keep her on the line, they'll need to convince her quickly.

"Wait, another girl has just gone missing!" says Catherine. "The trail is still fresh, and if you can help us find out what happened to her, it may provide leads about what happened to your daughter."

OOC,Persuade roll (65% skill) to convince the [b]Durhams[/b] to help: [dice]0[/dice]

"Miss, the trail's still fresh. Whatever difficulties you've encountered, it won't be the same this time around. I was a private investigator once, and I swear on my name that I will bring you closure. We know what we are up against, and we promise to give the whole truth, and nothing less. Give us the opportunity to help you, my granddaughter has gone missing, I think you understand how this feels, doesn't it?" Tobias said passionately, his voice barely hiding his sadness.

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

"I told you, leave me be!" The woman responds, angered by Catherine's plea. But something in Tobias's voice seems to get through to her. She is silent for a long moment before she responds.

"Fine. Come to my home as soon as you can. I can meet with you, briefly." She gives the address and then hangs up.

***

The Durham's home is located a few blocks away. It's seen better days; the yard is overgrown somewhat and the paint faded in places. The whole place looks rather sad. But should the investigators knock on the door, it opens, revealing a tired looking woman. she appears to be in her 60's, and looks word worn down by life. She does not even offer a smile.

"Come in, then."

Entering the home, the interior looks little better than the exterior. It's outdated and adds to the general sense of someone having given up. There are pictures in the home; They show a smiling couple, the female of which is an attractive version of the woman that now stands before them. She seemed joyful then, full of a zest for life this one lacks. Strangely, there are no pictures of Beth Durham.

"Jeff died around ten years back," the woman explains. "Lung cancer. He had always been a smoker. After we lost Beth, it got worse." She takes a seat and gestures for the others to do so as well.

"I swore I'd never speak of this again. But even after all this time I apparently cannot let go of the past. Very well, then.

"Beth was a smart girl, very passionate. She had always been interested in Feminist causes, and we thought nothing of it when she decided to do her thesis on the women of Geverlon. I've live din this area my entire life. So did Jeff. Neither of us had really heard of Geverlon, but it did not strike us as too unusual back then. Beth told us about the thesis over her school break. Then she hugged her father and I and went off, promising to keep in touch. We waited. A few weeks went by, and there came no letters or phone calls from her. But it wasin't until the school called that I realized something was terribly wrong. Beth... she never went back.

"We drove down to Geverlon to see her. There was something off about that town, don't ask me what, but I could feel it. The smiles were a little too broad, the people a little too sympathetic without offering anything in the way of actual help. We spoke to the police there, and they claimed no trace of Beth. After a day we returned home, and Jeff contacted the police here. They got in touch with Geverlon themselves, but seemed satisfied that the town had nothing to do with our daughter's disappearance." Rachel pauses, taking a shaky breath before continuing. "According to Geverlon, they conducted a search of the surrounding area and found nothing. And for whatever reason our police department took them at their word. Oh sure, flyers were printed, milk cartons, that sort of thing. But nothing important. Nothing that could actually find her.

"Then four months later we received a knock at our door. It was Beth.

"She didn't deny being in Geverlon. She apologized, said she could not see us earlier, she was busy with her studies. She said even now she was very busy, and she did not know when we would see each other again, but that she was doing important work. She brushed off her father and my questions, gave us a brief hug, and then left. And we never saw her again.

"What you have to understand is that girl was not our daughter. I don't mean to say she was an imposter, or a fake. But there was something wrong with her. Beth had a close relationship with us. Even during high school, she never kept secrets or pulled away like most of her peers. Yet when she came here, she looked at us like we were strangers. And she gave us that same distant, polite smile the people of Geverlon did. Jeff and I, we had known that our hopes of finding Beth again were slim. But it was that day we released she was really gone.

"Of course, what could we do? Jeff tried, but the police dismissed our concerns. I don't know what happened to her in Geverlon, but I'm convinced something changed her there. My daughter, you understand, is dead. I don't know if your loved one is as well. I pray you can find her before she vanishes. But understand that it may already be too late."

Tobias paused for a few seconds, before he attempted to arrive at some sort of conclusion. "Ma'am, I've seen something like this before. It has to do with indoctrination, and brainwashing, and that sort of thing. Back when the FBI wasn't even called the FBI, I saw something similar. Though I've never quite seen towns like that before. Geverlon reeked of oddness and passive hostility. In all my years of being a Private Investigator, I've never quite seen something like...this."

He shook his head. "My grandchildren has always been my joy in life. Miss, I'll bring you closure and stop whatever's going on in that town. I think...we are getting close to the truth. Thank you for your help, it is invaluable to us."

"Yes, thank you," says Catherine. "You've been a great help. We'll do our best to get to the bottom of that place and find out what happened. It sounds like brainwashing to me too, but brainwashing takes time to work. I think there's still hope for Karen."

"She did say it happened after a few weeks. I'm assuming we have about three weeks, maybe less, to get Karen back, then." Tobias said to Carherine.

"I think our next logical course of action is to head over to Paradise Falls University. There may be a few clues or snippets of information there as well. Beth could not have been the only person in the entire university to have chosen to pick up on studying Geverlon. What about her university professors and course counsellors, her career advisors, or the school administration? Surely at least one of them knew something as well."

Rachel responds to Tobias. "I think Beth mentioned she found a mention of Geverlon in a book on the history of the suffragist movement in Virginia. She seemed surprised by how little had been written about Geverlon in particular, since it was mentioned the town played a significant point in it. so she was going to go down there and interview the locals and learn all she could. Whatever the case, I hope you find your girl."

By now it has gotten dark out. Their research had taken up much of the day. Would the team retire for the night, or attempt something else? It was probably too late to head back to Geverln, but if they wished to risk the journey they could try.

"Thank you again, Ms Rachel, we'll be heading back to Paradise Falls and drop a line to visit the university tomorrow. Know thy enemy, after all." Tobias said solemnly. "All the clues points to Geverlon, yet all the evidence we've collected thus far only indirectly implicates them. Hmm, it's difficult. Because after a few more days, legally speaking, we won't be able interfere further and the case will be picked up by the police department instead. This is...troubling. We still need to move fast. Either we make a compelling case that could instigate a federal investigation or we stick it out on our own. Either option will require a more...thorough knowledge of Geverlon.

Daniel waits until the group has left Rachel's house and says, "I can't think of anyway we would be able to bring in a federal investigation. Maybe we could hire some kind of outside party's help, but to be honest I think the less people we involve in this matter the better. I have the feeling that Karen is being hidden somewhere in that town. Maybe going to the college could tell us a place to start looking."

“Agreed. That will be our next destination. Tomorrow, then.” Tobias said

"Yes," says Catherine. "We'll go to the University in the morning."

Catherine found no real patterns. The few people who vanished each decade were both women and men of every age and race.

Decided to go back to their homes, the team settles into an uneasy sleep. At least they were out of Geverlon. Though it seemed likely they'd be revisiting it again very soon, an uneasy prospect.

And while two of them find their dreams rather uneventful, Tobias has a disturbing one.

SAN 76%,[dice]0[/dice] SAN LOSS: [dice]1[/dice] REMAINING SAN: 74 [ooc]Do [b]Tobias[/b] remember the tree from his dreams? After all, the memories of dreams are hardly reliable, however vivid they seem to be.[/ooc]

Tobias woke up screaming, "KAREN! NO!"

He was suddenly overcame with a great urge to grab a medical kit, a gun, and insect repellent and just...dash out into the woods, but he knew that rash actions will not help. He hopes that, however, he could find some proper solution to this nightmarish incident. He wheezed, breathing with great difficulty, finding himself almost as paralysed and helpless as he had being in the dream. He struggled to his feet.

In the morning, Catherine goes to meet Tobias and Daniel.

Tobias scribbled down everything he remembered about the dream, and met up with Catherine and Daniel. He forgot to shave, his clothes were sloppy, and he has bags under his eyes; looking worse for wear. "Catherine, before we contact Paradise Falls University, do you mind doing a quick search on the inter-webs about pagan mythology revolving around a 'tree of life' in these areas? Any folk tales about a towering tree with strange writings etched into its bark?"

"Sure, I'll take a look," says Catherine. "There was a tree of life in the Garden of Eden, and there's also some references to a 'tree of life' in Kabbalah, though you'll probably know more about that than I would. How did you hear about this? It would help to know the context."

"Oh nothing, it's just that Geverlon supposed had some ties to occult worship. I was just wondering if there was some more information concerning this area. Has there ever been any specialised mythology involving an intricate tree with many complex symbols carved into it found on the internet?"

OOC:   Mr. Handy, do you volunteer as tribute?

Catherine searches, but she can't find anything.

OOC,Library Use roll (65% skill) searching for a 'tree of life' that might be associated with Geverlon: [dice]0[/dice]

It takes a few more tedious and mostly frustrating hours. It's a specific subset of an already obscure subject, and they find nothing directly linked to Geverlon. However, they do find a few stories from a local Native American tribe from this area of Virginia. The tales are located in a book of Native folklore.e Thanks to Google Books, the investigates luck out and are able to read much of the article.

The Native tribe located in the Geverlon area were known as the Lanid.They were a small and insular group, and contacts between them and other tribes in the area were scattered and irregular. It is mentioned that sometime in the precolonial past some of the tribe turned their back on their ancestor's beliefs and began worship of a figure known as the All Consuming Mother. There is little written about this figure , but it was apparently a dark god, feared and reviled by the other tribes in equal measure. Many of the Lanid people apparently disliked the religion as well, and there was conflict between the tribe's traditionalists and the believers of this new faith. The newcomers quickly gained the upperhand. In despair, the tribe's elder shaman went on a vision quest. A few weeks later, he returned with knowledge as to how to defeat the vile worshipers. Tales claim he crafted some sort of sign(details of which are lacking) and cast it upon the wicked, turning them to trees. The All Consuming Mother's favorite worshiper he shaped into a great tree and covered with symbols so it would forever be rooted onto the ground and unable to harm anyone else. A great sickness then took him, and he died shortly after. But the remaining Lanid returned to the ways of their ancestors, and the wicked faith was suppressed.

There are few records of the tribe's interactions with European colonialists when they reached this area. What few notes are left on the history of the Lanid indicate that much of the tribe had died out by the dawn of the ninetieth century. Even so, there are likely few members still alive, but no matter how hard the investigators search they could find no trace of any of them. Unfortunate too; anyone who knew the tribe's stories could be a huge asset in understanding more about Geverlon and whatever sort of cult the townspeople were running.

OOC:   To save you time, no amount of research will allow you to find any surviving Lanid. That was the source of information a successful check would have gotten you. So on this front at least, you guys are on your own.

Cthulhu Mythos 23%,[dice]1[/dice]

Tobias twitches slightly. But he continued, “Perhaps a visit to the Paradise Falls University will offer more fruitful information about the remaining Native American tribesmen the article talked about, and Geverlon itself. I’ll contact them.”

Luck 80%,[dice]2[/dice]

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

Although sympathetic, there's not much help the university can offer. Some persuasion gets the person Tobias is talking to to dig up Beth's records. she had been a great a student, and had apparently gotten the idea to visit Geverlon and conduct research on it from a book in the library. The book itself dealt with Virginia and its history of support(or lack thereof) for various sociatial movements. In an interview with her professor, Beth apparently found the few mentions of the town interesting and noteworthy, and believed that it held a story worth being told. She intended to go down to Geverlon and interview its residents over the break between semesters, in preparation for her upcoming thesis.Unfortunately Beth never returned to school, and it was generally assumed she had gone missing or simply burnt out. Even amongst the dedicated it happened now and again.

As for Geverlon, the town itself has little to do with the university, though very very rarely a student from the town enrolls at Paradise Falls University. As it turns out there is a student from Geverlon attending the university at the moment, though privacy concerns dictate the university cannot give out the student's identity without their express permission.

Some further investigation gets them transferred to a professor who is all too happy to discuss The Lanid people. Professor Simon Mortons explains that there is little known about the tribe, and it is actually regarded as a bit of an unsolved mystery.

"Most of their tribe fell prey to some sort of awful sickness, and many of those left integrated into the larger tribes in the area. As such much of their history has been lost to time. The tidbits we have been able to understand are fascinating, however. They have their own history and mythological cycle, and they're entirely distinct from other tribes in the area. If we could ever interview any of the tribe's descendants we could learn so much about the Lanid people, but I doubt there are many left who are enmeshed in those traditions, as it were. Many of the surviving Lanid people most likely don't even identify with it, and it's doubtful they could tell us much more than we already know."

"What do you know about their beliefs and their history and mythological cycle?" asks Catherine.

"Professor Mortons, I don't suppose you'd be interested in coming along with us to take a look around Geverlon, would you? We have reasons to believe that a bastardised version of the Lanid People's mythology still lives on in the town of Geverlon, and it could be possible that a dangerous cult was formed around it." Tobias said, pausing slightly to digest the information. "Furthermore, is there any reference books that you would at least recommend that contains information on the All Consuming Mother and the legend of the Lanid Shaman's binding of the All Consuming Mother's favourite worshipper? It's a personal curiosity, I suppose, but I suppose some details would be welcome."

"Oh no, my days of fieldwork are long behind me." The professor says with a laugh. "So I'm afraid I'll have to pass.

"The Lanid's religion seems to be more or less standard for this area until some sort of conflict split the tribes between their traditional beliefs and this All Consuming Mother figure. We know very little about the entire thing, only whispers and asides in books, which makes it even more frustrating. The whole story sounds tantalizing, and we've no historical record truly focusing on it. Regardless, the conflict is generally thought to have resolved with the traditionalists winning out and casting their rivals out, albeit it at great cost. If I had to guess, these stories are allegories at least in part of first contact with European colonialists. It would explain the great loss the tribe suffered from contact with the Europeans. I've no real clue about this All Consuming Mother Figure. we don't have any records from those who venerated her, and the traditional members of the tribe seemed content to mention her name in horrific undertones and nothing else. My best guess is that she was some kind of twisted fertility goddess, though that's only a guess mind, I've no real research to back it up. Still, it is odd. No other tribes in the area worshiped anything like that, so I really don't know from where inspiration for her as a figure of worship could have spring from. You see why this all is so frustrating. We have so little answers, and most of them are contradictory! Even the Lanid stories seem to place this inter tribal conflict before the arrival of the white man. But based off what I've sen it's far more likely the sociatial upheaval was the result of these two cultures clashing.

"A cult, based off these old teachings? Please forgive me but I find that difficult to believe. We don't have any records of this faith. The folks in Geverlon are largely descended from the European colonists who founded the town. I'm not even sure if there was any significant intermingling of them and the Lanid. It would be highly improbable that a suppressed faith practiced by a Native American tribe would somehow be able to take root in a town all these centuries later. Oh makes for a fun paperback, I suppose, but these sort of things just don't happen. Why, there's actually a young man in one of my classes from Geverlon,and he's perfectly ordinary and friendly."

"Now, unless there's something else, I really must be going."

"Professor, actually, according to local papers from the 1700s. There's published articles on 'daemonic presences' within Geverlon that has been mysteriously swept under the rug. Furthermore, we spoke Beth's mother, her last remaining relative. According to her story, it appears that her daughter Beth went missing for several weeks in Geverlon with no contact with the outside world before returning as a completely different person. The child had then professed a deep desire to remain in Geverlon for the remainder of her life. My name is Tobias Jerkins, I'm a renowned author of the occult with a background in cult indoctrination and ts inherent symptoms called 'Encyclopedia Dæmonica'. During the late 1920s, I was a Private Investigator, so I believe my suspicions about Geverlon is justified and credible. Having you onboard would certainly make things easier." Tobias said.

Credit Raing 60%,[dice]0[/dice]

"As for the boy, if he's willing to talk to us, we would like to interview him, actually. In fact, I would be very interested in hearing his side of the story."

"Yes, it would be good to talk to him," says Catherine. It is interesting to her that the student from Geverlon is male, considering how few men were there.

OOC:   I just realized how old Tobias actually is. Kind of wish I had set this game a few years in the past. Well, let's just assume he has really good genes.

When Tobias identifies himself, Morton's tone changes.

"Oh, Mr. Jenkins. I've read your work. It's considered something of a masterpiece by those who have studied cultist behavior. I'm not much for the subject understand, but I respect it is your field. And if you say there is a cult that has formed up in Geverlon, well this is quite concerning. I still have difficulty believing it has been active there for so long, but if you're willing to stake your professional reputation upon it..." he muses.

"I'd rather not get officially involved. I do have my reputation to think about. And I can't tell you the name of the student from Geverlon either, I am afraid. On an unrelated note, you should head to a bar called Spotlights . I believe a young man named Peter Mount bartends there. You might find him to be useful to talk to."

"Just... keep my name out of it, whatever comes. Though after your investigation is over I'd be delighted to interview you as to your findings. Truth be told, there have been rumors about Geverlon for years. I never gave them much credence, thinking they were only ghost stories but if there's even a bit of truth to them... I need to go. Goodbye." He hangs up quickly.

Spotlights Bar. Catherine and Daniel may vaguely know it as a bar in the city's university district, populated largely by the college kid crowd. For some reason, the name of the bar sounds slightly familiar to both Tobias and Catherine.

OOC:   Both of you ran into Spotlights earlier in your investigation. If neither of you honestly remember in what context, roll idea.

"Very well. I'll arrange an interview date later on, then. Goodbye." Tobias said in disappointment. He turns to Catherine and said, "You do remember the bar Spotlights, right? I remember seeing a flyer in Karen's room about it, some of her favourite bands play there, I suppose."

"Oh, that's right!" says Catherine. "I do remember now! Yes, we'd better head there and talk to the bartender."

"Let's do that, then." Tobias said, nodding.

Spotlights is in the hip and trendy area of town. Even this early in the evening the place is already pretty well packed, and posters of various bands none of the investigators have ever heard of line the walls. Eyes are exchanged at the trio's presence(especially Tobias) but provided they pay the entry fee all are allowed in.

A band is playing on stage when the team enter. It's a light rock affair, nothing too loud or aggressive, but the crowd on the dance floor seems to be into it. The people here seem to be largely college aged, though a few older people are sprinkled in throughout. What is worth noting is that many of the people around the club are drinking alcohol. Given Karen was underage, Daniel knows if she was coming here the club was technically breaking the law. It might give them some leverage if they need answers.

There are a few bar stools open near the bar, and the bartender can be seen chatting with one of the female customers. He's dressed in a black tee, with motorcycle gloves and camo pants. He's very muscular and bald, and frankly looks more like a bouncer than a bartender. He seems to be in his 20's, though it's hard to tell his age exactly.

If any of the trip approach, he addresses them. "Hey there. Guessin this is your first time. I'd uh, remember you. 'Specially you, Gramps." he nods to Tobias, though his tone is not hostile.

"What can I get you folks?"

"Hi," says Catherine with a smile. "Do you know Karen Parker by any chance?"

"Do you happen to know a young man going by the name of Peter Mount, young Monsieur?" Tobias smiled. "Apple cider for me. If possible."

The bartender's smile drops, and it's obvious he's take aback by the question.

"Yeah, I'm Peter. Karen? I may have, may have heard her name mentioned once or twice, yeah. Let me get you the drinks." He quickly makes them and returns, hands them over, and then goes down to the other end of the bar to talk to a customer. It seems obvious he's not interested in further conversation with the investigators, and will likely require some persuasion.

Tobias drank his apple cider for a moment or so, and got up to approach Peter again. "Young man, I'm her grandfather, and here to ask a few questions. I don't suppose you would mind answering them, now, would you? Karen is missing, and as far I can tell, it had something to do with Geverlon and this bar."

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

Credit Rating 60%,[dice]2[/dice]

Psychology 60%,[dice]1[/dice]

Daniel gets up and accompanies Tobias. Although he is in street clothes right now, Daniel has his badge with him and is ready to back up Tobias if Peter tries to avoid answering them again.

"We know she's been here before," says Catherine. "We've seen the posters in her room. Look, we don't want to get you in trouble. We just want to find Karen. Anything you tell us will stay between you and us."

OOC,Persuade roll (65% skill) to get [b]Peter Mount[/b] to open up about [b]Karen[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Faced with an onslaught from three people, one of them a cop, Peter quickly folds.

"Alright. I may know of her. But look, believe me when I tell you people you don't want to get involved in this. You don't have any idea what you're dealing with."

"Karen's missing, you say?" A troubled look crosses his face. "Look, I had no idea. I just told them she was from Geverlon. I recognized her birthmark, see?" He shows off the same red birthmark the investigators had seen on everyone else from Geverlon. "We get them just after birth. They mark us as part of the town. And tribe. If anything happened after that, it's not on me, alright?."

"Young man, I'm well aware of what I'm dealing with, perhaps even more than you think possible. There's a cult in Geverlon, isn't there? The disappearances aren't linked with any worship of an All-Consuming Mother, is it?" Tobias blinked, looking at the young man with an intensity that implied strong emotions. "I know Karen's from blasted place, and she disappeared. Possibly with her life in danger. Help us! Help her."

Tobias stared at the man, as though determining whether he was human or not underneath that skin.

Anthropology 01%,[dice]0[/dice]

Tobias really can't tell if Peter is human. He looks it, certainly, though he also seems rather pale. If he did not look so athletic it would probably be a safe assumption that he was ill.

The mention of the town's deity leads Peter's eyes to widen, and he looks around, suddenly fearful.

"That's not... we can't talk about this here, all right?" He motions to a room in the back. It seems to be some sort of break room, and he quickly leads you all inside. Thankfully it is empty, and he takes a seat at a stool.

"You people really don't know what you're messing with. But fine. Yes, I'm from Geverlon. For as long as our history goes back we've worshiped the All Consuming Mother. I don't expect outsiders to understand. There are two kinds of people in Geverlon. The normal townsfolk are what you'd expect, largely, if mostly female. We're mostly what you'd expect from a normal town. That's because boys in the village are generally taken to the forest to be raised by the forest folk, who are almost all men. They've been touched by our Mother, and made in her wild likeness. They are given great gifts of strength and immortality, though at the cost of being unable to pass as human. Most of them don't want to." His voice is patient, but his gaze is that of a fanatic, and it's clear he is still a believer in the god of which he speaks.

"On occasion a mother does not want to part with her son. They're allowed to be raised in the town. They also are who the girls will one day mate with. Those who live in the woods cannot impregnate women. And a town without any men would raise questions, and we in Geverlon have learned how to interact with outsiders, after we were nearly wiped out several generations ago. We adapted.

"Occasionally, a villager will leave the town and go into the outside world. This is allowed, is even encouraged. But we are always taught to keep an eye out for those who could find a place in our community. Karen came here on occasion. She was a sweet kid. Popular too, she and her friends snuck in here a lot. I thought nothing of it, until I saw her birthmark. Overtime I learned she was adopted and knew nothing of her roots, or of Geverlon. So I told the town about her. She must have gotten curious and headed off there to learn more about it. It was her choice." He shrugs, but it's obvious he seems troubled.

"You say she's missing, though? If she went through the woods there's a chance she encountered The Wild Ones who live in the forest. People who are foolish enough to be out in the woods after dark often do. They are utterly inhuman, and even those of us who live in town keep a safe distance from them. If Karen has been taken by them, she will be kept and tormented until the night of the full moon, and sacrificed up to the Mother. It will be a horrific end for her. Every time someone was taken by the Wild Ones, the townsfolk of Geverlon would attend these rituals. It was an orgy of sex and destruction, a celebration of life and death.

"And the new moon is the day after tomorrow, if my math is right. Which means very soon Karen will be lost." He looks conflicted. "Honestly, I never meant for any of this to happen. She was going to be inducted into the town of Geverlon, that was the plan! We worship the more civilized side of the Mother, the maternal cultivation. The Wild Ones though are all about the carnal side, fucking and killing and rejoicing through all of it.

"Since moving away from Geverlon, I've learned many things. I've learned enough to realize what we did back there wasn't normal. Enough that I don't really want to go back. I don't regret the things I saw. I've seen our Mother's works; I know she is real and powerful. But Karen was a good kid. She was always nice and smiling. I don't want to see her become a sacrifice, especially since she was never supposed to be.

"If you want to attempt to rescue her, know that it's gonna be dangerous. But The Wild Ones are constrained during the day. A curse was placed upon them, and they become as stone until the night. If Karen is being held by them, I know exactly where she'd be. But we'd need to go in during the day and be quick about rescuing her. And we need to be far away from Gerverlon and the woods by nightfall, or they will find us, and we will all be lost."

It was a lot of information for the investigators to take in. Did they trust Peter, and more than that, did they believe him?

OOC:   We'll start with San rolls. Catherine and Daniel need to decide how much of Peter's words they beleive. If they think all of this is true, and there is some sort of hybrid race living out in the woods worshiping a pagan deity, they can roll 1/1d6. If they think he's mostly just nuts and the cult is entirely mundane(if no less dangerous for it) they can do 1/1d4. I think Tobias given what he's seen should do the former. Second, feel free to ask any questions and make any rolls you like when speaking with Peter, and I'll provide you with the relevant information.

Catherine shudders a little when she hears Peter's description. "We've got to find her!" she says. "We haven't any time to lose!"

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 65) for hearing [b]Peter[/b]'s account: [dice]0[/dice]

Current Sanity 75%,[dice]0[/dice] SAN LOST: 1

"Is it possible to destroy the petrified ones during the day?" Tobias said, he had seen worse things in his life than crazed worshippers hiding out in the woods.

"Peter, I know you don't want to go back there, but in this situation, Karen's life is on the line. If you can found some shred of kindess and empathy there, I want you to come with us and rescue Karen. I apologise if I sound rude, but if I were to believe your words, then we have little time to act and we will need your assistance to prevent the ceremony from taking place should that happen." Tobias continued, looking at Peter with a searching gaze. He hopes that Peter will join and be of more assistance.

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]1[/dice]

Suddenly, Tobias leaned in besides Peter's ear and whispered, hoping that no one else will hear, "Peter, is it possible for me to be take the place of Karen as the sacrifice? I'm old, and I probably won't live past the year anyways with how frail and weak my body had become. Since this is a ritual honouring life and death, I don't suppose I could replace Karen as a sacrifice if worst comes to worst, would it?"

OOC:   What time is it In-Game?

OOC:   Let's say around 2 in the afternoon. The sun won't set until a little after seven, and it will take maybe an hour to reach the woods.

"I suppose you could harm them," Peter says with clear reluctance. "They are like trees during the day."

"In any event, I will go with you. I'm the only one who knows the woods, and Karen's in this situation in part because of me. I feel responsible. But we'll need to be quick. I don't want to spend anymore time in those woods than I have to." He suppress a shudder.

"It's kind of you to offer, but the Wild Ones don't discriminate. They'd gladly take you or her. They hunted all kinds, from my memories of them. But they'd never agree to a trade. If they find you in the woods and you're not from Geverlon, you will be sacrificed. Even being from the town does not offer absolute safety. The best thing we can do is hope to find her before they wake. I do know that until the night of the full moon she won't be killed or even harmed much. But she must be terrified just the same."

Daniel doesn’t believe that the woods outside Geverlon are frilled with monsters, but he could believe that the town housed some kind of dangerous cult. ”Alright. We should leave immediately if we’re going to get to Karen before nightfall. We’ll take two cars again. I need to gather a couple things before we head into the woods.”

After leaving the bar Daniel will be sure to gather all his police issued equipment (shotgun, taser, etc.) before meeting the others.

"'Much?'" says Catherine. "That doesn't really reassure me. The sooner we find her, the better. Let's go as soon as you get what you need. I'll bring my car."

"I think I'll purchase a few small drums of herbicides, one of those 'spray-action' types, and some lighters. I have some money on me." Tobias said, "Let's get some hiking gear as well. We need to go in prepared, Regardless of Half-human plant monsters or not. There's plenty of underlying dangers in raiding a forest. If I remember correctly, there's a farm near the forest of Geverlon, and the forest's on the far edge of the town. The chances of meeting the townsfolk there are slim...unless they're already patrolling the area. Let's plan this out a bit before acting, shall we? I've organised raids and search parties before, and we can start tomorrow anyways. We must not let our sense of urgency blind us to reason."

"Listen, if we were to go now, we would only have about 7 hours of daylight and precious little preparation, if we were to start tomorrow at the crack of dawn,
we would have more than 10 hours of daylight on our side. Something tells me that hurried preparations shall be the bane of us, so let us make an adequate plan, notify family members and relevant authorities in case we go missing first."

OOC:   I'm going to say whatever you guys want (within reason) can be obtained in short order.

"The area should be clear" Peter offers. "Generally we only go into the forest the night of the full moon."

He sketches a quick map of Geverlon and the surrounding area:

picture,For some reason full pic would not show up here, here's the link: [url]https://postimg.org/image/fw7614dp3/[/url]

"Karen would almost certainly be by the Tree, its our holy ground. We can drive north past Geverlon and cut through through woods. It's maybe a 45 minute walk. Maybe a little more. I think it's probably safer to wait for tomorrow anyway, we'll want all the daylight we can afford for this. I know it's tough to leave her for another day, but it's better than risking nightfall and capture. ."

However, Peter does not seem to want to fight over it. Whatever the investigators decide he seems likely to go with. He does point out however that if they're not leaving immediately he's going to get back to work." I have a life outside Geverlon now. I'd like to keep it."

"No worries. Give us your contact information, we'll make our move at 7am in the morning." Tobias, reassuring Peter. Alienating an ally would not be a wise move.

"Catherine, if possible, please contact the school and tell them that you'll be taking a break tomorrow and your family members that if you failed to contact them by nightfall, to alert the authorities." Tobias turned to address the two privately, "Same goes for you, Daniel, alert the police forces to prepare for a raid, again, if possible. Tell them everything that we know, leave the professor out of it, and I'll tell Rachel and Paul that we're off to find Karen."

He sighed, and a pained look came over his face as he addressed Daniel, "Tell you wife Alicia, that you're okay, let's hope this turns out okay."

"All right," says Catherine with great reluctance. "We'll wait until tomorrow to find Karen. Let's meet before 7, though. We should set out at dawn."

"Agreed. Let's leave at dawn. I'll figure out how to set an alarm clock and gather the supplies." Tobias said, nodding.

Daniel realizes he's been acting rashly ever since they first went to Geverlon and so agrees to wait until the morning. He waits until Peter has gone back to work to say, "Alright. Dawn it is. I'm going to gather some of the weapons I have access to in addition to the hiking supplies. I hope we don't need any, but better safe than sorry. Tobais I realize you have experience with firearms, would you like me to get obtain one for you? And what about you Catherine?"

He'll wait to hear his companions responses before heading off. He'll try to reassure His brother, sister-in-law, and wife that Karen will soon be home safe, but is going to be vague to the point that they may be worried anyway. Daniel will also go to his friends at the station, but he will tell them almost everything about the group's investigation into Geverlon and its cult. He'll say that he's setting out at dawn tomorrow for one last search, and that if he doesn't contact any of them with twenty four hours of that, to prepare for a raid against the town.

"A gun wouldn't be useful in situations like this. Besides, my hand will be full carrying herbicide and ropes." Tobias said grimly. He knew that guns would likely be useless against those creatures. Best to carry practical tools rather than anything that might just take up needless space. "Good luck with preparations. I'll go make some phone calls now."

"Thank you," Catherine says to Daniel. "I've never fired a gun before, but I would feel better if I had one. I'd be useless in a fight otherwise. I do have my mace, but it only works up close, and I'd rather keep my distance from those wild men."

Daniel is pretty convincing when he speaks with his brothers in blue. He also agrees to get a gun for Catherine.

So the team plan for their last night in safety, before they venture into the belly of the beast once again. Depending on what they believe Karen is either being held by a monstrous cult or literal monsters, and both options pose great danger. But they are determine to bring Karen home,e specially with the deadline coming up.

Daniel is persuasive in talking to his family. They believe him when he says that they are close to retrieving Karen, but also are mostly satisfied when he informs them that it is a police matter he cannot go further into detail with. They are willing to help in any way they can, but Daniel knows the assistance they can offer is limited.

Has has more success speaking to his fellow officers. Chief Taylor listens intently to his report and seems quite shaken by them.

"Jesus Daniel. Are you sure? This is a lot to take in. A cult, operating less than an hour from here?" He shakes his head. "Still, I know you're a damn good cop, and you follow the evidence where it leads. Just be careful, alright? If something happens out there, call for backup immediately. And if you don't report back to me tomorrow, I'll send in the goddamn national guard if I have to. You'll forgive me for hoping this is all going to turn out to be sensationalist bullshit.'

Daniel leaves the chief's office confident that if anything happens to them tomorrow, help will be on the way. But will it be too late? And even if it arrives, if all of Geverlon believed in this odd death cult... would it be enough?

***

OOC:   Daniel suggested 2 cars. Peter has his own, so I'm fine if you want to go with that.

The team pick Peter up at 7 the next morning sharp. He had texted them in his address last night, and judging by his expression he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He's carrying a hunting shotgun and look determined, if terrified.

Everyone sets out. The drive is either agonizingly long or far too quick, depending on exactly how much dread each investigator feels. They go past the landmarks they saw before on their way to Geverlon, the abandoned shack, the gas station, the various bus terminals. Eventually they also go past the turnoff to the town, and continue north. The woods seem to get thicker and more ominous, but eventually Peter pulls into them. They're only able to drive along for a few moments before they are forced to abandon their vehicles, the path having become too narrow and tough for them.

"We've got a bit of a walk ahead of us," whispers Peter. "It's tough terrain, but above all else stay together. If you get lost in here you likely won't find your way out before nightfall, and then The Wild Ones will find you." He begins to lead them deeper into the woods.

The woods are actually not that terrifying in the early morning. They still have a majestic beauty to them, and the usual animals can be heard happily chirping away. Ina different circumstance it might be lovely to hike these woods, or have a nice picnic. But one thing that does stand out to the team is a very strong scent from some type of animal they've never smelled before. It's vaguely unsettling, mostly because wherever they go in the woods they come across it, and it seems to grow stronger the further in they go. Something was marking its territory, and they had no idea what.

After a time, the woods open slightly and Peter leads them into a clearing. The most immediate sight is a Tree that rises above them. It's very large, dwarfing the largest trees they've seen in the woods to these points, and stands at the center of its own glade, surrounded in turn by smaller trees. The surface of the bark is covered with many symbols and runes, though the exact meanings are likely lost to time. Tobias instantly recognizes this tree as the one Karen was being sacrificed underneath, down to the specific location of the various runes etched into its bark.

OOC:   And he can take a 1/1d3 SAN loss for this realization. Also, he can make two Cthulhu Mythos rolls.

The glade itself is completely silent,and it would seem the animals did not venter here.

Hardened pale yellow sap sticks to the trunk of the tree.

"The Wild Ones yet sleep," Peter says with relief, pointing out a statue that surrounds the large tree. Without him pointing it out it may have been difficult to see; the statue was the same color and size of the various other trees. But it soon becomes apparent there are several of them. It would take a few minutes to get an exact count of how many of them lurked among the trees. Further examination of the statues find them to be oddly enough in the shape of Satyrs. It's truly fine craftsmenship; they look lifelike, and it is terrifying. Many of the creatures have a hungry glint in their eyes or a leer on their faces, almost like they are looking right at the investigators.

Some of them appear to have blood on their horns or hands; others appear to have other substances. They're just statues though, and make no move suggesting they're alive. But none of the investigators can shake a sudden feeling of extreme discomfort.

OOC:   Everyone who looks at the statues needs to make a 0/1 san roll.

Typical Statue,[img]https://s14.postimg.org/5ffyutyn5/Anf_XTO.png[/img]

For now at least, they appear to be alone.

Catherine shivers, keeping her distance from the statues out of irrational fear even though they don't move. "Where are they keeping her?" she asks.

OOC,What kind of gun do I have? Sanity roll (current level 64) for seeing the statues: [dice]0[/dice]

Cthulhu Mythos 23%,[dice]0[/dice] [dice]1[/dice]

SAN 74,[dice]5[/dice] [dice]3[/dice] REMAINING SAN 72 SAN CHECK FOR STONE STATUE [dice]4[/dice] REAMINING SAN 71

"I'm not sure, but I'm almost certain that the ceremony will be conducted here. Take photos. It may be important." Tobias experimentally sprayed the stone statue with herbicide and then attempted to set it on fire. After all, herbicides are violative chemical agents that is highly flammable. He had done the same with the tree. Hopefully, one of the two catches fire.

luck 80,[dice]2[/dice]

Daniel will take photos on his phone as Tobias asks, and besides they may be important pieces of depending on how everything shakes out.

As Tobias examines the tree, he recalls several things from his long knowledge studying the unnatural.

The tree's shape vaguely resembled a creature he had heard of or perhaps even seen before, a Dark Young of Shub- Niggurath. These creatures were horrific, pitch black and clearly inhuman, made up of inky tentacles and goat like legs. They often resembled a tree until one got very close, and they were commonly employed to oversee religious ceremonies of their god. Said ceremonies tended to end with these creatures consuming the still living offerings to their deity, generally human.

As for Shub-Niggurath, she (if such a creature could be said to have a gender) Was a pagan deity. Her cult had traces all throughout the world, often as a perverted fertility goddess. In exchange for good crops and harvests, her worshipers would sacrifice to her. The truly blessed of her followers would be altered or changed somehow by being 'consumed” by her, and return transformed. These beings tend to be described as looking like the satyr like creatures that are depicted here in the woods.

The Tree itself seems to have been the transformed form of A Dark Young. Tobias can see that the runes inscribed on the tree are Elder Signs, a form of protection the old man is well familiar with. It seems likely the Dark Young was now contained as an immobile tree, likely thanks to the Shaman and the ritual he had performed. And so long as those Signs remained, it would be near impossible for it to ever return to its old state.

Tobias decides to spray the herbicide all over one of the statues. After he does, it's a simple matter to set it ablaze. The investigators noses are soon overwhelmed with both the smell of wood burning and something that smells very much like fur alight as well.

The statue itself makes no move to suggest it is alive, and just silently burns. Within a few minutes it will be ash.

Peter however looks horrified. “Don't do that!” he warns. “You'll attract their attention!”

Daniel begins to take pictures, and to his satisfaction they come out well.It will take him a few minutes to record everything here, however.

OOC:   If Tobias wants to try and set the tree on fire, it will cost him another turn. Based on everything he's seen it should go up just as easily. Catherine can make a Spot Hidden roll since she's keeping alert.

Tobias decided against setting the tree on fire. It would be a very stupid thing to do at this moment, and, in doing so might aggravate the goddess, who had a reputation to be...protective of her Dark Youngs. He witnessed the satyr statue burn, and he made a grim smile as he turned towards Peter, "Whose attention will I attract? The residents of Geverlon? The immobile Wild Ones? Something else? You'll have to be more specific, young man, we have little time for the pronoun game."

He assessed the situation for a brief moment, and said, "Look, if the Wild Ones are as magically dangerous as you say, then what I'm doin' is simply eliminating some competition. We still haven't found Karen yet, let's leave this place behind. We need to find her before sundown, let's not get ourselves distracted by pointless distractions."

The focus here is hardly to burn everything down to cinders, as much as Tobias would've preferred it if things were that simple, he knew that the matter's going to be complicated. The place is large, too uncomfortably large, and he knew that they're racing against the clock to find Karen, and they need to do it fast. Dealing with the worshippers will something better left to another day, for another time.

Keeping an eye on their surroundings, Catherine notices something.

OOC,Merry Christmas! I'd like a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Spot Hidden roll (60% skill) near the tree: [dice]0[/dice]

Peter does not answer, his gaze focused on the burning statue. Though he takes no move to put it out, he seems hesitant.

Catherine looks out back into the tress, and it is then she sees some shapes among them. Her heart leaps into her throat before she realizes they are human, though that's hardly better. There appear to be two people hiding out in the forest, though not in the same area the team had come from. They don't seem to have noticed Catherine has seen them yet, and both are remaining still and seeming to want to avoid notice. But their clothes gave them away, the colors standing out against the forest backdrop.

"There's a couple of people hiding over there," whispers Catherine to the others, pointing them out to them. "Peter, do you recognize them?"

Tobias clutches his bottle of herbicide within his hands. It's not lethal, but it can serve as a distraction if needed.

Peter eyes go wide. He looks and shakes his head in the negative.

Then he raises his shotgun and shouts. "We know you're there. Come out with your hands up!"

OOC:   Both Catherine and Tobias get the impression that Peter is not as surprised as he's acting, though he does seem hesitant about something.

Sure enough, two people emerge from out of the trees. One is a woman the investigators have not seen before, but she's wearing a police uniform that would seem to suggest she's involved with law enforcement. The other is Deputy Alex Steel, the man who had interviewed them back in Geverlon. Alex has his sidearm drawn, and the woman, who looks about a decade older, carries a shotgun. Both of them are not aiming at the investigators at the moment, and are obeying Peter's orders. For now they are still a fair distance away, and don't seem inclined to make sudden movements.

"Put that thing down before you hurt someone, Mount." The woman says, looking annoyed. Then she turns her focus to the rest of you, her gaze steely.

"You're trespassing. And I believe Deputy Steel made it clear you were to leave town."

"Y'all just could not leave well enough alone." Alex chuckles, but there's something unsettling about it.

It is then that the newcomers noticed the statue Tobias had set on fire. Alex looks startled. But the woman looks furious.

"And you've committed vandalism on historical artifacts as well. I'm only going to say this once. Drop your weapons and get down on the ground. You're all under arrest."

“And what is two police officers doing here in the middle of woods? Don’t tell me that this is part of your routine work shift. Officers, on what grounds can you determine that I’m trespassing? According to the proper police procedures, unless you can prove that this is private property, you cannot arrest us for tresspassing. In fact, you could lose your jobs for harassing a senior citizen.” Tobias retorted, “Also, destroying historical artefacts? Again, good luck proving that in court. Unless you could identify these statues as either a local heritage, protected property, or are part of a tourist attraction, or as public artwork, then you can’t even arrest us for vandalism.”

“This is a warrentless arrest outside of your territorial jurisdiction, officers. The forest technically expands beyond the property lines of Geverlon and are technically not an area where the County sheriff’s deputies can make a legal arrest. Even detainment requires the prerequiste of a commited felony. This isn’t private property nor is it a historical landmark, so there’s no crimes commited here. Any arrest or detainment is illegal and are grounds for legal action. I assure you that it’s conversation can and will be used against you if unlawful actions are going to be pursued.” Tobias held up his satellite phone, showing that he is in fact recording this entire conversation.

Fast talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

Catherine wishes Peter hadn't shouted to them, and she's not entirely sure she trusts him. She keeps an eye on the situation but says nothing for now.

As Tobias converses with the two officers, Daniel tries to take stock of the situation, mainly he wants to know if there is a place he and the others could run for cover if shooting starts.

Daniel and the others can see several trees and statues spot the area around them. Getting behind one of them could provide something in the way of cover, but would not be without risk.

OOC:   We'll say any of you can reach cover in a round, and it will lower anyone's chance to hit you by 20%, at least until someone gets close. However, running for cover and attempting to do anything else in the same round (such as attack) will lower your rolls by half.

The two officers of Geverlon listen with bemusement to Tobias, and the old man realizes that his words, typically so convincing, are falling on deaf ears.

"Nice speech, but I think you'll find we in Geverlon operate a bit differently. Your artificial laws have no place here. "

"And we don't appreciate outsiders coming in and poking their noses where they don't belong." Alex adds.

"So, I'm only going to ask you one more. Drop your weapons, get down on the ground, and put your hands behind your heads. Failure to comply and I will use deadly force, but I'd rather not spill your blood." And then the sheriff looks at Peter. A short moment passes before he nods and turns his shotgun towards the group.

"I truly am sorry about this," he says. "But It would be better for everyone if do what she says."

OOC:   Assuming you refuse, we'll be in combat starting the next round. No surprise round, we'll act in Dex order. Daniel Alex Catherine Sheriff Peter Tobias Catherine, Tobias, and Peter are probably all in point blank range of one another. Do note I'm not necessarily encouraging you guys to have a shootout here. You could do what they say and surrender, or attempt to convince Peter to not shoot any of you. But just wanted to give you the info if you decide that's your best option here.

"Don't do this, Peter," says Catherine, looking imploringly at him. "You're not a killer. You care about Karen, and you know what will happen to her if we don't find her in time. They'll do the same thing to us as well - and to you. They know you've betrayed them by leading us here. No matter what they tell you, they'll make sure you face the same fate. Your only chance is to side with us."

OOC,Persuade roll (65% skill) to convince [b]Peter[/b] to switch sides: [dice]0[/dice]

"Oh Catherine, you don't understand. I'm doing this to save Karen. You really think we can just come in here and take her away? Geverlon, The Wild Ones... They'll come after us. And they'll never stop looking. To save someone intended as a sacrifice is a grave sin. But I meant what I said. I don't want any harm to come to her. So I'm going to exchange the three of you for Karen." He nods to Tobias, respectful. "He had the right idea. If you three are offered up to the Wild Ones, I'll be able to take Karen home and ensure no further harm comes to her.

"I do wish It didn't have to be this way. But you can't fight this. Please, you all want to save Karen just as much as me. So do the right thing. If I have to kill any of you it's just going to make it more difficult to get Karen out of here safely."

"Wait! Iä, iä, Shub-niggurath! C'hupadgh halma Shub-Niggurath. We are also fellow worshippers of the Great Mother. Let us prove our faith to you as guests of your sanctum, not as intruders." Tobias bluffed, trying a different approach. "I know of the Old Texts, and the Old Ways that you practise. In fact, I have personally glimpsed visions of the Great Elder Beings. I have seen the truth, the universe before me, having entered the realm of Daoloth once before. We too, are on the same sides as you."

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

Tobias words seem to get a response. Peter looks at the sheriff in confusion, and Alex slightly lowers his weapon. The sheriff though still looks at him, her expression unreadable.

"Interesting. You clearly know of our ways, outsider. Though I cannot prove you are a follower of The Mother." She smiles and looks towards the Tree, and lets out an indecipherable series of calls, lyrical and nonsensical at once. Then she looks back. "But she can."

The Tree begins to move ever so slightly, and the center of it comes away like butter, or an automated door opening as people get close to it. Out of the tree step two women, who quickly find themselves on the ground.

The first woman naked and beautiful, though in an otherworldly sort of way. Her raven hair is long and flows down her breasts, and she wears only a necklace around her bare neck. Her bottom half however is exactly like the statues, and her legs end in powerful hooves like that of a goat.

The second woman is Karen. She too is naked, though her body is entirely human. She stands only slightly behind the other woman(?). When she notices the investigators, her eyes widen slightly, though it is difficult to determine in precisely which way.

"Who summons me?" The first woman speaks. Hesitantly the sheriff steps forward.

"I did, Wild Woman. These three outsiders have been trespassing on our sacred territory. What's more, they've destroyed one of your people."

The woman looks towards the burnt statue, then back towards the three investigators. "Is that so? Well, the night of the Dance is approaching. These three will do nicely."

"There's more, Wild Woman," the sheriff continues. "The old man spoke the language of The Mother. He claims they are supplicants outside the Tribe."

"Really?" And now the figure seems curious. Her gaze sweeps over all three of the outsiders, looking hungry and intrigued in equal measure. "Curious indeed. Why did you intrude upon our sacred lands and destroy one of The Mother's worshipers? Of the flock or not, I would be within my right to mate or kill each of you. perhaps I still will."

"I believe they were looking for me," Karen speaks for the first time. "They're my family. And my teacher."

"Karen!" Says Peter. "I thought you were going to be..."

The Wild Woman lets out a delightful little laugh. " Sacrificed, is that it? Oh no no no. We found this poor lost little lamp just off the road. She had lost her way. And once we learned she was from Geverlon," She gently began to stroke Karen's face. " We knew we had to induct her into the tribe. If any of you had concern for this little lamb, you needin't be. She's found her place here."

"You may call me Beth. It is an old outdated name from a useless culture, but my true name is unpronounceable to those not graced by our Mother's love. Do the three of you all claim to belong to Our Mother's flock?" she asks.

OOC:   Some significant san loss here. First,to see the two women emerge from the tree, Catherine and Daniel can take 1/1d4+1. The sight itself was bad enough, but it confirms that there is clear supernatural involvement here,and would probably be world shaking. Tobias, having already confirmed this worldview long ago, can take 1/1d3. It's not quite as shocking to him but still profoundly terrifying. For seeing Beth, each of you can also take 1/1d4. No San loss for Karen yet, who is just a naked teenager(though given some of your relationships towards her, the sight is very likely still disturbing.) Finally, can everyone please make two psychology rolls, one for Karen and one for Beth?

SAN 71,[dice]0[/dice] [dice]1[/dice] SAN CHECK FOR SEEING BETH: [dice]3[/dice] SAN LOST: [dice]4[/dice] IDEA 80: [dice]6[/dice] SAN REMAINING: 65

Tobias trembled slightly, but managed to control himself. "Fair Lady, I assure you, I was unaware that The Mother had graced her presence here in Geverlon, I had planned to induct Karen into her embrace once she's of age. I believe our rites are the one and the same; induction and baptisation into new life by the family members. I assure you, we were family and she was to be reborn under my supervision. It would be safer. I had far more knowledge of the rites from witnessing them over time. Do you profess to be more 'touched' than me? One who had tread into their domain before?"

"Of course. You'll excuse me for the destruction of the Wild One. It was a part of my ritual as much as yours invoked Mating and Murder. My rituals are more inclined towards...destruction. Furthermore, I was unaware that the one I had slain was family. Please, do excuse me." Tobias continued. He hoped the other will get the hint and follow his story, after all, it seems like if his story is contradicted, then they would all die.

Psychology 60%,[dice]2[/dice] [dice]5[/dice]

Catherine is shocked to see the women emerge from the tree, but the sight of Beth herself barely affects her. "I'm a new convert," she says. "He is much more knowledgeable and wise than I."

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 63) for seeing the women emerge from the tree: [dice]0[/dice] Sanity loss: [dice]1[/dice] Sanity roll (current level 61) for seeing [b]Beth[/b]: [dice]2[/dice] Psychology roll (65% skill) about [b]Karen[/b]: [dice]3[/dice] Psychology roll (65% skill) about [b]Beth[/b]: [dice]4[/dice]

Daniel is disturbed by the appearance of the two women, and by the thing calling itself Beth, but he manages to keep his composure. He says, "Indeed. Tobias has been revealing his knowledge to Catherine and myself little by little. Excuse us, we did not realize our mistake."

OOC:   Please excuse the slight delay.

Daniel can't get a read on either of the women, but Catherine and Tobias have better luck. Beth is completely inhuman and from the modern human definition insane, and violently so. If not addressed in the right way she may very well snap. Karen is clearly submissive to this woman, both out of some admiration and a sense of fear. Her mental state over the past few days has taken a beating, and if nothing is done she may very well be conditioned and end up like Beth. But currently there's more to her than that, and behind her strained smile there's a palatable sense of fear and a situation in which she feels utterly out of control.

Beth does not seem to like Tobias, but after he's finished she gives a stiff nod in respect. "Fair enough. Far be it from me to tell a fellow worshiper how to follow The Mother. I welcome you and your pupils, and you may travel in these woods unmolested. But Karen is mine. She is of Geverlon stock, came here on her own volition, and will be inducted into The Mother's service tomorrow night. It is an exciting time, for you, darling." She continues to stroke Karen's hair and speaks soothingly to her, almost motheringly.

"I'm ready." Karen responds, her eyes glazed over and unfocused. Due to the horrors she has seen both Tobias and Catherine can speculate that she's suffering from some form of PTSD.

"Not yet. But you will be, darling." She turns back to the trio. "But of course, where are my manners? Whenever followers of the Mother meet, it is customary for us to celebrate. And that requires a sacrifice." She regards Peter. "You there. I've not seen you at our last few meetings with the townsfolk. You've left Geverlon?"

Peter nods, his eyes downcast. "That's right."

"Yet you still hold to our ways?"

"Of course, Wild Woman."

"Excellent darling. Drop your weapon and kneel."

There's the slightest hint of hesitation, but Peter does so. Beth turns, retries something from the tree, and holds out her hand.

"This is the sacrificial dagger, blessed by The Mother herself. As our guests, it falls on you to do the honers. Stab him, bathe in his blood! " She waits expectantly, her eyes already widening in excitement.

Tobias stared st the dagger offered for a long while. "Perhaps we could perform the stabbing at a more...ceremonious time. Sacrifice him at Karen's induction. I'm sure that is the ultimate induction. A baptism of blood, wouldn't it? Karen, do you want to give your opinions on this? Speak up."

Do not worry. I have something special planned for Karen's induction." Beth explains. " And it would not do to abandon our old traditions." She waits to see if either of the others wish to kill Peter.

Karen looks towards Peter, then Beth, who simply smiles. "Please young one, give your thoughts."

The teenager is quiet for a moment before she speaks. " You should do what she says." Her tone is expressionless.

"Good girl."

Tobias looked painfully at Karen for a few moments, before he turned towards the two officers.

"Well? What are you two officers waiting for, string him up over our heads. If you want us to bath in the lad's blood, then we need to hang him over our heads. I assume you at least understand how gravity works, yes?" He snapped at the officers. Tobias signalled to the two behind him that it is all a ruse, follow along and make it up as they go.

"I'll bring you the knife, Master," says Catherine, taking it from Beth's hand and bringing it over to Tobias, reasoning that it's safer for the weapon to be in their hands than in Beth's.

After allowing Catherine to retrieve the knife, Beth turns towards the officers. "Actually, our guest make a good point. Let us really make this a special occasion. Tie him to the Tree."

The docile Peter looks up, newly horrified. "No! please, Wild Woman!"

"Hush now. It's a great honor, you know that. To feed The Mother's own brood!"

Alex and the Sheriff quickly escort the compliant but clearly quite terrified Peter to the tree, which has closed shut its early opening. Looking around in the roots, they quickly find ropes that were hidden away and secure him tightly to the trunk of the huge tree. He is spread eagle and sobbing.

And now Beth looks to Tobias. "Please, continue. Stab him, and let us all rejoice to the Mother as her child feasts!"

OOC:   It takes a few minutes for the cultists to secure Peter to the tree. If any of you wanted to interrupt the action somehow, let me know and I'll edit accordingly. Otherwise, Beth now clearly expects one of you to stab Peter, and you get the impression she's not going to be particularly appreciate of any delays.

Tobias chose to interpret her orders liberally. He decided to stab Peter in the stomach, avoiding the intestinal tacts; giving him a non-lethal wound. Of course, there would still be a lot of blood flowing out, but he figured that he could use the herbicide and lighter to burn the wound shut later.

Catherine is shocked to see Tobias actually stab Peter, certain that he had been planning some sort of ruse, but she isn't sure what to do about this. She looks over to Daniel, ready to follow his lead.

"What now?" Tobias looked at the woman. He's not entirely sure of what to do next, but he is confident that he won't let anyone suffer an unnecessary death.

OOC:   We'll say the officers go to the side near the tree opposite Beth and Karen. From there they can see all three investigators (who are visible in front of them) and they're keeping watch for any tricks. Once Tobias stabs poor Peter though their attention as well as Beth and Karen's turns towards the tree and the ceremony, and they don't seem to be paying any attention to Catherine or Daniel. Tobias can make two rolls. Roll damage, 1d6 for how much you hurt Peter, and then roll SAN 1/1d3.

Peter lets out a cry in pain as Tobias stabs him, and blood begins to stain the tree behind him. Beth lets out a joyous laugh, and Alex and the other officer follow. After a split second Karen joins in, albeit it more reluctantly.

OOC:   Pausing here to see how much damage Tobias inflicted before I continue.

Peter,[dice]0[/dice]

SAN 65,[dice]1[/dice]

Tobias stabs Peter deep, and the man lets out an anguished cry as his blood staisn the tree. It's not a fatal wound, but he'll be in a good deal of pain.

In response to Tobias question, the cultists begin to chant and dance in front of the tree. Beth takes Karen's hand and pulls her along.

"Ia! Ia! Shub-Niggurath!"

They seem preoccupied by their ritual, but it seems likely that Tobias and the others are expected to join in. Peter continues to moan in pain. Would they join in this pagan ritual and see what happens, or try and take advantage of the distraction?

Tobias decided that now would be a good time to take advantage of the distraction. "Iä! Iä—alright, that's enough, let's get going."

Reasoning that the Sheriff, who carries a shotgun and is at close range, is the greatest threat, Catherine whips out her mace and sprays her right in the eyes with it!

OOC,Mace roll (60% base skill) spraying the Sheriff: [dice]0[/dice] Duration of stun (in minutes): [dice]1[/dice]

Tobias attempts to hack off the ropes on Peter with a pocketknife.

Once he sees Catherine pepper spray the sheriff, Daniel will turn his shotgun on the deputy Steel.

Brawl 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

Stealth 20%,[dice]1[/dice]

Failing miserably, Tobias intends to hide in the background and prepare to...not die.

Catherine's attack is right on the mark, and catches the sheriff right in the eyes. She goes down screaming in fury mixed with agony, her gun falling tot he ground. Alex's eyes look towards the group with confusion, and that's when Daniel blasts him with the shotgun. It's hits him directly in the chest, and blood splatters everywhere. But somehow the deputy remains on his feet, albeit it barely. It's very likely a wound that will kill the deputy, but adrenaline is keeping him alive and still a threat for now.

Tobias attempts to begin cutting Peter free, but the knife slips out of his sweaty hands and gets lost in the tree roots below.

Beth looks at the investigators and lets out an inhuman sound. Her eyes take on a predatory glint, and she looks ready to pounce. Worse, who knew if bullets would even hurt her?

But the biggest concern for the team may very well be the Tree. Spurned on by the blood and chanting it seems to come to life, its branches now animated and writhing. The branches no longer seem like normal parts of a tree either, but more along the lines of tentacles. One pierces its way into the bound Peter's neck and begins to “drain” his blood, as the poor cultist screams in absolute agony. He struggles, but it's clear even looking at him he's getting weaker and won't last much longer.

Other branches jet out and grab at Tobias, and the older man finds himself right in their path. Unless he dodges, they seem like they will envelop him and drag him back to the tree as well.

OOC:   Roll 1/1d6 for seeing the “Tree” come to life. That was a surprise round, mostly, though once the blood hit the Tree it was going to wake up. All rounds from now on will go in this order of action. Daniel Tree Beth Catherine Karen Alex Tobias Though technically still active, I expect the Sheriff to be preoccupied writhing in pain to be an active participant in this fight.

SAN 64,[dice]0[/dice] SAN LOST: 1 SAN REMAINING: 63

Dodge 20,[dice]1[/dice]

Tobias deftly dodger aside, trying to find another chance to interject into the battlefield however he could. He wants to save Karen, it’s the only thing driving him on at this point. He gritted his teeth and observed. Hopefully, he could trust Daniel and Catherine to make the most rational and effective move.

After all, he’s not confident that he could come diving in to save them in case the worst case scenario happens.

Catherine is able to keep her wits about her - mostly.

OOC,I'll wait until my turn before I act. Sanity roll (current level 60) for seeing the Tree come to life: [dice]0[/dice]

The tree coming to life disturbs Daniel to say the least, but he doesn't have time to think about that right now. He takes aim at Beth assuming, hoping, that Alex is still standing only through adrenaline and not some other supernatural means. Unfortunately, he's worried about hitting Karen and his shot goes wide.

Tobias decided to the hell away from the tree. He know what the damned thing is and he is afraid.

Catherine also retreats from the tree, seeking whatever cover she can find.

Though in exceptional shape for one his age, Tobias is an elderly man. He's only barely able to avoid the branches from the Tree, and he and Catherine take the opportunity to put some distance between them. They won't be protected from the others, but at least the Tree won't be able to reach them. In theory, anyway.

Daniel keeps his wits about him and fires a blast at the thing that is Beth. It hits her directly in the chest, causing her to flinch back with the impact. Yet a second later she snarls and keeps coming. The blow should probably have put her down, or at least caused her to struggle to stand, like Deputy Steel, who seems to be remaining conscious due to sheer will. On the positive side, Daniel notes there is a lot of blood (perhaps surprisingly, red) now leaking out of her, so if her body is anything like a human he has hurt her to some degree.

The Tree continues to drink from Peter, whose struggles gradually cease. If he's not dead now he likely will be soon. Its other branches attempt to grab at Daniel, but he is able to avoid them as well, and it gets nothing but air.

Beth reaches the officer and attempts to scratch him with her nails. Daniel notices they're quite sharp, and are likely to hurt. His training kicks in, and he avoids her blow. Beth is hooting now, seeming disturbingly like an animal in heat.

Deputy Steel aims his gun at Daniel, but the sheriff's continued cries briefly attract his attention. He turns his attention to the fleeing Catherine, and despite his weakness looks furious at the one who harmed his boss. He shoots at her, but the shot goes well above her head.

Karen remains indecisive. Seeing this, Beth shoots her a look and barks in an authoritative tone.

“The knife, Karen! It is time for you to prove yourself!”

With a shaking nod, Karen retrieves the ceremonial knife Tobias had dropped near the tree. Then she begins to approach Daniel, her eyes steely.

OOC:   I'm just going to stick with 6th edition, since I don't have 7th. A very lucky round for our heroes. Both Alex and Beth are wounded, Alex critically though with Beth it is difficult to say. Due to the others retreat, Daniel's the only one in range of the Tree at the moment.

“Karen! Don’t do this, nothing will come of this! I know there’s still good inside of you, and I need you to make the right choice. Daniel is your family, he’s the one who gave you the expensive presents! He spent hundreds of dollars to get you that backstage ticket to Fun Direction or whatever-the-hell-that-boy-band-group-is-called, if you still want that ticket, put that knife down this instant, young lady!” Tobias barked, hoping like crazy that he sounds persuasive enough to make a difference. Meanwhile, he analysed Beth and attempted to determine whether she is still human or not.

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]1[/dice] [ooc]I want to spend 10 luck to make my roll successful, um, is that okay?[/ooc]

Anthropology 01%,[dice]0[/dice]

Catherine takes cover behind a non-moving tree. Leaning around it, she returns fire at the deputy with her shotgun, but the blast goes wide.

OOC,Shotgun roll (30% base skill) shooting at the deputy: [dice]0[/dice]

Daniel will back up a bit carefully (hopefully out of the Tree's range, but its not his greatest concern at the moment), and shoot at Beth again. He hopes that if he can kill her all this madness will stop.

Daniel fires point blank into Beth, and once again he is rewarded for his efforts by a fresh spray of blood. The Wild Woman staggers for a moment, and one of her breasts has been nearly entirely destroyed. Yet still she remains standing. It seems clear she's either incredibly powerful or her body is more capable of withstanding bullets. But she does look seriously hurt, and Daniel doubts she can withstand much more.

The Tree releases Peter, who is no longer moving at all. Its branches now lash out at two people. Daniel is once again able to avoid it, but surprisingly its other target is the person closest to it: The sheriff. Still sprawled out on the ground, the tree seems either unaware or uncaring that she is one of its worshipers. Its branches wrap around her and quickly immobile her, and her screams take upon a new intensity.

Despite being seriously hurt, Beth lashes out at Daniel again. This time the cop cannot avoid her, and he gets a very painful gash on the side of his face as her nails slash at him and dig into his skin. The pain is incredible, but he remains standing. Beth withdraws her hand and grinning, licks the blood off. Somehow she manages to make even this action sensual.

Catherine fires at the deputy, hoping to put him down, but perhaps unsurprisingly her shot goes wide.

Karen ignores her grandfather's words and slashes at her uncle with the knife. But she's not a trained combatant, and Daniel is able to easily avoid her telegraphed blow.

Deputy Alex seems unconcerned by Catherine shooting at him, and he instead looks down at the sheriff. “Mabel!” He cries, in what is apparently genuine concern. Hesitating for only a second, he fires a shot at the tree. It's a good shot, but does not seem to stop the tree, whose branches are still moving.

OOC:   New round. Daniel took 6 damage from Beth's attack. He's also not out of the Tree's range yet. Catherine got VERY lucky here. I had to check the action order. Had Alex acted before the Tree, he would have fired at Catherine, and even with her cover bonus it would have hit her and done a very significant chunk of damage. As it was he's more concerned about the sheriff.

Tobias also starts shooting at the tree with his glock pistol.

Firearms Pistol 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

Daniel's focus has narrowed in the chaos of the battle, right now all that matters to him is killing the monster that call itself Beth. He will shoot the Wild Woman once again.

Catherine leans around the tree again and fires the shotgun at Beth. To her amazement, the shot is nearly perfect.

OOC,Shotgun roll (30% base skill) shooting at [b]Beth[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Damage to [b]Beth[/b] from impaling shotgun blast: [dice]1[/dice]

Tobias fired a near-perfect shot as well, dealing what appears to be grievous amounts of damage.

Gun Impale damage,[dice]0[/dice]

Taking some mild liberties here. Beth fumbled her attack roll, but I'm making that failure more cinematic.

Daniel fires yet again. Beth is clearly in bad shape, but some sort of unholy adrenaline seems to be fueling the Wild Woman. Her grin bloody, she looks close to ecstasy.

"I am going to mount you, little man. You will die slowly, and I will savor every minute of it."

The Tree begins to drain Sheriff Mabel, who screams and thrashes about ineffectively,the mace still preventing her from putting up much of a resistance. Seeming annoyed by being shot, it reaches out and grabs Alex, who joins the sheriff in being entangled by the tree and brought closer to it.

Beth hardly seems to notice any of this.Reaching out, she swipes at Daniel once again, her nails aiming for his juicy neck. She's so intent on this she does not noticte how she leaves herself open, and Catherine blast hits her directly in her midsection. Not much of it is left after the shot. Indeed she is nearly split in two. She survives long enough to look down at her wound, surprised, before she collapses to the ground in a heap.

Karen blinks, spares one final look at her dead "instructor" and crumbles to her knees, sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she babbles other things, but few of them are coherent thoughts. The knife she had held falls to the ground. "Uncle, I'm sorry!"

Tobias shoots the tree. It's a nice shot, and a little of its bark is destroyed, but it will clearly take many shots to fully destroy.

OOC:   Everyone can roll psychology on Karen if they like. Daniel and Karen are the only ones still in reach of the tree, but it has its branches full at the moment with its two prisoners. Daniel can easily get himself and Karen away from the Tree's reach. Are you all planning to run, or are you going to try and save the two cultists still in its grip?

With the beast dead, Daniel drops his shotgun and grabs Karen, intent on getting her as far away from this place as possible. He'll carry her if he has to. As he moves he shouts to his companions, "I'm not sure there's anything we can do for Peter or the other two!"

Catherine nods, not wanting to tangle with the tree. She follows Daniel and Karen away from it. "Now that we've found her, we need to get her out of here," she says. "We need to be well away before it gets dark."

“We still have around five hours of daylight left. Let’s make sure The Tree gets taken care of. The centre of worship had always been the tree. I think...we can make an attempt to save the two. I have something resembling a plan: Herbicide is flammable, and while it wasn’t as effective as I hoped it was...the chemicals and the fire combined should at least intimidate it enough to stop thrashing its branches about. I’ll back Daniel up with an improvised spray of herbicide and fire while he rescues the two. Daniel, you are obviously the fastest out of all of us.” Tobias said, and for a moment, he fumbled slightly to get out the Elder Sign-embedded wallet and handed it to Daniel. “This...is a ward. Take it. It should offer some modicum of protection against the tree while you’re out there.”

Then, Tobias turned his worried gaze towards Karen, “...Karen, are you okay? Do you...want to talk about it?” His voice trembled. He realised that he doesn’t know how to react in this situation. For the first time in a while, he felt helpless, he doesn’t know how to help Karen and he doesn’t know what to make of his granddaughter at the moment.

Psychology 60%,[dice]0[/dice]

"It's all right now, Karen," says Catherine soothingly. She has some understanding of what the girl is thinking. "What happened wasn't your fault."

OOC,Psychology roll (65% skill) about [b]Karen[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

To their relief, Tobias and Catherine can see that Karen's sobbing is genuine. She seems like a very frightened girl at the moment. Beth had evidently held her in some sort of trance, and the Wild Woman's death had snapped her out of it.

"The things they did to me... They were going to make me like her. She said it wouldn't take as long as it did with her, I'm from Geverlon..." She says, continuing to sob. "I just want to go home. I wish I hadn't come here!"

“Listen, Karen. This place isn’t your home; your home is with your mother Rachel and your uncle, and the rest of your family. They aren’t any more or less family just because of the fact that you’re adopted. Are you unsatisfied with your life back home? We only want the best for you, we really do. The people here at Geverlon...not so much, to them, ‘family’ is only valuable when they’re serving their Dark Goddess. And she couldn’t care less about these worshippers of hers. Do you know what that tree was?” Tobias pointed to the tree as he gently gave Karen his jacket. ”Once upon a time, that tree was a human being. As human as you and me. The Dark Mother changed him into that tree, and then he remained trapped here in this blasted forest in a town stuck in the middle of nowhere. Tell me, if the Dark Mother really gave a damn about her followers, why had she never bothered to free this tree of its bounds? Why did this tree ruthlessly slaughter it’s own comrades and followers for no reason beyond gaining sustainance? They don’t care. Once they transcends the boundaries of humanity, everything related to human society become irrelevant to them, they become exactly like Shub-Niggurath, the dark god that they worship: alien, uncaring, and ultimately, selfish individual who cares not a fig of the religious worshippers that follows them.”

Fast Talk 65%,[dice]0[/dice] [ooc]That...um, I think that counts as a success.[/ooc]

"I think she understands that," says Catherine. "Don't worry, Karen, we'll get you back home."

OOC,Yes, that's a success.

Daniel is a little bewildered by Tobias' suggestion, but he realizes that they shouldn't leave the scene as it is. He takes the ward, "Tobais why don't you leave me with the herbicide and lighter as well. You two take Karen back to the car and I'll catch up."

“Very well. I imagine that rescuing civilians should be a duty for the men in uniforms anyways. Regardless of their past crimes...they deserves a fair trial in court, not a shameless death dying beneath that...tree. Are you sure you’ll be okay with doing this yourself?” Tobias said, agreeing with Daniel. He can do what he wants. “I doubt there’ll be anymore difficult confrontations, so it would make sense for us to escort Karen back to the car...Catherine, are you okay with leaving Daniel here?”

Daniel nods, "I'll be alright. Y'all go on."

OOC:   Have we figured out the tree's reach, and whether any of the Wild Men "statues" are within that?

"If you're sure," says Catherine. "Be careful, Daniel. All right, Karen, let's get to the car."

Tobias leaves with the two and heads for the car.

OOC:   I'll say the tree's range with its branches is decently far. Daniel's not currently in it, but if he wants to try and burn it he'll need to be. Luckily(?) for him, the branches are all occupied at the moment with its prey. The statues, there's a few of them that are within range of the tree, but most of them are spread out further away, closer to the other investigators at the other side of the glade.

Karen looks alarmed that Daniel is staying behind, but the promise of leaving this place behind seems to focus her. Nodding at Tobias' words, she goes with the others.

Daniel heads for the statues closest to the tree and starts to burn them, keeping his eyes on the tree the whole time. If he is successful he'll work his way out until all the Wild Men are burning. He'll grab the shotgun he dropped too.

OOC:   My actual plan was to get rid of the Wild Men while the tree was occupied. They will become mobile at night and who knows how far they can range in that time.

Daniel is fortunate that Tobias knew what he was doing when he was preparing for this. He's got enough makeshift fuel to finish the job.

The Tree is too busy "feeding" to pay Daniel much mind, at least at first, and he gets to work. Within short order the statues nearest the tree are up in flames, and the officer moves further out and proceeds to do the same to the ones further away. By now the screams of both Alex and Mabel have silenced, and both have been released from the grip of the branches, their bodies now falling to the ground drained of all blood. The Tree itself makes a few grabs for Daniel. Some of these are uncomfortably close, but none of them reach him. It would seem the Tree was unable to retaliate against the investigator.

When he's finished, over twenty satyr statues are burning. The smell is nauseating. Something besides wood was burning with each one, and the smell is nauseating. But any threat they held appears to have been dealt with.

The only issue remaining was the large Tree. Daniel could attempt to deal with it, but that would risk getting close to it, and with none remaining to distract it. Alternatively he could leave, content in knowing it could not follow them.

Thanks to fear and adrenaline Daniel had been able to ignore the gash in his face made by the Wild Woman, but now he was exhausted and pain radiated out from the wound. All he wants to do now is take Karen home, and put this nasty business behind him. Perhaps he, Tobias, and Catherine could return and destroy the tree at a later time. Daniel leaves the tree and the burning statues to catch up with the others.

OOC:   How confident are we that we could find our way back here without Peter or some other guide?

OOC:   You rolled well enough on luck I'm willing to say you make it out.

Daniel leaves the tree behind, having destroyed the Wild Ones that could be a threat to them. Still, his conscience pangs. Alex had called out to him for help more than once, and the officer had ignored him. Daniel had always believed in protecting and serving. What he did today, deserved as it perhaps was, still takes a toll on him.

OOC:   Daniel can make a san roll. 1/1d4

Fortune is on the investigators side, as they make it back to their vehicle within an hour. Daniel soon joins them, looking exhausted. The cultists are not with him.

OOC:   Feel free to question each other about this, don't want to rush through things.

When they get in their vehicle, Karen sobers up somewhat. She begins to speak as they begin the drive back to Paradise Falls.

"Joy sent me a letter. She wanted me to come here. I love the Parkers, my family. But I needed to know where I came from. Joy spent months telling me I'd love it in Geverlon. So I snuck away. I only wanted to spend a few days here, that's all. But on my way to town those things captured me." She takes a shaky breath and continues. "They were jeering at first, made plans to sacrifice me. Until they learned i was from Geverlon. Then Beth told me I was chosen, destined to be a favored child of the goddess. That I would become like her.

"I tried to run,t hat first night, but they caught me. They tied me to the tree and made me bleed. They did so many things, and Beth, she just smiled. Told me I needed to be reborn, free of the shackles of morality. They fed me the tree's sap and promised me it would make me a Wild Woman. And it became so hard to fight it. Beth's words started to make perfect sense. Even now, a part of me can't help but find them sensible." She breaks down crying for a moment before continuing. " Maybe I am like her already! When I first saw the three of you, Uncle Daniel and Grandfather and Ms. Levesque, I felt a strong combination of lust and hunger. Only when Beth died did I feel like myself again. But I'm scared. What if these feelings always haunt me? What if they never go away? How can I ever be normal after what I've seen?"

And then she begins to sob again. This time, she doesn't stop.

“Karen, you have a family. You have us, if you won’t abandon us, then we will never abandon you. Listen Karen, you can still go with your uncle Daniel here to that boy band concert; though I disapprove of your habits, what with underage drinking and shady bars and whatnots, but we can still talk about it and help you adjust back to that life. That life is still there, you can still go back to it. It’s okay. You have us, and what’s more, you have a future.” Tobias struggled to get the words out of him, as he started to cry himself, tiny, choking, episodes of coughing and crying. He wasn’t all that great at crying. It wasn’t a pretty sight. “L-listen, there’s time for you to adjust. There’s places you can go where people understands exactly what you are going through and could help you in ways that I never could. I...look, if you want to, my alma mater, Miskatonic University, I know of a few professors from my days there that could talk to you. It’s a good place, and I think I wouldn’t neccessarily mind if you go to college there.”

He tried to comfort Karen and offer some advice, but he realised that he was just some old man, there’s no superior insight that his life experiences offered him in comforting his granddaughter, he wasn’t trained at reassuring people. At the end of the day, he wished he could do more. Turning to Daniel, he asked, “What happened? You’re still shaking, the look in your eyes...”

He is concerned for them.

"Karen, you are nothing like Beth and never will be," Catherine assures her. "Once I killed her, that broke the spell. I understand how you feel you can never be normal again. I don't think any of us can. But I'm here for you, any time you need to talk about what happened. We all are, and we'll help you get through it."

Daniel says to Tobias, keeping his voice low while Catherine talks to Karen, "I... wasn't fast enough to save them,
but... the Wild Men won't be a problem." He moves past the older man to Karen and tries to console her, "Don't worry, its over now we should head home and we can start putting all this behind us." He's shaky and sweaty and bleeding, however, and isn't very convincing.

Tobias sighed, but didn’t comment further.

OOC:   I'm guessing any professors Tobias had are long dead, or else engaged in things Karen would do well to stay away from.

Karen seems to calm down a bit as her family and teacher consoles her. She stops crying and remains quiet for a few minutes.

"What am I going to tell everyone? No one, no one will believe what happened!"

Karen does raise a good point. What would the investigators tell Karen? Moreover, what would they tell the Parkers, not to mention the police? Could they really risk telling others what they saw? With all the Wild Ones destroyed, they may be looked at as liars or worse, somehow involved in Karen's disappearance. And though the Tree remained, for all they knew it might very well go back to "sleep" before they returned.

And what of the town of Geverlon? It was still filled with practitioners of this pagan religion. Would they attempt to deal with it, or be content with saving Karen?

"I have a recording of some parts of the conversation. We could justify the existence of the cult well enough. Pressing charges against them for kidnapping Karen is an option as well. Remember, her biological mother and the pastor know about what's going on, and their secrets aren't bullet-proof. Daniel, as I remember it, you had taken a few photos of the scenes as well. We definitely have enough evidence to justify the police raid that is happening tomorrow. It wouldn't be hard to sue the town for illegal police conduct as well." Tobias grinned. "Karen, Beth's body is still there as well, the surprise raid tomorrow should be able to find her body too. With this many factors working against them, I highly doubt they would be able to wriggle out of this. We can take them to court, and we can also ensure that a federal investigation gets started."

"We'll just have to leave out the parts that would get us a one-way trip to the loony bin," says Catherine. "No mention of a tree coming to life and killing people, a satyr woman, or anything like that. This is just a simple case of kidnapping."

"Agreed. In fact we should just leave out the whole part about the grove and Peter entirely. It would only bring up a lot uncomfortable questions."

OOC:   Okay, writing up the aftermath. As always, let me know if I should change anything your characters do.

The investigators take Karen home. The Parkers are overjoyed to see their daughter and sister once again, and a touching family reunion occurs. In between hugs and endless expressions of gratitude, a story comes out as to where Karen was. She had gone to meet her birth mother and was promptly kidnapped by the townsfolk, who held her for some nefarious purpose. The investigators though managed to locate her and ferry her out of the town. The Parkers are of course outraged, but Daniel assures them that the police are going to take care of it. Karen for her part declines to talk about it further. She seems glad to be home, though none of those who had gone to find her expect she'll ever fully forget the events she saw and underwent. Hopefully though she could find a way to live a normal life.

Friends soon ferry in as well, and Karen makes an effort to engage with them. She seemed conflicted, both happy and haunted. But that was perhaps hardly surprising. The Parkers eventually make their way over to Catherine and Tobias, and seem eager for more details as to Karen's rescue. Would they be given any, or left in the dark as much as possible?

***

Daniel takes the opportunity to head out and give a report to Chief Taylor. Even an edited story, along with Karne's testimony would be enough to bring about a raid on Geverlon. But to his surprise, Chief Taylor calls him into his office and interrupts him before he can explain anything past Karen being recovered.

"Got a call from upstairs. The FBI, in fact. Apparently they're taking over the case for counter-terrorism reasons. The raid will go ahead don't worry about that. But it's a federal matter now. I get the feeling the feds are very interested in what's going on in Geverlon. They also want to interview you."

Daniel is not really given a choice. He's ushered into an interrogation room. A short time later a tall, severe looking middle aged black woman comes in. She's dressed sharpy, and everything about her screams bureaucrat. She does not identify herself without prompting.

"I won't keep you for long, Officer Parker. The recent events surrounding Geverlon have greatly interested the federal government. As the one in charge of the raid on the town, I'd like you to recount everything you experienced there. We don't want to go in unprepared. What should we be expecting to find there?"

"It was a very frightening experience," says Catherine. "Your daughter has been through a tremendous ordeal, and she has shown remarkable courage and resilience." She glances at Tobias to see if he wants to tell them any details. They are his family, after all, so the decision should be his.

“There’s a cult there...and personally, I don’t think it’s my story to tell. I’ll respect Karen’s choice and privacy. Besides, I think they’ll be take care of, so I doubt I’ll have anything more to the story that you can’t find on the evening news around tomorrow or the day after that.” Tobias replied.

Daniel takes a moment to take in the situation before responding. "There is a cult of some kind there. I don't think the people there will attack you, but they certainly won't make things easy on you. I don't know how involved they all are. Two officers who lived in the town threatened and eventually shot at us, and I shot back, and they died." Daniel tries his best to read the woman, to see how she'd react to hearing about the Tree, but that's never been his strong suit. He decides to omit that part, hoping the feds will stick to the town.

The Parkers share a look. Then Rachel nods.

"She must have been through so much. Thank you for saving her. I think we'll need to talk about getting Karen a therapist. I don't think either of us are equipped to understand what she went through."

Paul holds his wife's hand and gently squeezes. "But we'll be there for her. And I know the both of you and Daniel will be as well, so thank you. Thank you for bringing our little girl home." They look towards Karen then. She's talking to a group of her friends. Though still looking reserved, all our relieved to see a slight smile grow across her face.
***

Daniel notes the woman hardly seems surprised by his mention of the cult. Indeed, Her face remains frustratingly blank, and he can't get a read on her.

"I see." she says, when he finishes his tale. "As I've said, recent events in Geverlon have caught our interest. The government has dealt with these sort of cults before. Rarely are they on so organized a scale as an entire town, but it does happen. They can hide in plain site, as you've learned. Many of them are your standard fundamentalist sect, crazy but recognizable. Some though worship things that are older than that."

"Telling us more about this cult, anything you've learned about it would be useful. In our... line of work, we've learned that nothing is impossible." Daniel notices she does not even seem to care that he just confessed to killing two people, even if in self defense.

Tobias smiled as well, happy to see that Karen has taken the first step towards recovery. He sat down and drank some water. He wants to remain sober for a while longer.

"You're quite welcome," says Catherine. "Your plan sounds like the best course of action. If Karen or you two ever need anything, just ask."

Daniel licks his lips, and wonders what he should say next. In the end he decides to tell the whole truth, after all if Tobias knew about the kind of things they saw in Geverlon then others must too. "Well. There was this woman, not really a woman but like one. A monster. And a Tree that was alive and drank people's blood. The monster woman died too, and there were some statues of other monsters that I burned for good measure. The Tree is still there though." Daniel tries to look as earnest as he can. The things he's saying sound insane even to himself, but he suddenly hopes very much that this woman will believe him.

Once again Daniel finds the FBI agent impossible to read. She waits for him to finish before continuing.

"The things you are saying sound crazy, Officer Parker. I advise you to think up a better story." she leans in close and lowers her voice. "But I also suspect you're telling me the truth. It would be better for you if you don't spread this around.But your cooperation is noted."

She slides a card against the desk towards him. It's blank, except for a number. "There are others who have seen the sort of things you've seen. The people I represent work to find and root out places like Geverlon. You have two options, officer. Forget about all this and go back to your life. Or call that number and we'll know we can count on you if something along these lines comes up. You have one week before that number is disconnected. Think about it long and hard. You don't get to quit this club."

Without another word, she turns and leaves the room.

***

The next day comes with no fanfare. Karen had given a statement to the police. She's remaining quiet about what really happened to her. Along with the investigators providing her story with support, the police seem willing to close the case, content on letting the FBI handle the rest. The chief does mention to Daniel that the feds are giving them significant pressure to let them handle it, and he's inclined to let them.

The raid is unannounced. Coincidentally, there are some reports of forest fires in the surrounding area of Geverlon over the next few days.No one seems eager to follow up, and though the Parkers seem to want closure and the knowledge that their daughter's kidnappers have been brought to justice, Karen and her rescuers are able to convince them not to push the matter too far, if only for her mental health.

Over the next few months life gradually returns to normal. Karen defers on college and instead plans to attends one close to her family, specifically her uncle and grandfather. Catherine still sees her now and then as well, and she seems trying to be normal. She's still a popular girl, if perhaps not as quick with a smile as she had been before Geverlon. And every now and then she gets a distant look in her eyes. But she seems glad to be home. Perhaps sh'ell never fully recover, but neither does she seem to wish to become like Beth.

The only other odd thing is if any of the investigators do research on Geverlon, they find that most mentions of it on the internet are gone. A few new websites have gone up, claiming the town died out over a century ago. If the investigators are brave( or foolhardy) enough to go out near Geverlon, they find no traces of the community.It's like it vanished from the world.

Though perhaps that's a good thing.

No one outside the Group that raided that forest and town will ever know what went on there, but if they somehow did, they would discover that much of the town was liquidated with extreme prejudice. Survivors,, especially those more well versed in the cult's background, were herded out to a secret black site and interrogated and experimented on. Mos tof these subjects would be dead within a few months, though a few promising ones were stored on site indefinitely.

As for the Wild Ones, thanks to Daniel most of them were destroyed. The Tree was dealt with an acceptable amount of trauma, it's sap collected for further study. It was found to have amazing healing qualities, and attempts to replicate it achieved a partial success. The resulting sap was found effective enough to market it out to a Group affiliated company, which would begin producing it for the military and eventually the general population. Millions of dollars would be made.

The pure sap was also tested on the survivors from Geverlon, and mutations would gradually develop in them. The Group's scientists would learn much from their studies. More than one of them would be seduced into the service of Geverlon's mother goddess, and the implications from this would be serious in the years to come.

But our heroes would never know any of this, and so their victory was sweet. They had encountered pure evil and achieved a victory over it. And maybe that was enough.

Tobias stayed at home to what little remainder of his life with his family. He did notice, however, that Daniel had distanced himself from them over the duration of the week.

Daniel tries the best he can to move on after the events in Geverlon, but he returned to that clearing in the woods every night in his dreams. In the end he does call that number before the week is out.

Catherine returns to her job, shaken from her experience, but stronger for it. She realizes that the goat woman she killed, Beth, was the one who had gone missing all those years ago, but that she was no longer human. It had been self-defense, and Catherine knows she had saved Daniel's life - and perhaps all of theirs. She had never known what she was capable of doing until the moment came. She is there for Karen, ready to help her with whatever she needs.