Game Two

[Tweek]

A group of people with torches and lanterns gathers near the edge of the Black Hills forest. It is a chilly night in March 1886. Robin Weaver is lost out here somewhere, and this search party is determined to find her. The woods are dangerous these days. Wild animals, Indians, and who knows what else out here. Sooner we find her and get out of this place the better.

[owen]

Owen rubs his hands together in a desperate attempt to stay warm on this chilly night. He cups them and warmly breathes into the middle. faintly he can smell the whisky that he'd just taken a sip of from his hip flask. He pans the dark woods with his eyes carefully and says quitely "It feels like the woods are watching us...." He takes a long deep breath, and lets it out slowly....

[Tweek]

TWEEK slides off his coonskin cap, scratches his balding head, and slaps it back on again. Holding a torch in one hand and his rifle in the other, he silently questions the wisdom in starting the search now. At night. The only thing we'll find in the dark is TROUBLE, he thinks.

TWEEK is impatient to get things started. And finished. He misses the warm bed he was forced to leave to join the search party. This is not how he planned to spend his evening. Not even close.

"How'd we get talked into this, Owen?" he asks.

[Erik de Maricourt]

Standing with them is a young man, his figure shrouded by a long, black hooded cloak. A pistol is tucked into his belt, and a rapier, which belonged to his father, hangs at his side.

His name is Jonathan Armitage, known to everyone else as "Nightfall." He is not a native of Burkittsville, being born in the small village of Dunwich, Massachusetts. He has only recently come to Burkittsville to live with relatives since his mother's mysterious death.

His eyes scan the dark branches. Off in the distance, an owl's call echoes through the forest.

"There is a darkness here... One that seeks to swallow us whole..."

[owen]

OWEN turns to look at TWEEK. He sighs and shakes his head "I really dont know.... lets just get it over with, we shouldnt be too long, theres only so much we can do in this light"

He slowly starts to walk towards the woods, scanning the darkness that lies in front of him.

He stops and turns to look at the group as if urging them to follow.He keeps a brave face although inside, he's deeply unsure about what their about to do. A shiver runs down his spine.

[Erik de Maricourt]

Nightfall lowers his hood as he follows Owen. A slight frown crosses his face as he grasps a silver cross pendant around his neck.

"I pray that we find the child quickly... God forbid she should come to harm."

[Tweek]

Following the faint forest trail in near darkness is slow and tedious. The party stops at every sound, anything that might be the missing child. A deer crosses the path up ahead. A rabbit darts out from behind a large oak tree, causing TWEEK to take a shot at it (and miss).

Stopping to reload his rifle, he catches a glimpse of the moon through the branches overhead. It is gleaming white, like a great ivory eye peering down on them. It almost seems alive.

"Ever get that feeling you are being watched? Well I've got it right now..."

[Scardy]

Scardy stumbled out of the brush, her petticoats caught on twigs. Her brown hair had fallen out of her bonnet, so it whisped around her face.
"TWEEK, Owen, you forgot your lunches!" she lifted up the heavy wicker basket in front of her.
Her realname was Brooke, but she'd been nicknamed "scardy because of all the pranks the children had played on her when they were young. She was a strong young woman with very healthy lungs.

[Jerry]

Chupa moves his lantern over to see Scardy more clearly.
"Nice Jugs . . . Brooke. I hope you brought me some whiskey."

A shriek is heard somewhere off in the distance as he glances to the right, studying the forest with slow movements.

"I really hope you brought me some whiskey. Forget the sandwiches."

[Scardy]

Scardy gives him a dirty look andhands him a bottle of whiskey.
"It's adirty habit, you know." Another scream comes from the brush. Scardy grabs the bottle back from Jerry and takes aswig, shaking her head as it buzzes down her throat and hands it back to him.

[Erik de Maricourt]

The air sings as Nightfall unsheathes his rapier, the blade gleaming in the moonlight.

An unearthly wind begins to blow, causing the torches and lanterns to flicker violently.

He turns to the others.

"We need to move... every second we wait puts the child in more danger."

[Scardy]

Scardy turns to leave, but then changes her mind and sticks with the group, grinning sheepishly.

[Tweek]

*sniff sniff*

"Food? Do I smell FOOD?" TWEEK growls. "Hand it over here!"

He reaches into the basket with both hands, pulling out a wrapped sandwich in each. With mouth full of food he mumbles what might have been a 'thank you' to Scardy and sits down to enjoy his meal.

[Scardy]

Scardy rolled her eyes. Men The archangel could come down from the heavens and swoop them all up to God's kingdom and they would still ask what was for lunch.
"Well save some in case we find the girl. She'll probably be mighty hungry."

[Tweek]

A loud burp. A satisfied sigh. A contented smile.

TWEEK stands up, wipes his greasy fingers on his wrinkled brown shirt, then picks up his rifle again. His belly full, he is ready to start the search anew.

"Coffin Rock isn't too far from here. Do we think that little girl really made it out this far? Doesn't seem too likely to me. We should look closer to the village..."

[Scardy]

"We made it, she could of too. She's been out here longer then us. She's probably asleep under a tree somewhere." Scardy looked around. It was either the atmosphere of the lost girl, or the story of thewitch, but it seemed the forest hadtaken on amore sinister element.

[vampyr_Jakayle]

*JAKAYLE runs out of some bushes all of a sudden, tears streaming down her face, as she colapses onto her knees, her long, black hair strewn with leaves and dirt, her emerald eyes shimmering in the light of the pale moon. She is thin in build and only looks about 17* "It's..... not....... too......... l......" she puffs, as her hot breath mingles with thye cold night air before dissolving into darkness she then collapses into the arms of Nightfall.

[Jerry]

Jerry looks at the poor girl as the whiskey begins to take effect.

"What the hell happened to her?" He looks around at the others in quick moves.

"Hey, I've got a good idea. Why don't we just stay where we are and start yelling for her to follow our voices and then she'll come out or better yet . . . Scardy go grab some stuff to make stew and we'll camp out and cook it. She'll follow the smell. Why the F*** are we looking for her at night anyway?"

He looks over at some trees as a fog slowly creeps in.

"Here, Nightfall . . . Looks like she could use a drink."

He hands the bottle over to Nightfall.

[Heather, taking a piss.]

Midnight. The woods peacefully sleep while the setteled camp rest.

Suddenly, the noise of a broken branch wakes up the campers, as footsteps start being heard, heading quickly to the camp.

Before the stranger could reach nearer, the campers light him up, pointing him with a safety shotgun one of them was carrying.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

-"Relax, i came straight from Burkittsville to search for the girl. I brought you some supplies too... oh, and by the way, my name is George. We should get out of this woods as soon as possible, the other search party is missing."

[Erik de Maricourt]

He takes the bottle from Jerry and sets it on the ground as he supports the girl. He slowly drops to his knees, letting the girl lean against him.

"She's exhausted..."

He gently brushes some dirt from her face.

"She was saying something..."

[vampyr_Jakayle]

*shivers in the cold night air* i,i,it's........ nnnot.... too.......llllllate.........

[Erik de Maricourt]

Nightfall slips off the thick coat he is wearing under his cloak, and wraps the coat around the girl.

"Too late for what?"

[Scardy]

Scardy sighs, holding the girl in her arms. "My fiance is gonna be so peeved when I'm not home to cook breakfast." She thought about it for a moment.
"It's time he learned to slaughter his own cows."

[vampyr_Jakayle]

*Jakayle stands up, she is a rather tall girl, her emerald eyes seem to fade as if she was entranced* The girl... But be warned... We are not alone..... *Her breathing getting heavier as her words seemed to fade into the night itself. She looks around at all the shotguns, as she shakes her head with a forced smile* they won't be much good... *she retrieves a hunting rifle from her satchel* look... *The shotgun seems to be broken in half, it was obvious she could have not have done it, she could barely pick up the rifle. Her eyes seemed to water, as she lets out a slight sob* You should go back now... The girl may be trapped, but she is still alive.... but i have encountered some strange presences in these woods.... *she starts shaking, even under the warmth of the coat, she falls to the ground, her shirt lifting to reveal runic carvings across her stomache, her breath morphing into tiny sobs*

[Erik de Maricourt]

A small gasp escapes his mouth as his eyes settle on the carvings.

"My God... What did this to you?"