Suddenly, we were back around the campfire. At least we had all made it out this time.

“What was making the animals act so weird,” Jake asked. “Why would they attack like that?”

Why would they attack? Had he not been paying attention?

“No one knows,” Akers answered. “Some say it was the ghosts of all those who had died in the mine. Others say it was a disease. Me, I think that nature itself got upset at the scarring of the land and decided to take revenge. I suppose we will never know.”

I looked around at my friends. We were all confused.

The story was pretty clear about why the animals attacked. Wasn’t it? They were possessed by the eldritch entity in the cavern.

It was true that at many moments throughout the story, we were Off-Screen. The most notable of which was when we were around the Unknowable Host and the Off-Screen light was blinking continuously.

It was like only we were shown the dead thing in the mines. Only we knew about the entire Hesper plotline. That left two likely possibilities. One: the storyline was broken. This seemed unlikely because surely one of the other teams would have seen it and Chris would never have recommended the storyline. Two: someone pulled some strings to show us something.

“You know,” Akers said, “I think we have time for one last story. This one is really the last one though. This one took place over two hundred years ago when a settlement near my family’s claim started getting attacked by horrifying creatures in the night.”

In an instant, I was sitting on a wooden bench on top of a large wagon. I could hear the clip-clop of a pair of horses in front of me pulling the wagon. I slowly realized that their reins were in my hands. I had no idea how to direct a horse, but I don't think it mattered. The horses were NPCs. They knew where to go. I just had to pretend like I was directing them.

The roads were dirt, the scenery forested and largely untouched. No barbed wire fences, no buildings.

“It isn’t fair that we were sent to fetch Cousin Walter. We should be back with the others. I wanted to see what happened to the settlement across the vale in the night. I can only imagine that it has been laid to waste,” a young man said.

I only realized that he was sitting next to me when he spoke. I needed to say something.

“We do as we’re told,” I said.

“We always do,” the young man said.

I looked at him. He might have been sixteen. Dark hair and a mischievous smile. On the red wallpaper, he was called Douglas. He was a standard NPC.

“I told grandfather that I loathed Walter,” Douglas said. “He teases me so. He calls me Doug. What kind of name is that?” he huffed. “A terrible name.”

“Walter is family,” I said.

“That’s what Grandfather said. He went after me with a rod when I told him I would not come.”

I examined myself. I was not wearing my hoodie. I was wearing a loose white cotton shirt and… pants, unlike anything I had worn before. I had no sunglasses or headphones. I was dressed like something between a pirate and a pilgrim. So was Douglas.

What year was it?

On the red wallpaper, I could see my role was to be Douglas’ brother. I was tasked with keeping him in line. That was it. That was my whole role.

My friends and Dina were nowhere to be found.

“The settlers got what they deserved. We had a claim to the whole vale before they arrived,” Douglas said. He twisted his face into one of disgust. “I cannot fathom why Grandfather permitted them to build so close to our land.”

My job was to be a stand-in so that Douglas could catch the audience up on exposition apparently. I had nothing to contribute to this conversation. I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Grandfather has his reasons, I’m sure,” I said.

“Perhaps. I do not think it will matter soon. Their settlement will not last another night like last night, I am certain,” he responded.

Off-Screen.

Douglas stopped talking and sat still as the NPC horses continued to drag us along on our path. It was nice to see NPCs acting like actual NPCs again.

Our trek took us from a narrow wagon path to a larger more established road. Still, there was no one to see for miles. The area was all wilderness. There were some forks that could have taken us in various directions.

Some of the landmarks were recognizable. We saw a sign directing us to Culling Creek, which was the area where the Grotesque church was in that storyline. Mostly, though, evidence of human civilization was few and far between.

Eventually, we were let out onto a large clearing that had been crossed every which way by wagons and cattle. On the other side of it was a wooden building with a water trough and horse posts along the front. Two people sat outside the building along with some large parcels bound with ropes.

One of them was a man dressed in a cloak, breeches, and a strange sort of hat that would have gone out of use hundreds of years ago. On the red wallpaper, his name was Walter. He was probably a few years older than me.

Next to him, sitting on top of a crate, was a woman in a conservative dress and a crude bonnet. I recognized her immediately. It was Dina.

She had her eyes on us the moment we approached the clearing.

Her role was to be Walter’s new wife and a newcomer to the Akers' claim.

As we approached, Walter finally noticed us right as we came upon them. He grew a large, cheerful smile and waved to us enthusiastically.

“Cousins,” he called out as we arrived. “Time has treated you so well. Young Doug, you have grown tall since our last meeting. Soon, you’ll be strong enough to best a bear in a wrestling match!”

Douglas barely acknowledged Walter and jumped off the wagon. He started loading the parcels into the wagon.

“Riley,” Walter said. As I stepped down off the wagon, he embraced me in a hug. “I would like you to meet my new wife. We met at the delta and were married within a fortnight. Isn’t it wonderful? This is Dina.”

I looked over at her. “How do you do?” I asked. “I’m sure the family will be thrilled.”

“Oh yes,” Walter said. “Grandfather had threatened to wed me to a donkey if I didn’t find a suitable wife. I am certain he will be pleased.”

“Hello,” Dina said. She smiled politely. I sensed that she was not loving her colonial clothing.

“Rope, nails, wax, leather,” Walter said. “That and more. Everything Grandfather requested. It took me some time to procure it all.”

I looked it over. “You have arrived at a time when the supplies are much needed,” I said. That sounded like something that would be true.

We began helping Douglas load the parcels and packages onto the wagon. The wagon was barely large enough to fit it all. Soon after, we all boarded the wagon and started our journey back. Luckily for me, the horses knew the way,

The trip back took almost all day.

When we arrived back at Akers' property, I hardly recognized it. In the present, it was a giant scraggly plain with two forests on either side. But hundreds of years ago, it was a lush green valley paradise. The land had not been cleared for farmland yet though there were a few plots here and there growing wheat, tobacco, and other staple crops.

We were back on a narrow path. No road just two ruts that the wagon wheels fit into perfectly.

“I am so excited to be home,” Walter said to Dina. “The delta was exquisite but there is no place on earth like this valley. I am so excited to show you our new home. I built a cabin just before I left. Little did I know that I would soon be housing my own family there.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Dina said.

“Oh yes,” Walter agreed. “At night we build a campfire and commune with each other under the stars. Uncle Timothy has mastered the art of winemaking. We have many fine summers to come.”

As we pulled further down the road, we approached a small, humble house with two men outside hammering wooden planks over the windows.

“Hello there, Mark,” Walter said. “Say, why are you battening down the hatches? There haven't been thieves about, I hope?”

The NPC, Mark, a long-bearded red-headed man called back, “Ahoy Walter, you back from the delta already? Have to make safe from the beasts.”

“See you tonight,” Walter called back as the wagon kept going. I didn't know how to stop it. The horses were in charge. “I will tell you all about my travels,” Walter yelled behind us.

Walter looked back at Douglas and me curiously. “Have there been bears or wolves in the vale?”

I had no idea what was going on. “Douglas could say more than I could,” I said.

Walter looked expectantly at Douglas.

“Mark is a fool,” Douglas said. “The beasts have only attacked the trespassers to the east. We have no reason to cower in the dark.”

“Beasts have attacked the settlement to the east? Do they need our assistance? I have two strong hands if they are of use,” Walter said.

At this suggestion, Douglas absolutely fumed, “We should not expend our efforts on their behalf. This is our valley. They should leave.”

“Douglas,” Walter said. “That is no way for us to be. They have not, to my knowledge, ever done us any harm.”

Douglas turned from Walter and said nothing more.

“I should like to speak with Grandfather,” Walter said. He reached his hand over to Dina’s and held it. “I have a new wife to protect. These beasts need to be dealt with.”

As we got further down the road, we came across more and more houses being boarded up. At the end of the road, there was a larger collection of houses surrounded on all sides by the beginnings of a 15-foot-tall wooden barricade. The barricade was simply trees stripped of their limbs and sharpened at the top. The barricade was far from being completed, but men and women were busy at work constructing it.

“What does grandfather have them building?” Douglas asked. “And who is that?”

I followed his gaze toward the center of the collection of homes. There was an older man named Theodore Akers on the red wallpaper. He had a sturdy build despite his age and the way he moved was like that of a younger man. As we got closer I could hear his booming voice.

He was talking to two gentlemen who wore green cloaks. The cloaks had seen better days. One of the men was Camden. His role was the son of the leader of the Lord’s Glory settlement. The other man was simply called Brent on the red wallpaper.

Theodore Akers glanced up at us as we approached and a smile grew on his face.

“Blood of my blood, Walter you've come home,” he said.

Walter energetically jumped down from the moving wagon and ran to his grandfather. The senior Akers wrapped him up in a big bear hug.

“Grandfather,” Walter said. He pointed back to the wagon. “I have news.”

Theodore looked to the wagon, spotted Dina, and looked back to Walter. “You’ve found a woman to marry?”

“I already married her,” Walter responded with a big grin.

Theodore grabbed his grandson up in another hug and then quickly move to the wagon to reach his hand up for Dina’s so that he could help her down.

“May I help the newest Mrs. Akers down,” he said.

“You may,” she said.

“And may I know your name, my dear,” Theodore asked.

“Dina,” she answered with a smile.

Theodore smiled. “A beautiful name. I am so glad to meet you. Come, I should like to show you your new home.”

He helped Dina down as various NPCs started unloading the wagon in the background.

“Thank you for retrieving them, Riley,” Theodore said. “Please help our guests with whatever they need.”

“Yes, Grandfather,” I said.

Theodore, Dina, and Walter walked off on a tour around the homestead.

The area was very well developed to my eye, boasting many homes, barns, storehouses, and other buildings you might expect in a small town. The people that walked around the acres property were likely related to my character. Children played, and men and women worked on constructing the barricade.

There was little sign that this place would become the haunted land that I had entered hours ago. I didn't even know where the Straggler Forest was or, rather, the forest that would become the Straggler Forest.

I approached Camden. He acknowledged me with a tight smile.

“I'm supposed to give you whatever it is that you require,” I said.

The man next to Camden, Brent, said, “We are much obliged. We are in a desperate situation over at Lord’s Glory.”

“I have only just heard. Am I to understand that you were attacked?” I said. Eventually, I was going to get one of these NPCs to tell me what was going on.

Brent nodded his head “Creatures in the night, horrifying ungodly things. They destroyed much of our home and raided our livestock. I don't know how our settlement is to continue without your family's generosity.”

Off-Screen.

Going Off-Screen meant that I didn't actually have to help them, which was great because it sounded like a huge distraction.

Wordlessly, Brent walked over to a horse that had a very small wagon hooked up behind it. NPCs started to load a small amount of material onto the back from the supplies that Walter had retrieved.

“What do you have?” Camden asked.

I shook my head. “My whole job is to follow this little kid around,” I said. “All I know about you is that you're the son of the founder of the Lord's Glory settlement, whatever that means.”

Camden nodded. “I don't know much more than that. That settlement was ravaged last night. Whatever those creatures were, three settlers disappeared. Some houses got knocked down.”

“This doesn't really make sense,” I said. “When Old Man Akers told us about the straggler curse, he never mentioned monsters attacking in the night. You think you would have brought that up. This should be around the time the forest became the Straggler Forest, right?”

Camden shrugged. “This whole storyline has been weird. Hopefully, this part is better.”

“Are Kimberly and Anna with you?” I asked.

He nodded. “I haven't got to talk to them much. I'm not allowed.”

Brent waved for Camden to come to him.

Theodore, Dina, and Walter joined them. I ran to catch up. Douglas wasn’t far behind.

On-Screen.

“Riley,” Theodore said, “I want you and Douglas to go with Brent and guide them through the forest to the west. Their food stores have been greatly diminished. Help them gather food from the abundance of the forest. They will be sending five of their best foragers over to take absolutely as much as they can carry. Understood?”

Douglas got a sour look on his face but said nothing.

Theodore gave Douglas a strict look. “Do as I tell you. We need to show compassion now more than ever, don’t you understand that?”

Douglas marched away in a fit.

“Go look after him,” Theodore said to me.

I ran after Douglas and caught up to him.

When he saw me, he said, “We are going to risk everything to help these strangers. It makes no sense.”

“We may need their help,” I said. “What if the monsters attack us? They could help defend us.”

Douglas had a strange look on his face. “I hope the monsters chase them out of the valley.”

I didn’t know where to steer the conversation, so I asked him something that I have been curious about since the Straggler storyline. “Do we need to get permission to enter the forest to the west?”

Douglas looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Grandfather just told us to go there. We have permission.”

“No,” I said. “Don’t we need permission from the forest itself?”

Douglas looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. “Why would we need permission from the forest? It is our forest. We can do as we like.”

Hadn’t Akers said that the forest was magical and required permission to enter and harvest things from it?

“Permission from a forest?” he laughed. “What kind of nonsense is that?”