Before the portal, aria journal 06/31

[000Curiosity]

WARNING!!!! REFERENCES TO SUICIDE!!!
Wasn’t able to find a job job but I did find a pretty cool lead, apparently there have been mass disappearances of animals recently in the nearby deepgrove woods. Is mass disappearance the right word for animals? It’s not an extinction, deer still exist… you know what I’m talking about though, animals are gone, hunters and the local Druid are growing concerned. They aren’t hiring people to go look but I’m still curious. I’m going to go look in the woods for clues tomorrow. Despite the missing deer there are quite a few birds around here, most people leave up bird feeders for them. I was sitting by one earlier and the local Druid began refilling the bird feeder. She is pretty tall, I think she’s a human? Pretty typical Druid outfit but her hair was really long, like down to her knees long. I sometimes wish I could grow out my hair, but my waves don’t really hold their shape as they get longer, anyways she asked me what I was doing around town. I told her that I was a new graduate and looking for my place in the world and she stopped what she was doing and asked me if I had found a place where I felt safe. Very odd question if ya ask me but eh, so I said no, it’s been quite awhile since I’ve felt safe. Honestly I’m trying to think of a time when my world hasn’t felt a bit shaky and I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. She sits down and tells me how she used to live on a island very far away, and on this island was a warlord. He trained every day and night and fought every town next to his to feel safe from being invaded. But in the end the extended and many wars lead his town to decline and eventually his own townspeople rose up against him and against a mob his mighty strength eventually gave out. I guess she was trying to give me a warning against seeking safety in strength but, I don’t think I’ll ever be strong. Still a lesson in hubris, you’re never technically safe.

While talking to the Druid about what she thinks is going on she told me a bit more about the town. They really believe in giving back to the earth as much as you take from it. So they feed the birds and give them places to rest so that they can hunt them. Leaving the deer alone during the mating season so that there may be more during the next hunting season, stuff like that. They are also way into hunting, but like in a respectful way. Almost everyone has some way to hunt on them at all times, which let me say is a little intimidating. But they all seem pretty nice and luckily not like, cult nice. I was eating my lunch and a bunch of birds surrounded me, completely thought they were gonna steal my lunch but nah. Just hung around me, I really like birds. Back at my house there was a lake a good mile or two away and sometimes I’d walk there and just watch the ducks and geese. They’re so silly and I love them.

I guess on the topic of geese spectris tempus is coming up next week. Some spooky decorations are already up like fake spiders and ghosts. In the tavern I’m staying at they have a new spooky drink, vampires kiss. It’s very alcoholic. The description says that is has beet juice, vodka, hot sauce, and a rim of chunky salt. Sounds extremely disgusting. Who even likes beets? They taste like dirt. On one hand I love this season because of the spooks and stories. But I’m also a coward and have frequent nightmares. I remember a nightmare I recently had on the road. (BEGIN WARNING!!!)
I was in a room that has no door or windows just a few pieces of furniture. After a bit of looking there’s a key in the wardrobe that unlocked a hatch that lead to below ground. There was a maze of hallways and rooms filled with locks and keys. One room had the walls and floors made of flesh. The squishiness and how my shoes shcloped while I raised my foot for a step made me throw up. But when I looked back up I was back in the first room, but someone was there. She was only a head and neck. Eyes gouged out and some teeth were missing. She was floating gently next to a chair, that had a noose above it. I understood words that were not spoken. “Aren’t you tired? Stay here with me. This is the only way out.” (END WARNING!!!)
At this point I woke up and was so startled I fell out of the tree I was resting in. Still have a bruise from that fall, dang that hurt. I hope to never see that face in my dreams ever again. This time of year also reminds me of choir. Right around now we would begin using our spooky rounds for warm ups like old Abraham brown and ghost of Tom. They’re so spooky! But I’ve had enough of spooks for now, that carnival conundrum gave me enough fear for the next month. I’m hoping that the animal disappearances are more like, over hunting rather than a horrible beast. But if it was a beast then I’ll probably just tell the citizens about it so they can take care of it, they are much better at hunting than I.

Am I talking about myself too much? Like, this is my journal but at the same time, I feel veerryyy egotistical. Whatever I get to be selfish sometimes. The food at the tavern is very good. For dinner they actually have like, above just edible food. I sat in my normal positions for most taverns, farthest away from the bar facing the door in case of emergencies and if possible also my back to a wall to feel safe. I tried my best to not fidget today but I failed, I really needed to do something so I traced the pattern that was on the bottom of a spoon. The girl who took my order noticed my anxiousness I think, gods I hope I wasn’t too obnoxious. She offered to go get me a meal she think I’d like and I said sure. She was super cute btw. And she brought me a freakin awesome stew. Now obviously almost all taverns have stew but this was real good. Reminds me of a stew I had when we saw my grandparents before we never saw them again. Very homey. Just made me feel better ya know. After I went to go give her the money for the meal she let me take up a slightly overcooked sweet roll for free! I’m really happy about this, I hope I’m able to repay her for this by solving the mystery of whatever is taking away the animals.

[Author]

Posts