(3 - Alpha) Injin v. Dragon

[Kaez]

Horror. Noun. An intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. While the term might be used in conjunction with cartoonish images of cobwebs and mediocre Hollywood jump-scares, literature is one place where horror retains its original form: the establishment of genuine fear. This is no small task. Investing a reader in the story and world with enough immersion to actually provoke such a feeling requires sharp writing and intentional and deliberate pacing and story progression – but done well, horror in fiction literature establishes a bond between the reader and the world, makes them care about the events taking place, and proves the worth and validity of the place and its characters.

Since this particular genre restriction is rather difficult to pull off, I'm leaving the contents and style of the stories entirely up to you. No further restrictions beyond the genre requirement.

[Injin]

Wrong.

Day 3223 of my duties.

Light.

Light’s always the guiding hand for me, always has been. The Inspector Corps of this city haven’t been the same since Xa’alesh’s light went out, the stable boundary of the cosmos going with him. Or at least that is what the oracles tell me, the ones that can still speak. The Shattering did a lot of things to this city. A lot of fucked up things. Trastamara is a beautiful city on the Gilden Lake, golden, relatively peaceful. However, since the Shattering the lake’s been far dirtier than it used to be. Honestly, I don’t know what happened, nor do I really care, but it factored into my investigation.

The lake hasn’t always been as murky as it is now, and being on the lake means that any of the gross stuff that comes out of the lake either comes here or to Gil on the north bank of the lake. Sometimes, when it’s clear out, I can see the fires and smoke from Gil from the docks of Trastamara. Used to spend my youth with my friends, eating whatever I could get my hands on, just watching the sun set over both cities. Back to my point though, the reason I’m here.

There’s been a string of murders along the lake. Or rather, non-human cullings, as my Inquisitorial superiors insist on calling them. They make it sound like humanoids aren’t being killed, just animals, but I know better. Luftreiner knows that they didn’t deserve whatever fate got them. Inland Merfolk used to be common along the lakeside, coming up to the docks to trade fish for something shiny, gold or copper, whatever found their fancy. Bosses used to try to get ‘em to go away, but they bring us fish we wouldn’t otherwise get, so it was eventually ignored. The practice stopped after the whole “Both Lordly Gods” dying thing happened. Did the battle scare them off, or did something grab them when no one was looking? Either way, a couple of years ago, some of them started coming up here, no fish in hand, just asking to stay by the lake. At first, the authorities told them to scram, but eventually the old fishmongers, who used to have their livelihood based on them, begged the Inquisition to allow them to stay. Nice men, they all are.

Given that a bunch of upset peasants lead to a lot more upset peasants, the Inquisition allowed it. It’s not like these Merfolk are all that bad, anyways, they look mostly human save for the gills and the skin. Same basic structure. The sun is always harder to see underwater, though, so even I was a little skeptical that they’d agree with the basic tenets of living here. Yet, with little protest, the whole mass of Merfolk that came up to the surface converted. Never seen anything like it. They wouldn’t say why they left their old home, but at this point, it matters little as to point of why I’m at the shore right now. They mostly keep to their shanties by the shore, these days.

I don’t think the immigration is related. Something is hunting them. All of them have their gills missing, and even though they don’t use them up here, with the whole “leaves a hole in their neck” thing, they’re dead within a few minutes of the cull. Yesterday marks the thirteenth. The Merfolk are scared, keep repeating the same phrase whenever I ask any of them about it. “Ilko Kammu,” they say is doing this, whatever that means.

“Inspector Ladrin, what are you doing here this fine evening?” a voice says, beckoning me to turn around. Who the hell was that?

“Who’re…?” I say, turning around. Luftreiner’s shining radiance, its Lt. Major Suarez, “My apologies sir. I wasn’t expecting you to be walking along the shore line.”

“Just responding to a few concerned citizens. They said they spotted someone talking to a bunch of the fish-men. You know how worried people are getting,” my boss said, breathing a little oddly as he did, “Was you, wasn’t it? I knew there was nothing to worry about. I thought you’d be further along the shore by now. As long as you patrol these shores every night, I doubt we’ll see another murder.”

Smiling, I bowed my head, responding, “Of course. You know how much I love serving the community, sir. You know why I work so hard”

“Right. How are you holding up, you’ve not really been sleeping that much lately? I have a report from a few of the other officers that you haven’t been going home too often.”

“I haven’t? Guess work is really heating up then,” I respond. Have I not been going home? Weird, I’m sure I have been at the end of every shift. Sun starts coming up, head straight home. That’s always been the drill. Stopped at the Verbing Animal once or twice, but not often enough to be reported like that.

“I don’t have men outside of your home, Inspector Ladrin, just a few of your neighbors. You know how concerned they’ve been since you came back from Exarch. You haven’t been the same”

Exarch…I’d been there on diplomatic duties. They said it was something of a vacation, but it really wasn’t. The Luftreiner priesthood there has been getting…ultra-orthodox, even compared to Trastamara’s. They thought I was a spy. Sent me right back home after figuring out otherwise. All kind of hazy. “I know boss. They just were kind of rude, you know, sending me back a day after I got there.”

“A week, Inspector. This is why we’re worried. After tonight, I want you to take a week off. I and the Algarves’ brothers will take care of the shore. You need some rest.”

Rest. Maybe I do need it.

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Day 3232 of my duties.

Light.

Light’s always the guiding hand for me, always has been. The Inspector Corps of this city haven’t been the same since I came back to Trastamara. The Shattering did a lot of things to this city. A lot of fucked up things. Trastamara is a beautiful city on the Gilden Lake, silvery, relatively silent. However, since the Shattering the lake’s been far darker than it used to be. Why’s that, I wonder?

The lake hasn’t always been as black as it is now. Sometimes, when it’s clear out, I can see the darkness coming out of the water after nightfall. Used to spend time here, eating whatever I could get my hands on, just watching the sun set. Feels like things of changed…why does it feel like that?

There’s been a string of murders along the lake. Or rather, non-human cullings, as my Inquisitorial superiors insist on calling them. Some people have been found dead as well, but they’re missing bits of their neck as well. My boss makes it sound like humans and Merfolk aren’t being killed, just animals, but I know better. Who knows who’s been killing them, anyways? Inland Merfolk used to be common along the lakeside, coming up to the docks to trade fish for something shiny, gold or copper, whatever found their fancy. A couple of years ago, some of them started coming up here, no fish in hand, just asking to stay by the lake. At first, the authorities told them to scram, but eventually the old fishmongers, who used to have their livelihood based on them, begged the Inquisition to allow them to stay. The fishmongers are starting to become victims too, but the Inquisition doesn’t seem to mobilizing. Poor men, those lot.

It’s not like these Merfolk are the only victims now, right? Same basic deaths, regardless of race. The sun is always harder to see underwater, so why would they ever convert from their old ways? Yet, with little protest, the whole mass of Merfolk that came up to the surface converted. They speak of darkness like they know it, but I’m not really sure they do. They mostly keep to their shanties by the shore, these days, only coming out during the day.

Someone is hunting them. All of them have their gills missing, even the fishmongers have their necks marked in the same manner. Yesterday marks the thirtieth. The Merfolk are scared, keep repeating the same phrase whenever I ask any of them about it. “Ilko Kammu,” they say is doing this, some kind of curse.

“Inspector Ladrin, what are you doing here this fine evening?” a voice says, beckoning me to turn around. That voice is…?

“Who’re…?” I say, turning around. Luftreiner’s aura, its Lt. Major Suarez, “My apologies sir. I wasn’t expecting you to be walking along the shore line this night.”

“Just responding to a few concerned citizens. They said they spotted someone talking to a bunch of the fish-men. You know how worried people are getting,” my boss said, breathing a little raggedly as he did, “Was you, wasn’t it?” he said, out of breath, “I thought I told you to take the week off. Each time the evening comes, you’re out here, watching for whatever is doing this. I know you’re worried, but go home. Now. That’s an order. Both of the Algarves haven’t reported to duty for the last three days, I think they might be involved. I’ll keep you informed, but get some rest.”

Rest, maybe I do need some rest.

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Day 3264 of my duties.

Light.

The light of this city has been dim, as of late, no matter how hard I try to find it. The Inspector Corps of this city haven’t been the same since I came back to Trastamara. These murders are doing lot of fucked up things to this city’s population. Trastamara is a serene city on the Gilden Lake, emptier and emptier, these days. The lake’s been far more sinister than it used to be. Maybe it knows.

The lake hasn’t always been as cursed as it is now. Every night I can see the darkness coming out of the water after nightfall. The lakeside is empty at night, now. Evil has taken over the shoreline.

There’s been a string of murders along the lake. Massacres, I’ve been told. Scores of people, their necks torn from their bodies. My boss makes it sound a demon’s on the loose, but I know better. The Inland Merfolk used to be common along the lakeside, before the murders, but they’ve fled town. A couple of weeks ago, some of them started coming up here, looking for safe haven. At first, the authorities told them to scram, but eventually the old fishmongers, who used to have their livelihood based on them, begged the Inquisition to allow them to stay. The fishmongers are gone too and the Inquisition has made it illegal for anyone else to leave the city.

It’s not like these Merfolk are the only victims now, right? Same basic deaths, regardless of race. The sun sets beneath the waves, so why do we not follow it? Yet, it seems, we must live, above, in order to live. They spoke of the killer like they knew it, but I know it better, these days.

Someone was hunting them. All of them have their gills missing, even the fishmongers have their necks marked in the same manner. Yesterday marks the one hundred thirtieth. The Merfolk are all dead, the ones in town anyways. The ones that stayed always said the same thing, “Ilko Kammu”. They are saying it wrong.

“Inspector Ladrin, what are you doing here?” a voice demands, beckoning me to turn around. Ah, Lt. Major Suarez, what is he doing here?

“My apologies sir,” I say, “I wasn’t expecting you to be walking along the shore line this night.”

“Just responding to my orders. They said they spotted someone talking to themselves. You know how worried people are getting,” my boss said, his breathing almost panicked as he stood upright, “It was you, wasn’t it?”

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Day 3296 of my duties.

Darkness

Darkness awaits beneath the waves. It guides, beckons me. It has done enough. The fish men were Wrong. Wrong to reject their God, the only one who could’ve given them comfort.

He waits beyond the walls of time. I can see him now.

The lake. At the bottom I will find

[J.O.N ((Dragonwing))]

To Derya, head of the Black Valley research team

Below is the collection of letters posted to the wife of one of the team members, he seems to have been a hired prospector. They are ordered from oldest to newest. Thankfully they were undamaged and they should help you piece together whatever happened there. I’m also sending back copies of the letters you found on site.

Director of acquisitions at the National Museum



15th Sun’s Dawn 2217 A.S (Ascension of Sarava)

We have entered the valley by the northern pass. It was difficult since we lacked trucks that could venture through the thick mud that had collected after the ice melt. Erol says that even on foot it shouldn’t take us long to get down out of the mountains. I hope he is right; even with winter ending, the air is bitter and cold up here.

You have to see the mountains in this place. Free from the smog and pollution of the plains, this place is like a crisp paradise of white, grey and blue. We saw enormous eagles diving at goats that stood on the sides of cliffs, leaping from ledge to ledge. The nature out here is beautiful and awe inspiring. It almost makes me want to change all our plans and look at moving out here.

Even so, my thoughts are with you Riza. I know you did not want me to take this job, but the pay is too good. It will mean we can move to the city and Fari can go to a proper school. Don’t worry; these men have done this sort of things hundreds of times. Once we confirm the reports of oil here, we can pack up and come home. It shouldn’t take us more than a month or so.

17th Sun’s Dawn 2217 A.S

Erol was right, it only took us two days to make it out of the mountains and down into the valley proper. Once again I wish you were here Riza, the valley is beautiful. Before we descended down from the mountain, we could see a sea of green canopy before us. It is so thick that you can’t see anything through it. When the wind blows down from the mountains, the leaves create waves that race across the top of the valley. Once you are down amongst the trees, the world takes on a strange green hue.

Trees that stretch up over a hundred metres above us, they are humbling to walk under. The forest floor is just as fascinating. Ferns and vines seem to carpet the entire forest floor. It is a living world and so much different from the farmlands and plains. The animals are very shy however, we have only seen some colourful birds so far and even then they are almost silent. In fact the entire forest is very quiet.

Some of the men are unnerved by it, but I find it peaceful. No people shouting over one another trying to outbid each other for food. No roaring automobiles crashing through the streets. I almost regret taking this job. I have no idea how I will adapt to the city after I’m finished here.

I have resolved that once we are done here, I will bring you here to see it all.

23rd Sun’s Dawn 2217 A.S

Sorry I have not written lately. Things have been very busy. Once we found a suitable camping site we pitched our tents and been clearing back the flora. It was hard work but now we have quite a decent base camp from which we can explore the rest of this valley. Erol had some of the men begin work on putting together the equipment we need to drill for oil. Meanwhile he has me on his team of explorers.

Things haven’t been quite so easy however. The first night here had some of the men on edge. Some of the men on watch reported the feeling they were being watched by something in the forest. We would have blown it off if we hadn’t woken up the next day to strange claw marks on the tree trunks near us. Some sort of predator native here perhaps; Erol had the watch doubled and the fires kept lit at night. Since then we have had no troubles.

24th Sun’s Dawn 2217 A.S

We found something today. We’re not entirely sure what it is, it was buried in the ground. We would have never known it was there if one of the men hadn’t found it whilst digging the latrine. It was a metal hatch. Once we opened it, it led to some sort of underground facility. Maybe something built and left by the government? But what could they possibly be doing out here?

Since I was put on the explorer’s team, I went down with Erol and three of the men. We made our way down through the hatch; a metal letter seemed to take us quite some distance down. Who ever built that place really wanted it out of the way. Once we reached the floor of the facility, we found ourselves staring down some dark tunnel. It was lined with metal pipes and what seemed to be the remains of former electrical cables.

That’s probably the weirdest thing about the place, it looks like it ran on technology we have today, but the place looks like it was abandoned decades ago. We didn’t spend much time down there, Erol started getting a terrible feeling; we all did. Before we left however, one of the men spotted something in the dark of the tunnel. Shining a lamp on it, we were able to make out claw marks along the sides of the tunnel walls. They were awfully similar to the claw marks on the trees.

30th Sun’s Dawn 2217 A.S

It’s been just over two weeks since we arrived. Things have been relatively quite. We have taken to venturing further out from camp and have begun the search for oil. I went with two others to look for oil seeps nearby the river. Ogan, one of the men, still seems to be worried about the facility we discovered. He’s the superstitious type and keeps rambling about it being cursed. In fact that seems to be the common belief among all the men. Some of the night watch complain of hearing whispers coming from the shadows, especially when near the hatch. Erol seems uninterested however. He plans on sending someone back to Marsyn (the closet to city to here) to inquire about the discovery.

They should take about a week to get back; I hope to have them take my letters to you. I miss you and the little monster. I hope Fari is growing up strong. Tell him to have a happy birthday for me and that his father will be home in about a month if all goes well. Take care of yourself as well and remember that the company will post my salary to you. I love you my dearest.

Those are all the letters; it seems what you are looking for is in that lab they found. Here are the copies of the first letters you found.


2nd Fire Seed 2217 A.S

Something is terribly wrong. Two of the men have not returned from foraging. Erol is rounding us up for a search party but very few of the men want to volunteer. They are saying the shadows took them. I suspect it was probably an accident or some predator we are unaware of. It’s unlikely these letters will be sent until we leave this valley, but I like recording things anyway.

It soothes my mind to think of home and our village. I hope Shari got her vegetable garden going, I know you like fresh potatoes and carrots. I do miss your cooking and I hope you have some simit waiting for me; your baking would raise my spirits in seconds. I will also need to help the shepherds finish their fencing before we leave for the city.

Take care my love, even with these setbacks; we should still finish by the new months end. That should mean we can celebrate Eternity day in our new apartment in the city. Tell Fari I miss him.

3rd Fire Seed 2217 A.S

More men have been lost. It happened while we were scouring the valley for the first two. My team were the second lot to return to camp. By then it had gotten dark and we were forced to navigate the valley floor by lantern light. When we arrived it looked like there had been a storm. Tents were wrecked, equipment was torn apart and scattered everywhere. We weren’t aware at the time, but people had been taken from the campsite. When Erol returned with his group they found blood tracks and evidence of people being dragged into the tunnel.

When we set a night watch, the men only lasted an hour before they retreated to the fire side. When Erol pushed them for an answer, they just told him that the shadows were moving towards them and whispering. He didn’t get angry with them or anything this time; I think he is as shook up as them.

The remaining men want to leave the valley. They are saying damn the company and their lives are not worth being thrown away, even for some attempted rescue attempt for the poor souls dragged below. Erol says it our duty to help our teammates, he says that we cannot let shadows scare us. He wants us to get the guns and chase the predators down into the tunnel. There is going to be a vote tomorrow.

As I write this, I think of you and Fari, it hurts my heart to think of never seeing you two again. But Erol is right; we can’t leave the others down there, even if it means dragging their bodies out. We have a duty to ensure all of us get out of this valley. It’s no different than when the village had that flood, we have to pull together during the troubling time.

I promise not to take too many risks; I will see you and Fari soon.

4th Fire Seed 2217 A.S

We had the vote, five of us elected to stay, two others are leaving, may the Eternal Flame protect them, and us.

To the Director

We found no evidence of those other two. Either they managed to get out and just disappeared amongst the rest of the Empire or they were killed in their attempt to leave the valley. We found the hatch and are beginning to explore it. However, we found one final letter. It was scrawled on some paper by the entrance.

Derya, head of the Black Valley research team

I’m sorry my love. I am sorry. We should never have come to this accursed place. The things in the dark, they crawl and whisper. We never stood a chance. They are creatures of claw and bone, but they are wrapped in steel, wires and hatred. I don’t know what was done here, but it should never have happened.

I just want to write now. I don’t have long anyway. I don’t have the strength to climb the ladder. I have lost too much blood, too much will. If anyone else finds this, please read what I have written. Maybe. Maybe it is enough to warn you, to save you. The moment you stepped into the valley they are watching you, waiting.

Erol led us down in the early morning, after seeing the dissenting two off. We were apprehensive, but having the guns made us rather cocky. After entering the tunnels, it felt like the temperature immediately dropped several degrees. Once again our lanterns picked up the long scratches on the tunnel walls and we lost what little bravo we had. Instead we feel into a deep brooding, fearfully searching the tunnel ahead for any sign of movement.

The tunnel, it leads to different rooms. We couldn’t really identify what was done here, but it looked like experiments. None of that matters now I guess. Once we had made it some ways into the facility, we began to hear the voices. At first we thought that we had found the others, but it soon became apparent that the voices were coming from shadows around us. They whispered terrible things like how we will die, or what they would do to our friends… And our families.

We became so distracted by the whispering that we failed to see the light in the lantern fade. DO NOT LET THE LIGHT GO OUT. Once it did, they fell upon us. Our guns were useless in the dark. Their claws tore at us. I heard Erol scream as something bit into his chest, chewing the flesh from him and eating him alive. I ran and staggered back to the hatch. The light from the day seemed to keep them at bay. But I am weak, and the night draws closer. I am sorry my love I failed. Whoever reads this, RUN, never come back here. But if you wish to remain, STAY OUT OF THE DARK.

[Matteo ((Taed))]

Injin:

The lake hasn't always been as murky as it is now, and being on the lake means that any of the gross stuff that comes out of the lake either comes here or to Gil on the north bank of the lake

You're saying lake an awful lot

"Who're...?" I say, turning around. Luftreiner's shining radiance , its Lt. Major Suarez,

For some reason it feels a bit odd to see cursing in what is essentially narration

the Verbing Animal

I like that. I might steal it.

The Luftreiner priesthood there has been getting...ultra -orthodox

Yeah, the narration is definitely a little wonky. Ellipses, interjections; I don't like it.


This setting is dense. I'll admit that I was in a hurry so I only skimmed the first two stories, and I may therefore be coming in at a bit of a disadvantage. Still though, there's a lot going on. To say that I'm lost would be inaccurate, because I think all of us are fantasy/sci-fi veterans, so the weird names and obscure references don't really phase me. But you might still be laying it on a little thick. I'd be curious to know exactly how much is codified in advance, and how much you're dishing up on the fly.

On the other hand, I loved what you did with the repetitions in this story, and that it wasn't really explained. I was initially a little confused whether it was an ailment specific to the narrator, (something he picked up in Exarch, maybe) but it all came together by the end, and maybe the confusion was intended in any case.

You're nailing the D&D campaign vibe; your round one entry checked a lot of boxes for dungeon crawl, and this felt very authentic as the backstory for how a town became cursed, sometime before the adventuring party shows up to rescue/plunder it.


Dragon:

15th Sun's Dawn 2217 A.S (Ascension of Sarava)

Obviously a quibble, but if your conceit is that these are primary documents, there probably shouldn't be a parenthetical explaining the dating system


This seemed like a safe bet for both your topic and your setting, and it mostly worked as a result. The found letters approach is great for horror, especially with the annotations from an investigation. I won't lie, it wasn't actually scary on the whole, but I respect the attempt, and you paced the letters to build some anticipation. Likewise, the whole "company man working a job far from civilization" thing worked well with your previous worldbuilding. It's just nebulous enough to be believably old-fashioned or futuristic, and it keeps the fantastical element present but not overt.

Having said that, safe probably remains the operative word. There wasn't a lot here to set the story apart. I appreciate that the conventional wisdom in horror is to keep the monster vague and unseen, but it would have been nice to see at least a little innovation in how they were fleshed out.

Oh, and you need to proofread more, man. Looooot of typos.


Winner: Injin