WELCOME TO...

THE FORETREE SUMMER CAMPGROUNDS

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IT HUNTS THEM NOW as a party divided, singling them out. It advances on Laurence Anderson, who makes the mistake of alerting it to his presence with an ill-advised SMOKESCREEN. Though it does succeed in giving him a moment to break off into an adjacent room, the shape that haunts him has now quickened its pace...[break][break]

^{Task f̸̨̖̑̈́a̴͇̦̾̈́̚ͅi̷̘͐l̷͔͋̐̓e̶̙̰͊̄ḋ̵͍͕ successfully!}

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As yet unaware of the dire straits Laurence finds himself in, Killian Decker and Elinor Anderson continue their search unabated. Alakazam's MIRACLE EYE is able to disern that the slashes in the tent were made by a POKEMON'S ATTACK, detecting a faint aura of infinity energy. Alakazam would see a trail of it in the form of various splattered marks against the forest floor beneath their very feet, leading off towards the HANGMAN'S TREE...[break][break]

Along the way, they may yet decide on shelter at the SCOUTMASTER'S CABIN should the tree prove insufficient. But they are fortunate enough that their paths will cross with Callan Young, who has uncovered remarkable insight into the events surrounding the cordoned campgrounds...[break][break]

With a *click* the battery is returned to the device, and power restored. Callan would only have to press play to see a recounting of that fateful night...[break][break]

^{Task f̸̨̖̑̈́a̴͇̦̾̈́̚ͅi̷̘͐l̷͔͋̐̓e̶̙̰͊̄ḋ̵͍͕ successfully!}

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SPOILER: Click to show

As the camera feed flickers into life, static overtakes much of the screen, though Callan can make out rough figures. Silhouettes of the young campers, surrounding a dated book "borrowed" from the SCOUTMASTER'S CABIN. Thereupon the page open before them is an unseeming limmerick, tucked within a passage concerning the local history of the campgrounds:[break][break]

^{Alas poor Alonzo, known to be dead[break]
Staked his life on the promise of gold—[break]
But when the land turned up lead[break]
Cruel irony had been doled—[break]
And the foreman walked off with his head}[break][break]

The screen surrenders to pitch black and white noise before it fills with color once more at the mouth of a closed cavern; the opening to the ABANDONED MINES just northwest of him. The campers are surrounding the cave mouth, though none dare cross the threshold. Only the bravest among them holler vainly into the darkness entrenched therein, taunting IT...[break][break]

"Alonzo, Alonzo, the gold is all gonezo!"[break][break]

^{Callan would not be aware of the historical significance, but the limmerick seems to be referencing a local superstition, and the taunts now made in jest and false bravura are reminiscent of the utterings of bloody mary.}[break][break]

Darkness and static again, until now at last he would see a huddling of campers, toying with some sort of playing cards. Here the distortion becomes more severe, and Callan cannot be sure, but a player seems to have set down a rather auspicious card before—[break][break]

A tear in the tent, followed by a shuddering. An unpleasant tinge smears the camera before the frightened screams of five campers erupts; the camera shakes and loses focus. They are running down the summit, though Callan only recognizes the HANGMAN'S TREE as the student with the camera huddles there, behind the trunk, thinking themselves safe...[break][break]

Precious silence falls save for the panicked, hushed breath of one who is hunted. The camera, almost forgotten, is useless with nothing in focus. But as the screen becomes a mess of black-and-white static, he would hear one last distant scream before the camera fell to the forest floor and became defunct, as he'd found it...

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On their way to the cabin, the others inevitably come across Callan in his troubled state. They will have the chance to see the RECORDING for themselves. But when the footage is reversed, it plays back only a corrupted distortion of the original imagery, although there are strange letters with eyes appearing among the ruined images for these three to witness:[break][break]

SPECTRAL... FORCE...[break][break]

PEOPLE... DRAINED...[break][break]

... OF LIFE.

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The most obvious information they take away from this, as most of them could tell, was the UNOWN WRITING manifesting before them. But as they stare into those seemingly lifeless eyes, they blink in obvious cipher...:[break][break]

L-A-R-S

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Elsewhere, Laurence must once again elude the haunting geist as it encroaches upon his position. He holds a crucial piece of evidence the other three require to solve this puzzle, whether or not he realizes as much...[break][break]

As a black miasma drags a gnarled appendage across the doorway of the room, Laurence Anderson must rely on a swift pokemon to help him run away from this creature...[break][break]

Take your time searching the following points of interest:[break]

SCOUTMASTER'S CABIN[break]
CAMPER'S SUMMIT[break]
ABANDONED MINES[break]
HANGMAN'S TREE

INSTRUCTIONS

READ CAREFULLY EVERY ROUND

• Please refer to sign-up thread for more information.
• BOLD applicable Pokemon moves, abilities, etc.
• Each player may have ONE POKEMON out at a time during a given round. NO EXCEPTIONS.
• You must specify which AREA you're INVESTIGATING AS A PLAYER every round.
• You may only post ONCE VERY ROUND. Remember to ROLL WITH EVERY POST.

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PLEASE NOTIFY FONZ WITH A LINK TO YOUR THREAD IN #MEMBER-EVENTS WHEN ALL PARTICIPANTS HAVE POSTED FOR A ROUND!

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Callan Young Elinor Anderson[break]Laurence Anderson Killian Decker[break][break]

EVIDENCE[break]FINGERPRINTS[break]HAYWIRE PORYGON-Z*[break]UNOWN WRITING[break][break]SALVAGED ITEMS:[break]