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The Secrets of Westfalia Part 2
Written by Phillip Hunter Gilfus
There’s no question that Pine Road is the safest route. And if it were any other day, it would be the only choice to get to Westfalia.
But today is different.
You sensed it as soon as you woke up this morning. Something about the breeze in the air. The wind seemed to whisper - This is the day. Then there was the foreboding look of the billowing smoke across the plateau. Almost as if it was directing you to seek the market guild traders. Even the taste of your food, the feel of your clothes, the smell of the trees ... something just feels different. Almost like there’s an acute sense of “now.”
Now is the time to sell the watch. Now is the time to change your and Clancy’s fortune. Now is the first step you take into a new chapter of your destiny.
The grip on Betsy tightens with renewed purpose. A turn to the left begins the walk into the more densely-forested Rope Road - named for the unworldly mossy bindings that grip and snake around the surrounding trees and other foliage. This is only the third time you’ve traveled to Westfalia via this route - but this is the first time doing it all alone. Out of the corner of your eye, it almost appears that the bindings slowly spiral around the vegetation. But that’s just an illusion, right?
“A lovely morning,” you say to Betsy, as the boomerang moves around absentmindedly in your hands. Clancy has always laughed about your habit of talking to “that dern fancy stick” - but who else is there to talk to when Clancy isn’t around?
“I don’t like the look of that billowing smoke from this morning. I almost wonder if … no, it couldn’t be. We would have heard if the clan fires were active again. Could it be Clan Nguyen? Or Clan Dhume? Or one of the metal makers? The last thing this land needs is another battle clash. But that’s the only thing fires could mean.”
Whoosh. Grab. Whoosh. Grab.
Betsy responds the only way a boomerang can - a short trip through the air ending in a satisfying return to your hand.
“Are the clans too depressing of a subject? I agree, let’s move to a more positive topic. No need to dwell on things we can’t change. Hmmm, I know - Clancy thinks you’ve been around longer than even him so answer me this: Why is it called ‘Rope Road’? Why not ‘Rope Trail,’ ‘Rope Path,’ or just ‘Rope Way’?”
Whoosh. Grab. Whoosh. Grab.
“What do I mean? Look, Clancy says roads were these perfect pavement ways during the Before. But it’s all overgrown and patchwork now. Even Pine Road is just gravel. Rope Road might as well be Lava Lane, with how much I have to look where I walk.”
Whoosh. Grab. Whoosh. Grab.
“I know, that’s a dumb joke.”
A small part of you realizes that talking to a boomerang is a technique of focusing the mind. And Rope Road is only traversed successfully by those who keep a close eye on everything. In addition to the overgrown grasses, wild flowers, and assorted weeds, there are the steph bushes. A shudder travels up the spine as you remember falling into a patch of steph bushes at age six. These small shrubs are the size of car tires with thorns that stick into anything or anyone that brushes by. Just like a tick burrowing deep into skin. There are still scars on your right leg from where Clancy had to dig out all the bristles.
Whoosh. Grab.
“Sorry, Betsy, I was just thinking of the past. Today we’re on a path to the future.” The weight of the pocket watch in your vest seems more pronounced as a daydream begins to form of all the things you and Clancy will be able to afford after you sell it. No more secluded tent, no more gambling with the daily worries of survival.
Snap!
You freeze. The sound of a stick breaking almost half a click to the left echoes across the forest. You instantly drop your backpack, and prime into a throwing stance, ready to launch Betsy at any critter that springs from the surrounding trees. What was it?!
Silence.
It’s been half a year since you’ve seen a critter. Clancy did all the hunting until his injury a few years ago. And even after that, he still managed to find a way to do it alone. To tell the truth - critters scare you! There’s the dripping fangs. Or the ones with deranged eyes. Or even some version that would screech and screech wildly. Just the sight of one, big or small, makes your body instantly freeze. So there was always an excuse ready to avoid the hunting, and Clancy was fine with hunting solo - he said his crutch was a good “whacking stick” for nabbing small game.
But six months ago, Clancy had the chills for a week, so there was no more time for excuses. Instead, you ventured to the Winding Stream, just off of Pine Road. After 20 minutes of waiting and finding nothing in the meadow, you were ready to move on to another hunt site. Then your eyes spotted ... a howler wolf! It was barely a pup, and it pranced around a field of twisted metal poles. Even though you were a hill away, the howler wolf’s red eyes seemed to detect your presence. It stopped its playful movements, and instead the critter stared long and hard at you before it finally wandered off. A vow was instantly made - never find yourself alone with a full grown version!
More silence. The strange quietness of the forest shakes that memory away. What made that noise? What’s out there among the trees?
You finally risk looking to the left. It’s just more thick trees, with gnarled and twisted limbs. The dark green “rope” around them seems to undulate, as if they were pumping blood into their wooden masters. Dare you come closer?
Whoosh. Grab.
“I agree, Betsy. Less daydreaming, more focus. Let’s make sure we’re going the Way.”
You slowly kneel down, keeping a look-out to the left. One hand carefully opens the discarded backpack, while the other grips Betsy. Satisfied for the moment that all is safe, you rummage through the contents of your pack. A plastic bottle of Grog. Three small aluminum cans. A water hose. A bag of tiny light bulbs. An odd assortment of batteries. A coloful, yellow plastic box covered with an odd drawing and some unknown writing that you found last week. Inside it was a tiny plastic liquid container with the same bright coloring.
There it is! The WayFinder.
This WayFinder belonged to Clancy’s family, or so he said. He passed it on to you when you reached the Age of Scavenge. It consists of a sturdy, extendable hard plastic handle, almost baton-like. On top of the handle, attached by an adjustable hinge, is the viewer. The viewer, slightly larger than a fist, has a single aperture that one can peer through. Neither Clancy nor you could explain how it technically operates, but you definitely know how to use it to find the Way.
Holding the WayFinder in your right hand, you slightly bend your head so that your right eye rests against the aperture. As you close the other eye, the sun beams breaking through the trees above slowly activate the device, bringing it to life.
The dreariness of the forest view in front of you gradually transforms into a world of vibrant colors. The plant bindings now emanate a yellow aura. All other greenery glows with a shade of bright pink. The air around seems scattered with electric green snowflakes. You start to focus, beginning with a concentrated gaze straight ahead. Then, slowly moving in a panoramic view, you seek the purple Way Signs that should be here. Everyone knows how to read those dozen or so markings of the Way. Signs like Stop, Dead End, Bleed Spot, Forage, Return, and Proceed.
Frustration builds as nothing appears. Right when you are about to complete your circle, two Way Signs reveal themselves. They are small, hazy purple clouds that seem to float a meter above the ground. In clear dark blue lettering, each Way Sign has a label. There’s Patch to the left. And just past that, up ahead, there’s Ruins.
You lower the WayFinder. Patch would lead you to a clearing, which always allows for a better view of the rest of Rope Road. However, it’s exactly in the direction of where you heard the sound of a stick breaking before. Ruins means a stone or dirt path shortcut away from the steph bushes and other threatening fauna, but via a route that’s known for critter activity. Which should you risk?
TAKE-A-SHOT
Alright contributors, it’s time to Take-A-Shot! Which Way Sign do you follow? Do you approach Patch to better find your way or avoid a potential threat with Ruins … which might involve finding four-legged friend?