Here we introduce our four protagonists in a bar scene, where they are gathered to have dinner and play some games in the small arcade in the bar before they set out to look for the legendary Mothman of West Virginia.
The roadside restaurant bar and arcade is very noisy for a Thursday at 5, but that doesn't stop Ted, Sally, Harry, and Selma from discussing the latest mission of their Cryptozoology club.
"Ready to hunt the Mothman, gang?", asks Ted?
"Like, after we finish these cauliflower wings." says Harry
"Why don't we review our leads?" says Sally
Selma pulls out a pocketbook and starts listing the leads the gang discussed at their last meeting. "There's Frank, the bait shop owner who we met at the last cryptozoology club meeting; he claims to be the resident expert on the Mothman and he says he has photo evidence of a sighting near here."
"Then there's the mysterious crash we saw on the news with only one driver involved and a mysterious animal that fled the scene" she continues.
"Finally the area with the most sightings reported by members of the cryptozoology club is the woods by the highway to the East of town."
"Why don't we [[see what Frank has to show us->Bait Shop]] about the Mothman?" asks Sally.
"Or we could [[check out that crash site->Crash Site]] and look for clues?" suggests Ted.
"Hey, why don't we just [[try looking in the woods?->Entrance to the Woods]]" says Harry.The gang parks their car at the entrance to the managed woodland park among a few abandoned looking cars and some that look possibly occupied.
As the gang ventures into the first of a series of managed hiking trails and desire paths left by wildlife they stop to take a photo of the map of the woods with the names of each of the trails neatly labeled.
[[The trail leads southwest from the northern-most edge of the woods.->Woods West]]
[[The opposite side of the trail leads southeast->Woods East]]
[[A few desire paths, probably left by deer, lead out into the northern perimeter of the woods.->Woods North]](if:visits is 1)[As the gang walks in the bait shop, Frank is behind the counter reading a magazine about fishing until he notices the electronic bell that rings when a customer comes in.]
"Hey, you must be those kids from the Cryptozoology club, what can I tell you about the Mothman?" Frank asks(if:visits is 1)[ "Want to see the photographs I got of him?" he offers while pointing to some photos under the glass shop counter].
(if:visits is 1)[
Sally asks Frank "[[What was the Mothman doing->Mothman Behavior]] before you photographed it?"
Selma asks Frank "[[Where has the Mothman been sighted->Mothman Hotspots]] most frequently?".
"[[What is the Mothman's body like?->Mothman Physiology]]" asks Ted.]
(if:$PhotosForFrank is true)["Frank, you have to see these photos." says Selma as the gang shows Frank the photos they took from the crash site.
"Where were these photos taken?" asks Frank, adding "They present a mystery."
"They were taken at the crash site that was on the news." says Sally.
"No known animal in North America could survive a crash like that and leave the scene without leaving a trail, but maybe the Mothman could." Frank starts, adding "Mothman's scales could protect him from internal damage by spreading the force of an impact. That's the only way a creature could leave the scene of that crash without leaving a messy footprint, the Mothman must have flown into the woods!"
"We should [[head back to the woods->Entrance to the Woods]], quick!" says Ted.]At the site of the car crash, the gang finds a perplexing set of clues.
The vehicle is no longer there, but there is a bare spot on the road where the dirt and leaves form a messy perimeter roughly the size and shape of a car. A bent license plate is leaning up out of the clutter at the side of the road.
In front of the bare spot, in the direction that the skid marks are heading, there is an arc of dried blood mist, followed by a thin trail that connects to a spot on the ground a few yards ahead about a foot in diameter.
Around the blood spot on the ground there is a halo of tiny droplets, and a trail of larger drops lead from the spot to the woods across the opposite side of the road.
"This is a lot of damage" says Harry.
"Yeah I hope whatever left all of this blood is doing okay." adds Ted.
"Why don't we [[take some photos of the scene to show to Frank?->TakePhotos]]" suggests Selma.
"Or we could [[look in the woods->Woods East]] across the street." Ted adds.
"Do you think we should [[call the police?->Call the police]]" asks Sally.Frank tells the gang about a few spots that the mothman has been spotted by other reputable cryptozoologists.
"First is the woodland park at the edge of town; the mothman has been sighted many times on the hiking trails of the park, and almost as commonly on the roadways nearby." Frank says
"Second is an abandoned property neighbouring a local dairy farm where delinquents party late at night. Farmers have reported strange activities and missing livestock." he adds
"Thirdly the mothman has been sighted many times on the bridge overlooking the local river, spotted looming over the towers that hold the bridge's suspension cables by drivers passing on the bridge below." Frank finishes with a spooky vibrato in his voice
"[[But what was the Mothman doing->Mothman Behavior]] before you photographed it?" Sally asks Frank
"[[Hmm, but what is the Mothman's body like?->Mothman Physiology]]" asks Ted.
"Hey why don't we [[go to the diner and plan the next move->Diner]]?" Harry asks the gang.Frank tells the gang that when he spotted the Mothman in the nearby woods, it seemed to be fatigued, but kept up a decent pace in pursuit of an injured deer.
He kept his head down so the creature wouldn't see him from his treestand where he was waiting to hear something.
Frank says the Mothman didn't move by running or flying really, but in leaps and bounds, sometimes batting its huge, cape-like wings to bound directly from the air in a terrifying forward lunge.
It wheezed heavily, like a clogged up carborator, Frank says, and it seemed to give a congested exhalation with each exertion.
He managed to snap a photo as it pushed past his hidden vantage point, but the low light made the photo develop rather blurry.
"[[Excuse me, where has the Mothman been sighted->Mothman Hotspots]] most frequently?" Selma asks Frank
"[[Hmm, but what is the Mothman's body like?->Mothman Physiology]]" asks Ted.
"Hey why don't we [[go to the diner and plan the next move->Diner]]?" Harry asks the gang.Frank tells the gang that the mothman is unlike any moth, or any man they've ever seen before.
The Mothman has an open circulatory system, Frank says. He also has both lungs and spiracles. Frank tells the gang spiracles are breathing holes that bugs use to exchange gas through their exoskeletons.
According to accounts from other cryptozoologists, the Mothman's scales are bulletproof, and he can survive a fall as high as a five story building.
Frank has heard the Mothman has blue blood like a scorpion, but he doesn't believe it, since none of the defensive wounds on animals mutilated by the creature have been found with blue blood.
"[[Excuse me, where has the Mothman been sighted->Mothman Hotspots]] most frequently?" Selma asks Frank
"[[But what was the Mothman doing->Mothman Behavior]] before you photographed it?" Sally asks Frank
"Hey why don't we [[go to the diner and plan the next move->Diner]]?" Harry asks the gang.The gang decides first to call the non-emergency number for the local police department and see if they have taken a report about the crash on the highway.
"We should probably call the non-emergency number first." suggests Selma.
"Yeah, maybe they already know about the crash." says Harry.
Sally begins to dial the number and when the operator picks up she asks "Hi, we've found a pretty bad looking crash scene and we were wondering if you could take a report or if you have already?"
The operator responds "If you have any evidence that a crime has been committed we would be happy to take a report at your earliest convenience."
"Would a license plate and photos of blood count as evidence?" Ted wonders out loud.
Selma offers to take photos of the scene
(set: $PhotosForCops to true)
"Yeah, why don't we [[take the plate and photos to the police station to make a report?->Police Station]]" Harry agrees.(if:(history: where it is "Crash Site")'s length >= 1)[The gang hikes cautiously away from the road, leaving their van parked on the shoulder on the opposite side of the road.
As the road fades out of view through the wooded darkness, the gang takes note of their orientation with the moon rising above them from behind.]
The gang runs into a hiking trail that heads to the north and south.
"The trail is pretty clear from hear" Selma says, "we would probably see a Mothman if he was still here."
"Should we [[follow the trail North->Woods North]]?" Sally asks.
"Or do we [[follow the trail to South->Woods South]]?" asks Harry.(set: $PhotosForFrank to true)
The gang takes photos of the clutter at the side of the road, the bare spot where the car was, and all of the relevant clues.
"The crash must have been a driver mistakenly hitting an animal if the crash isn't being treated as a crime scene" Selma says
"Shouldn't hitting an animal with our car count as a crime?" Sally asks
"Let's [[take the photos to Frank->Bait Shop]]." says Ted
"Are we sure we shouldn't [[take the photos to the Police->Call the police]]?" Sally repliesThe parking lot of the police station is quiet when the gang arrives. A few police cruisers are parked crookedly across multiple spaces, while others are lined up parked neatly behind a chain link fence surrounding a gravel lot.
"Lets go inside and file that report." says Ted
The gang goes inside to ask about the crash on the news.
(if:$PhotosForCops is true)["The driver left their license plate" Harry tells the police clerk. The gang offers up the photos and the license plate that they collected from the crash site. As the police look up the address of the vehicle, the gang notes the address and writes it down to investigate later. "The plate definitely belonged to the driver we saw earlier from that crash, but he was the only person involved in that crash so we're not investigating it as a crime at this time."
The gang looks up the address and find that it belongs to a farmhouse at the edge of town where a local dairy rancher lives.
"Why don't we [[go investigate the farmhouse?->Farmer's house]]" suggests Selma]
The police clerk thanks the gang for their concerns and information and tells them to come back if they find evidence that there has been a crime.As the gang arrives to the trail at the west end of the woods, they see a dark figure go into a narrow canyon. As they near the entrance to the canyon they can see a wooden sign painted with vibrant colors with the words "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" and a picture of a cartoon frog painted onto it.
The gang takes a moment to look at their map and they see that Mr. Toad's Wild Ride isn't on the map, but it looks like it heads toward the end of the trail that leads from the East of the woods to the South of the woods.
"Let's [[follow the figure down Mr. Toad's Wild Ride->Hot on the Trail]]!" Ted shouts
"Or we could [[follow the mapped trail down to the Southern end of the woods?->Woods South]]" Harry asksThe northern part of the woods is quiet, for now.
The gang can hear an owl hooting in one of the trees above, but all other life is hidden from their senses.
There is some warm light visible through the woods to the south of here.
"Do we[[want to investigate the source of the light->Woods Center]]?" Harry asks.
To the southwest the trail leading from the entrance to the woods is still visible.
Ted suggests "[[We could head back to the trail->Woods West]]."
To the southeast the same trail continues in the opposite direction from the woods entrance.
Selma asks did we miss something on the [[trail to the Southeast->Woods East]]?"
Above the treeline of the secluded woods, the gang can see the peak of a rocky hill dotted with pine trees which overlooks the trail to the southeast.
"Do we want to [[look at that peak?->Rocky Peak]]" asks SallyThe gang enters the clearing in the center of the woods to find a campfire lit with a gathering of people surrounding it.
There are some tents nearby, past some bushes and trees just before the area where the fire is lit.
The gang cautiously approaches the campers
Selma asks "Have you seen any strange activity in the woods tonight", and the campers reply "We saw an injured owl, and reported it to the local animal hospital, but otherwise things have been pretty usual."
"Do we want to [[head back through the woods to the North->Woods North]]?" Harry suggests
"I feel like we should [[head back through the woods to the East->Woods East]]." Ted replies
Sally asks "Have we already [[seen the woods to the South->Woods South]]?"
"Gang, listen, shouldn't we [[search in the woods to the West->Woods West]]?"The Rocky Peak overlooks the trails below. On a clear day you could see the whole woods from here. There are no cars because the peak is inaccessible by road.
There are sounds of wildlife, but no sign of the Mothman is clear from hear.
A creak babbles between some trees before a slow waterfall down the rocky cliffside.The South End of the woods is quiet apart from the cars passing on the highway to the East and the occasional crow crowing.
The passing headlights cast tall sweeping shadows from the trees.
To the North, the light of a campfire glows through the woods.
There is a trail leading North West and North East in a crooked bend to the other parts of the woods.
Harry asks "Why don't we [[head toward the light from the North?->Woods Center]]
"Did we already [[follow the trail to the North West->Woods West]]?" Sally asks.
"I think we may have missed something on [[trail to the North East?->Woods East]]" Selma asks.The abandoned property is clearly not lived in, but it looks like it could have been visited quite recently.
Some broken bottles still have beer in the bottoms of them. A stack of crushed energy drink cans is towering impressively high over a gathering of empty chip bags.
"This looks like just a place where kids would party if they didn't have somewhere better to party." Sally says
Selma adds "It looks like the kind of thing you wouldn't want to live next to if you wake up at the crack of dawn, but not really a place for a mothman."
(if:$AbandonedKey is true)[Ted tries the key that Seymour gave them on the door, "It doesn't fit the //front// door" he reports. The gang starts to move around to the back.
"There are remnants of a firepit." Selma notes out loud.
Ted tries the key on the back door, "The key fits the back door, lets move inside to look for clues." Ted says
It looks like the house has been too dirty to party in for a while, and the gang can tell they didn't need a key to get inside the remains of this house.
Sally finds a heavy looking flashlight with an overwhelming strobe setting, but nothing in the house appears Mothman related.
"Maybe the kids who like to party at abandoned houses just imagined or fabricated the Mothman sightings?" Selma asks
(link: "Take the flashlight?")[(set: $Flashlight to true)The gang takes the flashlight.]]
Harry begins to shiver, complaining "I feel like I need a tetanus shot to be around this place any longer."
Selma snaps at him asking "Do you even believe in the Mothman? I haven't seen a lot of real investigative effort from you tonight Harry."
"Maybe [[the case has gotten cold->Case is getting cold]]?" Sally asks.
Ted and Selma look at each other briefly before suggesting in unison: "Why don't we [[check our leads->Check our Leads]]?"The bridge overlooking the river is about 200 feet long and 50 feet high. There are two support towers supporting suspension cables. The bridge is lit by flood lights attached to the underside of the highest beam of each tower.
The bridge isn't very well maintained because it hasn't been used as much since the highway was constructed nearby.
The gang looks around for signs of wildlife activity since there isn't any traffic over the bridge.
A creature too large to be a bird is spotted at the top of one of the towers when the gang makes it to the other side of the bridge.
It is difficult to see what the creature looks like because it is standing over one of the floodlights, but then it takes flight and flies over the gang into the woods to the East.
(if:$Flashlight is true)[(link: "Flash the flashlight on the creature")[(set: $SpottedHeadingWest to true)The gang flashes the flashlight they found at the abandoned property at the creature and they can tell it is not an animal known to science. Its impossible to make out its head from this angle but the gang can see that it has fur, it resembles a pterodactyl, and it is takes flight into the West end of the woods.
[[Chase the creature into the west end of the woods?->Woods West]]]]
[[Look for the creature in the woods?->Entrance to the Woods]]After a long night of searching for leads to go on, the gang is tired and their enthusiasm for hunting the Mothman is waning.
"It's been a long night of searching for leads to go on, and I don't feel any closer to learning anything about a Mothman." Harry says
"I still had a good time hanging out together to be honest." Sally replies
"It was still better than sitting at a bar drinking." Selma says, "But I wish I had learned more about the Mothman too" she adds.
"Thanks for coming out, gang" Ted says as they load into the van to head home.The gang keeps up the pursuit, now ignoring the designated hiking trails when they come to a craggy fissure that divides the Rocky Peak from the next highest peak below it.
The Mothman bounds easily over the crag as it flies further off the trails into clearing below Rocky peak.
There is a fallen tree bridging the crag and the gang has to balance across it to reach the other side.
As the gang nears the clearing under Rocky Peak they can tell the Mothman is no longer able to flee.
"Gang, it's time to [[confront the Mothman->Mothman Caught]]." Selma saysThe farmhouse is still well lit when the gang arrives late at night.
As they approach the porch to knock on the door, the door swings open, as the farmer bursts out demanding to know their intentions.
"We're just looking for some information--" says Ted when the farmer interrupts "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. I've been through a lot tonight." wiping his brow he says "My name is Seymour. I'm still frazzled from a crash and a chase with a monster."
In a hurry, he continues "I was chased by a flying monster with glowing red eyes. It clawed the top of my truck and chased me down the highway for half of a mile, and then it flew out in front of the truck and I hit it."
"Do you think he's for real?" Sally whispers to Ted
"Lets hear him out and find out." Ted whispers back
"Maybe we should [[ask about the abandoned property?->Pesky kids]]" suggests Selma.The gang settles in to a booth and begins chatting while they wait.
"Man I am starving already." Harry says. "Didn't we just eat?" Selma replies.
"Would anybody like anything to drink?" the waiter asks as he approaches the table.
"Could I have a coffee and a water?" Sally requests.
"Where do you think we should look for the Mothman next, gang?" asks Ted.
"I haven't even gotten to order yet!" Harry complains.
Why don't we [[check for clues at the bridge?->Bridge]] Sally asks.
"Shouldn't we [[search in the woods->Entrance to the Woods]]?" Selma recommends.
Harry sighs, offering "Hey, why don't we [[check out the abandoned house->Abandoned Property]] at the end of town while we're at it."The Mothman giftshop is a bakery with lots of Mothman themed decorations and even more Mothman themed confections.
At the front of the shopfront is a spinning rack of postcards, also themed around the Mothman.
"They have Mothman T-shirts" Selma says, pointing a finger.
"Maybe this isn't what we're looking for." Ted saysThe Mothman Museum looks like it is trying very hard to look like it has never been a strip mall.
It consists of an outdoor pavillion connecting a line of storefronts.
Vendors sell Mothman themed merchandise and foods.
Do we want to [[check out the Mothman Convention->Mothman Convention]]?" asks Selma
Or [[check out the Mothman Giftshop->Mothman Giftshop]]?" adds Harry
Ted replies, "Could it be helpful to [[check out the Animal Hospital->Animal Hospital]]?"The animal hospital is the last remnant of the strip mall that didn't become the Mothman Museum, and the veterinarian who heads the small business is not interested in cryptozoology or demonizing representations of animals like the Mothman.
Sally asks "Have there been animal attacks?" and the receptionist at the counter replies that "There was an owl that was found by some campers with broken wings after it was apparently struck by a car."
"That could be the animal struck in that crash!" Selma exclaims
"Maybe we should keep looking." Ted saysThe Mothman Convention is a very decorated, Mothman themed hotel lobby and dining hall.
A receptionist with a clipboard asks the gang "Will you be entering as a vendor or a patron?"
Selma asks "Do any of the convention attendees have any information about real Mothman encounters?"
The receptionist replies that "All of the convention content is available with the purchase of a ticket."
Selma decides this is probably not a lead.The gang spreads into a wide half circle to dissuade the Mothman from attempting to escape any further.
Selma and Sally take photos of the Mothman and they notice the Mothman is definitely injured from the crash.
"We should call the animal hospital and report Mothman as an injured animal." Selma says
"If the Mothman is a man does that mean the crash was a hit and run?" Sally adds
The friends sigh a breath of exhausted relief before sharing a group hug.
"We really ought to give some of these photos to Frank, he wouldn't believe them!" Harry chuckles.
The gang piles into the van and heads for the nearest wafflehouse that might still be open.The gang asks about the abandoned property nearby, and the kids that hang out there.
"Does this creature have anything to do with the kids that hang out at the abandoned property across the lane?" Selma asks Seymour.
"Those pesky kids, no, they do a lot of vandalism to my old neighbour's property, but this creature was nothing like any of them."
"If you want to check for any more clues over there I still have a key they gave me."
Seymour offers the gang a key to the old place,telling them "I was good friends with my neighbors and I'm tired of living out on the farmhouse alone."
(set: $AbandonedKey to true)
Sally asks "Should we [[ask about the missing livestock?->Missing Livestock]]"Sally asks "Do you think the creature you saw tonight could be responsible for any missing livestock?"
Seymour replies "Some cattle have gone missing without any good explanation. There are no natural predators for cattle this close to town, there haven't been for years."
"Maybe the creature I crashed into might have something to do with the missing cattle, but I don't know if it could actually carry a cow in flight." he says, adding "Maybe it could be using the woods behind the ranch to stalk my cattle, now that I think of it."
Do we want to[[check out the Woods to the East->Entrance to the Woods]]?" asks Ted
Or why don't we [[check out the Abandoned Property->Abandoned Property]] instead?" offers HarryAs the gang quickly pours into Mr. Toads Wild Ride it becomes clear that Mr. Toads Wild Ride is not a hiking trail, it must be a mountain biking trail, because it is a windy series of dirt paths and burms that looks like it could have been carved by some ancient waterway or a big mythical serpent.
The friends struggle to keep up with the figure they saw heading into the trail when it suddenly stops ahead of them before doubling back to face them.
The creature was about three feet tall, with a rounded head and wings that swung out to its sides with their tips about seven feet apart. It didn't have feathers, it had hairs, and it didn't look like it had a mouth in the conventional sense. Its eyes were like baseballs bulging out from its face, and they were a dark brown that reflected red when the light hit them. It had short legs like a pterodactyl's that terminated in thick talons, and its wings were webbed with skin and cloaked the creature's body when it lowered them in front of itself.
Selma hurries to get a photo of the creature when it bounds past the gang and takes flight in the opposite direction, toward the Mountain pass trail leading from the South of the Woods back to the East.
"Let's [[keep up the chase!->Mountain Pass]]" says Ted.Selma starts to list the leads that the gang hasn't checked yet:
(if:(history: where it is "Woods East")'s length is 0)[[["We could check in the woods,->Entrance to the Woods]]](if:(history: where it is "Mothman Museum")'s length is 0)[[[ we gang could ask around the Mothman Museum,->Mothman Museum]]](if:(history: where it is "Bridge")'s length is 0)[[[ we could check at the bridge.->Bridge]]]"
"[[Or we could call it a night?->Case is getting cold]]" Harry adds
↶↷Here we introduce our four protagonists in a bar scene, where they are gathered to have dinner and play some games in the small arcade in the bar before they set out to look for the legendary Mothman of West Virginia.
The roadside restaurant bar and arcade is very noisy for a Thursday at 5, but that doesn't stop Ted, Sally, Harry, and Selma from discussing the latest mission of their Cryptozoology club.
"Ready to hunt the Mothman, gang?", asks Ted?
"Like, after we finish these cauliflower wings." says Harry
"Why don't we review our leads?" says Sally
Selma pulls out a pocketbook and starts listing the leads the gang discussed at their last meeting. "There's Frank, the bait shop owner who we met at the last cryptozoology club meeting; he claims to be the resident expert on the Mothman and he says he has photo evidence of a sighting near here."
"Then there's the mysterious crash we saw on the news with only one driver involved and a mysterious animal that fled the scene" she continues.
"Finally the area with the most sightings reported by members of the cryptozoology club is the woods by the highway to the East of town."
"Why don't we see what Frank has to show us about the Mothman?" asks Sally.
"Or we could check out that crash site and look for clues?" suggests Ted.
"Hey, why don't we just try looking in the woods?" says Harry.