Chapter 1: The Hollow Log
Part 1:
Dingo woke up still strapped in the passenger seat of Daddy Cat’s Space Camaro, but when he looked outside he saw that the scenery had changed from a wheat-lined, country back road to trees that reached up into the sky; it had been the most restful sleep he’d had in months and the sight of the forest that he’d spent years meditating in warmed his heart much like the morning sun that was filtering through the treetops. The others had already left the Camaro and were talking outside; Dingo unbuckled his seatbelt and stretched his arms and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then stepped out of the vehicle. “Güt Morgan!” Scufflemöss cheered, “we let you sleep since it looked like you needed it.” “When did we get here?” Dingo asked groggily. “Sometime during the night,” DC took a drag from his catnip joint. “No sense in walking in the dark through unfamiliar territory.” “I couldn’t see shit.” Flurpis remarked, “and that’s saying something.” Dingo took the catnip joint from DC, took a drag and exhaled, “lets get going before the heat gets to be unbearable. There’s about 15 miles of woods we need to hike through.” “Hold on let me get some supplies!” Scufflemöss shuffled to the rear of the Camaro and returned with his arms full with bags of hamburger buns “a bun in each hand is worth two in the bush, because you have a bun in each hand”. “Travel light, Scuffles.” Dingo scowled. Scufflemöss slumped in despair “Oooo, but bun... it is life!” “We shouldn’t be gone more than a couple of days,” Dingo reassured the Troll. “The buns will be here when we get back.” He turned and surveyed the surrounding forest to get his bearings. It had been a long time since he ran through these woods, and he still remembered every detail like it was yesterday. Dingo started walking forward as if guided by the scent of a burning campfire, the others followed close in tow. Scufflemöss caught up to the Shaman with his pockets full of buns, “So, do you know where you are going?” “Home,” Dingo replied, “you never forget home.” |
Part 2:
This was it, Scufflemöss breathed in the fresh forest air, he was off on another adventure into the woods; but this time would be different, he had traveling companions to make it less lonely, and when the trek was done he knew he could return home to the safety of his tent in Caretaker’s backyard. Scufflemöss pulled a hamburger bun from his pocket and munched on the smashed ball of carbohydrates; he still couldn’t believe he had to leave all those buns back at the Camero, but Dingo said they would return. Walking through this Forest was no different to the troll than any other he had traversed before, to him this was just an errand in his old home, the trees and rocks may have be in different places, but were are all essentially the same to Scufflemöss. Scufflemöss saw a tree that seemed to wave to him, in the past he would have stopped and had a conversation with the inanimate plantlife, but he didn’t want to seem TOO crazy to his new “fruends”. Daddy Cat seemed like a cool customer, and he had a neat car; Flurpis was doing well with his new glasses; Scufflemöss gave him one of his spares, that should help his sight, was the logic Scufflemöss used when he gifted them to his ill sighted companion the night before. But Dingo was almost a different detached person today; since they woke up, it was like he was in a trance, only focused on blazing a trail to retrieve his old guitar from some old tree; it was a weird quest, but one Scufflemöss knew he could handle. A figure moved again in Scufflemöss’s peripheral vision, he glanced quickly, but there was nothing there. One thing Scufflemöss had forgotten about the woods, the paranoia; the feeling of being followed, feeling like someone or something is there, but it ends up just being your imagination. He took another bite of bun and shoved it back in his pocket; he was happy to be alive today, surrounded by a place he loved, with people he liked, and a pocket full of his favorite snack; even better, the dark clouds from yesterday were gone, not a rain cloud insight, a perfect day for a hike. Again, he knew he saw it, movement. Someone WAS watching them, following them; it couldn’t be his psychosis this time. |
Part 3:
Daddy Cat was enjoying his hike; the sun was shining, the humidity was relatively low, and there was a nice breeze that bristled his whiskers; by all standards, it was a beautiful day, one of those days that made hiding out on Earth from the Pharmwellian Space Cops a little more tolerable. His traveling party wasn’t terrible either; weird but not terrible. Most humans that DC had met were nothing like Dingo, and all of them didn’t have sphincters where their eyes should be, then there was that Troll; this was quickly becoming one of DC’s strangest visits to Earth. “Hey Dingo, we there yet?” Scufflemöss broke the silence as the party trudged through the woods. “There’s still about a mile or so before the creek, and uh the tree is just yards from there.” Dingo replied, “I’d say less than a half hour more of walking.” “Good, I could use some water, my holes are getting chapped.” Flurpis chuckled. Dingo let out a hardy laugh that echoed through the forest. He suddenly stopped, and threw a hand up in the air to halt the party. Scufflemöss nearly tripped coming to a stop on one foot, while the other was still in the air. “What’s going on?” DC whispered. “Shhhh, it already knows I’m here.” Dingo said in a hushed voice, “It hasn’t heard you.” “What hasn’t heard us?” DC whispered. Dingo whispered but over exaggerated his mouth movements and said while pointing to the rear of the carvan, “Vinebeast.” |
Part 4:
Flurpis had only been away from his attic for less than 72 hours, but now he was regretting his choice to leave; hiding from a creature he had never heard about was the most stressful thing he had ever had to encounter in his life, he was used to the finer scraps in life that his parents would hand down to him, not cowering behind a bush. He suddenly felt a small hand grab his arm and pull him away, it felt like the Troll, but with his handicap it was difficult for Flurpis to say while also trying to keep quiet. Right after Dingo had told the party what he saw, things got hectic, Dingo suddenly charged at the creature to create a distraction, and Flurpis ducked down behind the nearest thing he could find, but now it seemed like Scufflemöss was pulling him away from the path as the sounds of struggle were getting farther away. “You be safe here Fruend,” Scufflemöss patted Flurpis’s arm “Dingo will know what to do.” Flurpis remained quiet to listen for the Vinebeast, aside from a low grumbling and Dingo’s grunting, all he could hear was dirt being shuffled around as the conflict continued. After a few minutes of this fighting Dingo called out, “Fuck this.” And Flurpis heard him run in the opposite direction, away from the beast; had their guide abandoned them? Flurpis couldn’t know for sure. “What’s happening Scufflemöss?” Flurpis asked. “Shhhh, stay quiet fruend.” Scufflemöss hushed. But Scufflemöss's whispering was too loud, and now the sounds of the Vinebeast shuffling towards them grew louder. Scufflemöss let out a yell and Flurpis could feel the Troll’s small back push against his chest forcing him backwards, the Vinebeast had found them, Flurpis could hear the creature’s low grumbling voice just yards in front of him and smelled its musty scent, this was it, he was going to die to something he couldn’t see. A pair of boots hit the floor just behind the beast, followed by what sounded like something hitting piles of lawn clippings repeatedly, and the shuffling of feet leading away from Flurpis and the Troll; had they been saved? “Did Dingo come back?” Flurpis asked. “No, I don’t know who that is.” Scufflemöss replied. |
Part 5:
Zopi landed another punch on the Vinebeast directly in the center of it’s chest; making the creature double over for a moment, just long enough for Zopi wind up and smash the Beast with an uppercut. Zopi couldn’t believe his luck, not only did he find the Troll he had been searching for, but he was also able to repay his debt to him; Zopi was now a “free bird”. Zopi let the uppercut fly into the downturned face of the Vinebeast and knocked it off its feet. “Let us go.” He turned to Scufflemöss and motioned forward. “We must reunite you with your friends.” He spoke with broke English and a heavy Russian accent. “They go that way.” “Uh, okay!” Scufflemöss replied, he grabbed Flurpis by his shirt and lead him ahead, “We gotta find Dingo und Daddy Cat. C’mon, Bird!.” Zopi tailed them from a short distance; the Vinebeast would probably only be temporary stunned and Zopi didn’t have very much energy left from walking through the night, those punches were all he had left in him; he was doing his best to keep up pace with the Troll as it was. Zopi glanced behind, he saw the Vinebeast getting back to it’s feet, they didn’t have much time left, but when he looked forward again he lost his footing and hit the ground. That was it, Zopi thought, he couldn’t move a muscle; he was just too tired. Flurpis grabbed Zopi by his coat and lifted him up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “We aren’t leaving you behind, Beaky.” He grinned at Zopi and ran to catch up with Scufflemöss. Zopi exhaled, slumped over Flurpis’ shoulder, and then everything went black. |
Part 6:
It was his space, the one he created for special workings; Dingo would go there when he needed to meditate, but today was different, he needed that space to conjure. It wasn’t that Dingo had given up on fighting the Vinebeast, he just needed something more powerful to deal with the creature; but he couldn’t leave the spot that he was sitting in, he had to remain still, Dingo would have to wait for the creature to come his way, and he knew it would. The sounds of two pairs of feet came echoing through the forest, it was time. Dingo opened his eyes, exposing blank, white orbs behind his painted face. The world shifted and colors faded out; he didn’t see the forest, he saw its life force flowing around him in a brilliant golden hue. Dingo searched through the tapestry of gold and found the two lifeforms moving a short distance away, their energy burning red, but it wasn’t just two, there was a third with them; he knew it was Flurpis and Scufflemöss, but the third had a different, yet familiar energy; however that wasn’t his target, he let them keep running and remained still. Seconds after his party ran out of his sight, Dingo caught another glimpse of energy moving quickly, it was the beast. He readied his mind and focused only on the creature until it was only yards away, and Dingo let everything go. At first the Vinebeast didn’t notice what had happened and kept running, but once a spark formed on its arm, the beast caught fire; but it wasn’t hot, the fire was cold and only clung to the creature. First it’s arm became engulfed in flames, then its leg; only then did it take notice, but it was too late, the fire spread over its entire body, and within minutes it was reduced to a pile of ash on the forest floor. Another successful working, Dingo stood and rubbed his eyes smearing his corpse paint, the deed was done, now he had to find his party and get his guitar; they weren’t too far now. |
Part 7:
“Where do we go now?” Scufflemöss asked Flurpis; they had hit a metaphorical wall while running away from the Vinebeast and arrived at a fast flowing creek in the middle of the forest, if Scufflemöss’s memory serves right it would be the one that Dingo had talked about. “Your guess is as good as mine,” Flurpis puzzled and motioned to his empty eye sockets, “my sense of direction is pretty shitty!” Scufflemöss was usually pretty comfortable in the woods, he had spent most of his life wandering in it after all, but that was the difference, he wasn’t just wandering, they were searching for Dingo’s old home which was hidden in a tree, but which tree. This quest was turning into a wild goose chase. To make matters worse, their guide was missing, Daddy Cat disappeared during the fight with the creature, and now they had an unconscious birdman in their care. Some hike this was shaping up to be. It had been several minutes since Scufflemöss and Flurpis evaded the Vinebeast, and the Troll was starting to think they could start to relax. “Hey Flurpis, I think we should just stay put for now. We are clearly lost, but at least the others will have to come through here to get to the other side.” Scufflemöss went down to the creek and cupped his hands to fill them with water. “Could you bring the Bird over here, please? We are going to need to care for him til’ he comes back around.” Flurpis set the unconscious beaked man down gently on the pebbled wash by the creek, then Scufflemöss took some of the water in his hands and poured it into the birdman’s beak. Scufflemöss didn’t think his action through fully and the man started coughing and sputtering; on the bright side, he was now conscious. “OH FRUEND! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to choke you awake... güt morgen?” Scufflemöss patted him on the back. “Thank you for saving us back there. Say... you look familiar, what’s your name again?” The birdman wiped the water from his beak and coughed a few more times. “Zopilote, but you can call me Zopi.” He said in a thick Russian accent. |
Part 8:
Daddy Cat had thought this was going to be a leisurely hike in the woods, not a fight for his life; when the Vinebeast attacked he regretted not coming equipped for battle, normally DC would have brought something with him just for a little extra protection. Back at the Space Camaro he had a whole arsenal of close combat weaponry; brass knuckles, knifes, a sword, and his personal favorite nunchucku; but out here the Space Cat was unarmed. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense, so in order to protect himself, DC climbed the nearest tree and stuck to the upper branches; but it was up there where he saw another creature, almost as strange as the Vinebeast, a human with feathers and a beak; even for a space traveler like DC the creature was weird. He kept an eye on the person in black, who didn’t seem to see him in the trees, but also the Vinebeast below. After some time of Dingo fighting the creature DC saw him retreat and watched the Vinebeast chase after Scufflemöss; that seemed to trigger something in the beaked man in black who leapt down from the branches and began to fight the beast. DC was starting to get curious about the man’s intentions, after all what was he doing up in the trees in the first place. The fight continued and Daddy Cat watched the Troll and Flurpis flee with the birdman after he passed out. He hadn’t seen Dingo in a few minutes, but DC knew he could take care of himself, so he leapt from tree to tree staying in sight of his party. From above he had a better lay of the land; DC was even able to see the creek Dingo spoke of, and he could see the others headed that way, at least they weren’t lost. He followed them down to the creek and descended from the canopy, the birdman wasn’t unconscious and was now talking to the Troll. But as he approached them, Daddy Cat felt a strange feeling come over him, an instinct he hadn’t yet felt; the hairs on his neck bristled and his legs felt light and springy. His instincts took over and DC began charging at the birdman determined to pounce. The birdman, though clearly exhausted, jumped to his feet and took off running at the sight of a 5 1/2 foot tall cat chasing after him. |
Part 9:
Flurpis couldn’t believe what he was seeing, or rather what he didn’t see? It’s hard to explain. He didn’t know whether to laugh or lend a hand to stop Daddy Cat from chasing Zopi like a game of cat and mouse; he did feel sympathetic to Zopi however, even though they had just met, the birdman did rescue them after all. Scufflemöss was shouting at them to stop, but that wasn’t working, so Flurpis thought it was time to intervene. He walked a few feet closer to the creeks edge and waited; he may not have had eyes, but he did have a special sense for these things, similar to how Dingo could see the life force flowing in the forest, Flurpis was able to feel the vibrations around him. He heard the creek trickling past him and could tell where Scufflemöss was standing by voice, but he also felt the ground pulse when Zopi and DC would take a step. The world wasn’t as dark to Flurpis as the others thought. He felt them coming near and reached out his arms, then just at the right time like a Venus fly trap he closed his hands around Zopi’s coat and DC’s fur and lifted them off the ground, effectively ending the chase. “Play nice you two.” Flurpis chuckled holding them aloft. Daddy Cat growled in disapproval, but started to calm down from his agitated state. “Put me down, ass face.” “Nah ah, use manners, mister.” Flurpis scolded DC, “Zopi here has been through a lot today, show him some respect.” “I don’t trust this beaked freak, he was watching us from the trees, he has to be in league with that creature!” DC growled pointing his paw insistently at Zopi. “Actually, he saved us from the creature.” Flurpis replied. “It is true.” Zopi spoke, “I see they were in trouble, I help them.” “Yeah, he did.” Scufflemöss chimed in, “we were almost plant food. But where were you DC? I didn’t see you when that thing attacked.” DC scowled, “I was helping, from the trees, that’s where I saw HIM waiting to pounce” Flurpis looked at Zopi. “Is that true?” “Yes, but no,” Zopi shrugged, “I was resting when the creature appear, I am very tired. I want to help the Troll because he help me.” “See DC, 'he want to help’” Flurpis said in his best Zopi impression. |
Part 10:
It didn’t take long for Dingo to find the rest of his party even as he was still experiencing the residual effects of his meditation, he could see their energies down by the creek and kept a slow pace heading back to them. Sometimes, when he would expel as much energy as he did on the Vinebeast, it would leave him feeling lethargic and ready for a rest, but they weren't long from their resting point and soon he would have his guitar. The others didn’t seem to notice when Dingo emerged from the woods to the creek, and that was fine, he didn’t need the fanfare. He walked slowly to the creek bed and sat at its edge, filled his hands with water and drank quietly while the others debated about a man in Black with a beak on his face. It was the guy he had seen earlier escaping with Flurpis and Scufflemöss. He didn’t look like a “bad guy”, and his energy was certainly unique, something about it reminded him of a night years ago when Dingo was a child; there had been a comet that night if his memory served correctly. Dingo stood and approached the group, “Hey.” He said groggily rubbing his throat. “I took care of the Vinebeast. Faerie Fire usually does the trick.” Daddy Cat clearly agitated by the presence of the birdman chimed at Dingo, “Hey man, can you tell ‘Plurpiss’ that we shouldn’t be trusting this thing? It was watching us when the Vinebeast attacked.” DC spat. “He looks alright to me, a little worse for wear, but his eyes tell me he is the decent sort.” Dingo reasoned. “Besides, we don’t have time to squabble over newcomers, we’re running short on time.” Dingo faced the opposite side of the creek and pointed, “we’re almost to the tree.” Scufflemöss patted Zopi on the back, “see Zopi, I knew you were güt. Now let’s follow that trail und get that bread!” “You are searching for bread?” Zopi scratched his head. “Metaphorically.” Scufflemöss shrugged, “but I’ve got some bun back at the Space Camaro!” |
Part 11:
The sun was just beginning to set in the Lewisburg woods when the newly formed "Wüden Boi" finally reached their destination, The Hollow Tree. The old Oak looked like it had been struck by lightning, which splintered the tree in two; in the center there was a gaping, dark hole, that led down into a small cave. Dingo’s face lit up as he traced every detail with his eyes. He was home, or where his home had been in his youth; he spent months at a time living off the land and meditating alone in peace. “Pretty sweet digs you have here, Fruend.” Scufflemöss patted Dingo on the back. Dingo nodded, but refrained from talking, the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him; this place had a way with Dingo, and this return would be bittersweet; something in him wished they could stay longer. Dingo descended into his old home, it was exactly the same as he left it, but being short on time he ignored the urge to reminisce and went straight for the rotting guitar case in the corner. The case had clearly seen flood waters in his absence, but was still intact; luckily the guitar inside had remained undamaged. Dingo took the case and rushed out of the cave, leaving everything behind, again. He emerged to find everyone talking, DC waved Dingo over. “Hey Dingo, it’s getting dark pretty fast. Scufflemöss thinks we should stay here for the night.” Tears welled in Dingo’s eyes; nothing would have made him happier than to hear those words at that moment. He nodded, set his guitar case down, and began collecting kindling for the celebration bonfire that night. “Told ya we should have brought more Bun.” Scufflemöss sassed turning his pockets inside out. |
Part 12:
A bonfire was quickly built and lit while Scufflemöss and Daddy Cat went hunting for something to eat, once the fire had caught, the hunting party returned with paws and pockets full of small river fish and forest berries; Wüden Boi would have full stomachs by the time the last rays of sunlight disappeared. The group gathered around the fire at The Hollow Tree to eat and swap stories from their past; Zopi told them about his life traveling in the circus and how he lived in a cage for most of his life, he profusely thanked the Troll for freeing him. Flurpis recounted his life in the attic, Daddy Cat told a few stories about soaring through the cosmos from planet to planet, Scufflemöss also pitched in a tale or two, but Dingo didn’t need to speak because his home was weaving a story for them as the logs turned the embers. Before the last coal died out and the group would retire to the cave for the night, they agreed on their next plan for action. They knew that these happy times would have to come to a halt and they would need to face a foe more powerful than a Vinebeast; now that there were five of them, summoning the Loa back to banish it would be much easier. Most of them had their reasons for banishing the Loa, revenge seemed to be the consensus though. They would get their chance soon, next stop The Exit/In... |