Part One

1 – I'm late, I hate kids, and why me?

Elliot Weirde wraps his coat tighter around his waist, and then brings his belt in an additional notch. The dampness of the fog is harsh tonight. The cold wants to dig deep into Elliot's bones. With a disgruntled pout, he starts talking to himself. "Of all places to have a meeting, why did it have to be here?" He feels his feathered companion, Stanley, pecking at his fer suede hat.

"Stanley, stop pecking at my hat, it has enough wear and tear," said Elliot

"I cannot see any worms, and I am hungry," Stanley replied

Elliot is starting to believe it was a mistake to come here. "Caw… caw," Stanley squawks, "Don't forget the Baroness was the one who called you here. She will be upset if you do not show up."

Elliot grumbles, "Why Bleakewood Cemetery? Doesn't she know that place is cursed, along with the rest of Bleakewood Village?" Stanley stares back at him with his beady black eyes, not saying a word. Elliot holds his lantern out in front of him and continues walking down the stone path that leads to the entrance of Bleakewood Cemetery. The path starts to curve around an old willow tree; its branches are full of corolla flowers. At any other time of year, they would smell sweet, but now that fall is a month away they only smell like rotten meat. Stanley spotting the gate takes off from Elliot's shoulder and lets out another caw - "We are here." Elliot sees him circling above an archway to an old iron gate. The words, Bleakewood Cemetery, have been wrought into its lintel. There is an unlocked padlock hanging from a chain. Someone has been this way.

The gate's hinges make a sharp screech as it opens. "She could have at least said what part of the cemetery," said Elliot. Stanley lands on top of the arch watching Elliot with his beady black eyes take the path that leads between the headstones. Then low and behold he spots a freshly dug grave. Those same beady eyes grow wide, at the sight of worms sticking out of the freshly disturbed dirt pile. They are wiggling their ends like a white flag of surrender to the victorious predator. He flies down to the headstone marked, Charles Edward Lamont I, and puts out a loud warning caw –

"I am here now, my time for feeding has come, and all these tasty worms belong to me." No other bird dares to disturb his dinner this night.

Elliot has been walking through this cemetery for over thirty minutes with no sign of the Baroness or the meeting place. He stops and pulls out his pocket-watch, clicks the small button at the top to open the front cover, "9:00." The vein in his temple pumps viciously. He is late. Elliot wonders if he should call out to see if anyone would answer, but thinks better of it. There are other things, evil things, in this fog-covered cemetery beside himself, he's not too keen on dealing with them. He knows they have been watching him since he entered the cemetery, but it is possible that they will leave him alone. His poor luck has not run out. The sound of a child's laughter echoes out of the mist, "DAMN!"

Elliot can hear the pattering of tiny feet behind him. He cannot see who or what it is, but he doesn't have to guess. This cemetery is well known to house one type of evil, Red Hairs. They are the lost souls of factory children who have died in the Bleakewood Shoe Factory. Lantern light tends to draw them to their would-be victims. They are more mischievous than harmful, nothing more than a bump on the head or a black eye. It looks to be only one following him. One, he can deal with, as long as it doesn't start rhyming. "I want to play. Don't run away, what do you say?" Elliot freezes in place. –"Well dammit!"

This is one of the younger Red Hairs. They are the most mischievous of the all the bunch, and the only ones that tend to cause severe bodily harm, like a broken leg, or missing limb altogether. Elliot sighs in wonder at where Stanley is. The one time he might be useful, he is off doing gods knows what. He quickens his pace, too afraid to run full out. It might cause the evil brat to want to play harder. That is something that must never happen. The one time someone did die, was because she ran from one of the younger ones. All it took was an empty grave covered in fog. The evil little brat buried her alive. She was found the next morning by the gravedigger. Her hand was sticking out of the dirt pile with a clenched fist full of red hair.

"Hickory Dickory Dee…What do I see? Don't run, let's have some fun." Elliot slows to a walk when he comes to a fork in the path. The kid is only a few yards away, "Here I am. Better not turn around. I am the creep that walks these grounds." With no time to lose, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small glass jar sealed with red wax. He looks at it closely, spotting a tiny girl with green skin and purple wings pounding against the glass.

"If I let you out, you must go left, while I go right. Will you do as I ask?" The tiny girl looks to be thinking a moment, then nods her head yes. Elliot breaks the wax seal, and in a flash of bright light the little green girl flies free, going left. "I better not regret this," said Elliot and he blows out the lantern–"Let's see you find me now you brat."

The rhyming comes again, but this time it is no longer near him. "Hey you, where are you? There you are, you've gone far, hardy, har, har." Elliot's upset that he was forced to blow out his lantern and to make matters worse. He doesn't have any more matches to light it up again. Without any light to help guide him, he feels that he is stuck here until the sun comes up and banishes this fog. Elliot walks over to the edge of the path and leans against a garden wall made of stone. He takes off his hat and begins to twirl it in his hands, trying to think of a way out of this mess. It only took thirty seconds for Stanley to show up cawing in the air.

"I will be damned," said Elliot. "Down here, Stanley." The fog parts for the blackbird. Elliot holds his hand out, and Stanley lands on his index finger –

"You look terrible. Where is your lantern?"

Elliot spots a bit of worm hanging out of his beak. "I see you ate, and while I was being chased through this blasted fog."

Stanley shakes his head, removing the evidence. "What do you mean?"

Elliot tells him what happened, and Stanley ruffles his feathers when he mentions the name Red Hairs. –

"Red Hairs, mischief makers, cursed children they are."

For all the lousy luck Elliot Weirde had to put up with, now was the time for some good luck. The fog parts for the moon's white light, revealing a path that leads up a small hill. Elliot looks up at the moon, it's full tonight, and it shines like a star.

"Look, someone is lighting a fire at the top of the hill. The Baroness must be there," said Stanley

Elliot puts him on his shoulder then walks up the path to the hilltop. The firelight is starting to change colors. First, it was orange, then green. Now it is glowing dark violet. There is an old woman, standing there next to it, throwing small objects into the flames. She is wearing a silk gown that is wrapped in velvet colored fur cape coat, embroidered with gold buttons. The woman sees Elliot coming up the path, and raises her hand up in a stiff-armed wave of hello.

"Mr. Weirde, you are late," she remarks.

"Yes ma'am, I know. You picked a hell of a spot to meet."

She gives him a tight-lipped frown. "The matter is of some importance, and you are the only one I believe capable of making the journey." She then throws what looks like a small muskrat looking creature, but with more teeth, into the fire. The flames rise high changing to the color white.

"What was so urgent?" Elliot asks while trying to keep his eyebrows from turning to ash.

"Every so many years, the doors to the other side crack open. I am here to keep them closed," she exclaims as the flames start to rise uncontrollably higher and higher. "I need you to assist me. The rules are clear on this matter. There must be one to counter me."

Elliot Weirde has been through more than his fair share of the horrors that come from the other side. He watches as the flames reach fifty feet into the air, steady changing colors, white to black to green to orange. The noise coming from the fire sound like hundreds of wolves are howling at the moon. Elliot can see the Baroness holding a stick made of yew in her hand, their eyes lock onto each other, and she screams for him to stand opposite of her.

Elliot runs to the other side of the giant flames. He can see that the flames are parting, an incredible wave of heat overtakes him, but he does not burn. The Baroness's speaks to him in his mind, "Do not move from that spot. I must have a counter to the weight, for this to work. The flames begin to part in the middle. The heat dies down only to be replaced by a bitter cold. Elliot can no longer see the Baroness standing opposite to him. The flames seem to have opened a small rift in space and time. The strong desire for him to move from this spot overwhelms him, but he stays put. Another voice enters his head, a deep-pitched voice; it feels evil and full of malice.

"Just walk away. She lies to you. If you stay, you will die. So walk away to safety."

Elliot shakes his head, screaming…"NO!"

Stanley has been perched in a tree ever since the flames shot up to the sky. He sits there watching the whole event take place. The Baroness stands on one side and Elliot on the other. The flames start parting in the center, of the fire pit. His beady eyes are sharp, and he sees what is on the other side. –

"Malevolent, cruel, and empty. Such beings don't belong here."

Stanley leaves the branch, flapping his wings as hard as he can to reach the Baroness. He lands on her shoulder. Stanley sees that her face is a pale milky white. He begins to worry that she is losing this battle. Stanley pecks her cheek, "Concentrate my lady, Concentrate!"

The Baroness feels the pecking on her cheek. It brings her back to her senses. She can see the flames are parting; Elliot's face contorts in pain. The void to the other side is opening, and she fears that she may not be able to stop it. Stanley pecks her again. –

"Use your other wand. Use the other one."

The Baroness does as Stanley instructed her, and pulls out another wand. This one made from a willow tree, the same tree Elliot walked by earlier. The Baroness begins to give everything she has to seal the door. The wand starts to bloom with flowers, and the ground beneath the fire splits apart allowing giant roots to grow out and wrap around the flames.

Elliot cannot see anything, but he can smell something sweet in the air. He feels a peck on his forehead.

"Wake up," said Stanley with each peck. "I said wake up."

Elliot comes to and sees the Baroness sitting on a tree root, attached to a better than average sized willow tree, which now sits where the flaming doorway sat.

"Good of you to join us, Mr. Weirde," she said, "That was indeed a close one."

Elliot stands up, dusting himself off. "What happened?" he asks her.

The Baroness waves her hand at him saying, "What is done, is done." Knowing her, he knew she was not going to go into details. She stands up and removes a cracker from her pocket. "I know this does not do you justice after what you did, Stanley, but it will have to do for now." She throws him the cracker, and he eats it gratefully. "Now Mr. Weirde, for the other reason I requested you to come."

Elliot begins to think what she could possibly want now.

"The sun will be up soon, and I need you to stay here in Bleakewood," She said

Elliot grumbles at this. She gives him that tight firm lip again. "There is cause to believe that something may have triggered this supernatural occurrence," she went on to explain, "As I said before, the doorway to the other side likes to crack open now and then. This time was different. The door was cracked open more than usual. I want you to find out why."

Elliot knew better than to argue with her. "Before I go on this little request of yours, answer me this. What was that? I have seen many things that come from the other side, but never have I seen that."

The Baroness, thinking about how best to answer him, sits back down on the tree root. "Usually this little task takes more than just two people. Six is the usual number, with the occasional wild card." She gestures to Stanley. "Stanley played that role quite nicely. If it was not for him rousing me…We may be having a different conversation." Elliot waves his hand for her to continue. "Yes, that doorway is to the other side. However, there is an untold number of, sides," she quoted with her fingers, "This door opens to the realm of the nameless and forgotten gods."

Elliot raises his hand to stop her, "You know what, never mind. I like to avoid any conversation that involves them, nothing but bad luck when they get involved" The Baroness nods in agreement. "That is precisely why I did not mention that detail earlier. I knew you would be turned off by my request."

"Turned off, is not the words I would use." Elliot has, what one would say, a personal connection to the Nameless gods. Elliot choosing to change the subject asks, "Did you ever stop and think Bleakewood is the cause of the bigger opening?"

She nods her head, "Originally yes, Bleakewood Village would have been my first guess, but after my calculations on figuring out the location of the opening. I found trouble in my math. The numbers shifted me to the church. When I stepped onto the church balcony, I saw the moonlight shine down on the hilltop. It was at that time that I determined there is an outside force trying to prevent me from reaching this place."

"You think someone in Bleakewood was trying to force the door open?" Elliot asks, "Why?"

"That is why I need you to stay here and verify that there isn't a follower roaming around. Bleakewood has enough problems, and a worshiper of the other side is not one I care to have added to the mix."

"Fine, I will stay, but I will need help if there is a follower here," said Elliot.

"I can stay and help," cawed Stanley.

"You will not be enough, I am afraid," the Baroness said to Stanley, "I will send a letter to my nephew, Samuel. He lives in Rose Mire Village. He is a writer for the newspaper there, and he has my family's gift for foresight. Although if you were to ask him. He would tell you it is a curse. Samuel should be able to help you track down any information you may need." They part ways, and as Elliot walks back down the hill, he cannot help but think this is going to be rough.