BREAKING THE FANTASY
Written by: Gwendolyn Frost.
Disclaimer: This story will be toned down slightly, but it will cover a variety of sensitive subjects. Such as death and murder. There might also be some mild swearing, but as mentioned earlier, I'm planning to maintain a T rating rather than committing to a full on M rating. However, I will try to warn you beforehand during one of these disclaimers in case some of you appreciate the heads-up to certain trigger subjects. As far as this chapter is concerned there's the mention of suicide told in a backstory near the end. As a side note, for those who have read a story with a similar title from me, I have this to say: I'm not exactly canceling the previous story, I tried to re-edit and write another chapter for it, but things kept piling up irl and sorta had a change of direction along the way. The story has been reworked, I will tackle the same themes and story elements from the other story. This is sort of like a soft reboot, instead of taking place years after getting stranded in the human realm, Luz and her friends will start almost at the same pace in which Season 3 started. This story The Looking Glass will be the first 'Book' of the series. I want this whole project to be what I wanted Season 3 to be with The TOH Cast reacting to and solving mysteries in the Human Realm. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy.~
Gravesfield. This quiet town is the home to Luz Noceda. A place that hasn't truly earned notoriety in the rest of the country that does not involve the mass murder of people accused of being witches several hundred years ago. It is here where the enigmatic Wittebane brothers lived for their short period of life. Their statues are immortalized in the town's plaza, serving as symbols of prosperity. The dark true history of the Wittebanes has long been forgotten, or at least, buried on purpose. But even after so many years have passed. There is but one who knows the whole truth. That one is Philippe Wittebane, the younger of the two brothers. Today known as Emperor Bellos, the mad tyrant that almost annihilated the witch race from existence - if it wasn't for Luz and her friends, he would have succeeded. That happened not long ago.
Now, Luz came back home to her mother, alongside Amity, Gus, Willow and Hunter. After the Collector took over the Boiling Isles, they have become stranded in the Human Realm. In their heads, they believe Bellos to be dead. They watched the Collector turn him into a pile of waste on the wall. A fitting end for such a parasite. But little do they know that the mad tyrant still lives like the walking plague he really is.
Recovering from his weakened state, Bellos has been dormant while the Owl House members rested peacefully under the protection of Camila Noceda. But once taking over the carcass of a deer run over on the side of the road, the mad tyrant roamed the woods looking for that little shack… the one in which Luz came through to the Boiling Isles for the first time. There lies what he needs…
The story dictates that Luz and her friends found a scroll hidden under the floor of that shack that serves as a map to a secret treasure buried in the cemetery where they will have a brief showdown with Bellos for the Titan Blood that his older brother Caleb hid there centuries ago. When the fight was over, a portal was opened - leading back into the Boiling Isles in which they will come face to face with The Collector once more, rescue their friends and families, and have a final duel with the mad tyrant for the sake of both Realms.
That's where the story ends. However… in this story, things didn't quite happen the way they were supposed to. A simple misdirection from Bellos completely changed the course of history. Bellos always knew of his brother's map. He always knew that he would one day abandon him over… that witch. That's why Caleb built that shack to begin with. It was the place where they would meet. Long ago, he would follow Caleb into his shack so that he would meet with that vile witch that had him under a spell. It couldn't be love, Philippe convinced himself. It was a spell. That's what they do, they are witches, he would repeat to himself over and over. He confronted him several times about it. But Caleb was adamant that what he felt for this witch was true love. By that time, Philippe thought of gathering the witch hunters in the area to help him out - but he didn't want his older brother to be executed as well. One last time, Philippe confronted his older brother about it when he was about to go into that place again. But Caleb simply smiled at him, reassured him that everything was fine and to take care of himself.
Philippe was dumbfounded by the way his brother spoke to him that day, it almost felt… like a farewell. No, he couldn't - not today, he told to himself. He wasn't going to abandon him. Tackling him inside the portal, a fight ensued on the other end. The once close brothers were now throwing punches at each other while the enigmatic witch that fractured their bond tried to stop them. The portal closed behind them and Philippe unleashed all his rage on Caleb without hesitation. In the end, Caleb sustained a mortal blow which ended his life shortly. Philippe's rage dissipated and what was left was a mix of remorse and depression.
He never saw the witch again. Or at least, he did not try to look for her. But he still blamed her for what happened. In fact, Philippe was blaming all witches for it. And so, his vile and twisted plan of revenge unfolded for the next couple of centuries.
Once he was back in the Human Realm, Philippe planned to go after the map in the shack. He wasn't going to let those witches ruin his plans once more. However… little did he know that his impatience was going to be a mistake that he would regret for the next couple of years. He caught the attention of a group of people that he once belonged to and that now… they were hunting him down.
In the middle of the night, now using a human cadaver as a body, Bellos fled through the woods. All while those shadows quickly followed after him. These were not average humans. This was not the police, nor the military, but they were just as capable and well coordinated. They understood what they were after, or at least had a semblance of what their prey was. These were witch hunters. Modern day witch hunters.
Bellos himself was not aware of how much the group that he once belonged to has changed through the ages. He thought he could handle them, but once they used modern day weapons against him, he was outmatched. At least, the putrid body that he uses was not strong enough. His right arm was completely ripped off his body. The open wound secreted rotten meat mixed with that dark reddish mud that his curse was made of.
As fast as he could, Bellos made his way to the shack. With the arm left, he punched down through the wooden floor - feeling every bit of pain it caused him in the process. Under that floor was the map that led to Caleb's secret treasure. A vial of Titan Blood. Bellos pulled his arm out with map in hand and used what little strength left he had to make his escape. But once he got out from the other side of the house, he learned that this group of hunters had already circled him in.
One of them took a shot at him with a shotgun, which completely obliterated his knee, making the mad tyrant scream in agony and quickly land face down on the floor.
As more of them began to make the forward approach, Bellos tried one last time to attack them using his curse, what little magic he can do. Razor sharp pieces of exposed bones pushed forward, slashing that very weapon that destroyed his leg out of the hunter's hands. While another slash pushed two hunters away. A large hunter took a shot at him, but instead of a bullet, what pierced through his chest was a large harpoon with a long chain that when pulled forced Bellos down onto the floor once more.
This time, all the pain Bellos felt was quadrupled. But instead of showing weakness, he enveloped that chain with his arm left and pulled the weapon off the large hunter.
Before Bellos was given the chance to kill the hunter with the harpoon he pulled out of his own chest, a new hunter quickly joined the fight. But this hunter was different. Instead of using a gun, a machete or a harpoon like the others, this one had a different weapon. It was dark, so Bellos was unable to tell what it was. But it was long like a staff, but the topside seemed to have… tentacles? Several tentacle-like limbs wiggled in the dark before becoming suddenly stiff in place and what happened next was that Bellos was pushed back with such a force that he felt the spine of the body that he inhabits split in two as he was thrown onto a large tree.
This body was mangled, mutilated and now spineless, yet - Bellos did whatever effort he had left in order to face the man holding the staff and desperately tried to take one slash to make things even. But this hunter used the staff once more, completely breaking the mad tyrant's spirit with a strong spell before the same staff created a green cube in which Bellos was imprisoned shortly after.
It was then that Bellos understood what he was dealing with now. Magic. But… how?
The man holding the staff collapsed on his knee, holding the staff in his left hand while his right one quickly moved to hold the left side of his chest. He was joined by the large hunter with the harpoon, resting his large hand over the weakened shorter man's shoulder.
"I'm ok… I'm not hurt." The man with the staff panted heavily.
"It's getting worse, sir. I told you that you shouldn't be on the field anymore." The large hunter said, his voice quite deep.
The man cracked the silence with a soft chuckle. "If I have done so, you may not have lived to tell the tale. This creature put up quite the fight." The man's voice was less deep than the large hunter, having a more sophisticated tone in his voice, like a scholar of sorts.
"That may be true, sir. What is it, anyway?" The large hunter said as he helped the man with the staff to stand up to his feet.
"It's quite an ugly fella I say." Another hunter said, joining the two.
"Most definitely not a witch. It looks like a corpse!" Yet another one said.
Bellos could not see any of them with those decayed eyes of his, and the green prison in which his body was encapsulated didn't make things easier. He could hear them argue, celebrate and even pick fun at him. "Who are you?" Bellos dared to ask the man with the staff. "You're not like them. You used magic…"
"It speaks!" Several hunters yelped as they heard a voice coming from the beast which had taken a few slashes at them earlier.
"What in the world!" The large hunter exclaimed. "Sir, this is a witch. I've seen em'. I've seen em' doing things with water, creating golems with mud. But this fella looks dead, this witch might not be of use for us after all."
"I'm not a WITCH!" Bellos exclaimed, infuriated. The man with the staff simply stared while the hunters pointed their fingers at Bellos like a mad mob about to burn him on the stake for witchcraft. "You're wrong! You're all wrong! You are the witches, you're holding a magic staff in your possession!" Bellos screamed as he watched the man hand over the staff to the larger hunter and began to walk forward into the moonlight, then leaned down to pick up the scroll that Bellos dropped and stared down on him. There, he could see the man closely, a face covered in a golden mask with blue piercing eyes looking at him underneath. The mask resembled his old one as Emperor Bellos but different. This was in fact a true Witch Hunter mask, those ones that when in a young age - he carved on wood and wore them, daydreaming of one day becoming a Hunter himself.
"If you are not a witch. Then what are you?" The man finally spoke to him.
"I'm a human." Bellos said, which statement was quickly met with laughter and ridicule by the more uneducated hunters. "I AM HUMAN! My name is Philippe Wittebane." The name quickly made everyone hush into an unnerving silence.
"Lies." The larger hunter exclaimed. "Philippe Wittebane has been gone for hundreds of years."
"My brother was Caleb Wittebane. He was enchanted by a witch's spell. And I followed him into a place called the Boiling Isles. It is there, the home of the witches. I was trapped there for those hundreds of years that I've been gone." Philippe pleaded.
"Lies, lies, lies, lies." The hunters exclaimed while the man with the staff continued to stare in disbelief.
"Even if you were trapped in such a place, how come you are still alive?!" The large hunter shouted.
"I was cursed!" Bellos exclaimed immediately.
"Cursed? By whom?" The educated man asked.
Philippe did not reply, because the answer was himself. It was him who chose to prolong his own life by consuming magic in the form of palismans.
"Yourself?" The educated man deduced.
"I had no choice." Philippe mumbled.
"There is always a choice, Mister Wittebane. And this was yours. Now the question is…" The man leaned down to look at Philippe's decaying eyes level when kneeling down. "Was it worth it?"
Philippe was left with an uncertain question, filling him with doubt and despair. Was it worth it? Living for such a long time, becoming a parasite in order to fulfill his life mission of exterminating witches from the face of the Earth.
"Who are you…?" Philippe asked, intrigued.
"We're witch hunters, of course." The large hunter replied.
"What?" Philippe asked, his tone changing from an upset one to a more surprised one. "You are witch hunters?! But you are using magic!"
The hunters behind the educated man couldn't help but let out some laughter when calling their weapons magic.
"This ain't magic, chief." A hunter holding a shotgun said. "But the Professor can use magic."
The man they call The Professor was the very man that used that weird looking staff that now the larger hunter held in the shadows.
"You…" Philippe looked up at the man they called the Professor. "Release me, I'm one of you."
"Now he sayin' he's one of us." A quick session of laughter soon followed.
"There's work left to be done." Philippe ignored the laughter and the ridicule he was given by the more uneducated bunch of witch hunters. "There's still witches in Gravesfield that I can lead you to. And countless more in the Boiling Isles. I can be your guide through that cursed place."
"And how are we getting there exactly?" The Professor asked.
"With that you are holding in your hand." Philippe said as the Professor now focused his attention on the scroll he was holding.
"What is this?" The Professor asked.
"That is a map that leads to my older brother's old stash of Titan Blood. A resource that's capable of bending time and space. It is what he used to travel between their world and our own."
"In other words… you are suggesting that this…" The Professor raised the scroll towards Philippe's eyes. "What this map leads to, can open a portal to another dimension?"
"Yes." Philippe said, quite pleased with himself.
The Professor opened the scroll and looked at the map's riddle inside. "Have you solved it yet?"
The question quickly made Philippe hesitate in his response. "No, but I was hoping that we could join our forces and solve it together."
The Professor chuckled softly. "Well, not to worry. If there is anyone that may have a clue to this conundrum, that might be my Muse." Then the man stood back up to his feet and faced the other hunters. "Take him, he's coming with us."
THE LOOKING GLASS
Chapter 1: Gravesfield
Some time has passed since Bellos was taken by the Witch Hunters. Unbeknown to them, Luz and her friends had come back to the shack, and even set their headquarters there, although it was more of a club house than a headquarters. Of course, seeing the place all messed up made them wonder what happened to it - but they never found that answer. Although Flapjack kept pecking down onto the floor looking for the secret map that his master once hid there - no one figured it out or found any evidence of Bellos or the Witch Hunters ever being there.
It was the beginning of summer, Luz was officially on Summer Break now. And she felt confident that this was the perfect time to look around in Gravesfield for a way back into the Boiling Isles. However, with no leads - they were wandering around town aimlessly.
Luz has lived in Gravesfield for the most part of her life. But this is a place in which she never felt a part of. At least, that's how she felt after losing her dad. Coming back to where she always felt alienated was something she wasn't looking forward to after living in the Owl House for several months last year. But at least, she was not alone. She had Amity and her friends with her, and Luz was determined to help them reunite with their families - soon enough.
This is where their journey begins, in Gravesfield. A small town, quiet, friendly and uneventful on the surface - but with its dark corners they will explore that would lead them into frightening territories that would make them question their own reality.
It all begins in the hallways of the Gravesfield's Public Library. Luz has aged barely a few weeks since they all showed up in the Human Realm. Perhaps a few inches of hair have grown on her. However, her head was covered by an orange beanie which gave the illusion that her hair was as short as it was before. She wore a tee with purple and white stripes and on top of it she wore a green jacket. Other than that she wore long dark baggy pants and white sneakers on her feet.
Luz approached the librarian with a bunch of books on her hands, which all looked rather big and thick and made a huge 'thump' sound when she dropped them onto the librarian's counter.
The short librarian with long dark hair quickly noticed her presence and looked up at her, except her eyes were completely shut - funnily enough she wore large oval shaped glasses despite her closed eyes at all times.
"Oh, hi again. Are you looking to check these books out?" The librarian asked, showing off a large friendly smile on her face. Luz noticed those large headphones the librarian wore on her head, which completely covered her ears but it didn't seem like she was listening to anything in particular. But after the brief distraction, she looked down to look at her name tag on her chest which said; Hello, I'm Velvet Grimm.
"Hi, Miss Grimm… have we met before?" Luz asked with a nervous smile.
"Haven't we?" The librarian gave her a puzzled look, as if she was trying to recall Luz's name.
"I don't think so, no." Luz chuckled softly. "Must have one of those faces, huh?"
The librarian gave a soft chuckle as well and replied with that very same smile she greeted her with. "That might be the case. So, are we checking these out?"
"Oh, right! Yes, please." Luz said, a bit flustered as the short librarian began to look through her selection of books.
"Quantum mechanics, String Theory, Astro Physics, Portals and Other Dimensions… are you sure you want to read these books?" The librarian gave her a worried look with those shut eyes of hers as she comically pushed those oval shaped glasses of hers with her index finger up her nose.
"Uh… yeah! I've been thinking about my future and I uh… I well, I don't know, maybe I want to get a degree in Physics! Maybe go to space and all that junk!" Luz laughed nervously as she tried to come up with more things to say that would help her out of this situation as soon as possible.
"Well, ok." The librarian tried to be polite and did not ask any further questions. "Your library card please?" She asked with that same smile, giving Luz reassurance that she was allowing her to take those books with her.
Once Luz handed her library card, the librarian quickly handed it back to her once she was done with it.
"Here we go, one batch of Paper Bricks for you. Please take good care of them." Miss Grimm said, which made Luz chuckle softly at her little joke.
"Thank you. And hm… yeah. I…" Luz suddenly felt the urge to explain since the librarian was being so nice about it but she quickly stopped her.
"No need to say anything, you must have your reasons. Farewell." Miss Grimm said and quickly shifted her attention towards the next person approaching with books to check in.
"Thank you, Miss Grimm." Luz said once more, which got a nod out of the librarian before she looked down to her side with books in hand. "Hm, Amity?" She said, expecting her girlfriend to be close by. However, there was no sight of the pink haired girl around her. So she quietly moved around the whole library looking for her.
Now, Amity was not far away. She was quietly standing behind a large shelf with books as she looked at the kids section of the library where there were a handful of kids under the age of 8.
Not long ago, Amity worked on a library not different from this one back in Bonesborough. Where she would read to similar looking children and help them with their homework and different other things. This section was bringing her memories of a past she longed for.
Back then, Amity had green hair, but now her long hair was all pink with the exception of her brown roots that were quickly overrunning the top of her head, in need to be dyed back pink. Her hair was long enough to hide her pointy long ears from curious eyes. She wore clothes borrowed from Luz, or at least clothing that Camila had bought for Luz that she barely wore. These were a pink blouse, purple pants and white shoes.
"They are reading comic books in the library…" Amity whispered to herself from behind the shelf, she almost looked upset. "Comic books in the library!" She whispered a little bit louder. "This wouldn't fly on my watch. Should I get involved? Maybe I should… look at them! Hm… what to do, what to do?"
"Oh, here you are!" Luz exclaimed, startling Amity from behind, making her jump forward. Both were quickly shushed by people behind the shelves of books. "Oh, sorry!" Luz apologized but was shushed again for her loud apology.
"Don't scare me like that!" Amity whispered.
"Sorry." Luz giggled softly as she held those large books with both hands. "What are you doing here?" Luz asked as her eyes wandered over the kids section.
"Nothing…" Amity said dismissively before looking at those books. "You are reading these?"
"I mean… I will try to." Luz chuckled softly. "You ready to leave? Do you want to grab some books for yourself?"
"No, I don't think so. Shall we go?" Amity said, her eyes trying to avoid looking at the section once more as she paced past it, making Luz follow her back to the entrance.
"Yeah, sure. Hey, I was thinking…" Luz whispered as they approached the exit and raised her voice once they walked out of the library. "Since I'm technically on summer break and well… I have more free time in my hands than before. Maybe you'd like to hang out? Outside?"
Quickly, Amity's cheeks were burning slightly when she got an idea of what Luz had in mind. "Luz, are you asking me on a date?"
Now it was Luz's turn to blush. "Well, yeah. I mean… aren't we dating? Didn't we asked…"
"YES!" Amity grinned, moving closer to Luz as they walked together. "So… what would you like to do?"
Luz thought for a moment before looking back at Amity with a grin of her own. "Would you like to have a taste of french fries for the first time in your life?"
"What are those?" Amity asked with puzzling eyes.
"Oh, I think you're going to love them.~" Luz said with a sweet humming tone in her voice.
About half an hour later, Luz and Amity were sitting on a table behind a food truck called 'Zanuff's Chips' a few blocks away from Gravesfield's plaza. Laying on the table was a rather generous bowl full of french fries enough for the both of them, alongside a huge glass filled with a chocolate milkshake with two straws. Luz started by introducing Amity to the multiple dips orbiting around the huge plate: "Ok, this is ketchup." Luz gently tapped the plastic container. "This is mayonnaise." She tapped the one next to the ketchup and then moved onto the next couple of dips accordingly. "This is ranch, it may look like mayonnaise but they're different trust me. This is honey mustard and finally…" Luz tapped the very last one that was just as red as ketchup but it was less dense in texture. "This is hot sauce, I brought it for me - but you're welcome to try it. But I warn you, it's very spicy. Mister Zanuff is rather enthusiastic about spices, so the place is well known for this sauce in particular. By the way, Mister Zanuff calls these chips on the menu, but here in America we call these fries. Now, I'm curious as to what kind of dipper you are." Luz grinned.
Amity examined a single fry closely, the smell was certainly alluring. "What kind of worm is this?" She asked, instantly making Luz frown slightly.
"These are not worms, Amity." Luz said as she looked around trying to see if there wasn't anyone looking at them that may of heard the strange comparison between fries and worms. "They are made out of fried chopped pieces of something we call potatoes."
"Oh!" Amity exclaimed. "Sweet potato! Is this it?" Amity asked if the pet name that Luz had for her had something to do with these.
"Yes! Exactly. Well, not exactly. Those are a different treat. But these are really really good, trust me. You won't be able to eat just one." Luz laughed softly.
"Wait, what?" It was now Amity's turn to frown. "Is that a challenge?"
Luz grinned and shocked her head. "I'm not challenging you, Amity. But… I'm pretty sure you're not going to be able to help yourself once you eat one." Luz's expression turned into a cat-like smug face.
Amity glared slightly and gave a smug face of her own as she dipped that fry down onto the ketchup dip and swiftly ate it before locking eyes with Luz's once more. "It's all in self-control, Luz."
"We'll see." Luz hummed as she ate a fry of her own.
Eventually, the bowl full of french fries decreased significantly. And just like Luz had predicted, Amity was not able to resist the urge to one more, and one more, and one more and so on. She laid her face flat on the table in defeat as she groaned softly.
"Luz… what kind of sorcery is this?! Why can't I stop!?" She looks up at Luz munching on a fry she just dipped in hot sauce and shrugged.
"Not sure, but they're pretty good - right?" Luz giggled softly. "So, which dip do you like best?"
The pink haired gal shrugged herself. "I think I'm going to need more fries to figure that out." Amity bursts into laughter, which got Luz to laugh it off as well.
"Well, I think we may want to go slowly on your culinary trip through the Human Realm. One addictive food at a time. Tomorrow we could get you your first slice of pizza. I know a great joint next to the arcade." Luz said as she gave their milkshake a generous sip.
"Well, I can't wait." Amity chuckled softly before she looked behind Luz. "Is that… Vee?"
Luz tilted her head and blinked in confusion before she turned around to see Vee heading towards Zanuff's food truck next to someone Luz recognized as Masha. The goth that Vee made friends with posing as Luz herself.
"Oh, yeah. Ever since mom enrolled her in school she has made a lot of friends. Who would have thought that she had better luck making friends with humans than me, huh?" Luz chuckled softly.
Amity leaned forward to hold Luz's hands gently with hers and smiled at her sweetly. "Don't downplay yourself, Luz. You have talent making friends too."
Luz chuckled softly and sighed as she smiled back to her girlfriend. "Thanks." Luz squeezed Amity's hands and looked over her shoulder as she spoke. "Do you think they're… uh… eeyup, here they come." She smiled nervously as Masha and Vee seemed to have teleported closer to them.
"See, I told you it was Luz." Masha said to Vee before waving their hand at the couple holding hands. "Hey, Luz."
"Hi!" Luz blurted out, Amity simply smiled politely on the other side of the table while Luz did the talking. "How's it going? So I see you've got to meet my little sister…" Every word that came out of Luz's mouth was not being processed or filtered by her brain, so when she called Vee her sister, it made Masha raise their eyebrow and Vee herself to turn pale behind them.
"Sister? I thought you said Luz was your cousin?" Masha asked the nervous-looking Vee.
"Well, I… uh… you see." Vee tried to explain herself before Luz doubled down on her word as she stood up and embraced Vee by the shoulder with her arm and nervously laughed softly.
"Vee, have you been telling people you are my cousin, still?!" Luz laughed some more as she looked at Masha. "Don't listen to her, she used to be my cousin, but my mom adopted her - long story. So, you are my little sister now, silly." Luz gave Vee that look in her eyes that said 'play along.'
"You really think of me as your sister?" Vee whispered with teary looking eyes and a big smile.
Luz nervously looked at Vee, then at Masha, then back to Vee before forcing them both to turn their backs against the goth. "Of course I do, Vee." Luz whispered. "My mom technically committed a crime by making those false adoption papers to enroll you in school. And I'm her accomplice now, and you only do that for family. You are our family now, Vee." She said with a big smile, making the young basilisk in human form quickly hug her tightly.
"Oh, sister! I'm so sorry!" Vee exclaimed happily.
"There, there." Luz smiled as she patted Vee on the back as Masha stood there speechless with both eyes open wide, while Amity kept her mouth shut with a bunch of fries she was munching on.
It took a little bit of time to calm Vee down, but eventually, both Vee and Masha were now sitting at the table with Amity and Luz. While Vee now presented herself with an image of her own, Masha had changed their attire a little bit as well. Now sporting a tee with the logo of the local museum where they now worked at. The very same place in which Vee was held captive by Jacob - the local crazy man they were now talking about.
"Yeah, they kicked him out after he tampered with some of the exhibits." Masha said before they sipped from their cold smoothie. "I think they pressed charges too. So, don't expect to see him soon."
"Serves him right." Luz said with a grin after hearing that Vee's kidnapper got fired from the museum.
"So, Amity, right?" Masha asked with that tooth-gaped smile of theirs. "Did you move in recently? Or are you visiting for the summer?"
"Uh…" Amity smiled nervously, looking at Luz for any sort of help.
"She… uh, she is visiting!" Luz blurted out.
"Oh, really? Did you meet online or something?" Masha dug deeper.
"Yeah, I uh… come from a place called Bonesborough." Amity said before Luz jumped in.
"It's in Canada. She's canadian!"
"Oh, I see." Masha said while listening to Luz's rambling of how they met while they searched for 'Bonesborough Canada' in their phone's web browser only to show no results. "Interesting…" They said before they looked back at the couple with a polite smile.
"So, now she's staying here with us during the whole summer." Luz finished up her made-up story while Masha still smiled widely at them, not daring to call her out on her lies.
"Splendid. I'm so happy for you, Luz. Say, if you two ever want a tour of the museum while you're in town, feel free to call me. I'll personally give you a discount." They winked at the both of them, not pushing the personal questions anymore since they figured it out that it's probably case sensitive.
"Thanks." Amity said while smiling nervously still.
"Well, right now we've got some new additions from the 18th century. Might not be much, but I've always been fascinated with historical pieces, especially this town's that's heavily rich in witchcraft lore. I actually just suggested my boss do a more personal tour around certain places in Gravesfield for this year's halloween. They said they will think about it, but I'm hopeful that it will become a reality." Masha said enthusiastically.
"Oh, really? What kind of places?" Luz's curiosity picked up.
"Places like the Ledger Manor, the abandoned theater that's a well-known witch hunter base, if the Greene Family allows it we could pass by the Green House Foundation Building's fields and maybe the outskirts of Herlock Woods where the Morton Ranch is located past the Wittebane old shack." Masha continued, but after mentioning the name 'Wittebane' Luz couldn't help but ask about it.
"Wait, the Wittebane's had a ranch?"
Masha blinked in confusion before shaking their head with a smile. "Uh, no. I said the Morton Ranch past the Wittebane old shack. It's west of here. But we won't technically do the tour inside the place. I have marked a trail in the tour during my pitch and I'm certain that you can see the property from this specific spot since we're probably not allowed to enter those lands."
"Why is that?" Luz asked.
"Well, one because it's private property. The lands are owned by the Green House Foundation, although they don't really use those lands. And two, Herlock Woods is a well known paranormal hot spot." Masha said before giving Luz a grin.
Luz felt intrigued and was unable to hold herself from asking further once hearing that the place was a paranormal hot spot. She wondered in her mind if it was a place worth checking out. "So, this is like… a haunted place of sorts?"
"Indeed." Masha chuckled softly.
"Ok, so - this Morton Ranch, is fairly close to the Wittebane shack?" Luz asked.
"Why are you so interested in this place in particular?" Masha had to ask.
"Uh, well…" Luz nervously laughed. "I always thought that the Wittebane story is rather interesting. And the fact that they mysteriously disappeared close to where this Morton Ranch exists… I thought that maybe there's a connection?"
"Huh…" Masha grinned. "I must agree. That's what I thought about long ago when I researched the story of the Morton Ranch. You didn't introduced me to this curious side of yours last summer. You almost seem like a different person altogether."
Vee who was sitting next to Masha choked on her smoothie, her eyes looking around nervously before they landed on Luz whom was just as nervous as she was.
"What?!" Luz forced herself to laugh. "Pfft, I've always been like this, what're you talking about?"
"You serious?" Masha raised their eyebrow. "When we wanted you to come and check out the old abandoned shacks in summer camp - you didn't want to come."
"It was dark outside…" Vee whispered under her yellow sweater.
Luz on the other hand came up with yet another made-up excuse. "I wasn't feeling well that day." Masha looked at Luz, giving up on it shortly after.
"Ok." They grinned.
"So…" Luz sighed. "What's the deal with this place?"
Masha tried to stay serious, but a large grin swiftly drew itself on their face. "Let me tell you the story of Thomas Morton, his family and their ranch..."
Centuries ago, the Mortons were a modest family living in Gravesfield. They were not wealthy or influential in any way. They were hard workers, and were somewhat respected in the community. Although word has it that they were kind of both racist and rather superstitious.
They acquired the lands in the early 1700s. But for about 4 decades, everything was uneventful. They simply lived their lives, worked their lands, sold their produce in town and paid their taxes in time.
The very first recorded incident within the property took place in 1743 - when the Morton patriarch Thomas Morton had come to notice that some of their cattle had suddenly… disappeared. They reported this to the local police, who found no evidence of foul play. It was as if these animals were swooped up into the air and vanished into thin air. At the time, they didn't make such a fuzz and simply reinforced their property and they did some patrolling every so often.
A few months later, it happened again. A second report was sent to the police. No foul play again. The Mortons as told by the police were rather odd during this second incident. However, they say no more and nothing changed. The police didn't inspect closer and left the Mortons alone, they simply assumed that it had something to do with the late passing of their grandfather that died the month before.
A month later during that same year, some of the Mortons started to leave the property. They simply grabbed their stuff and people around town watched them move away and not look back. But this time, these people that reported something was off with the Mortons had things to say that they heard from the Mortons themselves while chit-chatting during some drinks at the local bar.
According to those who fled, it all began after the passing of their grandfather. As they patrolled their property, some of them felt… watched, stalked even. They would encounter strange lights in the forest. One of them even said that he saw something crawl out of a looking glass sitting out there in the woods. He didn't describe what he saw, but he seemed bothered by the memory of it. He was in fact the first who fled the property.
But the more frightening thing happened to a couple of them while they had a gathering outside. They heard voices coming from the woods, voices that asked them questions. At first they thought these were trespassers, so they told them that this was their property and that they had to leave. However, those voices didn't just shut up and left. They came closer. Whatever the Mortons saw, was frightening enough to raise their guns out. However, that something they saw - kept coming back, each night. Each night, behind their windows - they would hear the tapping, followed by sinister questions.
People began to say that the Ranch was cursed. Most of the Mortons opted to leave. But the patriarch remained.. And his wife stayed as well. She would be the very last one to fall ill in the property.
For as long as he could, Thomas Morton endured solitude in the Ranch, facing the strangess that haunted Herlock Woods and their property. One day, the townsfolk noticed he had not shown up in-town for weeks. It was then that the police made the discovery. At the top of the steps to the entrance of the house, Thomas Morton's body was found eerily sitting there motionless. He had shot himself.
But if you think that's dark… well, let me tell you. What the police found inside the property was waaaay worse than the corpse posed on the outside of the property. Inside, the walls were filled with mad writing all over the walls - with the exception of the wife's room, every piece was filled with the ramblings of a mad man. Little is known about what happened to him, but the messages left clearly indicated that someone or something… was stalking the property.
There were 8 locks on every door, even the bedrooms. The windows were shut with thick planks. He tried locking himself in every night. But those messages mentioned the scratching on the windows, the weird lights that would suddenly materialize over the fields, the strange people that would roam over the grasslands, things coming out of portals… he simply gave up. He wanted no more with the property and he ended things by his own hand.
After his death, there were no Mortons claiming the property. So it was auctioned by the state. It fell into the hands of another family of farmers wishing to expand their lands. However, just as quickly as they won the auction, they… sold it. At a shorter price.
It kept trading hands throughout the centuries until today. When the Greene Family bought it. They were planning on making a large Golf Club in these lands but they simply abandoned it as well, even though they're still technically the owners.
No one dares to visit the Ranch ever since. And there's a handful of Missing 411 cases in Herlock Woods that date up to as recently as the year before.
Masha had a sip of their smoothie and sighed after the long narration. "I could tell you more, but I think it'll be best for another day."
"Wait, so there's reports of things coming out of portals?" Luz said, her eyes lit with excitement, these were the exact words she was looking for.
"Eeyup. As a matter of fact, I know of someone that corroborates those claims. I could give you a tour if you're interested. Free of charge." Masha grinned.
"Would you?!" Luz asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I pass through the property all the time." Masha said with a soft chuckle.
"But didn't you say it was private property?" Amity asked.
"Yeah, but they have no guards patrolling the area. The Greenes gave up on the lands since y'know... the town believes they're cursed." Masha gave their smoothie another sip before realizing there was no more of it. "How about tomorrow at 4 pm? Not too early, not too late til' dark. You coming too, Vee?" Masha asked with a smile.
Vee nibbled on her lower lip before a look of determination drew itself on her face, feeling ready to prove she wasn't scared of exploring scary places. "Yeah."
"It's settled then." Luz said with a more determined look than Vee's.
"Awesome. I gotta head back to work. See you guys tomorrow!~" Masha said before making their way out of there.
"Are you sure about this, Luz? What Masha just told us sounds kind of messed up." Amity said, finding the idea of visiting an area that brought death rather unsettling.
"I've been in the Boiling Isles for a huge amount of time, and you've lived there your whole life. Whatever is awaiting for us out there in the Human Realm. We can handle it." Luz said with a large smile.
If only she knew what awaits for them there... in Herlock Woods.
End of the chapter.