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Realistic or Modern The Mulhouser Files: Echoes of Blood

Reader mode
3. Balanced - You like the classic american platter, and thus go for sunny side up eggs, bacon, coffee with milk and two sugars, and hash browns.
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Going with the classics could never go wrong when it came to food, and so you pick up a plate and collect your food into a hearty plate that is worthy of its American legacy before picking a table to sit at. The smell is enticingly good as you pick up a fork and stab at the hash browns for a good mouthful, and you can't help but let out a sigh of comfort from deliciously crisp potatoes flavouring your gullet. The eggs and bacon go just as well, though you decide you need a bit of extra pepper on the former and shake some black flecks atop them before delving into those as well. But before you can properly enjoy a meal in peace, you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket as a call comes in. And just as you had been introduced to the case in the past, the caller ID read as Mark and you quickly pick up.

"Hey Mark, what's up?" you ask before stuffing another forkful of potatoes into your mouth, eager to keep eating.

"Hey, just wanted to check in on how thing's are going. You take the case? From the girl...?"

"Oh yeah, I'm in Wisconsin right now." you manage to get out with a full mouth before swallowing. "Staying in Madison right now eating some grub before I head on out."

"I'm guessing you were tracking down some leads?" Mark then asks with an inquisitive tone on the other end, leaving you to nod to no one in particular out of excitement out of everything that had transpired last night.

"Oh yeah, I'm heading up North to Brule River. But last night I went to the Historical Society's archives. Had to talk to some bigwig named Abernathy to get myself access."

"I'm guessing you had to use your roguish charm to get in?" Mark teased, which makes you scoff.

"Ha-ha, no. I just had to skidaddle before a deadline." you elaborate, before taking a sip of your coffee. "But anyway, I thought to look to see if there were similar... uh, *attacks* reported in the past like with what happened with Lucas. See if there's a pattern to go off of-"

"Establishing precedence?" Mark quickly interjects, seeing where you're going with this. "I see you haven't lost your edge."

"Yeah, hard to forget those kinds of things. Anyways, I find that this *has* been happening for quite a while. A few decades at least. There's a gap between the 20s and the 70s, but it picks up quite a lot in the past few decades..."

"Huh... what're you thinking? Wild animal?" Mark then asks, "I mean, given what campers are constantly feeding the wildlife I imagine it makes them more aggressive."

"See, that's just the thing. There are references to whatever this thing is being something really bad. A monster of Lake Neba-whatever, and so on." you elaborate, taking another sip of your coffee before poking at your bacon with a fork. Your attention had shifted away from eating to now fully diving into the details with a peer and close friend, someone you can trust to not ridicule you for whatever conclusion you might jump to, and continue to speak on the matter: "There's plenty of testimonials, but no hard proof... only hearsay and accounts. And who knows how reliable people are when it comes to publicity, or dealing with grief." The thought crosses your mind briefly that, perhaps as a coping mechanism, many people who were witness to such things turned to the unexplainable so as to rationalize how something so horrible could happen.

Mark is silent on the other end, though you can hear him scratch his chin before speaking up again: "Yeah that's..." he starts to say, before chuckling. "Shit, I don't even know what to say to all that... what do you think it is then?"

1. An Unknown Species - Propose that this is some undiscovered animal species that has yet to be documented... a predator that puts us in our place on the food chain.

2. A Monster - You are a supposed "Paranormal Investigator", and the stories you've read mentioned something that fits such a category... and the nightmare from last night remains vivid in your mind.

3. A Killer - A shudder passes through you all of a sudden, despite how warm the hotel is, as a flash appears in your mind. Perhaps this is a tale that is borne of something rather simple: a serial killer.
 
2. A Monster - You are a supposed "Paranormal Investigator", and the stories you've read mentioned something that fits such a category... and the nightmare from last night remains vivid in your mind.
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"I think..." you say, the words catching at the edge of your tongue for a moment before pushing ahead. "I think it really is a monster." you state with conviction, echoing the reports that you've gone through. The words, on their own, would seem like a joke in any other context; and the silence on the other end of the line that follows makes you think that Mark is laughing at the notion. For a moment you regret even mentioning the possibility, thinking that you were simply influenced by your own bias towards your "job". After all, you need this to be something strange to make sense from the very framing you are approaching this as: a paranormal investigator.

It's then that Mark speaks the words that vindicate you, at least for the time being: "A monster could mean, or be, a number of things." he says. You can practically hear him scratch his beard in thought, trying to give advice from his end on the matter. Maybe he's interpreting it in another way, but it seems that he's on the same page as you for the time being in terms of trying to figure out what exactly the mystery is here. "But in any case, be careful alright? I don't wanna have to scoop you up in a trash bag."

"Come on, when have I not been careful?" you ask rhetorically, stabbing at the bacon on your plate again in a lazy manner.

"You nearly got shot one time 'cause you weren't careful in how you questioned a gangbanger!"

"...fair point." you concede, leaning back in your chair. "I ain't gonna stir shit."

"You got other interviews planned?"

"Yeah, one. The Park Rangers office over at Brule River," you say as you pull out your notes from a small flipbook, looking over everything you've committed to paper thus far. "Figure I could ask questions about what they saw at the campsite when they came across it."

"And the campsite itself-?"

"Was told by a pal yesterday that rain washed away most of the scene... probably won't find anything useful there."

"Still might be worth checking out, all things considered." Mark then says in an insisting manner, "Dunno, maybe there's something everyone else overlooked."

You sigh, before taking another sip of your coffee. "Yeah, guess so. But I'm not gonna expect much from there."
1. Change Topic - Ask about the Tribune. Might as well shoot the shit while you have breakfast.

2. Advice - Ask for any insight he might have towards the case. Just because you're eating doesn't mean you aren't working.
 
2. Advice - Ask for any insight he might have towards the case. Just because you're eating doesn't mean you aren't working.
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"Got anything for me? It'd be nice to have a fresh set of eyes on all this." you then ask, which garners a scoff from Mark.

"You never stop working, do you?" Mark said on the other end after a brief pause. You can tell that there's a twinge of disappointment in his voice - practically visualizing him shifting where he was - with regards to your attitude.

"Can't afford not to, there being a dead man and all." you say as justification, twiddling a spoon in between your fingers.

It's then that Mark relents with a sigh and continues to speak: "Well... if I had to say on the matter, I'd say you're limiting your range of interviews. Just the park rangers won't get you the full story. You said that this was happening in a large area, right? Then I'd say it wouldn't hurt to look around and see anyone who would chummy up to you and talk. Sure there's at least someone else out there who can help on the matter."

You stop fiddling with the spoon in your fingers and blink, your brain wracking for ideas: "Guess I could ask the Sheriff departments... feel like I could look over case files directly there." you mutter, "And maybe ask around some mayoral offices... I'd need to pick and choose where though." You walk over to a nearby booth at the reception desk of the hotel, leaving your food at the table, and pull out an informational map of the state to gloss over. "...Brule seems obvious, considering it's right next to the forest." you say as you spot the town's small dot appear next to the informational box pointing towards the Brule River State Forest.

"I'd say start there." Mark then says before clearing his throat, "Crap, gotta go, duty calls."

"Yeah, see ya." you say, hanging up before crumpling up the map into your pocket and waving the approaching receptionist to check out of the hotel. As you step outside, you smell a lingering presence of rain in the air - as it had rained a bit last night - with your shoes stepping into a small puddle. Your car is slick with droplets, though it remains as reliable as ever as you step inside and put the key in the ignition. From Madison, you have multiple locations to head to but only so much time: the campsite, Brule, and the Park Rangers office. Driving up there would take enough time as is, leaving with time for one - maybe two - before the end of day.

As you ruminate on your options whilst pulling out of the parking lot, you suddenly notice in your rear-view mirror an odd sight; a man in a black suit and shades looking straight at you, and speaking into a walkie-talkie. You feel like you're seeing things, which is a feeling only intensified when he then disappears entirely as a truck passes by to block your vision for just a moment. "The hell..." you mutter, looking over where you had just seen the man before only to find yourself staring out at nothing. A moment passed of uncertainty before scoffing, leaving yourself to believe that it was simply a figment of your imagination - a very vivid imagination, given what you had dreamt of the previous night - before turning out and heading for the highway northward.

Back on track, you decide to make your way to...
1. The Campsite

2. Brule

3. The Park Ranger Office
 
Gut Feeling:
1-17 - The Campsite
18-100 - Brule
Result: 4​
1. The Campsite
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Your mind wanders over to the campsite, the scene that started this whole endeavour of yours, and what you know about it thus far. It's already on the way to Brule, and it would help to get a look at the scene before night falls and even more visual evidence erodes from the wet weather. And besides, you figure that with your breakthrough at the archives you can come up with something at the campsite as well. In fact, you feel confident as a result of last night and thus justify the decision as such as you use the entry ramp onto the highway and get on the road. You leave Madison in high spirits and with higher expectations, your mind brimming with possibilities for what you might discover to such an extent that some scenarios you conjure up range from implausible to outright fantastical. One example of the latter is when you imagine yourself - after finding a lead - to put on a trench coat and start shooting up a warehouse full of monsters. Could be a hit movie, like Blade. Starring me. you muse to yourself as you turn on the radio and get ready to face the sea of asphalt and road signs to come.

​


Miles seem to melt together as you keep your eyes focused on the road, only subconsciously remarking on the rural countryside as you snake your way on I-90 before turning to I-94. Passing by lonely little towns and smaller cities that fail to capture your notice save for the occasional bathroom break and grabbing lunch, you then drive onto Highway 53 that spears itself almost directly north of Eau Claire - refuelling gas and buying snacks for yourself at said station there - and enter the real deep country. The farms that would dot the land now gave way to truly untamed wilderness as the trees on both sides of the road are dense enough to seem as though they were walls of timber. There are hardly any cars driving here too, leaving you alone with the rumbling of your rental's engine and the faint whistling of the air outside the glass as you keep your eyes straight forward.

It is here that, hours after departing, you now find yourself coming off that confidence high from earlier and begin to question certain aspects of all this. ...do I really believe in all this monster shit? you think to yourself, your mind trailing off the road and into your own personal self. Given the straightness of the road, your body simply autopilots as you continue to ruminate; What am I doing all this for?

Surrounded by nothing but wilderness and the asphalt under your wheels, you question what exactly is your purpose through all this. Just days ago you were thinking about packing it all up and begging for your old job back, or finding something else. And now all your troubles seemingly melt away when you get work for your made-up profession, having espoused nonsense in order to rip people off.

"Why am I doing all this?" you mutter to yourself again, fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

The question's answer vexes and eludes you, as you find yourself struggling to actually set it in stone. And so, you reach inside and try to find that source...
1. For the Girl - Amelia deserves to know the truth about why she lost her boyfriend, a man she cared so deeply about.

2. For Yourself - You *need* this. You *need* to know for your own sake that you leaving the Tribune and doing this *matters*.

3. [Journalist Background] For the Truth - It's your *job* to get down to the truth of things. And what you've discovered in the archives is only proof of that.

4. [Hunter Background] For the Thrill - Your early years of tracking an animal - a *beast* - before taking the shot feels similar here. You're hunting something unknown... something that has the thrill of the *hunt* back on the menu.
 
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