gistfile1.txt

You have been contacted by the anthropologist Prof. Enoch W. Tormey II, who says that he has made a discovery of "utmost fascination and urgency". He bids you visit him in his newly acquired estate, in Bearwich. 

Could this be the old Bärenwald estate?

Professor Tormey disappeared from the academic community suddenly and without warning 6 years ago, while investigating folk-tales in Germany. Whatever his discovery (perhaps he has discovered a tale of an even *larger* turnip), the curiousity of his absence and re-emergence are enough to bring you to this salty little part of New England.

The village of Bearwich cuts a sad grey shape from the sky, as your ship pulls in to port you wonder to yourself if the worse tragedy would be to die here or merely to live here.

A number of strange looking folk disembark with you, eyeing them suspiciously you wonder if they are here for the Professor's revelation though many in the group look too coarse to be academics.

He steps down onto the docks, slowly. You notice that he walks with a cane.

He is dressed in what was surely gentlemanly attire, once. Now there are small, somewhat stiched rips in various seams. His shoes are scuffed. His waistcoat has what seem to be too many pockets.

Behind those smoky glasses, you are aware that he's looking at quite a lot of things in a deliberate fashion. You stop paying attention to him, because there are quite a lot of things to look at that are not him.

Mina steps warily on to the dock. The boat voyage was the last straw. All that restless humanity herded so close. Their stories bored her, their odour insulted her. Once again she wondered why she had accepted this curious invitation, knowing she would have to abide so close to... people. Still, if this turned out to be what she expected, what she feared, then her unique skills would be required. 

A sailor sidled up, clutching her bags. He tried to peer behind her veil, smiling, wheedling, damn near begging to join her. She sighed, here we go again.

Standing onboard and allowing my fellow passengers to disembark I turn my eyes to the town of Bearwich. Marketplace and pub?, check and check, Pulling on my cloak and picking up my bag I step forward. If only Mama could see me now.

In all the noise, you're not sure who summoned you, but the crowd of strangers move as a single mass propelling you with them.

The sole member of staff is hurriedly lighting lamps so that everyone may see the professor.

Or what is left of him... everything from the waist up is mauled, as if by the claws of a wild animal.

One of those gathered, lifts a gory hand off of the book the professor must have been writing in, and begins reading aloud, "I do not trust this band of ruffians I have gathered to fight the menace, I believe there are bears among them"

"I must instruct them in the rites of democracy, or they have no chance to fight the hidden evil"

"They must find the gallows in the basement ... or all is lost"

I do declare!


This is an outrage, the Professor dead, and just as he'd promised me a good reference after reading my essay into the eating habits of the skunk, and the effect that it has on their smell.

I say you there, yes man, you lighting the lamps, lead us to the Gallows!!!


You find yourself being shown into the Professor's home by his manservant, who seems reluctant to respond to your questions, or perhaps speaks no english. His face gives nothing away other than 

In the parlor, is Professor Tormey himself he sits in the center of the room. He is surrounded by a strange mix of people as you've ever seen. A strange arrangement for a lecture indeed.

Crumpled over in his seat, his hair is greyer then you remember it.

His hands and voice shake as he speaks, "I brought you all here... maybe it was a mistake."

"I was in Russia, compiling a book of tales for children", he seems distracted for a moment, "they have a plethora of stories about giant vegetables..."

"...but I happened upon the Count Von Bärenwald, he invited me to dinner and I gratefully accepted. When in a foreign land it is a taste of home to dine with a countryman."

"At dinner I told him about the stories I was researching, I told him that the locals were deathly afraid of the Werebear"

"I laughed at the superstitious peasants, but the Count became stonyfaced. 'Such lies are told of my family', he said 'I will not hear them repeated'"

"Trying to make light of it did no good, the civil part of the dinner was over and I returned to my wife in the boarding house"

His voice cracks, becoming even more unsteady, "That very night we were attacked, my wife killed... I escaped to an uncle of mine, who keeps a secure location in Russia"

"That week I sought to confront the Count, but he had disappeared like a ghost, and night after night the bears found me. They have killed so many of my family, and friends..."

"I don't know how I've stayed alive, but I came here because I have a last and final hope"

"In this, the ancestral home of the Bärenwalds, I think I can fight back."

"In THIS HOUSE either the Bears or I WILL PERISH."

The Professor collapses in coughing fit, his manservant rushes forward to support him.

"The Professor needs to rest", The manservant can speak! "Please, if you will each find your own rooms, we retain no other staff and I have things to attend to."

The room empties, as the mob pours out towards the rooms. You lag behind to see the manservant help his master to a writing desk where it appears he has been taking his food.

A queer lecture indeed!


Shoeless, drunk and and scruffy... She listened to what he had to say over her 4th glass of cheery. 

She listened to what the crazy professor had to say ... It seemed as everyone went nuts in their final years. She hoped it never happened to her... Then again she would have to become a professor's first and they didn't let women become professors. 

She said nothing when he was talking, she perfered to keep drinking and enjoy its sweetness.... After all it was free today.

Rayna just smiled and nodded at what everyone was saying, once she was excused she staggered off to her room. Maybe she could solve this thing herself and then she could become a professor.


The air was wet. The hollow sounds of footsteps grew louder, ringing and echoing down the labyrinthine passageways that seemed to snake into the ground, as if carved by some terrible worm.

The group of shaken mortals spake not as they followed the silent, strangely driven man holding the wavering light as he strode into the darkness. As he entered the small cell, he stopped, peering forth at the gloom-draped shape.

The orange, stuttering half-light reveals to the grim crowd a wooden construction stained with misery and death. The gallows are not from this age. They were surely built by appendages more paws than hands. The wood is smooth, polished by the flesh of the innocent and guilty alike as they twitched in their final moments. This structure oozes menace and suffering. 

"This is an unhealthy place" the torch-holder said, in a deep but cracked voice. "This place is not for sane men."

The sailor shakes his head, trying to clear it. The lure of the air of adventure and mystery surrounding Mina had drawn him away from his ship. Now he is sickened by death and the looming prospect of death, but he is not so unwise as to attempt to flee.

The shadows writhed on the walls as the group stared, transfixed by the terrible Gallows. The torch-bearer's words fell flat, like the hollow slamming of prison doors. 

"This place is not for sane men. We should not be here. This house wants us not. All that awaits is death".

One by one, their eyes shifted to the bearer of the only light remaining in those dark halls. 

"We should... leave? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

...

The deed was done, the shadow of the corpse a maddening reminder of the light he had carried, the torch guttering on the damp stone floor.

"Had to be done" and "probably killed the professor himself, the swine" were the statements of the moment. The weight of centuries of death pressed down upon the small, gallows-dominated cell they had packed into, but now they knew - the gallows would be their salvation. An end of the monstrous bear-curse could come... provided they fed the cursed were-folk into the gallow's waiting maw before they were taken by tooth and claw...

(Gabriel Knutsford is dead).

DAY TWO: In which murder occurs and breakfast is served

The scream is heard throughout the house.

The first to arrive find Gregory Ball, a gibbering mess leaning over the bed.

"No... no... how could this happen..."

Lying on the bed is Mina, or at least half of her, everything from the waist down is stripped to the bone. Her veil still covers her expression, perhaps it is one of surprise.

Her blood is everywhere, over the floors and wall and even on the sailor... a trail of bloody inhuman foot( or paw)prints lead to the door.

Suspicious eyes turn to meet each other.

Behind the crowd at the door, is the entire house staff.

"Oh", he says, "One less for breakfast?" — with Kelly Carrington and Gregory Ball.

NIGHT TWO: In which Gregory Ball is hanged to death

It takes more than a few men (and two women) to personhandle the grief-struck sailor up the gallow steps.

When he is standing on the old, old, very old Gallows, the fight leaves him suddenly. He looks resigned to his fate. Intimidated by the learnedness of those around him, he struggles to find last words worth saying.

He manages only, "Mina...", before he drops through the trapdoor and behind that most mysterious veil.

Even in the basement, eyes turn towards the ceiling as the moon rises... 

DAY THREE: In which a life is lost and the kitchen has run out of grapefruit

As an early riser, you're largely alone when you head downstairs in hope of finding a grapefruit.

The scene in the kitchen is a confusing one. Vanessa lies in front of the pantry where the cupcakes are kept, so naively at least, her intentions are clear.

Your first question is "Where was she going to put them? Most of her Gastro-Intestinal is completely missing", quickly followed by "Is she dead?", and "What happened here?".

You're not a doctor, but there's a lot of blood around. This may have been a werebear attack.

There's a sigh of exasperation from behind you. It's the house chef (also manservant and gardener).

"Look, I don't know who's doing this, but I'm going to put a tarpaulin down in the ballroom and I'd appreciate it if further murders occurred ON the tarpaulin."

NIGHT THREE: In which Natalie Prescott is hanged to death

The mad woman didn't seem entirely aware of what was happening as she was dragged onto the trapdoor. "Band-aids, all covered in band-aids! HAHAHAHAHAHAA"

"Do you think she's a bear?", one mob participant asked another.

"Not entirely, but she does smell like one! Am I right?"

The feeling of joy at hanging a weirdo is so palpable that almost nobody notices as the moon rises...

(A thorough searching of her belongings would later reveal several dozen grapefruit, likely pilfered from the kitchen pantry.)

DAY FOUR: In which murder occurs and few are surprised

Michael is having a hard time. He is the only remaining staff member on the Bärenwald estate, his master is dead, he feels that he may have become murderously insane, and THIS certainly wasn't helping.

On the ground in front of him lies Janet Groat, her heart, throat, lungs and nervous system all missing (Michael filed her under "Probably Dead"). Whoever did it, left her face instact, her eyes staring out at him accusingly. The worst part however, the very worst, was that the body is less than two feet away from the tarpaulin.

If he ever meets one of these bears face to face, there are going to be some stern words.

NIGHT FOUR: In which Charlotte Gair is hanged to death(?)

This wasn't the adventure Charlotte had in mind when she answered the telegram, to be hanged by a group of lunatics while hiding from demon bears in quite a lovely house dripping in blood. 

If only her mother could see her now.

On the other hand, it's not like any of the times she'd died were any more decorous. It's probably best to just stay calm and take another one on the chin.

She's forgetting something... ah, last words.

"Dicks! You're all dicks."

That was the last that Charlotte spoke for a while.

The moon rises...

DAY FIVE: In which a lunch is awkward

With so few guests remaining in the house, the staff had set up lunch in the small dining room. Accusations had been flung, tempers flared and now there was a tepid antipathy in the room.

Also, there was a human corpse on the table, which was clearly not to everyone's liking (it's hard to say for sure when someone has been nibbling on it since breakfast but I'd say it was the corpse of Simon Barton). Alexander King, Carmy Graham-Williams and Rayna Ramsay haven't even bothered to assume human form for lunch, which is rude to say the least.

Sharon has had enough, she stands up to storm out. She doesn't make it very far before Carmy (bounding happily like a ginger Labrador) makes her an early supper.

Natalija Hana Výborná, pulls the carving knife from between Simon's ribs, "Back off you monsters!"

Perhaps Alex will later regret swallowing the knife, but at least it was tidy. Tidier than minutes later when Rayna caught Phill headed for the door poorly diguised as a potplant.

"Ah, It's nice to have the Bärenwalds back in the old estate", said Michael, "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have an awful lot of mopping to do."