Derailed

You wake up.

>You go to too many wild parties, you need to learn to slow down.

Yeah man jumping out of a moving vehicle last night... Not a good idea

> Float into the First Heaven unwillingly.

You must have one hell of a headache

>Get up slowly and look around

Go back to sleep

You really need to swear off gnomes

GRABYOURBRUSHANDPUTALITTLEMAKEUP

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so glad to see you back and adventuremaking, douglas. we still talk about vox mentis!

> Look around for anything telling you where you are

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GRABYOURBRUSHANDPUTALITTLEMAKEUP

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so glad to see you back and adventuremaking, douglas. we still talk about vox mentis!

Hey thanks, Chwoka! That's very kind :) Unfortunately I got slammed with life (and a new baby) and I had to drop adventuring for a while. I thought about getting back to Vox Mentis but I'm not sure if I could recapture the lightning I had at the time. I'm glad you all liked what I did though! I'm taking some inspiration from All-Night Laundry this time and hoping to update this adventure once every weekday at least. Thanks for reading! Hopefully we can create something cool here together!

>You go to too many wild parties, you need to learn to slow down.

A party... yeah. You vaguely remember a party. Which is weird, because you're not really the party type. Certainly not the black-out-and-wake-up-bleeding-from-your-head-party type.

You rise to your feet, your legs feeling uncooperative and shaky.

Yeah man jumping out of a moving vehicle last night... Not a good idea

There was a vehicle. You were moving. You're pretty sure, but every time you think you remember it slips away from you. Did you jump from a moving vehicle? Is that what happened? Why would you do that?

> Look around for anything telling you where you are

The scent of pine in the cool night air invades your nostrils as you take in your surroundings. Trees of varying heights surround you with no end in sight.

God, your head hurts.

A sound drifts through the woods; a strained, protracted scream. There's something feral about it. An animal, dying.

You're not fond of animals, can't tell if that's the scream of a predator or prey.

Any climbable trees for a better vantage point?

>do NOT go towards the screams. That's how people DIE in horror movies.

>The quickest and safest way to be rescued from the wilderness is to make a noticeable signal that can be seen from a distance. Better start a forest fire, then.

>The quickest and safest way to be rescued from the wilderness is to make a noticeable signal that can be seen from a distance. Better start a forest fire, then.

Let's keep it controlled. See if there's any rocks nearby to contain your fire. And while your at it, do you hear any water? It might be a good idea to try cleaning that head-wound.

>do NOT go towards the screams. That's how people DIE in horror movies.

Yeah, you've seen enough movies to know distant screams in the woods are generally not a good thing to get yourself involved with.

You're not fond of animals, can't tell if that's the scream of a predator or prey.

Any climbable trees for a better vantage point?

Unfortunately, pine trees are awfully tough to climb, with their flimsy branches and spikes and everything. And even if you wanted to give it a shot, your legs are still shaking pretty bad and your head is pounding. You're not in the best condition for climbing.

>The quickest and safest way to be rescued from the wilderness is to make a noticeable signal that can be seen from a distance. Better start a forest fire, then.

Let's keep it controlled. See if there's any rocks nearby to contain your fire.

There are lots of small, moss-covered stones lying around the forest floor. But how would you get a fire going?

And while your at it, do you hear any water? It might be a good idea to try cleaning that head-wound.

You listen closely, and, yeah, you do think you might hear the sound of running water somewhere nearby.

You also hear the screaming. Now that you're paying more attention, it sounds like there's more than one scream going on. You've never heard anything like it before... it's shrill, raw. You're not sure if it's the sound or the head wound, but your stomach is doing flip flops.

And the screams are in the same direction as the water.

>Fuck it, Naruto run like the dingus you are to scare them away

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Congrats on your baby!!!

Channel your inner Batman and stealthily head towards the water.

>cautiously head in the direction of the screams, but maybe grab a branch or something first so you have a weapon

It's been so long since you started bleeding that the blood seems to have dried. If you were to get infected, it would already have happened, and removing the dried blood would just open the wound up for further infection. You can hold off on cleaning up until you get to a safer area. Meanwhile, since the screams are all coming from the same place, you can use them as a landmark of sorts; so long as you're always moving away from the screams, you don't have to worry about going in circles and will inevitably find your way out of the forest eventually.

It's been so long since you started bleeding that the blood seems to have dried. If you were to get infected, it would already have happened, and removing the dried blood would just open the wound it up for further infection. You can hold off on cleaning up until you get to a safer area. Meanwhile, since the screams are all coming from the same place, you can use them as a landmark of sorts; so long as you're always moving away from the screams, you don't have to worry about going in circles and will inevitably find your way out of the forest eventually.

>naruto run away from the water?

>Be a rebel and DO go towards the screams. You're your own boss!

> Be smarter than to go towards the screams oh my goodness

>Attempt to run away from the screams, wind up running towards other screams

escape into the black lodge like dale cooper

>Fuck it, Naruto run like the dingus you are to scare them away

> Be smarter than to go towards the screams oh my goodness

>Be a rebel and DO go towards the screams. You're your own boss!

>Attempt to run away from the screams, wind up running towards other screams

SpoilerShow

Congrats on your baby!!!

Channel your inner Batman and stealthily head towards the water.

>naruto run away from the water?

>cautiously head in the direction of the screams, but maybe grab a branch or something first so you have a weapon

It's been so long since you started bleeding that the blood seems to have dried. If you were to get infected, it would already have happened, and removing the dried blood would just open the wound up for further infection. You can hold off on cleaning up until you get to a safer area. Meanwhile, since the screams are all coming from the same place, you can use them as a landmark of sorts; so long as you're always moving away from the screams, you don't have to worry about going in circles and will inevitably find your way out of the forest eventually.

It's safe to say you're feeling conflicted.

escape into the black lodge like dale cooper

Conflicted and confused. You decide to head away from the screams, hoping you don't run into a dead Laura Palmer.



This forest is old. Very old. Some of these trees are massive, and covered in thick moss. There's a musty tinge to the woody scent surrounding you, like a cedar closet belonging to an old person or something.

The screams fade into the distance, and with them, the sound of running water.

Before long, the world is silent.

You've never experienced silence like this; the trees must be acting like a sort of soundproofing. No animal noises, no wind, and best of all, none of that freaky screaming. The only sound is the muffled steps of your feet on the forest floor. Is it always like this out here? You've gotten so used to the sound of traffic that this almost seems unnatural.

You see a break in the tree cover; a clearing ahead.



What the shit.