[TCPDEX] TCP Research Initiative

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Horror, Part 1: Where are the local horror vents? (Warning for body horror)

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Hello again, it's Timothy! I didn't think I'd be writing back so soon! As soon as I saw the new initiative I jumped on it, but unfortunately I'm not sure if this report will be as helpful as the first one, I don't even really have good pictures for this one... But it's the best I could do.

Honestly, I didn't know what to look for at first. Hearth is so big and so safe, and since trying to locate these things is too dangerous for me on my own, I decided to call Mx. Wander to ask them a few questions!

But...they weren't very happy. They said, "Horror vents? Why are you interested in something like that?" I explained that it was for a report, and they said, "Why do they think that's a good idea? Don't they know what horror does to people? Don't they know what it'll do to you?"

They sounded like they were starting to cry over the phone! I didn't want to keep upsetting them, so I had to reassure them that I won't be hurt, they just me want to me learn about the vents through others. I could hang up if they didn't want to hear about it...

That got them to calm down. They apologized right away, and it turns out horror is just a very sensitive thing for them. They don't like to talk about it, and they don't like hearing about it. They hung up after telling me to be careful, and I almost decided to leave the report at that...

But then, after work yesterday, I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. I decided to pick it up just out of curiosity, and I heard a...really weird voice. Really strained and raspy, like someone swallowed a bunch of needles. They asked me, "Are you the one asking about the vents?"

I said I was. Turns out, they were a friend of Frailie, and owed them a favor. They had a story to tell me, a story that might help with your research! Isn't that nice of them?

The story takes place over the course of five days, and is kind of an urban legend in my area! I didn't even know about it until they told me, but apparently people talk a lot about it, since it only happened about...fourtyish years ago? I copied almost everything the person on the phone said, so hopefully this is accurate!

What happened was that a group of Morbitans Morbitians in Hearth wanted to find a way to dig under the mountains of their shared border with Solitude, to make travel between the zones easier.



The group working on this was made up of two karacels, a snuglin mouse, and a snake. They originally all met online, and the snake, originally living in Solitude, decided to risk going through the mountains to see her friends! When she arrived, that was when they all got the idea to make travel easier.

The first day was where they decided to dig. It'd be a hard task, but they were up for the challenge, and chose a small cave to start with. The plan was to keep digging straight, until they ended up at Solitude, and spent all day working on turning the cave into a tunnel. They would've kept going all night, but they knew they wouldn't work as well if they were tired.

On the second day, while digging, the snuglin had to stop every now and again.



She was starting to get headaches, and definitely not mild ones. Her friends asked her if she wanted to stop for the day, but she said no, she was fine, and this tunnel will be finished much faster if all four of them work together. She'd just need to rest every now and again. The rest of the day continued without issue, for the most part.

The third day, however, was when everything was started to go wrong.



The two karacels started to bicker. Apparently, one had kept the other up all night with his whispering, and they weren't too happy about not getting enough rest. The other karacel tried to defend himself, saying that he had been asleep all night, and the snuglin agreed. Her headaches made it hard to sleep, and she hadn't heard a peep all night. But the sleep-deprived karacel kept insisting that they were both liars.

The snake never joined the discussion. They just kept to themself, quietly picking at her scales. The group finally returned to digging after the other karacel reluctantly agreed to be quieter when they went to bed, and they didn't speak of the issue for the rest of the night.

The snuglin spent most of the night awake, listening for any whispers, but heard nothing. The accused karacel slept through the whole night, while the sleep-deprived one tossed and turned restlessly, occasionally muttering curses.

On the fourth day that karacel again accused the other of keeping them up all night. The snuglin suggested that maybe they should head home. This little expedition was already starting to take a toll on them, maybe they should just forget about it for now...

But, surprisingly, the karacels and the snake refused. They wanted to see this through to the end, and the snuglin just couldn't understand why...

Despite everything, they kept digging, the snuglin just barely able to help as she kept fighting the pounding in her head, almost collapsing as the stones in front of them collapsed...



...They entered into the middle of a tunnel, bathed in a sickly green glow from the crystals lining the walls. As the group cautiously entered, they saw that it expanded almost endlessly to the left and the right.

The accused karacel mused that perhaps this tunnel was made a long time ago. Running a hand over his cheek, he suspected that perhaps someone long ago had the same idea as them.

Well, that sounded great to the snake, who was hiding her arms behind her back as they spoke. They could just pick up where old group had left off, and finish the tunnel for them! Now their job was a lot easier.

But first, the sleep deprived karacel had muttered, his tail twitching irritably, they needed to see where this tunnel currently ended.

The snuglin, miserably clutching her head, just wanted to go home.

When she awoke on the fifth day, after a long day of traveling, she first thought she was having a nightmare as she saw the condition her friends were in.



The right side of the accused karacel was covered in revolting bumps, a few of them seeming to be pulsing. The sleep-deprived karacel had growths around the base of their tail. And an odd green fluid began leaking from the snake's arms, in the spots where she had picked at them.

The snuglin, oddly enough, was the only one who didn't seem to change physically. But the pounding in her head was even worse now, reducing her to a trembling pile every time they flared up.

The sleep-deprived karacel's aggression had reached its peak. They began to accuse just not the other karacel, but also the snuglin and snake of keeping them up all night. The snake merely curled up against a wall, picking at her arms as she waited for the rant to end. When asked why, all she said was that she felt itchy.

The sleep-deprived karacel questioned why the snuglin hadn't changed at all. They accused her of knowing about this, about possibly leading them into a trap. But that was impossible, how could she possibly know about this? And it is affecting her! How else could they explain her sudden headaches?

The accused karacel finally snapped. He told the sleep-deprived one to shut up, to stop blaming everyone else for their issues and to stop making things up to justify their anger. And the snuglin could only watch on in horror as they began to hit each other, heading further into the tunnel as they chased one other. A particularly strong migraine made her drop to her knees, crying out for the snake to please try to stop them, but all they could do was pick at their scales, seemingly in a trance.

So, she had no choice but to follow them. She began to follow, walking slowly when the pain in her head lessened and crawling when it reached its peak. She had so many questions... Why were they changing like this? Why were they in so much pain?

Why didn't they just leave when they still had a chance?

Then, she saw it. A light at the end.

Her head felt like it was about to split in two, but she continued onward. The green light seemed to almost call her closer, her body beginning to feel like it was moving on its own. The glow beame brighter, threatening to blind her if she took one more step...

And then, she saw it.



One of the karacels stood before another crystal, the largest the snuglin had seen so far. But, something was different now. Their body had...changed...into some terrible. Something twisted. Something she could hardly recognize as her friend.



The tailmouths leered at her, looking like they wanted nothing more than to sink their teeth into her. The karacel flexed their new claws as they turned slowly, their voice now a deep, threatening growl, like they didn't recognize the snuglin anymore.



Their face was covered in red, and looked like they wanted to add her own colors to their fur. The snuglin realizes just who they got the color from, and almosy collapses from despair alone...

They, they lunged, and her head finally split in two.

...That's all she remembers. Next time she woke up, she was back in the mountains, with big rocks covering the entrance of the cave. She had changed too, but didn't tell me exactly how though, probably to protect her identity. She told me to be careful with this information, and hung up before I could ask her anything else.

So, it seems there's a bunch of horror under the mountains between Solitude and Hearth. Based off what the snuglin told me, I think the crystals grew over the vent, and are just as capable of spreading the radiation.

I think now I see why Frailie didn't want to talk about it. I think...I'm going to end this letter here. Writing all this out is making me feel kind of sick.