Absolution
An Experiment in Immersive Storytelling
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Chapter 6
March 12, 2017
Delilah told me to "look in Robin Hood" right before her grandfather silenced her. After searching for a long time, I found a place near my house called Nottingham Park. I hope it's right because I'm out of time. The full moon is tonight, and I need whatever is in that box to break this curse. I'll head over there and see what I can find.
How do I even know if I'm in the right place? Delilah sent a coded message to Amon that somehow shows where the box is buried. It's a big park, and if I start randomly digging, I'll end up spending the night in jail—or at least part of the night anyway—I'm not sure how well bars hold up to a werewolf.
The word zephyr means "a soft, gentle breeze." Zephyr Street runs west across Allison Court. That's the first two lines of the riddle Delilah left. This must be the place. I'll start here and see if I can follow the clues.
From the gate house of the wind—a gatehouse is usually a building at the entrance of something. In this case, "the wind" must be Zephyr Street, which means the gatehouse must be the cul de sac because it is an entrance to Nottingham Park.
The pasture is obvious, but what of the old lonesome one? I'll take a walk straight through the field and see if I can find anything that looks old and lonesome.
There's an old tree all by itself. I bet that's it. If this is the old lonesome one, then stand in the shelter must be referring to sheltering under a tree in a storm. I'll go stand under and see what's next.
The sun rises in the East, so...
There's a stream running on the northern edge of the park. But what is the place of respite? The word respite means "an interval of rest or relief."
A bench certainly qualifies as a place of respite. I'm supposed to go past it and find a footpath.
What in the world does forest v mean?
There's a v-shape. That must be it. Now, on to the glade, beyond the forest v. Glade means "an open space in a forest," so I'm looking for a clearing.
The ground here has been disturbed recently. Good thing I brought a shovel.
I found an earthen clay effigy of a wolf inside the box. It looks handmade, and it has what appears to be old bloody fingerprints on it. There are a few hours until sunset, and I have everything I need to perform the cleansing ritual. I'm not an expert in the occult, though, so I'm going to contact a friend to help.