The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

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Mantis
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The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Mantis » Sun Aug 19, 2018 7:17 pm

7 July 1895

It has always been in my nature to pursue matters of a diabolical and sinister nature, indeed it is how I came to find my fortune in the east following completion of my residence at the Miskatonic University. As I came to the end of my travels, it was whilst homeward bound for the great state of Texas that I was struck with a deep fascination of the stories coming out of the Deep South, and so I set my course on this little detour, chancing a stop in New Orleans. The local governor was keen to assuage the feelings of the populace with press releases claiming the sickness was nothing more than a minor malady; though I had spent many a night at the University reading research papers and conferring with my colleague, Dr Halsey, enough to know that something more sinister was afoot and I was not to be deterred.

The hour was growing late upon my arrival in the humid urban landscape and I was immediately struck by the eerie stillness of the night. I had become accustomed to the almost constant throng of activity within such sprawling metropolises as this; yet despite the two hundred and fifty thousand that dwelled within the city, I found myself alone with naught but the amorphous glow of street lights dancing in the fog for company. Indeed, my stroll through the city in search of accommodation went undisturbed and it was not until I made for one of the city’s drinking institutes did I encounter any signs of life at all.

It has been the nature of my trade to deal in strange folk, and indeed on my travels I have met many a queer fellow, in fact I find myself drawn to them like a moth to the flame. It was on that quiet night in one of New Orleans’ quaint saloons that I caught a glimpse of such a figure, ensconced in a corner of the establishment. Garbed in a large, dark duster; collar drawn high and wearing a wide brimmed hat; the figure perked my curiosities immediately, for all the debauchery that was taking place among my fellow denizens, this stranger merely sat and observed. His features largely hid by the collar of his coat, from a distance all I could make out was the cold grey suspicion with which he eyed the rest of the bars patrons.

It was upon approaching this gentleman and quizzing him on the nature of his business that my curiosity was rewarded, for he was a bounty hunter; but one unlike any I had ever encountered before. His initial apprehension towards me was riposted by my judiciously plying him with the local spirit and soon he was regaling with me tales of his exploits:

“My name is Leidolf Griesen, and I’m not so sure you’ll thank me for telling you of some of the things I’ve seen. You’re here to satisfy some morbid curiosity? Well, it is no mere malady afflicting these lands, and in truth, stranger, you’re a fool to come here. But if it’s a story you want, then fine.

I didn’t believe it myself when the locals told me of this hellish ‘Butcher’ that was roaming the swamps; no matter how much grisly terror he left in his wake, I knew it could be nothing more than some psychotic madman. Regardless, no quarry feels quite the same as when focusing your wits on the pursuit of a fellow man, so I took the contract. I’d heard about other hunting parties setting out on my target’s trail and, alarmingly, how many had not yet returned. Nevertheless, not wanting to risk losing my mark to some upstart rival, I made haste out of town on my own.

It was upon arrival in the marsh around Davant Ranch that I first discovered the true nature of this apparent sickness; as I vaulted the fence and slowly made my approach to the outer sheds, I saw that these men and women were afflicted of body and mind, their skin rotten and pale, feeding on the raw carcasses of the very livestock they once tended to.

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It was then that I understood the true depth of the evil that gripped the place, Satan has set his eye upon the bayou. I had come face to face with that which makes monsters out of men, for these creatures were not of this earth, neither living nor dead. Who knows what hideous secrets from beyond the barrier of death they had gleaned which had prompted them to return to the world of the living. Quickly steeling my nerves, I drew my revolver and aimed squarely at the first creature’s chest. My first gunshot only attracted more of the beasts and I was alarmed to see my first target still stood before me. Had my nerves gotten the better of me and knocked my shot wide? I placed another bullet square into the man’s heart and he did not fall, he was closing on me now and it was my third shot to his head that finally put him down. I found that single shots to the head were sufficient to dispatch the other two foes that were almost upon me, and not wanting to attract any further unwanted attention, I holstered my pistol and pulled out my hunting knife.

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Just beyond the group of outer farm buildings I spied a number of huts raised up out of the quagmire and set off for a clue as to my quarries whereabouts. It was here I found a room with sheets on the windows and hastily discarded supplies strewn around the floor, whatever poor soul had chosen this place as their hideaway had clearly beat a swift retreat. Fortune smiled upon me though, as it was here that I found my first clue as to the location of my prey, a series of notes detailing sightings of the ‘Butcher'.

Marking his activities on my map I made to leave out of the back of the compound when I opened a door and was confronted by a monstrous creature, swollen and fierce, with a thick shell protruding from parts of its torso. My entrance had roused the creature from its previously docile state and it immediately turned upon me, an appalling, demonic cry bursting from its maw. I had never heard a sound like it, for it is not in the nature of man to cry with such ghoulish terror.

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I pulled out my shotgun and the beast withstood three blasts straight to the chest before it finally fell.

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As I skulked through the dense reeds, eager not to draw the attention of yet more hell spawn, I identified a series of large tracks crushed into the terrain that led towards the farmhouse. Irrespective of his true nature, there was nothing regular about this man whom I hunted, for his footsteps were enormous.

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However, when I arrived I found naught but carnage that my quarry had left in his wake. The distant echo of gunfire provided no small comfort, as whilst it confirmed that I was not alone in this wilderness, my anonymous colleagues were clearly encountering similar circumstances as I had. With my attention focused on the distant struggle, I was too late to notice the mortally wounded pony lying inert beside me. As the poor animal sensed my presence it let out the most terrible whinnying, in turn rousing a number of the men who littered the yard who I had previously thought dead.

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My knife in hand, I was set upon by the fiends, with their vacuous eyes and demonic savagery.

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A series of quick backhanded thrusts to the temple were enough to fell each of my foes in turn and I thankfully escaped the scuffle with the barest of scrapes. Regardless, it was then I knew that I could not conquer this place that God had forsaken on my own. A fevered curse had crept upon Louisiana; I refused to succumb to this plague and become another empty husk, just waiting for some ambitious hunter to come and put a bullet in my brain. Gathering my bearings, I made a quick path through the woods, southward.

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As I breached the treeline I glimpsed my salvation, an abandoned horse and carriage on the roadside, no doubt the transport of another intrepid group of hunters.

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I spared them a moments thanks and swore that I would return to avenge the fallen and deliver the local people safely from the terror of the Butcher; mounting up, I set off back to the city to recruit a partner.”


As he concluded and I once again became aware of the room around me, I noticed that most of the saloon’s patrons had retired for the evening. My eyelids weighed heavily, but so rapt by this hunter’s story was I that I signalled to the barman for two more drinks and turned back to my acquaintance. “Fascinating,” I said, “tell me more.”

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Gibby
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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Gibby » Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:49 pm

=D>

Looking forward to more!

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Jez » Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:03 pm

Good read mate. Carry on. :)
19-10-2003
12072 :-({|=

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Mantis
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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Mantis » Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:26 pm

Cheers chaps. Been a while since I wrote anything but reading a bit of Lovecraft the other week and stumbling upon this game made it too tempting to try and produce something in his style.

It's kind of shocking how overtly racist some of his stories are in places, but nevertheless the guy really had a way with words. Best experienced in short bursts though because a lot of his stories are quite samey.

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Gibby » Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:06 pm

This thread deserves way more attention from everyone than it's getting!

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Mantis
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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Mantis » Tue Aug 21, 2018 6:25 pm

Cheers man, but I would have likely written it anyway regardless of how many people I thought might look at it. :)

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Maturin
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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Maturin » Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:01 pm

I'm wondering, what game is it?

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Mantis
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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Mantis » Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:06 pm

Hunt Showdown, there's a thread in the PC Gaming folder. The setting is just too perfect and I figured it'd be an interesting challenge writing a let's play to a competitive multiplayer game.

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Stormbringer » Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:30 pm

Mantis wrote:
Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:26 pm
a lot of his stories are quite samey.
That's because all his stories are basically expressions of his own phobias:

1. Foreigners.

2. Other foreigners.

3. The sea. Especially how foreigners seem to travel across it.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Mantis » Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:42 pm

I recall you saying in the old Lovecraft thread not long ago that you just couldn't separate the man from his works anymore. Whilst I can still take them simply as well written horror stories, I admit that it does make for quite uncomfortable reading at times where he describes dead African Americans as being beastly inhuman things that probably looked even worse when they were alive.

It's in the essence of his writing, but I'm just trying to emulate the good bits.

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Sly Boots » Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:55 pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:30 pm
Mantis wrote:
Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:26 pm
a lot of his stories are quite samey.
That's because all his stories are basically expressions of his own phobias:

1. Foreigners.

2. Other foreigners.

3. The sea. Especially how foreigners seem to travel across it.
:lol:

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Sly Boots » Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:57 pm

I've never read Lovecraft, I was more into Poe when I was exploring gothic literature (is Lovecraft even gothic? Not sure). I've often thought I might do so as it seems to be very 'in' now culturally speaking, Cthulu mythos et al. But after reading about his views I think I'll swerve it. I think I'd find that quite hard to get past.

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Stormbringer » Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:12 pm

Sly Boots wrote:(is Lovecraft even gothic? Not sure)
He wrote a mixture of styles. Some of his earlier works are purposeful imitations of Poe and are arguably gothic in style (best examples: The Hound and The Outsider). He later carved his own niche which blended elements of gothic, fantasy and science fiction.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Stormbringer » Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:15 pm

Mantis wrote:
Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:42 pm
I recall you saying in the old Lovecraft thread not long ago that you just couldn't separate the man from his works anymore.
Yesterday was the anniversary of his birthday, so I'm going to continue this discussion in a brand new thread in the literature zone.
Between tedium and fright
Such is the song of the nether world
The hissing of rats
And the jarring chants of angels

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Re: The Excursions of Leidolf Griesen (I)

Post by Mantis » Tue Aug 21, 2018 9:22 pm

Sly Boots wrote:
Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:57 pm
I've never read Lovecraft, I was more into Poe when I was exploring gothic literature (is Lovecraft even gothic? Not sure). I've often thought I might do so as it seems to be very 'in' now culturally speaking, Cthulu mythos et al. But after reading about his views I think I'll swerve it. I think I'd find that quite hard to get past.
It's not that prevalent. There are plenty of his works where you'd never glean what his opinions on race are at all. I feel like people over egg it slightly as to how bad his writing is for it, even though there is clearly no disputing it regarding his personal character.

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