Papal Forest - SuspireWiki

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Papal Forest

The Area

The gnarled trees and twisting vines that form the edges of the only major forest in the vicinity of Carcosa have been untouched and untended for as long as anyone can remember. Some of the tributary creeks that feed down to the inlets leading to the Chesapeake spider their way through the forest, cutting the only real swath through the dense forest floor.

Occasionally, modernization projects are requested to cut into the size of the forest, but most activists champion against it which generally leads to the company in question deciding it's not worth the hassle. Technically not city-owned, the owners of the plots of land died in the early 1800's and is supposed to be owned by some group of estate holders, Papal Forest looms from the southwest as a foreboding presence that seems almost untouchable by the rush of the city.

During the winter, when the waters flowing into the Chesapeake are much warmer than the snow and ice covered ground around it, a dense misty fog covers the area and flows out into the surrounding areas. Termed "Forest Fog" by local traffic reporters, the most deadly accidents happen during the worst of this time. Modern "mystics" (read: general psychopaths) occasionally are shown on TV after such a deadly crash exclaiming that the living forest is producing such a fog in order to strike out at those who wish to harm it.

The hiking trails into the Papal Forest generally are never used, so when a small backpacking group decides to brave this wild, they often find their way to be confusing and treacherous during the daytime. At nighttime, well, that's another story altogether. The hoots and hollers of wildlife are a deafening roar, and there are always the native pumas of the area that people warn about living in the forest. But, there are other things, too. Things like strange noises that people try to attribute to bugs or mating calls, but are too bone chilling to be that, and everyone knows it...

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