Moonlight Over a Ruined Village

For tonight’s tale, we continue our Purloined tale series. If you haven’t listened to the previous five episodes, the events of this one may leave you somewhat confused. Or maybe they won’t. This part of the tale is pretty straightforward. If you do get confused, feel free to revisit the earlier episodes in the series. In this part of the tale, we finally have to start dealing with Goro. This Kitsune has been making a nuisance of himself since humans first started to inhabit the area. On this particular occasion, he came to the village to find out why Kensuke attempted to kill his son, Tomisaburo. The indignant Kitsune was greeted by Daigo and Naomi, the leaders of the Wolves of the Mountain. They were socially obliged to sit there and listen to Goro go on and on about the persecutions he had been made to suffer. Most of his grievances were against Lord Eiji, the benevolent Kitsune who adopted Tomisaburo to spare him from Goro’s wrath. He prevented Goro from killing his son, and he never forgave him for that. Which makes Goro a pretty shitty father, in my opinion. Lord Daigo and Lady Naomi, who couldn’t possibly care any less, had to listen to this pedantic little weaner of a Kitsune whine about his feelings. This soon bored them to tears. However, they become enraptured by a lone Raven circling above Goro in a menacing manner. All the wolves there hoped to see that Raven defecate on the indignant Kitsune. That wish is not granted. For a player that had been plotting in the depths of the earth had prepared a grotesque act of retribution for Goro. That attack was born upon wings of ebon to land upon its victim, who was damned to suffer a crippling wound. This attack proved to be so horrific and gruesome that the wolves could only watch in stunned silence as the ghastly deed reached its bloody conclusion. This tale contains animals in distress, body horror, violence, mutilation, and apathy in the face of unimaginable suffering. Furthermore, it contains occult themes, disparaging opinions of humanity in general, and profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

Tonight, we look back at the tale that started this entire podcast series. Roughly two years ago, I released Moonlight Over a Printed Face. It was the first tale in the Ruined Village Podcast and it introduced us to five of the main architects of the Ruin that is plaguing the village. To commemorate the release of that tale, I am releasing a revised edition of it. That means the text was revised and then re-recorded. However, the tale is the same as it was when it was released two years ago. Since then, the narrative has expanded to the point that I have a hard time remembering what is even going on sometimes. Nevertheless, the village endures. As does the ruin. So let’s look back at the start of it all. On that fateful night, a man of intemperate inclination was on his way home from work, and he was not altogether happy about it. He soon found himself stuck on a crowded escalator due to the self-righteous machinations of the Turkey. While waiting for his chance to escape, the man noticed a presence behind him. He turned to see a mysterious figure with a printed face covering its own staring at him. Beneath the soulless face printed on paper, hate-filled eyes stared with escalating rage at the doomed soul in front of him. Our pathetic hero attempted to escape in the crowd, but the figure followed him. He took a bus to his home, but the figure got on the same bus and sat next to him. He left the bus and walked down darkened streets. The figure followed him still. Left with no choice, he confronted the figure and demanded to know what the hell was going on. Unfortunately, they were not alone. For in their foolishness, they attracted the attention of two entities that have forever terrified the village. Those two doomed souls heard the conflict, and they wanted to take their share of the madness. This tale contains suspense, violence, excessive alcohol consumption, themes of urban decay, excessive use of public transportation, and mistrust in authority figures. Moreover, it contains instances of public disorder and profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

For tonight’s tale, we will spend most of the evening in that second hand electronics store. Our returning listeners know it as the center of the ruin at the heart of the village. For the doomed soul known as the professor, he calls it business as usual. For that is the place where he spends his waking hours. Yet on this fateful day, he is greeted by an old adversary. The demon fox lord, who all of us know by the name of Tomisaburo, has come to enlist the aid of the professor in his latest scheme. Tomisaburo aims to rein in the chaos of the ruined village, and he needs the professor’s necromantic gifts to do so. The professor, who knows how treacherous Tomisaburo and his associates can be, refuses almost immediately. So the Kitsune enlists the aid of the vampire Lord Eugene McNeil and his two vampire wards to teach the wayward necromancer the errors of his ways. But the necromancer is still loyal to the River Road crew, and he will not move against them. Yet things change with the arrival of an unexpected but much longed for visitor. That arrival marks the beginning of the end of the old guard of the Ruined Village. For just as leaves change color in the cool of autumn, so too must things fall when life leaves them. This tale contains references to ventriloquist dummies, violence towards those dummies, body horror, animals in distress, and unfavorable representations of government institutions and yacht bros. Furthermore, it contains profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

For tonight’s tale, we examine the fifth entry into our purloined tale series. The proper title of the series is the Banquet of the Rat King. So that’s where this tale is going. If you haven’t listened to the previous four tales, you may be somewhat confused by this one. If you feel like you cannot handle that level of danger at the moment, please listen to those tales. Otherwise, proceed at your own risk. For this entry, we take a closer look at that odd little character that everyone seems to hate. Simon made a nuisance of himself for the entire journey through the forest, only to disappear the moment the party was met with danger. Such unbridled cowardice is unheard of amongst the proud and noble ranks of the Ravens. So how could a Raven behave in such a cowardly manner? The answer to that question is somewhat complicated. For Simon has been thoroughly detested for as long as anyone can remember. Yet nobody seems to remember when they first had the misfortune of encountering him. The reason for this will likely infuriate the clans of the Ravens and the Wolves if they ever manage to discover it. Simon is a changeling sent to spy on the Ravens and the Wolves by Tomisaburo. He has been monitoring their every movement for months. The story of how Tomisaburo came to enslave this poor creature is sad and tragic. Fortunately for him, that memory was removed from his brain. In its place resides loyalty and gratitude for his benevolent master Tomisaburo. As the loyal servant returns to his master, he is forced to wait outside. Tomisaburo must engage in a telepathic reunion with his fiancé Yuki. Tomisaburo finds himself falling deeper in love with her the more he talks with her, yet he can’t seem to remember why. The two of them talk together and make plans for their shared future. So the loyal servant waits outside, as his master and future mistress conspire to change the power dynamic of both the River Village and the Mountain Village. This tale contains multiple descriptions of animals in peril. It also contains body horror, violence, domestic abuse, emotional manipulation, and profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

For tonight’s tale, I engage in brutal combat with my recording equipment to eventually tell you the tale of a brood of vermin. The first members to enter the scene are our two vampire lovers. They are brooding over their last hunt, even though they have no regrets for the life they stole. They are soon joined by Lord Eugene McNeil, who makes them listen to the Eagles while he asks them what the deal is with the word undead. Neither of them are amused by this flaccid attempt at humor. They are soon joined by a vampiric spider creature that had been living in the government facility that had been in their basement this whole time. Before the young vampires have a chance to ask what the hell is going on, they are joined by Tomisaburo and Sachiko, two characters you should definitely know by now. The government agency the two of them work with wants the four vampiric beings to coordinate their hunting activities. This is largely to reduce the panic caused by a former employee who lost her mind and started attacking people on the River Road. Since these four beings are too lazy to put much effort into hunting, they come together to devise a plan to consolidate their hunting ground. Their plan will be easy for them to implement, but it’s dangerously similar to a plan that was instrumental in ruining the village a year ago. This tale contains violence, government corruption, body horror, and is likely to foster mistrust in the pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, it contains descriptions of substance abuse, blasphemy, profanity, and excessive references to the Eagles. Listener discretion is advised.