First Visit
The gang left campus and drove for a few hours- until a massive storm rolled in. This storm, which was not in the weather forcast, made it near impossible for further travel. The group stopped at an inn called "The Traveler's Lodge." There, they met "The Lodgekeeper," a strange figure hidden behind the glass. Afterwards, the group met "Jan," the janitor for the lodge. She promised a peek into room 13 if the gang cleared a slime mess from a lodge room for her.
The gang bravely fought the slime cube and collected a few assorted objects from within it (including but not limited to a stuffed bear, a broken phone, and a travel pamphlet to New Delaland.) They tried to watch tv in the room, but no channels came through. Jan let the gang into room 13 but it turns out that was just her bedroom. Apparently, she lives at the Lodge.
The gang pressed her for some backstory and after some convincing, she mentioned some details. She is from Colxico, near South Nevinia. She had her dad's driver's license along side his truck (which was sitting in the parking lot.) She did not reveal how long she had been at the lodge, or why she's living at the lodge specifically. A few of the group took a dip in the pool before it closed. Come nightfall, the gang began to hear strange howling noises in the forest around the lodge.
The group's sleeping arrangements were split between the van and a lodge room- which Jan seemed very nervous to give you free access to. The next morning a few of the group took a hike around the woods in search of what made the noises, but all they could find were strange animal prints in the ground.
Second Visit
The group began their travels towards Rhodicut. However, on the way, the gang realized they were down to the last of their groceries (and more importantly... beer....) They decided to make a point to stop for some food. Walker had a heart to heart with the piece of fossilized poop in the van. The gang drove onwards and came across a familiar sight- The Traveler's Lodge! This wasn't a chain hotel situation... this was the exact same motel, in a completely different location. There was another familiar sight... Barley!!! Apparently Barley got left behind and has been traveling around looking for the rest of the group... oops.
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The gang also reunited with Jan (the Janitor) and she offered to give them all free food from the vending machine in return for helping her out once more with a monster in room 3. This time, it turned out to be a bundle of thorns with a flesh lump in the center of it. They were successful in defeating it. Curtis decided that he had the hots for Jan, and attempted to sleep with her... but she seemed uninterested at best and suggested they watch a movie instead.
However, halfway through the night, Walker and Crackle's motel phone began to ring. There was faint crying on the other end, but no discernable voices. The phone also rang in Anise's room- but it just ended up linking her to Walker and Crackle. Curtis was also able to hear them- but through the static on the tv. Jan was also nowhere to be found. The line went dead. Walker, feeling brave, decided to disregard the motel rules and picked the phone back up. This resulted in him getting brain blasted and he just about went unconcious.The following morning, Jan was outside near the Breakfast hall. She seemed dismissive and neutral on the party as a whole- despite the familiarity she showed the previous evening.The gang also learned that the van is alive in some fashion- it responds to healing spells rather than mending.
The gang decided it was time to leave. Chadicles attempted to drive the van... but he ended up crashing it into the side of the motel. When Anise stepped out of the van to survey the damage- she discovered that the Motel appeared to be entirely abandoned- as if nobody had been there for twenty years. As if the Traveler's Lodge never even existed. A theory was floated around amongst the party that it had something to do with the checkout time of 11am. No magic resided anywhere on the property- except for the room behind the check-in counter. A strange unidentifiable dark magic floated from that space.
Spooked, the group decided to travel onwards. They ended up coming across the first location on the pamphlet a tourist-trap oddities shop called Paranormology.The owner, a goblin named Melvin, welcomed you with open arms and gave you a tour of the shop. It seems that the only real artifacts besides a collection of items from a 1920s train crash, was a haunted teddybear. The group told Melvin about their encounters with the cryptid that ran alongside their van. This made Melvin very excited, and they decided to do a stake out in hopes that the cryptid would show up once more.