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Post by Beckett on Sept 12, 2017 7:49:35 GMT -5
"We tell stories you can touch" is how The Mysterious Package Company advertise their services to the uninitiated. Imagine my surprise when The Demon Jar, the one story I have had delivered to myself since I joined the Company in the summer of 2015, turned out to refer to events and places quite close to home - separated, as they may be, by years, decades, even centuries, but geographically no further away from home than a train ride.
Some of us have already floated the idea of meeting at the gathering place of old on Walpurgisnacht 2018, on the eve of May 1st, to observe the revelries firsthand; I am indeed looking forward to meet some of you by the fires next year.
However, I cannot resist the temptation to explore the site by the light of day, and to visit the place where the Demon Jar has been kept for so long. Not as long as I am in possession of a map where X marks the spot! I am fully aware that in all likelyhood, all traces of the events that have unfolded there have been wiped away by the ravages of time, but how could I not go? How could I forfeit the chance to stand in the place where this story began?
So I decided to travel to the place. This weekend, on September 16th, I will walk in Their footsteps. I will share my photographs and stray thoughts with you in this space as I go. If feasible, I may stay in contact via The Chat Room while exploring. I currently expect to arrive in the city between 11am and noon CEST.
A word of warning to those who have not - or not yet - been entrusted with The Demon Jar: What I am going to share here might well reveal truths you are not yet ready to know. Proceed at your own discretion.
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Post by distantsmoke on Sept 12, 2017 9:57:57 GMT -5
cool!
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 0:58:43 GMT -5
Good morning everyone! I actually got up on time and boarded the train to Heidelberg. It will take roughly three more hours until arrival. I am looking forward to this.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 4:36:56 GMT -5
I have stepped off the train in Heidelberg and stopped for a smoke on a bridge spanning the Neckar river. Beyond lies the Heiligenberg home to the Thingstätte and the St. Michael's Monastery ruins.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 5:04:51 GMT -5
Nestled into rhe mountainside stands Heidelberg Castle. I hope I have time to take the longer route through the old town on my way back.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 5:14:12 GMT -5
The Philosophenweg (Philosopher's Way), the route I will take up the mountain. I have begun my ascent.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 5:27:27 GMT -5
Time for a rest at this lovely terrace with a spectacular view of the old town.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 6:22:14 GMT -5
Not far now, as the crow flies.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 7:18:51 GMT -5
As I am getting closer, cellphone reception gets spotty. This is the (heavily secured) Heidenloch (Heathen's Hole), a well allegedly built by the celts who used the mountain as a cult location before the Romans built a temple to Mercury at the site of the later St. Michael's monastery. Close to the summit: an observation tower built from the remains of a monastery. This is not the monastery that once housed The Daughters The view of Heidelberg, this time from the top. This is a model of the Heiligenberg summit, showing the Thingstätte and the monastery ruins. I am getting closer to the end. This picture contains one of the documents from The Demon Jar. This beergarden close to the summit is a welcome surprise. They serve wild boar - I should come back here when I have not just eaten!
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 8:24:30 GMT -5
The Thingstätte. A propaganda theatre of the Third Reich, thought up by Joseph Goebbels to promote the 'Blood and Soil' ideology they were so keen on. It did not take, and they used the theatre less and less as it turned out that it was less effective as a propaganda tool than virtually anything else. I know that the 'Blood and Soil' is, right now, of particular concern to many Americans, who had never dreamt to hear those words in their own country. Perhaps you can find some measure of solace in this: This place does not feel like a national socialist installation, not at all. It is peaceful, people come here to enjoy a nice saturday afternoon, without the Spectre of the Reich hanging over it. It took a world to free us from this scourge, and it is now gone. Never forgotten - how else could we learn? - but gone for good. This is it then, as seen from the entrance: And from the top down, after I found me a nice, sunny spot: Dr. Maltese would describe the lunch breaks he would take with his team; quite possibly on April 30th, 2015, before he returned to work for the last time. As I am indeed following in his footsteps...
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Post by distantsmoke on Sept 16, 2017 10:51:23 GMT -5
Too cool for words! Thanks for the outing Beckett!
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 11:52:17 GMT -5
The monastery. A monastery built on top of a Roman temple, built on top of a Celtic cult place. And the Daughters have always been there, battling the Creature and guarding its remains. The sketches left by Dr. Maltese are instantly recognisable in the surroundings. (These pictures contain one of the documents from The Demon Jar) And here are the remains of the hidden entrance, still visible in the ground. There is nothing here. They took the vessels and filled up the secret chamber. (This picture contains one of the documents from The Demon Jar) Right under this spot the Demon Jars were kept for centuries, and right there Maltese met his fate. I cannot say for certain why I brought it here. I may have half expected it to resonate with this place, for the Beast to rattle its cage. (This image shows The Artifact from The Demon Jar) But the Jar remains silent. I would have liked to know. Am I guarding one of the genuine Jars comtaining a fraction of the Demon's power? Or am I merely serving as a decoy, keeping one of their clever forgeries? In the end, I suppose, it does not matter. I will continue to do my duty. The Jar remains sealed.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 11:52:51 GMT -5
Too cool for words! Thanks for the outing Beckett! Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed this!
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Post by Todd on Sept 16, 2017 12:05:57 GMT -5
This post is one of the reasons I hope there is still a mole here.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 16, 2017 12:22:05 GMT -5
This post is one of the reasons I hope there is still a mole here. I believe thegenii recently mentioned that 'They' are following these forums closely. The standing assumption is of course that he was talking about himself. All joking aside, I am impressed by how closely the Experience reflects reality. Here is another oddity: The first Demon Jars were shipped shortly after Walpurgisnacht 2017. It stands to reason that the Company received the Jars not too long before that. Even though people have gathered to celebrate at the Thingstätte since the eighties, in 2017 for the first time there were two forest fires on the mountain and one man took a tumble down a slope and injured himself. Were some of the jars damaged while the Daughters moved them overseas? Did some of the essence of the Beast escape and return to Heidelberg to wreak havoc?
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