House of 8,000 Legs

House of 8,000 Legs
The house in the valley, was nondescript overall. There had once been many houses with it but a massive flood had carried most of the houses away. the rest were broken shambles of had been homes. Sad to see during the day and utterly depressive to look at when night fell.

The house had changed owners frequently the realtors were under the idea that living in such a place was depressing, and perhaps it was. The flood had not killed a single soul, the people in it had simply built their houses higher up. From the paranoid on the top of the mountain to the moderates along the middle of the mountain. They were all nice folks, they just seemed weary of the valley.

It was a proud house with a modest attic, two floors, and a basement. It had a paddock for okal, the Ay was no longer in the valley. In fact no Ay or Ara could be found in the valley, that was more likely the reason the town folks eyed the valley strangely. their way of life had moved from the area, and a healthy amount of superstition followed. The only time wild Ay or Ara was seen in the valley was during winter right after a heavy snow, the wildlife would then appear but not stay, moving to the other mountain side or just vanishing into the snow laden forests.

Now in the house lived a very old lady, the lady was blind and she ran a bed and breakfast from the house. Her supplies were brought by a Insi master Insi seemed to be the only Ay that would enter the valley for their master's sake. They wouldn't stay long and would exhibit a level of nervousness that was out of character for the species on a whole. The insi master had tried to get the old lady to move but she was stubborn in her ways. She wanted to die in the house, it had been in her family for generations. She also believed because it had survived the flood that it was destiny that she spend her last day in the house.

People who were interested in the literal ghost town came to the bed and breakfast. Ghost hunters and people looking for a good scare all came down to the 'haunted' valley to scope out the sites. They usually came around summer time since it did get frigid in the valley and it seemed that the 'paranormal' activity lessened during the winter.

Finally the oddities of the valley perked a entomologist's imagination. The man decided to take a sabbatical to study the peculiarities of the valley. He took his trusty Serrul with him. The house was unnerving for the man, the wood seemed too smooth and sometimes sticky. His Serrul was restless inside the house it would get up on the bed and pinch his nose till he woke the beg to leave the house.

He camped around in the woods after a few nights of nose abuse. The woods around the valley were inhabited by a large number of inari. It was almost comical to watch the critters fight amongst themselves who would trick him. Luckily his serrul scared them off. The entomologist sighed seemed like the old lady of the house was profiting from nearby critters rather than actually having phantos.

Around spring he noticed something very disturbing the other houses that had been destroyed by the flood, had no water damage. It had been documented as a flood and yet no evidence suggested that a flood had taken place. the nearest river was seasonal and had been dammed at the time of the event. The damage to the bits left behind had no water damage ruling out both flood and mud. perhaps a tornado? but in a valley? The entomologist scratched his forehead and decided to unearth some of the wooden debris.

The wood was old, and on the very end of the plank there was some white mold? He brought it back to the house so he could get a better look at the plank. His serrul would not enter the house, folding it's arms and shaking it's head. Defiant not wanting to be in the house, the entomologist pointed to the nearby tree line. The Surrel nodded yes it would be over there.

In the kitchen the entomologist pulled out some vials now to test the mold. He pulled a bit off with tweezers and placed it in a vial, closing it up he slipped it away, he'd send that off later for lab results. He continued to tease the mold off the plank, it was easy the mold came off in globs. Perhaps it wasn't mold, the wood underneath wasn't damaged at all. He frowned this really wasn't his area of expertise.

He'd thought because the insi were the only Ay coming around that it might be a sort of bug issue, though now he was thoroughly stumped. All he could really say was the house seemed to be the center of all the heeby jeebies. The forests were just rich with inari, the flood was a conundrum he didn't understand. Something had knocked the houses down. What had the valley been before the town settled in?

Diligently searching he found nothing besides the ground being unsuitable for growing anything everything died. except for that white mold or fungus. The okal had to be herded to grounds to eat. the only plus of the valley was that no predators or any critter that would be a nuisance seemed to like the valley. Except for the new critters transplanted to the area. So the other Ay and Ara had already known of the 'plague' on the valley, whatever the flood had been it was the deciding moment for transplanted Ay and Ara to get the heck out.

Yet the insi? He would have to speak to the insi master perhaps a fellow bug enthusiast would be more open. The entomologist didn't have to go far the very next day the inis master arrived with goods, they talked in hushed voices outside of the house.

"It wasn't a water flood, we'd been stupid not understood why the valley was empty. Its best that you leave soon before spring ends."

That had been disappointing the Insi master had not elaborated and left quickly following his inis up the mountain side. Why leave before the end of summer, according to the lady summer was the best time to come. The flood had happened seventeen years ago. He paused that time span triggered something he rushed into the house and to his books.

Yes there is was! Some species of insects would go through a life cycle now to see if any poisoned the ground. He found nothing on that and decided to pack up his Serrul was getting testy, it was a friendship and he decided it was high time he listen to his friend.

On his way out the old lady asked if he could get a wine bottle from the cellar, Sure might as well take it as a last request. Down in the cellar the musty place was uncomfortably warm and the soft clicking was unusual. He flicked on the lights and paused in utter horror.

The cellar was filled with thousands of red spots, each spot was clicking its mandibles. each mandible clicking spot was a tiny arak. The dirt floor of the cellar was covered in that white mold. He back pedaled and closed the cellar door. The old lady was beaming at him as she ushered him out of the house.

"I hope you found what you were looking for."

She added as he left, Oh he found something alright. He still had that sample, donate it to the lab and wash his hands of that particular species. His skin crawled thinking about enough of those tiny arak to devastate a town. He met up with his Serrul and headed off, eager to add to the distance between him and the house of eight thousand legs.