ES - Ghost Ship Rumors / Map

Everlasting Summer

Did you know that 340 million years ago, the land that would be Michigan was under a briny sea? The State Stone, the Petosky, was formed from the fossilization of coral from this period. 

Did you know that coral polyps have mouths?

A ghost ship has washed up on Lake Superior's shore by the Venture township, some kind of cargo tanker - not a sign of the crew. Could it be connected to the rise of A'AQUR?

ONLINE RUMORS

1. Going to the beach? Look out for Petosky Stones - they're fossilized coral that're hundreds of millions of years old. Some of the best ones can be quite valuable.
2. The internet page about the 'historic' Sharps Point Lighthouse hasn't been updated since the early 00's. The entire page is just a picture and a title, no links.
3. Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, with a maximum depth of 405 meters. It contains more water than all the other Great Lakes combined.
4. Lake Superior has its own version of the Loch Ness monster. Folks call it "Pressie". The lake serpent is frequently the fascination of cryptic hunters.
5. There are over 350 recorded shipwrecks in Lake Superior, with over 10,000 casualties attributed to them. In nearly all cases the bodies never washed up.
6. A video shows a man describing a picture he took of the Lake that shows a "hole in the water". It's quite blurry and grainy. He sounds spooked.

LOCAL RUMORS

1. Sometimes people say they can see the Ghost Ship out on the Lake, drifting against the wind. No no, not that old tanker that washed up, the REAL ghost ship!
2. Some guy named Zachery Bean started the legend when he spotted the ship through a rifle scope in the 70's. He swore until his death in 2009 that it bore the flags of the Royal Banner of France.
3. It's harder to see, but you're more likely to spot something weird on the Lake at dusk, dawn, or midnight.
4. A troll tends to the Sharps Point Lighthouse.
5. A couple of trolls (lower-peninsula Michiganders) went to explore that abandoned ship. They didn't come back to town. That was five days ago.
6. Don't be out swimming on the lake after dark. That's when people end up going missing.
7. Go out fishing on the Lake frequently, always come back before dark. You can never see the Lighthouse lights from the lake, though. Weird.

SPOILER SUMMARY

• SHARPS POINT LIGHTHOUSE - Strange lights induced by The Troll cause nearby investigators to become Lost in Time and Space, but only at night. It arrives at dusk once every three days to refill the strange oil.

• ABANDONED CARGO SHIP - Research team investigating nearby island discovered a cave containing live Hexagonaria coral from 340 million years ago. An incidental blood spill caused the coral to activate, gaining a hunger for salty human blood. Those infested with the coral become walking polyp-covered skeletons. The coral cannot tolerate freshwater, and hence has hidden inside the ballast of the cargo ship (which still contained water from the Atlantic). Those who enter the cargo ship will fall into a trap if the coral detects their presence.

• GHOST SHIP - The rumors are quite true, though rarely seen. A ghostly crew, captained by the 18th century New France officer Constant le Marchad de Lignery, patrols these waters. Cursed by The Foxes after burning their crops and villages, the crew serve out their penance by annihilating those touched by the coral, petrifying them with a mere touch. In this way they contain the menace. Anyone who becomes infested by the coral will surely witness the true Ghost Ship before shattering into dozens of Petoski Stones.

• THE LAKE SERPENT - Pressie isn't real. The growing presence of A'AQUR, though, is instigating a number of anomalies - holes, fishmen, blood swans, whirlpools, waterspouts. Any time one of these is encountered by a person with low Insight, it is rationalized as having seen the Lake Serpent.

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