Dipper Pines Journal Novels & Stories

The Harlow Inn sat at the end of a quarter-mile gravel drive that wound through old-growth Douglas fir, the trees tall enough to turn the afternoon light green and cathedral-dim even before the clouds had properly settled in. Eli drove it slowly, partly because the rental car's suspension was already complaining about the state of the road, and partly because the inn appeared in stages through the trees and each stage gave him something new to calculate.

Nyx stirred inside me, her presence a restless pulse beneath my skin, as if she could sense the approaching storm long before I could. I pulled on my jacket and slipped out of my small cabin, the cold morning air biting at my cheeks. The forest was eerily still, as though holding its breath. The tall pines stretched overhead, their needles shimmering faintly in the early light, casting long, wavering shadows across the mossy floor. The camp was quiet, save for a few early risers preparing for the day. Mara sat on a fallen log, sharpening her claws on a stone with slow, deliberate strokes. Her usually fierce gaze was softened by worry, her brow furrowed as she looked up when I approached.

The driver focused in front again as he felt the carriage ascending a hill. “I came with my family.” Ley leaned forward a bit from his seat so the other could hear him better. “Though I let them go back first. One of them is a student and you must know, school year just resumed. The other is my… grandpa. He’s old and can’t bear the constant hiking activities. Perhaps the next time we go on a trip, our destination would be one without much climbing.” “I see. True, people from the plains tend to forget that the City of Pines is not just a cold place perfect for summer, it used to be a mountain before. Why are you interested in the tribes at the periphery then? Are you also a journalist or a co