Into the Woods

**Into the Woods** is the first episode of Season 1 and the first episode of Act 2.

## Episode Description

Thirteen guests are invited for a night of celebration in Willow Ridge, an abandoned lumber mill town in Oregon. But when the town is plagued by mysterious attackers, they are forced into a game of survival. Will the guests pull together to change their fates and escape the night? Will the night tear them apart? And what exactly happened to Willow Ridge all those years ago?

## Episode Summary

Maxwell Smythe invited thirteen esteemed guests for a night of celebration in Willow Ridge. They were to party like it was 1937, taking on roles and attire fitting for the era. For a few days before their arrival, the guests greeted each other and mingled on a cross-country train to Oregon: notably, Joanna Garcia had an altercation with Dexter Milner, and Jasmine Winters led a drinking game with Joanna, Scarlett Wilde, Nathan Pierce, Davian Rhoades, and Endou Chiaki.

It was roughly 6PM when the train carrying the guests pulled into a sleepy station on the outskirts of Willow Ridge. After disembarking the train, a new guest, Nastasia Delacroix, who had been hiding on the train, reunited with her ex, Nathan. Meanwhile, other guests questioned where Maxwell was; he soon appeared by a nearby tree, greeting them all individually, including his cousin Ross Smythe. As Joanna and Nathan had secretly conspired to sneak away, Joanna asked for a map of the town which Maxwell provided; the map was mostly faded sans a location called the Stone Circle, which piqued their interest. Maxwell then led the guests to eat.

They arrived at *The Last Sawmill*, a seemingly rundown sawmill being converted into a diner: windows were being installed and chairs were lined randomly around a large, centrepiece saw. Maxwell implored the guests to sit down and eat the food he had prepared, a tray of burgers (which Naomi Hollister refused), while he discussed the town: he explained to the guests that Willow Ridge was a town built on the lumber industry, but when everyone started leaving, it soon fell into disrepair and the sawmill was soon forced to close in 1937, being the last building to do so. After that, Willow Ridge was officially dead. Despite Jasmine pressing for an answer on why the town was abandoned, Maxwell refused to say, instead declaring that he was on a mission to rebuild Willow Ridge from the ground up, staring with the sawmill. While this was happening, Joanna and Nathan decided to sneak away.

Joanna and Nathan started their trek to the stone circle, but when they edged closer, they spotted a group of three hooded figures walking in rotation, chanting a spell in an unknown language. Despite Joanna's pleas, Nathan wanted to get a closer look and stood behind one of the stone obelisks. The three hooded figures' spell generated a green mist which grew in intensity, before spilling over the lake and the town (even to the sawmill, where the other guests noticed it). As the mist spread over the lake, pale, corrupted figures climbed out from the water's reflection. The duo went to flee when the hooded ones vanished, but were soon encircled by the pale ones, known as the Others. They were knocked out.

Back at the sawmill, the guests became increasingly concerned by the green mist piling into the sawmill, as Maxwell claimed it may have been faulty gas work. Soon, the mist pooled in one area and a word was carved into the ground: CROATOAN. As Ross declared he recognized the word from his research on Roanoke, Davian's attention was called to the window. There, in the reflection, he saw himself; however, he was pale and corrupted. The Others' resembled the guests. The creature jumped out from the glass and tried to drag Davian into it, leading to the guests to combat the creature. Jasmine shouted that they needed to smash the reflections, while Xalvadora Marchesi threw a chair in Davian's direction. It smashed the window, causing the creature to disappear and release Davian. The guests worked together to smash the remaining windows; however, they missed one reflection. In his panic, Maxwell stepped closer and closer to the saw and was soon dragged through it by his Other.

As more of the Others started to appear through the saw's reflection, the guests were corned - until a crossbow-wielding woman fought them back. She revealed she was Lynne, a member of a society known as MAGE (Magis Against Great Evil), and that her organization had detected anomalies in the nearby area. They didn't suspect anything would happen, hence why they sent a rookie and didn't prevent the party. The guests interrogated her about her motives, but they were left with no choice: trust her or be stranded in Willow Ridge, now trapped in 1937. They decided to trust her. Lynne told them to split up: one group would secure Lily's Tower (the clock tower) which they could use as a base for the night, while the other would recover her left behind items. Meanwhile, she'd find Joanna and Nathan and bring them back to the group.

Xalvadora led her group to the clock tower where they soon worked out that they needed the moonlight to shine on the moondial to open the tower doors; however, the clock hands were blocking the moonlight and the mechanism was missing cogs. The four set to work on recovering the cogs: Jasmine found one amongst a box of scrap metal, Davian found one in a barrel of oil (ruining his outfit in the process), Naomi found another up high, while Xalvadora found two, one in a crate of faeces. The group then brought the cogs together, so Jasmine fit them into the machine and restored the clock tower. Moonlight then shone on the dial, opening the doors.

Elsewhere, Nastasia's group headed to Hope Row, an illustrious street in Willow Ridge, to recover Lynne's lost items. Ross found a cryptex, while Buck Channing found Lynne's trunk and realized the six circular holes on top matched candles. Endou found three, Buck found two, while Nastasia found one. Each came engraved with a letter which Ross realized spelled out flames. They opened the cryptex, recovering a strange lighter which Buck used to light the candles. Lynne's trunk opened, revealing an empty scroll, a magical compass, and two daggers.

Meanwhile, Joanna and Nathan awoke tied to trees, while the Others prepared for something. A rock Nathan had used to defend himself earlier was suspended on a higher-up branch, meaning they could knock it down to free themselves from the ropes. They slammed against the tree and eventually, the sharp rock fell. Joanna was able to reach it and used it to cut her bonds. She then freed Nathan, who spotted a locket of a family - two parents, two kids, and a baby - in the dirt. Before they could escape, they were seen by the Others, but luckily were able to escape thanks to their physical skills. Lynne then met up with them and revealed who she was, and the trio returned to the clock tower.

Now all the guests were united at Lily's Tower, Joanna and Xalvadora each took one of the daggers, while Lynne took the lighter from Buck to reveal a hidden message from MAGE on the empty scroll. The message declared that a spell had been cast over Willow Ridge, trapping them in 1937. It had been cast before, in Roanoke, at Amelia Earhart's plane, and once in a Greek town. The Greeks prayed for help and Soteria, Goddess of Protection and Salvation, crafted nine magical stones they could use to banish the monsters. The people were picked off one by one until only a single child remained. He used the stones to banish the Others and survived. The guests soon realized what they must do: recover the nine magical stones from their guardians to escape the night. It wouldn't be easy and not all would make it, but they couldn't give up. Just then, Buck noticed the compass magically spinning. The needle pointed north, directly to the woods. The guests then prepared themselves to head into the woods to recover the first stone.

## Characters

* Buck Channing - The Storyteller
* Davian Rhoades - The Courtesan
* Dexter Milner - The Cultist
* Endou Chiaki - The Rock Star
* Jasmine Winters - The Burlesque Dancer
* Joanna Garcia - The Serenader
* Nastasia Delacroix - The Lunatic
* Nathan Pierce - The Troublemaker
* Naomi Hollister - The Opera Singer
* Reggie Stevens - The Jazzman
* Ross Smythe - The Historian
* Scarlett Wilde - The Supernatural Hunter
* Xalvadora Marchesi - The Enforcer
* Lynne
* Maxwell Smythe