Clarence DeLand and the Shadow Man(title pending)

Ch. 1

We start this tale with a view overlooking a small suburban town from the upstairs window of a large townhouse. It was charming looking, having received a fresh coat of paint after the local teens decided to go ham and chuck all manner of things at it.

Clarence DeLand was known to the neighborhood as the local hermit. He'd stay in his home day in and day out, curtains drawn except on nights where the skies were clear and the moon was full. He would venture out to do some yard work, always wearing clothing that covered every inch of his body from head to toe. It was hell for him during the summer months. How he hasn't died of heat stroke was a wonder.

He lived alone in that townhouse. Just himself. No other families inhabited the other floors or sections.

And there was a good reason for that. There were rumours surrounding the place and its one tenant.

Half the town seemed to think that little unassuming Clarence practiced witchcraft. Or that he had grotesque features that made him appear more beast than man. There was some gossip about him being a vampire as well, but that rumor was short-lived.

No one had actually ever seen Clarence's face, except for a few glimpses here and there; so he was free game for the rumor mill and a popular topic at the dining table.

Everyone had their own thoughts and ideas about Clarence, but most had to agree that the townhouse the solitary man lived in was haunted. It's been there for centuries and hadn't aged a day, surviving countless natural disasters. And it was on a steep hill.

And every house on a hill was bound to have some supernatural ties to it. It was just a fact.

There was also the matter of strange sightings of a hooded man in the windows or on the roof. They knew it wasn't Clarence as one of the sightings occurred when the young man was seen taking out the trash, well away from the house and covered head-to-toe. Of course it could just be lies.

The owner of the townhouse was a real mystery as well. If one were to look them up or attempted to call or contact them in any way they'd get no response.

No one knew a thing about them. Were they man, woman, three small children in a trenchcoat, a sentient toadstool, a talking dog? They didn't have an answer.

So yes, it was safe to say that that townhouse and everyone involved with it was an absolute mystery.

Now the town itself? Completely normal in every way, shape, and form. There was nothing off about it. Unless, of course, you knew better.

This small town of Herig's Landing was odd to say the least. Especially if you tried to find out anything about how the town came to be. How it was founded, who founded it, why the weird name that sounded like a tired author was just making shit up as they went along. Stuff like that.

There was nothing about it in any records, or on the internet.

Herig's Landing just simply was. It was as if it appeared out of thin air. And for all the unsuspecting inhabitants it had. But for those who knew better? Well, they knew there was a reason it was called Herig's Landing.

The oldest building in the town was the townhouse. But the oldest structure was the fountain right smack in the center of the town. It has changed over the years, and now it sported just the cutest little light show for anyone walking by at night.

The mayor(a Mrs. Kathryn Olivia Instine)was a bright old lady in a wheel chair who always smelt of fish and had damp sleeves for whatever reason-perhaps her hobby. She was a cheery fellow, pushing a grand ninety-nine years old. Her children and grandchildren and so on and so forth all lived in town, her grandson(Roddy) was always helping her tend to her massive koi pond.

And it was truly massive. If one wanted they could go swimming in it.

The mayor would take visits to the townhouse with her grandson, these two seemed to be the only ones willing to visit Clarence. Unless the frequent deliveries made by the restaurant counted. They might as well, seeing as it was the same young lad who made the deliveries every time.

Yes, Graham Li'zonni frequented the townhouse so often that he actually got worried if there wasn't at least one delivery scheduled for the week.

His family had been living there for ages, and their food was amazing. Especially the molten lava cakes. Oh those were heavenly. Clarence loved them.

He sure did order a lot of food for a small guy.

Herig's Landing was definitely a charming place to be. Most of the people were nice and it was very... diverse. In many more ways than the average person could imagine.