Hey everyone. So, this isn't actually a tale so much as it is an update of sorts. First off, the strange silent man has still been around. I've been seeing more and more of him lately. It makes me happy to know that he lives here. At least, I assume he lives here. Truth be told, I don't actually know a lot about him. Maybe he doesn't even live here? If that's the case though, then why is he here? Whatever the reason, and whoever he is, I like him.

But that's not the point of this update. Just this morning, as I did my routine check on my messages on my laptop, I noticed a new DM (direct message) on Discord. Oh and just by the way, I won't be going into my usual storyteller-style narration for this, as I don't feel that it's technically a "tale" per se. It's more of a status update. I might still call it a tale though, as it is important. And it may prove to be of tremendous use.

I had my Discord username in my bio on Wattpad for a short time, so it was no surprise to me that someone I didn't know dropped me a message. The username of the person was MidnaMelinda12#3732. I couldn't help but smile as I noticed her (I assume that it was a "her" because of the username) profile picture, which was a picture of Midna from Legend of Zelda. If you don't know who that is, then you really need to play more Nintendo.

It read as follows:
Hey there.

You don't know me, but I used to live in your neighborhood. If you don't believe me, fine. But please read this and give it your consideration. My name, for privacy reasons, is going to remain confidential at this time. I noticed that you've been writing on Wattpad recently about your experiences in the neighborhood, and recently expressed interest in learning more. Well, first off, I hope you weren't stupid enough to try and engage the "Strangers" (as you call them) again. But if you're really dead set on learning more, I can help you out. Just... if you try anything, don't blame me if it ends poorly.

When I lived in the neighborhood, there were a couple of games that I was told about by an eccentric senior neighbor. I never much liked his company, as he was always rambling about the "days of old" or whatever, but he had some interesting insight about the neighborhood, so I stuck around. His name will also be private at this time.

Both of the "games" he taught me I tested myself, so I can promise you that they're legit. They can also psychologically scar you, but the point is that they work. The first game is called "The Voices." Remember the neighborhood rule that tells you not to go looking for voices if you can't see who's talking? Well this pertains to that.

As you probably know, there are certain specific spots where you can sometimes hear whispering. There are various points like that around the neighborhood where you can hear it, and different points have it at different times. Well, at any time, you can go to one of these spots to begin the ritual. You need to be able to clearly hear the voices though, so make sure you go when it's quiet. Late at night is probably the best bet. If you're the type to take walks often, then you've probably found one or two of these spots at least.

Once you've found your spot, stand there and wait until you hear the whispers. Sometimes they start immediately, and sometimes they take a little time. As long as you're on the right spot though, they'll start up sooner or later. If you've listened to them before, then you'll know that they start off as murmurs. You can't quite tell what they're saying at first. But if you stop and listen closely, you'll hear them beckoning you to follow them. To come find them.

The voices belong to real creatures, and you MUST NOT follow them. Like the "Strangers," they try to lure you out and into their traps. No matter what they say to tell you to come, you must not obey. If you go at night, you might even see a small shape shifting somewhere in the dark. Once more, do not obey them. Just stand there and listen to the voices.

Listen very closely. They will try to say things to get you to come. Offer you things. Offer to tell you things. They may threaten to kill or torture you. If they do, then understand that they can't actually do anything to you. Not unless you follow them like they ask. Sooner or later, they WILL start to become malicious, promising you and your harm if you do not obey. This can take time, however, as they are normally patient creatures. By the time the threats begin, however, their patience is at its end.

You must tell them very firmly that you are not scared of them. They will scoff at you. They will laugh. They will tell you that you ought to be afraid. Tell them again. As many times as it takes. Once they realize that you truly do not fear them, they will ask you why you came in the first place. Be honest. Tell them what it is you desire, and be specific about it. As specific as possible, so that there are no misunderstandings. They can be prone to misunderstanding your words.

This is where the game can go two different ways. If it's something mental that you desire (typically information), then they will begin to ask you about it. They'll ask to play a game with you. See, they're extremely curious creatures, and will try to pry the information from you. The optimal situation would be to tell them what it is you want to know in exchange for the answer, but it's not so simple. They want to know, but they don't want to give up info. So you'll have to wager. I think there are probably multiple ways to do it, but I'll tell you what I was told and what I did.

After telling them that you want information, you can either propose a trade or gamble. If you propose a trade, then you will have to offer up important information to give to them in return for what they give you. Think carefully, as you are not merely telling them, you are GIVING them what you know, meaning that upon giving it to them, you will forget it yourself.

If you choose to gamble, on the other hand, they will put their information on the line, as will you. However, you are required to gamble something VERY important to you, otherwise they will refuse to play. If you lose the game, then your precious memory/information is gone forever. If you win, then you get what you want without paying the price.

Here's how the game is played. Or at least, how it was played when I did it. Once you have made your wager, they will make two statements. One will be true, and the other will be false. You must guess which statement is a lie. Once you have made your guess, it becomes their turn to guess, and you give two statements. Again, one is true and one is not. Don't worry. They know a lot, but they don't know everything. This is important to note. But you still want to make your statements both as obscure and ridiculous as possible just to be safe. They don't know everything, but they're good at guessing. They don't follow any guidelines for these statements, but because it's picking between two options, your odds are 50-50.

The game will continue in pairs, them asking and then you. It ends when one side answers incorrectly and the other answers correctly. I already told you the stakes of the game. And don't worry, while they don't like to lose, they take it gracefully enough. However, they WILL try to get you to play more. You can, but if you have all the answers that you want, I advise that you refuse. You might have to refuse multiple times. Eventually, they will quiet down and you can be on your merry way.

The other option is a bit more... dark. For lack of a better word. It's hard to sum it up, frankly. Hard to sum it up without scaring you off. First off, as with the methods for getting info, you can trade or wager. Just bear in mind that if you trade, there is no haggling. They give their price, and you decide whether or not you accept. You either accept or you don't. There is no haggling whatsoever. They always ask for something important to you; something equally as important as the item you're trying to obtain, if not more important to you. Whether you accept or not is up to you. But I advise it over the alternative. And in curiosity, I was once foolish enough to accept the alternative.

When you accept the alternative, and choose to wager, you do not pick what it is you wager. You wager your body, and one precious item. They choose which item they take. But if you lose, it's not like you'll care much about that anyways.

After you propose the wager, they will begin to snicker with glee. This is their favorite thing to do. Everything around you will seem to darken into blackness. Through the blackness, you will see little pairs of eyes. Don't worry. They won't harm you. They're just there to watch the show. The darkness will conceal you from anyone that happens to walk down the road as you play this game. They've basically taken you into they're lair.

From the darkness, they will present a human. Either man or woman, but always teenager to adult. They don't deal with children below fourteen. They refuse to. The human will be completely naked. And for the game, you will be stripped naked as well. I'll get to why momentarily.

The human will stand not far off and will face you. You will be told to strip. Obey. You will then both be presented with a knife, the blade about six inches long. It's sharp, but not TOO sharp. They will test your dedication. They will see how badly you want your prize. You will both be commanded to take your knives and will be given certain instructions. You will inflict harm upon yourself. They will do likewise. They may say to cut off a finger. Multiple fingers. Toes. A hand. Stab your leg. Your stomach. As the commands progress, they will become more and more brutal. More and more excruciating. Stab your leg and twist. Cut your tongue, but only halfway. Gouge out your eye.

To win, your opponent must forfeit. It's as simple as that. Merely a test to see who wants it more. If you win, you are freed, and you are given your item of choice. Meanwhile, your opponent stays with the creatures. If you lose, however, your opponent is freed and you are taken in their place. They will also choose an item to take from you for their hoard. You will have to wait until someone else comes along to play in order to have a chance at freedom.

It is important to know that in playing the game, you do not actually harm yourself. You will see yourself bleed, and you will feel every bit of pain. However, when the game finishes, you will find that you are intact, with not a mark on your body, win or lose. You cannot die during the game, no matter how much blood you lose. Knowing that won't make it any easier though, for when you play the game, it looks and feels so real that it might as well BE real to you. I don't know what the creatures will do to you if you lose, only that you won't be free until someone else loses.

I feel that I should give you a couple warnings before I end this first set of instructions. First off, when you make a trade or win in a game, the condition or quality of your desired item is never a guarantee. They will give you what they took from someone else. This means that if you aren't specific enough about the condition you want it in, then you might get something entirely nonfunctional. If they do not have exactly what you want, then don't press the matter, and don't ask for something else. Just refuse to play again, bid them farewell, and go home. Soon enough, you will come across your item of choice in a natural manner.

It's the same with information. The completeness and helpfulness depends on how specific you are. It might be in the form of a riddle. It might leave out something crucial. It might even be in another language. And if they don't know the answer, then you will come across your information in a natural manner, as with physical items. But do bear in mind that they cannot predict the future. Nor can they tell you anything that might greatly change the course of this world. The cure for cancer, how to build a bomb strong enough to destroy the world--things like that are off the table completely. Know that before you go in, because if you try to ask for something and you win, it will have all been for nothing.

They're not omnipotent, nor are they omniscient. They can't make your life perfect, or make the world perfect, but they could certainly give you a push in the right direction if you're lucky.

During the game, you must never speak out of turn, or outside of what I have described. You must not lie to them. You must not cheat when you play with them. You must not try to con them. There are consequences for such actions. Just suck it up and obey the rules. It's better that way. If you break the rules while playing for information, then they will begin to talk. They will tell you things you didn't want to know. Things about yourself, and those around you. And they will not stop until you flee, clutching your ears and praying that what they said to you were lies. But they weren't.

If you break a rule while playing for a physical object, then just understand that while you do not actually harm yourself while playing, THEY can inflict very real harm upon you. Enough to make you wish you'd never played in the first place.

With that, I think I'm ready to end this tutorial. I'm not telling you this so you can go and do it and write about your experience in one of those tales. I'm telling you this so that you know what to do if your curiosity turns to desperation. Only do what I just described if you have no other options. If you have ANY other option, you should take that first.

Then there's the other ritual. This one, like the previous, cannot inflict physical pain upon you if you do it right. But psychological trauma is completely on the table. And if you think that the things that you've witnessed in the neighborhood so far will make you prepared, then you are very sorely mistaken.

I'm going to stop there. I wanted to detail the first ritual to you all, as I thought it might be content you'd be interested to see. However, I plan to perform the other ritual myself, so when I complete it, I'll tell you all about it then. I still need to think about it a little, though. Despite what she said, it doesn't sound like it can truly be all that horrible. No physical harm can come to me. And while I understand that some might be psychologically scarred, I'm not the type to be easily frightened by something that cannot hurt me.

When I went to type my message of thanks to MidnaMelinda in return, I found that she had blocked me. I couldn't find anyone on Wattpad with that username either. No way to track her to ask her more. I think she intended for that to happen, and I don't blame her. I wouldn't want some crazy kid asking me a million questions either.

I've also finally decided that I'm going to label this as a tale. I do suppose that some might find the ritual described to be interesting or frightening. That IS part of why I put it there. While this was meant more to inform and update, I suppose you could find some pleasure in reading it as well. I hope you enjoyed it.

Alright. I've spent some time thinking about what I want to do.

After some time weighing my options, I finally came to a decision.

Tonight, I'm going to try the second ritual. I'll be sure to keep you posted.