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Cauldron Falls

T he crest of the most secluded waterfall in the world cascades over a rocky ledge into a round pool below.

It’s crystal blue water bubbles with a white foam where the two bodies of water crash together.

As the plunge pool spreads out into its round bowl-like shape, the water stills and spills towards a series of stair-stepping rocks that go on for a mile, or so, until the creek bed sinks into the earth, and calms the ripples of the falls.

That’s where the town begins; at the quiet crook of the creek.

There the water inches along its banks and follows the goings-on of a place known only to its inhabitants as Cauldron Falls.

To visit Cauldron Falls one just has to find the waterfall, and cauldron-shaped crystal blue pool, then follow the rippling creek southward, traveling between the towering hills that hide it from the rest of the world.

But alas, the waterfall is buried deep in the most treacherous, hard to reach, uninhabitable part of the Appalachian Mountains.

No normal human would dare attempt to find it, if they knew it existed, much less try to live there.

Of course, Cauldron Falls wasn’t settled by humans.

There in this shadowy place carved out by the rushing waters of a waterfall, lives a band of witches and warlocks, descendants of escapees from Transylvania, who ran from the ruling grasp of the wretched Vampires that control all the lands surrounding the Black Sea.

While their liberation was centuries ago, the fear of the pale-skinned, sharp-fanged predator keeps Cauldron Falls residents content to exist in their safe and secret bubble, insulated from the rest of the world.

But as progress will do, Cauldron Falls is not truly and completely cut-off.

The quaint town blossomed into a booming business many, many years ago.

And is now the main manufacturer and supplier of magical goods to the world.

They are the broom makers, crystal miners, herb growers, potions masters, wand turners, and book binders of all things magical, especially witchy things.

Keeping the old traditions alive, every truly magical implement in the world is made in Cauldron Falls in the same manner as they were in the old country.

Being keepers of the craft and all its secrets, is the blessing and curse of the witches and warlocks who live in this town.

Their fate comes with great pressure and power, which each of the residents of Cauldron Falls takes very seriously, and protect with their very lives.

However, like the uncontrollable consequences of a waterfall on the very environment that makes it beautiful, it’s hard to see the erosion happening just under the surface of something so perfect.

While most of the residents of Cauldron Falls will continue forever to go about their business, keeping the crafts and all its glory alive, there is something not so right creeping through the night and into the forest around the falls.

Born from the power, the perfection, the isolation, and the secrets that dwell in every home hidden deep in the mountains, an evil is growing.

Where will it strike? What will it do? Who will it take?

One might never know these answers without making the trek to the most magical, mysterious, and now murderous place on earth. Welcome to Cauldron Falls.