We have a left Europe behind. Yesterday we arrived in Australia, the outback, home to
Aboriginal Australians. Their culture is one of the longest surviving in all of history.
And, more importantly for my purposes, one of the most accurate understandings of the
paranormal world. Let me explain some of their beliefs. The Dream Time or The Dreaming. This
is the core of Aboriginal culture. It is their way of understanding their place in the universe.
Now, The Dreaming is a European term. Other words could have been used such as eternal
or everyone. The Rural Piri people use the word Jirkarpa to describe it. I will be using
the term The Dreaming. A simple term for an eternally complex system. Now, it is important
to note that The Dreaming does not relate to actual dreaming. It simply draws on the
idea of a reality beyond our own. One we can only catch glimpses of as we live. Only when
one passes on can they truly enter an eternal dream. A world unexplored by any living soul.
After a 24 hour flight, we landed in Melbourne. I have come to really like this city. It is
very green. The buildings are vast and numerous, yet it does not choke out the sky. Truly one
of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I wish Filibert could have seen this, but
he is at rest, which is good for him. Besides, having a friend on a mission like this could
slow me down. It is for the best. Supplementary Log 6. The Broach. The third Saint's Broach.
I know what it is. Or at least I think I do. It is so simple, it was right in front of
me. I can feel the energy radiating from it. Even now as we head towards the Bone Church,
the speaker has it with him. Inside his pocket along with the recorder and well, me I guess.
I feel like a Tamagotchi. Anyway, the Broach. It is a cursed object. Let me explain. When
someone dies, they have a chance of becoming one of four types of ghosts as outlined by
the speaker. Most pass on. Those who aren't ready become phantoms. Those with unfinished
business become spirits. Most haunts are people that died violently and well, I don't know
what makes an anomaly, sorry. Cursed objects are tied to spirits. The soul with unfinished
business becomes attached to something on the material plane. Most times it is their
own body, but other times it is an object of significance to that unfinished business.
A lot of these objects can have special properties, aside from having some spirit tied to them.
The special properties of the Broach? No clue. I'll try and find out more. End of supplementary
log six.
Stupid thing. Oh, there we go. Okay. The recorder shut off there. I'll have to repeat what I
was saying. Alright. I was talking about the next steps. I have the Broach and it's infused
with Filibert's energy. That doesn't do much other than make it easier to work with. What
I need now is to get some water. Simple, right? Right. I need to find the Ginolan Caves. There
are other caves I could visit, other places I could use, but these are some of the nearest
and some of the oldest. Now, the dreaming is not confined to a simple singular point
of being. Rather, it is a way of seeing the universe as it is. A holistic, all-encompassing
point of view that ties together the past, present, and future into one continuous existence.
Rather than living within this universe, we are the living universe. A part of it. And
we always will be. Rather beautiful, isn't it? A good way of thinking when living as
a part of a universe with so many unseen corners, creatures, and beings.
It's November 3rd, a Sunday. Since both today and tomorrow are free days, I can make a trip
to the caves and be back before our new tour director notices I'm gone. Oh, that's another
thing. The old tour director stayed behind in Europe. We have a new one for Australia
and we'll get one more for Thailand. Hopefully they're both a bit less strict with the buddy
system. The people here are not exactly equipped to handle the paranormal. Well, I have a long
trip ahead of me. I'll record if something interesting happens, but that's unlikely.
And nine hours and three different hitchhikes later, I was right. Very dull. The people
were nice enough. Actually, very friendly. Which is... I don't know why I'm bringing
that up. That's not relevant. The sun is setting, which is better. The Janolan Caves are closed
due to flooding this past April, but I can't take any chances. There could be park rangers
or restoration crews. Night is my best option. I have a bigger problem now. There wasn't
anyone outside. Or I should say, there wasn't anyone left. I found bodies. Fresh bodies.
Three of them. I think. Hard to tell the way they were everywhere. I only stuck around
a little bit before heading deeper into the caves. It looked like an animal attack. That's
what I hope it was. From the two large puncture wounds I saw on one of the torsos, I can safely
say it was a physical creature, which leaves out most spirits, phantoms, or anomalies.
It's probably a terrible animal attack. Maybe one of the crew left food out and something
caught the scent. We are in Australia, after all. Who knows what could have wandered up
here? I don't want to be found anywhere near this mess by morning, so I should hurry. Maybe
I should have brought someone. At least I have an extra pair of eyes. No, no, no. This
would have been too much. It's better this way. The old tales of the Denolan Caves are
that the river sticks, from Greek mythology, flowed directly from the underworld to this
very cave. One of the underground pools here is named the Pool of Cerberus. Even to this
day... Oh, I know what's out there. That is the deep, booming cry of a bunyip. It's caught
my scent. That sound is a territorial claim. It's telling any other creature out there
to back off. It sounds far enough away. I can finish this before it catches up. In the
meantime, I can explain a bit about bunyips. In the world of the paranormal, there are
physical creatures. These include chupacabra, skinwalkers, wendigo, vampires, stuff like
that. Sometimes their origins are traceable and identifiable, like vampires and wendigo.
Sometimes no one knows the origin. Such is true here. Bunyips are native to Australia.
They come from Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, specifically that of the Wemba Wemba people.
One notable account comes from William Buckley, who escaped from a penal colony in Melbourne
and lived with the native people. He described the creature as amphibious. He claimed to
have witnessed it eating a woman from his adopted village. The bunyip is said to be
nocturnal, only come out at night to devour what is closest to its home. Its home, which
is usually rivers, lakes, and marshes. That makes sense here. There's a lake right outside
these caves. Who knows how long it's been here, stealing people away. As for its physical
form, some tales describe it like a giant seal with large tusks, while others describe
a large swimming tiger with the shell of a starfish. While its physical form is ambiguous,
there are three traits that stay consistent throughout time. Firstly, the call of the
bunyip is a deep reverberating roar, like that of some mix between a crocodile and an
owl. Secondly, the smell. It is said to smell like old mud and rotting corpses, a telltale
sign that the creature is nearby. And thirdly, the fear. In all time, all stories, all cultures,
fear is constant. This creature is one of the most feared in all of Aboriginal tales.
And on that note, I've found the Pool of Cerberus, thankfully. Alright, this ritual will not
take long. I'm setting the recorder down by the edge of the pool. It may be enchanted
with filibrate's residual energy, but it is still only water resistant. Okay. Okay. Some
might say I'm lucky, the way this ritual turned out. That would be incorrect. Luck is a construct
for those who cannot plan. I can. It had to be here. It had to be now. The moon, even
though I cannot see it from this deep underground, is a waning gibbous. In Wiccan practices,
this phase of the moon is best when casting spells of reversing magic. That is my goal
tonight. And this broach is my key. Okay, alright, I can do this. I just have to tread
water for a little. It's dark. I brought a small lantern, but it's near the recorder.
I don't like this feeling, treading water. I can't touch anything below me, but I feel
that something might be down there. It's an ancient type of fear, the darkness of the
water. I can barely see movement below the surface. It might be reflections. It might
not be. I'm just on edge from the nearby, and it's freezing. I need to finish this
and get out. Hear me, the forgotten spirit of the third patron saint. I call you forth
to this pool of the dead. I call you forth from this prison and cast you out. Leave your
past behind. I accept the burden unto my mind, by my will and by my right. So moat it be
tonight. Heedless your free will, and at harm none, do what you will. There. Done. It worked.
I should have brought a change of clothes. There's... Oh. Oh no. It's here. The bunyap
is in the pool with me. I can smell the horrid stench of mud and decay. It won't know I'm
here. It can't. The ritual worked. I am no longer perceptible to the world. This creature
is dangerous. It needs to be stopped. Supplementary log nine. I think I know what the speaker
did to the vampire last night. Whatever connection he has with the paranormal world, it's a strong
one. I think he can manipulate aspects of it, or at the very least knows enough about
it all to find different rituals or spells that can do that. I think the broach is a
source of some of that power. Since the soul trapped within was... forgotten, I think that
the speaker can cast out that essence or something. It would take a lot of effort, but in theory
he could forcefully remove something from the material world, make physics forget about
that thing. I think that's what he did to the vampire. End of supplementary log number
nine. Okay. I did it. The ritual's done. The bunyap is not a problem anymore. And I just
have to... get back home. Or... you know, to the hotel. If I can catch a ride soon, I
should be able to make it back by afternoon tomorrow. And hopefully no one has noticed
my absence. They won't have. Especially not now. And finally, finally, I'm close to finishing
this. Oh, oh, there's a car coming.