a man in a top hat walks down a foggy street.

No one thought much about it when the fog had first rolled in. It was thick, almost putrid, and it seemed to choke the air from your lungs if you stood in it for too long. The streets of New London had seen their fair share of oddities, but never something quite like this. It made people talk in hushed whispers, speculating wildly about the origins of this unprecedented phenomenon.Too wrapped up in their own theories, it took them some time to notice the stranger. Like an itch in the back of their minds, his presence remained, until they could no longer ignore the man who stood in the pulsating center of it all, his black duster and low-brimmed hat casting shadows over his face as the streetlights fought to illuminate the murky haze around him.As is their nature, the curious ventured forth. Tanner, a skinny youth who had always thought of himself as braver than he actually was, approached the man, trying to muster up an air of confidence."What brings you 'round these parts?" he asked, his voice wavering, hand