The nearby hamlet of Woodlot is suffering some hard times lately. There have been numerous mechanical failures plaguing the lumber yard, which is the major source of their revenue. Because of this, shipments of local wood are delayed, and Noctowne may be required to import wood from further resources.
The hamlet first started producing wood during the early 1920s, after the abandoned mining rigs had been rediscovered. The area had been abandoned for nearly 70 years, causing a lot of tree growth or return. Despite them being outside of Noctowne's magnetic anomalies, the hamlet has a long history of mechanical failures.
Father Milton, the priest of the sole church in the hamlet, has dispelled any notion of supernatural involvement. He was only available for comment via telephone. "This land has a long history of strange magics, but there has been no such activity here for many years. I've done studies on the weathering of the church, and noticed that there seems to be very prosporous moss and molds that grow in this area. It is likely that this is all just because of the atmosphere."
Indeed, local botanists and meteorologists have agreed with the assessment. "If you look at the region... you see a lot of rainfall getting trapped in Woodlot's valleys. Storms funnel their way through us to them, or tail-ends come up from south-east." The unusual moss has been noted before, as one local botanist published a paper about the strangely fervent growths. When contacted, he stated that "mosses often grow on old stone churches, but I've never seen it so rampant."
The head engineer of the lumber mill, Lionel Kim, stated that the damages still confound him. "It's not sabotage, that's true. However, there's definitely something unusual going on here. I tell you, we're using high-grade steel, and yet we're still seeing rust and grime damaging components in ways that I've never experienced before."
Despite his worries, Mr Kim seems confident that they'll be up and running by the end of the week. "Orders will be about 6 to 8 days behind, it looks like, but after that we should be back to normal. Never fear citizens, there will be enough toothpicks for everyone."
