The Bough and the Gold

You fled into the Black Forest in 1812, seeking a way to pay off your debts, and found a realm of shifting roots and whispered bargains instead. When you finally cut your way back out to your family cottage, gold coins heavy in your coat pocket, the forest lets you go—but two hundred years have passed in what felt like three days. Your timber cottage is now a fenced modern estate, and the people bearing your bloodline do not see you as a long-lost ancestor. They see a trespasser who stole from the old gods, bringing a dark pact down upon their family name, and they have spent generations preparing for your return. To survive in this strange new world, you must navigate a land that replaced magic with asphalt while fleeing kin who wield both modern rifles and ancient folklore wards. Will you spend the goblin gold to buy your place in this unthinkable century, or return it to the woods before the pact destroys everyone you left behind?