Fasten (WW)

Fasten is a parallel incarnation of the town of Fasten for the Whispering World

Background
Unlike many small villages, Fasten still hasn't been burned out, but nor is it wholly abandoned by whispers. Regardless, it's now devoid of the 500 or so people that once lived there working as craftspeople, merchants, and even farmers. But it seems clear that someone must still reside here, because a large section of the town is barricaded behind an eclectic mix of stone, mounted spikes, stung-up wire, and not to mention the pitfalls, collapsing walls, and other traps set about its perimeter. At any given time, one or two traps hold whispers that have wandered in and who lack the sophistication to get free. If the changed were ever to mass at Fasten's edges, no doubt the settlement would be overrun through sheer numbers alone. Luckily, however, the place hasn't drawn much attention due to he lack of noise and movement within the village.

Visitors to Fasten who are able to make it past the barriers and traps - which excludes most whispers - will eventually encounter the sole survivor of the town: a man named Fletcher Elis. Once upon a time, this diminutive man with an exaggerated limp ran the settlement's general store. He was full of stories and loved giving his customers an earful That changed, unfortunately, when everyone around him fell victim to the whisper plague. As the sole survivor, Fletcher has assumed a different role for himself, or more accurately, has forced it upon himself through his growing insanity. The ex-shopkeeper will collect whisper caught within his traps. He'll then kill or disable them, and finally burn the bodies he's collected in large piles at the center of the town circle every few weeks or so. He doesn't understand why, but he seems immune to the trigger phrase.

Unfortunately, Fletcher has lost the capacity to tell the difference between a regular person and a whisper. Even if persuaded that a person isn't changed, Fletcher knows that it's just a matter of time before they become another one of those beings. Thus, he'll interact with visitors from the roof of the Village Hall. He'll yell at them to leave, and would be happy to demonstrate his artifact by disintegrating a nearby object. Someone with uncommon persuasion abilities might be able to get Fletcher to assist them, in the form of supplies gathered from his store and from nearby villages, but that help is grudging, and soon Fletcher will ask that the visitors leave so he can get back to his work.