"There is a conspiracy here and I will seek it out!" Baltus Van Tassel shouted as his horse dove safely through the coverage bridge and turned up the main road leading to the village.

As his horse charged faster and faster, Baltus turned slightly and confirmed that all was well, for the moment. Sighing, his body relaxed as he saw that he was alone. Raising his hand, he wiped his sweaty brow. For the third time this month, he had been chased by an unnatural terror, suddenly petrifying the small, quiet hamlet of Sleepy Hollow: A Headless Horseman.

Naturally rumors were abound when the Headless Horseman suddenly arrived. Was he a Hessian soldier who fought and died in the American Revolution? Was he a disgruntled farmer who recently lost his lands? Was it a bunch of rowdy children who conjured a fantastical prank?

No one knew for certain.

Baltus, himself, had been initially chased by the vile creature while inspecting the mud slides on the south end of his property. Not farmable land, Baltus had bought the rocky and ridge-filled land as a horse riding area for his first wife, Hattie Van Tassle. To this day Baltus thanks his now deceased wife for teaching him all the ways to ride out of the area, as this knowledge was the only reason he was able to escape the Headless Horseman the first time.

And while Baltus may have been his first victim, he was not the last of the Headless Horseman's victims. Traveling merchants, local farmers and businessmen, along with the town drunk have reported being chased by the same Headless Horseman, on the roads of the south end of town. And as with Baltus tonight, the Headless Horseman only chases his victim to the first covered bridge that leads to Sleepy Hollow, never crossing it.

This tidbit helped spur the rumors further. Was the ground on the other side sacred and hence the Horseman can not ride on it? Or perhaps it was the river its self? Perhaps the evil Headless Horseman can not cross pure water. Mayhap the it was the silver sign that hung on the covered bridge, welcoming people to Sleepy Hollow. Perhaps he can not pass under silver? No one knew for certain.

But now armed with the hanging sensation that he was Headless Horseman's true intent, Baltus was resolved to contact the Governor of New York state. Having met him and contributing substantially to his campaign, Baltus was certain that the Governor will hear him out and send someone willing to solve this horrible plague and remedy it immediately as the local constable seemed more interested in catching the heart of a widow of near-by town than catching this fiend.

True to his word, Baltus posted his letter. It was the last time anyone saw him alive. It was on his way home from the Post Master's office that poor Baltus was found dead, lying on the ground, clutching his chest, just past the covered bridge on the south end of town, surrounded by large horse prints circling him.

After receiving Van Tassle's letter and hearing of his untimely and horrifying death, the Governor assigns you, Ichabod Crane, and your assistant, Young Master Detective in training to hurry to Sleepy Hollow and bring this villain to justice!

But the question is, do you have the courage?

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