villagelogs | 015-017 » enter the fog!

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015-017 » enter the fog!

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central Mathias.
WHEN: Days 015-017
WHAT: The fog murders a third of the town. This is Fine.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here! Thank you so much to everyone for your patience!!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Kevin Penkin "Core-collapse"

DAY 015
ENTER THE FOG
“If you want to see what the fog hides in itself,
don't wait for the fog to disperse! Enter the fog!”
— Mehmet Murat ildan

In the early hours of the morning, when darkness finally descends upon Mathias once again, so too does the fog. It moves slowly, filling every inch of the forest before spilling into the streets like water, a wave of thick white vapor surrounding every building and structure in the town until it reaches the rocky beach. And at this early hour, before the sun has risen in the sky, the residents of Mathias will learn the true power of the fog that has surrounded their prison.

In every building in town, in every room that has one, the phone rings. The sound is shrill in the quiet of the town, the cacophony of ringing echoing into the night. Again, and again, and again, the ringing is incessant, continuing if unimpeded for minutes that feel like hours.

If the phone is answered:
— There’s a strange clicking sound, like an old tape player that’s reached the end of the reel, click click click, and then a crackling whisper comes through across the line: “Don’t go outside.”

— If your character still chooses to open a door or window, the fog will remain in place, a wall of white just beyond their entry. It will not enter that room and they will feel no ill effects.

— If they choose to ignore all warnings and step into the fog, they will immediately begin to suffer mild side effects from the exposure (headaches, nausea, and weakness) that will be gone in a few hours if they retreat to safety but will increase in strength if they continue forward. More than two minutes in the fog will bring on a sharp pain in their head and nausea that forces them to the ground. They will be unable to breathe and unless they are somehow brought to safety, they will die in three minutes.

If the phone is not answered within a few minutes, there is a knock at the nearest exterior door or window. Polite, at first, and then pounding, a deep sound that echoes through the room, louder and faster, seeming to come from every wall all at once.
— If your character opens that door or window, there’s nothing there except the fog, which immediately begins to seep into the room through the open door. Those who shut the opening again will suffer mild side effects from exposure to the fog (headaches, nausea, and weakness) but will recover in a few hours.
— If they don’t open the door or window, the pounding stops suddenly, complete silence pressing in. And then— every window in the room implodes inward, shattered glass raining down everywhere as the fog rushes in. They are overcome by a sharp pain in their head and nausea that forces them to their knees. Breath is stolen from their lungs, leaving them gasping, and unless they are somehow brought to safety, they will die in three minutes.

The fog withdraws after one hour, just as the sun begins to rise.

Only those who answer the phone are truly safe from the fog. If any player wishes to opt-out of this event, their phone will not ring and they will sleep soundly through the hour. All those who perish in this event will leave behind corpses where they died and they will resurrect in separate bodies on the beach later that day as the sun sets, in the exact state they were in before the fog appeared. There are exceptions to these conditions...

A WAYWARD ARRIVAL
There is one new face in Mathias on this strangest of days. While so many are suffering and struggling to come to grips with the new facets of their strange reality, the latest resident to arrive in town will wake on the beach in the afternoon, when the sun has begun to dip on the horizon but the sky hasn't yet started to change color.

DAY 016
IN MEMORIAM
The sun rises and the sun sets, the day passing like any other. There is nothing eventful worth noting on this completely normal day beyond the return of even more of our weary residents. By sundown, all have returned who fell to the fog — except for those who don't. One has perished for good and the other remains lost.

New notices have been added to the bulletin board, including notes of memorial and missing persons. There are also a few graves that have popped up near the treeline, thanks to those who have taken it upon themselves to take care of the corpses left behind.

DAY 017
DECEPTIVE BEAUTY
Residents wake to a winter wonderland. Under the cover of night, snow has moved into Mathias, dusting the town with a coating of white that gives an almost picturesque quality to the eerie ghost town. It's a beautiful sight, concealing the deadly secrets that they've discovered existing beneath the surface here.

The snow brings with it an extra chill in the air. Breaths come in white puffs of air and frostbite and hypothermia are dangers to be mindful of. Stay inside, stay warm. Repair those broken windows and doors. Hope that another storm isn't on the horizon...

THE FOG'S AFTERMATH
THE PERMANENTLY DEAD
— Jill Valentine's dead body will be found in the street outside the Boarding House. She will not return to Mathias.

THE TEMPORARILY LOST
— Daisy Johnson will be missing from the town following the fog's departure.

THE RESURRECTED ONES
— John Constantine's body will be found inside 1308 Phillips Drive by Doc Holliday, who will bury him. He will resurrect on the beach the afternoon of Day 16. (x)
— Number Five's body will be found between the beach and the Grey Gull by his brother, Klaus. He will resurrect on the beach the morning of Day 16. (x)
— Phil Coulson's body will be found outside the Boarding House by Doc, Raylan, and Malcolm. He will resurrect on the beach the evening of Day 15. (x)
— Claire Novak's body will be found inside her room at the Boarding House. She will resurrect on the beach the evening of Day 15. (x)

LOCATIONS

NO NEW LOCATIONS are available for exploration at this time. Residents are welcome to further explore available locations, including utilizing AP rewards at locations they may have previously explored.

CONDITIONS UPDATES

— WEATHER conditions for days 15-16 are typical for late fall, with temperatures consisting of chilly "sweater weather" days and nights that can dip below freezing — you don't want to be outside without a coat when the sun goes down. The temperature falls overnight into day 17, bringing with it a light snowfall that continues throughout the day.

— FOG continues to block the way of those wishing to travel further than the Town Hall, and all who venture into the forest will be met by its impenetrable wall after a few hundred yards. The fog will allow none to pass; those who try will find themselves overcome by fear and panic so intense, they can physically do nothing but flee back the way they came.

OOC UPDATES

— SANITY levels are now available as part of the game. Your characters have settled in and seen some things, so it's time to figure out just how crazy they're starting to go.

— REPORTING updates to locations around town may now be done over here. Did your character dig a moat around their house? Have they burned down part of the town hall? Are they growing magic carrots on the beach? These are important things to note for the rest of the class, so let us know about them and the updates will be added to the locations page!

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I've breathed in worse.

( He keeps close to Raylan, eye on the prize, needing to numb his mind tonight before he accepts wherever the hell he is tomorrow.

Dean gets a lay of the land, waiting patiently. He also takes the bottle that's offered, nodding in response. )

Not a lot I haven't drank before. It's paint thinner that puts hair on your chest?

Think paint thinner cut with gasoline. Don't get too crazy with it; it can do some damage if your body isn't the type to take the abuse. [Little did he know that Dean's drinking problems were just as bad as his own and Doc's. Still, he cheered Dean with his glass and took a drink, teeth baring as he swallowed.]

We'll be doin' a second batch in a couple'a days that should be able to cure a little instead of bein' so fresh, so there's gonna be a runnin' supply if we got anythin' to say about it.

[And after today, there was no way they WEREN'T going to make more.]

( Dean cheers back, takes the top off and doesn't bother to smell it before taking a gulp. He burns into his cheek, forcing himself to acclimate back to back country moonshine as he forces it down. Is he sweating? Yeah, he's going to be conservative with it. )

Hoo.

( He sucks through his teeth, exhaling again.

As much as he's not "used" to it, he can handle it. Him and his liver. He takes one more gulp and closes it again, letting that one settle, the warmth moving through him, his thoughts slowing to a swim. )

We'll need it.

( He'll need it, but he doesn't spell that out. He won't go a day in this place without two sips, maybe gulps. He'll make it last because he has to. Going from, lightly buzzed most of the time to blasted for a short time and then that buzz tapering off is going to be something, but at least he's avoiding not drinking altogether.

That wouldn't end well. )

The fog took out four people today. People alone in their rooms.

[That kinda tolerance was impressive, no matter who it was. Clearly Dean was Raylan's kind of drinker. They might get on just fine.]

Way this place seems to be runnin'. [The most unfortunate reason to need to drink; to cope with this kind of emotional beating but Raylan's been enduring that kind of emotional beating most of his life. Mathis was just it.. amped up.]

Five. Two were found outside the boarding house. One inside. John was found in here. Kid named 'Five' was found on the beach. I don't know if that's where he landed or.. [If that's where someone had dragged him, possibly. The beach and its waves took care of any evidence.

But Claire seemed to have been the worst of them and Raylan emptied his glass in one go. He was going to have a hard time closing his eyes without seeing her face.

It was probably better that Dean had missed her. Raylan couldn't imagine what seeing her the way Raylan had found her would have done.]

Like I said. Don't trust the weather in this place. And apparently.. answer your damned phone when it rings.

Number Five. Sounds like a science experiment escaped.

( One that's a kid, he'll acknowledge, tilting his head. John was found - in here. Not a reason to take another sip, no. Not with him needing to ration.

He wants to.

Dean closes his eyes and sees horrors behind his eyelids at any time of day. Horror, the people he loved, the people who betrayed him, and, yeah, countless dead bodies. And then mark left behind from his mother being taken from her second chance at life. )

They died because they didn't answer a phone?

Don't say that too loud around them, apparently that ain't far off from the truth.

[It was their story to tell and Raylan only knew the barest of bare details about the parents that raised the Number Kids anyway, but off the cuff comments that hit close to home might not be taken too well, considering what had happened today.]

I don't know. But I know that we did and we didn't end up dead. Everythin' I'm runnin' on is some fucked up, wacko theory anyway, might as well add that into the mix. No tellin' what's important and what's not - not here.

I'll keep it to myself.

( Probably. )

So, it's like some Myst shit. Or, like, Zork. ( That nerd door peeks open as he tries to sort through old memories or sitting at the local library and playing the world mapping puzzle games when he could find the time and when his dad wasn't going looking for him. ) So, this place is more puzzle than not. Who was on the other line, when you picked up? Billy Loomis?

No, it's fog. [Mist, not Myst. Hear that Dean? That's the sound of those references going right over Raylan's head. But the last one..]

Actually... Kinda, yeah. A warning. 'Don't go outside', though I wasn't the one that answered the phone. Felt very Scream-ish. More puzzle than not is right and we ain't gettin' any answers, even going through occult type routes. Which don't do much to argue against cynics like me, but I'll forgive 'em for now.

No - like - these -- choose your path, explore empty island games from, like, the 90's. Puzzles or death.

( Don't make it weird. )

Do you need more dropped bodies or Scream-ish calls? ( Willful ignorance will backfire. And it can kill. ) Stay cynical, but eventually you have to accept, the occult, the fog. ( How did he take Claire's stories? )

[Oh, it's already weird.]

Like the Leather Goddesses of Phobos, sure. [ That was the 80's but it counted, right?]

Neither, if I can help it. And I'm workin' on it but everythin's gettin' taken with a fistful of salt and a sidebar of this shit ain't in my world. Seems rude to tell a person everythin' they experienced is bullshit.

Nah, nah, no porn in these.

( But, there should have been. Not that Dean would have played them less. He barely played them as it is. )

It is bullshit, doesn't make it not real. Protip: keep your fist in the salt, it could come in handy.

[It had been too long since he'd even thought about such a thing so he couldn't remember if it had sex or not. No matter, he got the point.]

Apparently so, I hear tell y'all shoot ghosts with rock salt out of a shotgun. Mixed with John and his circles, I'm takin' notes, even if I end up not needin' em.

[At this point, it was better to be prepared for everything, including the impossible. And yet, Raylan was nowhere ready to face what was coming the next day. Resurrection was still too impossible to prep for.]

Circle of salt should keep a spirit out, too. Throwing it over your shoulder does nothing.

( In case he's looking to dig back into that -- Dean reads a Catholic upbringing from him. Doesn't mean he's right. But, it's what he reads. )

Iron, too. Swing anything that's iron at a ghost, it'll disappear and buy you some time.

[Raylan had heard the superstition his entire life but it had no root, in his mind, to anything having to do with actual religion. It was something he assumed had been bouncing around the hollars.

He lifted his eyebrows in response, face reading more in the 'Well how do ya like that' camp than anything else. He didn't feel any need whatsoever to argue reality against reality. Mathis was its own place, apparently. Affable as ever, he continued.]

I think the best we might find here is a sock full'a rusty nails, but I'll keep it in mind. You keep that knife you almost pulled on me on hand too, best we could find when we got here was rough, useable tools and basic silverware. It'd be nice if that was starting to change.

[ That seeded off another possible theory in the back of his head but Dean wasn't his sounding board, so he'd save it for later.]

( Old wives tale, and also creepy superstition. )

Any idea what happens with what's on us when we -- wake up sand facing?

( He's got a gun that means something to him and a knife. He'd like them back. )

There's probably a crowbar in the garage. Or, a tire iron. If you're looking for iron, sometimes a candlestick will do it.

No idea. But if you see a Service issue 9 mil around, let me know. Kept my holster, but not what was in it. Seems like no guns are allowed. Or bats either, unfortunately. Startin' to think that no one here liked to have fun.

But I'll peruse the garages, see if I can't find one to keep on hand.

[He gestured towards the door and started heading that way himself.]

All the other bullshit aside, small group like this, we gotta stick together, be that information or supplies. [It was shit that they were all here, but Raylan was sure Dean would find his spot in it all.]

You find another, let me know.

( Arm Dean, arm Henry. Henry looks like he knows his way around a piece. Also the butter knife in its place.

Dean follows him out, clutching the bottle at his side. )

I know. This isn't my first small town under siege. Replace fog with a demon virus and you got one of my greatest hits. Twice. ( Three times if you count being thrust forward through time to a future compound. ) Virus-free. ( He makes sure to point that out, making a sweeping hand motion. All viruses, Raylan. Including demon. ) There's gotta be something else here, something we can't see, either in the fog, or what's controlling the fog.

Shit, I find more, I'm passin' 'em out.

[No worries there - Raylan would happily arm any capable soul. Well. Most capable souls. He glanced over his shoulder as he came to a stop with a look.

What?]

Then you're well ahead of me. I still think it is the fog, for whatever sense that makes. And it ain't just the fog, to hell with the lighthouse and what was explained to me as time.. bein' fluid or some shit, I dunno, but nothin' in this place is right. Not the food, not the forest, not the night sky, not time...

[Raylan shook his head.]

Can't find anyone who can make a real sense of things with any kinda proof or conviction. We're all spitballin'.

If - there's a line, consider me right up front. Harry Potter, the latest iPhone, whatever. I'm camped out overnight.

( He wants that gun. )

There's always a spitball that sticks, Ray. ( They just have to spit the right one. ) The fog's a part of it. But, it ain't just. Spitball, no spitball, I know that.

( He feels it. )

[Raylan scoffed a smile at that. Those references, he got.]

Gotcha.

[ Ray. Thank god Dean didn't decided to go with Ray-Ray; it'd put them that much closer to the hollar.]

Then we keep spittin'. [Just because he wasn't fully on board the belief train didn't mean he wasn't willing to get behind it anyway.] I'm not gonna argue with your gut if you're that sure. Keep me in the loop if you get any bright ideas, eh? Or sense any.. [ His face pinched. ] You called it Demon Virus? Like, what kinda demons? Cause I don't think, with our limited supply of everythin', we got a cure for that.

( For the record, he's not saying he stood in line. He's just comparing lines. He wants that gun, knife, machete, bat with nails embedded, anything Raylan finds.

He steps out while Raylan locks back up. )

Like the demons you're thinking. Hell. 'Cept, this virus was more about a human's worst violent impulses. Haven't seen it in a decade, almost.

( Where he's from, demons are just another thing. )

Suppose there's no gettin' away from the religion. [There was a note of tired acceptance behind it - He'd heard more about God here with more frequency than he did down in Harlan.]

A human's worst violent impulses I'm at least familiar with, even if I lack some context.

[Dean was quite a bit older than Claire - his face lacked any form of innocence and he was sporting plenty of eye wrinkles himself, so Raylan couldn't help but ask - ] How long you been doing this- [What had Claire called it?] Huntin' thing?

Yeah, much as you'd want to.

( Much as he wanted to, much as he didn't believe. He went through years of disbelief, of disillusionment, of fighting the thought that he wasn't worth saving. That heaven and hell were just orchestrations and God's long freakin con. All to get to him and his brother. )

My entire life. Born and raised. ( Practically. ) My mom, she died. Not long after my brother Sam was born. My dad took to hunting, took us on the road... ( Took a break from life. ) I was, four, maybe five when I first shot a gun.

Sorry to hear it. [And he was, despite the generic passing lip service. He'd lost his own mother, not that he was going to volunteer, and while he would never look to compare the deaths, he knew what it was, as a son, to lose his mother.]

Damned early start though. Considerin' everythin' else you've told me, I think I'll refrain from darin' to ask what it was you were shootin' at that age.

Out in the hills, we were shootin' rats. [Tilting his head a bit, Raylan lead them back off the porch and over to where Dean had found him, standing at the stairs.]

I hope the moonshine treats you well and scream if you need anythin', but I got a Thing. You gonna be alright?

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015-017 » enter the fog!

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