villagelogs | 018-020 » what he hides

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018-020 » what he hides

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Western Mathias.
WHEN: Days 018-020
WHAT: The fog recedes!
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. PM this account to have a warning added!
NOTES: Plotting post over here!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Graham Plowman "Edge of Darkness"

DAYS 018-020
THE HIDDEN REVEALED
“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
— Benjamin Franklin

As the sun rises in the distance above the sea, the fog slips away from the unsettling town, winding through streets and across buildings until it is nestled soundly in the forest. There it waits, ready to snare any who dare test its limits — residents would do well to remember what happened the last time they encountered the fog so intimately.

With the fog receded, the western portion of Mathias is now revealed and available for exploring. There are more businesses on the town square and even some on the street that runs off the square. The schoolhouse is nestled by the southern treeline, not from the little makeshift cemetery at the end of Jackson Boulevard that is courtesy of a few kind residents in town. To the far north of the square is a sprawling garden, now covered in snow, and a greenhouse that once supplied the botanical shop. And to the west, beyond the square, is another residential district of the same size as that to the east. What is different, however...

These buildings are all in some form of decay. From the beginnings of rot to completely collapsed and little more than a pile of proverbial bones, none of these homes are anything resembling livable. Well, as far as one can tell, at least. For between the streets of Hill Lane and Stine road there is a crack in the earth. A dozen feet across and fifty feet down, the crack extends from one side of the forest to the other, either end cut off by the fog. The view to the other side is clear but there is no way across.

THE NEW ARRIVALS
There are quite a few new faces in Mathias on this day. Awaking throughout Day 018, they will find themselves laying in the snow beside that unsettling crack in the earth, houses both quaint and decaying surrounding them as the snow begins to cover their bodies. Best get inside and warm up, dears.

SPECTRES IN THE NIGHT
The days are short now that winter seems to have set in unseasonably early. Though the clocks in Mathias fail to properly keep time or sometimes even work at all, the sun rises around 8:00am and sets at 5:00pm. There is far more darkness than light in these days, but in that darkness there is, in fact, light.

In the distance all across Mathias, there are lanterns lit against that darkness. Their lights dance across the snow, the warm flickering shining like tiny stars and offering an almost ethereal glow to the crisp white snow. It would be a beautiful sight to behold... if it weren't for the shadowy figures that held them. With partially raised arms, the figures hold the lanterns and walk the streets of Mathias, drifting in between buildings and disappearing into the forest. Still yet, there are some that simply stand in place, as if waiting for something or someone.

No matter where or when these figures are seen, they always seem to be facing away from our residents, and attempts at reaching them are all for naught. They will fade from view if one gets too close, and return to sight when that distance is regained. And in the morning, those lanterns may be found in the snow, their lights extinguished but their glass somehow still warm.

STRANGER IN THE SNOW
Those investigating the western part of Mathias and venturing near that inexplicable crack in the earth will have the most unsettling feeling of being watched. Most of the time, there is nothing there and no one to be seen, but then—

On the other side of that expanse, sitting on a porch, in the shadow of a home, or standing in the oddly moonlit street, there is a man. His features are shrouded in darkness and not much can be discerned about him, but instinct tells you he is dangerous. There is a sense deep in your bones that he is maliciously amused.

He makes no move to speak, nor will he respond to any attempts on your part. Instead, he sits, or he stands, and he watches. By the end of Day 020, all sign of him will be gone, along with the eerie feeling of being watched.

LOCATIONS

Unless otherwise noted, all new locations have working electricity and other utilities.

BENEDICT BOOKS Nestled quaintly on the square surrounding the Town Hall, a thick layer of dirt covering the front windows. A portrait hangs at the front of the store to illustrate the namesake of the little shop... that may, in fact, not be so little. Dust covers everything in sight and detritus litters the wooden floor, as if someone left the door open and allowed half the forest inside. (more info)

MATHESON ANTIQUES Also on the town square is an antique store that is a lesson in chaos more than culture. The items within are stacked haphazardly, creating narrow aisles running throughout the space. Furniture, light fixtures, old revolutionary and civil war memorabilia, all of it is jumbled together with no rhyme or reason. Indeed, one wrong move could create an avalanche of aged wood and peeling paint.

POE'S CLOTHES Located on the town square, this shop carries only the basics. Loose jeans in a few sizes, khakis, solid color dress shirts and blouses, flannel in various styles, socks and underwear.

SPIN RIGHT ROUND RECORDS On the square across from the beauty store, the music shop is as dusty as everything else in this town has been. Tables line the walls of the long shop, filled with rows and rows of vinyl records, while a few wall shelves display cassette tapes for sale. One side of the store is for New items, while the other holds the Used section with items for resale. Residents may recognize some of the artists but many are unfamiliar to them.

CLINIC Outside the decayed, crumbling building just north of the square is a still miraculously intact sign with the name of the clinic's doctor, Dr. Ken Suzuki. There is no way to treat patients in this location, but with care, some salvageable supplies may yet be found in the remains.

BARKER BOTANICALS Not quite a flower shop and not entirely an apothecary, the botanical store to the far north of the square is something of an amalgamation of both. With a few broken windows to let in the rain, parts of the shop have been overtaken by nature, the house plants growing beyond their pots and rotted flower petals littering the floor to tell of seasons past. The still unclaimed walls are filled with decaying plants and jars of dried herbs and other vegetation, along with a few essences and tinctures.

GREENHOUSE A few dozen yards from the botanicals shop is a sprawling garden, now covered in snow, and a greenhouse that once supplied the botanical shop. The glass is still miraculously intact, though covered in grime so thick that one cannot see inside.

GALLERY The gallery is essentially a large empty space with framed and matted black and white photographs of the town lining the walls. There is a small selected of prints available for sale near the front entrance, and a few rooms at the back of the building — a dark room for developing photos, a small office, and a locked room.

MOVIE THEATER This single-screen theater is quite small, having only 40 seats, but there is a large collection of movies in its storage room. These are all old film reels however, so hopefully someone knows how to thread a film projector.

HISTORY MUSEUM Across the street from the Historical Society, this once esteemed wooden building has seen better days. Windows and doors are boarded up and there is visible rot and decay on the exterior walls. Part of the roof has fallen in and the accumulating snow threatens to collapse the rest of it as well. It is not wise to venture within.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY This brick building has also seen better days, though in a different sort of way. Where once had been carefully cataloged collections and cozy reading rooms for aficionados of local history, there are now stacks of bankers boxes and weathered tomes in every nook and cranny. There is no organization to any of it, everything seeming to have been stashed in a hurry and then left forgotten. Anyone who dares to dive into this archive will need to devote quite some time in order to find anything worthwhile. They will also want to bring their own light source — the electricity does not work here and the windows are quite dark from the accumulated dust and grime.

SCHOOLHOUSE A much smaller school than most of our residents might be used to, there are only a half-dozen rooms in the building, with a few comprising classrooms, meeting areas, and workspaces. All ages were taught here, and one might almost imagine the sound of children's whispered voices and distant laughter while within the empty building.

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— SNOW continues to fall in Mathias. Days 18-19 see light snowfall that very slowly accumulates, but the snowfall turns moderately heavy on Day 20 and sees significant accumulation. The temperature hovers just below freezing and dips lower when the sun goes down.

— VOICES are not openly haunting our residents, though they may still be occasionally encountered in the more heavily decayed buildings where some rooms seem to almost swallow whatever light tries to enter them.

— THE FOG has receded from the town proper and much of the eastern and northern beach. The path through the northern forest to the lighthouse is now also clear.

— DISAPPEARANCES continue to plague the town. While Daisy Johnson has returned, Zed Martin, Rey, and Quentin Coldwater have now vanished without a trace.

OOC UPDATES

— MADNESS has now been unlocked. Congratulations to Inky for Claire earning the first Madness! Who will be next? (Please be sure to keep your sanity updated regularly; Stars has created an amazing tracker for anyone to use if they'd like.)

— HELPERS are officially in residence! Kelly is our Registrar and Stars is our Librarian — both of these delightful members of our community are helping behind the scenes to keep things organized and updated (and doing wonders for the mod's own sanity levels), so please give them some thanks for their hard work!

— REPORTING updates is still a thing that your mod and helpers beg you to do. Changes to locations, plot notes that affect the community, and discoveries should be reported over here so these can all be noted in their appropriate places. (For clarification, reported Discoveries are not public knowledge unless a character has ICly shared this information.)

— A MAP of Mathias now exists, thanks to our wonderful Librarian! Please note that it is not to scale and there may be a few minor errors due to your frazzled mod. Expect updates in the future as more secrets are revealed.

— BULLETIN BOARD — don't forget about it. That's all.

CLAIMING AP REWARDS

Normally, only one AP reward can be claimed per log, but due to the plethora of new and old locations to explore, this restriction is being relaxed. Instead, for this log only:
— Players may spend AP on up to three rewards, though only Spot Hidden may be repeated.
— If a player is spending multiple Spot Hiddens, they must be with different characters and in different locations.

If two characters are investigating the same location together, they may each spend a Spot Hidden on that location. Players should record their spent AP after the AP request has been approved. Sometimes there is nothing to Spot with your Hidden and the points will be "refunded" to use elsewhere.

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[ her brows lift so high up into her hairline they disappear right off her face. ]

The fog's a tangible, sentient thing.

[ carding her hand through her hair on her left side, she shakes her head and reaches for another shirt, needing to do something with her hands. she can't very well pull a notebook out of thin air to try and pipe all of this overwhelming information together, so it's time to unwrap a shirt and scrunch it between her fingers. ]

Did the people come back... all right?

[ how does one say "are they vampires?" without saying the actual word? ]

Or, a thing that chokes the life out of you.

( they don't know. her fidgeting is noticed. he gets it. he can't help with it.

he hangs the shirt he was handed on an empty hanger, hearing that question. )

How should they have come back?

( they died, so, they're not going to be all right. but, does she mean as a demon? werewolf? vampire? friggin' zombie? )

[ she notes he hasn't answered her question. that leaves her to wonder if people died here and bounced back, like the vampires do. ]

Usually when people die, they stay dead.

[ it's an easy cover and doesn't imply at all that she knows anything from beyond that. people live, people die, and the people left behind have to move on. that, she's familiar with.

she folds the shirt in her hand over her arm, crumpling it accidentally. it's all absent movements, tapping into her desire to not stand still and gawk at this strange town she's found herself in. ]

The fact that they came back at all is strange, don't you think?

( her not answering the question all the way should make him more suspicious, but maybe raylan's not the only one that doesn't believe in monsters and abandoned towns. dean's not suspicious. he gears up for giving the speech he gives. )

Do you?

( he looks her in the eye. )

I don't. Sometimes, the dead come back. Not just here. And not right.

[ weighing up his words and weighing up what she wants to say, she thinks that if she admits she believes people can come back from the dead that he won't think she's crazy. ]

I'd like to think it's strange.

[ she wishes she had her head buried in the sand and believed when people died, they died. ]

But I know it's not. [ she lets out a little sigh, shoulders sagging. ] I'm curious to know if people come back… not the same here.

Don't know yet. It just happened. If there's any -- repercussions. Any blowback, we haven't seen it yet.

( He knows it's a possibility. )

No - vamps, though. Zombies. Nothing reanimated.

[ elena is both relieved and disappointed there are no vampires. what he says is unknowingly a lie considering she knows of elijah being in town, but she's glad to know that there's none baring their fangs and trying to cause chaos in mathias. on the other hand, she's disappointed that there's no stefan.

she lets out a breath and folds her flannel a little poorly.

lips curving upward, she thinks to try and break the tension she feels with a little joke. ] Is people coming back to life an everyday occurrence for you?

Give or take.

( His ease with which he joked with her before has hardened over, like a metaphorical crystallization. Except, instead of some new mineral being formed, Dean is showing his true self, that of a bitter, striving survivor. )

All kinds. People don't always stay dead. And if people are coming back, things aren't right.

( It's been a long time since the town where death took a holiday. He worries underneath for Claire and what dying and coming back means, and for the four other people. )

It could mean anything. It could all be a trick. It could be a spell. When they come back around you, what are they like?

( It's a shot in the dark, but something tells him she knows more than she's letting off. She's not a Raylan. His effort is not in persuasion or questioning, he's shooting and hoping to hit a target. )

[ weighing up the pros and cons of answering his question honestly, elena decides there's far more pros than cons. what if he understands what it's like to be trapped in a supernatural underbelly? he's been honest with her so far (not that elena can necessarily tell) and she feels that honesty should be met with honesty.

besides, this place is strange. there's something unnerving about it that sets her on edge, and it's not her sudden appreciation for flannel that tips her off. ]

Normal. [ she shrugs, trying to find the words. furrowing her brows, she truthfully does dig into her memories of how vampires had walked in mystic falls to bring forth a few adjectives. ] Powerful, undead. You wouldn't notice that they've died if you looked at them.

( Normal lands with a thud, Dean missing any tie to the supernatural Elena might have, but Elena provides more, and that widens his eyes. )

Undead.

( That's quite the buzzword, Elena. He's gotta ask, now, stacking the deck. )

Zombie or vampire?

[ her brow furrows the slightest at zombie. she hopes that those stay in the movies and do not venture into the likes of mystic falls.

he has to be familiar—if all else fails, elena thinks she can easily wrap this up in a neat bow of a legend that exists in mystic falls.

watching his face curiously, ] Vampire.

Not here. Not that we've seen, unless they're fog-riding vampires, which is dipping into Stephen King or Eldritch horror territory.

( The common ground is good to have. Dean visibly relaxes his shoulders as he leans back again. He remembers that there's a rack behind him and a shirt in his hand, so he hangs the shirt up. )

And if we're talking Lovecraft...

( It's going to get worse before it gets better, if it even gets better. )

Hey, uh, think you can give me a hand after you find what you want? I want to bring this back with me. My closet's not up to code.

( It's where yuppies go to die. He looks back at her. )

That's a good color on you.

( Compliment her so she'll totally help. )

[ elena arches her brow in disbelief before she looks down at the flannel. holding it to her chest, she knows that wearing an orange and green pattern is definitely not flattering for her. it's hardly flattering for anyone.

she knows what you're doing, dean winchester.

rather than put it away, she folds that over her arm and grabs a dark blue plaid, tossing that over her shoulder. ]

How could I say no to helping you when you're willing to let me believe this is flattering? [ she laughs. ] Did you want to take only one rack?

Yeah. One rack's enough.

( He found what he wanted. He puts a hand on the rack, patting it like it's done a good job. )

Should we put one together for you?

[ she laughs lightly. ] It's okay. I think I'll come back. I think there's some clothes in the room I'm staying in, and I wouldn't want to colour clash.

[ it's a very serious thing, ensuring her flannel doesn't clash with whatever's lingering in the closet of room one of the boarding house. she's peeked but ultimately didn't feel like it was right of her to take what was in there.

clearing her throat, she moves around so she can stand at the back of the rack with a smile. ] My best friend tells me I'm bad at guiding but I'm good at pushing.

What a coincidence. I'm great at guiding.

( And pushing, but she's pushing. They both can't push. )

You warm enough? ( Dean's protective side always hovers beneath the surface, the perpetual older brother, and for a time, son, right there. Once she has a good grip, he turns the rack and leads her to the front of the store, to the door.

Leaving it there, he opens the door, finding something to help prop it open while they maneuver it out the front. )

[ a good point. she grabs another flannel thing—it's a big long-sleeve—and pulls it up her arms. it hangs over her, but having a few layers is bound to beat the cold.

pushing the rack, she ensures not to grunt or groan to showcase that she is an expert pusher. she can push! she's reliable! she'd much rather be helpful and push until it's lodged in snow and then ask him if he could step in and assist. ]

Are these all for you?

I like variety in my flannel. But, I also have an angel to keep warm and a - she's like a niece.

( So, it's a free-for-all. Elena's got the flannel look down three times over, and they both have enough of a handle as they make it down and into the snow. they get it a few feet before it's clear it has less and less give. )

Your side or my side?

There's so much snow over this side. [ she lets out a light sheepish laugh, shaking her head. picking up a foot, she shakes it as if that's enough to keep the snow at bay.

stopping, she kicks some snow as if that's going to make a difference. peering over at his side, she lets out a bit of a huff. ]

You said angel. Is that… like a pet name you call a friend?

( He tilts his head downward, trying to kick snow out from under the rack. )

I don't do pet names. Cas is an angel. Actual. Think we could lift and pull?

( He could handle his side, and yeah, most of the weight. )

[ he wants to push this rack while he tells her someone he knows is an angel? elena does want to help, but she looks at dean, eyes slightly wide, and tries to quickly determine if he's playing with her. ]

You want me to help you move this rack while you tell me that you know an angel? [ she lets out an incredulous laugh. her brows lift up, and that's when she decides to look at the rack and move some of the hangers so she can try and see if she can lift it. ]

Not while. After. Angels, they're real. For me. If we are from different worlds, mine has angels. I'll introduce you two. He's back at the house.

( As in, let's... pick it up. Let's go, Elena! )

[ elena does her best to pick up the rack her mind still a flurry of activity thinking about worlds and angels and an angel being here. ]

Does he have a halo?

[ she's like a dog with a bone. ]

Don't ask to see his angel form, we don't need anybody going blind here. He has a trench coat.

( Is that enough? It's easier to move the rack as it pushes along the snow and not into or against it. )

[ she wants to ask why, but elena stops herself. technically, the rack does. it takes a lot out of her to move it after her ordeal back home, but she wants to act like she's fine, so this is making her feel a little fine.

voice strained, she chuckles lightly. ] How did you even meet an angel?

018-020 » what he hides

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