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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[It had been a rather busy morning but once Doc had some time to himself in the afternoon, he was circling back around his usual haunts first to pick up some supplies. The Grey Gull. The general store. When he does these runs he does it for everyone staying with him so his arms are pretty full on his way back towards the house when this young man crosses paths with him, in a newly-exposed part of town. He remembers his face from when they threw the party at their previous house, gave away some of their moonshine. They did not have the opportunity to speak then.

Doc is in no real hurry to return and while he is holding onto some bulky items, they are not particularly heavy. The snowfall is light enough to be barely noticeable, so he is quite happy to stop and chat.]

I had met a young man who introduced himself as Quentin, yes. It must have been a week ago now. [He was talking of strange things. Subways. Millennial apocalypses. Doc had tried to keep up, but it was not an easy conversation to follow.]

But you haven't seen him more recently. Like. This morning, maybe?

[ Eliot already feels a bit deflated. It's fine, it's just one person, Eliot is sure he can ask more people. A town this small, someone must have said hello to him this morning. Right? ]

You know, nevermind. It's fine. I'm probably just over reacting.

I have not. [As far as he is concerned, very little that has happened so far would not give them a reason to be "overreacting". It is certainly not overreacting if they have truly gone missing.]

I could help you look for him, if you need a second pair of eyes. Do you see him often, or stay with him? How long has it been since you saw him last? [If it has been more than a day then he is definitely going to go looking, whether he has to do it on his own or with company.]

Yeah. We live together.

[ The question of how long it's been since Eliot's seen Quentin last is enough to make Eliot feel like he's being an idiot. Still, he can't shake the feeling of something not being right. ]

Usually he sleeps in but he was gone when I woke up today. I didn't think a lot about it but I stopped by the places he goes, and he wasn't there. He mentioned there was a secret passage with a mirror or something in the library and I don't know if he tried to go find that and got lost or - He's probably totally fine, right?

[Doc forces a smile. What can he say? Yes he could be alright, just gone out exploring someplace he didn't think to look. No he could be dead, and they might or might not ever see him again.]

Let me return these to the house, and I will accompany you. I went past a few buildings I had not seen before this morning. The fog had made them unreachable. We could start there, if you have looked elsewhere already.

Really?

[ Eliot seems equal parts surprised and relieved by the response. He'd been convinced the man was going to tell him to fuck off (though maybe in kinder words). ]

Thanks. Really. I can, uh, give you hand with those? Also - I'm Eliot. By the way.

[In another time and place, under different circumstances and after a few bottles of moonshine maybe, Doc might politely tell him to go to hell. But he has no reason to be hostile or unhelpful here. Unable to tip his hat with his hands full, he inclines his head.]

John Henry. Though everyone calls me Henry. You may take this box, if you like. [The one that looks like it's about to slide off from the pile of things in his arms. He could manage it just fine if he tilts his load, but Eliot looks like he could use something to keep his hands and his mind busy, away from the worry.]

We use the cornmeal and sugar to make moonshine. [They can talk about something else, to keep them distracted.] You were there, weren't you? When the first batch was ready. Was that where you met Mister Quentin?

[ He takes the box, figuring it's the least he can do for pretty much interrupting the guy's whole day. ]

I was. I never miss a good party or an excuse to drink. Thank God for you guys, by the way. I wasn't quite ready to go through withdrawal of all my vices at once.

[ It's said so casually that it could almost be a joke, except that Eliot just sighs wistfully instead of cracking an amused smile. ]

I mean, in theory I could probably make kitchen meth or something but I don't think we've really hit that extreme. The moonshine, though, that's great. And, uh, no. Quentin and I met at school, back where we're from.

Edited 2020-12-21 04:20 (UTC)

Figured it'd be quicker than growing opium. [He's only sort of maybe half joking. God, don't get him started on opium again. 'Kitchen meth' does get Eliot one of those slow turns of the head and a raised eyebrow though. He's not sure what kitchen meth actually is, but he's willing to try anything three times.]

School? [They look a little old to still be in school, but then it seems like kids don't leave school when they're still tiny anymore to go and help out with the family business.] I don't recall him mentioning a school... he said something about the way of the sub though. [An underground train. Doc still can't really wrap his head around it.]

Yeah, well, we haven't really officially been students for a few years, I guess.

[ And why would someone want to go around just talking about educational facilities, anyway? The sub comment makes Eliot frown a bit. ]

I mean, I guess he was always snacking. I don't think I've ever seen him say no to a sandwich.

[ But talking about subs is even weirder than randomly talking about school. ]

A sandwich? No, I think he was referring to a train... [What a sandwich has to do with the underground train, he's not entirely sure. Maybe it is meant to be consumed on board...]

Alas, I do not think it would be that easy to find a way out of this place. [Would be nice to think that Quentin found a train and managed to get out, but who knows?

It is a small town so they don't have to go very far to reach 1306. Doc gets the door with his elbow and leaves the supplies by the doorway. It's very modern inside, and he is not very much of a modern man, but he doesn't venture very far in before he's headed back out again.]

Thank you kindly for your help. Where do you think we should start?

Oh. The subway.

[ That made ... Way more sense.

Eliot deposits the box with the others, quietly glad that this probably means there's more moonshine on the way.

Back outside, Eliot squints a bit, almost looking thoughtful. ]

I guess the library makes the most sense. If he was going to get himself lost anywhere on purpose or accidentally, a library is probably a safe bet.

Sure. [He must be the only one here who has never been to the subway. Maybe he will inquire about it, should they ever leave this place. He is still hopeful, but it's hard not to be discouraged, day after day.]

Is he the type of gentleman who would fall through a hole in the floor because he was too busy reading? [Between that and the crevice with that strange phantom lurking on the other side, Mathias seems to be accumulating a whole lot of hazards awfully quick.]

I'd like to say he's way more alert than that but, no, that's pretty much him.

[ And it's one of the many things Eliot loves about him and had missed about him, at least until they ended up here. Eliot's hoping their reunion hasn't come to an end. ]

Books are like, his thing. He'll drop everything if he's found something interesting in one.

We should start at the library then. [Doc agrees purely because there is a hole in the floor in the library, and it only makes sense with the description Eliot gives. They sound... close, judging from Eliot's body language. The way he talks about Quentin. How his eyes shift, that twitch of the lips. But Doc won't pry.]

We can put some notes up there, too. So anyone else that might find him if we don't cover every square inch of the place will know to contact you.

See, I never would have thought of that.

[ Eliot can admit he's not the most logical of thinkers. Did he just technically figure out how to save the world before he got here? Sure. But he also needed a little push to do that, too.

Not that Quentin being missing is World Ending but, to Eliot, it sure feels like it. ]

So - do you guys know how to make more than just moonshine? I tried making my own gin and my own champagne once and neither one went well.

'tis how things were done in the old days. [There were plenty of 'WANTED' posters of Doc stuck here and there all over the place in every town he managed to get away from without getting arrested in. Of course, he had intentionally gone missing then.]

I suppose you could attempt making gin with moonshine, if you can forage a few berries, but it is a long wait. [As with any alcohol-making process, you can't really hurry the fermenting along. Not through any natural means, anyway.]

Bathtub gasoline not to your taste, I gather. [Doc is unable to hide the twitch of a smile as he turns to regard Eliot.]

Oh. I'll drink anything. Except unicorn milk, it's not as great as you'd think it'd be. But anything alcoholic? Absolutely.

[ Besides, after the first few drinks, you barely notice the burn of questionable spirits. ]

I actually did some foraging earlier today. I didn't find a lot of berries but if I do, I'll make sure to pass them along.

Unicorn milk? [Doc snickers, cracking a twitch of a grin. What do you take him for, some kind of sweet summer child?] That's good. [You're a funny man, Eliot. He might just warm up to you right quick, too.]

Unless you've got a way to move it through time - the berries may require months to break down - you'll be waiting a long while for your gin. [Doc's willing to seal up a few jars and set them aside for the required time but he's rather hoping they won't stick around long enough to be making gin.]

Perhaps we will have returned by then. [Doc's voice naturally drops lower and quieter once they're inside the library.] And he along with the rest of us will be safe and sound, right where we left off. [As plausible a theory as unicorn milk.]

Well, if we go home, then no harm, no foul, right? But in case we're stuck here, having something like gin to look forward to might be nice.

[ There's always a way to get home. It's just a matter of finding it, that's all. Though Eliot can't say he's the one to do that. There are plenty of other people here who seem more than capable of figuring that out. ]

So. You're a real, genuine cowboy, huh? Like this isn't just an aesthetic you've adopted over the years.

[Doc nods in agreement. Any victory, no matter however small, is worth celebrating. It is how they will conquer their hardships and it is how they are going to get through those particularly dark and difficult days here.]

And what, pray tell, gave that away? [He turns to look at Eliot and cracks a smile.] Do you think it doesn't suit? [He is open to suggestion. He has been happy to adopt the local preference for flannel, and he will change with the times out of necessity although so far it has not been necessary, but he would wear just about anything as long as it isn't too humiliating.]

Oh, you know ... [ Eliot waves his hand vaguely, because there's no way to really describe how Mr. Henry is specifically cowboy-ish. He just sort of radiates it. ] I just mean, you wear it well.

[ He's always felt like cowboys annoyed him, but now he realizes that it was the fake, pretentious cowboy types that got under his skin. These real ones aren't so bad. Helpful, actually. Really, really helpful. ]

I mean, it's nice, though. Right? You end up here and you're not missing skyscrapers or subways.

Why thank you kindly, sir. [Said without sarcasm or malice, too. He appreciates what he takes as a compliment.]

Well, you know, wouldn't mind a horse. [He's only half-joking. They would cover more ground with a horse. He has not yet seen a skyscraper though. That really would blow his mind.]

And people staying put where they are, so no one need worry over them. Might be nice for a change. [The prospect of their first few days here being the best days they will ever have is one that is too bleak to consider.]

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018-020 » what he hides

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