018-020 » what he hides

[villagemod]

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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Comments

[tinstar]

"Wouldn't be in any records or papers either, if no one was left to write about it." He didn't like how that sounded either but it wasn't like anyone was getting to pick and choose here.

"Looks like it to me. Haven't seen him come out of his house yet tho, despite people yellin' at him. I'd rather get across the breech here, but no one's got bridge powers yet and we don't have the equipment to make our own."

He edged towards the edge and kicked a rock off, listening to how long it took before.

"That's well over 300 foot deep, at least."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm moved to the edge next to Raylan, staring down into the chasm.

"The sides don't look solid, either. I wouldn't trust them for climbing."

He looked at Raylan, about to say something else, then looked across again. "I can feel his eyes on me."

[tinstar]

"Not without a tree or somethin' on this side to hold you up.. You notice what there isn't any of on our side?"

Raylan shook his head and looked back at the house and the figure moving behind the curtains. "I do too. Creeps me the hell out. But if life taught me anythin' it was to face shit head on. Creep included. Maybe we creep it out, us starin' across at him. Maybe we're all in a zoo."

[abrightboy]

"Maybe he put us in it," Malcolm postulated, still staring across. "If this all is a construct rather than what it seems - think about an enclosure in a zoo; it's a simulation of a natural environment - then maybe this 'natural' barrier is just as contrived to protect him. Can't have the lions getting out of the cage and attacking him."

[tinstar]

"Attack him," Raylan scoffed. "A thing powerful enough to put us in an ultra large terrarium isn't scared of us. Us without weapons. We're gonna have to start goin' back to the old ways soon. Slingshots and stone axes.. If this place even has the stone like that. Likely not, considerin' but I'm sure we could scrap metal together enough in this place, if we really needed too.."

Raylan's head straightened.

"Ya know.. We got hammers and wood enough to fasten together somethin' that should be long enough to reach over."

[abrightboy]

"Scrapping metal together would require a forge or a crucible; I'm not sure which is harder to build," Malcolm mused. He looked down and across and at Raylan. "If this barrier is here to stop us getting out, I'm willing to bet he won't let us cross, no matter what."

[tinstar]

"Scraping it together doesn't necessarily mean melting it down." Raylan looked over at him. "Little bit of redneck ingenuity goes a long way." His head bobbed. "And you're right. 'Bout what he might do. But at least we'd know. Any information is good information."

Raylan started walking again, walking down the line of the crack.

"My question is, what else is there to open up of the town? Path to the lighthouse, but what else?"

[abrightboy]

"That big... hall you were looking for," Malcolm said. "You did surmise that it stood alone. And we haven't seen it yet."

[tinstar]

"That's true," he agreed with a wag of his finger before his amble came to a stop, eyes cast thoughtfully back over the chasm. "I'd almost forgotten.. I ain't surprised we didn't see this from the Lighthouse, considerin' the angle and the tree cover.. That could well be where it is.. Back of the town.. Maybe behind those trees."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm smiled, ducking his head.

Raylan was pleased with him.

"It also almost blends in with the shadows around it," he noted, gesturing. "Have we checked whether the fog still completely surrounds the town by land?"

[tinstar]

He was; it was a good observation.

"Not yet but I haven't seen a path up to the lighthouse yet, but I haven't gotten around to seein' all of it." Turning around, Raylan ambled back towards Malcolm. "I might conscript you for some help in a day or two. Think you can handle a little hard labor?"

[abrightboy]

“I would love to do literally anything that is occurring one hundred percent outside of my own head,” Malcolm told him.

That wouldn’t require an explanation; his full basketcase had been on display for Raylan only a half hour ago.

“What sort of labour is it?”

[tinstar]

"Mostly nailing wood to wood, but many hands make light work. I figure you're stable enough to handle a hammer, right? Plus, it's better to build somethin' with your own hands. Gives a sense of accomplishment." He jerked his head towards town.

"C'mon. We've earned hot chocolates or whatever is closer to a hot tottie in this place as we can find."

[abrightboy]

“If you can scrounge cocoa powder, sugar and milk, I can make real hot chocolate,” Malcolm told him. The housekeeper taught him how after his father was arrested. “And if you want to spike it with drain cleaner, I won’t judge you,” he teased.

[tinstar]

He couldn't help but smirk at both the offer and the tease. "We can check the Gull for cocoa powder, bring it back to the house. I'm pretty sure that we got sugar there. Seems like somethin' a normal house would have. But I don't know that I'd want to ruin perfectly good hot chocolate with moonshine."

[abrightboy]

"Well, I do recommend trying it first," he said. "I learned it from the very best."

He glanced over as they headed towards the Gull.

"Anything else you want from there?"

[tinstar]

"Kinda like to take some bacon from the fridge and put it in ours, see if it also multiplies. I don't think we'll ever really figure out how the food works here but if we could get a bit of bacon in the house, it'd go a long way. Some more corn meal, as I understand that's where Doc got it from - I think I might be able to make cornbread. You ever had cornbread?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked at him, shaking his head. "Never. What's it like?" he asked curiously. "Is it heavy? How does it taste?"

[tinstar]

"It's served in small squares with butter, if that tells you anythin'. Better with a little bitta honey on it but great for sopin' up soups or chili. A vehicle that gives most everythin' that fits into Southern Eatin' a higher purpose."

It didn't surprise him; how many people in New York had been given the opportunity to have southern cornbread.

"Does mean we'll need to find a cast iron skillet to reclaim though."

[abrightboy]

"I saw one of those!" Malcolm said. "I saw one at the Grey Gull. It was in one of the bottom cupboards."

He ate a lot of soups. Maybe the cornbread would agree with him and sop up his soup.

[tinstar]

"Really?" He nodded in approval. "Then it shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure we're gonna have to resort to some kinda soup in this cold weather. Beans maybe."

The further they got away from the gap, the better that Raylan felt, despite his stubborn resolve to be unbothered on the surface by it, and that did nothing to stop the churning idea in his head.

"It'll be nice to have, cornbread."

[abrightboy]

“Tastes like home, right?” People were always comforted by familiar tastes and smells. He looked at Raylan. We can grab the pan while we’re getting the cocoa and take it home now.

[tinstar]

"I suppose so," Raylan granted, though it was the memories that came with it that brought him back. Helen and his mother talking in the kitchen while she made dinner, shooing him out from underfoot when he got too rambunctious.

"Not somethin' I'd expressly want either, except that we don't have it like we do at home, I think. The whole wantin' what you can't have thing. But if what you say is right, the Gull'll provide. I'd ask if you had anythin' from home you wish you had here, but I got a feelin' I know what the answer is."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm glanced over with a self-conscious smile.

“Can I assume you’ve caught on that I only eat at all out of basic biological obligation?” he noted. “That being said, you make excellent scrambled eggs, which is one of the few solid foods I can tolerate,” he added.

[tinstar]

"More or less," he admitted with a smile before glancing over again with a lingering look. "Yeah?" The smile spread.

"Well good. We all gotta eat; I'm glad I can provide somethin' edible. Still ain't fried chicken but I guess we all gotta make sacrifices. Unless you're just sayin' that to be polite."

He hoped not.