villagelogs | 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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ arguably, they don't belong anywhere here. they've been displaced, ripped out of their respective worlds and shoved messily into this one with no apparent cause or reason.

and that? that was infuriating.

at least this newcomer was a bit more perceptive. it would make for answering her questions a little easier.

he notes how she lingers at the doorway with a curious rise of a brow, but doesn't comment further than that - she's welcome to do whatever she wants. meanwhile, he starts looking again.

its all dusty and old and layered with the same amount of crap. no symbols, or clues, or proverbial maps. his sigh is through clenched teeth, before his attention pivots back to the girl. ] Yeah. More to the point - what the hell made them leave.

It feels like they were here one day, and gone the next. So, [ he's postulating, rather than offering any concise explanation, but he would if he could. ] With the amount of creepy shit starting to happen here day by day? It's a safe bet it wasn't anything good.

[ that doesn't bode well, but creepy shit, strange disappearances, and rather mystical towns is elena's bread and butter. although she does't particularly want to explore someone's house uninvited, they're not here, and it might get them answers.

she leaves the doorway to see if she can find any photos, newspapers, books. there has to be something here that can reveal to them what happened, who was here, and where they went. ]

Creepy shit like a sentient fog?

[ elena's still not sure if she can wrap her head around that one, but it keeps coming up and will keep coming up. perhaps the more she talks about it, the easier it will be to accept. dating a vampire is easier to process. ]

Where would they have gone? I didn't see any signs indicating there was a town a few miles away from here.

[ truthfully, it feels like a little isolated bubble. ]

Exactly. [ she's catching on quick. it's the first thing he notes, with a bit of relieved satisfaction. everyone reacts differently to this place - and he can bet money she's seen her fair share of 'weird shit' with an adamantine acceptance like that, were he a gambler.

he pushes further into the house, tracks along to one of the bedrooms, tucked away on the first floor. he stops at the threshold to glance back her way, a skeptical twist of a frown. ] For one, we don't have a map of this shithole. So that's hard to say.

[ the rest of his conversation is shouted from the room he goes into - to which she is of course welcome to follow. he currently pays absolutely to mind to rummaging through the desks and tables, and makes a curious stop at the array of photographs still there. ] It's like this town exists within itself, and only that.

Own time, own rules. [ is muttered, more to himself, as he furrows his brows, and moves to check out one of the closets in this bare-boned house. ]

[ following him eventually, she eyes the photographs and the walls—nothing's broken or rotted like she had expected it to be when left unattended—and tries not to let herself grow overwhelmed by being in a brand new place in a ouse she doesn't recognise. rubbing her hands against her arms, she does her best to shake off the feeling that they're being watched.

appearing at the doorframe of the room he's scavenging in, she remains where she is, wondering if she can get a wider view while he goes in for a more focused close-up. ]

Like a town in a snow globe? [ brows furrowing; that's the only way she can think of his comment as he moves to a closet. but no, that doesn't sound right to her. that's what she had meant, but she doubts it conveys what she's trying to process. ] Like Narnia? You know, like how you can't enter it without going through the wardrobe.

[ this idea is not one she's familiar with. the world she comes from exists within a world amongst worlds, not within its own self. ]

[ The closet is filled with some more boxes, scattered books tucked into a corner.

He crouches down to start looking through there, too, before pausing to throw her a look. ] Not a bad metaphor, actually.

Though, kind of implies a single way in. [ his attention returns to the task at hand quickly enough.

actually...that might be what they really only need, isn't it? a single way in, a single way out.

his hands hit a picture frame, tucked precariously onto the top shelf of the closet that he couldn't quite reach, and the crashing of glass follows quickly after. ] Ah - [ a quick glance at the photo, and something really sticks out there. ] - This is interesting.

Are you okay?

[ no matter how interesting a photograph is, the crashing of glass is a shock. elena pulls away from where she is—finding nothing, as per usual—and walks quickly over to him to see if he's cut his hand wide open or, worse, ruined his perfect hair. ]

What—oh. [ a photo, the evil culprit. she lets out a breath, but still looks at five just in case he's missing a finger. ] I went into a house a day ago and there were some photos in there. It's… why would you even leave them behind?

[ five ignores the first question - crisis of falling shards of glass easily averted! even his flop of hair is mostly in the right place. ]

Why would you take them? [ is the counter, as he brushes the remnants of the glass off the photo, and flips it around in his hands. ] If they left in a hurry, you grab the important things. Maybe one or two photos, sure. No use grabbing the whole family album. [ can you tell he's well adjusted.

the photo itself shows a group of people, a forested area and a cabin behind it. the note under it says — ] Lodge, 1964.

[ a date! he could almost laugh, were he of better disposition, but he looks up at elena with a triumphant, dimpled twist of his mouth. ] Finally, feels like I'm getting somewhere.

[ she wears a look of surprise, heart pounding excitedly in her chest. she hurries over to stand behind him, wanting to see that date for herself. why she's excited about it, she's not entirely sure… it's the one tangible thing they've found since arriving in the town. it's so different from the towns she's been to, lacking in almost everything that could be identifiable.]

Lodge? That photo doesn't look familiar. [ perhaps only to her since she has just arrived. ] Have you seen any other places around the town that could be the cabin in that picture?

Not to me, either. [ a quick glance up her way, photo tipped a fraction in her direction.

her excitement is certainly shared, even if he has a shit way of showing it. ] Nothing in town.

Maybe further into the forest? [ the gears in his head turn, and his own heart hammers quick. a date. finally, finally. like a bad obsession, sparking around him. ] Which is a stupid idea to try and explore now.

[ she's very glad he's excited, even if he's not jumping with joy. ]

It's bound to still be there after the snow's thinned out.

[ surely, a building that's clearly out in the snow—clearly out there in this damn town—is going to still be standing when summer rolls around.

pursing her lips, she does try to think. eyes narrowed, she wants to set their expectations… and not build their hopes up to only be disappointed. ]

Unless it's demolished… but surely there'd be some demolishing company in town that we would've seen. Or at least a paper about it. [ she lets out a little annoyed sound. ] I hate not knowing things.

018-020 » what he hides

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me wondering if the hargreeves knew about narnia

the only thing reginald let them know about: a magical wardrobe

seems about right

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