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

[40seconds]

Please do. He needs something to laugh at; not that he'd laugh at Constantine himself because that's just rude, but the thing he misses most about his team is the laughter and the ease with which they could rib each other and poke fun. And he knows he could definitely use an excuse to relax, but there hasn't been a lot of that around here lately. He could be wrong, but Constantine seems like the type of person who knows how to kick back and take a load off.

"And without the world's longest rope, there's no way to confirm that. Not that I'm keen on the idea of rappelling down there or anything." He just gives Constantine a look then; he's used to hearing that answer, and he's given it himself a few times. "Fair enough. You don't have to talk about it, but even I know that there's a limit to that 'always'."

He's hit that limit a handful of times.

"Well, you're not alone there, on both those counts."

[hellblaze]

"Just drop a penny for your thoughts. Worst you'd do is disturb a dust bunny who is happen to make a breeding nest that'll take over the bloody town." John responds grumpily. He sighs and rolls his head over to look at Coulson properly. "Don't suppose you've tracked down that naggy watching feeling yet, mate."

As that is what he is out there trying to do.

[40seconds]

"I would, if I had a penny. But I wonder what would happen if something larger than a penny got dropped down there." But he also doesn't have anything that fits that bill, short of going to the boardinghouse or town hall and lifting a fairly large piece of furniture. What good would that do, though? If he were to conduct an experiment like that, he'd want to drop something of more significance than a kitchen table.

"Unfortunately, no, but now that you mention it, it's like there's something watching, and I can see it sometimes just out of the corner of my eye. It disappears when I give it a good look, though." He shrugs and rolls his eyes. "At first, I thought the feeling was all in my head, but sometimes even those feelings can lead to unexpected things."

Except he's not sure that's likely to happen in this instance.

[hellblaze]

"Sounds like a mystery for the morning when we can see." John agrees. He's sure they can rummage something up in the town somewhere. It can't be that difficult.

Who is he kidding - Mathias's middle name is difficult.

John gives him a look. One that says Coulson should follow those instincts more. Especially in this town. Then, he jerks his head to the side and is walking off with his hands in that borrowed coat of his.

"Time to find us something lurkin' in the dark."

[40seconds]

"Right. So, for now, let's see what menace might be lurking around out here." He's well aware that that sounds like some tag line from a bad movie, but hey, he can't help but get a little excited and nervously apprehensive when there's some mystery to check out.

And yes, Mathias's middle name is absolutely difficult. Coulson's encountered stone walls before but nothing quite like the walls this town likes to throw up.

As for him following his instincts, well, he's learning that sometimes that strange feeling or whisper in the back of his mind is more than just the product of an overactive imagination.

"Hope you don't mind me asking, what do you plan to do when we do find something?" And yes, he's already thinking of this as a case of "when", not "if".

[hellblaze]

He chuckles at that. Someone's got a bit of a humor. Good, they'll need it if they're stuck here much longer. John can appreciate the tone. He slides his hands into his pockets and keeps walking, smoke leaving the cigarette and making a trail behind him as he moves.

"Depends on what the something is. If it's just a bit of a loss puppy? Maybe we can make friends." He rolls his head over to Coulson and grins. He doesn't think it's a puppy. "If they want to toss? Oh, I don't mind tossing a few things."

[40seconds]

"Hey, I heard that." He's pretty sure that John's a good guy, that they might even work well together, but he's still figuring him out. And of course, the reverse is probably true as well. "I have to admit, you're not all that easy to read, which I imagine is probably an occupational hazard of some kind, but an open book, you're not. I never really put much stock in 20 questions, but maybe sometime, you'll be up for answering a couple."

But back to business for now. "So, if you're tossing a few things, should I join in on that?" He can't help but give John another glance as if sizing him up again, but he doesn't look like the type of person who lifts weights to build muscle. Call it a bizarre leap in logic, but something about this is making him wonder whether or not the other man means literally tossing or tossing of a different nature entirely.

"If I'm tagging along, it makes sense that I should do something to pull my own weight too."

[hellblaze]

"Oh as long as every conversation you want with me isn't five hundred bloody questions in one go, mate." John glances over his shoulder at Coulson. There's a bit of a sigh but he nods along. Go on, Coulson. Ask your questions before he changes his mind.

There's a nod. "Oh, sure. The more the merrier. Might even have a bit more of an even ground with whatever it is we might find."

[40seconds]

That gets a laugh out of him. "Don't worry, I wouldn't make you sit through all that. And if I do, feel free to just leave. I won't be offended." Because, well, if he gets to that point where he just starts playing 500 questions instead of 20, John would be well within his rights to just bail.

"I know it's a predictable question, but where are you from originally?" He has a few guesses concerning that accent of John's, but he's not really in a guessing mood either. "And that's the million dollar question, isn't it? At this point, I almost hope we find something to make this whole venture halfway worthwhile." And yes, he knows all about "be careful what you wish for" and to not tempt fate, but sometimes chances just have to be taken.

[hellblaze]

"Liverpool, England. Moved to London eventually. Eventually found myself in Louisiana for a case before I wound up here." John continues to walk along the chasm, eyes glancing down into the abyss beside them. He's taking note of how deep he thinks it is, how wide the gap is.

The small details.

"What sort of somethin' would you want to find?"

[40seconds]

"So you're a long way from home, then." Being stuck in Mathias aside, since they don't exactly know where it's located. Coulson's doing the same, scanning the terrain for anything notable.

"Ideally, whoever's at the reins here, but I wouldn't expect to find them hanging around out here. Part of me doesn't expect to find them at all, not if they don't want to be found." He shrugs, because odds are good they won't find anything, but he still has a little optimism about that left. "Also, it's probably barking up the wrong tree, but it would be interesting to find someone who actually lived here, but that seems just as unlikely, doesn't it?"

[hellblaze]

"I go where I need to in order to solve the issue at hand. Although, I prefer to stay local. Oh, sure, America is dandy alright. Hamburgers, a game at the ball park, hoorah hotdogs! But, I prefer knocking boots with London. She's familiar."

Whoever was at the reins. Wouldn't that just be brilliant? He felt he was owed a favor or two at this rate. All that fighting for Heaven against the Rising Darkness. All the souls he had saved. Wasn't he owed something? A breakthrough? A hint?

Now, Johnny, why would it ever be that bloody nice for you?

"It would be nice. We could ask them a few questions. Although, I think if we found anyone? They'd be a skeleton... or worse."

He didn't like the potential the idea could be.

John stopped then. He raised his hand, a few of his fingers hovering upwards as he motioned for Coulson to stop as well. A chill took the air, and a shiver up his spine. His eyes turned to his partner-in-crime with the unasked question: 'Do you feel that?'

[40seconds]

"Sounds a little like me and my team, although not to brag, we have resources that make getting around easier. It's part of being part of a fairly sizable agency." He was well aware that sounded like bragging, with or without his disclaimer. Not everyone had a plane to fly around in. "It's been awhile since I had a hamburger or even a hot dog," he added with a laugh.

"I should pay a visit to London one of these days, if we ever get out of here."

But that was a big if, and he wasn't going to waste time thinking about what-ifs when there were still things they could do to try furthering that effort.

"A skeleton would be hard to work with, and-" He paused, giving Constantine a once-over. It was just Coulson's opinion, but the other man didn't seem like the type who shocked easily. "I don't think we have the tools needed to make that easier."

Coulson was about to say something else when John stopped, and therefore so did he. With eyes narrowed, he looked at John, and then glanced around. Seeing nothing, but having a strange feeling that something was going on, he nodded, even though he didn't know what he was feeling or what was causing it. Jerking his chin over in the direction they were already heading, he wordlessly asked: "Should we keep going, or stop here?"

Because if there was something unfriendly ahead, he didn't want to walk right into it.

[hellblaze]

"I always had the feeling you were a bit of a suit." John replied with a bit of a quip, but, it wasn't done through anger or annoyance. Not anymore than John usually was anyways. "London might take a bit of getting used to for you Americans, but, she's got an old charm to her."

And he was incredibly fond of that city. Far more than Liverpool.

A fair question. A good question. One that John obviously had the answer to because he kept walking. His hands left their pockets as he took a step or two around, regarding their surroundings differently now.

Then, a shot of darkness shot up his spine. Like a thin thread of ice that ran through his back and covered his body. John whirled around, eyes falling to the other side of the chasm. Just beyond was a man sitting on the porch of a house.

John stilled. It wasn't as if he was frozen in spot, but he felt all his senses suddenly hon in on the man sitting there.

[40seconds]

"That's the thing, though, isn't it? No one expects some guy in a suit who looks more like he's never seen the outside of an office cubicle to be a field agent." He smiled at the quip, and he was prepared with a comeback of his own. "No one ever sees me coming. Well, sometimes they do, but most people just write me off as a corporate lackey." It's served him well as a cover for the most part.

He noted the way John didn't answer, but he figured if the man wanted to answer, he would have, so he didn't press. But then it happened, starting with John freezing in place, and Coulson didn't take that long to echo the same reaction.

He didn't have the same kinds of instincts that John did, but when he saw the man across the chasm just sitting there, the hairs on the back of his neck rose, and he found himself riveted, unable to look away.

"Well, well- Looks like we found someone after all."

[hellblaze]

"A bit of deception. Coulson, you might be a suit after my own bleeding heart." John gave him a grin.

There was a nod to his statement. "It looks like we did after all."

John stared at the man on the porch. He didn't need to see the man's face to know the sheer amount of emotion rolling off him. Amused. Malicious. It made John's blood boil. Nothing got to him faster than seeing an evil son of a bitch enjoying hurting the innocent people around him. While John may not have exactly been innocent, he knew others were.

Which was why he flicked open the lighter and started to pour the fluid on his hands.