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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fine.

( after a second longer, he let's her go, stepping back to give her space. he eases himself closer to the door just to make sure she doesn't try and run out without him.

he doesn't think he can be blamed for that either because she is elena gilbert and it would be something she did.

he doesn't make a move to grab anything, deciding he'd be fine in his long sleeves and slacks combination. )

We're not going to stay out there long.

Okay.

[ doubtful. elena thinks he's trying to take control of a situation where he's not in control at all. if she wants to stay out there, hunting down for that one lonely spectre all night, she's pretty sure he'll be right behind her and not insisting and urging and compelling her to return to the boarding house.

she moves towards the bedside table and opens the middle drawer, pulling out gloves that are, surprisingly, the perfect fit for her. she tucks her hands into them and flexes her fingers, and grabs a thick scarf curled up inside. wrapping that round and round her neck and hair, she looks at him. ]

Are you going to be warm enough?

Yes.

( perhaps he could do with a jacket but he doesn't really want one right now. he doesn't think they're going to be out there that long what with the harsh weather and the way the spectres don't really let anyone get close.

if he needs one, he'll go find one but he's going out without one for the moment. )

You realize that we might not find anything, right? Where are you intending to look for this spectre? There was nothing left after whatever...happened happened.

[ she doesn't have a plan. perhaps that's obvious, considering no one seems to understand the spectres at all. but she can't simply stay in here when there's something out there that's possibly killing spectres without lanterns.

she's beginning to wonder if those lanterns keep bed bugs away, just like her mom used to say keeping her little night light on as a kid kept the monsters beneath her bed far away. ]

I'm... [ open mouth, close. she presses her lips together and peers up at him determinedly. ] There are spectres everywhere, Elijah. He's bound to be with his friends. All we have to do is look for the spectre without a lantern. If we can find him, then that means he's okay.

You're thinking of these things like they're humans, Elena. Like he has friends. You don't even know what they are but you can't give...a life to these things because you have no idea who they are or what they are. They could be dangerous.

( there are more questions than answers about his place but elena's already gotten attached to the spectres and elijah knows how dangerous that could be.

they don't know what these things are and what they can do. they don't know if the shadow was taking something lethal away or if the shadow was taking something innocent away.

it's all up in the air. )

We need to be careful.

I am being careful.

[ giving him a look of annoyance, she moves away from the bedside and over towards the door to the room. she knows how to be careful. how many times does a vampire have to tell her to be careful?

lifting her brows, she looks at him haughtily, hand on the doorknob. ]

But I can't just stay in here wondering what a spectre is and if it has any friends when I could be out there finding that out.

[ opening that door, she steps out, footsteps determinedly walking the hallway. ]

You just have to prepare yourself for the possibility that there are no answers out there for you.

( he follows her out, shutting the door behind them and following her back towards where the spectre had disappeared. )

Do you have any theories on what it is you saw, Elena? You want to go find out what happened so tell me what you think you saw.

( he's curious. )

[ descending the stairs, she pulls her coat tighter against her, ready to brace for the inevitable cold. the closer she ventures towards hte front door, the chillier the boarding house seems to feel. she walks quickly and with a tiring sense of determination. a part of her wants to prove him wrong. ]

Yes.

[ she opens the front door and looks back at him, keeping it ajar for him to follow and step through with her. the town is cold and far too white and snowy. ]

How many times have you gone out there to talk to them and nothing has ever come and devoured them?

I haven't ever tried to speak with them, Elena.

( every time he'd gotten close to them, they disappeared. he'd called a few questions to them but he'd never received answers so he assumed they just didn't talk or they couldn't talk. )

And there's no way you can have had your eye on all these spectres. There's no telling if this was the first time this happened here or the first time you saw it.

( like the fog, maybe this was a common occurrence for this place. )

[ arms wrapped tight around her middle, she walks fast, knowing he'll keep up. elijah has long legs, legs that seem longer than the bed she sleeps in. her feet push hard against the snow and she feels like she's exerting more energy than necessary. her goal is to find that location right outside their window, and so she glances up at the boarding house to try and spot the window that's theirs. ]

But I saw it, Elijah. [ she spares a sharp look at him from over her shoulder. ] I know what I saw. I know this is the first time I saw it. I thought you'd believe me.

[ if anything, the person who would believe her wholeheartedly is stefan. she's going out on a limb here that elijah would be the same. ]

Elena, I'm not questioning what you saw. What I'm questioning is the fact that we don't know if this is a normal thing for this place. I'm asking you to reserve judgment and to not set off into the snow at night to figure it out.

( going out and investigating is one thing but going out and staying out to find what looks like a shadow is something else all together and he's not going to let her do that. )

We need to be smart about this place. Neither of us knows what they're doing and what we're going to face. You're human. You need to be careful.

And you're an Original vampire. You have to be careful, too.

[ she peers back at him to serve him with a pointed look. just because she's human doesn't mean she requires any more protection than he does. she just needs something a little different.

and right now, elena needs him to let her do this. she looks up at the boarding house and stops, eyeing the windows before she peers down at the ground with a furrowed, determined brow. ]

There's nothing in the snow.

[ she brushes her foot against the snow and brushes it to the side as if there'll be a burn mark or spectre blood on the ground. ]

( elijah starts to open his mouth to ask her just why he needs to be careful but he doesn't want to know if she knows his weakness. he can ask her about that later.

instead, he huffs and follows her out into the snow, moving around to try and find any traces of the spectre but all he sees is snow and their combined footprints. )

There's nothing out here but snow, Elena.

( he sniffs, trying to see if the shadow left any kind of trace behind but he smells nothing but the woodsy scent of nearby trees. )

There's nothing here.

[ disappointment swells inside of her. the spectre had been out here, and yet… just like it didn't seem to leave anything behind but its lantern, it seems like it wasn't even here in the first place. she looks down at the snow, tilting forward slightly, afraid to move her feet just in case she's about to disturb some evidence.

his sniff is all she needs. she turns around to face him, hope a little too apparent in her expression and voice. ] Can you smell anything?

No and I have been trying. But, all I can smell is the snow.

( so, if whatever that had been had left anything behind, it was so minute that not even elijah could smell it. he shakes his head, crouching down and trying to brush aside some snow to see if there was anything buried beneath it. )

It feels quite impossible but it seems like whatever that was vanished without a trace. There's nothing here.

( they had their memories of the incident but that's it. )

[ elena looks down at him, spying some snowflakes settling in his hair. despite how he's dressed so overtly not like elijah, it's the snowflakes that seem offensive and mar his appearance. she looks around, lips pursed, determination set in her brow. surely, something has to have lingered behind. it's too strange—the spectres had to be corporeal to hold those lanterns...

following him and crouching down, she rests her hands on her knees. she looks up and impulsively brushes snow from clumping in his hair, her brows still furrowed as if she expects the spectre to have disappeared into the strands. ]

It left every other spectre but the one without a lantern. [ momentarily lifting her gaze up, she spies spectres in the distance, clumped together in a line, all lit by lanterns. she wonders if he can hear them. peering back at elijah, she arches her brow and asks quietly, ] You don't think that's odd?

( it's about as odd as the fact that elena had just voluntarily brushed snow from his hair. the only response he gives that is to look at her for a moment, expression quiet, before he's back to brushing aside the snow. )

It's strange.

( he can admit that. whatever that was had targeted the lone spectre without a lantern and left every other spectre to their own devices. he sighs, feeling his hand hit the hard ground below the snow. )

I don't deny that what we saw was...not what I expected but I don't want to jump to conclusions. I don't want anyone to panic.

It's just us for right now.

[ elena has no intentions of running to through the town calling murder. she doesn't have the voice for it nor does she believe she can run around all night. she still needs her rest, even if she doesn't want to believe it.

keeping her gaze locked on him and not their surroundings (the worry she may miss something isn't there), she regards him with an arch of her brow. ]

Are you worried I'm jumping to conclusions?

[ a part of her feels it's presumptuous to think elijah worries about her. ]

No. But, I also don't think you've told me what sort of conclusion you're thinking of that isn't 'the spectre without a lantern is gone.'

( and that's not really a conclusion because they both saw it and the lack of spectre is right in front of their face.

she hasn't gone from that to something ridiculous and astounding so he thinks she's fine. )

We both saw what happened. What are you thinking?

[ rubbing her hand against the thick coat against her collarbone, she looks away from him for a moment, briefly wondering if what she's about to say will sound bizarre to him. but he's seen so much, and she seems to have his ear from the very moment she saw him here. elena has to believe in elijah.

looking at him, she brushes her hair behind her back. ]

I think that the light of the lantern kept the spectres safe, and I think not having that lantern meant that the lantern was vulnerable to… whatever that was. The light protected it.

( it was certainly a theory and not a...bad one either. the only thing abnormal about the spectre was the lack of lantern and no other spectre had been affected by the shadow that appeared.

it wasn't hard to make the connection. elijah works his jaw back and forth. )

So, how did the spectre lose his lantern? They haven't really allowed anyone close enough to take one.

( had the spectre dropped it in the snow and failed to retrieve it? )

[ this is the question she had been dreading. what will elijah say? what will he do? will he distrust her after she tells him? elena hates that her actions caused this. she hates that her decision, one that she felt was an innocent one, has caused yet another death. how many people and beings will die for her?

looking away from him, she lifts her hand to cup her chin and let it rest on her scarfed neck. being outside is cold and quiet, and she's afraid of the other spectres overhearing and being angry.

quietly, ] I took it. They left them on the ground in the morning, so I... took one.

You took the lantern?

( which means, elena might have been the one to cause the death of the spectre, a fact that she's no doubt realized herself.

he doesn't say anything at first, rubbing his fingers against his chin and looking thoughtful. she hadn't been the one to kill the spectre but her actions had possibly indirectly led to this whole thing.

she's not going to be taking it well. )

Where is it?

[ she glances at the boarding house as if that look is enough of an answer. elijah's smart enough to piece anything together, from a lack of an answer to a simple look. it's better if she tells him rather than leaving him to thread it all together.

she rubs her hands against her forearms, disliking how cold she suddenly feels. still processing what's happened out here, elena knows that she's responsible for the spectre being gone. ]

In our room.

All right.

( elijah tries to think of something that might fix this but he has nothing. he doesn't know what they're dealing with so he can't formulate a plan based on things he doesn't know.

he blows out a slow breath. )

We can try and return it, if you think that might help.

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