villagelogs | 059-061 » the place where you stop the story

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059-061 » the place where you stop the story

WHO: Everyone.
WHERE: Eastern/Central/Southern Mathias
WHEN: Day 059-061
WHAT: Time returns to "normal" and Mathias grants a reprieve.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here! The next log will be posted the weekend of ~~May 15th~~ May 22nd.

RECOMMENDED ♫ Nathan Johnson "Foul Play"

DAY 059-061
A BRIEF REPRIEVE
“There is no real ending. It’s just
the place where you stop the story.”
— Frank Herbert
Residents awake to a peaceful morning with the sun shining and earth remaining still. There is no unsettling shaking to rouse them at dawn, and time has continued moving onward as they slept. Whatever state they were in the night before, they remain that way now, for good or for bad.

On the surface, there seems to be little lasting effect on the tiny town from that strange series of days, save for the memories of any traumatic experiences residents may have faced — but there are always consequences within Mathias. The perpetrators of acts against the town are tormented by nightmares of those acts being used against them, and those who did not raise a hand to stop those acts of destruction may yet face consequences of their own. For now, however, the unwilling townspeople should do their best to rest and recover from the disturbing ordeals of late, for this reprieve from the madness shall surely be shortlived.

THE NEW ARRIVALS
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the beach near The Grey Gull. It's a bit chilly out with their wet clothes, but surely there's something to help warm them inside the restaurant. They may even find some alcohol within — and not just the cowboys' homemade moonshine.

CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE HISTORY MUSEUM has not fared well with the return of "normal" time. The once esteemed wooden building is now a charred ruin, the recent fire leaving behind little of the contents within for study. The structure is unstable and it is not wise to venture into the ruins for long.

— THE WEATHER conditions remain fairly typical for early fall: warm days and cool nights. It feels almost like spring arriving except that there fewer red and orange leaves on the ground and more of them oddly returning to the trees and slowly fading to green. It's like watching one of those nature documentaries that have a timelapse of the seasons, only it's going in reverse.

— THE FOG has retreated from some areas!
— Residents may now wander the southern stretch of the forest surrounding Mathias Township — it is possible to leave the paths but potentially unwise to do so.
— The fog has also retreated farther into the western section of town, now stretching across town between Stine Road and Shelley Drive. This has revealed the Chasm in the earth that stretches from one side of town to the other between Stine and Hill Lane.
— Access to the northern section of the forest is still blocked beginning a few dozen yards past the treeline; this section of fog will urge residents to stay huddled within the town proper by inducing a physical reaction of panic and fear.

— DEATHS & DISAPPEARANCES continue! Max Guevara has vanished into the fog. Claire Novak's body can be spotted on Day 059 facedown at the bottom of the Chasm between Hill and Stine, near Phillips Drive; by the morning of Day 060, her body will be gone. (Attempts may be made to reach her body but will likely not end well for those involved. Such attempts should be reported under Exploration.)

— ALCOHOL is still in Mathias! Just barely. (Supply is running very low after recent town events.) A small stock of beer and cheap wine may be found at the General Store, and some homes may have a small store of alcohol in the fridge or pantry. The Grey Gull was also restocked with its lower-end offerings of a variety of alcohol types. (Alcohol does not replenish as food does.)

OOC NOTES

— PROJECT HELP Your mod needs help with some projects!

— FUTURE PLANNING If you haven't, please answer the questions here for future log planning. I will almost definitely need some of these answers for the log going up the weekend of May 15, so act quickly! Late submissions will not be considered for that log.

— UPDATES Don't forget to report updates as they come up! Changes to locations (like toppling a few bookshelves in the library), big plots you have coming up that will affect the game (parties, major property destruction, etc), or exciting discoveries that may tie into the game's mythology (even the things provided by the mod) are very helpful to have in one place so relevant page updates can be made.

— MOD STATUS The usual reminder that it's just Amy steering this ship, so things will are going to be pretty slow for a while. Apologies in advance, and please don't feel shy about pestering me if you're stuck waiting for something.

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She remembered how Raylan was not that long ago, nearly pushing himself over the chasm, wrapped up in something that she couldn't quite pinpoint. He hadn't left her mind, especially with so many things happening in the village. Part of her worried that he had gotten himself into some sort of trouble, something that she might need to pull him back from before...which seemed to be common in their friendship.

Which was why she was a bit relieved to simply see him at the graveyard. To anyone else, it might be weird, but given where she was from, graveyards needed to be tended regularly. Maybe also she was simply happy to see him keeping busy. If she was roped into whatever he was doing, so be it.

She peered down at him, trying to catch his eye, unable to call out to him.

Liz didn't get too close and it didn't take too long for Raylan to notice she was there and stop his work, one hand propping on the end of the shovel handle as he carded back the errant bangs that had fallen over his sweaty forehead. There was already three graves dug, Raylan was on the fourth and didn't look like he was planning on stopping anytime soon.

He would; dark would come and he wouldn't work in it.

"Liz," he panted under the exertion as he tried to catch his breath. "I've been lookin' for you. You okay?"

She eyed the graves, silently thinking of the three that she lost in rapid succession. Three names for three graves. There was a shudder and then a quick swallow before her composure was recovered. Graves were necessary in this place, unfortunately. Though she was still a bit confused about whether or not people truly stayed dead.

Looking for me? That genuinely surprised her. She hadn't expected to cross anyone's mind very much, not with things growing so hectic and so many becoming injured or disappearing.

I'm fine. I was looking for you, probably for much the same reason. Are you doing all right?

He saw the shudder and frowned gently. Was she sure she wanted to be here?

"Yeah," He replied with a nod, sticking his shovel into the dirt and climbing out of the hole. He was dressed, but the undershirt that kept his modesty was dirty and damp in spots with sweat. "Hadn't seen you in a few days. Groundhog days. So I don't know how much that counts." He brushed off his hands and pushed his hair back out of his face again.

"I'm.. whole. Tried to cross the chasm again yesterday. Didn't quite work out well enough. Tryin' to do somethin' useful with my hands. Where've you been the past while? What house are you set up in?"

Maybe he'd come visit next time he was worried, if she were amenable.

Memories had a tendency to surface at times that she didn't want them to. She wasn't new or spooked easily by graveyards, but her past and her baggage always seemed to bog her down at the worst moments. She wasn't about to let them hurt her or chase her into that darkness, so instead, she gave Rayland he full attention.

She frowned at his admission. Why? That could have killed you! That was what she had feared for him honestly. That chasm and that need to cross it that he seemed to feel. She didn't like any of it and it made her want to shake him.

I'm still at the boarding house. Some people were wanting to learn sign, so I have been teaching them.

He shook his head at the admonishment he knew was in the words. Everyone said that; no one was willing to take the risks that Mathis put them in the way of by being here. She was sweet to worry but it wasn't going to be enough to stop him.

"There's somethin' for us over there, Liz. We have to get over there. With the fog rolled back, I had to try, I had to." He wanted her to understand.

"Good. That's.. that's good. Safer for you there than anywhere else. With other people. I've missed some of our lessons. I'd like to get back onto 'em. If you've got the time."

She could understand that stubborn belief, even if she didn't like the attempt. Her life had taught her caution and a need to be patient. Sometimes it was better to be small and unnoticed than anything else, but she could understand that adventurin' desire. The need to know was greater than much else and she couldn't blame him for that. She still frowned in disapproval, ever the mother.

I got the time, if you have the inclination. Okay, she was being just a bit sassy, but he had her slightly concerned. Still, it was kind of him to want to learn, making him more precious to her than a simple acquaintance.

He didn't look done with the graves though and she glanced down at them with an appraising eye. Do you need help with this first?

Raylan's patience hadn't run out, but the tank hit low more often than not nowadays. She was lucky he wasn't back at smashing the Town Hall's windows in or setting it on fire again. He had made promises and now that they weren't in the time loop, the risks were higher. His caution was calculated.

He had been around town plenty, easy to find and had been looking for her. It was a lie to say he'd missed the lessons like he'd missed an appointment that they didn't have. But he pointed none of that out, eyes only flicking down to the grave he was in before a shake of his head.

"No. I could use a break from it anyway," he declared, dropping him and his three mile long legs back into the hole to sit on it's edge. Was it a grave if no one was currently slotted for it? What made it not just a square hole in the ground. Either way, he wasn't going to ask Liz to help him with this kind of hard labor. "If you don't mind doin' it here. I'm too dirty to be inside and not headin' straight for a shower."

Inside also held moonshine and despite what everyone might think, he was trying to take care of himself.

She shook her head, not really unnerved to be near the graves now that the moment of reflection had passed. She took a seat on the side next to him, pulling out her book from the knapsack she carried. It was mostly pictures, letting him see the proper way to move his fingers and what gestures to make.

Who are these for? She asked, looking down at the graves. With everything that happened, they would likely be filled soon enough, but had something happen during the time she was preoccupied with her book?

She turned to the page showing how to say "hello", demonstrating the proper way to sign it for him, waiting for him to sign it back.

Pictures he could work with, especially if she was willing to correct his hands when they were off. He didn't want to do this half ass or be 'mumbling'. His 'hello' wasn't bad though; he was a quick and sharp learner.

"I don't know who they're for yet. But.. more of us are gonna die here. I'm sure of it."

Frowning a little, he signed "Hello" again, the gesture a little tighter.

"Last time we needed 'em, winter was here. Ground was frozen. Thought I'd save us some work."

That was a fair point. Better to do it now than wait for when a death happened. It would be unlikely to actually dig deep enough. Unfortunately, it meant that they would have to keep up on maintaining the graves. If it rained again or snowed, the soil would become difficult.

But she was certain Rayland was already ahead of her on that thought. If you need help keeping up with this, I can lend you a pair of hands.

She pointed to the sign "emergency". It was a simple "e" being shook back and forth. Sadly, this would be the other important sign.

For all that Raylan knew about graves, which was a considerable amount, he didn't know what she was talking about and his brow furrowed as he glanced at the sign and the way she did it.

The motion was echoed as he replied. "Emergency." A note that he was picking it up. "What do you mean, keeping up with this?"

The graves. If you need help keeping up on them.

She nodded in approval at his signing of "emergency." She next showed him how to sign "what's wrong", suspecting that would also be one of the more useful gestures he would need. Eventually, they could get to the rest, but this village required more frantic signs.

"Sorry, I-" Raylan shook his head. He still didn't know what she meant by that. "What does that mean, keeping up with the graves? They're buried, we pack the dirt a bit.."

Was this some lost bit of knowledge that didn't manage to make it down the pipeline of generations?

She takes a moment to write out the lengthy explanation. The ground would get wet by the time winter came and the structure of the grave would become loose and weak. Until it was filled, it would need to be maintained and cared for, as well as cleared of snow. She emphasized that was what she meant.

It was probably easier for later generations, but in her experience, these things (like houses) needed to be repaired at times.

Raylan read it over carefully, knitted brow a sign of understanding. Maybe he should have caught up sooner but he didn't have a lot of experience in watching or having open, unused graves.

"The open ones, I see. Yeah, apparently I need the expertise," he said with a soft pull of his lips. "I figured we'd just.. dig out what falls in but now that you've mentioned the walls.. I see why it would need the upkeep.. I imagine you've seen more than your fair share of 'em, empty or otherwise.. You sure it won't bother you?"

More often people died of sickness where I am from or women in childbirth. You tend to see a number of graves being built. She just wouldn't think about the specific people killed in other ways or how it related to her. The past was better buried in these graves as well.

She shook her head. It will give me something to do. And honestly, that was what she wanted more than anything, something to wile away the hours. This place could be unnerving, but time meant reflecting and she preferred to be busy instead.

That made sense and he nodded.

"I won't stop you then. I'd say we can leave a shovel but I'm worried about what'll become of it." He took a deep breath. "Even if I'm hoping we don't need it." He was sure she felt the same.

"I wish it would warm up into spring proper. I've been thinkin' about farmin'. Fresh food would help everyone's mood and appetite. Start a small garden or something." Oh if only he knew the weather that was going to rock them in a few days - it might be washed out."

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059-061 » the place where you stop the story

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