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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Not unless I have to, [Raylan echoed the words he had spoken before, chin dropping with a faint lift of his eyes.]

Do you laws? Or.. fighters protecting a King - Guards? ['Fighters' came with a gesture at them both before he put his dukes up again and he followed 'King' with the gestured. If this didn't get across, he'd have to try a different tact.

This was harder than he thought it was going to be.]

Fighter, yes.

[She learned that one from Carter. But as for the rest... she gives a shrug, and shoves the paper and pencil at him. Here, draw it.]

[He made a little face of disappointment and shook his head, waving it away.]

It's too complicated to scratch out. How am I supposed to expect you to understand the degree of laws from what I'm guessin' in a place where there aren't any?

[He shook his head again.]

I.. [He reached out and took the paper anyway.] I fight for people, [he tapped the scrawled family, circled them and the village.] Make death so they don't- [ another tap on the family with a shake of his head.]

But it's death isn't the only option. I can.. [the paper was set down and he lifted his hands, grabbing each one of his wrists in kind and clasping them behind his back.] Rope. I can capture them. Hold them.. Prisoner. So they can't get out.

[Ah, okay - that's easier to puzzle out. He's a hero, then - of some sort or another.]

This?

[She draws a square and fills in several vertical lines - a prison cell.]

Yeah - yeah! [Fuck, he was almost a little excited to be making progress. At least this wasn't throwing himself at a wall that he couldn't chip any more off of.]

Jail. Or prison more often than not but that's semantics at this point. I have a - [The paper and pencil was picked up and Raylan sketched out a little star, drawing a circle around it.]

Marshal. I put people there. [The cell was tapped again and he handed it all back.]

That being said, [he continued with a sigh as he readjusts his hand and looks over at the other side of the chasm he would beat come hell or high water.] I don't know that my Marshalling should get in the way, should Xena ever show up here.

[He looked over curiously.] Don't suppose you would consider only making death on them if you get out, huh?

[Her frown of concentration betrays the fact that she's listening as he speaks, trying to pick up familiar words and puzzle out the rest, though her eyes are on the paper as she draws another little jail cell square next to the first. This one has bent and broken bars, because this is what happens when you try to shove people in prison, Raylan. They break out. She knows from experience.]

Death in Mathias is--

[She plays dead for a second, closing her eyes and lolling her head to the side, then makes a show of opening her eyes again, blinking - waking up.]

Yes?

[Death isn't usually permanent, she's been told. People come back.]

[Admittedly, and unbeknownst to the poor sod sitting next to her, Callisto dealt with a.. different grade of people. Raylan looked at the picture, forehead pinching with a shake of his head.]

Bad bars.

[Sure. It was 'structural'.

He watched her miming and responded with a weighing back and forth of his hands.]

Some do. Some don't. Death is to die. Murder or killing is to make death on people. [She seemed smart enough to differentiate unless no one every died of old age or cancer in the bronze age. Iron age? He wasn't a history nerd, he'd have to talk to Malcolm.]

Sometimes, even when people die, they're not in.. what word did you use? [He pointed at the pit.] Hades is...? Hell?

Hádēs-- Hades is in Tártaros. Tartarus.

Tartarus. [It was weird in his mouth and around his accent but he was willing to put forth the effort.]

We don't go there. Or too some great- [ He gestured out at the sky covered his eyes with his hands, the horseshoe ring on his finger catching in the passing sun as he spoke before falling.] Darkness.

It's not normal. [The sentiment came with a shake of his head and a tensing of his jaw as he looked back down into the pit before glaring off down the side of the gap. Looking over at Callisto, he jerked his head that way and got up. They could be productive for a few minutes.]

There's a big house over there, [ He said in near accusation, pointing towards the far north, over the gap.] I'm tryin' to get over this gap.

[Her gaze flicks up to the sky when he points, then back down at him - and then out at the view across the chasm when he points there next. It really isn't that big of a gap, she muses, not for the first time. She's not positive she could successfully jump it, but she thinks it's likely.]

Tomorrow?

[That's what he'd said earlier, after all.]

[Raylan hummed with a glower at the chasm.]

Tomorrow. Always fuckin' tomorrow. [Yes, he didn't want to wait. Yes, waiting frustrated him.] Have to finish building the bridge to reach over.

[Well, you're clearly unhappy with this plan, Raylan, so why wait? Why not just go? In fact...

She walks backwards away from the chasm, counting her paces in Greek under her breath. When she's a good nine or ten yards back, she starts doing leg stretches, limbering herself up - very possibly preparing to try to make the jump.]

[Deeply unhappy, as a matter of fact.

Raylan had to take a double take as Callisto started pacing back and he didn't have to know the numbers to know counting. He turned himself into her way and forwards a few steps, one hand extended in a 'What the hell, no stop that' kind of gesture.]

Wha- what are you doing? You can't jump across that thing, it's at least sixteen feet!

[Well, that's clearly a displeased reaction. She stops her stretching and turns to face him, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.]

Not tomorrow, but--

[How do you say "let's jump this gap right the fuck now", Raylan.]

[Raylan flashed her all ten of his digets before following with 4 more, slapping his foot and gesturing at the tear in the land.]

That's 14 feet at least. Too much. Too.. [He held his hands wide, as wide as he could.]

To hell with death, what about if you break a leg? [A rough pat on his leg and the gesture of breaking a stick.]

Then you--

[She runs a finger across her own neck.]

-- on me.

[Then you kill her and put her out of her misery, obviously.]

[His brow pinched, head shaking back and forth a fraction as he retracted it.]

What? We don't.. You don't have to die from a broken leg, Callisto. Because no one's gonna kill you for havin' it either. We know things about broken bones now. It doesn't have to be that.

[He was only just realizing how far back that must put her. Where people were put down like horses when they got sick or too broken and in pain. Understandable. Humane in its own way but.. unnecessary here.]

No.

[She says, shaking her head firmly.]

Do it.

[It makes perfect sense to her, in a place where dead people usually come back to life. Why suffer through a broken limb when you can just die and get rid of it?]

No.

[He pointed back towards where Claire was with a shake of his head.]

We don't know that she's coming back. [He shook his head again, before lolling it to the side for a moment before straightening. It wasn't as slow as Callisto had done it before but his patience for taking his time waned in times like this.]

You getting over is no help to any of us. [A finger at her, a finger that did a comical little arc towards 'over' the gap, a shake of his head and a nod at the town.] Tim, Me.. Or you. Nothing. No gain. No win.

You'll break your leg, I won't kill you, you'll probably do it yourself, and for nothing.

All is nothing.

[She hisses, stomping over and getting up in his face in a clear challenge.]

Everything. Everyone. You can't-- you--

[She switches to Greek: "You can't stop me from doing whatever I want, whenever I want."]

[Raylan didn't move a step or his gaze as she stomps up to him, eyes already darker for having wrestled around with her. He wasn't scared or intimidated by the venom in her voice and with what she had gotten out in English, in hand with her tone, he could guess.

'You can't tell me what to do']

Neither can you. Humanity's a bit of a pain in the ass, aren't we.

[Despite all the stoniness in his features, the words were low and even.]

Tomorrow. [Maybe she would take that. Where there would be an actual way for her to cross over, if she wanted to.]

[You are infuriating, Raylan. The worst.

(This isn't helped by the fact that she doesn't know what the word "tomorrow" actually means - only that it's obviously a time indicator for sometime in the future that's not right now.) ]

Perífovos.

[She snits again, though she at least seems to have given up on trying to make the jump.]

Remember this. This is you.

[He knew. It was the reason he got out of bed in the morning at home, just to piss someone off.

Not that that had been his intent here but Raylan understood things a little more pragmatically. A little more primal in nature. Harlan was full of it.]

Perifovos. I'm assumin' that means asshole in your language. I'll take it.

[It wasn't the note he wanted to leave on but if he hung around much longer, he worried that he might actually drive her into the chasm, the way she'd reacted to everything. Girl probably needed a rest anyways.

Raylan tipped his hat and stepped back half a step so he could get around her without bumping her shoulder - the universal sign for trying to start some shit. Which he was not.]

[She doesn't try to stop him from going, nor does she try to fight him on his way out. She just flops down onto the ground again, dangling her legs into the pit, dropping down onto her back so that she can stare listlessly up at the sky.]

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