079-081 » to the hideous end

[villagemod]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Mathias Township proper
WHEN: Days 079-081
WHAT: More mysteries are revealed in the aftermath.
WARNINGS: (PM this account to have a warning added!)
NOTES: Plotting post over here! The next log will be posted the weekend of August 22 29.
MOD NOTE: Thank you again for your patience!

RECOMMENDED ♫ Deadly Avenger "Kosho"

DAY 079-081
“If I am mad, it is mercy! May the gods pity the man
who in his callousness can remain sane to the hideous end!”
― H.P. Lovecraft
The day dawns red from the smoke that still hangs in the air, though the fires have long since burned out overnight. Ash covers the ground like grey snow all throughout Mathias, even to Baneberry Hall at the far edge of the town. There is still a strange heat clinging to the little town as if the fog that surrounds them has trapped even the temperature within its borders, but the skies have at least cleared of those ominous storm clouds.

While the fires have gone, the ruin they left behind remains. The eastern side of town is full of the charred shells of what were once homes, collapsed walls and questionable flooring warning off those who might consider venturing inside. There may be a few salvageable items within the wreckage but it certainly won't be much, and those foolish enough to try searching the rubble may sustain injuries in the attempt.

What residents are almost guaranteed to find in their wanderings through the town are decidedly more unsettling. Scattered throughout the town are the corpses of current residents seemingly still alive and well, their causes of death as varied as their locations: crushed bones and organs on the beach; asphyxiation on the steps of the library; broken neck in the tunnels under the residential district. The time of death is equally as varied, with some still warm to the touch while others have begun to rot and decay like the buildings around them.

And if that isn't enough to send their anxiety spiking, they will find that the darkness in Mathias has become even less welcoming than before. From nightfall to sunrise, wherever they have chosen to shelter, strange things may happen from one night to the next. These occurrences are not consistent, either across the night or the location, and no patterns arise to make sense of what happens. It is simply another oddity of Mathias perhaps designed to drive them further into madness.



THE NEW ARRIVALS
The newest arrivals to Mathias will wake up on the lawn of Town Hall, at the center of the little town square. There are shops all around them, with houses just beyond, and at first glance, everything seems almost picturesque. Except for the silence that is at times so complete as to be maddening... Welcome to Mathias.



THE RESURRECTED
Those who perished on Day 078 will wake with the smell of burnt flesh still filling their nostrils, near what little remains of their former body. This will likely be in the crumbling, unstable remains of whatever building they were trapped inside. Welcome back to the land of the... living?

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CORPSES BY DAY
— During any day of this log, characters may find one or more corpses in a location around town. This is an activity that must be opted-into by both players involved: the corpse-owner and the corpse-finder.

— The corpses that appear are only those of current residents within Mathias. The cause of death does not need to match any previous deaths that characters may have experienced in-game, though it should be only natural or possibly accidental — there should be no signs of the cause being an intentional death. (And, for the sake of your fellow players, please try to keep it light on the gore.)

— Corpses may be found in any outdoor location or inside any space where characters are not currently sheltering (such as the crumbling homes on the west side or the burned homes on the east side). The corpses will not appear inside any location where characters have been sleeping.

— The corpses can appear at various times throughout the day, meaning that a character may pass by the library in the morning with no corpse on the steps and then pass by again in the afternoon to suddenly find a corpse hanging out there.

— There may be items or clues found upon the corpses! These are not guaranteed for everyone. Players should submit this form to find out if they've won the Mathias Lottery.


TERRORS BY NIGHT
— Where players have chosen to shelter at night may have unexpected consequences, especially for those in the western half of Mathias. All characters must be accounted for.

— Mod feedback will provide either confirmation that nothing unusual happens in this location or details of any strange or unsettling occurrences on a given night and the potential consequences of staying there.

— If a player wants to opt-out of the consequences of their character staying in a particular location on a specific night, they must find another location at which their character can shelter.

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SANITY LOSS

There are multiple opportunities for sanity loss within this log. All instances of such should be reported before the next log.

— CORPSE DISCOVERY Depending on your character's mental state, their relationship to the corpse, and the cause of death, sanity loss can range from 1-5 points per corpse found. This amount is up to the individual player. Items found on a corpse may also induce additional sanity loss per mod instruction.

— NIGHTTIME LOCATIONS Some locations within Mathias are safer than others at night. Players will receive mod feedback on their chosen nighttime locations which may include sanity loss for some things experienced.

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CONDITIONS UPDATE

— THE WEATHER Summer continues in Mathias, with warm days that average 70°F and comfortably cool nights.

— THE FOG has maintained its recent boundaries.

— 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 from the western section of town entirely.

— 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.

— DISAPPEARANCES & DEATHS have started up again. Neal Caffrey, Athena Carrigan, Jeff Calhoun, and Caitlin Snow have vanished from the town while Wynonna Earp died in the town fires.

— THE SHAPES in the water may be spotted more frequently, and residents may get the sense that whatever is out there is watching them and waiting for something...

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OOC NOTES

— ENDGAME (Repeat message.) We are officially heading into endgame. Over the next few months, things will begin ramping up and moving toward the always planned conclusion, with the last log projected to go up between the end of October and middle of December.

What does this mean? Essentially, hopefully, this will mean more opportunities to dig into the mysteries and lore of the game, as well as more chances for your characters to creep toward insanity. However, how things progress and what information comes to light will depend upon character interaction with the setting and involvement with the mysteries of Mathias.

— SANITY NOTES

— Make sure that you're reported any sanity losses from the last log and claimed any madnesses earned with those losses. And report all the losses from this log before the next is posted!

— There is now additional guidance available about what happens when characters fall below 50 sanity points.

— A reminder that sanity may be regained through character actions.

— APPLICATIONS There are only two application rounds left before apps will be permanently closed. If you're trying to lure someone in for the end of the game, now is the time to get enabling.

— FORMS If there are comments on posts that have forms, please try to remember to respond directly to that comment. With DW notifs sporadically going missing, I rely on those comments ending up in the proper journal inbox, which is the only way I'm guaranteed to see them.

— MOD UPDATE The summer program I run is over but I'm back in person at the office for the first time in 16 months, so life is still incredibly stressful and I will continue to be slow for the next while.

I will be prioritizing sleeping location and corpse responses for this log since these are timely matters with information you will need in order to move forward.

— REMINDER Once again, there are a lot of moving parts to this log. Ask questions if something is not clear! Please also make sure to check questions others ask, as well.

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Comments

NIGHTTIME LOCATIONS

[villagemodama]

All players should be sure that their character's nighttime location is reported for each night covered in this log. If multiple characters are shelting in one location together, they may be reported in the same comment. If characters move locations, then each location should be submitted via a different form, though they may be in the same comment.

The times covered in this log:

— late night 78 / early morning 79
— night 79 / early morning 80
— night 80 / early morning 81
— night 81 / early morning 82

<b>Character(s):</b> <b>Location:</b> <b>Night:</b>

[sharker]

Character(s): Parker, Hardison, Eliot
Location: Movie theatre
Night: The whole time!

[villagemodama]

At the movie theater...

— In the early morning of day 079, there are sounds coming from the projection booth and shadows moving within. Should the trio investigate, there are no signs of anyone having recently been there.

— In the early morning of day 080, they will again hear sounds and see shadows from the projection booth. This time, there is evidence of someone having been there, with items moved into different positions.

— In the very early morning of day 081, there will again be sounds and shadows within the projection booth, but within moments of it beginning, the projector will turn on and illuminate the screen. The frames stutter, the lights flickering as the images jarringly bounce across the screen before finally falling into focus. A group of people in a dark stone room lit by candles, their forms little more than dark smudges in the film. They are saying something and moving about the room in coordinated action with arms raised as the shadows around them move as well. There is no sound to the film, not at first, but after a minute of silence the theater is suddenly filled with a high-pitched shrieking in a language that they cannot comprehend or repeat. The shrieking will continue for exactly 37 seconds before it and the film end abruptly.

There is no way to catch whoever or whatever is in the booth. If they investigate the projector, there is no film reel loaded into it.

Everyone who hears the shrieking loses 3 sanity points.

[enduresurvive]

Character(s): Ellie
Location: Movie theatre
Night: Night 78

(haven't decided other locations yet; will either update this comment or make a new one when I do!)

[villagemodama]

The circumstances listed here apply to all who shelter in the movie theater on these nights!

[tinstar]

Character(s): Raylan, Malcolm, Ainsley, Klaus, Dorian, Doc, Negan?
Location:The Schoolhouse
Night: at least night 78 and night 79

[This information might change as other players also house in the schoolhouse with them, or if an individual decides to sleep elsewhere. Add'l days for Raylan will be accounted for in a second entry, at some point if needed.]

[myfavoritemurder]

Can I toss Callisto in here too for those two nights?

[twowaypath]

Tai is also joining this group, please!

[villagemodama]

Here you go.

[enduresurvive]

Ellie is also joining for night 79.

[walkingtrigger]

Character(s): Tim Gutterson
Location: The Old Church
Night: Nights 79 & 80

(Haven't decided for 81. I will put up a new comment when I have it worked out!)

[villagemodama]

Since he will be quite exposed in the church ruins, he will get to enjoy the sounds of something moving along the nearby treeline and the sensation of something moving in the air above the ruins. There is no way to see any visible sign of either.

[exsto]

Character(s): Bucky, Daisy & Steve
Location: Poppy Cottage Bed & Breakfast
Night: The whole time!

[villagemodama]

For Poppy Cottage Bed and Breakfast...

— In the early morning hours of day 79, they will be awakened by the sound of someone slowly moving within the building. If they are upstairs, the sound is downstairs; if they are down, the sound is up. There is no sign of anyone actually making the quiet shuffling scraping sounds, and they stop when someone enters the room.

— Beginning late at night on day 79, the shuffling scraping movement begins again, moving from one room to another. It does not end when someone enters the room, though there is again no sign of who or what is making the sound. These sounds continue through to the early morning of day 80, where a scratching at the walls joins the chorus.

— In the middle of the night on day 80, the scraping and scratching begin again, slow and steady as the night goes on. It's not until the hour before dawn on day 81 that the sounds increase in speed and strength — they are soon accompanied by a sudden booming pounding on the walls of the building, jumping from one spot to another as if something is trying to find a way out... or a way in. The occurrence continues for 5 minutes before everything stops and silence fills the rooms.

Everyone at the bed and breakfast for the event on day 81 loses 3 sanity points.

[nottevintersoldier]

Character(s): Dorian Pavus
Location: School House
Night: Every night unless otherwise moved for some reason. He'll need someone to help him/move him considering his wounds.

[villagemodama]

Here you go.

[descendent]

Character(s): Elijah and Elena.
Location:
— 79: Boarding House.
— 80-81: Abandoned house along King Lane.
Night: See above.

[villagemodama]

The boarding house and all of the houses on King Lane were destroyed in the fire on day 78.

[liliowy]

Character(s): yennefer
Location: school house
Night: 79, 80 and 81 likely!

[villagemodama]

Here you go.

[villagemodama]

For the schoolhouse...

— Beginning in the early morning of day 79, they will hear the occasional fluttering of paper, such as from the pages of a text or notebook. These sounds occur randomly in all rooms of the building, though there is no discernible source for them.

— Throughout the night of day 79, there will be more sporadic sounds, including the fluttering of paper but also the sudden thud of books hitting the floor. Sometimes there will be no book that has fallen, and other times it will be there on the floor with no sign of how it got there.

— Throughout the night of day 80, the previous nights' sounds continue, this time adding the squeak of chairs on floor and the scrape of desks being moved, again with either no sign of them being moved or the desk already being in another location.

— As night falls on day 81, the performance begins again with zeal. Books falls, chairs and desks scrape and topple, and papers are flung about the rooms, all of it visible and without any reasonable explanation. This almost violent event continues for three minutes until everything stops and the electricity within the building flickers and dies. (The electricity will return the following morning.)

There is no way to catch whoever or whatever is causing these disturbances, nor can anyone's abilities be used to garner information or inhibit these activities.

Everyone within the schoolhouse the night of day 81 loses 3 sanity points.

[etovosts]

Character(s): The Darkling, Alina Starkov, Fedyor Kaminsky.
Location: Benedict's Books.
Night: The whole time~

Klaus Hargreeves

[bestfuneralever]

Location: Schoolhouse
Night: 79/80

Location: Antique Store
Night: 81

Location: TBA
Night: 82

Ainsley Whitly

[welladjustedwhitly]

Location: Schoolhouse
Night: 79-81

Location: TBA
Night: 82

[walkingtrigger]

Character(s): Tim Gutterson
Location: Penhew House
Night: 81