villagelogs | 079-081 » to the hideous end

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?

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.

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.

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...

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.

navigation | faq | locations | report updates

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It had only been a day or so since Steve had arrived, and thus far, he was no closer to obtaining anything close to concrete answers than he'd been when he arrived. Answers being elusive, that was expected, especially in his line of work, but this was something else entirely. Beyond that, he'd been forced to set aside his personal endeavors for information when he'd discovered the scope of, well, damage and destruction that had gone on just before his arrival. Thankfully, Bucky and Daisy hadn't been injured as far as he had been able to tell, but as he had begun to make his way through the charred remains of much of the town, he realized that this was not at all the case for many others.

Honestly, it reminded him of the war. Corpses in burned out husks of buildings, left forgotten where they'd fallen. Stunned and dazed people milling about in places - he wanted to help, because helping meant he could shove his own struggles aside for the time being and focus on others.

It was his endeavors to aid others that led him to the schoolhouse - if the town hall had proven a fruitless venture, then his next stops were the library, if there were one, and the school. While he'd not set foot in a school since he graduated in 1936, this was much smaller than the one he'd attended in Brooklyn for certain. He stepped inside the building, looking much less worse for the wear than most of the others in town - no doubt, the mark of a fresh arrival. His first stop was going to be the administrative offices, but he frowned when he didn't find one. What he did find, however, was a nurses' station, and a wounded man laid up in a gurney of sorts with what appeared to be burn wounds.

"Oh - hi, uh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Steve looked around, then leveled his gaze at the fellow. "...I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because you're clearly not, but are you here alone? Do you need help?"

Oh, Maker take him, did he die? Was this beautiful man sent to whisk him away to some beautiful afterlife? Or perhaps he was a desire demon in disguise, here to tempt him. In his boredom, it just might work. But alas, surely he's not nearly that lucky and the more reality clicks the more he would rather sink into the sheets and die than be caught looking like hell, as he does. Though his kind eyes and the soft, stammered apology are far too sweet. He's caught in the mix of swooning and embarrassment.

"No, no, you're not disturbing me at all." He manages a soft smile and a little laugh, "I am alone at the moment, but someone will be by shortly I'm sure. I wouldn't mind the company if you've the mind though. I can only read through a book so many times."

Edited 2021-08-25 02:57 (UTC)

If Steve had known that the gentleman before him was in between swooning and embarrassment over the likes of him, he would have been quite sheepish and perhaps just a touch flustered. He'd gotten over most of the surprise that he'd had initially when people began to take notice of him, after the serum, but every now and again, it still caught him by surprise. However, he remained blissfully unaware for the moment, and instead offered him a bit of a smile as he stepped inside. There was concern there - he was honestly concerned for everyone present in this strange town - but if helping someone was as simple as friendly conversation and relief from boredom, then it was among the simplest tasks he could manage.

"Well, I think I can handle that," he said, and reached over. He pulled a chair over to the bedside, and sat forward a little, broad shoulders shifting a little as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"I'm Steve Rogers," he offered up, and extended a hand as a show of friendly courtesy, even if it turned out at the man couldn't shake in return. "I guess I'm new around here, but I can tell there was a fire. Though..." Steve grimaced a little, a look of self-deprecating humor on his face. "...Probably not the best topic to start with, considering. You're the first person that I haven't met before that was willing to talk to me, so - thanks for that."

There's plenty in this town that would give anyone pause for concern, let alone a Boy Scout like Steve Rogers. Despite the fact Dorian's laid up, half-burned, he can't help but feel a little remorse for a man, only just arrived after a big, destructive fire. He can only imagine the sort of confusion and stress that might be to wake up, not knowing where you are or what has happened. Dorian had woken much the same but the town was at least mostly intact at the time.

Luckily for the Mage it was his left hand that was healing so his right-hand raises to give the other a gentle handshake.

"Dorian Pavus." He gives a little nod as well, still getting used to the greetings these people seem to share.

"You noticed did you?" He chuckles softly, "Quite alright, really, I certainly can't fault a new arrival for being curious what the hell is going on. Wake up in unfamiliar surroundings that have clearly been burned to the ground, I'd be looking for survivors and asking the same questions."

He gives another little chuckle, "Well, don't thank me yet, much of the answers I have aren't much help. Not that any of us have much in the way of answers at all, it's rather frustrating."

He waves his hand as if to clear the air, "I digress, ask away. I'll do my best to explain what I know thus far, though I myself haven't been here all that long."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dorian. Too bad it's not under better circumstances." Unfortunately, Steve knew a lot about meeting people under less than ideal circumstances; it had sort of been the story of his life ever since meeting Bucky Barnes for the first time. He wouldn't go as far as to say that things had always worked out for him, but he was still alive, at least, and so were most of the people he cared about. He smiled a little at Dorian, appreciating the levity in a painful situation.

"Well, I guess you could say I'm actually kind of used to waking up in unfamiliar places with the world going to Hell around me. I know, it's an odd thing to put on a resume, but this isn't the first time. Something tells me it won't be the last, either. A couple of friends of mine who were here before me have sort of given me a basic rundown, but I still wanted to see what I could find out. I figured since the Town Hall wasn't much help, that maybe the school might have records or information, and that's why I'm here." Steve shifted in his chair a little and sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

He looked over Dorian for a moment, past the bandages, and tried to get a read on him. From what he'd managed to glean from Bucky, Daisy, and the scant information he'd gathered, people had come here from other places? Times, for certain - and he wondered if this wasn't perhaps in part because of their meddling in the timestream.

"How long have you been here? And, I guess...are you from...Earth? Some other planet?" Dorian certainly looked human, but he'd met aliens who looked mostly human as well, so there was really no telling at this point. "Oh - and I guess it's only fair if you ask me things in return." He grinned a bit, dryly.

"Indeed, I'd much rather be doing this over some drinks. It's nice to have such lovely company, in any case." He gives the other a charming smile in return.

"You're used to this sort of thing?" His brows raise, "How dreadful."

Dorian's accent would be reminiscent of someone from upper-class (posh) England, though he's not from Earth, as Steve is about to find out. Behind the bandages he does carry himself well, when one has a noble upbringing it's hard to lose certain ingrained things. Despite the state of him, he's clean, and even if he hasn't seen a mirror he's somehow managed to keep his mustache perfectly curled and his hair in a neat quiff.

"That's a good question," He taps his chin, eyes wandering up to the ceiling in thought.

"15 days, give or take? And no, not Earth, I am from a place called Thedas." He considers, "Though I hadn't really thought of it being another planet, how strange. It could very well be simply another plane or version of Earth? It's hard to say, but there are some similarities with the people I've met so far. But very, very vast differences as well."

He motions to him, "I take it you're from Earth?"

079-081 » to the hideous end

Day 80

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