logsinthenight | INTRO LOG: JULY

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: july 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. winters, will, and rastus introduce themselves and explain the situation.
warnings: n/a.

welcome to beacon.

It's dim, and the room won't stop swaying, gently rocking you back and forth. A loud sound startles you fully awake, a deep, moaning call: a foghorn. As your eyes adjust, you note faint red light streaking through the room from a tiny, round window.

You've found yourself in a private room, lying on a bed. The last things you remember are the events that led up to your death. Beside you is a folded tablet and a lantern that glows steadily with a healthy flame.

You're on a ship. And that ship is docking.

Making your way to the deck, and eventually the pier, you find only moonlight to greet you, and a dark forest beyond. There are other people here, each with their own unique lantern, and many of them look just as lost as you are. On the ferry you've just disembarked from, the speaker system begins to play a song.

In the distance, across the waters of the lake, you can see the tall silhouette of a lighthouse, its red light slowly turning.

•••
Winters and Will are waiting for you on the beach. Winters flags you down from where he's standing atop a large rock, surveying the gathering crowd. Will stands next to him, though he's monkeying with his tablet and looks rather bored. He barely looks up as Winters speaks:

"First thing's first: I'm sorry you're here. There's no easy way to break this news, so let's just get it over with, hm? You're dead. Or, ah, you've died. Call this the afterlife if you want, or don't if that ain't your thing, but point is, you're here 'cause you died. Those are the facts.

This world's dead, too. You've noticed by now it's pretty dark, yeah? That's 'cause there's no life here, not anymore. And that lantern you've got? That's your life, so to speak. The flame goes out, you die, and vice versa. Keep it close. Should be easy enough to remember on account of how the sun don't rise. You'll need something to see by.

This place is called Beacon, and that's Lake Red Jacket. Town's 'bout a mile down the road, and we've got a bonfire there, but that's the only other light you'll see in this place. Save for the moon and all, though the sky won't do you much good out in the woods. I'll let Rastus explain the bonfire to y'all.

Ah, right. I'm Ben Winters—Winters'll do—and this here's Will Ingr— What? For christ's sake, Dr. Will Ingram. Likes to think he's the brains of the operation, as you can see. If you've got questions about these tablets, he's your guy. Rastus tends to the fire, and you'll find him in town. He's married to his job in a way. And you may never've seen a person like him back wherever you came from, but don't make a big fuss over it. He's a nice fellow. Mind your manners.

The three of us are leftovers from past resets. We came here on that ferry just like you, but it's just us left now. 'Sides the Lighthouse Keeper, but it'll be a bit before you get to meet her. She's got control over the town, see, and if she ain't satisfied with a group's performance, they get the axe. Town gets reset. If she pulls a reset on you folks, a couple of you might end up like me and Will here, giving this speech to the next crop."

The red beam of the lighthouse pulses over the group, over the trees. Winters glances up to watch it swing out over the bay.

"But don't hold it against her. Ain't her fault we're in this mess, and we've all got a job to do, including you.

For now, concentrate on accepting your lot, yeah? We're here to answer your questions, but we ain't gonna tell you all there is to know just yet. Some things are best learned on your own, and some of it we just don't want to saddle you with yet. There's a limit to how long we can stay here safely, that's true, but thing is, we do got time. Time enough to play this smart. Do better than the folks before us did. Settle in, make peace, explore a bit if you're up for it. Use these first couple weeks to come to grips. You ain't gonna be any good to the town if you don't sort yourself out before worrying about what comes next.

So listen up: You're dead. You died. Whatever your old life was, it's done now. None of us can go back, so all we've got is forward. Welcome to Beacon. Could be worse, yeah?"

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to In the Night! For this intro log, all three NPCs will be available for chatting with, whether your character wants to make casual conversation or ask questions about all this. The headers on each NPC toplevel are there for easy reference as to what each of them are responsible for, but you're welcome to go to any NPC for whatever reason. You're welcome to assume your character has overheard any NPC conversation to learn more about the game. After the NPC threads have died down, we'll compile the info learned ICly and add it to the game history page. If your character would contribute something specific to the game history records, let us know!

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

The monthly store restock

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Rafe's head snaps up at the initial bang, eyes narrowing at the quiet exclamation that follows. Even with the candles flickering behind him everything is still so goddamned dark that he can't make out who it is— Or what they've been doing. How long they've been watching him.

In less time than it takes to tell he's up on his feet, gun out of its holster and half raised all on instinct before— Oh, goddammit. Right. They're all fucking dead anyway. He doesn't put the pistol away yet, but he leaves the safety on as his free hand lifts his lantern high above his head to try and get something in his line of sight. The expression on his face is scowling, exasperated but not particularly murderous. ]

All right, cut the crap. It's dark enough already without somebody deciding they're going to start playing games.

[ At the sight of the gun, something between panic and cold calm spikes through her as she automatically widens her stance, starting to solidify the shadows around her in case she needs to defend herself. To her relief though, he puts it down, evidently deciding there was no need to get violent. Yet.

It’s probably best to announce herself now since he clearly knows there’s someone here. If only so he won’t start shooting wildly (she’s seen people do some stupid shit). ]

… Uh… Sorry. I was just… looking around.

[ Still functionally invisible, but her voice should be enough to tell him where to point because she certainly isn’t moving any closer. ]

[ The muzzle of the gun taps impatient against his leg, the grip a cold comfort in his hand as he takes slow and careful steps past the pews. ]

Yeah? Join the club. [ Carefully turning in place, Rafe squints in the dark and attempts to aim his lantern at wherever this voice is coming from. There's so many shadows, too many possibilities but he's not about to let whoever's out there just slide on this. ] Doesn't mean you sneak around spying on people.

[ Is this dude purposely being menacing or is he just Like That, because the whole gun tapping thing certainly isn’t making her feel any better about this whole situation. But then, he doesn’t owe her that. Still, gun tapping!!! ]

I swear wasn’t spying, I just… [ She pauses for long, long beat, unsure of what to say. Other than the truth which was a bit pathetic now that she thought about it. But hey, maybe it’d engender some sort of sympathy and she’d be allowed to just. Leave. ] …didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

[ She watches his attempts to spot her with a slight bit of confusion. It’s not like she’s invisible or something (she kinda is). But she’s not going to make any sudden movements. Just in case he’s so startled he uses the gun in his hand. God, guns suck. ]

...Fair enough.

[ No judgment in his voice because. Well. Can't fault her there. Another few idle taps, and Rafe holsters the pistol for now, tucked away at the small of his back and letting his shirt fall to cover it. The voice is young and maybe he can make some small allowance for that.

Also because he's annoyed now and wondering just how the hell he still can't see her. ]

All right, kid, can you just come out already? [ An exasperated sigh as he raises his empty hand now. ] I'm not about to shoot anybody.

[ She ~~visibly~~ relaxes when the gun is put away, shuffling herself back into a more casual posture (for her anyways, the years of dancing have left their mark). Now she was really confused though, considering she was basically in plain sight and is just… standing there. Maybe if she, waved?

So. She does so.

It takes her a moment to realize what’s off about the gesture… She can’t... see her hand. Not like normal anyways. She can certainly feel it there, but the usual corner of the eye movement is just. Gone. In its place is hazy darkness blending into the eternal night around them and holy shit. Is she doing that??? This is definitely new.

Taking a deep breath, she sharpens her sense, feeling the shroud surrounding her. Within her. And with one last wave… it dissipates, leaving one slightly freaked out 17-year-old who didn’t ask for any of this thank you very much. Well, she did, but not like this. ]

I’m… Here.

[ Rafe is waiting and watching and waiting for something to actually happen when suddenly he hears a sharp inhale and there's a sudden slip of a thing just appearing out of nowhere. As if the shadows just melted away from her. Which...not what he was expecting. ]

Christ— [ He doesn't flinch — barely. Instead he rolls his eyes before leveling an unimpressed look at her. ] So you're another one.

[ She’s just about to apologize when he says that, causing her to still with her mouth open as she just… stares for a moment. What did he mean another one? Teenager? Girl?? Asian??? What was he angling towards???? ]

… What?

[Cont. Here]

INTRO LOG: JULY

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