INTRO LOG: JULY

[inthenightmods]

INTRO LOG: JULY
IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN

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

QUICKNAV
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pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

[facelessgirl]

How do we know there even is someone in charge of all this? Until we see her?

[ Arya has been trained to read falsehood in people and she'd read none that she could detect from the only people (people being a loose term since Arya had startled at seeing the giant human-like bird creature skulking around the fire) that had been here before their group arrived, but so much of their story and the situation was a complete mystery that Arya trusted none of it. Least of all the other strangers wandering around this dark place.

She doesn't hate the way this man gets right to the point, though. Her mouth sets and she comes inside, sitting on a low stool just inside the door. She kicks it shut with a boot. ]

Then that means finding out what was wrong about the last group. [ Her eyes flick over the mask, bothered that it blocks some of the signs that would otherwise help give away truths of the man she's speaking to ] There aren't many left to ask. But perhaps we should ask why they're the ones that are still here.

[jigsawn]

I don't see a reason for them to lie about the Lighthouse Keeper. Too easy to dismantle. But you're right. Maybe she isn't the one in charge. It's what we've got to go on right now though.

( she isn't the only one who doesn't trust anybody here. he might be willing to go along with the portrait winters & co are painting for them right now, but it doesn't mean that he believes everything they're saying without question. )

From what Winters told me, the last group — his group — got reset because progress stopped. Stress got to them. They started fighting. Killing each other. They'd lost sight of the objective, so she got rid of them.

( he would have asked him why he got to stick around, but it seems more like a question for the lighthouse keeper. )

[facelessgirl]

You think you understand enough about this place to see all the reasons they might have for what they do?

[ She looks skeptical to say the least and glances away. That's the most unnerving thing about it all to Arya - she doesn't know what to expect from this place. None of it makes sense.

But it's unsurprising to hear what happened to the last group. In a little village like this, with such confusion in such close quarters like this, it doesn't seem far-fetched. An army is only an army while it is being commanded. When it is not, it is just a gathering of frightening men with swords. ]

Sounds like we need commanders to stop that from happening. [ Trouble is, how are any of them supposed to know who among them is up to the task? ] Would you just this man Winters for that? Is that the role he thinks he's playing? [ She hasn't spoken to him herself; only listened. ]

[jigsawn]

None of us do, but there's no point in dissecting every single thing they tell us. If they're lying, we'll find out.

( he doesn't have much interest in leading or following anyone here. order and structure used to be a permanent fixture in his life, but ever since he had woken up from his coma, everything he had known came crashing down around him.

restrictive rules and directives became a part of his life for months and he hated it.

but even if he isn't willing to be led, he will do whatever it takes to get a better understanding of the "mess" they're in and figure a way out of it. )

Trust? No. But we don't have a better option until we learn more about this place first. For now, Winters and his friends are the ones holding all of the cards.