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

Hello...

[In response, Mary gives a slight curtsy. Her eyes wander to his lantern. It's so pretty...it's like the real moon, almost, but almost close enough to touch. Looking at it, her shyness melts away, and she smiles.]

My name's Mary. I think you look more like a star than a shadow.

[ It takes effort for Shadow to keep his expression neutral. To keep from showing the stab of pain that comes from seeing a child in a place like this. An image flashes in his mind: the faces of children staring up at him from beneath black water. He swallows, and he tries not to think of how Mary came to be here.

She's a sweet kid, he thinks. Very polite. Something presses at the edge of his senses, in that place in his mind where he made it snow, but he's too distracted by her presence to pay attention to it right now. ]

Nice to meet you, Mary.

[ He gives her a little bow in turn, and he manages to return her smile. ]

Oh yeah? Why's that?

[He bowed back! That never happens! For a dead girl, Mary's positively filled with glee.]

Because your eyes sparkle! Just like stars!

[ Between those words and her apparent delight, Shadow's smile grows and he lets out a quiet laugh. ]

Thank you. That's very sweet.

[ His impulse is to ask if her parents are around. But given the situation… ]

Do you recognize anyone here, Mary?

[Unsurprisingly, Mary shakes her head. She looks a little bit sad to say so, but not enough to change her tone of voice.]

No...everybody here is a new friend!

[ That's a good way to look at it. Shadow's impressed that Mary is handling the situation so well. He wonders if he can chalk it up to childlike optimism, and then he wonders if such a thing is childlike at all. Did he ever act that way as a kid? Or was he always serious and slightly strange?

As Shadow's thoughts slide inward, shifting his focus just slightly from Mary herself, something changes. His vision seems to blur, and he realizes that the texture of her skin appears to be different. Shadow's smile fades. He blinks, trying to banish whatever trick the lack of light is playing with his eyes.

But when he looks at Mary again, he realizes it's not a trick.

She's still there. Still a perfectly ordinary little girl. But at the same time, in the same place, she's anything but ordinary. Her body is a canvas — literally a canvas — and every feature is painted with precision. There are flowers around her, bright and yellow, and a frame that encloses it all.

Shadow doesn't realize that he's failed to respond to Mary's last words. He's just staring at her — not frightened, but obviously surprised. ]

[When he doesn't respond, Mary's smile gets a little anxious. The way he's looking at her...it's nothing, right? She's just imagining things, isn't she? Mary looks down and away, over her surroundings, avoiding his eyes--even though she just said she found them so lovely.]

Um...

[She laughs disjointedly to herself, then suddenly latches onto a new thought. That's the only way she can stop herself from telling him to stop looking at her.]

I hope you're not too sad about being dead! I think it's a nice place even if it's dark and there's a big fire. I think if you stay away from the fire, you'll be happy, because everyone here is very nice!

[ It takes far too long for Shadow to shake off his surprise. By the time he does, Mary is visibly uncomfortable. He feels a pang of something like shame, and he tries to blink away the double-vision. He tries to banish the image of Mary as a living painting. It doesn't work. ]

Yes. Everyone seems very nice.

[ He doesn't ask about the fire. She's canvas. In Shadow's mind, the reason is obvious. ]

I'm sorry. I was startled. [ Which doesn't explain much, but his next words — asked gently, but asked nonetheless — may clue her in. ] Mary, are you a god?

Am I...

[A God? She's full of fear and frustration up until that word. And then she's just confused. A god? No, no, that's not it...is it? She doesn't believe so. But, if she's being honest:]

What is a god?

INTRO LOG: JULY

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