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

[This would be the troublesome part for anyone else, because Sora's been taught magic, he's used it plenty of times. But he doesn't really understand it. Donald became a court magician and could do all kinds of amazing things, and Merlin had traveled to a bunch of different worlds looking like exactly the kind of storybook wizard they've just mentioned, and though he hasn't seen a whole lot from Master Yen Sid- everyone he knows talks about how wise and powerful he is. There's an academic element to magic, but Sora can't really get his head around it and hasn't exactly tried. If he were any more concerned about the way he might appear to anyone else because of that, this is the point where he'd try and gracefully sidestep. Or at the very least, try to look a little less ignorant.

He doesn't.]

So does that mean- anybody that does magic is a wizard?

That's really not for me to say. Because I don't consider myself a wizard despite the fact that I can do magic. I would assume that there are different names for different magic users.

( he knew a lot but he doesn't know everything. maybe they call magic users something different in hoboken or something. )

Those low rent people that pop up and pull rabbits out of their hats? I wouldn't call them wizards or warlocks or witches. They are actors and little else.

[Admittedly, part of this is Sora's mistake: the assumption that fireworks guy knows everything. Maybe all wizards aren't created equal? Oh but he just said he's a warlock and not a wizard, cause wizards are from stories. But now that he mentions it, there was that one time at his sixth birthday that a wizard came and pulled a rabbit out of a hat and Riku said it wasn't real magic.

Oh man does this mean it was fake all along?

Sora's expression takes a journey- it travels along with his thoughts. His brows crease thoughtfully in the middle of his head, and then they raise in a lightbulb moment- only to come back down and examine it from another angle. His mouth turns at the corner, opens, closes again. And then once he's given up completely, exasperation has his butt dropping onto the sand- both legs stuck out in front of him and arms flung at his sides. An exhausted starfish.]

I give up, maybe I'll never know the difference.

Is it really that important to know the difference?

( magic was magic and as long as sora believed, that seemed to be the important part to ambrose. he wasn't talking about burning anyone at the stake or asking for proof or just disbelieving him.

that was more important that the definition in ambrose's eyes. )

You're aware that magic exists and you're all right with that. In my book, that's what matters.

Who wouldn't be alright with magic? You can make fireworks!

[In all his travels Sora's come to understand that he comes from a pretty uncomplicated world. Life on the islands had always had a kind of lazy, carefree sense to it, and he'd only really come to understand conflict- the complications and contradictions of what a heart could want, once he'd left that home behind. But however open-minded he's become, imagining something as terrible as burning people alive just doesn't come naturally. It's hard enough imagining how anyone could possible dislike magic at all.]

Oh!

[Sora sits up abruptly, fast enough infact that momentum makes him sway a little even though his legs are still sprawled in the sand.]

But I never asked you your name!

Ah, Ambrose Spellman at your service.

( he mutters something quietly and a few more sparks jump off his fingers before he grins. )

And you are?

[Well that doesn't sound pretentious. It just sounds, wizardy.

His palms press back into the sand behind him, taking his weight.]

And I'm Sora. It's good to meet you.

You as well though I'm not sure I should be saying that considering the circumstances of the meeting.

( you know, being dead and all. )

Well I dunno.

[While he's never been a particularly cerebral person, there's something thoughtful about the pitch of his voice- and it's echoed in the cant of his head as it tips to one side.]

There's worse things than dying, right?

Is there?

( dying seems to be...the end of everything so what's worse than that? )

What if it'd been someone you love? Or if something happened to your home, or to your memories?

[It isn't really until he hears the question and by extension, has to put together an answer that he realizes his bias. Most of the people here with him haven't been grieving openly, but that doesn't mean it isn't felt. That there aren't far away looks or stretches of silence. No one could really be happy to be here, away from the people and places they know, but-]

I know we can't go back so we'll all miss home. But just because we can't see those things anymore doesn't mean they're really gone. Don't you think?

I don't know. You'd still be alive, at least. Still be able to work towards recovering from things like that. I don't deny that they would be terrible but you'd have time to move on.

( not that everyone could or would but the chance would be there. )

And no, I know my home is still there and I'll miss it for as long as I have the ability to do so. But, I still think death is the worst possible outcome.

[Sora's head nods, more a signal that he's heard and understands than one of shared sentiment. But maybe that also is a matter of perspective. He'd had to choose between his life and someone else's. Between his life and whole big worlds. It makes sense that not everyone had those same stakes.]

I guess I can see that.

But it looks like we've got plenty of time to move on too.

I suppose that's true.

( though ambrose doesn't know what happens after you move on when you're dead? if you were alive, you had more life to lead. if you were dead, did you finally just go to the final resting place? )

I suppose I'll take my time, enjoy this place for as long as it'll have me.

INTRO LOG: JULY

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