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
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

Winters | NPC: explorations, general questions

[scrapcap]

[Ben Winters is a brick wall of a man, his tall frame made all that more imposing by the leather trench coat that hangs heavy on his shoulders. That said, he looks more frayed than unfriendly, like he'll be right as rain after a good night's sleep and a hot shower. He's got his lantern clipped to his gun holster. It looks more than a little worse for wear.

He can be found at the harbor, ready to answer your burning questions from where he welcomed you all to the town. After the initial rush has died down, he can be found at the bar in the Invincible or inside town hall, perusing the empty shelves.

Wherever you find him, he'll greet you with a nod and a handshake. His voice is weathered and much quieter now that he's not addressing a crowd. He's got a strange, unplaceable accent that sounds a bit like American, New Zealand, and South African all rolled into one.

And you might notice that he's missing the last two fingers on his left hand, and his right arm... Are those scales? Should you say something?]

Good to meet you. What's your name?

[withsadness]

[At first I was like, oh I can't do int they already met, but then no, I tagged him with another, different child. So here we are, this is a horribly written response wow okay.

Inside town hall, when he extends his hand toward her in greeting...she reaches out to take it. Of course, her hands are very small, so she grasps his fingers with both of them, then dips down into a curtsy.]

My name is Mary. How do you do?

[scrapcap]

Mary. That's a pretty name.

[It hurts a lot to see such a young child here, but, well. She's not the first he's seen. No sense in dwelling on it.]

Are you settling in alright?

the invincible!

[sunborne]

I'm Daylight! [ day smiles, nervous but sincere as he gives a little wave to show he's friendly. ] It's nice to meet you, Mr. Winters.

[ daylight tries to be very careful as he slides into the stool next to the man. he's obviously checking to see if the rickety thing is going to hold his weight.

... judging by the creak, he's going to be careful and maybe not put his full weight on this thing. yeah. that's a good start. ]

Just wanted to say, um, thanks. For earlier, you know? When you taking the time to catch us up on... stuff. [ that's how he's going to address the whole 'we're all dead and in a very freak place' situation for the time being. ] It's really nice of you to do. Mr. Winters. So. Um. Yeah. Thank you.

[scrapcap]

Daylight. Heh. Could use some of that 'round here.

[If he's at all surprised to see someone like Daylight around here, he doesn't show it.]

"Winters" is just fine. But, hey, no need to thank me. It's my job now, I suppose. Least I can do. It's important you come to grips with the situation.

harbor

[fogey]

[ not too long after he's done speaking, he'll be approached by this...lost, sassy child?? ]

I want to know everything you know about the resets. The Lighthouse Keeper, too.

[ hi, nice to meet you ]

[scrapcap]

[Ah, one of these types. He's dealt with the go-getters before, of course, just usually they're not... school children?]

I'll tell you what I can, but don't think I'm about to go back on the words that just left my mouth, son. It's better for you to accept your lot. We've got some time yet.

[...]

I like your socks. What's your name?

[jigsawn]

( bill won't be approaching winters until he can speak to him alone. not interested in drawing too much attention to himself. he hasn't had the time to acquire a mask yet, but it can wait. after all, the meet and greet down at the harbor left more burning questions than they did answers. )

Billy. ( he gives his hand a firm shake as he takes a seat next to him at the bar. his face is marred with scars, clothes bloodied and strewn with bullet holes. doesn't leave much to the imagination on how he'd died. ) I wanted to ask you a couple of questions. ( excuse him if he just cuts right to the chase. ) The resets. What happens during one? I'm assuming they serve some kinda purpose.

( he is assuming this entire town serves some kinda purpose. )

What role are we expected to play here? ( he sounds almost incredulous. talk about life after death, right? )

[scrapcap]

[Billy gets a nod and, er, Winters will just politely ignore that very obvious cause of death. It's not his business.]

I've only seen one reset myself, and I reckon the next won't come for a long while yet. It's what it sounds like, though. Town gets set back to how it was... Originally, I suppose. Back to its simplest form.

[He sips from a glass of dark beer as he mulls over the rest of the answer. It's complicated.]

The last group, we uncovered a good portion of the town. You'll notice that ain't so anymore. If your group gets reset down the line, it'll undo all your progress so the next crop can start fresh. Not sure why it works like that, though. That's a question for the Keeper.

[He'll get to the role question in a minute. One step at a time, and all.]

town hall

[ordinaryannie]

Annie.

[She gives his hand a firm shake. The scales on his right arm don't go unnoticed, and oh, does she have questions about that, but she has had some manners drummed into her, and those say that kind of question isn't typically polite for a first meeting.

Besides, there are more pressing questions, like what exactly a reset means and how they're supposed to be prevented, and why the shelves in the town hall are all empty and nearly anything that might be considered a personal effect of the people who were apparently here before is gone.]

You said we all have a job to do, down on the beach. What did you mean by that, exactly?

[scrapcap]

[WELL SHE'S IN LUCK he's here to answer questions!]

We're here to fix this world, whatever that means. Hate to be vague about it, but I don't have all the answers, either. Us coming here, though, when we're supposed to be dead? That ain't natural.

[nonscriptum]

Nathan Drake, but Nate's fine.

[ He sought Winters out first. Seemed the right thing to do, given Nate's intimate history with exploration and how he'll inevitably be doing some of his own. The town hall is fairly empty thus far - he doesn't blame people for wanting to cluster where other people tend to cluster, i.e around alcohol - and locating a guy built like a brick shithouse isn't exactly hard to do. Being a brick shithouse himself, Nate can commiserate.

The handshake is firm, professional. ]

This might be a weird question, but, uh...how long would you estimate you've been here? 'Cause I've been someplace like this before.

[scrapcap]

[Winters gives Nate a quick once-over, and deems that he and Nate will likely get along. He knows a kindred spirit when he sees one.

And that question does get an eyebrow raise, though at first it doesn't sound all that weird. He's certainly heard weirder. It's the last bit that's weird.]

Been here roundabout a year and a half. What do you mean someplace like this?

[originallutece]

I'm surprised you don't know it. Don't they tell you who's coming after these resets?

[But she'll shake his hand, just . . . not tell him her name yet. Her heels echo in the hall, her expression so terribly analytic.]

I've a few questions about you, actually. Would you prefer them now, or somewhere more private?

[scrapcap]

Who's "they"?

[But he lets out a low laugh.]

Sorry. If you're anything like me, you'll get irritated with flapping in the wind, too. Trust me, there's no order to who comes in on the ferry. It's random, far as anyone's been able to tell.

Mm. Now's fine.

[dualikey]

[Sora has a head full of questions, but he thinks that everyone probably does, right? Actually from some of the conversations he's overheard so far, they sound a lot more serious. He's not really worried about being here so much as he's just surprised, because this isn't what he'd expecting from an afterlife. But the idea of resets and jobs to perform-

Truth be told, their welcoming committee told them so much that it's sort of gone over his head. They're the kinds of things he'll need to be reminded of later, details he'll have forgotten. What he really wants to ask about is the lighthouse, because that's something he recognizes, especially growing up on an island. It's just that the more he mulls it over the less sense he can make out of it. It's a lady who runs it and they won't really see her- but it's pretty far away from town right? Is there another town closer by that she gets supplies at then? Is she all alone out there?

It's on the tip of his tongue when he comes jogging across the harbor, he just gets sidetracked by the handshake. Sora takes it automatically-] Hi, I'm Sora- [and just as automatically, forgets tact.] Whoa what happened to your arm?

[tribridfreakshow]

[Scales, huh? Hope's certainly curious, but she's also not trying to invite questions about herself in that regard, so she's just going to ignore it.

For now, anyway.]

Um, Hope. Hope Mikaelson.

[She reaches out and grips his hand firmly, shaking it. She hadn't bothered him at the harbor itself, since he was swarmed with people back then, but when she goes to investigate the town hall she can't really get away from being noticed seeing as there's not a crowd to lose herself in.]

Are you looking for something?

[song_of_ice]

Jon Snow.

[He shakes the man's hand, not really focused on introductions but the amount of information he was just given. Death was different than this, he knew death, but apparently the second time around landed him in a strange realm with a number of others that he didn't recognize and didn't seem to belong to his former world.]

How is it we can die here when we are already dead? [That was the most pressing question. The second, he didn't want to think about or long.] What happens if we're reset? You say some might stay here, but others go and yet we can't go home. So where do they go?

harbor

[callada]

Rosinante.

[And he'll shake back, but he's still debating how good it is to meet anyone here. Instead, he aims a half-smile downward. Unpainted, today - it's going to take some time to decide how he wants to look, now that he's free of that last role he had to play for far too long.]

I'm glad someone around here knows what's going on or we'd all be pretty lost, I think. Do you know anything about where we can find boats?

[darkeyed]

<sub>[Could be worse, yeah?

Could it? The urge to laugh, or cry, or vomit compete for supremacy in his roiling stomach that's recovering from a ferry ride spent the imagining the smell of blood everywhere he went, as thick as perfume. The cold on the beach cuts through him, but it's the crushing influx of information that makes his knees threaten want to shake.

And yet the part about dying is somehow the least alarming part of it all.]</sub>

When?

_{[He listens, he processes, he listens some more when the expected questions start flooding in, ability to process growing number and number with each one. Or maybe it's just the shock of still being here, still breathing, when he'd asked for neither. The moment an opportunity presents itself, he snags Winters' sleeve, a request for attention.]}

When do we get to meet her?

_{[This is all so fucking familiar. A reminder of six months of his life he'd wasted waiting to meet someone. Maybe he'll laugh.]}

[webshoots]

Spider-Man, [ he answers — dead, not-dead, revealing his identity isn't something he's quite prepared to do, and he hasn't quite had chance to acquire a new set of clothing, so: spider-man it is. it's followed by a breath of a pause and: ] You mentioned a job. [ beat. ] Now, I get it: the market is tough for employers and employees — the people want rights, benefits, a fair wage and incognito browsing; unsociable hours and hostile work environments don't exactly draw in the applicants that the very undiscerning [ p a u s e; peter gestures loosely at their surroundings: darkness, with a hint of pitch black. ] interdimensional kidnapper who wants to build up their portfolio is after. [ another beat, this one punctuated by peter holding up his hands in a vague approximation of 'eh'. ] But I've got LinkedIn. [ what do the kids say? slide into my DMs? there's a very real moment where peter considers saying just that, but instead he whispers: ]

They do invites.

[ aka the long way of asking: so what is this job you mentioned? ]

Harbor

[primordialerebus]

[ She hesitates for a moment before sticking her hand out of the blanket wrap she made herself, giving his hand a quick shake before it quickly retreats back into shadowed safety. Even that short moment hurt, and is her hand… grey? She feels herself start to panic, but quickly pushes it back (for now anyways). She has to get her question out first. ]

Oh uh, I’m. Coraline.

[ She takes a deep breath, fidgeting slightly as she musters up the courage to continue speaking. ]

W-what. What happens to the people that got, like… reset.

[ She attempts to whisper, but it comes out closer to regular speaking levels than she realizes. ]

The Invincible

[kungfuey]

[ Scarlett isn't really big on things like introductions, greetings or ya know. Manners in general, so it's hardly shocking for her to drop onto a stool with very little fanfare and grunt out her question like she expects him to be a walking depository of all things Beacon. ]

Those woods. [ Acknowledging him with a turn of her head, eyes narrowed infinitesimally as if getting ready to judge if whatever he says next is a lie. ]

They got things living in them?

the invincible!

[ultimatums]

Raylan. Givens. [ he accepts the handshake and gives it back just as firm, lips pressed together in a flat line. maybe another time they can trade gun stats or whatever it is Men Who Carry Guns In Holsters do in their downtime, but right now he has some questions. ] Not to jump straight to business, but I'm real interested to know how it is y'all plan to make sure nobody gets nothin' taken from them that shouldn't be taken. 'Cause you sure as shit can't expect to trust everyone currently wanderin' around here.

wait i changed my mind

[evulsed]

[ Winters might be much taller than Vanitas, but that doesn't seem to put him off at all. He approaches in the Invincible, stopping Winters between two places— maybe heading in toward the bar, maybe heading out— either way he plants himself in front of the man and cocks his chin up. At his ankle, the Flood holding his lantern jerkily looks around the bar. Vanitas ignores the question entirely to ask his own: ]

What makes you so special?