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

[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.]

[jigsawn]

What happened to the previous group? ( he can take a guess, but he still wants to hear it. ) What did they do to get a reset? ( they're here to meet some sort of goal or objective, so it would be advantageous to have an idea on what not to do. )

You mentioned that we're in a "mess" and we won't be safe here for long, but you never explained what mess or danger we're exactly in.

( still waiting for him to expand on what they need to accomplish here as well, besides uncovering locations. )

[scrapcap]

They died. That's part of the reset. The old residents have to clear out to make room for the new tenants. Normally, death around here ain't so permanent, but at a certain point... There's only so much you can come back from.

[It's a hard truth, but it's just the way things are around here. He's prepared himself for having to explain this on a loop for the next few days.]

Mm... The last group didn't get along so well. The stress of this place got to 'em, and they turned on each other. Started infighting, killing each other, wrecking the town. The Keeper only resets the place if progress stops, yeah, and progress stopped.

That's danger number one. Stop pushing forward, and the Keeper can't justify letting you stay. It's dangerous, y'know, this town being populated. It attracts unwanted attention.

See, there's things out there that... Well, we'll tell you more about 'em in due time, but for now, all you need to know is you've got time. Not infinite time, but part of the Keeper's job is to protect the town. She kept the dangers at bay for damn near two years for my lot, and I expect she'll do the same for you.

[jigsawn]

So, what is this? Some kind of test? A second shot at life? ( now, he does sound incredulous. )

What does she want us to accomplish here? There is an objective to all of this, right? An end goal. Or are we expected to just blindly wander around these parts until we stumble on something?

( like a treasure hunt none of them signed up for. )

If there is some kinda threat out there, I think we deserve to know what it is now. ( aka he isn't going to let this go that easily. )

[scrapcap]

I don't know. It's whatever you want it to be, I guess. The only objective you've got is to fix the world somehow. Some think there's a way to bring the light back, make the world alive again.

If I knew how to do that, we wouldn't be chatting here, you and I. No group's been able to fix things, as you can see. Sorry. I don't have all the answers.

[Which, yes, is frustrating, but it's the best he can do.]

Mm... "Deserve" is an interesting term. Maybe you do deserve all of our collective knowledge upfront, but the Keeper put me in this position because she trusted me to do what's best for y'all. Best way I know how to do that is to not hit you with too many bombshells right off the bat. I'll tell you more about what's out there when it comes time, but for now, all you need to know is that it's nothing you'll need to worry about for a while yet. Only threats to us right at this minute are the more ornery forest spirits out in the woods.

[jigsawn]

( fix the world

talk about unwanted responsibilities. )

What can you tell me about the Keeper?

( if winters isn't willing to give him more information on the dangers here, then he can drop it for now. maybe look into it on his own. the man seems pretty cozy with the lighthouse keeper too which begs the question of how trustworthy he is overall. )

Forest spirits...?

[scrapcap]

Not much. I don't know all that much about her myself. Even when she's got network access, she mostly chats with us through text. She's been here longer than me and Will. Much longer. Not as long as Rastus, though. Her job's to run the town, more or less. She's sorta got control of things up there.

[He nods in the direction of the lighthouse.]

Forest spirits. Anything you find in this place that ain't got a lantern, that's a forest spirit. Kinda like animals, some of 'em, and others are... Creatures, I guess. Never seen anything like 'em back home.

[jigsawn]

( the lighthouse will be a notable location to look into later, so he'll store this bit of information and let it rest for the time being. )

Are they dangerous?