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

[hardwearing]

[ Some small part of Wash, the part that knows he's spiraling right now, is aware of and able to appreciate what the stranger is doing. Trying to draw him out of his silent breakdown, to get him to engage and find his center... but like fuck is the rest of Wash going to admit he can't handle this in the first place, or that his struggle is visible to others. That just makes him want to put his helmet back on and hide in the woods indefinitely.

No, it's easier to tell himself (even if he knows it's bullshit) that the guy is just curious. Or that he needs the distraction, too. To just play along, and thank him later when he can admit he's a mess. If he can get there. ]

That's kind of a trick question. Where I'm from, no, I could find the right tools in a standard kit. Around here? [ He breaks the eye contact just to glance back at the buildings, which look like someone pulled them from at least a millennium ago. ] I don't think they'll have anything I need.

[ What he doesn't admit just yet is that he might not be skilled enough to do the repairs even with the proper equipment, but... he's really not ready to give up on his armor. Not yet. ]

[itsaname]

[ Truthfully, Shadow is curious about the armor, but that's not the reason he struck up this conversation. He's speaking for the stranger's benefit. Trying to pull him back from the edge of what looked like an imminent breakdown. Deep down, Shadow knows there's another motivation as well—

"You killed me, Shadow."

— but he doesn't believe that this is for his own benefit. He doesn't believe that it will help him. He's just focused on the armored stranger. ]

You must be from quite the place.

[ It's an offer of sorts; an opportunity for the stranger to talk about where he's from if he wants. And, just in case he doesn't: ]

What kind of things do you need?

[ This is more talking than Shadow usually does. He's a quiet man by nature, far more interested in listening than speaking. But no matter how rusty he may be in socializing with other people, he feels like he has to try. ]

[hardwearing]

[ Shadow's first comment merely gets a nod from Wash, who doesn't register it as an offer to talk about his world... not that he'd be likely to take it if he were better with social cues. It's somewhere he's probably never going to see again, and even though it kind of sucked there are people there he cares about and... he can't think about them at all right now. He just can't.

The question, however, he can answer, even if it's basically admitting that the task at hand is going to be impossible. ]

I'm not an engineer, but off the top of my head? Precision tools for electronics, superconductive wire and solder and a fine tip iron, at least two... no, three spare alloy plates, an angle grinder and a pulse arc welder, and possibly entire replacement components that I won't be able to identify until I get in there.

[ He exhales, lifting a hand to the gash in his chestplate unhappily. He'll still try -- maybe he'll lay it out and find the damage isn't as bad as it seemed? There's a chance the armor's vital components were missed, that it was just his own that got cut to ribbons. But Wash isn't naturally optimistic. ]

You haven't seen any of that lying around, have you? Or someone who's actually any good at using it?

[itsaname]

[ That's quite a list of materials. Shadow has no idea how likely it is that any of that is here, much less all of it. He doubts it's in the general store — he's taken a look at the stock, and it all seemed very survival-oriented — but perhaps there's a metallurgy workshop hiding somewhere in the trees.

In any case, Shadow's serious expression shows no signs of doubt; he just shakes his head and answers the question: ]

No, but I can help you look.

[ Not that Shadow would likely recognize most of that at a glance. Still, he could hold up likely-looking tools for the armored man's inspection. He could help keep the stranger engaged and focused on something other than whatever has been eating at him. ]