INTRO LOG: AUGUST

[inthenightmods]

INTRO LOG: AUGUST
KANGAROO COURT

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: august 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. winters introduces himself and explains the situation. also, rats. :(
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.

•••
Maybe you already noticed them while the ship was still on the move. Or maybe you simply heard them, the sound of skittering claws, tiny squeals that sound more like high-pitched hoots. Whatever the case, they're impossible to miss as the ferry docks itself at Beacon's pier.

Rats. Huge ones, the size of small dogs, and tiny ones alike. They come boiling up out of the cargo hold the moment the boat stops moving, a tide of fur and teeth and nails. If you stay out of their way, they'll probably just run past you. But for those unfortunate enough to be in front of them, there's a lot of gnawing and clawing in your future.

The forest spirit rats seem hell-bent on getting off the ferry, but what they've left behind in the cargo hold is a bit of a mess. Crates and boxes have been chewed open and chewed into, as the horde of little beasties searched for anything they could eat. Did you ask Rastus for something edible? Unfortunately, it may have already served that purpose. And if you asked for something else, well, there's a chance it's still been nibbled on. It looks like the general store's supplies were hit the hardest, with about a third of them gone.

Oh, and you thought they were done? No ma'am.

The rats make a beeline for Bonfire Square, separating into smaller mobs to continue their endless quest for food. They slip through doors and windows, rummage through the bar, and generally make a complete nuisance of themselves. It's a plague of truly bubonic proportions, and it might be a good idea to do something about it. But be careful, if you try. Moving with the ravenous tide is a strange and twisted creature, each of its parts larger than the rats around it: the rat king, hungriest of them all. It moves as one unit of goat-sized animals, and it's quite aggressive.

Good luck!

•••
Winters is waiting for the new arrivals on the beach. He flags you down from where he's standing atop a large rock, surveying the gathering crowd. When everyone's made their way over, he 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 the folks that's already here explain how the bonfire works to y'all.

Ah, right. I'm Ben Winters—Winters'll do—and you'll find my, er, colleague Will in town. 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.

That said, I've got a bit of a plan in the works in terms of getting the Keeper back on the network. More on that in due time, but if you check your tablets, you'll find the network post I put up about it a few days back. If you feel like getting caught up on current events, you'll want to check the weekly bulletins in the post office and the records in town hall.

But most importantly, 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?"

Then he turns to address the group of old hats that have come to welcome the newbies.

"You lot have your bearings about you now, right? It won't do us no good moving forward if I'm always the one standing up here answering the questions. Give 'em the rundown, fill 'em in on what you've learned, and help 'em adjust to this place, yeah? Good luck."

With that, he hops down from his perch and heads back into town. You're more than welcome to talk to him or any of the other NPCs through their inboxes, though!

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to In the Night! For this intro log, Winters will be around to give his spiel, but then he's heading back to town! It's up to the veteran residents to fill in the new folks.

And, um, better deal with that rat problem? The rats will indeed charge into town and cause quite the ruckus (Rastus can be found standing on a chair near the bonfire), but how much trouble they cause is up to you! Feel free to take creative liberties with these forest spirits, and for those of you with packages on the ferry, you're welcome to decide for yourself how damaged your presents may be. Any rats left in town will be driven out once the rain and storms begin on August 5.

Beyond that, please keep an eye out for an upcoming mod announcement, which will involve more housing options, a setting page/map update, a brand new game info page, and some other notes for the month. Stay tuned!

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

• The monthly store restock (though it looks like about a third of the food has been eaten by rats...)
  
• 5 cloth face masks for Coraline
  
• A very big pack of crayons for Mary
  
• A sword and sheath for Boromir
  
• A carton of cigarettes and an assortment of makeup (all the stuff he requested and a bit extra!) for Rosinante
  
• A shield, two hefty log books, and a set of paints for Elden
  
• Roughly a month's supply of the sulfa, penicillin, and morphine, a two month's supply of basic medicine and first aid supplies, and three cartons of cigarettes (Rastus did his best) for Wade
  
• A usb-based GPS tracker for Spiderman Who Is Definitely Not Peter Parker
  
• Two cans of paint, one white and one silver, for Scarlett
  
• Three different styles of wrist blades (seems like Rastus got confused and just wanted to cover all the bases) and ka-bar for Billy
  
• Leave-in conditioner, hair gel, a popsicle stick, a stuffed bird, a french press, a gun cleaning kit, 4 boxes of .45 bullets (though, upon further inspection, they're blanks!), and a literal potato sack full of espresso beans for Rafe
  
• Seven sets of rosary beads, one in each color of the rainbow, for Javert
  
• Six small bags of various blends of coffee (all of which will fit the description of Ebony brand coffee, even if it's not that exact brand) arranged neatly in a gift basket, as well as a flyer advertising a smalltown cafe's coffee flight with the words "Vote for your favorite!" for Noctis
  
• A variety pack of loose leaf tea and a tea set for Kuai
  
• 2 scimitars and sheaths for M.K.
  
• A sword, sheath, and set of knight's armor (it will fit her very well) for Brienne
  
• A set of throwing knives and a three-pack of fluorescent spray paint for Antimony
  
• A carton of cigarettes and just a shitload of wood, good luck getting it off the ferry, for Rosalind
  
• Five different star(?) shaped charms for "Dawn"
  
• A high quality fishing rod, line, and a tacklebox with a dozen various lures inside, as well as a giftbag that fits all of this for Ignis
  
• A shotgun, three boxes of ammo, a 4 inch iron knife, and a big honkin' Swiss army knife with a frankly cartoonish amount of stuff in it for Jo
  
• A Morse code chart, 10 fresh watermelons, 10 fresh fish, and a sign for Sora
  
• 5 boxes of .45 caliber bullets, 15 boxes of .45 caliber rubber bullets, 5 glock pistols, a big ol' pack of target practice silhouettes, and a wooden sign that reads "ROOTIN' TOOTIN' GUN RANGE", as well as an SD card (which will fit in Raylan's tablet) with a gun safety video from the 80s for Raylan
  
• 4 boxes of 9mm bullets, a handgun cleaning kit, a leather cord, a small jewelry cleaning kit, and two bags of M&Ms for Nate
  
• A small wooden box containing a collection of feathers, a trident, and a set of armor for Alexios
  
• A first aid kit fit for a school nurse, a set of craft paints and brushes, three medium-sized painting canvases, three sketchpads, an art supply kit, and a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle for Riku
  
• Two cartons of cigarettes and a, um, well, this for Gene
  
• A week's worth of clothing (in his size and #aesthetic) and a set of neckties, including this one, for Five

If you submitted an item request last month and we've missed it here, let us know!

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

Comments

Xayah || League of Legends || ota

[featherknives]

[ooc: not-so-gently breaks the ice]
1. Boat Ride
[She was dead- plain and simple. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to her as much as it did. Everything's she's been doing up until now is finally catching up to her. Is it fate, karma? Perhaps destiny. She hopes Rakan is alright... that scatter-bird-brain of a man. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand, staring at the murky waters as the boat gently sways. Her tall ears pick up at the skittering, but before she can focus on it-]

Ow-! Watch where you're going!

[-whoever you are, you stepped on her feathers. That cloak is not cloak.]

2. The Speech
What a load of bullshit, [Xayah mutters and tugs on her cowl, stalking past Winters and the group. She tucks her lantern under her cloak-wing and makes her way up the path and towards the bonfire. She doesn't want to hear a word what that man has to say. He's just trying to find and excuses Keeper for mass murder- two times already. She doesn't buy it. She also doesn't like anyone holding her, now second, life in their hands. Who is she to judge them and decide whether they are good or no?

She stops in front of the bonfire, wing folded over half of her, looking worn, yet still glistening in deep purple from the light of the fire. Tired... she's been sleeping on the boat and yet she still feels so worn out.]

What a load of bullshit... [she repeats, a bit quieter now. Climbing onto the nearby tree trunk, she crouches and hugs her knees, tall ears now flat. She pulls out a golden feather from inside of her cloak, and it instantly gleams so brightly in the light of the bonfire. Softly, Xayah's fingers trace the edges of it and she sniffs. This is nothing, don't cry, you've been through worse...]

3. Damn Rats!

[Sound of something sharp pierces the air and there's a loud screech that follows. Xayah's eyes are narrowed into slits as she stares down the rat she just killed- then throws out another of her sharp feathers and kills the beast before it can climb up someone's leg. Her lips twitch and there's a predatory glint in her eyes-]

Quit crying, it's just a feather. [The chuckle is bordering maniacal but is cut short when a river of them come rushing towards the bonfire. Okay, time to take out the big guns-] Let feathers fly!~

[Jumping in the air, with aid of her wing, she showers the rats below with blades If you're in her way- sorry not sorry, she'd rather not be eaten by rats. She lands on the ground and recalls her feathers, which pierce through few more rats, and they blend with her wing.]

By Vastaya, there are so many of them-! Hey, watch it! They are passing you by! [She yells at the person near her- she's not used to working with someone who isn't Rakan but- this is a special situation.

At least it's preventing you from thinking about her death and past life. For now.]

4. Text

if rats got you cornered tell me where you are
if rats didnt get you cornered come defend supplies

you snooze and you lose- food for entire month
i am a bird but i dont eat like one and id rather salvage whatever i can

5. Wildcard

[ooc: Anything else you want to thread can go here :) hit me up at windsongwitch if you want to plot and I can get us started]

[silvercrusader]

are you seriously three minutes in and already threatening to hoard the food? that's a dick move

[featherknives]

[Wait- what?]

what no im not
are you blind
did you seriously not see the flood of rats
they are going to destroy everything if we dont destroy them

[silvercrusader]

yes OBVIOUSLY im more talking about the YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE thign

be clearer in ur writing next time you make it seem like you're gonna like perch on it like a bird and not let anyone near it

also

how many rats have oyu killed

[featherknives]

you snooze you lose food to the rats because theyll eat everything

and maybe i should, i work hard, i like to be paid well

well

[She looks up from the tablet and at the ground around herself, feathers stuck everywhere- trees, path, grass. If there was any sun, the blades would glisten pretty purple]

enough that i cant count them

probably more than you

[silvercrusader]

bet you anything you haven't

28 so far

[featherknives]

alright, lets dance then

first to fifty gets the other a drink

3

[callada]

[Yeah, so there are rats, but Rosinante is more excited about his package off the ferry. So while she's working hard at skewering rats with feathers, he's just standing there taking his first deep, eager breaths of smoke. Oh, god, yes this is what he's needed.

So when initially she snaps at him as if asking for help dealing with the rats, he seems to have a delayed reaction. Did he even hear her? She might wonder for a second.]

Looks like you're doing a pretty good job dealing with them though, I have to say. Better than I could do.

[Okay, he could stomp on them. Could try to herd them. He's definitely going to try and persuade Rastus to give him a new pistol for the next ferry trip.]

[featherknives]

[After throwing out another barrage of feather storm and killing enough rats so they are not gnawing on her feet, Xayah maneuvers through people, looking pretty ruffled.

Excuse her, she's not happy to be bested by rodents.]

Is that so? Then I'll just let them eat your share of food.

[She glances at the packet and her lips twitch when she sees one of the rats gnawing at the corner of it.

She's not moving a finger to kill it.]

And I don't like to share.

[callada]

That's cold, for someone who can shoot knives out of her arms.

[But fine, it's not like he doesn't want to help. Just that there was another thing that took first priority, that's all. Defending the food is important - not for him, he'll give up his share if he has to, but there are so many other people here who don't know starvation and shouldn't have to. Satisfied by the initial few inhales of smoke, he clenches the cigarette between bold red painted lips, takes his lantern in one hand so as to use the walking stick it had hung on as a makeshift weapon, and drives the butt of the now-suddenly-quarterstaff at the spirit rodent's fuzzy little body.

It darts away before he can land the hit. The things are quick. But another runs past and he sweeps the stick against its ribs with a crunch, then flings the body into the lake.]

See, in the time it took me to do that, you could've had eight more.

[featherknives]

Not cold- just fair and realistic.

[And not many like that, it seems. Or maybe he's just messing around with her because he does start killing the rodents. She doesn't stop throwing out her knives either, only a bit at a slower pace because other people are starting to come their way.

Usually, she wouldn't care. But now, she's not that eager to make enemies right of the bat.]

Who says I didn't? [She flips back and onto a nearby crate for better aiming-] The math is still better when you join in.

[callada]

Yeah, sure. Had to get a smoke in first, that's all. Been ages.

[Weeks, but weeks is too long. The cravings, the withdrawals had left him anxious and prone to bad headaches. Had set him to just sitting and reading the network or looking at the stars, when the lights didn't make him squint. Exploring was a worthwhile distraction, as was working on the boats. Physical labor took his mind off the lack of tobacco for short periods of time.

Now, though, he already feels more functional. Maybe a change this quick is psychological only, but he'll take it, as he whips the staff down and crushes another rat before it can run past.]

You guys must have had a hell of a ride, if these were all over the ferry with you.

[featherknives]

[She's not exactly a hawk, but perched up on that crate she sure looks one as she stares into the darkness, looking for any type of commotion. And whenever she spots something scurrying around, it gets a feather thrown its way. Some of the daggers hit, some of them don't- enough to keep the rodents at bay for now.]

Didn't notice them until I woke up actually.

[She shoots another feather and this time doesn't miss.]

Seen people flinging them off the boat though.

[Is that some kind of a sign?]

( prompt iv. )

[mutterseelenallein]

I'm fine for the time being. They show no real interest in where the large bonfire is located.

I did notice that the rats are particularly drawn towards the general store and the inn establishment. Which makes sense. That's where most of the food would reasonably be.

[featherknives]

the magical fire is probably scaring them away

they are, and the amount is honestly gross. i'll need some kind of backup

[mutterseelenallein]

[ it takes a tad too long for aislin to respond but she does respond. ]

I'll be willing to help you out on that front. Better we work together in these times.
Where are you?

[featherknives]

[For a moment Xayah thought she had lost the connection with the woman- maybe the rats took her plastic box thing that sends messages.]

I am behind general store
there are crates with flour dumped outside of it and they are an easy target

( text to action. )

[mutterseelenallein]

Noted. I'll head to the general store soon as I can.
My lantern light is blue so I shouldn't be hard to miss amongst the rats and the darkness.

[ after that, aislin makes her way to where she remembers the general direction of the, ah, general store is.

she certainly wasn't lying about the fact her lantern casts a blue light. the closer she approaches the store, careful to not be tripped or bowled over by the rats, the more obvious her shape and the fact she's carrying a violin(?) is. ]

4

[taintedone]

You are a bird?
A bird that speaks.

[featherknives]

not just a bird
a vastayan

[half bird half human]

is that a problem?

3

[paletteswap]

[Swarms of rats are not exactly what he was expecting to have to fight when it came down to a battle. But it is what it is, and though he's already collected his parcel from the ship and safely stashed it in his room, he doesn't want them eating half their food for the month. Especially if there's any wayward tea in there in addition to what he's received from Rastus. He's a man with priorities.

He's been watching her fight out of the corner of his eye, more so he can avoid any wayward projectiles if she's not diligent in where they're being thrown. She's clearly holding her own, but there's a lot more rats than one person can deal with.

Standing up straight for a moment he holds his hands in front of his chest, palms a few inches apart as a glowing blue ball of ice coalesces between them. Very abruptly he crouches down and slams the ball into the ground causing icicles to burst forth, impaling some rats and freezing others as the icy explosion sends them flying, shattering upon impact with the ground. The icicles very carefully avoid his fighting companion as they shoot out, then retract almost as quickly as they emerged when he stands up, the ice seeming to suck out of the ground and back into his hand.]

Yes, I saw them. [he nods a little smugly about the sudden lack of rats in his vicinity.]

There will be more, unfortunately.

[featherknives]

[Neither did she. Xayah respects all animals and nature, but rodents in this amount are not acceptable by any means. She can manage on low food, perhaps she was a bit overexaggerating in her text too, but- that catches other's attention, right?

She's quite precise when it comes to battle, however. Every feather that leaves her hand has a purpose, and even those that don't seem to do much- when they return to her hand, they seem to slice the enemy unexpectedly on their way back to her.

Thankfully, she wasn't moving around too much when the sudden ice appeared out of nowhere. The chill is quite pleasant, along with the sight of rats being frozen and skewered. She waits for the ice to retract before jumping back to be out of his way. She can shoot at the rats from the distance too, that's not a problem for her.]

Where are they coming from? This amount-

[There were some rats on the ferry that brought her here but- that's impossible. The ferry is too small for this amount of rodents.]

[paletteswap]

I'm unsure. They seem to be coming from the ferry, but it doesn't seem to have the capacity for how many we're seeing.

[He kicks one that managed to avoid the ice. He's not a fan of vermin, but if they weren't threatening to eat all their food he might have ignored them. But a swarm that was endangering their survival would have to be dealt with.]

I don't know where they're going either. We don't have trash or storehouses to attract rats.

[featherknives]

[Xayah respects everything that comes from nature, even rats, but there has to be a balance. And this is not it.

Nice kick Kuai. Out of reflex, she instantly follows up with a dagger and shoots it midair. It's, uh... something she did often with Rakan. He'd rile up the enemy, send them flying in the air and she'd shoot them like moving targets. Her hand reacted faster than her brain.

...]

Well- food arrived, didn't it? Rastus said so. They can easily go for grains.

[paletteswap]

[He nods out of respect for the shot. That's some fancy knifework.]

We haven't retrieved it all from the boat yet so they're abandoning their food supply. Though they're rats, they don't know that.

In any case, they'll need to be eliminated before they do more damage.

You seem up to the challenge.

[That's a compliment in Sub-Zero speak.]