logsinthenight | INTRO LOG: APRIL

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INTRO LOG: APRIL

INTRO LOG: APRIL
MAN ME A SAND

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: april 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. explosive sand bottles send everyone careening into the dreamy past. some forest spirits learn a couple unhelpful lantern-haver words.
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 glowing 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.

•••
Scattered throughout the ferry are colorful bottles of sand! They're sitting atop packages in the cargo hold, lining the railing of the deck, even rolling around on the deck itself or nestled in bed in the newcomers' bunks. They're all over the place, and they're pretty! You feel compelled to pick them up, to check out those neat sandy patterns or take one home as a souvenir. Heck, maybe you just want to kick the rolling bottles out of the way so no one slips.

But when you get too close to the bottles, they burst like little firecrackers, showering everyone in the vicinity with sand. Contact with the sand doesn't seem to do much at first! But whether the effects hit you after a few minutes or a few hours, you'll start to feel in desperate need of a nap. And hey, a quartet of forest spirits has made their way onto the beach to sing along... in their best approximation of lantern-haver speech! Pretty cool that these forest spirits have picked up a couple of genuine words instead of hoots, but, uh, attempts to talk to them will just get them riled, and they'll croon about man door hand hook car door more loudly. They're singing in your weird language, what more do you want?

Anyway, once you've come into contact with the sand in the bottles, you'll need to lie down and sleep soon or run the risk of passing out on your feet.

Once asleep, you'll find yourself in the sunshiny Beacon of the past! This may feel familiar to some of you, but don't worry, the spirits don't seem to have any nasty tricks up their sleeve this time.

You're welcome to spend as much time in dream Beacon as you like, but once you're ready to head back to the waking world, all you need to do is hail a cab.

•••
Luckily for all the newcomers who may find themselves confused by their sudden arrival here, their tablets and the town have some resources available for getting acquainted with their new situation! In fact, as soon as they're prompted to enter a network username, an app containing all sorts of useful welcome information will launch. Newcomers can always check out the weekly bulletins and the records in town hall as well, and everyone's welcome to get in touch with the NPCs through their inboxes.

please turn on your sandy hands.

BONFIRE SQUARE

It's winter in Bonfire Square, but though the path underfoot is caked with snow and a gentle breeze whistles through barren trees, the sun shines bright overhead with only the occasional cloud to interrupt its warmth. It's chilly, but pleasantly so, and it seems you're already wearing the appropriate outerwear for the occasion! How thoughtful.

Real, live people meander around through the square, though they all seem to be wearing gas masks—unless they're one of you, of course. The dreamy extras don't seem to know you're there, even if you shove them or scream in their faces. They just go about their business, carting grocery bags from the general store or ordering another pint in the Invincible. At least they're not bothering you.

The bonfire crackles in the center of the square, magnificent as ever, and someone's laid out a whole table of goodies to roast over the fire! Marshmallows and s'more supplies, hot dogs, chestnuts, pie irons... If you've got a wintery snack in mind, you'll find the supplies to make it at the table. There's even a hot cocoa stand set up next to it.

DOWNTOWN

Downtown Beacon is bustling on this lovely autumn afternoon. There seems to be some sort of outdoor festival happening! Booths line the street, selling handmade goods and treats as musicians and street performers entertain the mask-wearing crowd. None of the residents seem to notice you're there, but that could be a blessing given that you don't have any cash to exchange. Instead, you're welcome to pluck woven bracelets and hand-painted ceramics right off the tables. Enjoy them while you can, as they can't leave the dream with you.

Food trucks sell tacos and bar food and pasties, and Kickaxe Brewing Company has an outdoor booth selling craft beers, including root and birch beer for those not interested in a buzz. If you'd like to get out of the brisk autumn air, you're welcome to catch a movie at the Delft or grab lunch at the soda fountain.

THE VILLAGE

The village is alive and experiencing a breezy, peaceful spring. The odd elderly can be seen on their porch, lazing in a rocking chair. Children scamper along the road, laughing muffled cries of joy. Although they don't notice you, following them will lead you right to the main source of fun: Boneset Park has come alive! Outdoor sports equipment of all kinds are available in different bins, the baseball field trimmed and chalked. Families dot the bleachers, sporting cracker jacks, hot dogs, and ice cream. Get a whiff? The familiar ice cream stand is stocked as a full-blown snack bar, and all available flavors and condiments are surprisingly, well, normal!

The library is appropriately quiet, but lively, with townsfolk bent over a good book or quietly studying as a group. Happy readers of all ages can be found around the village, and the collection is pristine in its maintenance. The rec center is bustling with activity, indoor sports equipment available for use in the gym, spectators on the basketball court just as they are outside. There's plenty of room to grab a seat or join in for yourself!

THE HARBOR

Down at the harbor, it's summer! Mask-wearing beach-goers are sunbathing on the sand or splashing around in the waves, taking full advantage of this warm summer day. Kayakers and the ferry tour the southern cliffs, with the ferry stopping by the dock every now and then to pick up tourists. Take a ride, if you like! The boathouse is also equipped with extra kayaks, canoes, fishing gear, and any sort of beach necessities you might need to enjoy a relaxing day.

The massive ore dock looms near the mouth of the river as masked children play along its foundation, some carrying ice cream cones from the ice cream stand on the dock. How they're eating it is a mystery, but it doesn't seem to melt despite the hot sun. None of the masked beach-goers seem to notice you, but you're more than welcome to join in the festivities.

On the cliffs to the north, the lighthouse gleams, its bright white pain shining in the sunlight.

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to In the Night! We're thrilled to play with you.

If you haven't already, you might want to check out the April gameplan and the recent mod announcement to get acquainted with the game! There's also the game history page to check out, where you can find all the plot info that's been uncovered so far. The game history page is due for an update, and we'll be getting the March update posted as soon as we're able!

And of course, go ahead and introduce yourselves on the OOC intro, as well!

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

The monthly store restock
A lot of medical supplies. The supplies are plentiful enough that everyone may handwave finding common first aid supplies that will help to triage injuries sustained during the Wild Heart event. The supplies won't immediately cure wounds, but they will help to prevent infection and ensure proper healing. There's even an assortment of painkillers, ranging from over the counter pills to IV morphine (though, hm, it seems each character will only be able to find one dose of the hospital-grade stuff, no matter how hard they search)
For kidnapped characters: A small package containing a bottle of over-the-counter painkillers, a bag of rice to be used as a hot/cold pack, a week's supply of Xanax, a coloring book and markers, a blank journal, a bag of Epsom salt, a lavender-scented bath bomb, a plush blanket in their favorite color, and a book titled PTSD SURVIVAL GUIDE
For Sora: Three crates full of assorted breakable pottery, four large tarps, and a pallet of large, flat sheets of plywood
For Matt: Three 12-packs of various brands of ginger ale, a braille scanner, a bouquet of orchids, and a very soft blanket that seems to somehow be made of smoke though it's very touchable and warm
For Carmilla: A cooler full of individual human blood packages, a personal-sized telescope, a box set of the entire Series of Unfortunate Events, and a crate of Zoobooks

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

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All right. I'll be there soon.

And Ephrim will be there, following the map on his tablet like a good little tourist. White sweater, black hair down his back in a ponytail, his lantern in his left hand. His right arm might be missing up to his elbow, but they are most certainly not his legs, nor his ability to find his way. (There is a small white daisy floating behind him, though. It's helping him keep track of stuff.)

He pauses when he approaches the Landmark, which is blessedly large and obvious, then looks around for a half-orc at his own height, or at least for his lantern. He hears him before he sees him. Gods, this fucking darkness. He much prefers the constant sun on the Rhizome, even if it'd been stuffy at times.

"Fjord, I'd assume." Ephrim walks over, his daisy trailing behind him. "Let's go." He's all business, apparently, already looking at the map to redirect toward the junkyard. It's... all the way back toward the village, where he'd just come from. He makes a face, but doesn't comment, even though that is as frustrating as hell. Instead, he just turns in the correct direction, expecting Fjord to follow him. He's used to being followed. He... might need to be led this time.

Fjord raises an eyebrow as the man turns away. "So you don't wanna see where the mall is first, 'fore you go stomping off to find some metal for a thing you got no idea how bad it is."

"I'd hoped you remembered enough about the damage to make this one trip instead of two." He sighs and turns back, though. It's not the first time he's assumed too much, though. It won't be the last. "Lead on, then."

Wow, he dislikes this guy already. "I'm not the one fixing it. I'm not familiar with metal pipes outside of getting a good look at this one myself. That's what you're here for." This shit didn't exist when he was alive.

Ephrim's not here to make friends. He is, unironically, here to win. He taps a finger against his lantern impatiently. "Then lead. I'll remember whatever the damage is." Ephrim's no plumber, but at the very least he understands that he needs to find the leak, then cover it with more metal. Simple.

Fjord just gives him an unimpressed look, before he does take the lead. Luckily nothing is very far apart within Downtown's area, so it won't be too long a walk.

"You know, if you keep up that attitude, no one's going to appreciate it," he warns, sending a glance over his shoulder. In his lantern, the crystalline eye has drifted around such that it seems to be staring at Ephrim for the moment.

Ephrim sniffs and stares back down at the eye, wondering if Fjord's lantern is more of a manifestation of his soul than Ephrim's own. "I'm here to fix something. That doesn't require appreciation." No hierarchy to climb here. No one of note to impress. No titles to seek. Basically, Ephrim has nothing to do except fix things and brood.

"Well, you'll learn to appreciate other people here soon enough, I reckon," he muses. "The kind of shit we get put through makes it hard not to."

There's no torch outside the shopping centre, so mostly it's Fjord recognising the limited scenery of the area that leads him inside, past the statues in the entranceway and into the creepy strains of muzak. "Everything on this floor's fair game, for the record," he comments, leading Ephrim past a few open shops. "Not that there's much here that's too fancy, I think."

Dire times tend to, but Ephrim will take that with a grain of salt regardless. It takes long years for him to trust. It isn't the sort of time the people of Beacon have, if he understands the information available to them correctly.

Fjord will be talking to someone thoroughly silent as they make their way to the pipe, Ephrim looking around like a tourist. It's not culture-shock, exactly, but there is a fair bit of bewilderment. What is this place? Rosemerrow?

"Where the hell is that music coming from...?" It's in an undertone, but it's most certainly a thing he says out loud.

He doesn't mind the quiet, so long as he's sure Ephrim is still following him. He does hear that question, though.

"Apparently there are these things called speakers," he says, just a touch dryly. "Sora was telling me about 'em, seems like they're basically golem mouths that play whatever you want them to." He knows it's more complicated than that, but they're well beyond his timeframe of comprehension.

Soon the elevators are looming, two-person wide, and he starts making his way down. Not all the way - the bottom six or so steps are covered by the gently rippling water, and he stops maybe two steps up from it. "Here we are."

It's far, far beyond the level of technology in Ephrim's world as well. Or, if it did exist at all, it was in the ancient past, where things like trams and automated lights existed. Learning about the realities of the City of First Light was a bit batshit, to be honest.

Anyway, he didn't mean for Fjord to actually answer that - or rather, he didn't expect for him to - so he'll look at Fjord strangely before shaking his head in resignation. There must be a source to these devices, something commanding it to sing. Adaire would have known how to tinker with it, perhaps, or Lem with his records of ages long past. It's outside of Ephrim's scope, unfortunately.

He stops with Fjord, looking at the pool of standing water leading farther below. Even with no familiarity with structures like these, he can already tell that this water isn't supposed to be here. "The plan is to study the damage only, then leave, yes?" Ephrim is, for some reason, unpinning the sleeve covering the stump of his arm. He looks at the daisy briefly; it, in seeming response, it floats over and tucks itself behind his ear.

"I read that you have some affinity with water." A not-question; Ephrim assumes that Fjord has a plan for this.

"Depends on how wet you feel like getting," he says flatly. "I've got some water powers, but most of my affinity is just experience as a sailor. My magic's not strong enough to go parting this very often."

He steps down a bit further, so he's got one leather boot on the first step below the water level, and lifts an arm to point in the right direction. "Through that survival center. There used to be a water tank there, as well as a bunch 'f crocodile spirits."

Ephrim wrinkles his nose just a bit - he would prefer getting wet not at all, thank you - but he doesn't have any particular weaknesses with regards to water, and he's managed to learn how to swim well enough one-armed without aid if necessary, if not well.

Ephrim nods and begins to follow Fjord. "For what purpose were they kept there, and where are they now?" Because if there's any danger, he'd like to know right now, thanks.

"Right now they live in the Tunnel of Love, in the amusement park," he says cheerfully. "Watch your step if you ever wanna take someone on that ride, they're real territorial."

He takes his arm back and leans on the handrail. He doesn't particularly want to go further down yet. "We're not sure why they lived here. Maybe they used to live in the tank, it's pretty big. We didn't ask, and they sure weren't telling. Not particularly bright, those ones." He's still watching Ephrim curiously, wondering if he'll take initiative back.

Ephrim isn't familiar with the concept or the purpose of the Tunnel of Love, so he'll just nod and store away that information for later. And... he's not certain why Fjord's stopped, so he'll look at him strangely, obediently stopping with him.

"I see." Ephrim pauses, then steps toward the water, a bit curiously. He isn't annoyed, but he is confused, and that might be enough to set him on the path to annoyance later. "Are we... waiting for something, then?"

"Just making sure there isn't anything else we oughta be watchin' for," he says, craning his neck as he looks around again. "In case they came back or somethin'."

Which is not. Patently false. He is mildly concerned that something new might have popped up. But mostly he's trying to make sure Ephrim is looking around too, so he can lean over and casually shove the guy into the water.

Ephrim's brow furrows. Fjord's lack of faith in his compatriots does nothing to endear them to him. Get better friends, Fjord.

"Were you supervising the exercise?" Ephrim will address that to Fjord, and then... indeed look curiously out on to the water himself. Oh dear.

"Yeah. A few of us were were ready to fight 'em if they didn't move peacefully."

Pretty much as soon as Ephrim looks away, there's a hand between his shoulder blades, and a firm weight behind it. Think fast, buddy.

Ephrim will stumble indeed, grasp onto the nearest object in vain, and tumble into the water with a yelp. Hey, was he supposed to expect a complete stranger to casually prank him?

He'll surface after a second of wondering if he should just pretend to drown. No, he doesn't care for Fjord enough to play the same game, and he realizes after a hair of a second of blind flailing and sputtering that it isn't deep enough here to drown anyhow. He makes his farther up the stairs instead, pushing wet hair from his face. "I assume... you have a reasonable explanation for that." Ephrim sounds doubtful, but the statement is businesslike enough.

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INTRO LOG: APRIL

let's GO

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