logsinthenight | INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor, as well as the rest of town.
date/time: september 1-3.
content: beacon's newest batch of residents arrives on the ferry. everyone gets a special gift, courtesy of the lighthouse keeper.
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.

•••

Unlike the past two months, there's not a whole lot happening down at the dock today. It's quiet, disconcertingly so, after the foghorn blows once and then twice to signal the ferry's arrival. Winters is dead, and as such there's no one around to dole out the "need to know" info for the new arrivals.

Luckily, the tablet and the town do have some resources available for playing catch up! The Keeper's recent network post is available for everyone to read, and newcomers can always check out the weekly bulletins and the records in town hall. Everyone's also welcome to get in touch with the NPCs through their inboxes, too.

But, oh! In the ferry's cargo hold is a rather large crate addressed to the Postmaster General, and inside? A bunch of ocarinas! The Postmaster General, set up at their little stall, will be passing out ocarinas (free of charge!) to everyone that happens by. Anyone who doesn't come by the stall will receive one in their mailbox.

Shortly after the ferry arrives, a new message from the Lighthouse Keeper appears on the network:

Did everyone get their ocarinas? If you didn't, check your mailbox at the post office. There's plenty to go around. The extras will be in the general store.

You can use these to communicate with the forest spirits. Their language is based on musical notes, so you have to play little songs for them. Here's a couple of basic translations that should help you guys out:

The rest of the message contains playing instructions and example audio files for the following messages:

- A friendly greeting!
- An assurance that equates to "I come in peace".
- A short melody that translates roughly to polite terms like please, thank you, and you're welcome.
- A shrill note that asks for help.

Characters can use the ocarinas to communicate these phrases to the forest spirits (and are welcome to try learning or communicating other phrases), but keep in mind that there's not much plot info to be learned from the forest spirits, at least not for right now. These ocarinas won't exactly help you translate anything the forest spirits might say back, after all.

The Lighthouse Keeper won't be responding to that network post, but she can be contacted through her inbox!

ooc.

Hey there, wonderful players, and welcome to In the Night! For this intro log, you are officially without a chaperone. Rastus is back at the bonfire, Will is characteristically elusive, and Robin is, well, you know where she's at. It's up to the veteran residents to fill in the new folks.

We're also happy to introduce the YARD SARD... The Postmaster General will be appearing in any intro logs where a player formerly in the game has ordered something through Rastus but is no longer around to claim it! These items will still come in, but since they have no owner, they'll be available for other characters to claim. It's usually a first come, first serve situation, though the Postmaster General may turn folks away for any number of weird reasons. (OOCly, it's us attempting to spread the wealth among the playerbase.)

DELIVERIES

The following packages can be found in the cargo hold:

The monthly store restock
Two silver prosthetic pieces (they aren't a perfect fit, but they work well enough) for Polnareff
A few bottles of holy water, a pouch of powdered silver, and a magic wand (the wand doesn't have the permanence spell Elden was looking for, unfortunately; instead, it will temporarily change the color of its target to either pink or blue!) for Elden
Webfluid components (about a three month's supply) for Peter
A spice rack for Davina, and one for Ignis as well, plus a little geology kit with both of their names scribbled on the package and crossed out various times. Looks like these orders got a little mixed up! Everything each of them requested (plus a little extra) can be found among these packages, but they'll have to sort out what goes where
2 cartons of cigarettes, a flintlock pistol, and 100 rounds of ammo for it (though none for the shotgun, hm!) for Rosinante
A small assortment of dreamcatchers, all with a lot of feathers for Xayah
A flash drive (on which is a very simple app for Morse code translation! this can be passed around or uploaded to the network for many users to download) for Matt
A bounce house (small and with quite a few holes that need patching, but it'll get the job done; it's deflated, but it does have a built-in fan!) for Lunafreya

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

YARD SARD

The Postmaster General is here! They've set up a little stall on the dock, and have a couple of items for... sard?

~~A carton of cigarettes~~
4 2 boxes of .45 bullets
~~A sewing kit~~

If you would like to purchase an item from the Postmaster General, you can haggle with them below!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is that where we're going?

[ He takes one look at Molly and assumes that he's already been to Hell, and this must be a return trip. ]

Thought there'd be a lot more... falling into vats of sulphur and brimstone. Are you in charge of this vessel?

[Molly's tail flicks errantly, and he slow blinks his solid red eyes, taking in everything that was just said and deciding where he wants to go with that.

Yeah, he's gonna lie.] Oh no, no... That's for special occasions. There's a whole process. You have to work up to that. [Anyway.] Yes, I'm in charge. Mollymauk Tealeaf, at your service.

[How long can he keep this up. Let's find out.]

Mollymauk Tealeaf.

[ Odd name for a demon, almost rather pleasant, but there's nothing particularly rude or evil-seeming about this one. In fact, if Aziraphale would only think so to himself, he really was a nice shade of purple. ]

A pleasure to meet you, I suppose.

[ At least he's acting civilly. ]

What, pray tell, is the process like? I may just prefer the waiting room.

Weeeell... It's complicated. Don't know that I'm high enough on the ladder to really give out all of that information. I just run the boat, make sure no one throws themselves off in a fit of rebellion. You'd be surprised how many people try that one. Never works. Always embarrassing.

[Yeah, he is loving this. Literally just got stabbed in the snow and he has no idea if any of his friends are okay, but he's gonna bullshit to a stranger because it makes him feel better.]

Yes, I imagine that would be.

Well, I suppose I'm due my sentencing, then.

[ So very sad, he heaves a long-suffering sigh. ]

Suppose I should've seen this coming. At least you're being kind about it. I do have a question though, if you'll allow me a little more kindness. Whatever happened to Crowley?

[ They were both dragged away to their respective sentences, but Crowley had already been an agent of Hell. Would've been weird if Aziraphale had to become a demon but nothing would happen to Crowley. ]

[Molly isn't sure if the resignation is better or worse than sheer comedic panic and he has to wonder who this person is to have just decided this is fine and dandy. Should he keep up the game- because it's possibly gotten a little too real? Or should he call it quits.

He decides to play the middle field, because of curiosity and boredom.]

Can't rightly say I know. Maybe he's on another boat. Maybe he's on this one. [He pats his pockets.] They don't give me a manifest or anything. The Raven Queen takes the souls and I drive this heap of lost souls to their final destination.

The Raven Queen. I must admit, I've never heard anyone call Death that.

But... if there isn't news that Crowley has been executed, maybe he's still in Hell. Maybe he's just gotten demoted, that's all.

[ He fidgets around a bit. ]

You say there's more boats? I don't see any. Do you know if it's an immediate thing? That Death come to retrieve our souls and put us on this ferry? I must say, I hardly remember it, just the hellfire.

[Molly finally drops the act, because now there's too many questions he can't bullshit through. His face falls and he rubs at his tattooed face.]

Gods, I was really hoping you'd realize I was fucking with you before now. You are far, far more into this than I ever expected you to be. You must get fleeced so often, taking a stranger at face value like that. It's like conning a child. I can't do it.

What-- what do you mean?

[ His eyes go wide as he considers all the things that Molly might be lying about. ]

Is he dead? Crowley, I mean; he's alright, isn't he?

[ Please let that, of all the things, of Aziraphale having to go to Hell, of Molly not being the owner of this ferry, of Heaven having executed him - please let that not be the one that Molly lied about. ]

Friend, I have no idea who Crowley is or where he is or how he died or if he's dead. I made it all up. I'm- quite literally- in the same boat as you.

[He looks deeply pained by this entire experience. Aziraphale, killer of fun.]

O--oh.

[ He looks so very put-out. ]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that you're-- you've also died.

Terrible, isn't it?

Little bit. [He's gone from being equally put-out to being sardonic, albeit in as gentle a way as one can be. He's not here to be a complete asshole to everyone. Just the usual amount.]

Lying's a coping mechanism. Easier to handle the uncertainty of the situation if you pretend you know exactly what's going on. And it probably would've helped anyone else. No one wants the truth, especially not in a place like this.

No, you're right. People don't want the truth when they die.

[ Then he looks sideways at Molly. ]

Is Mollymauk your real name, then?

Oh, yes. That I wouldn't lie about. Names are important. [Well, he's given fake names, but that was just to avoid a paper trail. He'd rather just be Molly.] You can call me Molly, if you like.

Molly. That's a wonderful name.

[ Especially for a demon. ]

I suppose I should ask you what you've done to be sent to a place like this. I hope you don't mind-- that isn't coming from a place of judgment. I'm here too.

Isn't it, though?

[Molly scuffs a boot on the planking of the boat.] Well, I can't be sure, really. If this is Hell, it's probably 'cause of some bloody ancestor of mine calling his kin back home when they die, because I've been a stand-up person, give or take a few vices.

You....

I'm-- I must apologize, dear boy, I really mean you no offense, but you aren't... You're not a demon yourself?

[ He blinks. ]

You are... a descendant of a Nephilim?

I have no fucking clue what the hell that is. [As cheerfully as can be.] I'm a tiefling. Descended from some devil from somewhere in the Nine Hells several, several generations back.

[He cants his head, jewelry jingling a bit.] We're still not on the same page, are we?

Oh!

[ He hadn't even realized that was possible. ]

Very sorry, how embarrassing. I'm just used to descendants of demons looking much more... human, that's all. I hope you don't take offense-- really, they're. Lovely horns.

[ He sounds like he could be sarcastic but he's actually being genuine. ]

[Molly, accustomed to such things, just reaches up and pats his horn.] Thanks. Grew them in myself.

[Though this does beg an interesting question that sets him to frowning.] I don't get it. I can't claim to know much about the afterlife, but I would've thought we'd all be on the same page about everything going into it.

[ He's about to protest and say how they're pierced and decorated -- so pretty, really, he'd never have thought to do that with horns if he ever got them-- but then, yes. Afterlife talk. ]

I think we do-- in the end, at its core, believe the same thing, but we all worship differently. It's just like speaking many languages, I think, and some things are untranslatable, and over time, become corrupt. Or, is that not what you mean?

[Molly waves a hand in a kinda-sorta gesture.] Well, it's like... if I mention the Raven Queen or the Moonweaver, d'you know who I'm talking about? No one else bloody has.

No, I'm afraid not. But there are many religions I don't know, dear boy.

[ He would be a little upset too if no one even heard of his God, he supposed, but well. He is an angel. ]

We're probably all about to learn one more. [He can see start to see the shape of the dock now, out across the water.] We're just about there.

Joy.

[ He heaves a sigh. ]

I really hadn't thought there'd be room for more, but here we are, I guess.

I hope we'll get to talk later, once we disembark. Would be terrible to get caught in paperwork and be sent elsewhere.

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

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