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!

QUICKNAV
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[ kol isn't next to allie when she poses her question to whoever is standing right next to her. he's busy looking in the window of the general store at his reflection. yep, that oversized shirt is not going to do.

after several long minutes (and a few spent watching the reflection of the bonfire and the... thing tending to it), he turns around. pulling at the long, oversized sleeves, he starts to walk toward allie and gives a big shrug. ] Does it matter? We're dead. We shouldn't have any of these things to begin with.

[ he says when he managed to get a haircut and different clothes to the ones he was wearing both times he permanently died. ]

[ His words draw her attention, Allie's eyes narrowing though it's difficult to say if it's his words that form the lines between her eyebrows, or the oversized shirt that appears to be wearing him more than him wearing it.

Both? Both is appropriate. ]

Are we? [ It doesn't sound like the foolish hope of a girl too scared to face reality. Being dead would actually make sense to Allie, which is exactly why she's unconvinced. ]

I remember being killed but I haven't seen anything to convince me that I'm dead.

[ excuse him!!!! he is wearing the shirt, not the other way around, tyra banks! (it's true, the shirt is wearing him.)

kol presses his lips together with a nod, easily taking on board her uncertainty. he can see why that is — perhaps if he hadn't died twice already and been sent to the other side and the ancestral realm respectively, he'd be a little unconvinced, too. ]

Perhaps whoever created this realm wanted us to feel as undead as possible. [ that sounds a little like mum with the whole other side… even if kol has unkind words to say of her, esther mikaelson knew how to best treat those who of the dead supernatural kind. pulling at his sleeve, he shrugs a shoulder, ] I've been to realms like this before. They were as isolated, dull and as eccentric as this one.

[ Don't worry Kol, it's likely wearing you better than it would anyone else so you have that going for you? ]

Realm? [ Her eyes narrowing, more at the confidence of his words. He appeared to be taking all of this in his stride as if it were little more than a new curiosity, rather than a puzzle to be solved. ]

Do you mean like, alternate universes? [ That's what Gordy had called them. She might not have been convinced of their validity then but between New Ham and Beacon? She was being made a believer. ] Different planes of existence?

[ way harsh, tai.

now it's kol's turn to narrow his eyes, finding her proffered words to be simultaneously odd and comforting. multiple planes of existence is a concept he's heard of in stories, but in reality? can the other side be considered an alternate universe? or is this the type of alternate universe hollywood often dreams up in the wake of a different decision being made?

he shrugs a shoulder. ] I'd say more like a different plane of existence. One that people who are living can't see, but perhaps can get a sense of — like psychics. They need to make their money somehow, don't they? It's the simplest explanation.

[ Technically that was a compliment? Besides, you still dress better than Grizz and he doesn't have 'showed up naked' as an excuse. ]

Kind of like... different frequencies. [ Her quiet conjecture pushed aside as she refocuses on Kol. Her head tilting to one side as she goes back over what he's said with that new way of thinking in mind. ]

And you've been to these other realms before... Did you ever find a way to get out? To get... back?

[ what she says sounds smart and very technologically savvy — she must be a millennial. pleased with her summation, kol doesn't think to correct or argue with her.

at her question, he tilts his head slightly with his face scrunched up, considering his answer. it's not as simple as she may think (and as he may want). ] Yes… and no.

[ appearing relaxed despite the topic at hand (and how it still smarts he's died twice), ] I didn't quite successfully find the exit from those realms, but I did manage to end up back in the land of the living. Two different resurrection spells, if you can believe it.

[ he still can't. perhaps she won't be able to wrap her head around resurrection and spells. it's all a bit much, on top of the whole being dead part. ]

[ She'd be thrown by that reply if it weren't so familiar. She's been using something that sounds just like it, after all. Every time she tries to talk to anyone about where she was before here. Yes and no had a way of saying everything and nothing all at once. ]

I surprise myself with what I can believe these days. [ Even talk of resurrection spells not something can render her speechless. Curious, perhaps sad for reasons she has no intention of getting into. Six months ago she would have thought him insane. Today? No more than she was. ]

Did you find a way to do it or, was it somebody else?

Yes…

[ this is another "yes and no" kind of answer. the way kol trails on expresses as much.

with his arms crossed, he scrunches up his face before it relaxes. ] First time was my mother. Second time was my girlfriend… although I did help. A little.

[ he did help her sever klaus' sireline, which created a surge of power great enough for her to use as a power source to bring him back by kind of not telling her the last ingredient for her ritual… being difficult counts, right? ]

Resurrection spells are incredibly difficult spells and often require many different things to make them work. I know that from experience.

[ She blinks at him. Once. Twice - still somehow staying with this conversation and yet, it's getting a little harder to process. Too ridiculous to believe? Surprisingly, no, but for all Allie had seen and experienced she was still human. ]

As in. Magic? [ She's always been expressive, from the time she was a little girl. Her emotions playing out on her features like a script that anyone could follow. She's doing that now and it's borderline amusing to see her trip over disbelief on her way towards curiosity and wonder. ]

You know Magic? You're a - [ Not a magician. ] A Witch? Warlock? [ Her lips press together, lines creasing her brow. Allie needing to ask, just to be sure; ] A practical joker?

[ he looks amused. ] I can be both. [ —a witch and a practical joker, that is. technically the practical joker came before the witch and the vampire! he was just born with it.

there's no point in denying it—he'd been the one to use spells in the conversation, after all, and a bit loosely, too—and he doesn't see the harm in even admitting to as much. is it wrong her summations make him feel good that she instantly thinks "witch" over "vampire"? that mikaelson reputation doesn't seem to exist in this realm (yet).

easily, ] I was witch [ —not a lie— ] and I know a lot about magic [ —again, not a lie— ] although I lost my connection to it when I died. [ —also, not a lie. ]

Let me guess… magic doesn't exist where you're from? [ or it's hidden deep, deep, deep in the underbelly. there's no judgement there—only amusement. ]

(( By all means, feel free to ignore these late af tags from me. I just got through a monster release at work and realised just how long its been between responses ;; ))

[ She might not understand it exactly, but it doesn't stop the flicker of sadness in her eyes when he speaks of what he lost in death. ]

I'm... sorry. [ Grimacing at that word. She hates that word, especially when in relation to loss. ] To lose something that's - [ Searching for the words. ] - a part of you.

[ That at least she can comprehend. ] It sucks.

[ Not eloquent but there wasn't an adequate word for something like that. ]

Heh - no. I mean. Illusions? Fake magic - Magicians, not. Not spells. Not ones that actually work anyway. [ she's smart enough to realize that her world had been very small until six months ago. ] But I could probably fill a library with things I don't know that exist.

[ what a boring world to come from. kol has always enjoyed the supernatural underbelly of new orleans, mystic falls, france, australia—it's made life all the more fun, being able to learn things and play with people who didn't realise you were playing.

brows furrowing, he waves his hand for a quick second, trying to remember specific words she'd said earlier. ] What about those alternate dimensions you were speaking of before?

[ either she watches a lot of sci fi or… he doesn't get his hopes up, but they're up. ]

[ Her mouth opens like she wants to explain it for him but he'd see the way they close again, lips pilling into a bow as her brow furrows. Her shoulders lifting in an uncertain shrug. ]

I mean - That's what we think it was? [ There's a flare of frustration in her eyes, that after all this she still doesn't know for sure. The least she could have found in death were some damn answers, right? ] A group of us got bussed out of town because of this, god awful smell. The bus turned back before we reached our destination, took as right back and left only... It was home except, it wasn't.

[ She looks around, staring at the dark treeline the bonfire barely manages to keep in sight. ]

Kind of like this place. A town surrounded by woods as far as the eye can see. [ And that was only the tip of the weird as hell iceberg. ]

[ while kol's rightfully known for his impatience, when it comes to learning about new and interesting things, he has an infinite pool of patience for it. nine times out of ten, the waiting was always worth it. which is why, when allie looks out at the dark tree line, his own gaze follows hers.

from his deep pool of knowledge, that does sound like a different realm—or alternate dimension, as she's called it. while he may not have travelled to a multiverse of sorts, from what he's learned over the years, it doesn't sound too out of the ordinary. it seems like the other side and the ancestral realm, only for people who are alive.

presuming that part.

turning his attention back to allie, he keeps his posture relaxed. with one eyebrow arched, ] Let me guess—your home wasn't surrounded by endless woods and questionably dangerous waters?

Not one that starts right in the middle of the only roads out of town. [ The smile she offers grim despite her attempt at lightening the mood. ]

It wasn't just that. There was an eclipse when according to the books we read, there shouldn't have been one. The stars weren't where the should have been in the sky,

[ It all paints a pretty clear picture only... ]

I ended up here before we could figure it all out.

[ that definitely sounds like an alternate realm. the ancestral realm hadn't had any stars while the other side had been made with them. it simply had endless woods and a literal isolating way of going about daily life.

it's all intriguing, and it shows on his face. despite the oversized shirt, he crosses his arms against his chest. he peers up at the sky with narrowed eyes. ] The sky does look a little normal… But I can't be sure.

[ while he may have laid on his back for one hundred years, he never got to be neutralised with his coffin open. :c ]

Maybe if you feel like it, you should see if the stars look like your stars. You never know if you'll be onto something.

[ It's somehow comforting to have something useful to contribute without everyone here looking to her to solve the problem. To know that if she didn't feel like looking at the stars, there wasn't anyone to complain that she was screwing up. Funny how she felt more inclined to do things now the weight of everyone's survival wasn't sitting squarely on her shoulders. ]

It wouldn't hurt to try. [ Gordo was the one who knew all this stuff. For her to do it she'd need books and patience, but there was more than enough time now, she supposed to work on that ]

Do you think it could be magic? [ Dragging her gaze from the sky and back to Kol, Allie's lips twitching at the sight of him being swallowed by his shirt. It reminded her of a child playing dress-ups in their parents closet, though she was smart enough not to say as much. ] How we got here. This place. Do you know if there's a way to tell without your connection?

[ kol presses his lips together, actually thinking it over. without his connection to magic, he simply learned by travelling the world and sidling up to those who were experts in their fields. he'd learned because he created and he was curious. it had taken a lot of time and effort, which didn't happen overnight. perhaps he was the only mikaelson to know how hard work actually did pay off. ]

Not immediately. [ it quietly frustrates him that he can't even feel it—that he hasn't since being in the body of kaleb. ] But I think after sticking around for a few days and looking into things, something will turn up to lead us in the right way.

[ like a spirit, a rock, or simply pure luck. ]

But I never rule it out. Witchcraft has led to a lot of things before. [ like the creation of him. ] Sometimes it just takes its time to show itself.

[ She considers that possibility, quietly turning it over. To some it might provide a sense of hope, but Allie had mixed feelings about all of it. She had a hole in her coat reminding her that figuring a way out of this mess might not be the best thing for her and she hadn't been allowed a whole lot of time to really process that. ]

Let's hope everyone doesn't kill each other before it does. [ It's flippant and yet the way her lips purse, the corners of her eyes crease? There's more weight behind those words than her light tone suggests. ]

[ no one can blame kol for enjoying the idea of a lord of the flies scenario—he'd come out on top—but he's grateful this realm lacks it. so much to organise, so many things to think of...

best not to voice it and let the universe contradict him! ]

I'm Kol. [ he smiles, not quite a toothy thing but something kind nonetheless. ] In case people do want to kill each other, at least we can pair up.

[ She finds her own smile coming unbidden, despite the seriousness that underlies his words. Allie nodding and having to wrestle with her mouth to keep the grin from becoming bigger. ]

Allie. [ Catching herself pleasantly surprised by the moment. She hadn't met a new person for more than six months and she'd never been somebody who could charm others easily, at least not the way her sister had. It was admittedly kind of nice not to think of herself as being completely alone here, especially if things went the way she fully expected them to.

That wasn't the reason for her smile, however. That was simply because if she were being honest? Kol was particularity easy to like.]

If all else fails we can barricade ourselves in the general store and let the rest of them fight it out.

[ kol smiles. ] While the General Store is the obviously intelligent choice, I'd opt for the motel looking place. Kitchen, beds, and a very high chance of a lot of alcohol.

[ truthfully, he would like the invincible to be his first pick if he ever needed to barricade himself away, but he has a feeling it'd be many people's first choices. it's almost like people running for the attic—he's never understood it.

then with a shrug, although it's not as careless as he wants it to come off across. it's all part of his charming act. ] Or we can hole up in the General Store, Allie. Whatever you see fit. There just better be alcohol.

[ and probably clothing that fits, but that's (un)surprisingly not high on kol's priority list. ]

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INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

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