singillatim | oh you fool, there are rules, i am coming for you

THE DARKWALKER COMES

The Darkwalker makes its first real strike against the Interlopers, resulting in the death of La'an Noonien-Singh. In the wake of her death, her fellow Interlopers are left to deal with the fallout of this new part of the horror of the Northern Territories.

WHEN: January 25th, onwards.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: death of playable character; supernatural death; mention of dead body; themes of death; supernatural beings; themes of terror; themes of peril.

OH, THE RECKONING BEGINS

On the night of January 25th, all is calm. It is a peaceful, if not cold evening. There are no clouds in the skies, the stars and moon hang high in the blanket of inky black. It would be just another night, until something strange happens: one by one, the stars begin to go out and the moon's light fades from view, as if swallowed whole.

Instead, there is nothing but the gloom. The sky is dark and green and terrible. Interlopers all over the Northern Territories will stop and stare — horrified by such a sight. And then, it washes over you like a cold wave: fear. Interlopers will find themselves over-come, and everything in their bodies and minds tells them to run. To flee. And so you run, heading for cover indoors. Curtains will be drawn, some may hide under beds, within closets or wardrobes. Some desperate attempt to conceal themselves, make themselves small, unseen. Some Interlopers, in that fear, may rush to friends or loved ones to hide with them, others may simply cowered alone — crawling and whimpering away from the night. The fear is irrational, unable to be overcome — even by the bravest or most stoic of Interlopers.

And then: noise. Coming from towards the east, the sounds of unnatural and almost-demonic roars, groans and moans — unable to be likened to or truly described. Drawing nearer and nearer — and you know it, even if you don't understand why: something is coming. It's coming here. You are powerless, unable to do anything. And it is an agony, awaiting its arrival. You cry, you whimper, you cower. Curling up for some shred of comfort, and finding none.

It seems to go on forever, building into a crescendo. Your heart beats so hard you fear it may burst from your chest, as if you might die of fright.

And then, a screaming wail — sharp as it cuts through the building dread. A woman. You know it, don't you? You're sure you've heard it before.

The silence that follows is deafening. The green gloom subsides, the fear slowly melts away within you. You wait, and wait. Finally, when it feels like you can breathe again, you decide to move.

Interlopers who dare to venture outside, who dare to look from behind curtains may see nothing at all. The skies have returned to normal, the moon is out once more. But those close to the center of town will see the small frame of a body curled in the snow. Some may not know her, but plenty will recognise her: Lieutenant La'an Noonien Singh.

It looks almost as if she'd collapsed. But those who decide to investigate will discover a gruesome scene. While there will appear to be no physical wounds, her body will appear contorted — expression frozen in absolute fear. It will be incredibly unnatural and violent to look at. La'an is dead. Around her, the footsteps that brought her to this spot. Strange 'waves' in the snow, too. Hard to define as to what exactly made them. And... faint glimmers of green, intangible. Almost like a residue — which will vanish by the time morning comes.

This is not the first time. La'an Noonien-Singh is the thirteenth Interloper to die since they first began to arrive in this place. But this is certainly the first time something like this has ever happened.

But preparations must be made, an Interloper must be mourned and laid to rest.

And the rest of Milton must come to terms with what has happened, if they can put a name to such a thing.

FAQs

1. Essentially, a 'party post' for reactions to the Darkwalker's Arrival, the immediate aftermath, and any funerary preparations following La'an's death. Have... fun?

2. Information on the Darkwalker's attack can be found here.

3. An OOC Rundown can be found here.

4. For those interested: Harry Goodsir is conducting a post-mortem on La'an, which can be found here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Goodsir arrives late on the scene, and for a while all he can do is just watch. When Kenway speaks, it brings him back to himself. ]

There must be somewhere ... we ...

We must find out what happened to her.

She didn’t die naturally, that’s for certain. I’ve seen natural deaths—this ain’t one of them.

[He shifts his grip on her. She’s light, like Mary was. If he looks down at her he worries he may see Mary and not La’an, so he keeps his eyes on Goodsir.]

But you’d know more than I would. [Death-dealer that Edward is, his medical knowledge is rudimentary and, in this place, grossly out of date. He can’t say with authority what could’ve killed her, the way Goodsir or another doctor around here might.]

I ...

[ I want you to cut open Irving's— ]

[ He scrubs both hands over his face and stares at the form in Kenway's arms, sad and crumpled, and there's that anger again, that outrage. ]

I can conduct a post-mortem. Perhaps there's somewhere ... the church, perhaps? It has a basement, does it not?

[They're all feeling that outrage, that anger. It's a better feeling than the sheer terror that had gripped him earlier, kept him from stepping outside even when he heard the scream. This is all Edward can do now, and he hates it, a little bit.]

Think so, yeah, it's only logical to have one in a place like this.

[A breath.]

I know the way to the church, I'm just—more worried about the crowd.

[ Goodsir is no good with crowds, and can only endure public speaking when he's presenting in his professional capacity. The tall fellow, the one with the hat and the wolf—this seems much more his sort of thing. Goodsir can't help looking a bit helpless. ]

Perhaps the others can help keep them back. I don't mind observers, but I'll want no one there who's only there to goggle.

Levi's working on that already. [He nods to Levi, already walking ahead, parting the crowds with a stern voice. Poor lad. He's too damn young to sound like that, it worries Edward something fierce.] He's a good lad, and there's that fellow with the wolf as well.

[Never thought he'd see the day he'd be happy to see a wolf.]

I'll see what I can do about the crowd, but I can't promise it'll be much.

[ Goodsir nods. ]

Let's do this quickly, then. Time is of the essence, and it's better that everyone has less to stare on.

[Edward nods, and cradles La'an's corpse, and doesn't look down. This is easier, in some respects, than the last time he had to do this—last time, he'd been in the middle of enemy territory, trying not to get caught while carrying Mary's body. This time he has nothing to really fear from the people around him, and there are others clearing the way.

To Goodsir, he says:] Did you see that residue? Like lights on the snow?

I half thought I'd imagined it.

[ He looks back, as if afraid it might be following them. ]

What do you make of it?

I'd thought to bottle up a sample of it, but it's insubstantial. More than that—when I came near it, it felt like brushing against my own death.

[A feeling he knows all too well.]

Do you remember that dream we all had, some weeks ago? With the skulls and the woman shouting our names?

I don't see how one could forget it.

[ He looks up at the sky, as if he thinks he might see a fleeting shadow of the creature there; luckily, he does not. ]

You think that was a precursor? To what's happened here?

It has to be connected somehow. That thing's eyes and mouths glowed green—the same color as this residue—and you heard what it was saying. The end of all things.

[He lets out a breath.]

Can't be a coincidence, knowing how the residue made me feel.

[ Goodsir grunts a small noise of agreement, not liking this at all. ]

One thing at a time. We should learn what we can from—from her. Piece that together with the rest of the information. And then draw conclusions.

[ Science! ]

oh you fool, there are rules, i am coming for you

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