I'd sit there and look at the deserted lakes and I'd sing

[singmod]

MARCH 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — EXIT STRATEGY: With the way via the main road a no-go, Methuselah finds a potential and very dangerous way out of the Milton area: the Milton Mines. During the Aurora, the Interlopers must find a way to safely navigate the mines and find a way through.

PROMPT TWO — BRAVE NEW WORLD: Interlopers make their way into the Lakeside area, and are free to explore the more of the Northern Territories: a place of both industry and leisure.

PROMPT THREE — THE ECHO: On Aurora nights, the aftermath of the Darkwalker's attack on the Interlopers continues to ripple through the community — with a painful affliction.

EXIT STRATEGY

WHEN: Mid-month.
WHERE: Milton Mines.
CONTENT WARNINGS: claustrophobic situations; potential injury/maiming; potential electrocution/electrocution injuries; potential burn injuries; hyperthermic situations; exploration horror;


Unusually, Methuselah returns to the town around the middle of the month. He is looking pleased and will ask that the Interlopers gather in the Community Hall. Once gathered, he climbs onto the small stage at one end of the Hall and explains that following last month’s Feast, he set out to try to find a way out of Milton, and he believes he may have found a way out.

He goes on to explain that although the Milton Mine has been closed for many years, there may still be access through the mine. The mine had two entrances through either sides of the stone, one on the Milton side since many of the residents worked the mine back in the day, but there was also an additional entrance on the opposite side, which led to a railway track that allowed easier export of coal and precious materials towards the coast. Having gained access, he believes the mine seems to mostly remain intact, but not easy to get through. However, he discovered that during the Aurora, the old mine and its electronics came to life — meaning a way through is certainly possible during those times with the added electronics in play.

It is not much, and it is certainly incredibly dangerous, but it is something. There is certainly no way out towards the south; towards the north might be the Interlopers’ best chance of finding a way out of Milton.

Methuselah will ask for any volunteers to join him in trying to find a way out via the mines, taking them up north and then waiting for an Aurora to happen before they can then make their way through and explore the mine system. Anyone is free to sign up, and he suggests someone drawing up a sign up sheet so that Interlopers have an idea of who is leaving the town on the journey.

The hike towards the mines is a long one, taking a few hours on an incline to reach the northern mountains. Waiting on the Aurora may take time, so setting up camp is the next step — waiting for night and hoping the skies fill with night soon. Interlopers are free to explore the mine beforehand, but will find a lot of it locked up tight. With areas unreachable without power and the darkness suffocating, they won’t get very far.

When the Aurora does finally come, the mine will come to life: the system’s lighting will come on throughout, albeit flickering and a little unreliable. Machinery and track systems whir and groan as the mine slowly cranks itself into functioning once more. While there are maps of the system to help Interlopers navigate the system — showing a second entrance labelled as ‘Lakeside Entrance’ — the true difficulty in getting through lies in wait.

Interlopers will find that parts of the system have been partially flooded: with the frigid water in places mostly ankle deep and others reaching no higher than knee-high on an average-height man. What’s worse, is the half-destroyed electrics ravaged by both time and the Aurora mean plenty of loose wires hanging here and there. It’s possible to accidentally catch yourself on them, meaning burn injuries and mild electric shocks — but care should be taken in checking if these wires may have fallen into these flooded parts. Stepping into these live waters will be far more deadly. They will also find that the electronically-powered gates that open through into areas may not function, with the fuses having been blown.

Gaining access through the mine is not impossible, however. It will simply require a little bit of legwork. One of the larger caverns of the mines houses a fuse board. Characters can switch off sections of the mines in order to traverse them safely, find new fuses in toolboxes scattered through the mines in order to open the gates and make their way through to gain access to the elevator of the mine — which will also require new fuses, in order to power the electrics to get it to function.

It is perhaps, most frustrating, that once Interlopers get the elevator working and head downwards into the final section of the mine, that they will come across hand-cranks — allowing them to use the elevator without the need for electricity. But at least the hard part is over, and the Interlopers now have a way through from Milton that doesn’t require relying on the Aurora to power the mine’s electrics.

On the lower section of the mine, there will be a handful of more gated rooms to get through before reaching the Lakeside Entrance, and more wires and flooded areas to traverse. But you can taste it: something on the air. You’re close.

You’ve made it, Interloper.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards.
WHERE: Milton Mines (Lakeside Entrance); The Ravine; Lakeside area.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of exploration/survival; themes of peril; acrophobia; potential character/npc death from falls; potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk;

Coming out of the mines, you will be greeted by a small mining camp and railway track enclosed by mountains on both sides. It’s incredibly sheltered here, with little wind chill and not as much snow on the ground compared to some of the more open areas of Milton. It may be best to rest here for the rest of the night. There are several portacabins that were used to house some of the former miners, along with additional cabins with one being some kind of foreman’s office, one that served as a kind of mess hall and one for bathing/toilet needs.

While there is little in terms of supplies left in there, some scraps may be found here and there — plus the cabins will provide decent shelter from the cold, which may be the last Interlopers will get ahead of the long walk down through the mountain track and into Lakeside. There is also plenty of coal left lying around, too — allowing for Interlopers to craft fires to keep warm. Even with it being sheltered, it’s still cold out.

In terms of where to go from here, the only way seems to be to follow the track. It’s a long walk, but rather straightforward if you keep to the tracks. A good few hours of it, but it’s quiet — and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of wildlife or windchill here. It almost seems too easy, or as easy as it could be in regards to a long walk through thick snow.

Until you come face to face with the ravine.

The world opens up to you, with the tracks stretching over a huge valley via a… mostly sturdy-looking wooden and steel bridge. There doesn’t seem to be any way around it, no alternative route of getting over to the other side. Crossing the bridge is the only option. Care should be taken, with Interlopers now being vulnerable to the wind and the snow-laden tracks. As sturdy as the bridge looks, it seems to creak and groan under the weight of a single footstep. There even appears to be the remains of fall train-carts in the depths, from some unfortunate incident years ago. It’s probably fine.

Crossing the bridge and continuing down the tracks will eventually have the world opening up even more — you’ve finally reached Lakeside. Thick boreal forests crowd around the tracks, and in places, Interlopers will note that the tracks have buckled and become badly damaged. When they find roads, they will also find them in similar states of disrepair from beneath the snow. Following them for another hour or so will eventually lead to Lakeside’s Maintenance Yard. From here, there is a road, with directions: signs pointing towards Milton, the Coast, Lakeside Resort and the Carter Hydrodam.

For those interested in searching the Maintenance Yard, they will be greeted by a large, fenced in building. Fortunately, a great deal of the fencing has been damaged with the bad weather and it is easy enough to gain access. The place is a bit of a mess: scrap metal, wood, and dissued trucks and cars litter the yard, along with wood that can be used for kindling and firewood. Inside the Maintenance Yard, it is a little bit of a mechanic’s dream. There’s plenty of tools in this place, and even a forge which could be used for crafting if someone has the patience to fire it up and keep it hot for long enough. There’s plenty of stores of coal, at least. But in terms of a living space, there’s not much else other than a small break room with some comfy chairs to catch some quick shut-eye. Searching the Yard for any letters or such will reveal a similar theme to that of Milton: difficulty in reaching the Mainland with postage and correspondences, the lack of staffing, and the problems with wildlife. There are also complaints and concerns over growing dangers of small quakes causing damage to the roads and rail system.

Following the road towards the Lakeside Resort is a mostly quiet and pleasant enough trek, as long as one keeps close to or on the road there as much as possible. The Resort is largely secluded, even if it is around the actual lake itself, and it’s easy to see just why this place would have been a popular vacation place.

The resort is a collection of a dozen luxury cabins dotted around the edge of the lake, each of them with a decent amount of space between them for privacy. The cabins themselves are sturdy and well built, but look far more modern and almost designer in terms of style - with huge almost floor to ceiling windows and spacious porches for that perfect lakeside view, and open plan rooms and balconies. Each of the cabins contain multiple bedrooms, suitable for vacationing families and mix both modern technology and more rustic means of heating homes — making them ideal for all weathers.

A couple of the cabins are not completed, appearing to be a kind of expansion of the resort that was not finished. Build materials still remain here. Some of the cabins on the furthest side appear to have become victims of vandalism, having been broken into and completely trashed with windows smashed, furniture missing and broken, and any goods completely ransacked from the place. There are perhaps five cabins out of the twelve that remain fully intact and may contain useful items such as food, basic medical supplies and tools, and will certainly be excellent shelters for those looking for somewhere to stay.

There is also a Camp Office, situated at the east side of the lake. Used as a kind of main office of maintenance for the cabins, along with an office or tourist centre of sorts. It has a decent stock of hiking and outdoor essentials. The Camp Office does also have a small living space upstairs — presumably used by Lake staff or rangers, with a wood stove and kitchenette, along with a bathroom and several bunk-beds. It appears that the Camp Office wasn't abandoned until a short while ago — no more than a couple of months.

Following the road to the Hydrodam is a trickier one than the one to the Resort. There is a higher volume of predator wildlife here, with wolf howls closer and more frequent. With the current state of wildlife’s behaviours, it is likely to face attacks from wolves on the way there. The Carter Hydrodam has clearly seen better days. It seems to have fallen into disrepair and may have only been run by a small skeleton crew. While the Hydrodam is gated and locked up tight, it’s possible to break in through the gate and gain access.

While the lower dam is currently out of bounds, Interlopers will be able to get into the upper levels of the main building of the Hydrodam, which consists mostly of offices, maintenance rooms, a medical bay, and rooms banked with control panels, plus staff areas. The med bay is relatively well stocked, but might need a little forced entry with certain medical lockers and cabinets. Tools and other useful items can also be found here, along with bunk rooms, a small canteen and bathrooms/showers. It might be possible with some work to get access to hot water here — the showering systems run on a back-up furnace system, and while some of the pipes are broken, it might be possible to fix them to get the hot water system up and running again.

Following the road to the Coast will find a dead end. The bridge that heads over towards that direction has been damaged beyond repair, and there looks to be no way of getting around it. Perhaps, much like with getting out of Milton, there may be an alternate way of getting further south, but time will tell.

But for now, here is an entirely new region, ripe for the picking. While it appears some places have already seen minor scavenging (with the exception to the vandalism and looting of some of the resort cabins), Lakeside is largely untouched. It is full of game to hunt, an expansive lake to take up ice-fishing in, and indoor locations to search through for supplies. Some Interlopers may decide to stay here permanently now that it’s easier to travel between Lakeside and Milton.

THE ECHO

WHEN: Aurora Nights, the month of March.
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural/otherworldly afflictions; themes of grief; themes of loss

There are roughly no more than ten Aurora nights during the month of March, and everything occurs as usual: the insanely bright colours swirling in the skies before you, the crackles and pops of static in the air providing percussion to the strange, ethereal chorus of almost-electrical sounds. The electrics of the world around coming alive with its usual sputtering and falters. There is much mystery to these strange, almost supernatural phenomena — but they almost feel like a kind of staple in the Northern Territories.

But on these nights something different happens.

If you listen closely, the sound of weeping can be heard on the air. Those with the Aurora Call Feat will be particularly drawn to the sound, and will hear it more clearly compared to their fellow Interlopers. It is the sound of a woman, and those paying attention might be able to recognise the voice it belongs to: it is the same woman heard over the static of radios and televisions in December and early January. The same woman that spoke to Interlopers, telling them to sleep, with the promise of help — thus granting some of them powers. It is the same voice that screamed out the night La’an Noonien-Singh died, and the night of those recently killed in the church.

She is… grief-stricken. Her weeping is a raw and anguished thing, and the more you listen, the more it seems to grip at you. You feel her pain, maybe it echoes within your own. Those you have lost, those you have failed or hurt — a reverb that grows stronger as the night continues. It is an all-consuming pain, its depths endless. It brings tears to your eyes.

You carry this pain, as she does.

You feel it in your very bones, in your flesh and sinew. It’s an exhaustive pain, and as the night progresses, you find yourself incredibly weary. In a strange state of fatigue that won’t even allow you to sleep.

You may find yourself going in search of comfort amongst friends, or loved ones. To hold a hand, to embrace them — to not be alone in this pain you feel.

But it is a pain that is too great.

On these nights, you will find yourselves alone, without the comfort you would otherwise lean on. You will not be soothed by that comfort of others. For as long as the Aurora lasts, reaching out and touching others will bring real physical pain to you. It will hurt to touch others, and physical contact will produce a sharp biting pain, even for those who may not feel pain otherwise. Too much. It’s… too much.

Some of you were told once, in a dream: “Don’t you understand it now? We are all connected. The Aurora connects us.”

Once the lights in the sky fade, that pain will finally ease and the woman’s sobs will go quiet — but it will return once more, when the next Aurora comes.

FAQs

EXIT STRATEGY

1. It is entirely possible for NPC Interlopers to die in the mines due to electrocution, and players are free to use NPCs — we ask that players give mods a heads up so that the masterlist can be updated accordingly.


BRAVE NEW WORLD

1. The lower dam is currently completely physically impossible to access. The door that leads there is jammed shut. Characters will notice half-frozen water leaking on the floor around the door.

2. It is possible to find bodies in Lakeside, however there is a... suspiciously low amount of them, and the rare ones found by characters will have been there for some time. They will have appeared to have died of exposure.

3. Wolves can be found in Lakeside, and their tracks are incredibly common. Interactions with wolves can happen in the exploration of this region, and they will behave much like they did during the September event and be incredibly hostile to players.

4. Bears are also common in Lakeside, and their tracks can also be found. They technically should be still hibernating, and much like wolves — they will be aggressive towards Interlopers. Keep your distance!

5. Lakeside unlocking comes with a Companion Event of an Interation with a new NPC!

THE ECHO

1. Essentially: physical touch with others will bring Interlopers physical pain. Sorry about that.

2. It is possible for Interlopers with Aurora Call to attempt to reach out to the woman. Those interested can inquire into what that interaction may be like! They can find out what that entails here.

PLOTTING POST

Comments

[heckofashot]

Hm, no money makes sense, but he wonders if that means no trade or barter either. "Yeah, you've got the right of it." Anything he could use he'd have kept — mostly 10mm for a spare pistol he begrudged carrying, but eventually he'd started handing it off to someone who'd make use of just about anything…

When Levi holds out the ammo, he does notice that it's not all of it — he wouldn't have expected him to hand over everything, really — but it is more than he'd be anticipating. He unfastens a pouch from his belt and raises his brow. "You're sure? Don't wanna leave you or anyone else short." Maccready might be a great many things, greedy is certainly on that list, but not at the expense of putting someone else at risk in a situation like this.

[solitarysoul]

There is barter, a store just opened but Levi doesn't feel like bartering things. He never had money for stores and the shop keeps were always mean so his brain associates them with being unwelcome. And he's not really sure what the point of hording things would be here, if he can't use something it'd be better if someone could.

"Yeah. I don't think anyone else uses those right now." He'd mostly seen handguns and shotguns.

[heckofashot]

That's a relief for the time being, being the only one who can make use of something means there's no competition for something, he doesn't mind having to split supplies when necessary, but he knows some people can get weird about it, and Maccready'd rather forgo having something than butt heads with someone the minute he got here.

"Okay, thanks. I appreciate it, if I come across any other types, I'll bring 'em to you, yeah?" Figures it's the least he can do, as he gingerly takes the ammunition that's offered and tips it into his pouch — he'll sort it later, get them arranged the way he's used to, but for now this is fine.

Reattaching the pouch to his belt, he nods towards Levi's rifle. "You plannin' on staying here or are you going out with the volunteer group?" In short, he wants to get an idea of how many people will be left behind in town with weapons.

[solitarysoul]

"That sounds good."

He nods, "Yeah. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I figured they'd need some security."
He knows he's not the only one with a gun going. He doesn't have any idea how long they'll be gone or if they're coming back at all, so hopefully not everyone who can fight was going.

[heckofashot]

Maccready'd like to say that he doesn't frown when Levi confirms he's going along, but he does. He'd be a hypocrite if he objected, he's been toting a rifle around since he was ten, but the wastes required it. He doesn't know what Levi's life was like before Milton, but he hopes it was nothing like his.

"Watch out if you need to fire that thing in the mines," is what he says instead of outright telling him to be careful. He knows what it's like when people older than you think you're incapable of something just because of your age, the last thing he wants is to come across like he's being patronising. "Ideally, you won't need to."

[solitarysoul]

[He considers for a moment. They did some fighting in underground caves in Prehevil but it was really just in a huge chamber.]

Like fighting inside, right? The bullets ricochet if you hit a wall.

Yeah, I'd prefer not to...though if its like the other mine we found here I might not even have room to have my gun out.

[heckofashot]

"Ricocheting is just one issue," he nods, points at Levi as he brings up the latter point. "Bingo. Rifles like ours…" And therein lies one of the other reasons he doesn't feel enthused about the expedition into the mines; maybe the driving reason behind his decision. He knows his strengths, he knows his weaknesses, and he sure as hell knows he does not want to be in some underground tunnels—

He clears his throat, picks his own weapon back up and slings it over his shoulder. "They tend not to be the best in close quarters. Besides that, they're loud, and they echo." Not that he needs to tell Levi that, surely.

[solitarysoul]

He nods again.

"I have a hand gun for emergencies, and a knife. I prefer the rifle but I was trained in most kinda of firearms. And I started picking up boxing here."

He looks to his rifle and sighs. "I don't really know what to expect. There's another mine here and nothing really lived in it, but there were traps. This one...well, I doubt the things I've seen in caves back home will be the same as here. But I need to be ready for anything."

[heckofashot]

"Mm, good to have a backup, it's just not what I prefer, either…" There's something else in that statement, though. Levi was trained? He can't help the way his mind immediately goes to the Brotherhood, it's no secret they recruited young, trained up their initiates, stuffed their heads full of opinions. The Brotherhood might not be responsible here, but… well, his hackles are raised a bit. His posture shifts as he continues.

"It's the not knowing I don't like." Anything could be lurking behind dark corners, one wrong move and something could collapse. If it was reliant on power, and the power went off suddenly, who knows what other hazards might be in there. "Don't suppose this 'training' you went through prepared you for picking through abandoned mines, did it?"

cw: kids being sent to war

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah...at least nobody should be alone. We can watch each other's backs."

He shakes is head, "No...not really. I was in the army." Trenches are...sort of like mines but not really.

[heckofashot]

He nods, approvingly. "Make sure someone is watching yours." Oh, he almost grimaces at how much he sounds like a dad. "You use a rifle, the last thing you want to be is sent off alone." Even if he's a hypocrite, of course. It's rare that he has anyone with him to act as a spotter, one of the few upsides to working with the Gunners.

"You—" That catches him off guard, visibly so. "I don't mean this in the wrong way, but you don't look old enough to have been in an army." The world he's from has its extenuating circumstances, sure, but he's pretty sure before the world went to shit, the military recruited adults.

cw: kids being sent to war

[solitarysoul]

"There are people going that I trust to watch my back."

Levi pauses for awhile before sighing. "I wasn't. I know a lot of places have rules against it, thankfully, but not where I came from. I was conscripted when I was 13. The war just ended a week or so before I ended up here...I'm 18 now."

He looks younger, especially when he's got his oversized coat on. But he is old enough to be considered an adult.

[heckofashot]

"Sh—" He bites his tongue, but the revelation leaves him… sour, to say the least. The sigh he heaves out says he knows what it's like, or, at least, has some degree of understanding. Thirteen is still older than he was when he first picked up a gun. That there are other worlds in which sending kids off to fight in wars that aren't theirs is either just as common or even normal, how could he not be anything but disappointed.

There's an apology on the tip of his tongue, a 'sorry you went through that,' kind of thing — but he's not the one who owes this kid apologies. "Hope it stays ended when we get out of here." Because they will, he has to stay sure of it. "In the meantime, you put that training to use, yeah?"

It's possibly the worst impromptu pep-talk he's given.

[solitarysoul]

"It will. The Bremens--the other side--got what they wanted. I don't know why they wanted it or what the fuck was going on there, but I don't care. I think if I ever go back I'll move far away so it can never catch up to me. Maybe Vinland..." Vindland was supposed to be terrible and named for the amount of wine one needed to drink to forget it, but after Milton and Termina he could probably handle it. As long as it was warmer.

"Yeah, I do patrols a lot. I hope that makes people feel more secure. Other people do too. Though I'd prefer it if nothing every happened."

[heckofashot]

The other side got what they wanted… well, that could be good or bad, depending. Maccready doesn't think it seems like the kind of thing he should pry about, though. Can't see it being the kind of cheery topic Levi would enjoy discussing. "Moving away might be for the best… S'what I had to do." Different circumstances, of course, but to the same end.

He gestures to the pouch now filled with ammo and gives a small nod. "I can cover for you while you're gone now I've got these." It's two-fold, why he wants to even volunteer for patrols in the first place; getting a lay of the land for one, but learning who is best at what around town can't hurt either. "Might not have any formal training like you do, but I get by."

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah...keep moving forward." Then the past can't catch up to you.

"Thanks. Its always better to have more people keeping watch." He cants his head a bit, "You seem pretty comfortable with it. That's good."
He realizes he has no idea how well Maccready can shoot, but it wasn't really his place to ask. The guy acted like he knew what he was doing, so that was good. Better still that he didn't seem like he'd be waving it around and shooting just anything.

[heckofashot]

Oh, if only it were that simple. The past catches up no matter how far or how fast you run. Sometimes, people from your past are already here.

"You could say that, yeah." Maybe after the venture out into the mines they can pair up, compare notes. For now, though, he just rolls his shoulder, easy and unaware of any such concerns about his shooting. Scratching at his jaw, he offers up a little more. "First learned when I was about ten, out of necessity, mostly. So… twelve years or so, now?" There's a beat; the passage of time rearing its ugly head and giving him pause. "Honestly, it's probably one of the few things I'm any good at."

[solitarysoul]

Ten...younger than him. Though it sounds more like Maccready lived somewhere dangerous than any sort of fighting force. "Yeah...I feel you. Its all I can really do."

[heckofashot]

A bit of both — danger, later a fighting force, if the Gunners could ever be compared to any sort of organized force anyway.

"Well, maybe we can learn a few new tricks, yet." His head tilts from side to side in thought as he says it, as if weighing up some imaginary options. "You said you took up boxing, right? That'll be useful. Wonder what I could pick up…" He trails off, but he's mostly thinking about if he can learn how to make moonshine.

[solitarysoul]

"Oh yeah, a, um," what does he even call Rorschach? Even if the issue of if he had friends or not wasn't there the man was an enigma. "Rorschach, the guy with the mask, he used to box back where he came from. Actually I've been trying to learn a few things here." Anything to kill time, really.

"There are books that teach things, but so far everyone I've asked to teach me something here has been happy to teach me."

[heckofashot]

That guy, a boxer? Huh. Goes to show you really can't judge people based on appearances, he supposes. He seems to light up at the mention of books, he's not an avid reader by any means — and it's hard enough trying to find books that haven't been torn apart for kindling or disintegrated due to exposure to the elements — but he's definitely interested in what kind of things this world might have.

"Is there some kind of collection of something in town? The books, I mean… They're a pretty good way to kill time, couldn't hurt to peruse while people'll are off dealing with the mine situation."

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah, a library. Its also Rorschach's," turns out the guy did a lot of things you wouldn't expect 'creepy masked guy' to do, "but anybody can take out books. You just have to return them later. Its for everybody, so its better if people bring stuff back. Honestly, there's not really much else to do here."

[heckofashot]

Really can't judge people based on appearance.

"A library? Doesn't seem like the kind of place that would have one…" Granted, the only libraries he really knows of are big buildings, massive brick constructs that have long since fallen into disrepair, overtaken by raiders or mutants — getting close is a risk, let alone trying to gain access to them or the archives that might still be intact inside.

"Is it a specific building, or?"

[solitarysoul]

You can't turn in books for tokens either, so sad.

He nods, "Yeah its [insert description of building and general directions here]. He's not in there all the time if it matters." He could understand why people might want to avoid Rorschach even though he'd come to like the masked man.

[heckofashot]

What, no Jangles the Moon Monkey prize? A travesty.

He nods, makes a mental note of the directions. The addendum that Rorschach isn't always there gets his interest though, Maccready's interaction with him was brief, and other than thinking he looked a little odd he has nothing to really go off of.

"People can just go and take stuff out while he's not there?" An honor system, then? Well, given how few people there are here, he imagines it would be hard to just take things from anywhere and not get caught out anyway.