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

the rest is silence

[tarakan]

[ Hilbert might not be the best at dealing with mental health. After all, helping someone through their mental health issues means talking to people and that's just gross. However, he's not an idiot. He can recognize a panic attack when he sees one. So when he looks over at Vasily, attempting to fumble with the cigarette.

When Hilbert talks, his tone is calm, stern, and non-judgemental. ] Out loud count backwards from ten, [ he says. His voice is low, with a noticeably Russian accent. After a pause, Hilbert continues with, ] Doctor's orders.

[m1895]

[ The voice that suddenly issues the orders is audibly Russian: something that would be a comfort to most people, but that familiarity immerses Vasiliy deeper into the memories with another nauseating rush of fear. This can’t be real. It has to be some kind of hallucination. He thinks of his interrogator’s voice, the voice of the man who killed him, his sentence being read— a shuddering exhalation, his mouth sour with the taste of his own vomit. He coughs several times when he tries to inhale to speak, acid burning at the back of his throat, but eventually manages to look over his shoulder as the coughing fit releases its hold and he draws in a few gasping breaths. ]

Who are you?

[ He answers back in deliberate English, not the language shared between them—a Russian speaker would recognize his patterns of inflection as dated, and that’s the last risk he wants to take right now. ]

[tarakan]

[ Any hesitation, any worry in Vasily's voice is absolutely ignored by Hilbert. Again, the man looks like he's in the throes of a panic attack. Of course he's not doing so hot right now. Of course he's panicking. ]

Dr. Alexander Hilbert. Newer arrival. Again. Count backwards from ten.

[ He is very insistent on that point. ]

[m1895]

[ A doctor. Allegedly. He's intervening, possibly, because he sees a medical situation in this. He's asked patients to do the same time, or a version of it—usually, he goes with reciting the alphabet backwards. Makes their mind work hard enough to keep them in consciousness for a little while longer when they're hanging on the cusp of it, at least sometimes.

That's a better idea than what he's proposing, and he does start to try to visualize the fleeting, wavering images of these people's letters in his mind, a solitary Z flickering against the backdrop of life threatening danger. Who the hell can focus on counting backwards from ten or reciting the alphabet in either direction when every synapse in their body is ignited with the primal urge to flee?

There's ativan in his bag, he remembers for the first time since the remembered anguish came crashing down on him. But it's a limited supply, full bottle or not, and it needs to go to people who are panicking because they are injured or because they have a panic disorder, not someone capable of working through the fear. Not someone having a fear reaction to something completely irrational.

Vasiliy lets out a sour, shaky breath. This man's not going to leave him alone until he gives him something to do, some way to feel useful. If he's not lying—and it's very possible he is—he's a healthcare provider, and it's not in their shared nature to stand by whether their help is wanted or not. ]

Water. My teeth are bad. I have to, [ A pause as he searches for the word in English that conveys the dousing he's trying to convey, but he comes up empty-handed in his current state. ] I need to wash them.

[tarakan]

[ On the one hand, Hilbert is absolutely baffled. Washing his teeth? What the hell? Why would you think that, now is hardly the time, this is a panic attack! But on the other hand, he did just vomit. And the last thing you want after something like that is to have the taste linger in your mouth, to remind you of what just happened. Water might not be the best for rinsing that out. But at the same time, it doesn't have to be solely water. ]

I have bottled water in bag. As well as dried meat. Might not be best for teeth, but certainly would be good for taste.

[ And hey, Vasiliy's got a moment to grab that ativian, calm himself down, do whatever he needs: Hilbert's turned his back on the man. His own bag is a few paces away—he was going through it but set it down the moment he heard Vasily in distress. He turns his back and starts to rummage through his own pack. Though don't think that this is finished, buddy. Because once he's found the water bottle and grabbed some of his provisions, around a minute or so later, he's turning his attention back to Vasily. ]

[m1895]

[ He continues to force himself to regulate his breathing—deep in against the tightening that constricts his chest, deep out, measured to be perfectly, unnaturally symmetrical—but his hands betray him when he reaches out to take the offered water and dried meat, still trembling.

It's something to focus on other than the overwhelming fear, though. Some of the water spills from the top and trickles down his hand once the full bottle is uncapped; he wastes no time in rinsing his mouth, spitting one, then twice on the cave floor. He takes a small bite of the preserved venison, mostly as not to be rude when food has been shared with him; even out of his mind with panic, the underlying infrastructure of cultural conditioning remains. ]

Thank you.

[tarakan]

[ Hilbert watches all the while, looking at Vasily, making sure that everything's fine. Everything's good. Whatever this panic attack is, it too shall pass. When Vasily speaks, Hilbert nods, letting out a small little noise of approval. ]

You are welcome. Now. How do you feel?

[m1895]

[ Like my life is in danger.

But this man undoubtedly already knows that, looking at him. Hopefully he'll just assume he's claustrophobic—a humiliating thing for someone to assume of oneself as a grown man, but better than the alternative. Vasiliy takes another small sip of water to follow the venison, swallowing it this time instead of dumping it on the rocky ground.

He knows the man is a Russian speaker, too, but if anything, that makes it more dangerous to speak their shared language around him—he more than anyone else here will be able to realize that he doesn't speak the language in the way that someone born in 1985 would speak it. So he speaks in English when he answers, even as his mind struggles to assemble the words in the correct syntax, letting less important details like articles fall to the wayside, disregarded to convey the general sentiment. ]

Like I want cigarette.

[ Needs a cigarette, more factually. Hopefully they'll find their way out of this place soon—he should have thought to bring chewing tobacco, something to blunt the edge of his body's renewed hunger for nicotine. As disgusting as he can only assume it is, it'd meet the basic physical need. People drink their own piss when they get thirsty enough. ]

How much more of this do you think there is?

[tarakan]

[ Hilbert lets out a little 'hmmph' before pointing out, ]

Probably more than I wish, [ he sighs. His English is also a little rocky. Even having been in America for a few decades, Hilbert's English and syntax isn't the best. It's part sheer stubbornness, part a lack of practice, part just being rocky as hell with the language in general. ]

I have only been here month and can already tell nothing about this place is easy.

[m1895]

[ He’s speaking back in English, in which he is also not fluent—interesting. Maybe he’s not quite certain of how the strange, almost telepathic ability to communicate across language barriers works here, or maybe he’s just trying to meet him halfway, to extend some sort of friendly overture.

Only a month—new indeed. There’s so much he hasn’t had the experience to learn yet, so much he hasn’t endured. But he’ll adjust to it, eventually; he’ll start carving out an existence. Everyone here does. ]

It isn’t. Not much medicine, always cold. It is like north Siberia here. You have been to Siberia?

[ Not that he has—he’s going off of what he’s heard of the place, the general impression he’s been given. Cold, unforgiving, utterly desolate, backwards.

He’s grateful for the conversation, despite it being something of a nuisance at the same time: it’s something to try and center his thoughts on, instead of the overwhelming, irrational sense that he is going to die, which still has his pulse racing, his palms clammy. ]

[tarakan]

[ There's plenty of reasons why Hilbert is speaking in English. Force of habit. The knowledge that the vast majority of people here speak English. The fact that he still doesn't trust whatever brought them here, whatever made it so they all shared a language. He doesn't want to let whatever this is get more control of him than it already has.

After all, he's still going by Alexander Hilbert for a reason.

At Vasily's question, Hilbert shakes his head. ]

Spent most of my time in Moscow. Born and raised in Volgograd, however.

[m1895]

[ As much as the familiar accent sets him on edge—especially in his current state, where it only adds to his immersion in the circumstances immediately leading up to his own death—it's nice, hearing the names of places he knows... or at least hearing them referenced. Volgograd was Stalingrad during the latter half of his lifetime, but he still knows where it is, and is familiar with the name Hilbert calls it by. (It had been jarring, upon returning to the living world, seeing how the current Capitalist regime had wiped away the influence of men like Lenin and Stalin, regardless of what he now thinks of the latter.) He still knows where, exactly, he's talking about, which is something that after a full year in the United States he still hasn't really attained when speaking to Americans who simply expect him to know random, inconsequential towns in places like Kansas, and seem surprised when he, a Russian man, doesn't. ]

I lived in Moscow a long time. What district?

[ Anything to focus on other than the persistent sense that he's about to die as they continue to trudge deeper into the mine, stepping over rocks and downed wires. ]