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

[flambeaux]

Louis knows about cars and telephones and wears suits that look similar to the ones in the magazines here. He's supposed to be part of the enlightened modern world, they even say so in his time. Modernity! But Louis definitely remained closeted, even to himself, for the entirety of his human life, some thirty-odd years.

By the time he became a vampire and dated Lestat for two years, he was calling himself gay, even if he kept it discreet. In Milton now, he keeps it very discreet. Though they appear in public, Louis tries not to draw attention to what kind of relationship they might be beyond just two men who happen to know each other.

"Lord in Heaven no!" he immediately exclaims, repulsed. Hickey isn't his type. "You're a weasley, slimy eel of a man. What in God's name makes you think I'd entertain the thought of you? You think of yourself so highly..."

[friendsfordinner]

"You're the one who said that you'd want to watch me," Hickey lightly responds, not bothering to hide the smugness in his tone. "Man could get the wrong impression with a statement like that. The mind starts to wander."

He knows Louis hates him. He knows Louis doesn't give a damn about him. But Hickey won't lie: it's fun to watch that jackass squirm.

"No one's judging you if you feel that way. This is an enlightened time, du Lac."

[flambeaux]

"What do you take me for?! I do not."

There's a certain level of irony that this man from a past era is acting like he's educating Louis in enlightened progressive social movements. Louis made the decision to keep his relationship with Lestat under wraps. Now here he is listening to someone insinuate that he feels that way about men. He had hoped that when the time came for someone to suspect, it would be from a friend with his best interests at heart.

"'Being Gay Is Totally Cool Now And Not Illegal' like that notice on the board said? Well that doesn't give you license to be an asshole. Maybe you're the one with the wanderin' mind. I'd sooner lay with a viper than with you."

[friendsfordinner]

Hickey honestly doesn't know or doesn't care who Louis likes. He likes pussy, he likes cock, whatever. What matters the most is that Louis is really annoyed and Hickey is more than happy to feed into that annoyance. He's got a smug little smile on his face as he shrugs.

"You're talking too much about it for someone who says he doesn't care." But thankfully for them both, they've reached his house. Hickey gestures for Louis to follow him saying, "I've got the wood out back."

At least, he's got some of it out back. Most of it is inside the house because going outside to get wood for the fireplace absolutely sucks. But Louis doesn't need to know that.

[flambeaux]

"You're the one who brought it up!" Kill him now. Or kill Hickey, preferably. Strike him down with a heavenly bolt. He tosses the sledge rope down and selects a piece of wood to inspect for vermin.

"Smart man, not invitin' me in." There's nothing to the rumor that vampires need to be invited in; Louis has broken into houses on multiple occasions. This is just good old-fashioned prudence.

"Are all your crewmates as treacherous as you? I don't mean about the queerness, I don't give a goddamn about your boy." He saw that public face touch! It broke his brain, two men in public like that for all to see. "I mean are they all lyin' connivin' bastards? That man punched you, but I think you had it comin'."

[friendsfordinner]

Lying conniving bastards? Not really.

"The rest of my crew are pushovers," Hickey shrugs. "Talk with Edward Little or Harry Goodsir long enough and you'll see how remarkably out of their element they are." Especially Little. Some of the other men are pushovers for entirely different reasons...but he's not going to tell Louis his entire backstory with regards to Crozier.

The wood looks good. It's dry, no signs of vermin, most chopped to a good size to fit in a fireplace found in the various houses.

[flambeaux]

Louis begins loading up his sledge. Fitting that Hickey would call Little a pushover. Louis only half trusts anything Hickey has to say. Louis likes Little. Louis thinks Little is horribly naive, a tiny shaking wet dog in a big man's body in an even bigger greatcoat. He's the man with his finger in the dike while the dike groans under the weight of an entire body of water.

"I'd see why you would call Mr. Little naive, in over his head maybe, but out of his element? Wasn't he on the same voyage, same experience?"

[friendsfordinner]

"Yeah, and he was bloody well useless there as well."

Just saying! Little is the sort of person who desperately wants a use, who desperately wants someone to boss him around and tell him what to do. And a mentality like that is absolutely fucking useless in the current, chaotic situation they're in.

[flambeaux]

Louis recalls the haunted way Little obliquely alluded to men going crazy and committing acts they would not have otherwise. He mentioned a mutiny and his fear that something like that could happen in Milton. Louis has seen a bloodthirsty mob in action, so he has no doubt everyone is living close to that edge here. Survival is hard, and people get desperate and violent.

"Okay, Mr. Gets Things Done, what would you have had him do?"

Louis isn't about to take this asshole's advice or anything, and there is a dubious thread in his voice, but Little had left an impression on Louis as a good man in dire circumstances.

[friendsfordinner]

"To start with? I'd keep people in the loop." When Hickey speaks, it's in a matter-of-fact sort of tone. At least in this part, he's absolutely certain he's in the right. There are plenty of ways that Little fucked up and this is one of them.

"We had tins, yeah? Tinned food was our main provision. Well turns out that there was something in the tins that was poisoning us. It was debilitating us, making us weak. D'you know how I found out? By watching the officers and medical staff and seeing them stay away from the tins. Not from anyone telling me. Not from anyone in command actually looking out for us and telling us that we're poisoning ourselves."

Hickey shakes his head before pointing out, "As far as I'm concerned, people should know if they're doing something that's killing them. Yeah, we didn't have any alternatives. But better to know what's going on than to wonder."

cw: cannibalism mention

[flambeaux]

Little was a ranking man on this expedition. Louis is willing to believe there might be a bit of editing or omission in Hickey's story. It's the way all people lie at some point or another, and Hickey already proved himself a sleazy bastard. Louis doesn't like Hickey, but damn if his story doesn't resonate.

"What they did was pointless. A man who starves enough will eat anythin'. Better to know."

Anything. Louis suspects some crew members of turning Donner Party. Americans are raised on stories of explorers and pioneers starving and dying in various locales on this wild, beautiful continent. Nature takes her little revenge. It aligns with Little's reluctance to refer to the exact crimes. It would offend his English sensibility, Louis the blood drinker thinks.

Louis looks up at Hickey from where he crouches arranging the wood. "I had a... teacher, back home. He didn't tell me shit. Said, 'This is how it has to be, I will have it no other way.' It caused friction. He was... a tyrant. I left him. He had it comin'."

[friendsfordinner]

Yeah. Hickey knows that very well. A man who starves will eat anything, and has eaten anything. If your options were to survive on less than ideal means or to watch yourself go mad, he knows which option he'd take. Your English sensibilities don't mean shit if you're starving.

Hickey leans against the wall of his house, hands in his pockets as he looks over at Louis. He can understand why Louis is telling him this. If he were in the man's shoes, he'd have left that teacher as well. There's no use for phrases like 'this is how it has to be' or to tell you something is the truth without actually explaining why or how. Nah. Fuck that noise.

"We saw what happened when our minds were poisoned. There was a man, Morfin. He couldn't take it anymore. Grabbed a gun, threatened to shoot people, said that he couldn't take it. That they should kill him and put him with the rest of the bodies. One of our Marines shot him before he could do anything." There's a moment's pause before Hickey admits, "I don't think he'd have done anything in the first place. But if you want to die, pointing a gun at the captain's a good way to make it happen."

cw: suicidal ideation

[flambeaux]

Louis can gather that Hickey doesn't like doing what he's told. (Louis knows firsthand that Hickey is an annoying shit.) Louis, by contrast, was so complacent with Lestat's reticence and ridiculousness for so long. It was Claudia who finally rose up to settle the score.

"It got that far, huh? So why didn't he just do himself in? Why endanger anyone else? Revenge?"

Lord knows Louis has thought about the ways in which he would off himself. Walking into the sun is the easiest way for a vampire.

[friendsfordinner]

"I don't know much in religion, but even I know suicide's one of the bad ones," Hickey points out. "I don't know if he's religious either. But those things become...background noise, like the sound of the sea when you're on the docks. It would be easier if Morfin killed himself, yeah. But it'll look better in the end if you get someone else to do the deed."

[flambeaux]

It's a mark of how far Louis has gone that he'd suggest it. You don't get past the gates if you kill yourself, that's what his mother said. And yet, Louis already thinks of himself as damned. Dante's Wood of the Self-Murdered doesn't sound so bad after being turned into a vampire.

"Perhaps he thought of the shame it would bring upon his family. Rather crime than the other thing. Who can say?" he says quietly. He thinks of Paul. Even when he doesn't think of Paul, it's never far from his mind. He saw it happen.

"How did the men take it?"

[friendsfordinner]

"They took it the same way we took every new challenge in that place, at that time," Hickey shrugs. "You either file it away as something that happened and keep going, keep trying to save yourself, or you view it as a deficit that you can try to fix. Man waiting for someone to blow his brains out, you can't really fix that. So we kept going and kept hauling."

It's said in a matter of fact tone, small frown on his face. It is what it is. Why try to dress it up and make it sound nicer? Why try to hide people from the horrors?

[flambeaux]

He guesses the pile of wood on his sledge is high enough. He's only one man, and he's got to drag this across town.

"Everyone else pretty far along by then? Any other incidents due to the poison?"

Maybe Louis is afraid something like this will happen in town and is trying to get a picture of what it might look like. Little, when he made vague mentions of depravity, seemed dead set on preventing such a thing, with the determination of someone who has seen it happen already.

"And what can we do to avoid that? What do you do?"