no man is an island

[singmod]

MAY 2024 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS: Young Bill asks the Interlopers for help in dealing with a group of protestors that have been harassing him for months — by stealing their hidden caches and starving/forcing them out of the Lakeside area.

PROMPT TWO — SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS: It turns out that sometimes folktales are true after all, and a mysterious creature lives within the Lake of Lakeside — and it demands payment for use of its Lake.

PROMPT THREE — GLIMMERFOG: A strange new weather phenomenon causes a new illness in Interlopers.

THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS

WHEN: Mid-May — onwards.
WHERE: Lakeside area.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of survival; themes of morality; themes of scavenging; instances of animal mutilation; instances of corpse mutilation/desecration; themes of folk horror;


Methuselah, having visited Lakeside, passes on the message in mid-May that Young Bill is looking for assistance from the Interlopers and asks for anyone who would be kind enough to donate their time to visit him. Some may already know how to Young Bill’s cabin, but Methuselah will draw a quick map for those unfamiliar to find the way.

After traversing through the Milton Mine — which was cleared by Interlopers back in March — and using the hand-operated crank to use the lift to reach the Lakeside entrance, Interlopers will simply need to follow the train track down through the mountains for a few hours before crossing the railway bridge over the ravine and into Lakeside. Coming off the tracks and following a trail northwards will eventually lead to a small cabin and outbuilding within a clearing: this is the home of Young Bill.

… and it seems the man himself is no less wary when he steps out onto his porch, his rifle in hands raised towards the newcomers that make their way into their clearing. Mentioning that Methuselah sent you will quickly earn that rifle being lowered though, and he will nod his head indoors.

“C’mon, I’ll get some coffee on. You look like you could do with the warm up.”

Young Bill will do just that, encouraging Interlopers to sit and warm themselves by the log burner within his home — offering mugs of coffee. He’s not alone in the cabin, either. There’s also Scout, an Alaskan Malamute, who… appears to be nesting, sleeping on piles of blankets and pillows. Once everyone’s a little warmer, he will take a seat. Onto business, then.

“Alright, straight up— what I’m suggesting here isn’t gonna be all that pleasant when you look at the big picture. If you want out, that’s fine. I’m not gonna judge.”

He means that. He understands that this going to be less than savoury, and folks are gonna have their principles and their morals. People are free to walk away from his proposal, but regardless of their participation: this is happening.

“Some of you already know about this, but I’ll start from the beginning for those who don’t. There’s this group of folks who call themselves the ‘Forest Talkers’. Rocked up here a couple of years back to protest against some of the big productions going on here in Lakeside, like the resort expansion.” he shrugs. “Few of them are locals, but most of them are from the Mainland. They weren’t so bad, but they were a pain in the ass for the companies working here. Messing with machinery, protests, vandalism. That sort of thing. I’d see them around but— they never used to bother me at all. We kept out of another’s way until everything started going south several months back.

But now? Those eco-fucks have done nothing but cause trouble for months. They break my traps, they’ve stolen from me. They tried to trash my home. They’ve even tried to attack me while I’ve been out. Pretty sure they’re the ones behind some of the burnt-out and trashed lodges. …I heard some of you guys got shot at, too.”

There’s a short pause, and Young Bill’s face grows dark, a little disturbed. Those who have been in the Northern Territories longer will note that something has been bothering Young Bill for the last couple of months or so. He’s been reluctant to mention it, but the man looks exhausted.

“They’ve done… odd shit, too. Like something out of an old horror movie. It’s like they’ve gone nuts, or something.”

If pressed, he will share the more… grisly details. Killed and mutilated wildlife, often arranged in frightening manners. He’s even found the… bodies of people: Forest Talkers themselves from what he can gather, some natives to the Northern Territories, some workers from the resort and hydrodam. The bodies are just as mutilated, skin torn from limbs, eyes removed. At some point, he has to stop. He doesn’t want to go on.

“I’ve tried reasoning with them, I’ve tried threatening them. They don’t wanna listen. I’m tired of being watched and hounded in my own home.” he explains. He seems exhausted by the whole thing. “So I guess the only thing I can think to do is to try and starve them out. I’m not here to attack anyone, but I guess maybe if they don’t have much left then they’ll finally give up and just leave. I bet if they didn’t have the foothold they have in this place, they wouldn’t be half as brave as they are.”

Ah, yes. The less-than-savoury part of all of this. Stealing from others, starving them out. Perhaps it’s not the worst thing to do to another here, but cutting off lifelines might be… morally questionable.

“They have caches, all over Lakeside. Food, supplies, stuff like that. I’ve found notes.”

He gets up to walk towards his desk and pulls out a few pieces of paper. Each of them is marked with either a stamp or some hand-drawn symbol: a circle with a simple line of pine trees inside of it, topped with the shadow of a face. They’re handwritten notes, detailing cryptic clues about where caches are hidden all over the area. Young Bill will hand them out to Interlopers to have a look.

“I have a rough idea of where they are, but I need help in finding them. It’s hard enough with the fog, and now Scout’s expecting.” There’s an unamused grumble at that last part, but he continues. “You can keep what’s in them, I just want them gone.”

Some may choose to back out of this, and Young Bill is true to his word. He isn’t here to shame or judge anyone for not choosing to get in on this. But for those who do, the journey begins. Interlopers can go out into Lakeside and begin the grim scavenger hunt. Young Bill will even supply Interlopers with maps of the Lakeside area with vague ideas of where he believes the notes may be talking about in terms of these caches. For those who disbelieve Young Bill’s claims, they too will soon find their own evidence: the very same things the man had spoken of scattered around the area.

It’s disturbing. Something is… very wrong with these people. But there seems to be no trace of the actual people themselves. Interlopers may get the sense of being watched, perhaps a sound from the woods, or something of the like — but nothing more than that. Heading to the Old Hunting Lodge and getting too close will bring on gunfire from the Forest Talkers.

Caches, when found, may be rock cairns hidden against rockier areas in Lakeside. Some might be metal containers half-hidden or even buried in the snow. They will mostly contain goods such as dried food or even MRE’s. Others will contain things like basic medical supplies such as bandages, disinfectants, painkillers, or antibiotics. Others may contain flares or ammunition. Interlopers are free to claim the items as their own — just as Young Bill said.

Surely this will get rid of them, and force them to leave the area. Right?

SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS

WHEN: The month of May, onwards.
WHERE: Lakeside.
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural creatures; serpentine creature; themes of sacrifice; potential character death/maiming; potential drownings.


While the lake of Lakeside appears to have been well known for being used all year, with fishing and watersports available during the summer, the harsh weather that has plagued the Northern Territories now means that the lake has now (possibly) become permanently frozen solid. In some respects, this is good news: allowing Interlopers to cross the terrain more easily to reach the cabins and not resorting to the long way around through the woods. It also means that there is ample opportunity for ice fishing, and it’s possible to build structures on the ice to stay warm.

But something else lurks beneath the thick ice, and it has noticed you upon its frozen waters.

In the Camp Office, a small display hangs on the wall about a monster from folklore native to the lake. It is said that the beast was the guardian of the lake and would demand sacrifice from those who wished to use its waters or otherwise drag them down to a watery grave. The whole thing seems like just some “fun” interest-grabber to visitors and those vacationing on the lake, even with cartoon drawings of a gigantic snake-like monster smiling goofily.

Or is it?

To the unsuspecting Interloper who ventures out onto the lake, whether to fish upon it or simply cross it, it appears, bursting through the ice: a huge serpentine creature with dark-green skin dotted with ridges along its back and dragon-like head — thick-bodied and incredibly fast as it rears up and opens its mouth — roaring at you with a wide, fanged mouth.

And then, it waits. And suddenly you wonder if maybe that cheesy display in the Camp Office might have had a point after all.

The creature demands a sacrifice for the use of its lake. Perhaps you have food or some freshly caught game to offer it. Or some small token you own that you can give to it: a tool, a cherished item. Maybe even the shirt off your own back, or the very blood running through your veins. You must give something.

Lay it upon the ice before it, and the beast will take it, gently collecting it between its teeth and returning to the depths below. Refuse to give anything, and the beast will roar and launch into an attack — pulling itself fully out of the lake.

It moves with speed, and will try to devour you, or wrap its body around you to squeeze the life out of you, or simply pull you down under the water. There will be no winning against this creature, no way of harming it and no way of fighting back. You may have a chance of running away, getting off the lake, but it will remember you, and will try to come for you once more if you ever step foot on the ice again.

The choice is yours, Interloper. What will you sacrifice?

GLIMMERFOG

WHEN: The month of May, onwards into early June.
WHERE: Milton area; Lakeside area.
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural weather; themes of illness; insomnia and sleep deprivation symptoms; altered-mental states; hallucinations; nosebleeds/blood; possible character death.


Interlopers have come to understand that strange meteorological occurrences are not uncommon within the Northern Territories, especially given the Aurora. Auroras can often last for days, as one long and seemingly endless kind of terrible, noisy bright night which affects both electronics and nature alike. Or there's the toxic fog; times where the sky goes green and the moon and stars disappear; monster blizzards… strange is the new norm.

The fog that began in April doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. Endless days where the fog is too thick to travel in. Fortunately, there are no further bouts of the green, toxic fog that plagued the Northern Territories — the fog that remains is just the usual freezing cold and clinging damp that's been exhausting Interlopers.

Until there’s something else that starts to happen with the fog.

At first, it appears to be no different than the usual fog rolling in: cold, wet, and biting. It clings to those who are caught out in it, and it’s utterly miserable. However, those paying attention will note that the clouds of fog will occasionally... glimmer.

It’s as if there’s a current of electricity running through it, if one watches carefully. Mini lightning bolts shooting through and upwards in curious patterns. Flicks and pops that make the tiny hairs on one’s arms and neck stand up — almost like static. It won’t shock those caught within it, but it might be a little difficult to look at at times — as if someone were staring at a light that’s far too bright.

It’s oddly pretty, and seems particularly harmless, but there’s something far more sinister about this new, strange phenomena — or... Glimmerfog, as Interlopers will come to call it.

The first sign that something is amiss is the insomnia. In truth, sleep is often hard to come by in the Northern Territories, so it might be something that is easily brushed off as quite usual in terms of day to day life. However, Interlopers will realise they won’t be able to sleep at all, and will find themselves lying awake for the entirety of the night. Soon enough, more things creep up with the insomnia, the usual signs of sleep deprivation: dizzy spells, unsteadiness on one’s feet, poor hand-eye coordination, difficulty in concentration or poor short-term memory, even mood swings or changes to behaviour are likely.

Eventually, the symptoms begin to grow more sinister: nosebleeds are common, aches and pains... and then the fever sets in. Interlopers will become weak, lethargic, and even then they still cannot sleep through their illness. With it, comes hallucinations: sounds or sights, and then quickly developing into a full on delirium. Dreams and reality blend into one. An Interloper’s dreams and nightmares bleed into the waking world. They will find themselves experiencing their dreams despite being wide awake.

It seems like there is very little to be done in trying to fight the illness. Trying to tackle the fever and getting the afflicted Interloper some kind of sleep is the main concern, both of which may eventually kill the Interloper if enough is not done in time. Natural sleep-aids like herbal teas, or medications still available in the world may be able to get the Interloper to sleep for short amounts of time. Keeping the Interloper inside and away from the Glimmerfog will also help immensely, as will spending time in complete darkness or even underground or within caves/mining systems.

Breaking the fever will signal the peak and decline of the illness, and with enough care the Interloper will slowly begin to recover.

FAQs

THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS

1. Players are free to come up with their own ideas of cache locations within Lakeside. It might be particular points of interest, a particular kind of tree, within isolated cabins in the woods.

2. Please be reasonable of finds in the caches. These supply amounts won't be a huge amount — think small but many caches.

3. It is possible to come across the grisly finds in Lakeside without meeting up with Young Bill first.

4. Caches would tend to stick to similar themes, ie. food cache, medicine cache, etc.

SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS

1. It is not possible to communicate with the beast, but it does seem to understand Interlopers. It will have no desire to communicate of befriend any one, though.

2. The beast will be a permanent fixture of the Lake.

3. Interlopers who initially refuse to give the beast anything can try again at a later date. They will have to offer their offering quickly, showing outward remorse for their initial disrespect towards the beast.

4. Locals refer to the Lakeside Beast as 'Nor'pogo.'

GLIMMERFOG

1. "Glimmerfog Disease" will run it's full course in roughly ten to fourteen days, with symptoms peaking typically around day seven to nine. Once the fever breaks, Interlopers will require a few days to fully recover.

2. Characters are welcome to kill of NPCs with this prompt, as Interlopers who don't make it through the illness — or to be used to study the sickness. Please let the mods know if you plan to kill an NPC for record keeping purposes!

PLOTTING POST

Comments

[tinstar]

He can't help but huff an amused breath, eyebrows lifting and falling all in the same motion.

"Afraid I never much cared for keeping up with the newest technology. I just want my phone to make calls reliably." He had to wonder, when the aurora was out, if he would even be able to call anyone. Power wasn't the only thing it needed.

"I'll easily grant that it's all facinatin' technology that accelerates faster and faster each year. Things getting better all the time." Except he didn't sound overly sunny about that. Because it was all 'Until it led to war'. A larger picture that Raylan tended to not look at because he couldn't do anything about it and having a crisis over what he couldn't change would stop him from working.

[meadqueen]

“I fear it will not do that here. The ones we’ve found in the homes here, you can see what is archived inside them but the aether that allows them to communicate with one another is missing.”

It really is too bad. She would have been interested in trying it.

“If you need to contact someone quickly, it’s best to ask someone with the Aurora Call.”

[tinstar]

"Means mine is nothin' but a paperweight." The phone is tucked back into his pocket; he'd feel weird without it's shape against his leg.

".. Are you suggestin' people.. what, talk to the aurora and it carries it on the wind or somethin'?" The only other quick to his mind thought is telepathy but that would be crazy.

[meadqueen]

“Some of us were gifted with strange powers some time ago.” This is not as strange for Randvi, who believes a man in her village can turn into a bear, as it is for many others. “One of them is the ability to project your thoughts to others.”

[tinstar]

"Oh," He nods faintly. "The.. The superpowers thing. Chloe mentioned that to me a few days ago, I'm still not sure I believe her. Might have to see that one in action. I know you've all got no reason to lie, but I'm still not sure this whole thing isn't a mass hallucination. Nothin' here makes much sense and I don't expect that to change much," he admits with a sigh.

"Aurora is.. gas and atmosphere and magnetic fields, so I can make a jump to why none of the electricity works, but this Darkwalker thing, powers.. Sounds like somethin' out of fiction, rather than real life."

[meadqueen]

"That is not the power I have, but I can show you something." Randvi has struggled with her power in some ways, but it is one that is relatively simple to demonstrate to others. "Can you bring me a candle? An unlit one."

[tinstar]

With another faint nod, Raylan pushes himself smoothly back to his feet and ambles his over to a table to pick up one of the cold, half used candles in it's beaten brass holder. He walks it back, handing it to Randvi as he takes his seat again, ready to see whatever it is she plans on proving.

"Nothin' up your sleeves?" She wouldn't get the half hearted reference and there was no way to explain Rocky and Bullwinkle succinctly to a Viking.

[meadqueen]

“I think you’ll find that I'm not particularly skilled at deception.” One of their challenges in England is that Randvi’s people are simply more straightforward overall than their Saxon counterparts.

She turns her head a little to centre the candle in her line of sight - she's still adjusting to only being able to see on one side - then she touches the index finger of her free hand to the wick.

When she pulls her hand away, the candle flame leaps to life.

[tinstar]

Good thing he was taking her word for it then. The candle she was holding was plenty of forecasting, and he kept his eyes trained on on her finger as it came to the wick, ready to be critical of any perceived trickery.

He didn't see or sense any, and found himself honestly surprised when the candle sprung to life.

"Huh." It was fire after all, but he couldn't help but reach out, one long finger hovering just outside it, testing the validity, the reality of the heat it put out. "How did you do that?"

[meadqueen]

"It has been a challenge, learning to control it." Giving off just the amount of fire needed requires more precision than one would think, which is not exactly simple with an emotion-based power.

"Several months ago, I had a dream about fire. Ever since I have been able to summon flames like this."

She likes showing off a bit, so she extends her index finger over the flame and two sparks fall from the end of her finger to burn out on the brass holder.

[tinstar]

His brow flinched towards a furrow and he didn't bother to keep his thoughts to himself as he watches the sparks fall, quietly fascinated. Please, show off, he loves a show.

"Just by a dream?" Forgive him, he's new to this kind of magic. "Seems.. suspicious. Somethin' else that comes only with the Aurora I'm guessin'? Or did you become a.. What are we callin' this."

[meadqueen]

"I've become, yes." The general consensus is to call them Lightbringer, but this was brought to you by the same people who came up with Glimmerfog and Randvi thinks it's a bit silly. "You haven't heard it - she's been silent for some time - but when I was new, on aurora nights it was possible to hear a woman's voice from some of the technology here. She promised a way to take back from this place, and that night the dream came. I did not realize I could do this until several days later."

She'd had an emotional outburst in the forest and set a tree alight. Fortunately the only person to witness that had been poor Edward Kenway.

[tinstar]

'Become' was interesting way to put it, and through no fault of his own and the complete fault of the English language in general, he felt like it sounded in complete. Become what? Something for him to think on.

He's silent for a long moment as he rolls that over in his head, the promise on its face, the possible stick that followed the carrot. What that power might cost down the line. He was sure these weren't new or revolutionary thoughts - this many heads together, someone's going to come across the question, so he doesn't bother to ask.

"It doesn't make you like.. Immune to fire in return does it? Just creation? Or do you have fine control?" Imbue them all with weird powers and watch them consume each other maybe? He was also sure there was an angle here, somewhere.

[meadqueen]

“It does not make me immune to fire, unfortunately.” Randvi had been terribly disappointed in finding that out the hard way. “And I can control only my own flames. The only other thing it allows me to do is raise my body temperature.”

She smiles again. “One of the others told me I should charge to let people hold my hand.”

[tinstar]

"You'd make a killin' if you charged. Especially on cold nights." He was a polite gentleman, but that didn't mean his mind wouldn't drift more strongly towards the entire can of worms that came with thinking about going to sleep next to his wife. Ex wife. Later, when everyone was asleep and would be spared the soured look of an unwell 'good ol' boy'.

"This somethin' you think is... Permanent? Anyone in camp lose them? Swap out? Stack up?"

[meadqueen]

Randvi smiles as if he's told a joke that only she is in on. If she had been selling that sort of service, she’s certain that her time would be monopolized by a certain young creature from outside the world.

“I believe so, yes. It has persisted for several months without diminishing. Not all of us acquired an ability but those who did seem to have earned one of three distinct types. There have been no new ones, but the woman who provided them is missing so I suppose that is not surprising.”

[tinstar]

"So when she comes back, it might be with capes to hand out."

If she comes back. How anyone traveled outside the bubble of this - island? Surely if this was mainland, someone would have made it. They've been here too long. Someone would have gone. Someone would have made it. His hope would have to wrestle with how untrue that was.

"One of three. What are the other two?"

[meadqueen]

The connection between magic and capes is lost on Randvi, but if he says so…

“There is the Aurora Call, this fire, and a type of magically enhanced endurance.”

He can see why hers is the easiest to show off.

[tinstar]

"Huh." A short and grunted sound and Raylan's jaw flexes as he chews on that proverbial liver again. "Lucky folk." Was he a jealous? Okay, maybe a little but magic had long been dead for the Givens household and despite his distrust, the part of him that remembered what it was to be young and looking for an escape was still alive and well.

"Suppose anythin' that helps, huh?" He wanted to be good natured about it. But there was something of sour taste on the back of his tongue anyway. "Shame 'Healer' isn't on the menu. All this magic, and all I wanna see is the Sandman."

[meadqueen]

Randvi remembers her own exhaustion, and she’s sympathetic, but also she has no idea what he's talking about.

“Who?”

[tinstar]

Right. Fuck. Raylan shakes his head and scrubs his face with one hand.

"Sleep. Sorry. Gonna hav'ta get used to not.. usin' those kind of references." He can't help but laugh a little. "Which is funny, because the song I'm referencin' is from the early 1950's, a good 15 years before my time."

[meadqueen]

"It's a song?" Randvi asks, intrigued. She will have to ask Rorschach if he has one of the musical discs for it. "It's difficult for me to imagine even the year one thousand, let alone one thousand nine hundred..."

She can't even describe it as science fiction, since that doesn't exist yet.

"If I hear of anything that is helping people to sleep in an easier method than the one I accomplished, I will pass it along."

[tinstar]

"Yeah. Mostly used in commercials and horror movies anymore, but I suppose that's the way things go." He studies Randvi, intrigued and curious about how she felt about that span of time, what kind of down to earth insights she had that the future had lost as time sandpapered away the details of all of them.

"There are still wild places in the world, if that makes you feel any better. Places that are uninhabited, or might as well be. Places where only fifty or a hundred people live, hundreds of miles away from the cities. I imagine that those places are exactly as you know 'em." Not everything changed. Humans sure hadn't, science and medicine aside. They were still the same beasts, driven in the same ways, for the same list of things. Money or power, peace or security. Passion, faith, cowardice.

"But thank you, I appreciate it. A mushroom, a herb, a flower, if those even manage to grow here." He'd take anything, he'd try anything.

[meadqueen]

Randvi doesn't know what commercials or horror movies are, but they're clearly things this man considers dated.

“There is an atlas at the library, and I was heartened to know that some of the places that I know still exist, though I'd imagine they're very different in the time of this place.” She’s seen a few images of London and it does not look much like the Lunden that Eivor had described.

“Be careful with any mushrooms!” Randvi’s eye widens, a bit alarmed. “There was a… recent incident.” She had nearly mauled poor Bigby.

[tinstar]

"I plan on spendin' some time in there soon. See what they've got." See what Milton had when it wasn't a near ghost town, when it was properly and fully alive. Raylan wanted more context of the people that had been here, that had set it all up. That had died in the street, if Chloe's tale of it all was true.

His eyebrows lift a little at the intensity of her response to mushrooms. Recent incident suggested to him either someone got real high or real sick, but he also knew there was a metric brickton of stuff he didn't know.

"What do you mean, what happened?"