i was following the pack all swaddled in their coats

[singmod]

MAY 2025 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE SHUDDERING EARTH: Quake activity in the area, paired with decaying infrastructure, reveals a way for Interlopers to make their way to the coast.

PROMPT TWO — THE LONG ROAD: Interlopers can now embark on the long and dangerous journey to Silverpoint, and make some grim discoveries on the way.

PROMPT THREE — TRY HONESTY: A dream leads to Interlopers being a little more honest with one another, in different kinds of ways.

THE SHUDDERING EARTH

WHEN: Early May, onwards.
WHERE: Everywhere, Carter Hydrodam.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of natural disasters; earthquakes; potential avalanches; themes of exploration/survival; potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk.


Seismic activity is well known within the Northern Territories. Both last year, and over the last month or so, Interlopers have felt intermittent tremors — the ground quaking beneath their feet, enough to upset some objects around homes but never quite enough to cause some serious damage. Interlopers have been fortunate, but the damage caused by these quakes have long left their scars over the years in this world: railroads and roads buckled and crumbled, bridges destroyed and tunnels and pathways caved in, cutting off access. The quakes can cause some serious damage.

Interlopers will find that out in the late evening of one otherwise calm day in May.

Animals will notice the signs of the impending quake before humans do, growing restless and agitated in the hour or so before the shaking starts.

A low tremor that makes items in homes quiver, the ground vibrating beneath your feet. It quickly grows more violent — items can be sent flying if they’re not secured. Light fixtures sway overhead, furniture will shake and topple over, dust and debris could rain down from above — some places worse than others, depending on the building.

Diving for shelter is the best thing to do, out of the way of windows and objects that can fall over. Finding something sturdy to take cover under. The shaking grows intense, especially in the Lakeside area. There is a strange and terrible churning of metal and stone, a crash, something giving way. Roars and crackles of noise.

In Lakeside, where the quake is far more intense, the sound reverberates around the area, but the sound can even be heard so far as in Milton — distant but noticeable. It comes from the direction of the Hydrodam.

The quake is fortunately short-lived and finally dies down. Interlopers will be able to come out of hiding and assess the damage and check on one another for injuries. Within Milton and Lakeside, some buildings that have never been inhabited by Interlopers and remained empty for a long time (and thus in states of disrepair) will be found severely damaged. Water pipes may burst, causing flooding in some unused buildings — ultimately rendering them now useless and uninhabitable.

Generally, it looks like large swathes of the area have come out unscathed — but there is a risk of avalanches in some of the more remote locations near to the mountains. It might take several days for Interlopers to take stock and assess properly, even check further afield.

Interlopers who choose to investigate the Hydrodam will come to find that sections of the dam itself have given way, the metal burst open and water spilling outwards and down the river towards the coast. The huge gorge which separates Lakeside and The Coast is a raging torrent. In time, these waters will eventually calm but it looks like the previously flooded sections of the dam that had meant it was completely inaccessible might be now free to explore with the fact the water had .

The Hydrodam has been in a state of disrepair for some time. Before The Flare, it barely had a skeleton crew running things. Now, with no one to maintain the dam itself following previous quake activity — it looks like this quake has been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Traversing through the dam will reveal that the lower levels are now accessible and can be entered. But Interlopers should take caution: while the lower dam is now free to explore, this section of the dam still contains freezing cold water that can reach knee deep on the average person. What’s worse is these sections are filled with debris: equipment, furniture and even random junk and industrial supplies that had been once stored there. Some are broken, and can can injury to the unsuspecting traveller.

Travelling through the dam through an Aurora would be incredibly dangerous due to damage in the building, with exposed wiring and partially flooded areas not mixing great companions. The utmost care should be taken when exploring and finding the way through, or it may spell trouble.

But what it will lead to is a way out. On the other side of the dam.

And a way out to the coast.

THE LONG ROAD

WHEN: Early May, onwards.
WHERE: Carter Hydrodam, The Coast
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of exploration/survival; potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk; corpses; dead npcs.

Coming out and down from the other side of the Hydrodam will bring Interlopers to the destroyed Connector Bridge and onto Coastal Highway — the main road that leads to Silverpoint. There are a few extra outbuildings on this side of the dam which are dry but not particularly comfortable — but it’ll make do in the face of recovering from getting through the dam itself.

But after that? The world is far more open compared to Lakeside and certainly less sheltered than Milton, meaning winds are incredibly biting and difficult to contend with whilst travelling. There is little in terms of cover, and thus Interlopers may need to really plan well in order to keep themselves alive. Hopefully Interlopers have come well prepared for the journey ahead of them.

A great deal of the landscape has been damaged by quakes, making the terrain difficult to navigate: with huge, icy ridges and gorges in the earth and roads — providing ample danger to travellers. But sticking roughly to the road means a straight-forward way down but it will take several days to walk down, given the difficulty.

There is nowhere indoors to shelter on this journey save for a single garage and gas station about half-way through the trek south. Interlopers will need to brave the outdoors, even sleeping out doors or in the shallow, sheltered caves that may be seen just off the road. Interlopers will need to huddle for warmth, keeping an eye on one another to make sure they make it through the night. The gas station will provide decent shelter and warmth, however, and even boasts a few supplies left of food, water and fuel. Some one has definitely been here, but with it being so remote, it’s no wonder it’s generally been left alone.

The reasons why will soon come to light.

On the road down, Interlopers will make grim discoveries: frozen, partially mummified remains of people, half-hidden in the snow and ice. Many of them appear poorly dressed for the journey, and look to have died from hypothermia or some other kind of cold-induced injury. Some may be found as if they had simply collapsed in the snow and died. Others may be found in small groups, huddled and slumped together — having succumbed to the cold. Suitcases and bags will be littered around with them — sometimes luggage will be left abandoned alone, as if someone just gave up carrying it.

Some Interlopers will realise: these are the remains of Milton’s original residents. The ones that made it out of Milton and Lakeside, only to die on the way to the coast. Dozens upon dozens of bodies, making you wonder if anyone ever made it out alive at all.

One long road, a graveyard.


And then, in the distance, where the ocean stretches out before your eyes: the outline of a village can be seen before the land meets the water. Civilisation? People?

As twilight falls, more curiously, a light blinks slowly on the landscape. It may be easier or hard to spot, depending on the time of day. What… is that?

Silverpoint.

TRY HONESTY

WHEN: May and into June.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of honesty/forced honesty; potential body horror.

It begins with a dream. You stand in the atrium of a large cave, lit by a large campfire — the smoke drifting out an opening in the cave’s roof above. Someone sits by the fire with their hands covering their face and as you draw closer and closer to the flames, you realise it is a woman who sits on the opposite side of the flames. For some, they will not know who this woman is but some will recognise her: Enola.

She does not speak, does not look at you. She keeps her face hidden behind her hands, almost-childlike as she sits. The light is low but it’s a pleasant, peaceful kind of ambiance — even if Enola’s actions are a little strange, almost troubling. If you listen carefully, you’re almost sure you can quietly hear crying.

Across the campfire, on your own side of it, there are three stones laid out on the floor, each of them carved with a rune of sorts. It’s hard to tell what the runes mean, exactly. They don’t appear to be in any symbolic or runic language you’ve seen before. Even if you don’t understand them, you find yourself drawn to one of these runes.

You move to kneel on the cave floor and you reach forwards. Your hand hovers over it — a strange thrum in the air, like you can feel some kind of energy of vibration coming from it. You reach for the stone, Enola doesn’t move. As you move to pick up the stone, you feel the sharp burning sting of pain—

The dream ends.

You awaken. Not the sharp snapping of sleep to waking. Just the simple, natural waking that comes when one wakes up. But you feel… different somehow.

Honest. But honest, how exactly?

It all depends which rune you picked in your dream.

HEART RUNE: Interlopers who chose this rune will find themselves more emotionally honest. How this manifests is an aura of colour that surrounds the Interloper which will reflect their current emotional state — ie. golden for happy, shades of grey for exhaustion/tiredness, pinks for romantic feelings. The aura is dynamic and can shift with colours and even have multiple colours in play, depending on the complexities of the emotions.

MIND RUNE: Interlopers who chose this rune will find themselves with an honest mind, and will feel compelled to speak it. They are honest with their words: blunt and to the point, avoiding lies or bending truths. They may even feel compelled to reveal things that have been playing on their mind for some time — choosing to clear the air, and potential dirty laundry.

FORM RUNE: Interlopers who chose this rune will find themselves physically honest. Their previous hurts and injuries will become visible on their skin. This can be previous injuries or sicknesses the Interloper has sustained over the course of their life — even if they are now long since healed. It could be a physical manifestation of emotional or mental pain in some way. Your body no longer holds it secrets, they’re now plain and open for the world to see.

FAQs

THE SHUDDERING EARTH

1. Players are free to destroy their own homes/make them uninhabitable if they wish. Please amend the Housing Spreadsheet to reflect this. Commercial/Public buildings are off limits for destruction but players can handwave any other random buildings/empty homes in Milton that have been destroyed in the quake.

2. THE HOT SPRINGS ARE OKAY. Just a little snowed in.

3. The Hydrodam (and it's hot showers) will have seen damage done to it and will require repairs/maintenance.


THE LONG ROAD

1. The Coast is now accessible to all players. Please see this page for further information.

2. Beach.....................

3. As a reminder. It takes about 24 hours to get from Milton to the Carter Hydrodam. Once out of the Dam, travel down to Silverpoint will take a number of days.

4. Three minor NPCs have been introduced! Molly, the owner of The Frozen Angler; her teenage son Jace; and Father Thomas of St Christopher's Church. There will be an opportunity to ask them questions, a top level of which can be found below!

5. Marra will not be open for interactions just yet.

TRY HONESTY

1. The durations of the effects are down to player choice, but will last at a minimum of three days or can last up to a full month or so and even continue into June.

2. The Form Rune's effects are purely cosmetic and will not actively harm the Interloper.

3. The Heart Rune's effects will only be visible to Interlopers.

4. Players can only play with one rune, they cannot choose to go with more than one.

PLOTTING POST

Comments

[nicehobbit]

He might've expected any ensuing silence to be uncomfortable or tense, but it surprisingly is not. Rather, it seems to help the realisation that so far nothing has changed and he is still as safe as he can be. Steadily, a tiredness settles in him, but not an unpleasant and exhausting one, but something more akin to when he was young and listening to Uncle Bilbo's stories at bedtime.

When Levi speaks, he still lifts his head and looks over at him. He even laughs, quiet though it is, with a crooked smile.

"What do you think the colours mean?"

[wingbound]

Somehow, considering how often he seemed to make people uncomfortable when he spoke, at least back home, Levi's decently good at cozy silences. Maybe it happens when it's one of your favorite methods of communication, though he himself considers himself talkative.

And his posture definitely seems to shift into something just a bit more relaxed when he hears that laugh, perhaps encouraged by the certain wariness between them melting away.

"I don't know," he admits easily enough, then considers their conversation so far. The aura was pretty bleak by default and he is quite tired from the day's journey, but it seemed to bloom in more colour when he felt something. "...I think it's reacting to my mood."

The fact that it's nearly impossible to tell on his face might be the clue here.

[nicehobbit]

The smile on his face only widens, and he nods solemnly.

"That's the impression I got, as well. Perhaps you don't need to do anything but what you normally would."

Then the effect would simply take care of the rest. Although he's not so certain it has really done anything for this conversation. He's never felt like Levi has been a big mystery, even if his face doesn't show much of anything.

[wingbound]

He might act reserved, but it's true that he doesn't really hide anything and makes his exact thoughts known with words when needed. That and the occasional casual vulgarity probably contributes to him not coming off as particularly mysterious. Not to mention that his eyes are honestly very expressive once one gets used to the rest of his face, even if it's true that he tends to wear the same slight scowl most of the time. Which, apparently, Enola has taken offense to enough to give him a giant mood ring.

Which, again, lights up with a few flecks of orange that gradually fade away, perhaps a little more slowly than they would have if he had not received Bear's gift.

"Maybe. Makes little sense to talk about it when everyone can see it for themselves." Unless he's supposed to open up about why it takes something like this to make him open up, or something. It's getting confusing at this point.

[nicehobbit]

Those flecks only feed the glint of amusement in Frodo's eyes. He feels relatively certain that those are supposed to be annoyance, and he finds it funnier than he probably should.

"Or perhaps we are overthinking it."

Maybe Enola didn't really have a plan for it, as such. Given her emotional state in that dream, it doesn't seem impossible that this is somehow the world reacting to her rather than her intentionally changing the world. Strange as it is that she can do that.

[wingbound]

He's allowed to find it funny. They're not even aimed at him, to be fair, just the general state of things at the moment.

"It's possible." There's plenty of strange things in this world that don't seem to necessarily have intention behind it. Like the auroras, or the glimmerfog, or the giant birthday boar that throws up soap.

Still, it feels a bit unfair to just leave it at that. Frodo has just shared something that he seems to have been hiding for a long time, and even if it doesn't tell him much, he's aware of how big a gesture that must have been. He feels like he should give something back.

"...the place I grew up in was rough," he finds himself saying, before he can really think it over. There's some new colors mixing into his aura now, something that feels like melancholy, and something a bit sharper, yet calm, like a readiness for battle.

"You didn't want the wrong people to be able to tell what you're thinking." Which meant you learned not to show too much on your face or in your gestures. "Guess it became a habit at some point."

[nicehobbit]

There is really no need to give anything back, but Frodo is content to let Levi do so. It may be from a wish to get closer, to gain a better understanding of the man, or it may be a desire to engage in the kind of exchange hobbits are wont to do over a pint. There are no pints of good mead or ale here, no hearth, but there is fire and a sort of companionship nonetheless.

... most likely, though, it's simply curiosity. That craving for stories that he has always possessed, for all that it's been somehow dulled by his quest to destroy the Ring.

"That makes sense," he says, turning his eyes forward towards the wall again. "I have only had to learn it recently."

Despite the untimely loss of his parents, his life had been a happy one until now.

[wingbound]

There's fire and there might even be something that passes for tea at some point, if anyone leaves a clean pot for Levi, because he's definitely carrying around some herbs he's found that mix well with hot water. That's about as good as it used to get out in expeditions, and those are some of his best memories. Not even necessarily the sharing stories part -- though that, too, even if the others tended to talk more of dreams -- but that particular sense of belonging with a group.

That part's not too difficult to have anywhere. You just need the right people.

"You'll get better," Levi says flatly after a small pause, which is pretty much an implication that he's not doing a great job so far, but it's just teasing rather than mean-spirited. After a moment, he adds, "Though I hope you don't need to."

He doesn't know how big or how long the whole... thing the small man got entangled with really is, but he does wish that it doesn't end up changing him too much. (If only either of them knew.)

[nicehobbit]

His lips twitch up into a wry smile. It may be teasing, but he won't take it as even a little bit of an insult. To have lived a life that did not teach you such a skill seems like something to be glad for.

"I hope so too."

Ideally, his quest would entail never running into anyone else. If that happened, he wonders if he could keep his wits about him.

[wingbound]

Good. It's not really intended as such, anyway. Levi likes honest people, overall. And then, of course, there's that -- being glad for someone else that such a thing hadn't been necessary for them.

There's hoping for the best in the future, too.

He merely nods, along with a small hum of acknowledgement, and doesn't say anything to that. There's not really much to say, considering he already expressed his sympathy, but it feels comfortable enough anyway.

After a while, though, he'll go digging through his backpack, emerging with a small textile bag and something like a pot that looks like a large metal mug with a long handle. He retreats toward the campfire for maybe ten minutes, and returns carrying something that smells a lot like herbal tea, which he pours into a tin mug and a scavenged thermos, and wordlessly hands Frodo the former.

[nicehobbit]

It is a comfortable silence. Frodo is content to settle into it, to search for something to watch and occupy his mind with, and opts for the smoke from one of the fires. If he were to stare at the wall, he worries what he'd find himself thinking about.

When Levi holds the cup out for him, though, he comes back to himself, and takes it with a smile.

"Thank you."

we can prrrobably wrap this up unless we have more ideas--

[wingbound]

It's not that he would expect anyone to reject tea of all things, but it still feels weirdly like relief when he sees that smile on Frodo's face. As if the weight of the things they've talked about suddenly becomes less.

He grumbles a faint wordless noise of acknowledgement and sits back down next to him, nursing the thermos himself.

As long as they've got tea, maybe things will be alright.

Yeee

[nicehobbit]

That grumble of a noise only makes Frodo smile wider, but he doesn't say anything. A drink of any kind and silent companionship are both treasures that he will never take for granted again in his life, he thinks.

Sleep will undoubtedly not be comfortable, but he has slept in worse places than this. If nothing else, he feels quite at ease.

[wingbound]

Levi has long lived with the mindset that the people around him today might not be there tomorrow, but it's still nice, reaching that oddly understanding place with someone.

He probably stubbornly stays awake, too, as if not quite fully trusting whoever ended up keeping watch, though he might end up nodding off at some point, still sitting up right where he was.