singillatim | nature offers a violence

nature offers a violence

NOVEMBER 2023 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — WHITEOUT: Methuselah makes an unexpected early return to Milton to warn Interlopers of an impending monster storm, and boy does it surely come.

PROMPT TWO — A CHOICE: Following the storm, sightings of a mysterious stag prompts a hunt down in the Basin and out in the Outskirts.

PROMPT THREE — REST MY WEARY BONES: While the storm causes a great deal of mess, it also uncovers some far more pleasant surprises. Hot springs.

WHITEOUT

WHEN: Early to mid-month.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: extreme weather; storms; blizzards; themes of survival; possible character cold-related injuries; possible themes of peril.

In the times that he is no longer occupying the Community Hall in the center of town to help tend to the newcomers, Methuselah is out in the wilds. Despite his growing age, he is a hardened survivor, and has been more than accustomed to life living as a nomad, out in the thickest, deepest parts of nature. Sometimes he can be encountered, sheltered in a cave or out in the woods, huddled by a warm campfire, or busying himself with his latest game catch. He seems to be always on the move, never staying for too long, and never coming into town — unless it’s to begin preparations for the latest batch of new arrivals.

To see him returning to Milton outside of these times is a curious sight, and the grim expression he carries is enough to make anyone wary. Even his voice is grave. The warmth and kindness usually found in his expression is gone, replaced with a deathly seriousness. He doesn’t speak in jest.

"I am long used to this world and its weather, even with the changing times to more bitter nights." he will say. "I have seen the years rise and fall, too many to count. Please, I beg that you hear me with this— a storm is coming. Greater than some of you may have ever known. It is in the air, and we must prepare to see it through. We do not have much time. Three days, perhaps. But no more."

He will tell anyone and everyone; encouraging the word to be spread around. He will instruct on what needs to be done, what needs to be gathered. The storm will be long and hard, and will last for some time. With that, Methuselah will begin to prepare the Community Hall as a place of refuge with a stock of food, fuel and water to get through the storm. Interlopers will be free to join Methuselah and bunker down together, or can choose to bunker down on their own in their own homes, or with others.

You have only three days.

And sure enough, the storm comes. Maybe you can notice the signs too: the sudden updraft, the slow gathering of clouds, the drop in temperature, the changes of pressure in the air.

Halfway through the third day, the storm rolls in: a ferocious snow-storm unlike anything you’ve seen before. Even with the fading amount of daylight as mid-winter approaches, the sky turns as dark as night as will stay like night for the duration. Strong howling winds batter the town, and even the sturdiest of buildings creak and groan under the weight. Trees will be felled, some buildings might not fare the storm.

Relentless snow that falls so hard it’s a complete whiteout, and will be impossible to navigate if one were to step outside. Even then, it isn’t advisable. The temperature is bitter, with a frigid windchill. Going out in this kind of storm would be a death sentence. Staying out in it for longer than a half-hour will certainly kill you.

It would be best to wait it out, to huddle around warm fires in the darkness. It may certainly be a test of patience, depending on your choice of place to stay. The storm will last a full week, a stark reminder of what you are, the words you have heard in your arrival: thrown to Mother Nature’s mercy, the Interloper in her design.

But will you persist?

A CHOICE

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards to end of month.
WHERE: Milton Basin, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: survival themes; themes of hunting; possible animal death.

After the storm passes, there’s a certain kind of hush that falls upon Milton and its surrounding areas as Interlopers are left to pick through the wake. While the temperature certainly doesn’t get that much warmer, there’s days and nights of clear, calm weather — short afternoons of weak sunshine and nights of chilly peace, the moon hung high in the starry skies. Winter is drawing ever-closer, but it’s still for a little while.

In the early evenings, before the sun sets, there’s strange sightings of a particular white stag that can be found roaming the area — particularly down in the Milton Basin. It seems quite elusive, but there’s plenty of Interlopers that have been able to capture a glimpse over the coming days. Even Methuselah himself has seen this beast before, remarking there has long been tall tales of a ghostly stag that roams the Northern Territories and is said to bring good fortune to those who manage to hunt it down.

Perhaps you’re a little low on luck. Perhaps you’re feeling lucky. You’re going to find that stag.

Hunting down the stag, however, will take a great deal of patience and time. You might find yourself waiting several hours to wait for it to appear. Building a snow shelter, or hunkering down in some old shack might be needed in order to keep warm. But if you’re patient enough, and able to withstand the cold for long enough — the beast will soon make an appearance.

In the dying light of the day, it is there. It’s unlike any deer you’ve seen before: tall and majestic, with thick, soft fur of brilliant white. It almost looks ghost-like in some angles, it’s an incredibly beautiful creature. But it seems to have also noticed you, just as you have noticed it. It doesn’t dart away, however. Instead it stands before you, waiting for you to act.

You have a choice: slay the creature, or let it go.

It will not move until you make your decision, holding your gaze until you raise your weapon or until you lower it and give up your hunt. But there is a consequence to either action: if you choose to kill the stag, you will be rewarded with a sizeable bounty of venison. Eating said meat will help you feel fuller for longer, and the meat will keep for far longer than any other deer slain.

However, if you choose to spare the stag, the creature will lower its head, as if bowing to you. Then, it will disappear with a swirling of powdered snow. When you return home for the evening and go to sleep, the next morning you will find a gift at the foot of your bed: a pair of deerskin boots, or a deerskin blanket. These boots are supple, tough and waterproof — allowing for a great balance of mobility and warmth. The blanket is incredibly toasty, and will provide a great deal of comfort in the long nights ahead.

REST MY WEARY BONES

WHEN: Mid-month, onwards indefinitely.
WHERE: Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: n/a.

The storm has blown in plenty of snow to make traversing the area much more difficult, but there’s something else of note that comes with its passing. While the storm has brought much devastation, and some places have been buried in snow drifts, plenty of snow in areas has been blown away, uncovering otherwise lost secrets within Milton. Clouds of what looks like steam can be noted not too far from town, towards the mountains of the north.

If Interlopers head to explore the clouds, they will find old trails leading up towards the mountains. It isn’t a particularly difficult journey, for once, and they will soon discover that the storm has blown away the previously blocked access to a cave. It appears that this is the right place.

The air is warm here, pleasantly so. Warm enough that hats and mittens and coats seem a little unnecessary. One might wonder if someone lives within, and that a great fire is stoked to keep the place warm. But there’s no one in sight, no sounds of life: human, animal or otherwise. If they press on, they will discover that the cave floor is well worn with footfall: plenty of people have come here before, and the reason why is soon revealed.

The air grows even warmer, and more humid. The space opening to reveal small pools of slow-flowing water, warm water. The stone houses a natural hot spring, and following the cave out the other side will lead to another space in the rock open to the air, where there are even larger pools of warm water, perfectly sized and deep enough to bathe in. It seems that this place was frequently used by the people of Milton, where their life of hardship could be forgotten for an hour or two.

The water is pleasantly hot, and incredibly inviting. After so long in the freezing cold without modern appliances and utilities, a natural hot spring sounds like an absolute luxury.

FAQs

WHITEOUT

1. Characters are free to play around with this prompt how they want. Maybe they're dumb enough to go into the cold and get injured or sick. Maybe they're stuck in the Community Hall for the week. Fights might break out as tensions run high whilst everyone's stuck together, or maybe you're actually having a nice time.

2. For those stuck in the Community Hall: there are board games and old school textbooks stored in cupboards. There is also a piano.

3. A floorplan of the Community Hall can be found here.

A CHOICE

1. .... Yes, you can pet the ghost stag.

2. Characters will get one choice only with the ghost stag, meaning they can't keep going back to find it to get extra gifts.

3. If characters can't agree on a course of action, whoever acts first will get their gift. The second character will have a chance to try again another time.

4. If both characters agree on sparing the stag, but players want different gifts (ie. one player wants the boots and one wants the blanket), characters will get the gift the player wants their character to receive.

REST MY WEARY BONES

1. The hot springs will now be a permanent fixture in the Milton Area, enjoy!

PLOTTING POST

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[He's just not used to being touched, especially not in a friendly way. He'll get over it.]

I've been here for a few months.

Ah, there's a store...this way that might have some cans or frozen stuff left.

[He starts walking, checking to see if she's following after a couple steps.]

[She had a few friends like that. She could certainly understand.

Still the idea that he had been there a few months was awfully concerning.]

A few months, seriously? Huh. I guess I should get ready for the long haul then?

[She doesn't exactly sound thrilled about that, but there is a sense of acceptance to it as well.

She's quick to move and match his pace.]

Oh nice! It has been ages since I last got the chance to eat canned food in an abandoned town. Just need a few more monsters and it'll be just like home.

[The sad thing is she isn't lying.]

...yeah. Nobody's figured anything out about why or how or if we can leave..at least not as far as I know.

[He raises an eyebrow at the abandoned town comment.]

You too, huh?

Well that's just great. I had a feeling that would be the case. After all why would any of us still be here if we could just go home, right?

[Not that she wouldn't want to help here, but she also had other things to get home from.]

Yeah. Well monsters are pretty regular back where I'm from. But when I was traveling we came across a town that looked abandoned. Turned out the residents had been killed by emotion sucking monsters that had been locked down in the sewers.

It was pretty spooky to put it lightly.

Yeah, that's true. People have places to go back to.

[He's not sure if he did or not, though. He's also not sure what to make of her story.]

In my case the monsters were mostly the townsfolk.

Yeah. ...Well for the most part anyways.

[She had only just got home after dealing with some rather tough situations herself. Her own death included.

She also knows a thing or two about being in situations with people that aren't the greatest.]

I'm guessing they weren't the tooth and claw kind, huh? Just the straight up awful?

Uh...some of them might have had claws. They were all mutated and driven insane or something...we were all supposed to kill each other.

That's... Kind of a lot, bud.

I do know a thing or two about that too.

But still-

Yeah...

[It was very much a lot.]

You...you do?

It's not exactly the same. But there was someone in my world who was experimenting with the monsters from my world, combining them with people like me to make more powerful versions of them.

...I've only seen the one, but it was a nightmare all on it's own.

Oh. I think someone was doing something like that...or combing people and animals and I don't even know what.

[Or just a bunch of arms and heads. Wtf was that thing anyway.]

Most of it was a god's doing. Fuck the gods. He was having some stupid festival or whatever.

Yeah- The thing I saw was kind of animal shaped. But it shifted around and there was definitely a person on the inside. It was gross as heck.

[Yeah. There's a shudder because she had put together that someone had wanted to make her one of those too.]

Gods are dumb. Without a doubt. I've only met one nice one in my life, and she seemed like the exception to the whole thing.

Edited 2023-11-21 18:19 (UTC)

Gods are horrible, they just want to fuck with us. I hate them...I only met one, though. And his servants or whatever monster-spirit things they were. The human servants of them aren't much better, but at least they don't have the same powers.

[There's one god he dislikes less than the rest, but he's not met her either. Just had a friend that kinda talked her up. There are no really good gods in his universe.]

Yeah... Most of the problems in my world are because two gods left us with a giant mess to clean up.

They us with someone who can't die and wants to make it everyone else's problem.

I think some of the gods where I come from just don't care about us or pay any attention to humans. I think that's probably be best we could ever get with gods.

You know- I would probably take that over them using us as playthings. But yeah, you're probably right.

Its much better than being played with.

[He says this with a bitterness that can only come from experience.]

Yeah... Right.

[She gets it. She really does, and she's been there too.

But she decides to press on from there.]

Maybe we should get back to work then? Don't want this storm to wipe us out after all.

Oh...yeah. Sorry.

We were, um...looking for food? There's a store over this way...

[He leads her to a mostly cleared out mini mart, but perhaps there's still something.]

Don't worry about it. I just think we'd get into a bit of a loop if we just kept complaining about the gods, you know?

[She follows along toward the mini-mart and moves to open up the door and pop her head in.]

Man- This is so cool. Makes you wonder how anyone could just abandon this place?

Yeah, that's true.

[There are some things he could complain about for lifetimes.]

They...um. This place wasn't abandoned.

[Okay. That was news for her. She should probably talk to some more people.]

Oh yeah? ...Do we know anything about what happened then?

They died.

[Does he need to go into it more than that? People usually didn't like talking about death and the dead so he doesn't bring it up.]

Well... great.

[The tone of her voice sounds a bit more resigned than afraid. It wasn't the first time she had wound up in a town like this. It happened more often than she liked to admit.]

How much do we know about what happened?

Not that much...their journals and stuff mention extreme weather or something like that.

[He'd read a lot of them when he first got here, but as that information hasn't come in handy he's forgotten a lot of it already.]

And then, um, something happened. We don't know what. We just know everybody died...except Methuselah. He won't tell us anything.

It hasn't happened in awhile, but sometimes there are lights in the sky and the electricity comes on. Sometimes ghosts show up too. But not, like, normal ghosts. Like a film strip or something just playing out over and over. It showed their last night I guess? A lot just sorta...died. With no visible cause.

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