nature offers a violence

[singmod]

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

Comments

[solitarysoul]

"Well, I mean, it never fully melts. Its not covering up everything, so some of it has to melt or something. But its never warm enough to get rid of it all." He frowns, "I talked to someone who said it was November. If he was right, its just going to get colder."

[dimensionalcanopener]

Jack frowns, only slightly.

"How do they know it's November?" But Levi is also right. There will just be more snow.

[solitarysoul]

"I have no idea. He said something about desktops and apps or whatever but I don't really know what those are."

[dimensionalcanopener]

"That sounds like a computer." Pause. "You don't know about computers?" He hadn't asked before, where Levi was from, but now Jack is getting curious.

[solitarysoul]

"Not really...we didn't really have them where I came from. But I know they're all around this place." He's still not really sure what they are, but as they were off most of the time he hadn't bothered to try and understand.

[dimensionalcanopener]

"What kind of place are you from?" Jack almost can't imagine that.

[solitarysoul]

"Uh," well, to him its 'normal' but how does he put that? "I-its a city, but, um...not as advanced as here? I don't know. This place just has, um, time issues. Or something."

[dimensionalcanopener]

"It does have time issues," Jack nods his head, trying to understand. He can't argue that. He knows people from his world, but they're both from different times.

"I'm not sure what time it's even supposed to be in."

[solitarysoul]

"The papers say 2014. There's no reason not to believe them, I guess, since it barely matters." He shrugs.

"I'm, um, I'm from 1942." He hasn't figured out that his world is different yet, though.

[dimensionalcanopener]

"2014 shouldn't be that different from when I'm from." Yes, yes, it can be Jack. Technology moves, fast. "I might be able to figure out the computers."

Jack's eyes widen to Levi's information, then, voice ever even, "That explains a lot. I think the world was very different in 1942. I haven't studied a lot from that time period, though."

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah...I'm not sure what all changed but I know its different. Better in some ways." He's not sure if computers count as that, since the lack of power lets his ignore them.

[dimensionalcanopener]

"Smart phones. You probably have phones in 1942, right? But smart phones are very different." At least, that's one thing Jack can think of.

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah, we can't carry our phones around. They look like, uh...well, not like the notebook looking thing your phones look like."

[dimensionalcanopener]

"Yeah, that's one of the big differences. Phones are no longer hooked up to walls. And cars. Cars probably look different, too."

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah...but at least I could tell those were cars. And your tvs are so tiny. The screens are bigger but they're practically flat.

[dimensionalcanopener]

"Yeah! They're easier to lift up," Jack says, happily. Granted, he - at least back home - is abnormally strong, but still. The older televisions are bulky.

"I didn't realize you had tvs back then."

[solitarysoul]

"I guess that's good if you have to move it." He never really watched tv, so he didn't really know why you'd move one around but whatever.

"Not everybody had one...I never had one growing up."

Well the orphanage probably had one, but not for the kids to watch.

[dimensionalcanopener]

"But it existed. I didn't know that," Jack points out.

"We have one everywhere we go in 2020. Every hotel has one."

[solitarysoul]

"A lot of houses had them, but not everyone. My parents just never got one, and I guess the orphanage didn't see the need for it." He shrugs.

[dimensionalcanopener]

Jack frowns.

"You were in an orphanage. What was that like? How long were you there? I've never had to go to one. I was lucky in that." Of course, he also managed to claim three fathers and he was born old enough an orphanage wasn't necessary.

[solitarysoul]

"You were an orphan too?"

Huh. He just assumed people here weren't, since that seemed to be the norm.

"It was, um...strict. The church ran it and the nuns and priests weren't very nice."

Just gonna avoid that how long he was there question. It leads to even worse things.

[dimensionalcanopener]

"Sort of. My mom died after giving birth to me. My father was a really weird situation," Jack admits, not sure how to even explain that.

"But I was lucky and picked three other men to be my dads. They were better than my father."

He frowns. "That sounds bad. Are you better off here?"

cw mention of domestic violence

[solitarysoul]

"My mom, um, my mom died when I was young." Just died. Don't need to mention that his father killed her. In front of him.

"My father didn't care, he just wanted to keep drinking. So the state took me in." Sometimes he wonders if he'd have been better off left to himself. Not with his father, just by himself...it probably would have gotten him killed.

"I...uh...y-yeah. I'm better off here than where I came from. There are some people I miss, though."

[dimensionalcanopener]

"Sounds like a bad dad," Jack says coldly, showing probably the first signs of anger since he arrived. Bad fathers definitely touch a nerve with him.

"I'm sorry you miss these other people. Were they your friends?"

[solitarysoul]

"Yeah. I don't know what happened to him. I don't care, I hope he died in a gutter somewhere." His father is not the person he's the most bitter about, but there was still a lot of hate towards the man.

"Um, I, uh...w-well, really we just met three days before I showed up here...s-so not really friends. But they were nice." They were nice to him, even in what was probably the worst possible situation.