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]

Aside from Bohemia, he knows none of those names. Well, someone else had mentioned being from the United States or America or something like that, but they weren't countries he'd heard of before ending up here. But there were only two years difference between them, how could these things have existed for Louis but not for him? Were these some strange countries on the continent of Vinland, a place he'd always heard was too dark and terrible for people to really live in. None of these people seemed like they'd come from a land named for the amount of wine one had to drink to forget what they saw there.

"...I don't know any of those. D-do you know, uh, the Bremen Empire? Europa? Rondon? Uh...Abyssonia? V-vinland?"

He had to know that last one, right? If there really was a civilization in Vinland he didn't know about surely he'd still know the name of the land?

He might sound a little bit desperate. Because this is freaking him out.

[flambeaux]

Louis wrinkles the bridge of his nose in thought. He didn't expect to go crashing through half-remembered geography.

"Bremen... I think I seen ships from there, maybe, while ago. Must be a port. We got some Germans in town--though not with the war on. Abyssinia is... being invaded by the Italians currently. Vinland... That's Canada?"

His eyebrow quirks higher as he tries to remember.

"Hey listen, we're far from home and isolated regardless," he intones with practicality he himself must take refuge in. As a vampire, he is always going to be a little isolated no matter where he goes. "I haven't been able to find an atlas, but there's maps in town with countries I ain't never heard of, and all the most recent writing suggests the inhabitants were trapped here, whether by snow or the recent... catastrophe."

[solitarysoul]

Louis knows some of the names, but not all of them. And possibly other names for places he knows? Ugh, this is making his head hurt. Is there even more time between them, or something else?

But Louis is right about them being far from home, and isolated. He'll take that over trying to understand things.

"I'm not sure this place is anything like where any of us know." He sighs and shakes his head. "The, uh, the catastrophe...it didn't trap them."

At least, he assumes its what killed everyone. But there may have been trouble before that.

[flambeaux]

One thing at a time. In a classic case of overcompensating, Louis is a master at compartmentalizing and ignoring things that upset him, sometimes repressing things to his own detriment later. It's all just too much to take on at once.

"The sudden deaths... but there are 'Interlopers.' So you're saying more people came only after the old ones were killed--uh, died suddenly?"

[solitarysoul]

"N-no...Those of us who showed up first, I think we were the first Interlopers. We cleaned up the bodies of whoever lived here. That old guy was the only one alive and he wont say what happened."

The bodies hadn't bothered him, but he's aware that it'd bother most people. Normal people. So he's tried to avoid mentioning the state of the town when he got here.

"Uh, I don't think there have been many nights with them lately, but for awhile ghosts showed up. Like, um, not like real ghosts, like someone playing a film strip of what happened over the town. Something happened, and they all either died because of it or killed each other."

[flambeaux]

Louis heard about the bodies from Lieutenant Edward Little. Awful. And the ground getting too frozen to bury anyone now...

"This is the first I've heard of... these phantoms, impressions, pictures, whatever. Fine, he can keep his secrets. Creepy old man. Bunch of people died and he's not saying anythin'..." Louis would probably be more warm towards him if he could partake of his food. After years of Lestat being reticent about vampire secrets, Louis has had enough.

"What if... he's an Interloper to the Interlopers? In a manner of speaking? Like he's from... beyond the beyond?"

[solitarysoul]

"I don't like ghosts," Which are very real in his world, but he'd only learned that for sure right before he got here. "So I don't say much about them. Others watched closer and might have learned more." He shrugs, then scoffs at the next topic.

"I don't trust him. He acts all nice and helpful," which he has been, "but he won't tell us anything. He won't tell us how we got here, how everyone died, how he knows this stuff or anything.

"I wondered if he was human or not. I don't think he is," based on no evidence mind you, "or even if he is he's got some sort of magic or godly power or something. And you can't trust those things."

[flambeaux]

You can't trust those things. Louis is one of them, transfigured by the supernatural. He would dearly love to be trusted, held in good esteem, loved by people. He doubts he can be trusted. Hasn't he failed the ones he loves over and over again? Is he not a liar, betrayer, and murderer? Can those in a hell of their own making find companionship and keep it? Is Louis worthy of love?

Louis's (literal) eternal conflict is that he still thinks of himself as a man, beset by evil. Lestat simply thinks of himself as a vampire, professing that humans are simply his tasty inferiors.

Perhaps it is uncharitable for Louis to wish Methuselah would reveal his nature, but he does wish he would be more forthcoming about the catastrophe. It concerns them all.

"I hope it's just that he somehow escaped the disaster due to some nature of his physiology and wouldn't like to be bothered about it," he sighs, shaking his head. "Methuselah, from the Bible, lived for a very long time, but he did eventually die. His name has become synonymous with longevity." Sometimes Louis talks like a book.

[solitarysoul]

Levi is more biased against gods and godly powers than of just supernatural things. So Louis wouldn't have to worry about being mistrusted because of that. He might get questions, Levi liked books with monsters and horror. Though, at the moment, he's only got the barest amount of trust. They just met, after all.

"...maybe. Maybe he was just lucky. But things never seem to be easy.

"I thought the name seemed familiar...I doubt its his real name, if that's where its from."

Who the hell would name their kid after the oldest man ever?

[flambeaux]

Louis takes pains to hide his true nature. He wasn't a particularly trusting man even before he became a vampire. He had an image to maintain.

"Maybe it is, and whoever named him wanted him to have a long, rich life," he says with a bitter smile. People have lusted after immortality for ages, but what they don't know is that it just means the trials of their lifetime are never over.

But Louis can't hold gossip forever. As ever, he has an image to maintain. "Anyway, I won't keep you from tryin' to warm up. Thank you for findin' me."

He thinks of the things people say to servicemen, but they all sound trite now. After the First World War, most people just wanted to forget about it. And Levi's a kid.

[solitarysoul]

He would very much like to forget about it. At least for now he can focus on the storm, he'd never been through anything quite like this on the front.

"No problem. I'm glad I could help."

Finding a person and bringing them back was much better than finding a monster or something like that.