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

[rescapee]

[ There's a part of her that desperately wants to do something, anything, to alleviate the emotions she can see on his face, that alarm and worry digging into him like viciously sharp talons. It'll shred him to bits if he lets it. But she can't just give in; she has work to do, and there's no telling if she'll have the energy to do it later. ]

I just came from my house. [ Yes, she's this exhausted when she's only just started out. She doesn't like it any better than he will. ] I need to get supplies to wait out the storm.

[ But she can't just send him away when he's this concerned for her well-being. That seems almost cruel, and while La'an isn't always the warmest person, she is never needlessly cruel. So she leans away from the wall and takes the arm he's offered her, trying not to lean too heavily upon it for now. ]

[fidior]

[ It isn't the first time that Edward Little has witnessed this woman's almost startling sense of resolve, of course — the first time he'd met her, she was dragging a full-grown man to a graveyard all on her own, after all. Perhaps it isn't too shocking to think that she would venture out alone, despite the illness racking her body.

But he couldn't step back from this, and surprise does come to hear that she's on her way to get supplies. Does she mean to weather out the storm on her own, as well....? ]

You won't be staying in the Community Center?

[ As he talks, he carefully grasps onto her arm with his other hand, and it's more physical contact than would be appropriate ordinarily, but this is no ordinary situation. He moves slowly, walking with her, looking over as he still wears plain concern in his features. ]

There will be plenty of room — and food, warmth. I've just come from there, making preparations.

[rescapee]

[ The house she was headed toward isn't far, thankfully, only a few houses over from her own, but each step still feels like a mile, the distance stretching out before her like a Sisyphean task. It won't be long before she leans more heavily on her companion, needing help to steady herself so her feet can find purchase on the snowy path. ]

It's a good place for the others, but not for me. I haven't finished treatment yet— [ Another cough rips itself from her chest as if to prove her point, but all she does is lift her scarf to cover her mouth. Her voice is raspy when she continues a few moments later. ] I can't risk spreading this to others when our supplies are limited.

[ That might not be how the illness works. She can't be entirely sure what she has, or how it spreads, but without proper testing capabilities, she'll default to general precautions of not being in close quarters with others. If that means weathering a blizzard on her own, then so be it. ]

[fidior]

[ Treatment....? Edward pauses at that, looking confused for a moment, even deeply troubled. The idea of illness being spread to others in the way she implies is some years after his time (germ theory itself has nearly twenty years to go); he isn't quite sure what she means by this. In his time, most illness is seen to be a result of circumstances perpetuated by one's lifestyle and habits, and even one's inherited susceptibility. And if environmental, well.... unfortunately his knowledge would seem even more archaic, for Little supposes this could be attributed to miasma; perhaps she'd breathed in something rotten here.

Really, he needs to get her to Goodsir or to Vasiliy Yegorovich, two in this place with medical knowledge, but he doesn't know where they currently may be, and he can't imagine the poor woman able to wander around long enough against his arm to find them.. For now, he only wants to get her to where she wants to be, as safely as possible.

But he can't resist voicing another concern, deeply unsettled by the thought of her staying alone, as he tightens his grasp against her, immediately slowing his pace with alarm whenever she seems to be faltering. ]

Forgive me, Lieutenant, but you can barely move on your own. I beg you to reconsider.... I could help you there now, to the Community Center. Whatever fevers ail you can be dealt with there. I do not think there is any threat of... spread.

[ He says it like it's almost a foreign concept.... Sorry, La'an. Victorian Things. ]

[rescapee]

[ Is he always like this? Do worry and anxiety eat away at him all the time, or has this place gifted him these forms of inner torment? La'an realizes she knows very little of the man beside her. There are others here who knew him before they arrived in this place, and he cares deeply for those under his command... but there's little else that comes to mind in her current state. ]

What year are you from, Lieutenant Little? I promise it's relevant.

[ Though it's likely plainly obvious she's preparing an argument to defend her position against going to the Community Center. Her stubbornness could win wars, and that isn't going to change in this frozen prison. ]

[fidior]

[ By now, Edward has well-learned that others are from different places and points in time — a bizarre, deeply unnerving knowledge, but one he has been forced to accept... He's assumed long-ago that she was from a place and time much different from his own, given that a woman should hold the rank of lieutenant at all, but also due to the manner of clothing she wears, trousers instead of skirts....

So the question isn't too startling in itself. He's been asked that before, and gives a quick nod of his head, perpetually prompt in his responses, especially to a fellow officer. ]

It was 1848 when we abandoned ship.

[ Though a disheartening place in time, that moment is what he most thinks to when conveying when he is from. ]

[rescapee]

[ It's hard to hold back the sigh that wants to break free at his answer. She'd assumed he was likely from around that time, but for it to be confirmed... Once again, she's reminded of how terribly alone she is here.

Stopping to catch her breath, she waits for another cough to pass before providing him with the information he's been lacking for weeks now. ]

I should properly introduce myself. My name is La'an Noonien-Singh. I'm a lieutenant in Starfleet, which is part of the United Federation of Planets. I'm from the year 2259, and I served as third-in-command of the USS Enterprise, which has over 400 crewpersons aboard.

[ It's a struggle to keep her breathing steady enough to speak this much all at once, but she barrels ahead anyway, not wanting to give him the wrong impression about why she's saying all of this. ]

My specialty is security, not medicine, but humanity has learned a lot in the last few centuries. I'm not sure exactly what I have, but most common illnesses can be easily spread to others in close quarters. It will be safer for others if I keep my distance for now.

[fidior]

[ There's a sharp wince from the man as she coughs like that again, feeling very helpless that all he can do is maintain his grasp on her arm and try to help keep the other upright. His heart continues to tighten with worry; really.... she should be lying down....

But as she manages to continue, he's listening — with a focus that grows more intense with each sentence. Slowly, his eyes widen, surprise taking hold of everything, catching him with several odd jolts beneath his ribcage. The year 2259....

His shock certainly shows in his face, mouth even tipped open a bit, but Edward couldn't hope to conceal it. Not in the face of this information.... It's almost unfathomable, such a time so far into the future. This is all... so much, and he's struggling to truly maintain hold of what he's being told, understanding bubbling in; she knows of modern advancements, that is what she's telling him now. (Of course, that comes with another startle as she tells him that most illnesses can be spread in such a way....) Edward's quiet for a few long moments, just standing there, stunned. Finally, the man manages to speak, attempting to gather his thoughts in the process. ]

I... I see. I was unaware that..... anyone was from such a time, here. [ His eyes are still wide, and he gives his head a soft shake as though to coax himself out of some haze. Focus, Little. You may be stunned, but you still need to act. ]

....I understand why you should want to stay isolated, then. [ A sharp inhale; he still doesn't like the thought of it, but... ] ....In that case, may I help you prepare your residence after fetching the supplies you need?