Tales From The Northern Territories #6

[singmod]

TALES FROM THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES #6

Greetings, Interlopers! Welcome to another of your bi-monthly updates, known as Tales From The Northern Territories! The purpose of these little ‘newsletters’, is to touch base with players on how things are going within the game and the fallout of the event of the previous month. In addition, these updates will also provide some extra information on NPCs, along with any additional happenings that might be going on within the game — which may be hints towards the upcoming Test Drive Meme!

Before we jump into things, here’s some dates for your diary for this month:

Activity Check — 1st - 5th
Test Drive Meme — 10th - 15th
CR Meme — 15th
Reserves — 20th - 24th
Applications — 25th - 31st


First up: some announcements / housekeeping:

CONTENT: As a reminder, there will be no event this month, instead we are back to our normal schedule with this month having a Test Drive Meme instead.

We hope you enjoyed your Two Truths and a Lie last month! This month, players will have their bi-monthly CR Meme.

ANNIVERSARY: August begins the start of Singillatim’s first year anniversary, with the first ever Test Drive Meme going up this time last year and the game’s opening on September 1st. Happy birthday, Singillatim! I made a post here, for anyone who missed it a few days ago. I have also created a Player Feedback Survey, if you wouldn’t mind taking a few minutes to fill it out!

INTERLOPER CENSUS: A new Interloper Census is coming! I did one back in December last year, and I’m refining it to post out in early September! So please keep your eyes on that in the coming weeks!

HOUSEKEEPING: A reminder for players that we have both a Character Location Tracker for players to use to show where their characters are each month. I will link it here, but it can be found on the Areas Page. In addition, Nico has very kindly put together a Character Impressions Sheet for players to put down first impressions/basic general knowledge of characters. While linked here, this can be otherwise found on the Navigation pages.

JULY’S EVENT

THE AURORA: REDUX While Auroras will continue into the months of August and September, they will not be accompanied by dreams/powers that came with the three day Aurora in July. The storm is over, and with it, the chance from Enola to receive a new ability.

PENSIVE LOOKOUT: After venturing to Pensive Lookout and recovering Sam’s journal, Interlopers are left with more questions, and perhaps some answers. A few key points of note:

— Sam met the Forest Talkers before The Flare. The leader going by the name ‘Mal’.
— The Flare occurred on the 1st of August, a couple of weeks before Interlopers first arrived, matching up with Methuselah’s timeline of events that he’s recounted to Interlopers.
— Sam witnessed people trying to escape to Silverpoint, likely those in Lakeside, and some from Milton — matching with Methuselah’s guess that some residents got out of Milton.
— Those who understand morse code, or have taken time to work it out, will realise that the shreds of code Sam recorded will read:

ATIVEBEAROAK
NTERMUTEDOWN

— The Forest Talkers are likely the ones who were stalking Sam whilst he hid in the tower.
— Sam experienced some kind of mental degradation through the events of August to November, starvation and isolation — including obsessing over ‘the grave’.
— Interlopers who attempt to find the Northern Tower in Lakeside will come across a ruined lookout tower, half buried in snow. Picking through the debris, they can find the remains of a woman who’d been killed in the tower’s collapse: Sharon. She has been dead for almost a year, her body somewhat preserved in the cold.

A PEEK INSIDE: Interrogations with the Forest Talker were difficult, to say the least — with information gained from the Forest Talker being cryptic at best. A rundown can be found here.

An attempt is made on the Forest Talker’s life, and it’s best to maybe allow the Forest Talker to leave — with proper precautions taken to ensure the Forest Talker doesn’t learn much about Milton or the way there. Before he is left, the Forest Talker will look to the Interlopers who return him to Lakeside and smile: “The yawning grave is open, it awaits us all. My flesh is for the earth. Not today, perhaps. But soon. The Long Dark is coming for you.”

AND NOW... THE WEATHER

DAYLIGHT: A full year has passed since Interlopers first came to the Northern Territories. They are now back in familiar territory.The constant daylight begins to fade and twilight hours creep in during the month of August. Civil Twilight at first, then Nautical Twilight beginning from mid-August and Astronomical Twilight beginning from the start of September. By mid-September, periods of night will once again return — short at first, but ever growing. Winter is coming once more.

WEATHER: The warmth of July comes to an end and there’s a notable coolness to August. Cool, but not cold, at least. Temperatures don’t go below freezing just yet, but are hovering just above. This will continue as the month progresses, with the weather getting colder and finally dipping below 0C into September. Snow will begin the fall again more frequently into mid-to-late August and become more usual into September. Whatever Summer was, it is here no longer.

AURORAS: Following the three day Aurora in mid-July, Aurora frequencies are low into August and September — with perhaps only one or two per week.

NEW HAPPENINGS IN AUGUST

SEISMIC ACTIVITY: Tremors can be felt intermittently into August and September. While not enough to cause serious damage to buildings, the ground is uncertain to walk upon at times, ice on lakes, streams, and ponds will crack and break unexpectedly. Interlopers may wake in the middle of the night due to the quakes, causing panic and uncertainty. Unsecured items will fall/topple over.

WILDLIFE: Animals are slowly making a return into August and September, occasionally being spooked back by the quakes. But, for now, it seems that there’s a kind of normality once more in the Northern Territories — or as normal as can be in this place. Hunting parties will find they have more luck, but should take care of predators who are just as hungry as the Interlopers…

NPCs

METHUSELAH: While Methuselah does stay with Interlopers to help with hunting parties, these will eventually grow less and less often into August. He will still return shortly before the mid-month with his offerings for the Feast, but are not as plentiful as they have been previously.

Following the Feast, he will spend a short amount of time with the Interlopers before he will turn to the wilds once more. He has spent a great deal of time with Interlopers as of late, and longs for his solitude. He is a hermetic nomad, after all.

He will stop by the churchyard for a time to sit amongst the graves of Interlopers lost in the last year before he leaves the town. He will tend to graves, cleaning them up and resetting previous trinkets he has left for them. He will be found sitting in a contemplative silence, or perhaps he may be gently speaking: sometimes they sound like some kind of prayers or some kind of funerary rites, other times it almost sounds like stories.

YOUNG BILL: Young Bill continues to aid Interlopers with their hunting party efforts when they are in Lakeside, accompanied by Scout and one of her puppies: Nova. He continues to be a little more open to visitors following the departure of Scout’s litter and doesn’t mind people needing respite from the cold.

ENOLA: Enola is quiet in August and September. On Aurora nights, Interlopers may hear her humming/singing. It is a haunting sound. You cannot explain why.

FOREST TALKERS: The Forest Talkers will continue their efforts to disrupt Interloper/Methuselah/Young Bill’s attempts at hunting, by sabotaging traps, stealing game or purposely spoiling it. Following the note left behind at the end of June, reading: THE YAWNING GRAVE HAS OPENED — additional notes can be found around Lakeside. Some depict wolf or stag skulls. Others will depict the words: THERE ARE RULES. IT IS COMING FOR YOU.

Comments

Lalo Salamanca | Better Call Saul

[salamanca]

Player Name: Amber
Character Name: Lalo Salamanca
Content Warnings: Idk, cooking? Food?

When: First two weeks of every month
Where: Doe's Retreat (his home) in Lakeside

Summary: Lalo has a free restaurant open from sunrise to sunset for the first two weeks of every month in Lakeside. It's closed the second two weeks of the month, since he spends the second two weeks of every month in Milton. Mostly just a way to occupy his time, serve as a secondary way to get food if anybody ever needs extra.

Future Plans: Idk, none really? But if anyone wants to stop by or help out, be my guest.