April 2024 Test Drive Meme

[singmod]

APRIL 2024 TDM

PROMPT ONE — ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST: Yet another new group of arrivals find themselves lost in the frozen wilds and vulnerable to the dangers of nature. With luck, they make it to the town of Milton, and to a friendly face offering food, warmth and shelter — not to mention the fact they are not the first to come here.

PROMPT TWO — FROM FROTH-CORRUPTED LUNGS: The heavy fog plaguing the Northern Territories takes a far more deadly and sinister turn.

PROMPT THREE — SHARP CLAWS, YAWNING MAWS: Interlopers come face to face with another native animal to the Northern Territories stalking the rockier areas — and unfortunately, these feline beasts have also been warped by the Aurora.

ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST

WHEN: Mid-month.
WHERE: Milton, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential animal attacks, potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk.

'You are the Interloper. You are not part of nature’s design.'

It’s the last thing you hear. A dark, deep voice. Impossibly ancient. You feel afraid. Maybe you’re dreaming, maybe you’re wide awake. You saw the lights, and then your world went dark. But you hear it in the blackness, you won’t forget those words.

You awaken. You are not where you were before. It’s different for everyone, there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern in where you find yourself. You may open your eyes to find yourself in a cold, dim and dank cabin. The air is stale, dust hangs in the rays of weak sunlight that shine through the tiny windows. Someone lived here once, but they aren’t to be found. You look around, it seems like no one has been here in several weeks, maybe longer. The fire is stone cold, the dishes in the sink are mouldy — it's possible the place has been ransacked, as if they've gone through the drawers and cupboards looking for something. It is quiet. The wood creaks around you. Or perhaps you may awaken to find yourself shivering in the yawning maw of a cave, the freezing stone below you. Or maybe you’re unfortunate enough to sit up to find yourself lying in the snow, in the middle of the wilderness. Snow lies thick around you. It’s freezing out. You haven’t felt a cold like this before in your entire life. Cruel and biting. You have no idea where you are, and what’s worse — you are completely alone.

You may feel different, too. Any powers or magics you may have feel... absent. Disconnected. Things that may not have affected you previously now do. Something in you has changed.

You know you can’t stay where you are. You’ll need to move, try to work out where you are and how you came to be here. So you walk, head out into the unknown, in hope of finding a trail or a road. Interlopers who arrive during the month of April will find themselves waking up in a world filled with freezing cold fog, cold enough that it will feel as if your skin is burning. A kind of cold that will not shake easily. It will be easy to get lost in the fog. Best hope there's someone out here that might come across you to help you find your way.

Soon enough, you'll be able to find a path to town. A little more worse for wear, but alive. It’s here you may find someone else in the same boat as yourself, equally freezing and confused — battered from the journey. You’ll both need to keep going. It won’t be easy. You hear howls of wolves around you, and the terrain is difficult: slips and falls are likely. You’re completely vulnerable out here in the open.

Or it’s possible you may come across someone else here. Someone who looks far better prepared to deal with the freezing cold and frozen landscape, out hunting or gathering. They’ll likely offer help and get you into town. However, for the unlucky ones who don’t come across anyone, you’ll carry on until you smell it through the fog: the scent of smoke that seems to cling in the still air. Fire. Not just one, but several perhaps. Civilization...?

Follow it, and soon enough the way you’ve taken will certainly become a path or road. Unfolding before you in the foggy mountainous forests, you’ll see the most welcome of sights, even if it may appear a little eerie in the half-light gloom: a small mining town tucked up in the valley. Battered, rusted road signs will direct to “MILTON, POP. 947”. You’re almost there, you keep going, and it looks like other people have had the same idea as you. In fact, you’ll hear the muffled sounds of life. People! In the town!

As you head into the outskirts and then further into town, you’ll find it’s a little easier to walk but the cold has gripped you hard. You’ll find the buildings, both shops and homes, some are dark and lifeless, some of them are boarded up, some of them are occupied. People are going about their business, or stood watching from their tiny porches of their small, timber homes. For a town this big, there doesn’t seem to be many people. Several dozen at most, but no more. Some of them will direct you to the Community Hall, tell you to head there — you've been expected.

Towards the center of town, you’ll find the building where many people seem to gather: a community hall, by the looks of it. You’ll find more and more people all drawn to this place, each and every one of them in the same position as yourself (and your companion, if you’ve found one). Some are in worse states than others: some are bloodied, nursing bite wounds or cuts; others might have some other kind of injury sustained in the journey here from falls. Everyone looks as though they could faint from the cold at any second, damp and shivering.

The door opens, and you’re greeted by the gnarled, wizened face of an elderly man, dressed in thick furs. He has a kind face, but looks sad. He smiles warmly despite the sadness in him, and with pity, ushering you in with haste.

“Another batch of poor souls from the wilds, this fog has made it so difficult.” he nods gravely. No, this is not the first time that this has happened. “I am Methuselah. I welcome you Newcomer, although I’m sorry for how you’ve come to find yourself here. The lights are changing things, bringing more of you here. Come, we must get you warm and fed. Mother Nature has not been kind.”

The room is dim, lit only by natural daylight through the windows. A roaring fire sits at one end of the huge hall. It crackles, bright and cheerful... and warm. Even as big as this place is, the room is pleasantly warm. You’ll also find basic cots set up down one side of the hall, and while it seems there's a few people already living here, there's enough space for those in need of them. There's places to rest for a moment and get your bearings, or just trying to recover from the cold. Down the other side are tables and chairs, and long tables laden with food, drinks and bottled water similar to one might find at a soup kitchen. Once again, Methuselah offers a feast, aided by some of the other Interlopers.

There are canisters with hot herbal teas and perhaps a rare canister of coffee, along with soup and stew and trays of charred deer and rabbit meats, plus some grilled fish, instant mashed potatoes, and tinned vegetables. It’s very basic, but it’s hot and filling. A feast. The old man has been busy. And Methuselah will continue to busy himself, still; there is plenty to do. He will fetch blankets, tend to wounds, serve food and drinks. He does not have much time to talk. More and more people seem to be coming in from the cold. He will not stop to sit and rest until everyone is seen to, taking up a place by the fire to gaze silently into its flames. He is very troubled, thoughtful. Much has been happening. The others from town will eventually trail in too, to eat and warm themselves, and search among the new faces.

He will encourage newcomers to get warm and eat, and when they are ready to — they can explore the town and find one of the many empty homes to call their own. He will not speak much, his mood is... low, mournful. But perhaps you might be able to get some answers from those fellow arrivals who’ve been in this place for some time now.

FROM FROTH-CORRUPTED LUNGS

WHEN: The month of April.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: supernatural/extreme weather; poisonous fog; potential respiratory/lung-related illness/injury; potential burn injuries; themes of peril

A thick fog has descended onto the Northern Territories as April comes, often difficult to navigate in and a kind of cloying damp that often brings a certain kind of wicked chill to Interlopers out travelling in it. The kind that sinks in one’s bones and takes too long to be chased away with heat and dry clothes. Sometimes, it feels almost suffocating, like it’s exhausting to be out in it — as if one might feel more like they’re underwater than on dry land, struggling to breathe if they’re out in it for too long.

It’s certainly a miserable affair for those in this world, the cold was bad enough without this.

And certainly, it can get even worse.

Maybe it’s a trick of the light, the strange thickness of the fog in the pale Spring light, but you notice in certain patches there’s… an almost green tint to the fog. You don’t have time to look at it for long. It descends upon you with a fluid steadiness, silent in its approach.

To touch the fog with bare skin, a hand, even the exposed face — you will be met with a sudden burning pain, far different to the biting cold pain of the rest of the fog. As soon as the green fog comes into contact with you, it slowly begins to burn at you — searing away at any flesh, a slow and terrible experience.

To breathe it in will be an even worse experience: it will feel as if one is slowly inhaling tiny fragments of glass, and each breath will be painful and suffocating. Coughing up blood is likely, and being out in it for too long will bring a slow, agonising death of suffocation.

Heading indoors is the best bet to ensure survival, with plugging up any doors and windows or drafty spaces to ensure the fog doesn’t seep inside. After that, it seems like the only thing you can do is wait it out. Hopefully you're stuck inside with a friendly face, and somewhere with a fire. Otherwise, it's going to be a bad time trapped inside waiting it out. The fog will eventually dissipate, and all that Interlopers will be able to see is the usual cold fog — but that could take hours of waiting.

Burns to the skin can be treated with typical medical care, and bathing the wounds will cleanse them of any lingering poison, but Interlopers should take care of signs of infection in the days afterwards. For those who suffer from inhalation of this green fog, Methuselah will direct them to Reishi mushrooms — known for their antibiotic healing properties and can be found in abundance in the world. Interlopers will find that breathing in the steam from boiling and steeping these mushrooms in water will soothe their lungs and help in the healing process.

SHARP CLAWS, YAWNING MAWS

WHEN: April, onwards.
WHERE: Milton wilds; Milton Mines (Lakeside Entrance) area; The Ravine area.
CONTENT WARNINGS: animal attacks, altered wildlife, gore, possible character injury/death, possible animal injury/death.

Certain kinds of wildcats are native to Canada and thus the Northern Territories. They are elusive animals, often keeping to themselves and have largely gone unseen by the Interlopers during their time here in this world. But the world is changing, and it has long been understood that wildlife has been altered due to the Aurora’s influence — particularly with wolves. Unfortunately, these solitary and evasive felines will not remain this way for long.

The wildcats tend to stick to the more mountainous areas of the Northern Territories: Milton’s outskirts being a primary example of this, but also the sheltered and rocky passage Interlopers must take if they are to travel through the mines and down the train tracks that lead into Lakeside. It is here in particular that they make their appearance with the recent footfall between the areas.

For newer Interlopers, it is a frightening sight. For some Interlopers who have been in this world for some time, it is an all too familiar sight to behold but no less terrifying. These beasts are warped by the Aurora and are far bigger and faster than any usual wildcat, with huge, hulking bodies, elongated fangs and unlike wolves: they can climb. Green, glowing smoke curls from their bodies and eyes, a kind of electrical current rippling over their coats with a strange shimmer. They lurk from above and wait for the opportune moment to strike — a far more silent and deadly attack than the wolf packs of last year. But if you’re paying attention, you might be able to spot them before they make their move.

These altered beasts will come no more than three at a time, but will usually attack alone. They will work with a frenzied determination to bring you down and make you their next meal. Cats, after all, are obligate carnivores. They will enjoy giving chase, and running will be the worst thing to do in dealing with them. It is best to stand your ground and try to fight back this way.

They are frightened of flames, and loud noises from gunfire or flares will keep them at a distance — but it’ll take a decent amount of ammunition to take them down, much like their canine counterparts Interlopers already encountered. Taking one down will be no small feat, but there will likely be the reward of a thick, warm pelt for those interested.

FAQs

ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST

1. Arrival threads can be treated as game canon.

2. Items characters have brought from home can be found either strewn around them when they awaken, or in the community hall — as if someone left them out for them to collect. Methuselah will not know how they got there, and will be quite bemused by the happenings.

3. Reminder that all characters are now depowered upon arrival. They can choose not to notice it at first, or can immediately sense something is different about them.

4. If asked any personal questions, Methuselah will smile and say "Oh, you don't want to know about an old man like me. But I have lived all over in these parts for all my life." He will be more concerned with trying to help Newcomers, and is genuinely concerned for them and their well-being. Other Interlopers will say much of the same — there's little to know about him.

5. More information about Milton can be found here.

FROM FROTH-CORRUPTED LUNGS

1. Skin open to the elements is at the most risk of being burned, so it's best to wrap up/cover any bare skin. Covered skin would eventually burn if Interlopers spent enough time in the fog to have their clothes saturated by the damp.

2. Breathing in the fog is the most pressing issue for everyone as a whole. The green fog can affect Interlopers who don't breathe.

SHARP CLAWS, YAWNING MAWS

1. Bobcat, Canada Lynx, and Cougar are the three kinds of wildcat native to Canada. Due to the Aurora's influence, these wildcats are bigger, faster and stronger than typical wildcats — with Cougars being the largest of the three.

2. Killing them is difficult, but not impossible. Scaring them will be far easier to accomplish than killing them.

3. Wildcat activity will continue onwards from April, but will reduce with the Interlopers' efforts to fight them back.

4. Wildcat is technically edible. But not advised due to parasites. Characters are still welcome to harvest the wildcats they kill, however.

TALES FROM THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES NEWSLETTER

Comments

[balancedlight]

Her eyes cast a quick look to one of the windows, out to the ominous fog that overtakes the view. She tsks.

"No," she answers softly. "Not always like this. It was colder when I arrived, bitterly so. But this fog has been lingering for - a while. Though the strange patches are new. You are American, yes?" She gestures to the hat. "Do you have cold like this in your home? You should be prepared."

[tinstar]

He hums a note of disappointed acknowledgement. He'd been hoping to hear that this was just part of the season, that they pass quick enough or that the sun would be out before he knew it. He'd never much had an opinion on fog before, he could work in it and that was enough.

The question, the insinuation and the gesture towards his hat that came with it made him smile crookedly, split lip cracking open slightly with the spread, not offended in the slightest.

"I'm prepared for cold, but not Northern kinda colds. And if I knew I'd be comin' here, I'd've worn a few more layers. Right now, I'm dressed for northern Florida and am more used to Eastern Kentucky Winters. Hell, I'm underdressed for that. And you? I can guess what your accent tells me, but I'm smart enough to know that doesn't mean much, considerin'."

[balancedlight]

She laughs, shaking her head as it turns to a bit of a giggle.

"I don't know where any of those places are," she tells him. "I know - Hollywood is here." She points to an invisible point on the map. "And - the cowboys are here." She points to another spot, more around where Nevada should be. "And - New York City is over here." She moves her finger over to a better approximation of New York.

"But if you are unused to the cold, then you should take more care." That pointing to a map turns to a scolding point on him. "I am a doctor, so if you need anything - "

[tinstar]

Laughs were always a good thing to his ear and it makes his smile quirk a little, eyes dancing to her pointing and back to her as she continues. His eyebrows curl in amusement, forehead wrinkling, as the finger points towards him.

"I'll be sure to mention any immediate health and wellness concerns." Liar that he was, but at least he was smooth in his earnestness.

"The States are large. I'm more recently from this area-" He points himself now, towards the lower righthand quadrant. "But as I didn't have a chance to prepare.. You know any place around here sellin' good winter jackets?"

[balancedlight]

She's quite used to liars, but she doesn't know him well enough to spot it yet. She aims to correct that.

She follows the gesture of his finger, trying to picture it. That's the little dangling part that sticks out into the ocean, she finally decides.

"No," comes the quick answer. "But there are abandoned cabins with some clothing inside. I can show you, if you'd like."

[tinstar]

"Generally, training discourages goin' to secondary locations with unknown individuals," he starts, teeth peeking out from his cheeky grin. "But I think an exeception can be made. Assumin', of course, that said cabins aren't the same distance away I had to take to get here in the first place. I'm not quite ready to stand up against all that again."

[balancedlight]

"I am not unknown," she points out, glancing away and towards the windows. "My name is Svetlana."

But she starts to pack away her first aid kit. "It is not a far walk. Only a few moments if you can manage."

[tinstar]

"I'm glad I didn't guess where you're from," he quips with a bob of his head before nodding and downing the rest of his coffee.

"S'long as it doesn't take forty five minutes to get there, I'm happy to walk most anywhere. I'm guessin' that's also where folks stay?" He couldn't expect any modern amenities, not with the community hall being what it was, with how out of the way they must be from any kind of civilization.

[balancedlight]

"Some people stay here," she acknowledges. "But others do take some of the houses. There is another place, by a lake, a little far away, through the mines," she explains, waiting for him to be ready to walk. She doesn't want to rush him at all.

"I haven't visited yet, but I've heard."

[tinstar]

He glances around again as he finds a place to set his cup, wondering if there were rooms in the back or if people just found a spot on the clear floor and tucked in. Either way, he knew he wasn't sleeping tonight. Thankfully, he'd had a lot of practice at that. But his eyes come sharply back to meet hers as she mentions mines, and there's something a little more serious in his face as he nods, stepping towards and out the door with her. He glowered at the fog and storm of it all, hunkering disgruntledly in his blanket.

"Somethin' to put on my mental map for later. Not that I'm hopin' there is a later, but - and no offence - you don't much seem like the type that would choose to be out in a place like this so I'm sure if there was an easy way out, there'd be neon signs towards the exit." It wasn't like he was having ground breaking ideas here.

"Get a lotta business from the locals, Doctor? You been here long?"

[balancedlight]

She glances over her shoulder with a soft giggle, leading the way back into the snow. "No, not a lot of business," she says. "I only have been here a month or so. I - haven't been good about keeping track of time." And if she thinks back, she can't count the days as well as she might want.

"Some have been here six months. Some...live here."

[tinstar]

Not a lot of business was a good thing, even if a month wasn't a long stretch of information. She's automatically given the benefit of the doubt about day counting - who knows why that's the case, could be a million and one things and in no way did that include the environment itself, to his mind.

"As in choose to stay or can't leave?"

He couldn't imagine choosing to stay here, but then again, he never claimed to be the foremost understanding of the way people's heads worked. What was looking for was, were there people native to the land here or were they all stolen away from their day to day to -- well he didn't know what, but freeze his balls off was on the top of the list at the moment.

[balancedlight]

Her smile fades slowly. "Ah, no. We can't leave. We're - trapped here. Impassible trails and - and dangerous weather. And there's a creature out there that - threatens us here."

It's not all rainbows here, she thinks, but she can't actually soften that blow at all. It's a fact of the place, but she doesn't like breaking people's spirits, so she smiles.

"But we've recently opened up a new place. Or - well, Methuselah did."

[tinstar]

If they weren't out in the snow, he would have stopped but 'stop moving and die' was engrained in deep, so instead his gaze just gets a little more steely and serious. His spirt was a little more indomitable than most, you show the man a challenge, he'll aim to hit the mark with more will and ferocity than most expected with the easy smile that went with the smooth accent.

"Once we're outta this wind, I'mma have a couple more questions, if you don't mind indulgin' me."

Because if there wasn't Spring coming, if there wasn't the sun coming, he would rather know sooner rather than later. Manage those expectations, plan for every possible scenario he could think of - try as he might, his wheels were already spinning.

[balancedlight]

She nods, acknowledging him with a thumbs up, though uncertainty lingers beneath the surface. They walk amidst the biting cold, enveloped in a dense fog, keeping proximity to him, ready to offer her coat at a moment's notice.

The urge to keep moving pulses through her, amplified by the weight of the news she's just delivered. The realization of being confined to this space is chilling in itself. The thought of nowhere to turn amplifies the unease.

Yet, even if an escape were possible, what awaits beyond these confines?

They make it to one of the disused homes and she pushes open the door, hoping that there's something inside worth taking.

[tinstar]

Hell would freeze over (if it wasn't well on the way to that judging the wind was pushing them around) before Raylan asked for her jacket, though it had nothing to do with her. It would be the height of bad manners to ask for it when he had a blanket, when it might leave her with just whatever she was wearing under it.

Raylan follows into the house after her, single track mind focused on getting from point A to point B in an almost relentless pace. He shudders with a relief as he closes the door behind them and swears under his breath.

"Okay," he says with a deep breath with a soft sprawl of fingers as he doesn't wait more than half a beat to launch into the growing buzz in his head. Too many things weren't adding up. It was going to drive him up the wall a little.

"So we're stuck in an eternal winter hellscape, with hillbillies on the other side of a mine, bein' hunted? By a 'creature', with only what can be rounded up from this abandoned.." What do you even call this? A camp? "Settlement? Am I understandin' that right?"

[balancedlight]

"Yes," she agrees and leads the way deeper into the cabin, gathering up blankets and rifling through the drawers. It's the only way that she can keep going, to keep pushing forward. It's the only way she can keep herself sane.

She takes out a few socks and sets them aside.

"What is - hillbillies?" she finally asks, trying her damn best to say it right, poking her head out of the tall dresser she's trying to handle delicately for fear of its collapse.

[tinstar]

At least it was a clear and direct answer. He felt a little lost in the proverbial storm as the confirmed reality settles on him. Winter hellscape was bad enough. Hillbillies at least he could handle and talk to. 'Creature' didn't fill him with hope and sunshine either. All he could do for a moment was just stand there and be grateful that he was, at least, out in open air. That was about the only thing that could have made this worse.

It takes him a good few seconds to even hear her question, and the faint furrow of his features was just him stumbling back on track.

"Oh uh-" Right. How to describe that. "My people are miners but you might think about them like uneducated mountain folk, foothill and valley folk that are wary of outsiders in such a way that's kept some of the.. more liberal ideas of society out in cities and far away from them, their guns and their God... What area opened up recently?"

[balancedlight]

She nods, understanding most of that. "Oh - it was - a lake. It's a hard walk, a long walk, and you have to go through the mines."

She comes in with another pair of socks and lays them neatly along a broken table. A long shirt is thrown atop them.

"But it's worth it."

[tinstar]

On sight of the socks, Raylan's toes screamed in eager anticipation, louder than anything else, the bite of the cold not well warded by the leather lined snakeskin boot he wore. He can't help but move forward, a curious glance cast about the room before he was pulling over a rickety table chair, pulling one boot off and grabbing a sock.

"Any tellin' what kinda mine?" Tell him anything other than coal - not that any mining was pleasant work but some was a little less dangerous than others. That and he didn't ever want coal mine dust on his hands again. "And why? What's over there, another settlement? Supplies?"

With a quickness, both socks are put on and his feet shoved back into his now snug boots so that he could quickly get the processes of pull off his wool and denim jackets off and get the shirt on over his henley.

[balancedlight]

"I don't know," she admits a little sheepishly. No one tells her and her ability to read written English is still a little touch and go, so if it's written anywhere, she hasn't seen it.

"But there is another settlement," she confirms. "A lake and a - hm - resort? It looks unfinished, but there are some homes there and some community places."

[tinstar]

Not knowing was okay. It was just another blank to fill on a sheet of quickly growing blanks. He didn't know it yet, but he was going to hit a wall with that sheet and have to figure out how to deal with that with no whiskey.

"Well that's something." He shivers as he gets all his layers back on and lets out a heavy breath as he rubs his hands together. "You said you hadn't been yet. There a reason for that? Don't want to or just ain't had the chance?"

[balancedlight]

"We don't have many doctors," she explains, walking over to kneel down and start a fire with the meager supplies they have in the little cabin in the little stove. No sense in freezing here while they talk.

"Myself, Goodsir, and Vasiliy," she explains. "I am - the most experienced. Goodsir went on the trek through the mines, and I did not want to leave the people here without a doctor. So I stayed, but supplies run thin and I can make it there and back quickly."

[tinstar]

"That's smart. Good of ya too." It was nice to know that the doctors actually cared about doctoring, about the well-being of the community. It meant that the people here actually did some thinking. Hopeful sort of news.

"Are there many that are capable and willin' to go on supply runs so you doctors don't have to?" He couldn't help but try and find a place where he could help in this kind of situation - many hands make for light work and his hands made for a great security addition.

[balancedlight]

She winces. "Oh, and Hilbert," she adds. "But he is a space doctor." That's all she could get out of him when they met. She's not actually sure what his practical abilities are back here on the ground.

"And I don't - know, actually." And she doesn't know because she hasn't actually thought about it. What the benefits might be. She's just used to doing it all herself, and she's fairly sure that the others are too.

"But if you're willing - Goodsir has his cabin here and he runs the clinic out of it. He has supplies there with the labels on the cabinets. Once you're settled, you can come visit and I will show you what we have and what we need."