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Priority Log - Part 1
Log 02 Priority (Part I)
The Mine Car
As characters enter the car, their phones will notify them of a new message…
> ▮▮▮▮▮▯▮▮
> ▮▮*
> OVERRIDE: TUTORIAL MODE DEACTIVATED.
> OBJECTIVE:
>
NAME: The Mine Car
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT: Gothic era
DANGER LEVEL: High
GENERAL STINKINESS: High
COMMON DENIZENS: Humans, ornithrops, bearkin
CUISINE: Peasant gruel, bird seed
There is no sender. Or objective?
But that's fine, probably! The car itself is completely functional, and features a fully developed society.
Passengers will arrive in this car and be immediately greeted by a fog that chills them to their core. The car around them is vast, and yet deathly silent. They'll find themselves starting off in a forest of petrified wood, the ground hard and unyielding underneath their feet, with flora and fauna in various stages of decay around them. While the fog around them is thick, the lights of a nearby village can still be seen from a distance, and as they travel, the dirt road will give way to cobblestone.
Eventually they'll be greeted with a signpost, welcoming them to the town of MINECRAFTIA.
While Minecraftia's denizens are harrowed and distressed, they're quick to warn the passengers traveling through of the ailment, a mysterious illness that is plaguing their town. It's been leaving even healthy youths bedridden, and while the town mayor has passionately declared that he will find a solution, it appears that there's no cure in sight.
Locations
Minecraftia is a foreboding little town, even in the daylight, with murky skies above and fog blanketing the roads. Still, the denizens persist through their daily routines, and won't stop the passengers from exploring.
Clinic: The town's only clinic with the town's only doctor. It's a small, rickety building that operates all hours of the day. Between the rapid spread of sickness and the steady depletion of supplies, it's a grim place to be nowadays. Anyone healthy who visits might be roped in to help, and those who look ill will be quarantined with an uncomfortable bedroll and thin blanket.
Cemetery: Located on the outskirts of town, the cemetery is home to dead bodies, even deader earth, and a deadpan gravekeeper. The exit door is here in a flower-covered plot, but cannot be opened.
Chicken House: A barnyard building home to the town's chickens. Lately they've been more worked up than usual, and taken to flying the coop and finding refuge by digging their claws into the scalps of bystanders. Agitating one chicken may cause a whole flock to descend on you!
The Dark Woods: The village is surrounded by what was once lush woods, but the trees now stand dark and eerie, an unusually thick fog rolling between them. While there are some of the usual, woodland creatures chirruping in the dense silence, they're hard to find. Monsters, meanwhile, are much more common.
The Mines: In the heart of the woods are entrances to the town's expansive system of mines. Stepping inside shows that the dirt and stone is laced with beautiful gems and minerals, but passengers will be shooed away by miners if they try to explore any deeper. It seems there's several dangerous mine shafts underfoot, as well as past attacks by what seems to be mole monsters.
Mayor's Mansion: The largest building in Minecraftia, situated on a hill. While Mayor Chadsef's staff welcomes guests, they will be cautioned not to explore past the lobby, which just smells a little like cleaning chemicals thanks to a diligent maid crew.
Denizens
Players may use denizens as convenient in threads, as well as these NPCs, except for the Mayor. He's a very busy man!
Madam Vermeer: The Madam is a human extremely afraid that she'll die before seeing her son marry. Which means that she is hunting the streets for eligible men and women, and whisking them in droves away into her mansion to be made over, trained in the art of serving, etc. before presenting them to her son.
Cassy Cassatt: Cassy is an ornithrop and the owner of the chicken house. She's shorthanded nowadays, but business-savvy enough to prey on considerate bystanders. She'll rope anyone she sees into helping out, whether it's collecting eggs, feeding or breeding.
Turner: Turner is a bearkin, and one of the nurses at the clinic. He's taken to drinking his weight in mead whenever he's off the clock, and it's not uncommon for his body to be seen unconscious on the road. He'll try to flee or swat blindly if anyone tries to help him, but he really does need help getting home.
Chadsef: The mayor of Minecraftia, who is notably wealthier than the rest of the citizens. He's young and inexperienced, but carries a Birds of Economics degree, and is determined to bring jobs to the town. He'll just need to make sure people are alive to do them first!
Other
The longer that passengers remain in the car, the more they'll learn, and soon they'll realize the following:
- They are not immune to the illness. They can't determine what it is that triggers it. At first it's a sense of fatigue, then hunger and irritability. Then, the numbness will begin, starting in their extremities and spreading up their limbs, until that numbness turns into pain. Eventually that pain will lead to madness, a state of delirium where they begin to behave erratically, endangering themselves and those around them.
- There is something in the woods. Though the passengers saw nothing when they arrived in the woods, at night they can hear growling. Venturing outside will reveal grotesque creatures emerging from the fog, rampaging into the town and tearing flesh and stone with their massive claws. These creatures appear rabid, familiar but warped, and they swarm the town with no regard for their own safety or benefit. Examples: (1) (2) (3) (4)
- Corpses are disappearing. Despite deaths, the cemetery isn't seeing any more business. Rumour has it that a certain wealthy denizen has been paying to have the corpses taken away. But to where, and why, remains unknown…
Numbers
Numbers! Everyone starts with one that glows on their bodies — as a fun thread mechanic, we suggest they're somewhere visible, but it's up to you!
Because while this is not IC knowledge yet, numbers are determined by how troubled your character is. This may be based on their past actions and crimes, but also alienating habits, regrets, personality flaws, trauma, etc — a higher number does not necessarily mean they're a bad person, but it may signify a difficult time in their life, or substantial personal issues.
As passengers enter this car, they'll notice that their numbers may begin to change in response to certain actions and decisions. The general rule is that numbers change as characters work through their issues. If they make a decision that serves to better themselves, their number will decrease. But if they make a decision that is ill-intentioned, their number will increase. Players can change their number as they see fit going forward.
OOC Notes
Exploration: Players may submit on-going threads here to get a short mod tag with further discoveries in any given location. Characters can potentially earn items or clues as to the car's objective this way. Please limit your explorations to one per player; we will let you all know if we have the capacity to do more!
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no subject
He's so fixated on knocking out the second miner that he misses the first rock, only noticing it when it grazes the side of his head. Ouch?? Literally for what. He at least dodges the second rock easily enough, and for the third...
Jinwoo shoots an arm out to grab the still conscious miner to use as both a meat shield and a convenient way to lights out this dude once the rock hits him square in the head.
Two birds, one stone (lmao). ]
I just needed them out of the way.
[ Unceremoniously dumps the miner to the ground next to his buddy. ]
no subject
Not one to rely on your charms, I'm guessing?
[ Anyway, there are definitely other miners who are starting to clue in that these two dudes just went missing. There's voices that echo closer and closer, though Claude doesn't seem bothered.
He wants to see Jinwoo get in trouble!! ]
no subject
I don't have charms.
[ No KIDDING... But ah, Jinwoo picks up on those voices and casts a look in the direction of where they're coming from, before turning back to Claude and giving him a quick glance over.
He looks like a capable guy. He managed to throw rocks pretty good?? ]
Any chance you wanted to explore the mines? Or should I leave you here with these two?
no subject
[ Yes, he wants to explore the mines.
Despite his sass however, he gives Jinwoo a little grin. Why the sudden change of heart? Well, he's noticed that the approaching Angry Miners are also giving him a death glare, even though he'd done nothing wrong.
Friendship with miners ended ❌
Now Jinwoo is my friend 🤝 ]
Better hurry!
[ Quick to skedaddle, he gives Jinwo a friendly pat on the shoulder before running past him, further into the mines. There are several paths ahead of them, the mines an impressive labyrinthe that dig deep underground, and Claude just marches down the closest turn to try and shake their pursuers. ]
no subject
Anyway, cue running away from angry miners.
Jinwoo sprints after Claude, following along as they move deeper into the mine and its array of paths. ]
Try not to lead us into a dead end.
no subject
I don't exactly have a map of this place.
[ They find a tunnel that's obviously been recently occupied, though apparently the miners are out on lunch break because it's mercifully empty. Claude eyes the walls and ceiling for glittering rocks. ]
What exactly were you hoping to find down here?
no subject
But phew, a breather and a chance to actually look around. Jinwoo traces a nearby wall with his hand as he walks along it, looking for... anything, really.
... Alright, fine he does have one thing he was hoping to find. ]
A really big monster.
[ He is a simple man with simple needs. ]
no subject
[ Aren't there enough monsters in the woods? Why is Jinwoo so thirsty for monsters? ]
The ones above ground not cutting it for you?
[ He gives Jinwoo a slightly wary look, though he seems more concerned for Jinwoo than himself. There are just so many reckless people here. Everyone wants to be a hero.
Meanwhile, Claude is just a normal guy, who is absolutely not looking for a fight. Instead, he's looking for corpses. He'd heard whispers that the graveyard wasn't seeing more business despite all the bodies piling up, and he's wondering if they'd decided to repurpose some of these mines to use as mass graves. ]
no subject
So really, we should be worrying about Claude. ]
It's not that... Where I'm from, this sort of place is usually where the final monster hides. Killing them usually gets rid of the other monsters.
[ He just wanted a boss fight :( ]
What about you? Why are you in the mines?
no subject
Ah, another superhero then?
no subject
No. A hunter.
[ This is how you answer questions, CLAUDE. Jinwoo's not gonna forget this... He's going to stare expectantly at his newfound companion like, yes, it is your turn now. ]
no subject
It doesn't feel strong enough under their feet to crack the walls around them, and yet stone falls from the ceiling, a chill howling through the gaps that form, taking out the torches that the miners had left along the walls. Now, all around them is darkness. Even the distant sound of the miners on lunch has muted, nothing but rock and ore glinting around them.
And... something else. Maybe it's the sound of the wind through the cracks that have formed, but it seems almost as though it carries whispers as it slinks through the hair, icy enough to raise the hair on their skin (not that they have any since they're both twinks).
The path ahead of them isn't completely blocked by the fallen rocks, but even if they squeeze past it will eventually lead them to a dead end. What Jinwoo will find in the rubble however is a thunderstone, which, when used, will cause him to evolve.
no jk. When on his person, the stone will give him the ability to generate lightning. It will however also do some damage to him in return; the more powerful the lightning, the more damage it will do. This item can be used for one event before it turns into an ordinary jewel. ]
no subject
But no monster, only darkness. He doesn't have too much trouble navigating through it since he's basically shadow and death and all that edgy shit itself (sigh).
When the path finally stops at a dead end, Jinwoo finds the rock and holds it up... Normally he'd have to fight a boss for its loot, but free stuff is also nice.
Hey, Claude, check this out. ]
It's a rock.
no subject
Here's hoping. ]
Okay? [ Why is Jinwoo showing him a rock? Does he just want attention? ] We're surrounded by them.
no subject
There's something different about this one.
[ It has a face!!! ]
It almost feels like we were led here.
[ Meta af. ]
no subject
And okay, he can admit there is obviously something different about this rock. ]
You should hang onto it.
[ But that second statement... He frowns, glancing around them, the chill raising goosebumps over his arms. ]
Maybe. If you believe the purpose of this entire train is some sort of self-improvement journey, then that very well could be the case.
no subject
I don't know what to believe.
[ A train for the sake of self-betterment? Weirder shit has admittedly happened to him. ]
But I thought... I thought I heard voices. [ He turns away from Claude to inspect the dead end a little more closely. ] Though it could have just been the wind.
no subject
Voices?
[ While Jinwoo checks out the dead end, Claude turns his attention to the walls. There are some cracks there, wind whistling softly. He presses his finger over one to stop the sound.
It's cold. ]
There definitely seems to be something. It feels.... colder. Suddenly.
no subject
But also, yeah, now that it's been mentioned, there has been a bit of a temperature drop ever since that tremor rocked through the mines.
And the wind... What's bringing in wind when they're deep in the mines?
He pulls away from the dead end, back to where Claude and the cracks on the walls are. ]
Think there's something on the other side?
no subject
Perhaps there's a secret that they're hiding down here? ]
Could be. I don't have the manpower to bust through solid rock though.
[ Stares at Jinwoo. ]
no subject
Iron.
[ And from Jinwoo's shadow comes a big guy wielding a giant axe and shield.
Iron looks confused for just a brief moment, glancing first at Claude then around in search of something (MONSTER??), but Jinwoo is quick to tap his shadow's arm and point him toward the wall. ]
I need you to break through that.
1/2
no subject
He's just a guy doing his best with a bow and arrow, while other people be out here summoning demons out of shadows. ]
Uh.
[ He doesn't get much out before Iron takes a swing toward the wall, another tremor suddenly shaking the ground beneath them. It sends more rocks falling from the ceiling, rolling down the wall that Iron is currently trying to break through.
A few of them fall close to the pair as well, and Claude starts, wondering how much he wants to die here. ]
Maybe we should figure out an exit plan instead.
no subject
Damn, this wall really doesn't want to come down. Jinwoo raises a hand and Iron immediately halts his actions. At this rate, a cave-in might occur and is it really worth a rocks fall and everyone dies scenario? ]
Yeah...
[ He sounds reluctant even as he agrees, but he's seen and experienced too many stupid people making stupid decisions and getting the people around them hurt. Jinwoo isn't trying to join that club, and he quietly recalls Iron back into his shadow. ]
Let's start heading back.