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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
You think of the big picture. That's good. We should always consider the consequences before acting.
[ There's true approval in his tone as he says it, like he's praising his own Padawan for making a connection, and not a relative stranger. ]
But I don't think I can agree with you about our speed. The way this world feels...
[ Obi-Wan lifts his hand to his jaw, pulling at his beard, his gaze going distant and unfocused as he tunes into the Force. ]
No... I do not think shortening our time with the Korogu would have changed very much. This place has been sick for a long time.
[ Which makes him wonder if they really are meant to be finding a cure. Arguably, others could have come through here before them. Dropping his hand again, he casts her a sidelong smile. ]
Maybe the direction of your thoughts is a lesson in itself.
no subject
I g-guess it would have been pointless, yeah... [She raps her fingers on her knee, ponderous.] It's not like we were coming in with a b-bunch of medicine, anyway.
[There was that one old guy at the clinic trying to teach the doctor about germ theory, but frankly? He might as well been giving lectures on quantum physics. There's no way they could advance civilization by two hundred years with only the clothes on their backs and regurgitated education.
Obi-Wan smiles at her, and she hates to admit it but her heart gives a little flutter. All right, she's not one for older men or beards especially, but he has charm. She'll give him that.]
What? [She straightens some, baffled. The direction of her thoughts?] Y-you mean being a pessimist?
[Most people were annoyed by it. Also, he wasn't being clear.]
As in...it's g-good for me to think this way? Or bad?
no subject
[ Arrogance was just as dangerous as fear. Both could make one blind, both could make one power hungry or angry and hateful. A combination of both was a deadly cocktail that dove straight into the pits of the Dark Side. One did not need to be a Force user to fall into the grip of the shadow of the universe. ]
Your focus determines your reality.
[ He taps the air with one finger between them as he says this, the way he might tap on her chest where her heart is. ]
As a Jedi, we are taught to be mindful of the Living Force. That is to say, we strive to be present in the moment.
Right now you are lamenting what could have been done, or should have been done. That will not help us or the people that are here. What is done is done, we must now muddle our way forward with the current situation.
we should start wrapping this i think!
That's the ticket, isn't it? She and Komaru nestled into each other's gaps. Toko saw the worst in the world, Komaru saw the best. Between the two of them, they could even out and get a clearer picture.
Though in truth, she can only half agree with the sentiment.]
I don't know. Sometimes c-crazy terrorists decide it for you.
[Why mince words? She had hopes and dreams for a peaceful life once. Now she's stuck in a ruined city fighting off killer robots with a high school girl. And sometimes, you get abducted and sent on a mystical train ride with no end in sight.
Extreme exceptions, she knows, but significant ones nonetheless.]
I guess that's true though... [She sighs, rubbing at her forehead.] It would be b-better if we had a clear direction instead of just trying not to get the plague. Or avoid getting m-mauled by monsters...try not to barf up bird seed...
[This place sucks.]
Oh! Uh. Are you f-feeling better now? [He doesn't sound like he's on the brink of collapse. Still, if he needs help up?
Toko pops off the bench, tentatively reaching a hand out to him. Hoping it isn't too disrespectful, he's her senior but he's not like, a senior citizen. He'd just looked like crap a few minutes ago.]
It's g-getting late. We'll be sitting ducks out here once the sun sets.
done and done
Fukawa hops off the bench, and the movement is enough to draw Obi-Wan out from the dark place his thoughts were heading toward. He lifts his gaze from some indetermined place on the ground to look into the girl's earnest expression and outstretched hand. It makes him smile, and he shows no hesitancy in taking her hand as he stands, though he doesn't really need the assistance at all. Once up, he puts a hand on his back and arches, popping the tight vertebrae and bending a little side to side.
With the dizzy spell passed and only a bit of stiffness left behind, it's enough for Obi-Wan to think that maybe he isn't that sick, and just tired. ]
You're right, we should get inside. Shall we?
[ And he gestures with one hand to invite her along as he starts walking again, fully intending on dropping her off where ever she might be staying. ]