nightlogs | ❅ SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 2

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❅ SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 2

SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 2

There's an article in the local paper, but word travels through the town hours before the first newspaper hits a doorstep: a man went missing down the mine, and they couldn’t even retrieve his body for his wife to bury. The official story is that there was a freak cave-in while the night crew was working, that no amount of preparation or technology could have prevented the act of God that left one of the arterials from the main mining cavern obstructed. Given that it was the night crew, there was only one witness, and he was violating protocol and too far down another arterial to hear or see what happened; because Goluboy has a zero-tolerance policy for breaking protocols, he fired the surviving miner. Goluboy has informed the newspaper that there will be no further efforts to recover the body.

Thus, two events are happening in town this weekend: Ms. Cygne’s debut ball, and a protest against the mining conditions outside the mouth of the mines.

Out in the woods, the fog has been thick to the point where subsistence hunters can’t venture in more than a few yards, and there seem to be strange sounds, almost like music, soft tank drums and ringing, emanating from the murk. It almost feels like the menace of the woods is...encroaching.

PROMPTS

a) PROTEST OUTSIDE THE MINE

The rage at Goluboy has been a long time brewing, but the people who live in his apartments wisely don’t appear at the protest. Instead, it’s all about twenty people who have just managed to avoid being dependent on Goluboy’s grace who have shown up with posterboards and a loudspeaker, rallying during the miners’ workday. This was all coordinated the day before my word of mouth, and it isn’t particularly well organized; people frequently end up blocking the mining equipment, and the foreman shouts at them to stay away from dangerous areas with marginal success. The three people with loudspeakers end up talking over each other and the chants are piecemeal and overlapping; however, the fact that people are upset about the perceived lack of safety for the miners and particularly for the abandonment of the missing miner’s body. Bring Him Home is the main chant and the only one that seems to get any muscle to it. The fired miner seems to be the person leading the most vocal chants.

The administrative staff from MineCorp have been asked to come field complaints from the protesters, armed with nothing but some talking points from the MineCorp mission statement (something something synergized comparative advantage for diversified innovative solutions something something labor is our most precious resource yada yada). One scruffy man seems to have hijacked the protest with his loudspeaker and is rambling about the animal maulings in the woods. At some point, Goluboy arrives in his armored Ford F-250. He calls over his foreman and has an annoyed conversation, and then he gets out, bodyguard looming behind him, to talk to individuals, putting on an evidently forced smile with gritted teeth.

b) DEBUT BALL

Ms. Cygne’s debut ball at her mansion is the event of the year, with all the lavishness than this sort of town can muster; beautiful dresses, a chocolate fountain, gift bags with expensive accessories and bonbons, fine sparkling wines, and invitations embossed with gold leaf. Plenty of the little treats are the sort that were presumed extinct in this town; no one’s seen a pair of Gucci sunnies or eaten a Ghirardelli’s in years here.

Most of the festivities take place in the massive ballroom that anchors the mansion, and they spill out into the lawn, where Ms. Cygne has insisted on a sit-down dinner rather than a “ghastly” buffet. The lady of the hour is quite active, making sure to check in with every single person at least once to make sure she’s getting praised for her hosting skills and getting a good look at every youth who’s appeared. The youths themselves have been pressured, by family members, teachers or Ms. Cygne herself, to present themselves as elegantly and politely as possible, and to make a “good showing” at their first event as a notable, respectable young person who may be a contender for Ms. Cygne’s prestigious scholarship.

At the table, people rub elbows with people they may not necessarily speak to otherwise, all brought together by the commonality of being someone Ms. Cygne has deemed noteworthy. Almost nobody allows themselves to get too inebriated, but one woman has a bit too much champagne and begins to cry at the dinner table; her friend, another woman in her thirties, ushers her to the powder room, where she composes herself while everyone awkwardly changes the subject. A few people do mannered waltzes in the ballroom, and out on the lawn, people mingle and make toasts.

c) EXPLORE ELSEWHERE [Link]

OOC: Please feel free to thread with each other at any location in the town. Available NPCs are bolded. Please indicate in bold in your comment if you would like an NPC to tag in, or reach out to Em or Juliet specifically. We request that each player only request one NPC per character so we may respond quickly. Thank you!

KNOWN IC DETAILS

There is gossip around town that characters can be handwaved as knowing that might drive some questions about the town and npcs:

The spooky deaths in the woods that have been going on for ages.

Mining disasters like this have happened before, always before the announcement of a big new mining vein opening up.

Children who take Ms Cygne's scholarship never come back to the town, and their letters are very formulaic.

Goluboy's wife died under mysterious circumstances, his girlfriend went to jail for the murder, and he is about town courting again.

Cygne has a pond full of so many beautiful swans, aren't they lovely!

The curfew sure is heavily enforced. Is it because the sheriff knows something about the monsters in the woods and is withholding information?

OOC DETAILS
❅ Deja Vu: Characters may optionally start getting some very brief flashes of memory or deja vu but this will be brief, confusing, and alarming rather than revelatory and full memory regain will not be possible. Still, players can opt to have this cause a feeling of possible unease or un-rightness to the situation that can be used to drive characters to have questions or be suspicious enough to investigate areas and situations.

❅ Event Length: This part of the plot will involve an npcing stage. It will last approx. two weeks before the last part, part 3, though this end time may be shortened to match player pace if npc threads progress quickly.

❅ New Intros: If your character wasn't introed in part 1 you can handwave they've been there the whole time and just intro in part 2.

❅ New Characters: If you app a new character and want to intro them at this time, assume they arrived just in time at the location the plot takes place in to be caught up in the magic drawing everyone in. They would have gotten the Man in the Moon's spiel from the welcome page right before being magically sucked in.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She swallows, hating how handsy he is with her. She's also learned in her few years of working here, not to use the internet for anything other than her job. She will, occasionally, google an excel equation; she hasn't done that in a while.

And now he wants her to spy. She won't of course, but she has an excuse: She hardly ever leaves her apartment. she can't hear anything if she's never around people. She licks her lips, pulling up her Microsoft Word. "Would you prefer it in Word or in Google Docs so you can be updated in real time?" She asks, softly, wanting him to go away.

But, she does have a box of cookies she made on the corner of her desk for anyone to take, should they stop by. No one will with him sitting there, and she'll be isolated with him.

"I want real-time information. And you have to understand that you have to be secretive. People zip right up when they think they're being spied on, even though obviously I'm just trying to make sure no one starts any conspiracies about what happened down there."

He pats her shoulder.

"Say, you don't go out about town much, do you? You have, what, a boyfriend?"

She really dislikes him. As he's speaking, she's setting up a Google Doc so that she and him can have access to realtime information. She doubts anyone will start a "conspiracy theory" with her, but if they do, she'll have to put them on the list. She just hopes everyone figures out that Mr. Goluboy wants her to do this, and clams right up.

"Yes, I have a boyfriend." She says, thinking of Jackie. She doesn't want him to get into trouble. Jackie's a good guy, and sweet to her. "But no, I don't go out much." Because who has the money to go out and do anything? She barely makes a surviving wage here, add in that she pays a fair chunk of her income back to Mr. Goluboy in rent, and she's usually broke. It's only the fact that she's only feeding herself that means she can survive.

"Lucky man. Shame he doesn't seem to be taking you out and showing you the town."

He takes one of her cookies. He doesn't eat it, instead turning it over in his hand and looking at it.

"You know, there are some parts of the town you really ought to see. Smart girl like you, you're ready to handle it. Set aside tomorrow after work and I'll show you what I mean."

She keeps her mouth shut about him disparaging Jackie. It isn't Jackie's fault they don't go out. Firstly, it's improper according to the town biddies, and secondly, who has the money to go out on the town. They manage a date to Auntie's once or twice a week, and that's good enough for Brigid.

Then he makes his suggestion and she stills, quickly running her mind over things. She could say she has a date, but that would put Jackie in the line of fire, but without one, she has no reason not to go with Mr. Goluboy. She swallows, watching him turn the chocolate chunk cookie over. "Will I need anything?" She asks, knowing that it'll be inevitable if she doesn't go with him tomorrow.

"Bring work boots and clothes you don't mind getting dirty." Goluboy cracks the cookie with his hands, then cracks it again, leaving crumbs on the desk. He gets up, giving her another pat on the shoulder. "You've worked here long enough. You should see some of the details of what we do here, and I'm the best person to show you."

He checks his phone. "Actually, this weekend. I have some obligations at Ms. Cygne's ball tomorrow. Will you be there?"

Saturday morning, Brigid is back at the Mine Office. She normally is far away from it on the weekend, but Mr. Goluboy's request hadn't been a request. So, here she is in work boots, jeans and a flannel shirt that her Da used to wear.

She had not gone to the ball, having obligations elsewhere that night - namely her couch and a bad movie with a book to read - but she'd heard some things about it. Brigid doesn't listen to rumors though.

Hearing Mr. Goluboy, she straightens in her chair and folds her hands in her lap. "Good morning, sir." She says, managing a bright smile. She can hide that he creeps her out.

It's different this time. Since the ball, Goluboy isn't leering at Brigid or invading her space. Instead, he seems almost like he can't wait to get her out of his sight. His mood is rank. He walks in and grabs a cookie off her desk and talks to her while chewing on it.

"Let's just get this over with." He points at the huge black Ford F-250 parked in front of MineCorp. "I'm going to show you a part of the mine that people are talking about. I need you to make sure you correct the record if anyone starts making guesses."

She blinks at the change in attitude. However, one thing she's learned working here is that Mr. Goluboy is mercurial at best, and downright unstable at worst.

Instead of saying anything, she scrambles out from behind her desk and follows him to the large truck and climbs in. While he drives, she's silent, looking out at the mine area. Down one of those arterials is her father's body. And so many others. She doesn't even know where, because that had been kept from her. It's part of the reason she works for him: to feel closer to her Da.

Goluboy's also silent as he drives her, although his phone goes off halfway down the road to the mines. He frowns - it's just a number, not someone he's saved to his contacts - and pulls over.

"Give me a moment," he tells Brigid. He gets out of the truck and slams the door, walking to what he thinks is out of earshot but isn't to take his conversation. Brigid may be able to overhear:

"No, I'm not taking her down there. I'm taking her to the decoy so she can help us lay some rumors to rest- no, it's not how I wanted to do it, but you made it very clear that you think she's going to be missed if I use her, so of course I have to privilege your opinion over what works for my business...don't talk to me like that. Your business isn't under scrutiny from the inside like mine is. You don't have to worry about making problems disappear like I do...I promise I'll give her a good tour and then send her off to report to that Jackie boyfriend of hers that it's just a boring old mine."

He hangs up without a salutation and gets back in the truck. He forces a very fake smile. "Sorry about that. Work never ends. Do you like music? Do you want to pick something out on the radio?"

Brigid shamelessly listens in. She freezes when she realizes that Mr. Goluboy is talking about... No. He's a slimeball, he's a horrible person, but surely he wouldn't KILL her would he?

But that's exactly what it sounds like. Like he was going to show her something that she shouldn't see. But she's going to be missed, so he can't.

And what problems does he make 'disappear'?

She's staring out the window on her side when he returns. She absently turns on classical music. Something to soothe the nerves that she suddenly has. She hadn't told anyone about this little field trip. That was stupid. She should have. She should have told Jackie or Miguel, or any number of people.

Brigid doesn't know what he's going to show her, but it's obviously not what she needs to see. "So," she manages, brightly. "Where are we going?"

"Well, you mentioned that you don't get out much, and I figured you should see that what MineCorp does isn't all mud and muck. There are some really beautiful parts of the mines, I swear. Maybe if you see them, you can tell me if you think they're nice enough to charge people to see."

Goluboy's laying it on too thick now, concerned that Brigid overheard. Now his voice is syrupy sweet, and he plays with her hair again as he drives them up the dirt road to one of the mines.

"It's really something, all the rumors going around about this one arterial ever since the tragic accident. But the reason we aren't showing people what it is isn't because it's something, you know, nefarious. It's just something precious, and precious things need to be protected from the public." He gives Brigid's shoulder a squeeze on precious.

She doesn't want to go into a mine. Her Da died in one of these mines. She does not want to go where he died. His body had never been recovered. And considering what he'd been talking about, she's definitely of the mind that she doesn't want to go.

He squeezes her shoulder and she turns to the window, blinking her eyes rapidly. She starts playing with her crucifix, trying to think of a way out of this.

"Precious?" She's amazed at how steady her voice is. "But this is just coal country isn't it?" She asks, managing to look both innocent and ignorant.

"Oh, there's so much under these mountains. It's not just coal and lithium." He parks the car and gets out. He opens the door for her as if he were a butler and she were stepping onto a red carpet, not into mud. "Right this way, beautiful."

Beautiful. From Jackie, she believes it. From Mr. Goluboy, he wants something from her.

She steps out, managing to not land in a mud puddle, and looks around. This isn't the same vein where her Da had died. She will not freak out, she will not. She refuses.

"What else would be under here?" She asks, following him. Diamonds, but if he'd found a diamond seam he'd be crowing about it.

"All sorts of things."

He leads Brigid down a tunnel, one which could easily be the one where there was a recent accident. It's roped off with caution tape and threatening signs, and the only light is the headlamp that Goluboy wears - he doesn't offer one to Brigid, instead just instructing her to hold onto his wrist as he leads them in. They walk for several minutes in the near pitch dark before Goluboy comes to a stop.

"This." He turns his light to the wall, where the skeleton of some large prehistoric creature, maybe a sloth, maybe a bear of some kind, is well-preserved. Some of the bone areas have crystalized and are now beautiful and sparkling. It's eerie and gorgeous all at once.

"This is the big secret behind the mines. If word got out about this, they'd shut down the whole operation to do some environmental and historical impact assessments. And that would kill the town. That would just devastate the local economy."

He gives Brigid's hand a squeeze, but it's more like he's gripping her in place.

"So if anyone starts telling you rumors about a secret cannibal cult or Satanic sacrifices down here, you'll know better. You can't tell them why, but you can tell them they're wrong."

No, she does not like this. She does not like this at all. Why can't she have her own light? Why must she be tethered to him?

She stares at the bones. They're beautiful. Sad, but beautiful. He sees it as a death sentence for the town, but the scientists coming in would bring new business, new money. It'd be a death knell for the mine, which she cannot see as being a problem at all. The mines should be shut down.

But then he talks about Satanic cults and sacrifices. Her eyes, wide in the darkness look at him, curious, but she keeps her mouth shut, for a moment. She knows suddenly, that that's exactly what is going on. She still says nothing, turning to look at the bones. "They're pretty. You wouldn't expect them to be." His grip is beginning to hurt her wrist.

"Minerals in the fossils turn to quartz over millions of years." Goluboy doesn't let go of Brigid's hand and instead pulls her up next to the fossil. He places his hand on some of the crystal where it juts out. "See, you can touch it. There's nothing harmful down here."

He pulls on her arm and she stumbles up to the skeleton. "It feels... disrespectful to touch such beauty." She says, not reaching up to touch the skeleton. "Like I'm unworthy of it yet." She explains, her voice a mere whisper in the dark.

She's scared. Scared and alone with a man that she'd known wasn't harmless, but hadn't thought him dangerous either. But he's quickly disabusing her of the notion that he isn't dangerous.

Something about this isn't right, and she's not sure what to do. Heroines in a story would break free and delve deeper into the mine, but she knows the dangers. "Do you plan to have them mine it out?" Meaning the skeleton.

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❅ SHITTY LITTLE TOWN ❅ PART 2

I love how creepy he is.

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we can then timeskip to the "date" that isn't a date

Roger Roger.

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