test drive — winter

[villagemod]

WINTER TEST DRIVE
Welcome to the test drive and thank you for your interest in The Village. This test drive is not game canon but will allow players the opportunity to experiment with game mechanics, the setting, and the flexibility of choice allowed by this game. The following prompts are examples of typical situations characters might face in the game. At least one thread from the TDM is required as part of the game's application process.

The setting details and locations are still being unveiled in the game, so prospective players are welcome to play with established locations or create their own within the general setting of Mathias.

( Recommended listening: ♫ )

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INTO THE ENDLESS
Winter has arrived in Mathias. Snow falls steadily, big puffy flakes that pile up quickly in drifts as the wind blows them around town. The trees in the forest are covered in it, the branches bending under the weight and shaking when the piles fall from them to the forest floor. The roofs of buildings become solid white and drifts form in doorways as the wind tries to rush inside anywhere it can.

New arrivals wake in the forest, with its winding paths twisting back on themselves as they branch in either direction. It isn't safe to stray from the path, there is a menacing fog that waits just a few yards inward in any direction, but for now, there is nothing impeding movement along those snow-covered paths that cut through the trees. Continue stumbling in one direction and you'll reach the small town, coming out near the mishmash of quaint houses that nestle beside crumbling ruins that used to be homes. But choose the other and you'll seem to stumble on forever, huddling against the wind until there seems to be a clearing up ahead—

And then nothing. The earth opens up before you in a ravine so deep that the bottom cannot be seen. The other side can be seen, tantalizingly out of reach, and there is the sense that safety is just beyond, if only you could get there. But with that sensation is also the knowledge that if you stay here, you will die. The edge seems unsteady, like getting too close would set it crumbling and send you tumbling into that dark endless nothing that waits below...

BODIES WITHOUT SOULS
Benedict Books is nestled quaintly on the square surrounding Mathias's Town Hall, a thick layer of dirt covering the front windows. Looking through those windows provides a much different view than looking directly into the shop through the doorway — vague shapes and forms of figures seem to be inside, though no details can be determined through the streaks of grime. Flickers that resemble flashlights can be seen passing along the windows from time to time, and on occasion there is even a muffled tapping sound that comes from behind the glass, as if someone is trying to get your attention. The same distorted figures can be seen looking through the windows from the inside outward, but moving from one side or the other reveals... nothing. There is nothing there, and perhaps it is all in your imagination.

A portrait hangs at the front of the store to illustrate the namesake of the little shop... that may, in fact, not be so little. Dust covers everything in sight and detritus litters the wooden floor, as if someone left the door open and allowed half the forest inside.

The books are mostly familiar titles from the 1990s and earlier, but close examination will reveal that key details seem to have been changed. They fill shelves in neat lines along the walls and rows in between, the building almost seeming to stretch on forever until, finally, a small office can be seen tucked away in the back. A glance back toward the front door gives the impression that the room isn't that big, after all. Strange that you previously thought so.

Prying the door open is the only way to get inside the small office; the hinges have rusted and are caked with dirt and grime. Search as you might, there are no interesting bits of information to be found here beyond a few inventory lists on the little desk. There is, however, a green and gold safe in the corner that, no matter how many times one turns the dial, simply clicks and clicks. Scratches around the safe indicate that someone tried to get in at one point, though there's no indication as to whether they succeeded.

THE END APPROACHES
Standing at the center of Mathias, the town hall is a modest two-story building that would be welcoming if not for the faded sign, chipped paint, and deafening silence within its empty halls. It's a typical government building, with a reception desk at the front and rows of identical offices within, the names half faded from each door. But what catches the attention is a large bulletin board on the main wall beside the reception desk, once meant to hold flyers or announcements for the community.

What it holds now is decidedly different. Tacked onto the board are scraps of paper covered in an assortment of handwriting styles — requests for supplies should anyone find them, pieces of information shared in the hopes of someone understanding the strange symbols and mathematical equations, notes about those missing or recently deceased. And over the center of the board, tacked on top of other papers, is a map discolored with age. Mathias Township can be read in the corner, a stretch of forest displayed beneath it, but everything else has been smeared to illegibility with red... ink? Upon close examination, a keen eye will realize that the ink is actually blood, though whether it is human is unknown. And scrawled across that forest, nearly covering the illustration of a clearing and a large house within, are the words

he is coming
A number of tarnished metal pushpins are scattered around the edges of the board, waiting for future messages to be shared, and a stack of pristine white paper and pile of cheap ballpoint pens rest on one of three chairs beside the board. The chairs are clearly meant for those waiting for meetings and are covered in the same layer of grime as everything else in the building — everything except the pens, paper, and bulletin board.

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Comments

[exsto]

"Fatal," Bucky repeats, blue eyes fixing on blue eyes. Bucky lets his mind process all that and as he does, a wave of uncomfortable shivers goes through him. No, this does not sound good for him. Not at all.

His gaze flicks towards the door. "How do you know that?"

It may sound like a strange question but if no one is in the position to see their captors, how do they know if the fog is killing people.

[abrightboy]

“One night, the fog rolled into town. It killed five people. No signs of overt trauma to the bodies. All outward signs pointed to chemical asphyxiation. Only some of them came back. Those that did remember suffocating,” Malcolm told him. “I’d suggest it was a show of force.”

[exsto]

Bucky nods in a way that he understands perfectly, but how is something that won't be easily given up. Containment is containment, no matter how you looked at it. Be it held in a 5-foot by 5-foot cell or in a town surrounding by lethal fog. There was no difference as far as he was concerned.

"So, where do I go in the meantime?" he questions. "And how long have you been here?"

[abrightboy]

“I’ve been here for almost three weeks,” Malcolm told him. “You have lots of options for shelter and you can change once you’ve had a chance to explore but...” He glanced up at the sky. “You want to make sure you find something before night falls.”

He gestured down the street. “There’s still room at the boarding house,” he explained. “But there are also empty houses all over town. You can take any one that isn’t occupied. If you need help at some point or if you need... alcohol, you can stop by 1306 Philips Drive. There’s two cowboys that live there. They distill moonshine and help people out with basic medical treatments or home repairs... that sort of thing.”

[exsto]

Bucky glances upwards with the guy and lowers just his eyes back down before listening to the rest of what he has to say. It's definitely looking like there is a regular flow of new people coming through and he wants to know why, like everyone else. Especially since it's feeling a lot like this is an experiment of some kind.

Yeah, alcohol would be great if it did more than taste good, which he decides is reason enough to keep it in mind. As he notes the rest, one more question comes to mind. "I take it money isn't a thing around here?"

[abrightboy]

If he only drinks alcohol for the taste, he'll be disappointed with the moonshine. It does not taste good.

Malcolm couldn't help a huff of a laugh.

"Money? No. If you need clothes, there's a store over there," he said, pointing, "help yourself. You can choose from flannel, flannel and khakis. There's a bit of fleece, too. General store has basic food and personal supplies. The salon has nicer hair products. The Grey Gull, a pub on the beach, also has food supplies."

[exsto]

He didn't think so. Not when it sounded like no one was really running the place if money isn't needed. Bucky already knows what he's going to be doing for the foreseeable future. Without knowing how long he'll be there, he wants to know who is behind it all and if it is HYDRA.. well, he'll cross that bridge when gets there.

Bucky follows where the other man is pointing and while he's still looking off, he nods. "Got it," What else is there to say? The basics are good to know but as far as anything deeper goes, he'll work on that on his own.

"Name's Bucky, by the way," he offers. "And you are?"

[abrightboy]

"I'm Bright," he said, offering his hand. "Malcolm Bright. I live at 1306, with the cowboys. Is there anything else I can help you find?"

[exsto]

There might have been a joke in there, but Bucky wasn't the type. Still, he shakes his head.

"I don't want to keep you, but if I think of anything else that I can't answer on my own I got your address," he answers, giving a faint smile in appreciation.

[abrightboy]

“Stop by any time,” Malcolm told him. “Our roommate Neal is a gourmet chef of sorts, so if your timing is lucky, you could end up sitting down to a great meal.”

He gave Bucky a wave as he headed in the direction of Philips Drive.