Event - Appalachia: Confabulation (NETWORK)

[apocalypsehowmods]

Who: Rae Hargrave
What: An IC discussion for sharing information and making plans
Username: ambulatory
Warnings: Please add appropriate warnings in subject headings!

On June 5, everyone with an ADI-issued device will be added to a group channel by Pam Ruan, who immediately transfers control of the channel to an account with the username ambulatory and an ID picture of a world-weary caucasian woman. Within minutes of the notification that they’ve been added, characters will receive the following message:

un: ambulatory
This is Rae Hargrave with a mission status update for all ADI personnel currently stationed in Wolf Pen.

First, I apparently need to remind you that it is of the utmost importance that you do not inform the locals of the true purpose behind our visit. Not only does exposing ordinary bystanders to the supernatural place their lives in danger, but you also run the risk of handing information about yourself and about our operation to an avatar, either directly or via an unwitting informant. If you are questioned directly about your reasons for being in town or asking the questions you’re asking, deflect, deflect, deflect. It’s better to look like an idiot than to feed our enemies. If I catch wind of any more of these incidents, I will literally sit on you. If you think a local has already been exposed to one of the Entities and that it would do more good than harm to bring them into the fold, bring that to the higher levels before you act.


Second, and to the main purpose, this channel has been established for the purpose of sharing intel gathered since our arrival. Learned something? Tell the group. We’ve got a deadline looming in less than two weeks, and that’s assuming our assessments are correct and the Rumble Down Under is the intended ritual. You don’t need to have things all figured out to be of help here. We’re all putting this puzzle together, together and the piece you bring to the table could click with another person’s intel that you never would have thought was connected.

I'd like to see reports on the following, along with anything else you've picked up in your time here:

• Layout and any suspicious activity in and around the Bluestone Mine: what's the situation with the concert space and where are our entrances and exits? What have you been able to get out of the museum staff?
• Ditto for the Keppler Mine: who have you talked to and what have you seen? We may be running short on opportunities for additional recon here as reports indicate that the OSHA cover story is wearing thin. If you return to the Keppler, have a contingency plan for getting back out.
• Locations and movements of Avatars in the area, confirmed or suspected. Katie Dunn and Deepthi Anand are almost certainly in the area, and we have reason to believe the Desolation Avatar known as Pyre may also be involved. There may be additional Avatars we have not yet identified. While previous experience has taught us that Avatars of different Entities don't usually play well together, there's a first time for everything.
• Supernatural sightings in and around Wolf Pen: we have not yet ruled out the possibility that reported phenomena in the woods and the dump could be related to the ritual attempt.
• Public attitudes and interactions with town leaders: who seems to be allied with whom, and what are their connections to FYRE and the mines? Additionally, have you met anyone you believe may pose a security risk to the mission?

Third, action plans. Our aim is disruption, prevention, and ultimately complete nullification of the ritual attempt and its principal actors. We can expect that regardless of the specifics of the ritual, they will plan to inflict mass casualties, and I hope I don't need to clarify that we don't want that. While disrupting the ritual once it is already in progress is a tried and true method of forcing the dissipation of gathered Entity power and thereby preventing a rebound attempt, incapacitating the Avatars before they can enact the ritual also works as long as they stay incapacitated.

Brainstorm, spitball, whatever you want to call it. Try to be constructive, but be smart and speak up if you spot a potentially fatal flaw in someone else's plan. No idea is too weird or stupid to bring to the table, but some may be too weird or stupid to stay there. Whether we concentrate our forces in one place or plan a multi-pronged attack, we will identify the best plans brought forward and implement them to make sure the ritual doesn't get off the ground.


Fourth and last, Sheriff Ron Porter is currently under evaluation for recruitment to ADI and can be considered a resource with no need to withhold darker truths about the supernatural. However, as we are still performing a background check, we ask that you not share specific information about ADI's home base and regular operations with him as of yet. Again, no other locals are to be informed of supernatural threats without going through the proper channels within ADI.

To those of you who have spoken to Cindy Parsons, the newscaster, we'll be talking later. They are not an appropriate resource and should be treated as an innocent civilian. We do not want to pull them into any further danger than they already have been. Do not speak to them or to Wolf News.

Comments

un: kruos

[whisperedone]

About these 'White Things' if they were part of the slaughter, would their damage not be more real? Did it feel like they spent their time tormenting you with a desire to hunt you down?

[bloodalwaystells]

I think hunting and stalking was a big part of the...appeal for them, yes. They took their time. But they were extremely savage when they finally attacked so it's at least worth mentioning the Slaughter as well.

I would be inclined to agree with the Hunt as an association. Austin seems to agree, he specifically mentioned the Hunt as a common theme in rustic folklore like this. The Hunters disappearing at dawn is a recurring trope as well, in my experience.

I haven't seen anything to indicate that an Avatar might be present. Though before the White Things appeared, I saw a lantern light in the woods and heard someone calling out.

[whisperedone]

Perhaps there was simply some of both. Fear does not have clear lines a lot of the time.

The lantern could be illusion or part of the 'story' like a light of hope and familiarity before the hunters strike and take it away. It is a sound tactic.
There also might not be an avatar at all, perhaps it is a lingering effect in this area from long before our arrival. The stories certainly seem old enough.

[bloodalwaystells]

Agreed. Proper identification goes a long way when it comes to developing a plan of attack, but after a certain point you just have to go with what you have, and not worry about the trivialities.

[And "The Hunt" with a possible shade of the Slaughter, well, that's more than close enough given what these things seem to be. Trying to break it down further is more than likely just to give them headaches, without more facts and information.]

The Hunt is a very old, very strong archetype, so I'd be inclined to agree. It's wise to keep an eye out for the possibility, but I don't have my heart set on there being one.

And there are stories of such things as will o' wisps and other phantom lights luring travelers into the swamps and woods to drown. It could also be a power of these creatures, it's a simple enough ruse.

I don't know if anything can be done about them, but I think it bears more investigation.

[whisperedone]

Perhaps when this is over, we can put some investigation into whether they are regional or global, that might answer some questions or point in a proper direction for further searching.

For now, I suspect you are right and there's little else to be done now with still other things demanding our attention.

[bloodalwaystells]

Something to be watched, and noted, but if worse comes to worse, I'm sure that returning later is an option. Especially if ADI is extending some of its resources to this town in the longer term.

And I'd be happy to do some research and compare notes later, when we have some time to focus our attention on less pressing matters.

Until then, one fire at a time.