Event - The Ballad of Thomazine Younger

[apocalypsehowmods]

↬ Main Navigation

The Ballad of Thomazine Younger

➥ Ghosts of Yesteryear

(cw: references to blackmail, plague, fire, being buried alive, altered mental states, spying, and cannibalism; implied eye injury)

The local legend of Thomazine "Tammy" Younger, Witch Queen of Dogtown, has been regaining traction in local gossip of late. The stories all revolve around the same nuggets of probable historic fact: there definitely was a Thomazine Younger who lived in Dogtown at the time it was abandoned by most of its population in the 1800s, and she definitely had a reputation for witchcraft she used to extract tolls from any merchant or freighter passing by Fox Hill. Beyond that, the stories are varied and contradictory–some say she was the ringleader of a coven who would turn themselves into rats to thieve from neighboring Gloucester and spread pestilence; others that she could turn solid earth into mud to swallow up the wagons of those who refused to pay her off. Depending on whom you believe, Tammy engaged in such varied hobbies as sending unholy fire to burn entire fields of crops, spying on her neighbors with her magic eye, twisting the minds of brothers and sisters so they no longer knew one another, or luring travelers without goods for her to steal into her home to slaughter and eat them. Some even say she was the cause of Dogtown's mass exodus, blighting the land so that none but witches could survive there.

The resurgence of her urban rural legend coincides with something a bit more troubling: sightings of an old woman in a ragged dress on the outskirts of Dogtown. She's been seen just inside the fence line on the northern edge of the park, prowling around the general area of Fox Hill, staring and making arcane gestures at anyone who sees her before disappearing into the undergrowth. Eyewitness accounts from locals and ADI employees patrolling the area differ in terms of the specifics: in some accounts the specter of the Witch Queen is a tall, emaciated creature practically in rags; in others she's a stout, moon-faced matron with tears of blood dripping from her eyes, or a bent old crone with fingers too long and too many. Always, though, she disappears before anyone can come near enough to see her up close or confront her.

How she disappears, though, is less consistent. Sometimes her exit is precisely what one would expect of a ghost, when she disappears in the blink of an eye or her form twists before your eyes until you aren't certain whether she was there at all or if you mistook the gnarled trees for a vision of something more sinister. Other times, her exit is more…human. That is, she might simply turn and walk away deeper into the undergrowth until she's lost from sight, or slip behind a tree. One confused ADI patroller even claims he saw the ghost of Tammy Younger trip over a root before scrambling back to her feet and limping away at speed.

There's something pervasive and potentially dangerous going on here…but something about it doesn't quite line up.

➥ Outfoxed at Foxhill

(cw: alcohol, dolls, potential for injury)

ADI is keen to end things quickly with potential ghosts running amok, particularly one with a known history in Dogtown. There's a serious concern that regular residents of Gloucester are going to start taking matters into their own hands and trying to start exploring the park when they ought not to be.

The decision is made quickly to send ADI personnel into the park more actively to search out Fox Hill, one of the purported locations of Tammy Younger's hauntings. Volunteers will find themselves paired up and sent off. Curiously, the locations that were previously mapped by others aren't appearing properly. Like Dogtown is warping and twisting around at will for the moment. It's unclear why this is, but it seems… safer than it should? The obstacles and strangeness seem to have faded away for the time being, replaced by a quiet and picturesque woodland. It doesn't take long to find Fox Hill. It takes far less time than it reasonably should, in fact, but getting to the top of the hill is… a challenge.

There are hidden dangers on Fox Hill. Pit traps that seem to go down very deep, indeed, nets that spring up when you step in the wrong spot and leave their quarry trapped in some tree or other. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones that somehow triggers an avalanche of small boulders and… are those marbles? Every conceivable way that one could lay a trap to prevent someone from mounting the hill has been employed. Clearly, someone or something doesn't want you getting up.

Along the way, volunteers will spy evidence of the ghost. There are discarded liquor bottles everywhere–the legend does say she'll take her payments in drink or blood–phosphorescent trails, and small, sinister-looking stick dolls. Those trying to analyze these things will find that the liquor bottles are from the present day, the phosphorescent trails are a sort of paint, and the stick dolls… well, those look like what you would see in a horror movie that involves witches.

➥ Those Meddling Kids

(cw: stalking, potential child endangerment)

The nights in Gloucester seem to be returning to a state of restlessness as rumors of ghosts quickly turn to rumors of ghost sightings. Pale and spectral figures lurk at the edges of people’s sight, follow victims, and seem to come out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly without a word. Between the recent evidence and a known slew of sightings a couple months ago, ADI is keen to put more than a few people on this to get out ahead of it. People are encouraged to search in groups no smaller than two, but won’t stop anyone who decides they hunt alone. After all, it’s a well-known fact ghosts rarely like to be seen by more than one set of eyes. Especially these ones.

People out investigating may find their paths fairly quiet most nights. However, separate from your partner for a bit, fall behind, or go it alone, and you might just notice a pale figure vanishing around a corner or standing eerily at the end of an alley. Sometimes things you follow even seem to vanish into walls or thin air. They very rarely say anything, but they can be heard. Boxes and small items knocked over, trash cans rattled, fire escapes landing just ahead of you to get in your path, it seems the ghosts are mostly interested in being seen, not interacted with. Too bad they got you on the case.

Those dedicated, skilled, or perhaps powerful enough to exert a little fear of the law or simply fear of things that actually go bump in the night may swiftly discover a few key things: Ghosts caught up to quickly enough can be seen slipping behind doors, scaling buildings, or using creative escape routes to get away. Clumsy ghosts seem prone to bumping into things as sure as the next person…and those fast enough to catch up to some gangly, terrified, legs are quick to learn the legs, torso, and the whole rest of the ‘ghost’ is very real. Very real, rather young, and often quite terrified of the adult now catching them. Hopefully no one used actual powers on these miscreant teens.

➥ And You Must Ask Yourself

(cw: spiders, allusion to swarms, sleepwalking, compulsion)

'How did I get here?'

It might be one of the first thoughts to occur to you as you wake with a sudden start. But lucky you, you have a friend! Or… an enemy? You have another (apparently) human being nearby who's probably looking just as confused as you are. The spider web tattoo you earned after your ride with Gus the Bus tingles uncomfortably, like many delicate little feet are swarming across it before dissipating.

It may take a few moments, or possibly more, for you to realize you're somewhere you may not wish to be. These trees, the thick and eerie forest around you… this is Dogtown. Somehow, you've walked yourself into a veritable minefield of danger, avoiding everything that might kill you (or worse). Until now. You're conscious, stuck with someone you may or may not know well, wearing… well, if you're lucky, you're wearing your regular clothes and didn't walk in here in your pajamas.

Good luck finding your way out.

➥ Mod Notes

• GENERAL - Players are welcome to play background NPCs for themselves when they are needed in a thread. If you need more information on general behavior for these types of NPCs, please feel free to ask! In general, the information provided in the prompts should be sufficient and ordinary people will act like… ordinary people! You're welcome to make up any details for your specific scene. Also, please remember that character deaths are permanent and plan accordingly! For this event, in particular, the Meddling Kids™ are very dedicated to their efforts to remind the world about Thomazine Younger and bring her story to the world, so they're not going to break their ghoulish character until something truly frightening happens to them… or characters try to hurt them. Or… succeed in hurting them. Please don't murder too many young people now.
  
  
• GHOSTS OF YESTERYEAR (16-20 April) - While the ghost of Tammy Younger's appearance may vary, she usually appears as one of the three specters described in the prompt. Notably, when her ghost does not align with one of those three descriptions or when her proportions are twisted beyond what's humanly possible is when she's most likely to disappear in an obviously supernatural fashion rather than walk away like a real, solid person. Regardless, even at her most corporeal Tammy seems to be quite good at evading capture, as though very familiar with the current layout of Dogtown.
  
  
• OUTFOXED AT FOX HILL (19-20 April) - The path into Dogtown seems to have been chosen for the characters to lead them to Fox Hill. It's the only path that appears to exist during this period. Trying to leave Fox Hill will take you swiftly out of the park. It doesn't matter where you start from, what direction you're going. You end up coming to the fence or leaving the park. This effect will only be in place until the THOSE MEDDLING KIDS prompt concludes. The traps on Fox Hill are all designed to be nonlethal, but they can certainly hurt you, and players are welcome to come up with whatever traps they might like their characters to encounter. There's nothing particularly supernatural in any of the things found up there, and atop Fox Hill is only a stash of spray paint and half-drunk bottles of liquor.
  
  
• THOSE MEDDLING KIDS (20-24 April) - The pale figures reported are quickly found to be teenagers in bodysuits or paint (at least they didn’t use sheets) and very much still alive while the ghosts seen going through walls can be quickly explained through pretty decent mobile projectors. A couple of the teens will be caught wearing costumes that match the appearances of "Tammy" in Dogtown. Teens will flee and resist capture from most normal means, but won’t fight too much if caught other than to get away. They really do seem to be kids that went a little too far with a prank. Those who might end up on the wrong side of a stray power or two will be downright terrified of their pursuer and likely to either turn to another adult in the group for safety or shut down entirely. Maybe you should be more careful next time. Either way, the local authorities will take it from here.
  
  
• AND YOU MUST ASK YOURSELF (16 April - Ongoing) - Characters will only be affected by the compulsion to walk into Dogtown if they rode in and were marked by Gus the Bus. Gus continues to be available and around in Gloucester should you wish to have your character captured and marked by him. Details about Gus are included in the March 2023 TDM. Gus has also been added as a feature to the Dogtown Searches page and description in the Locations page.
  
  Players can have their characters turn up in any explored square in Dogtown or one of the unexplored squares adjacent to them. Please just submit a search request for the unexplored square that you'd like your character (and a friend) to discover!

↬ Main Navigation

Comments

[defendwhatremains]

She says stop moving and he tries to...but then she starts moving and it causes enough jerks and starts in the netting he feels a little ill by the time she stops too. But a plan of action is a welcome thing.

"Well, frankly I don't think I trust my arms enough to hold a branch if I were to catch it. I'm willing to give it a try, of course, but..." he twists himself over and winces a bit for the pressure of rope on his ankle, but the handful of netting he grabs makes it worthwhile. "Let's start with the sharp option, shall we? Better than the lighter I have in my coat."

The last thing they needed was to burn themselves for this. It takes more than a little effort and some of his hair falls from its carefully pomade-made hold, but he's persistent and stubborn and that's enough to see him pulling himself up towards her back.

"Here we are...pardon my reach." He's never been more grateful for his more slender wrists as he reaches through the netting to draw her dirk. After a moment's consideration, he tucks the blade into a loop on his pistol's holster and continues his course to get closer up to his tangled foot.

"What...god, I need to get in shape...what should we do to get you out? I don't relish the idea of dumping you onto the ground from this height."

[graveyounglady]

She's glad he can't see her face as she bites her lip and tries not to show just how uncomfortable all of this is with his movements forcing her legs harder apart. Mercy's concerned she might actually pull something with the way this is going. But she shoves those fears along with the pain down and offers her most bracing tone.

"Don't you worry about me, sir. I'm gonna hold on tight to the netting. It's you I'm worried about. If you can, you'll want to keep hold of the ropes while you cut yourself out. Even if you can't stop yourself falling, it ought to get you dropping feet-down instead of onto your head or back." She can deal with broken ankles. Broken spines and fractured skulls are... more difficult.

"You throw my dirk aside just as soon as you feel yourself free. It's less expensive spending time looking for it than it is pulling it out of you if you fall on it."

[defendwhatremains]

"Well, that's a...cheery thought." He mutters to the ropes as he works. It was taking some work, but thy were cutting away with effort. His brow is beaded with sweat by the time he feels some of the tension give.

It's a good warning to shift his grip before finishing the last snag that loosened the rope enough to wiggle free and afford him a slightly more controlled fall. Slightly only because he still gives a small yelp of surprise before dropping. Hitting the ground jostles him enough that he drops the dirk even without thinking about it, then falls to his knees for the momentum.

"God, how does he do all that jumping and flipping anyway?" Only the dirt below them hears his momentary contemplation over Mimley Bastrop before Johnny's attention is back on his companion and he gets stiffly to his feet.

"Well...I suppose I can try climbing the tree. I used to be good that, as a younger boy." He'd get yelled at about getting his skirts dirty, but he was better at it than the other boys and that had been a point of pride. He shakes his head a little and looks around for the dirk. "It's either that or try to shoot the rope near the branch."

[graveyounglady]

Had the fall been undignified? She can only see so much with her position and the ropes, but as she readjusts without the weight of the man hanging on the net, she sees him lying face down and grimaces in sympathy. Thank the gods this hadn't ended as poorly for him as it had for Warwick when they'd been babes.

"How... how good a shot are you with a swaying rope in the dead of night, Mr. Johnny? I ain't saying you can't do it. Only it'd take a fiercer warrior than I'd ever be to manage that kinda thing."

[defendwhatremains]

He...hesitates for her...completely valid question. "I...well, yes, you have a point there. It certainly wasn't my first suggestion." Never let it be said Johnny Summer was an ace shot, because whoever did would be a liar.

"Climbing it is, then. Ah, here we are." He finds the dirk by the blade-end, retrieves it carefully, and finds it a home back in the loop of the holster as Johnny considers the tree a moment. "This shouldn't be too hard."

There's a moment where he tries a foothold and then switches to a different one that sees him climbing up the slightly spindly thing that held her. Once he was on the branch above her, it creaks ominously, but holds even as he scoots out closer. "I admit...I don't think I've done that in over a decade, but good to know the skills remain." He braces a hand on the knot at the top of her netted cage and starts the slow process of attempting to slice away parts of the rope holding it to the tree.

"Hanging in there, are we?" Was that on purposes? The branch does a wonderful job of hiding his face from this angle regardless.

[graveyounglady]

Mercy snorts. "Oh, aye. Feeling a little strung out, mind. Actually... Hold on a moment." She's holding tight to the netting, but carefully moves one down a bit to be sure before adding. "Can you see anything from where you are? I wasn't putting much thought to it, but we're up higher. Maybe we can see if our ghosts is up Fox Hill tonight."

Or at least any good spots that look like they could be particularly haunted.

[defendwhatremains]

He pauses when she asks and jolts his head up to look over in the direction of the top of the hill. And nearly falls out of the tree with a startled gasp and his hand lashes out to smack at the thing that had been hanging near his face. The stick figure thing dangles and shakes and sways and Johnny huffs as he swiftly grabs for it and cuts it from its place.

"My apologies, this thing was up here too." He passes the stick art down to her through the spaces in the net and then looks again, this time unimpeded. "I don't think I see a ghost? Or...much of anything...but there's a bit of a glow further up the path there? On second thought, I believe it's pink."

[graveyounglady]

She freezes as he starts jostling around, trying to prepare herself to make an attempt to catch him through the net if he takes a tumble. Thank the gods that doesn't come to pass. Mercy holds her breath until he's fully settled, though. The thing passed down to her gets a confused frown. "These look like the sorts of things we'd make as kids to play with. Acted as the villains without no gods."

But she cocks her head at the rest and tries to squint through the netting. "Ain't a campfire... and it's too early for the dawn's light to be creeping over the hill. Is ghosts pink?"

[defendwhatremains]

Well, that sounds awfully ghoulish of a toy, but he keeps the thought to himself. Needs must sometimes and an imagination was a powerful thing. Which...tickles something in his mind, but not enough to warrant voicing.

"I haven't the faintest idea, they're meant to be fake. Ghosts, that is. The sort of story you tell to put a good shiver in your audience and make them think twice about leaving for home just yet." Not before another round for courage.

"Here. Let's focus on this for now." This being the rope he sets back to work on, thinning it and thinning it until he feels confident he's frayed it enough to make it creak. "You might consider carrying something more serrated next time. Brace yourself, Miss Mercy."

[graveyounglady]

There's just a little bit of dry humor in her tone as she responds. "Oh, aye. Missed out grabbing a bread knife this morning. Terrible sorry." But she holds and mentally braces herself for the drop. She'd learned how to fall ages ago, but she hasn't usually been tangled up in a net.

"Ready as I'll ever be." With the last cut, Mercy feels her heart swoop up into her throat. It's not a long drop, but it feels farther than it really is. Her feet hit, and she tries to pitch herself forward as she lets her knees buckle so that she can tuck and roll. It half-works, but the netting does get in the way enough that she knows she's going to have some interesting bruise patterns come the morning.

She sighs when she comes to a stop, then scrabbles at the netting as a horrible thought occurs to her. That tree branch hadn't been very thick, and her weight had been pulling it down substantially. Has her rescuer just been flung like a catapult?

"Mr. Johnny? Johnny! You okay?!"

[defendwhatremains]

He was never the best at physics and other such crossroads of science and math, that was better left to the geniuses in his life. He was built for accounting and budgeting and the crossroads of science and art that made up drinks and good company. Unfortunately, a tree branch is not good company and the one he's on also creaks a little ominously as the weight on it shifts. It's about the only warning he gets before the whole thing lurches and jostles and even as strong as his thighs are, it's not enough to keep him seated.

"Fuc-" Johnny's fingernails dig into the bark and it tears at his palms a little to hold on like that, but better than simply falling from this high up. Instead, he tumbles back and feels something jam sharp into his shoulder as his arms and legs fly out to tangle and catch on whatever branches they can. Maybe not the best plan if the wrong angle could break any of them, but panic rarely shook hands with reason.

"I'm...fuck...I'm up here still. Mostly." A mess of limbs and bruises and scrapes and he's glad he listened about not wearing his normal style of clothes, because he's fairly sure it would have torn worse than what he heard from his jacket a moment ago.

He grunts as he grabs what he can to begin righting himself. "Are you alright? Anything broken?"

[graveyounglady]

"I'm fine!" She's bruised, but nothing is seriously injured. "You stay where you are. I'll come and get you!" Mercy fights with the netting until she can get the top open and shove her way out. The thought of rushing over to the tree is dramatic and appealing, but also... she's not sure what other traps there might be. She's careful, instead, and finds herself rewarded with the avoidance of a snare trap that probably would have bloodied her ankle something awful.

"Mr. Johnny?" She calls, peering up into the dark branches and using her phone as a light. "Aw... we're in a state, ain't we? Let me get up there and set on a branch to make sure you got someone stable holding you while you right yourself." So saying, she'll mount the tree and climb up toward him.

[defendwhatremains]

"No, really, I'm quite- alright, then...." Since she's already on her way. He's at least gotten himself in a position that her help makes his righting himself more elegant than it would have been on his own. Once he's set more right, he shakes his head and starts back down the tree to offer her a hand should she need it to join him on sweet land once more.

"Well, as bracing as that...diversion was, perhaps we best try not to repeat it anytime soon; I'm certain my pride couldn't weather it." For his nerves, at least, he can reach for a his gold cigarette case and lighter. "Right...shall we go see what that was that was glowing? With do caution, of course."

[graveyounglady]

Mercy's climb back down is slow, and she takes his hand when it's offered more to be polite than because she really needs it. The poor man's been through enough tonight without her snubbing him. They're both looking incredibly disheveled, and Mercy feels it, but the least they can do is get a good look at something here before calling it a night and retreating. It wouldn't do to come back with nothing. There are other people who might be able to put all the clues together to help figure this out and stop the ghost... ghosts? Stop whatever this might be.

"Aye. You just- you stay right behind me, sir. I'm gonna do a sweep for traps with my phone. Snares and trip wires and everything else." While Johnny isn't incompetent, she trusts herself a little more here, especially with him pulling out his fancy case of smokes.

Once she's sure Johnny isn't going to go haring off in front of her, Mercy moves slowly up the hill, methodically checking for any glints and testing the ground in front of her with a stick. It's painstaking going, but she avoids another three traps on the way up for it. The mousetraps set out certainly could have broken toes if anyone had stepped wrongly.

They near the glowing, and Mercy frowns as she pitches her voice low. "Looks like it's some sort of trail in the grass. That shines brighter in the dark than anything I've ever seen that wasn't a torch."

[defendwhatremains]

"Ah, the phone...right." He says it with a hint of annoyance, but more for himself than her, he really needed to remember it wasn't just a phone these days. He lights the cigarettes and pockets the rest as he follows behind her...cautiously and a couple more steps between them than had been before when they'd gotten trapped together.

The way seems reasonably clear as they make their way around the next corpse of trees...to the smear of bright pink in their path. It looked...splattered?

"Is that...it's too thick to be water, though what water glows pink, I couldn't say. Paint perhaps?" Surely not blood.