Event - The Ballad of Thomazine Younger

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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!

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Comments

[edalyn]

Eda rolled her eyes when Raine picked up on the fact that their bard magic was on her mind.

“Nah, I’d only ask you to do that for me,” she pointed out, though it sounded like she's probably kidding. Probably.

As for the rest, Eda… sighed, but she let Raine take her hand and gave theirs a light squeeze.

They were right, of course, about all of the possibilities, and about how it’s not that likely to accomplish anything. But they weren’t quite right about where she was coming from. Which was her own fault for being flippant about it, but that approach was more fun.

“It’s not about the lore, Raine. Or it’s not about… believing all the lore,” she pointed out, and then hesitated a little before going on.

“I do want to know if she was a witch. But I know she probably wasn’t our kind of witch. And I know the stories ain’t worth much. She was a real person though. Even if she was just an old woman doing her best after everyone else left this place for the dogs.” Because sure, it’s possible Tammy really is the reason the townsfolk left, but Eda had her doubts.

“Whatever she was, I know how people used to treat ‘witches.’ I’d threaten to curse ‘em too. Even if she got mixed up in some powers…” Eda trailed off and finally just shrugged. It’s not that she thought that would be alright, but she did think she wouldn’t necessarily blame someone either.

“I know she might be an avatar. If it’s even her. But I’d rather start out looking for a person than a monster. The rest of the ADI’s got that covered.”

She was telling the truth about her reasons. But there was a tension in her posture, a slight edge to her tone despite her effort to keep it light. This might have been her real reasoning, but at the end of the day it wasn't really about Thomazine Younger.

[rainestorms]

Raine listened to Eda quietly, and their surprise grew the more she spoke. She spoke about the possibilities of Tammy just being a normal person in unfortunate circumstances and Raine understood Eda's angle. But, they were surprised at the edge to her tone, the way she tensed up as she spoke about how she'd rather be looking for a person than a monster, and it clicked for Raine.

It wasn't just about proving the ADI wrong or not going into the situation assuming the worst. Maybe those things were part of it, but they gathered it was more personal for Eda. Raine understood Eda knew what it was like to be misunderstood, seen as a monster when she was just a witch for her curse, and their stomach sunk a little. Concern overrode surprise on Raine's face.

"Hey," Raine really didn't want to stop for a second time, but they wanted to make sure Eda was listening to them. They stood in front of Eda, and held both of her hands in theirs as they spoke in a gentler tone.

"I didn't realise how strongly you felt about this. I should've guessed, but I was so busy worrying. I'm. Sorry. I just want to make sure we're being safe... there's a lot of people who'd miss us- would miss you- being gone."

Raine smiled at Eda through their worn concern, and rubbed the backs of her hands with their thumbs.

"But, if you think that Tammy is different, or misunderstood, I'm with you every step of the way until we find out otherwise. I don't believe everything the ADI says anyways. Plus, if you're right, you get to tell them they're wrong."

Raine averted their gaze down at their hands, and brought one up to their face, and pressed their cheek against her knuckle.

"Just stay close to me. Okay?"

[edalyn]

Eda was a little surprised when Raine stepped in front of her, though she supposed she wasn’t surprised how fast they caught on that she was feeling strongly about the whole thing.

After all, she’d never been the best at hiding her emotions even if she was prone to trying, and Raine had more experience in reading her than almost anyone. All the same, she dropped her gaze, feeling a little bad for making them worry or feel like they needed to apologise.

That, and it sounded like she’d made them worry a lot if they were jumping straight to the idea of them–of her being gone. Perhaps she shouldn’t have played up the dangers of Dogtown quite as much as she had, even if they were very real. Either way, something hit harder than she expected about the idea that really were people here besides Raine who would be upset. She swallowed and her ears folded back, though the latter was hidden by her glamour.

When they pressed their face against her hand she leaned down to give them a kiss on the forehead.

“I’ll stay close,” she assured them. “We’re not splitting up in here.” Even if that was more to do with the fact she wanted to be able to protect them.

“And… it’s no big thing, Rainstorm,” she added. Her tone was gentle, although it ended in a slightly awkward chuckle. The bigger picture of what she was upset about was, if she were being honest, but Raine getting a little annoyed with her over one silly idea wasn’t.

“I just think we don’t know yet. And I do want to be able to tell the ADI they’re wrong about something.” It might not have been her biggest motivation, but it would be really nice if she got to.

“Thanks. For… coming with me.” Probably also a bit for being sweet and understanding, but she didn’t say that part out loud.

[rainestorms]

It was hard not to worry about Eda on all accounts of how things had gone in their lives since they'd met again. It wasn't a matter of trust, or the lack there of. But rather, it was a return of something that ate at their fear of losing her again. If there was some place where this was a likely event Dogtown certainly hit prime real estate, and any chance the powers that be could pull on Raine's fear of losing Eda, they would.

"It's a big thing to me if it is to you," they insist. "And I think we will be able to prove them wrong on something. I just don't know what yet."

Raine almost moved on to whatever they needed to do next, but stopped in their tracks when Eda thanked them. Surprise wasn't easy to cover up on their face but they nonetheless gave Eda their best smile.

"You don't need to thank me, Eda. I came with you because I..."

They hesitated to tell Eda that they loved her and that's why they came with her, because it wasn't the only reason and they didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Plus, it was an awfully strong word to say in a place that could definitely kill them.

"Because I care about you a lot, and I don't want you getting into too much trouble without me."

[edalyn]

Eda did her best to grin confidently when they talked about proving the ADI wrong on something. She really did want to, sooner or later. Hopefully pretty much everything, but she supposed she'd settle for just about anything.

Whatever else she was originally going to say, though, she instead glanced away uncertainly at that pause. She wasn't upset they didn't say they loved her, this probably wasn't time or place, but... it reminded her they hadn't. And she hadn't. Not quite, not in so many words.

She wanted to, but she wasn't sure how fast she should do that. For the moment, she just squeezed their hand.

"Yeah, I... care about you a lot, too. And there's no one I'd rather get in trouble with." Eda shot them her best attempt at a mischievous look and knocked her shoulder against theirs as she started to walk again.

[rainestorms]

Raine's smile faltered when they caught Eda's uncertain glance. They still returned it, and kept their balance steady as they took what with a non-harpy Eda would be a normal shoulder bump.

They kept quiet for the time being, face turned away with their eyes on the treeline.

"This reminds me of when we were kids, and how fascinated you were with the Human Realm. We even promised we'd go together one day, if you remember that. I know you already did when.. you were hiding from the Emperor."

Raine grimaced for a moment. There wasn't a good way to talk about the time they'd spent away from each other after the breakup.

Besides, Raine didn't want to dwell on it. They had a point to make, and they attempted to return the shoulder bump.

"I'm.. glad we finally get to explore it together. Despite the circumstances. I wish they were better, but.. we're working with what we've got."

[edalyn]

Eda knew Raine wasn't trying to make her feel bad, not on purpose. It was obvious when they accidentally made themself sad, too. But it stung, all the same.

She couldn't keep her mind from beginning to wander, to picture what it would have been like if she'd simply shown Raine the portal door when she'd found it. If she'd taken them to the Human Realm, when they were kids—because, of course, it wasn't just when she was hiding from the Emperor.

It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about it. She'd thought about it so many times. She'd thought about it that first night alone in the Human Realm, panicking and lost and hiding from her mother. Out of anyone, she'd wanted her best friend there. But... she hadn't called them. She hadn't shown them. Every time she got close she stopped herself.

What if, what if, what if—

—and then Raine drew her attention back with the gentle shoulder bump, and she gave them the best smile she could manage.

"I remember," she said softly. "I'm... glad too. No one I'd rather explore this place with, either." She was quiet for a moment, just walking with them, before she went on.

"We're actually only one state over from where I used to hide out. Where... Luz is from."

[rainestorms]

Embarrassment made Raine's face flush. Eda had fallen quiet and the silence seemed to last forever, and Raine stewed in the discomfort. They wanted to try and talk to Eda about when they were younger. Of happy memories before everything fell apart. But even if it wasn't something they tried to force, but it didn't always feel natural.

But for Raine, it was hard to focus on it without feeling uncomfortable. Maybe they were overthinking things. Maybe it wasn't actually as difficult to talk about to Eda as they hyped it up to be. But the more they thought about it, the further they spiralled into how maybe their overthinking was compensating for not thinking about it. Maybe the scenarios in their mind of how every conversation could go wrong was just them being anxious.

Raine decided to instead, focus on something else.

Raine focused on walking. They focused on the trees. And they really began to focus on the way that they weren't sure if they saw something move off in the treeline.

Eda pulled them back to attention as she began to speak. Everything began to dissipate back into the corners of their mind.

"Oh?" They peered up at Eda from underneath their glasses, curiosity winning over their embarrassment. "What's it like there? Is it anything like here? Or the Boiling Isles?"

Raine fell silent, but only for a moment before they added:

"She seems like a very smart kid."

[edalyn]

Eda wished she was sure whether her slight change in subject was the right move, or not. A part of her really was tempted to reminisce over the plans they'd made together back then, but she wasn't sure how much either of them would actually be able to separate that from the fact she hadn't followed through on said plans.

But she wanted to tell them more about her life, the parts they'd missed, and maybe this was somewhere to start.

Their curiosity seemed like a good sign, and the comment they added got a faint, nostalgic smile.

"Yeah... yeah, she is," Eda agreed. The topic of the kids was still strange, too. She wanted to tell them everything, but they'd learned she had them in... circumstances that still weren't the best memory.

For now, she decided to circle back to their question.

"But actually, yeah. Now that you mention it," she began, playful sarcasm clear in here tone, "if you go a couple hundred miles that way—" and here she nodded in what probably wasn't actually the right direction, "it's way more like the Isles. Massachusetts is just weird."

Teasing them was usually good for lightening the mood, so maybe this would be one of those times.

[rainestorms]

Raine didn't lean into talking about Luz when Eda moved on rather quickly from her. They were a little disappointed, though. It wasn't often even now that they could talk to Eda about her kids, and Raine still knew so little about them it seemed. In part Raine understood- it wasn't like they'd found out about them in the best way, either.

Still, Raine wasn't in the business of prying. They went along with Eda's change in subject, and rolled their eyes at her in a playful manner.

"You know what I meant," They place one hand on their hip, head tilted to the side. "Nothing here is going to be exactly like the Boiling Isles. But, sometimes I see human realm plants or other things that remind me of home. I think it's fascinating how similar some of our things are, but..."

Raine's expression softened a little.

"I didn't realise how much I'd miss red trees and grass. It seems so inconsequential when you see it every day."

[edalyn]

"Yeah, I know," Eda admitted, but she took that eye-roll as a sign of success and shot them an equally playful grin back.

Her expression, however, became more sombre again when they went on. She'd been trying not to focus on how much she missed home, any aspect of home, but she nodded.

"I miss that stuff too," she said a bit more softly. "But you're right," she went on. "I think we've got some of the same flowers here. And we've definitely got some of the same animals... makes me wonder how many things have leaked in both directions."

She trailed off, reaching for their hand again absently as she thought about something else that has bothered her since getting here.

"It's hard to believe if this place isn't connected to the Demon Realm—or you know, a Demon Realm at least. They've got the same myths. And they've even got giraffes."

[rainestorms]

"We definitely do," Raine agreed, and they "I was very happy to see that the human world also had foxes, and cats, and owls.. reminds me of home. They even have snapdragons.."

Raine awkwardly paused for a moment, moreso because they wanted to gauge Eda's reaction at the mention of snapdragons. They'd always kept them around, a little reminder of their best friend.

"Honestly, sometimes I think more has leaked into their world from ours, than I even realised. I mean, they have entire very poorly written books that seem to be like the Boiling Isles but less exciting. And, Titan, don't even get me started on giraffes..."

They playfully tossed their hand up in the air.

"They have entire viewing complexes for giraffes! Why would you ever want to go near them?"

Raine's attention was caught by the sound of something snapping a twig somewhere in the distance. They jumped, quite tense, and inched a little closer to Eda, their eyes on the treeline once more. After a beat, they speak up again, though their tone is much quieter than before.

"There aren't giraffes in Dogtown, right?"

They're half-joking, but.. the probability of seeing a giraffe in the human world was never zero.

[edalyn]

The mention of snapdragons did get a reaction. Eda glanced at them with a genuine if slightly awkward smile and ran her thumb over the back of their hand. While her memories of that part of their lives were mixed, they were still fond.

Their thoughts on the human realm, on the other hand, got a shrug.

"You'd think. But... I dunno if that's true here." It didn't make any sense for this version of the Human Realm to come up with all that on their own, or have native giraffes, but plenty of things about this place didn't make sense.

She was about to go on, when she was startled both by the sound and Raine's reaction to it. She squeezed their hand, but let out a little snort at the question about giraffes.

"I've never seen anything quite that bad in here," she said. Her tone was also somewhat joking, but she was eyeing the trees intently. "Although... whatever's hiding in the blood river looks big enough to eat one."

Said blood river, on the other hand, looked like something that would be at home on the Isles. So it wasn't all bad in here.