apocalypsehowcomm | Into the Wyldwoods

Entry tags:

Into the Wyldwoods

Who: Milo

rainestorms, Steve Rogers

punched_hitler
When: August 15th
Where: The Wyldwoods
Summary: Raine and Steve have taken it upon themselves to uncover more information about the lower levels of ADI and the illusion that disguises the non-humans at ADI. They encounter Milo, a Perfectly Ordinary Person, who has some information to share.
Warnings: Gaslighting, manipulation, illusions, uncanny valley, potential for loss of name, sense of self, and memory or memory modification

It's not easy getting to the very lowest level of ADI Headquarters. Asking around will indicate that it's where ADI once kept an avatar of the Dark named Katie Dunn. No other prisoners are being kept on that level, but access is severely restricted. By ill-got means or some very serious persuasion, though, two people have managed to gain access to it.

There was also a cryptic bit of guidance found or obtained to 'bring milk and honey,' which may or may not have been listened to.

The elevator door opens to a small, metal room with two sturdy doors leading off from it. The one to the left is labeled Containment. The one to the right is labeled Wyldwoods. Both require keycodes to access, but the infiltrators have acquired those by their various means. Containment is a small cell block with only three cells. There's nothing and no one in here. It seems ADI was telling the truth about Katie Dunn being their only prisoner.

Wyldwoods is a different story, the door opens and the one entering will find themselves immediately hit with the scent of loam and pine. It is pleasantly warm with a blue, partly cloudy sky, and there's the sound of birdsong and wind rustling leaves. It looks to be a full pine forest in the middle of a lovely summer's day. Moving into the room, they'll find themselves stepping out of a door that's appeared in the trunk of a tree. Said door closes and vanishes immediately behind them.

Beyond the trees is a meadow filled with flowers. Sitting in the field is a young and beautiful-looking person. They seem to be lounging and plucking flowers for a chain that they're weaving together. There's a slight frown on their face, though. Approaching, it might become apparent that some of the meadow beyond them isn't meadow at all. It's just metal, much like the walls out in the entry room. The patches flicker and flowers and grass grow back, but more patches appear in other spots, instead.

Raine Whispers (first to arrive and leave)
The person turns to look toward Raine when they approach, whether directly or with stealth. "Ah, hello? You're someone new."

Steve Rogers (second to arrive and leave)
"Two new visitors in one day!" It doesn't matter if Steve is approaching with stealth or not, the person seems to know where he is and looks over at him or whatever hiding spot he's chosen. "I feel very lucky, indeed. Hello? May I have your name?"

(Warning for Both Players: Providing a full name to this character at any point in the conversation will result in negative consequences for Raine and/or Steve.

Additional Information for Raine: In their general exploration and investigation, Raine would have turned up the following information.

1. ADI has not found a way to send people home. Arrivals and disappearances continue to be at random from all paperwork and other documentation that is available. There seems to have been a slow down in recent months, which is concerning to ADI in a different way. Possibly it signals that whatever is doing this has collected what it wants?

2. Artifacts contained by ADI are anything seen in the Dogged event that has not been destroyed or hampered by PCs.

3. Oculus seems to have been a cult that was active several decades ago, particularly in the 1990s. They attempted a ritual in Oracle, AZ that involved the Biosphere 2 experiment. ADI wasn't actually all that involved in disrupting that initiative. They had looked at it and deemed it doomed to failure. And it was. After the failure of that ritual, members of Oculus splintered and there was a lot of in-fighting that ADI watched from afar. Current records indicate that the larger cult is dead with some minor pockets here and there. The largest pocket was dealt with in Gloucester recently. The only other notable grouping of Oculus seems to be out in Arizona where they're trying to get funding for Biosphere 3.

Dogtown has grown increasingly strange since the arrival of the first offworld NPCs. It was always a threat, but it seemed to have Hunt and Dark as the primary Entities lurking within it. 'Primordial' ones, ADI's information calls these. The Wolfe House at the center of Dogtown is a documented site for significant hauntings, but ADI has always dealt with those in the past without too much incident.

Hammond Castle is the only other location of interest. Notes indicate that ADI has a Special Relationship with the castle given the Hammonds' interest in the occult. In the past, ADI has used the castle as a front for acquiring cursed artifacts.)

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"Thank you. And it's nice to meet you, Milo," Raine fidgeted with their bag, admittedly not sure how to posture themself across from their strange new...

Raine wouldn't necessarily call Milo a friend. They'd just met, after all. Raine wanted to be friendly to them but... the ADI had worn their trust in others thin as of late.

"Well, I have questions, and not a lot of time, which I'm sure was obvious but... I'd like to know about you. And why the ADI put you down here."

They paused, and looked around, before they added:

"Did you make this forest? It's very pretty."

Their brow raises and they watch Raine work through the things they wish to know…and the single question they ask.

Milo grins, pleased with themselves. “As it happens, I did! I have plenty of time on my hands and little else for company but imagination, so I make myself…comfortable. I suppose we all do, don’t we? When we’re far from the familiar, we seek out what remains so.”

Edited 2023-08-15 02:20 (UTC)

"Is this part of why the ADI put you here, then? Because you can create things?"

They paused, before they added:

"What all can you create? Besides forests."

“Partially. And anything.”

There’s a moment, a wash of energy that makes it feel like Raine’s skin might simply unravel off their form, then the meadow…fractures. Splintering breaks shake through the grass and sky like shattering glass and what reveals under the falling flakes is a stage. The roar of an applauding crowd in the darkness of the lit wooden platform greets them and Milo stands. Or rather, unfolds.

“We can be anywhere. It’s such a thin shred of paper in one’s mind to hold back the doubt and uncertainty. This wood is as real as the grass a moment ago and the metal a moment before that. So tell me why I’m here…and then ask me why you are.”

Perhaps it was a bad idea that they sat down after all. Raine closed their eyes until the sensation mostly goes away. Unfortunately, their new environment isn't much better.

They stood up as quickly as their body would let them when they open their eyes to a stage. Panic gripped their chest, and they tried to calm themself down, and make sense of what had just happened. Milo said it was real, but things changed. Things shifted. The metal walls in the edges of the room were still metal, they told themself. Reality doesn't just change and shift unless somebody or something was manipulating it to seem different.

"You make the glamours, don't you?" they exclaimed, perhaps a bit louder than intended. They don't look out at the audience, and try to focus on Milo.

"But- why am I here? Because now.. Now I feel like it wasn't me who found you. Or maybe I've misunderstood."

There's a moment when Milo's eyes close and their smile curls unnaturally in pleasant surprise when Raine becomes aware of their new environment. They stretch as though basking under the midday sun, then turn to face their friend and lean in close.

"Correct." They offer in a sing-songy voice. "You went looking because you want answers. But knowledge without intent is just the game of Eyes and Webs. I found you because you're interesting and you follow the Rules...but you are here...because you chose to be. For now. So, Songbird, what do you want of me? No one comes down here for pleasant conversation."

Raine doesn't move away, but they aren't exactly happy to be this close quarters with Milo. They wouldn't particularly be happy regardless of who it was, though, besides Eda and Hunter.

"I did want answers, but I wasn't expecting to find you, Milo. I wasn't expecting to find half of what I did. Everything's..." They trailed off, and shook their head. They weren't there to talk about the things outside the realm of Milo.

"The ADI said there was only one prisoner down here. But- you're down here. Are you here willingly? Are the glamours all that you do?"

There's another pause. The stage lights seemed to be hotter? Or maybe it was just the fact that they were being watched by some faceless audience. Maybe it was how unsettling Milo's smile was. But still, they had questions to ask, so they inhaled, exhaled, and then added two more:

"How long have you been down here..? And where are you from?"

They laugh and the faceless audience laughs with them.

"Now we're getting somewhere." They stand straight and fold their long hands behind their back. "I am down here by agreement...and the glamours are what I do...anything else is for me alone."

As they answer questions, the audience goes quiet and the lights around the stage go dim until only one remains over them. "I've been down here since ADI was barely out of its infancy...and I'm from a place the world has long forgot was ever real."

Raine winced at the laughter. They tried not to pay any attention to it but it was hard. They weren't sure if it was being used to make them feel viscerally uncomfortable, but they tried to focus on Milo.

"The glamours are illusions. You say all of this is real, but how is this any different from them?"

The lights dimming didn't quite help with their unease, but the crowd quieting down allowed them to focus better. They took a breath, and straightened their shoulders.

"And where is that? The place that you're from." They paused, and took another moment to breathe before they added:

"Do you miss it? I don't know if the ADI took you by force, but I certainly miss my home. I wasn't given a choice to be here. None of the off-worlders were."

“I know.” It’s an immovable statement. Something ringing of familiarity and perhaps some melancholy…but they’re quick to shake it free.

“I fell here, in a place where there is none like me but me. So if I tell you it’s real, it’s because it is. If you think it is real, then I know it is.”

They turn and stride toward a new spotlight, one with a bench that was and wasn’t there before, where Milo perches and watches their Songbird friend. “Is that what you want, then? A way to go home?”

Raine narrowed their eyes.

"Illusions aren't real, though. So if I don't believe this is real, then...?"

They trailed off, and glanced around, half expecting a bench to appear behind them. But in the absence of one, the question of going home made them have to think for just a moment.

"I would love to go home. But, I have responsibilities here that I can't leave behind. And besides, I'm confident so far that the ADI can't send me home. Nobody can, so I'm here for the foreseeable future."

Raine wanted to turn back to the questions that Milo hadn't quite answered.

"You said you fell here. I'm assuming from home, but you haven't told me what home is for you. How did you end up falling here? How did the ADI find you?"

Edited 2023-08-20 22:58 (UTC)

They stare at their guest, the spotlight on them turning brighter for the attention. And then Milo looks away and the spotlight stays.

“Why so much interest in where I’m from, Songbird? I fell through a hole in my world and into this one. Is that so different from you?”

Raine squinted at the spotlight. They didn't like that they could hardly see Milo.

"Because it's similar, but it's not the same. "I didn't fall through a hole. I woke up somewhere different, and I have no memory of how I got here."

Raine decided to step out of the light, closer to Milo. A few different thoughts formed in their head as they continued to think about what they'd been asked.

"I'm interested because I want to understand you better. Because you sound unique yet similar to how both realms work."

As they continued to speak, every recounted point they count on their fingers.

"You're not a Witch, however. But you're also not from this realm. You have abilities that I've only ever seen Avatars or people who can access magic do."

There's a beat as they collect their thoughts, and then ask:

"Why did the ADI put you down here and lie about it? The glamours have been explained as harmless, but neither of you are telling us-or, me- the full truth. What are you doing to power them? Is it magic? Is it just being an avatar? And how are you feeding on us?"

All at once the lights go out and the silence would make a pin drop deafening.

Perhaps Raine blinks in the darkness or maybe they don’t, but in the next breath, Milo is barely a finger’s length away, voice low and echoing all in one.

“You ask so many questions. You might be polite about it, but you’re all the same. I grow tired.” Another breath and they’re gone, a low murmur of tension rises from the unseen audience.

“Pick two.”

A choked gasp left Raine's mouth as they braced against the dark.

"Milo, wait. I'm not- I'm trying to help you."

They stumbled backwards when Milo reappeared, their hands quick to grab their violin. They're still and quiet, body strung tight even after Milo told them to pick two. They considered their options, and everything they'd just learned.

"What are you using to feed to power the glamours?"

A single, green, light blinks on over head to wash them both in light as a light cough comes from the audience.

“Before it was only one person. Given to me like a pet to keep me happy…but the new Warden didn’t approve. Now it’s so many tiny bites from so many different places: a glance, a glimmer, something not quite right. You all…so fearful of the veil falling…of losing who you are. You feed me and I cover for you…one more.”

The bard is deathly quiet under the green spotlight, and they processed what Milo said. They didn't want to waste their last question. Their mind tried to make sense of things when something Milo said returned to them. That Milo had found them. That Milo watched them because they were interesting. Combine with what Milo had just said, the green began to feel more sickly.

"How... How much of us can you see?"

Edited 2023-08-27 11:33 (UTC)

Their head tilts slightly. "What an interesting question. I am not bound to Eyes....I have seen nothing in quite a long time...but I can feel the parts I change. And I know the shape and taste and sound of your fear. Every time your hearts call out at the things that aren't right that sit wrong in your hearts...I know them. I feel them too. You are so scared, my Songbird...and I wish you luck."

"I'm not-"

There was no use arguing. Milo was right. Raine closed their eyes only for a moment, enough to not phrase their question, as a question.

"I'm assuming you're part of the Stranger, then." They looked around for Milo, squinting against the green spotlight.

The lights come up again, a dusky light of twilight with weeds growing through the stage’s boards.

“Am I strange? I don’t feel Strange. I told you before that reality is…negotiable.”

They appear their in the weeds and offer a wide smile and a small ear. “This has been pleasant. I hope you can find the door soon, my Songbird. Simply search where it isn’t.”

And all at once they seem to melt into the grass, a patch of impossibly colored flowers sprouting far across the stage and into the faceless yet watchful audience.

"Milo, wait!"

And just like that, they're gone. Raine cursed under their breath, and looked between the new growth and the audience. They bristled at the audience, They tried not to spend too much time looking at the audience, but turning away from them made Raine feel equally as deeply aware they're being watched.

Still, Raine began to look on the floor, and on the ceiling.

"None of you know where the door is, probably," Raine quietly gestured to the crowd, but doesn't look at them.

There is only a murmured word from the throng of people, a consensus not meant for Raine's ears...they stay like that, blocking the way, the stage oddly hot, for what feels like an hour...or maybe it's only a minute. Who can say except, when the crowd does part and form a staring line towards the door Raine came in from, the air on the other side taste just that little bit sweeter.

Raine tried to not focus too hard on the crowd's murmuring. But everything was too much- the lights too hot, the time spent too long, and their anxiety rose to a peak until-

Raine focused on the crowd, and watched them part. Their breathing stilled as they processed it through narrowed eyes. They stepped closer to the crowd, violin lifted to their chin, bow lifted, but they're ready to do what they need to if they're touched.

They inched their way into the parted crowd, but everything about them is on edge.

The crowd waits. Expressionless, neutral, faces waiting. Waiting. Patient for Raine's exit.

Unless Raine takes too long, and then it's less hands on them or even movement so much as the crushing press of out.

Now.

A pushing, clamoring, urgent press towards the door.

(no subject)

rainestorms - 2023-09-14 22:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

apocalypsehownpcs - 2023-09-16 00:30 (UTC) - Expand

A single, green, light blinks on over head to wash them both in light as a quiet cough comes from the audience.

“Before it was only one person. Given to me like a pet to keep me happy…but the new Warden didn’t approve. Now it’s so many tiny bites from so many different places: a glance, a glimmer, something not quite right. You all…so fearful of the veil falling…of losing who you are. You feed me and I cover for you…one more.”

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