WEEK FOUR

[shimmermods]

FOURTH WEEK

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The Shimmer may have left you physically, but it's always with you; it's something it had insisted on yesterday, and it's something that continues to be pervasive even now, both in thoughts and within you in other, perhaps more noticeable ways. The statements that have been made weigh heavily; your surroundings continue to be influenced by something or other - plants you recognize are still present here, even as the trees themselves continue to crystallize, growing glassy white and transparent around mechanical insides - and the changes to your physical bodies are becoming more evident and difficult to ignore.

Perhaps more disturbingly, when you went to sleep in the clearing there were sixteen of you.

When you wake up, there are fifteen.

No matter how many headcounts you take, you keep coming up one short; the fact of the matter is that Rean Schwarzer is no longer among you. There's no visible evidence of where he's gone, and all of his belongings are still here; perhaps in some part of your mind, the possibility registers itself - maybe he's not with you because he went to the Shimmer. Not in the same way the cultists went, and not in the same way the ring of bodies seems to have gone, but maybe...

The thought is difficult to shake; the fact of the matter is that he isn't here, and you probably don't want to stay here. After all, your options are currently either to do what you set out to do, to return to the base and very possibly be killed for your efforts, or to remain here with the corpses.

The hike uphill is steep; perhaps it's fortunate that you're no longer tiring out like you used to. It's easier to keep going nowadays, even if it feels somewhat mechanical in doing so; your limbs know what they're doing, even if there's some reason for your mind to disagree. You seem to be making good time in moving toward the site of the initial impact of the meteorite; perhaps it won't be much longer before you find your objective.

That is, if all goes according to plan.

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY

code by vuvuzela

Comments

[shimmermods]

[Entering the town will give you a better idea of what you're looking at when it comes to the buildings. The vast majority of them are so overgrown and ruined that getting inside looks like it would be more of a chore than it's worth, but there are two buildings that look promising.

The first is near the center of town - it might have been a town hall or something of the sort at one point, but it's impossible to tell exactly what it is now. It has a large tree growing out of the center of it, but the doorway is still intact and it looks like you can make it inside easily.

The second looks like it might have once been a general store. The windows are long since gone - they were smashed in at some point, from the looks of it, but very little glass remains. Getting in shouldn't be a problem, and there's no tree growing out of this one. It still looks almost completely overgrown like the majority of buildings in this town, but who knows, it could have something useful inside.]

[pr159]

[ All right, well. The store does look promising -- at least relatively speaking -- so he motions toward it. ]

I vote for starting here to see if there are any supplies we can restock on.

[ It worked out last time, even if there were also a bunch of moss corpses, so hey. ]

[abysstery]

A sound idea.

[Heinwald, however, has his eyes on the town hall-ish building.]

Shall we form groups once more? It worked quite efficiently in the past.

[pr159]

I won't complain if that's the way we want to do it, but I will remind you we're down one combatant this time.

[abysstery]

I have not forgotten.

[They should still have plenty for each group, at least.]

[blunders]

That might not be a bad idea--we can cover more ground that way, and as long as nobody goes off alone, we should be fine...

[maybe this store won't have a dead body inside...wouldn't that be nice...

...on the other hand, uh]

...Rideaux does bring up a good point, though...it could be dangerous...

[abysstery]

[Heinwald nods, because it is a good point. However...]

We should have enough combatants for two groups. It is not as though we are splitting up unprepared.

[blunders]

[...Y'know what, that's fair, actually. Felicia eases and nods.]

Alright. Let's split up, then, and see just what we can find!

[...Felicia, despite her better judgement, is staying with the store team so like. Ready whenever y'all are.]

[abysstery]

Best of luck with the shop.

[Let Felicia not have to find more corpses.]

[pr159]

[ shrug ]

Well, enough of us can pull double duty anyway, so if we're leaning that way.

[ At least he can, and his is the life he's actually worried about, so! Fine by him. ]

[blunders]

[...You know, that's an excellent point.]

Hopefully that doesn't become necessary, but you are right. Even if it does, we aren't defenseless.

[and felicia can even use a gun now!! so it's not all shuriken all day thank fuck]

[planetary_bonds]

[yikes!

well...]

It might be safer to scout out this one [pointing to the general store] first.

[i'm not saying yusei has learned to be averse towards plant life but generally finding these kind of plants in the middle of town has never been good, ever]

[bornandbread]

We might want people who can carry more here.

[For supplies, you know.

He gives a quiet nod because he agrees that it’s the safer route, but extra suggestion as well:]

The town hall might have more information for the research division.

[me_underfire]

I'll take the town hall. Who wants to come with?

[The last time she went into a general store it was full of corpses.]

[abysstery]

[Were the other buildings any better, though...]

I would like to investigate there as well. It has a higher potential for information.

[bornandbread]

Town hall it is. Carrying things isn’t my forte.

[Never mind that he’s gotten so used to this damn pack and all these tools and arms he’s actually stopped putting them down on shorter rest stops (and taken fewer quick pauses on the way up)??

Sometimes it’s about mindset and efficiency.

Also he has bandages in case anyone puts out an eye on a tree branch or something, natch.]

[abysstery]

[They're going to need way more than bandages if that happens.

Anyway! Town hall squad, rise up. Upon approaching the building, Heinwald takes a peek around before trying the door. We don't want any more potential trap incidents...

Should the entry be harmless enough, he'll venture inside to see what the state of the place is.]

[shimmermods]

[Like the rest of the town, it's quiet here. There aren't any sounds coming from within, and there's nothing to indicate that anyone or anything has been here recently.

The door looks like it was once a sturdy one, but time and nature have warped it so it swings open easily with just a touch. There's still nothing to indicate that it's a bad idea to head on in, so you're free to do just that.

Calling it a town hall might have been a little generous, but it does seem to have once been a meeting place. There's a large desk up at the front of the room that's been warped and bent by overgrowth, and several rows of chairs that have likewise been reclaimed. Some of those chairs have clearly been pushed aside or knocked over, though there's nothing in here to indicate exactly what happened there.

There are no bodies to be found and no signs of a struggle. It would be pretty easy to assume that there's nothing to see here outside of the tree - but the sharp-eyed among you may notice something off over with the dilapidated desk.

Of course, there's also the tree. It seems to have pushed its way up through the floorboards and out through the roof over in the back corner of the room. There's nothing else over there, just the tree. But who knows, maybe getting a closer look will reveal something more.]

[me_underfire]

[Grace is already interested in the desk and any information it might hold, but if there's something else fun to find, why not head over there!]

[abysstery]

[Honestly, that's fair.]

Very well. Should we advance as a full group, I suppose some of us may keep watch out here while others investigate inside.

[Y'know, so they don't get snuck up on either.]

[planetary_bonds]

[Yusei might be a researcher, but he's also someone who can carry loads of shit. So once the suggestion is made, he nods and then starts climbing into the store's open window without really telling anyone.

Yusei, please.]

[shimmermods]

[It's an easy climb, and there aren't really many shards of glass to worry about, so you'll be just fine getting in!

The general store has definitely seen better days. It's just as overgrown inside as it is outside. The floor is warped and being pushed up in places from where the plant growth has been invasive, but it's overall what you've likely come to expect from the Shimmer and plants reclaiming towns. There's nothing too special about all that in here.

What's probably more interesting are the supplies... or lack thereof. It looks like this place has seen better days on that front as well - the majority of displays are knocked over or pushed out of the way and nature has definitely reclaimed those, while the refrigerated units have all been broken and the electricity seems to have been off for a very long while.

It looks like there's nothing left, but there's still the counter in the back to check out, if you'd like.]

[pr159]

[ Why are you like this, Yusei?

Anyway, Rideaux's following here since he suggested the same thing, so. He'll scan the shelves for anything remaining, but welp. ]

Well, that's a disappointment.

[planetary_bonds]

[because he is]

Looks like this place was already raided.

[Depending on when he says this, his voice coming out from the storefront window might startle others. He did climb in while everyone was debating, after all.

Anyways, this revelation probably isn't a surprise, given how smashed in the windows were. Opening the refrigerated units and poking at the displays reveals nothing of interest.

Time to check out that back counter, then.]

[blunders]

[Felicia is likewise following! But wow, this place sure got cleaned the fuck out, huh.]

I suppose that isn't unexpected, but you've got that right...

[...She does look to the counter though.]

Maybe there's something behind there the counter that we can get a closer look at?

[Felicia's gonna go follow Yusei into counter hell, if nobody minds! Maybe something good will happen.]