Memento Mori (PC Plot - Deerington)
Sep. 11th, 2019 10:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
onerthesAfter three deaths and seeing friends die repeatedly in Deerington, particularly after the third of Peter Parker's Informational Sessions on the network, Vira-Lorr became obsessed with making sure that multiple recordings of various forms were left behind, just in case. The information contained in these various keepsakes, papers, tapes and CDs were intended as an ongoing record of information gathered about Sodder, the Dog Keeper, Mayor and Mother Superior, the town of Deerington, the "Great Sleep" and the Deer of the city.
The information is separated into two forms below:
1) The first are in CD, Audio Tape and Notebook form in both Vira-Lorr's townhouse on Prospero and in the FEAR headquarters. She has been documenting since Majima's disappearance, but begins in active earnest starting in September of 2019.
2) The second are literal "Memento Mori." Vira-Lorr begins to study in September the method of trapping a memory for repeated recall magically into an object after dredging up a sculpture head from the waters of Lake Tomie near the docks which contains a memory of the coven she believes Sodder's mother or grandmother was a member of. These memento mori will not start appearing until October and November, when her research begins to reach fruition (and I start paying points to create them.)
The information is separated into two forms below:
1) The first are in CD, Audio Tape and Notebook form in both Vira-Lorr's townhouse on Prospero and in the FEAR headquarters. She has been documenting since Majima's disappearance, but begins in active earnest starting in September of 2019.
2) The second are literal "Memento Mori." Vira-Lorr begins to study in September the method of trapping a memory for repeated recall magically into an object after dredging up a sculpture head from the waters of Lake Tomie near the docks which contains a memory of the coven she believes Sodder's mother or grandmother was a member of. These memento mori will not start appearing until October and November, when her research begins to reach fruition (and I start paying points to create them.)
Traditional Media: Physical Notes, Audio Tapes, Video Tapes, CDs
Date: 2019-09-11 03:00 pm (UTC)Physical Notes - Majima Goro
Date: 2019-09-11 03:39 pm (UTC)(Note: This year and any others is included for OOC clarity; it's not the IC year in Deerington)
PEOPLE OF INTEREST
Sodder:
The same Sodder who sends letters out to the Sleepers. Can't interact with Sleepers normally(?). Their condition seems tied to Deerington.
Theory:
Sodder = person in mountain?
Sodder = dreamer?
Sodder may be a young woman, asleep and possibly in a coma or without a body. We believe that she is held in the laboratories on the mountain north of town by Mother superior. She has manifested only once, by accident, very briefly. It appears that we are tied and trapped to her dreams and dreamworld. - VL
The Dog Keeper:
Calls the people who woke up in Deerington "Sleepers". Responsible for the three-eyed dogs that deliver messages to Sleepers, including newsletters that have mostly been helpful: warns Sleepers about dangers. During October, sent message asking the Sleepers to bring Sodder back.
Theory:
Works for Sodder
Apparently named Doug, according to Peter Parker. If anyone can be argued to consistently be out to protect us, it is probably him, though we know little of his actual motivations. - VL
Mother Superior:
A nun in a gas mask. Sedated Sodder? Ran an experiment that shifted Deerington into a blood and monster version of itself in October.
Theory:
Sodder's enemy
Trying to break free Deerington??
In charge of Lab
Based upon a vision in the Police Headquarters and the statements of the Mayor of Deerington, along with some other suposition, it seems that Mother Superior is probably one of the Wastes, and that the Wastes are indeed the original residents of Deerington. Like the Mayor, however, she has self-will and intelligence and is able to act on her own, where most of the Wastes are still only desperate, scared scavengers.
Her goals, according to the Mayor (who is not to be trusted) are similar to his. Return Deerington to its state before supernatural events began to occur. She is willing to destroy anything and hurt Sodder in any fashion that she can in order to achieve this goal. She has agents who appear to be Christian nuns that she sends out to help enact her will.
A rosary may be used, if she is nearby, to douse for her location. - VL
The Mayor:
According to his account, he is Sodder's Father and an ally of Mother Superior in attempting to return Deerington to its natural state. Appeared in August of 2019 through a public announcement to the sleepers. Offered laced food while we were being starved to entice us into lethal games and kill each other. Not to be trusted.
Theory:
Probably a Waste without a gas mask.
May be a nightmare phantom of Sodder's imagination.
May or may not be Sodder's father.
Very much an enemy to the sleepers, though far more prone to smiling and lying about his intentions. - VL
TIMELINE
2018
June
Masquerade at the Grady Hotel. Sleepers given costumes and invitations, party is more or less normal until midnight. For lack of better word: spooky. At midnight, partygoers slipped into a rusted out version of Deerington. Return was via offering blood to a black deer.
Later in June, bodies of the Wastes with names of the Sleepers written on them found dead and hung throughout town. Monsters with humanlike (zombie?) upper bodies and deerlike lower bodies show up to chase and kill the deer. Staircases appear leading up Mount Rheum.
The third floor and children's ward of Harren Hospital explored. One children's room stands out, and has "WAKE THEM UP" written all over the walls.
July
The theme park opens. Attractions range from not dangerous to extremely dangerous, including carnivorous mermaids.
Sleepers explore the Hair of the Dog, the local bar. Discover a second bar accessible from the 'public' version.
August
Giant deer walk through Deerington and take out town power lines. The power goes out, but so does the sky. Encounters include replayed memories, a house that loops in on itself, and squid monsters(?). Looks like a couple people learned how to summon up glowing animals made out of light during the blackout. Magic?
Investigation of the Deerington Reservoir reveals that most of the water in Deerington is tainted in at least some way. Highly recommend boiling water before drinking.
September
Early Halloween celebration for some reason. Skeletal horses offer rides through Deerington, but some rides go south. At least two Sleepers die when the carriages are attacked by waves and waves of demons(?). A being appears in the sky that stops the attackers. Sodder?
Flu Shots offered to Sleepers.
It was not known at the time, but the flu shots offered in September turned out to be very important. A plague descended months later that the innoculation assisted in immunizing. Unfortunately, not everyone was inoculated. If flu shots are offered again, it is advisable to proceed with caution but likely best to get inoculated just in case. The disease is wore than any ill effects in the short term could be. - VL
October
Mother Superior's test.
The moon goes blood red, day disappears, roads turn into rivers of blood, buildings warp. The church is filled with incense that keeps away monsters. Some Sleepers turn into monsters and have to be turned back to normal.
A message from the Dog Keeper tells Sleepers:
LI SteN
ONLy SO MuCH TiME. MUST MAKE ThIS QUiCk
INCeNSE KeePs AWAy tHE BEasTS
MUST FiND 3 (???) TO BrING SoDDeR BaCK
Mayor'S HOuSe
th d or
Y RD DIG
Groups of Sleepers leave to investigate each area. Items are brought back and burned to bring back Sodder(?).
I do miss Majima's insight at times. But, in this, I have been told several accounts that make this event seem far worse than he hints at. Deerington disappeared, to be replaced with a "Nightmare" version of itself. It is September of 2019 when I write this and warnings have been made of visions hinting that it will come again in October. I do not know for sure, and for once I am glad that my own future sight is blinded for now. I would rather not know.
In short, however, the experiment that Mother Superior conducted caused not only pain to Sodder but immediate distress to all sleepers. In its aftermath, this place was turned into a nightmare realm and efforts had to be made to rescue Sodder in some small part from Mother Superior's clutches. Be aware if you read this that October is almost always a very dangerous month in this town. It may very well become a living horror. - VL
November
Sodder brought back(?)
Sleepers gradually fall asleep, wake up as doll versions of themselves. Town buildings are turned into doll houses, Sleepers spend month living in tree houses instead.
I personally arrived at this time. We also encountered fungi that were capable of rotting the body while creating a soporific effect in the woods. If you see fungi in the forest, be wary of them, especially if you see them in the snow. Fairies were also sighted at times. Friendly, though they were chill creatures and dangerous for humans to linger around.
Something about the doll boxes we found ourselves in caused several of us to question our reality, and we have been seeing increasing signs that our lives are known of in Sodder's world, but as works of fiction. We are uncertain if this is true, or if it is simply one of this town's wicked games. - VL
December
Disturbance at Stacy's. Shoppers go on the warpath trying to secure deals. Angels (???) appear to carol at people's doors and burn their eyes out of their heads. Do not listen to carols.
Mines on Mount Rheum explored, but remains of only one person found. Last words: "We just wanted to get to the other side of the mountain. Then we'd be free."
If attempting to explore mines, be extremely cautious. Fireproof gear and breathing mask recommended, enter via mining carts. Monsters inside.
To be specific on the monsters. They are about knee high, look like lobsters and are especially good at hiding in the dust and ground of the space. They lunge out while people try to collect items, and their claws are extremely sharp. Apparently they are good eating, but I cannot confirm this.
If you find gold inside of the mine, do not pick it up. It will cause you to believe everyone around you is on fire. A single sample is at FEAR HQ for research purposes, but it seems mostly to be an illusion or a recollection and trapped memory of the miners' final moments. Doug, the Dog Keeper, is unwilling to give much further information. - VL
2019
January
After some ground quaking, a sinkhole appeared in front of Harren Hospital, emitting a noxious smell. The sinkhole contained a mountain of sewn-together bodies that attacked people who came close and tried to sew them in place. Other monsters included monsters that hunted by sound with long, whiplike tongues and claws, and monsters covered in eyes that 'sang' and could freeze people with a look.
At about the same time as the sinkhole opened, Townspeople began to sicken and the Hospital was quarantined. Strange beings came down from the mountain to offer medical supplies and tents as Sleepers began to fall sick from disease. Though the Dog Keeper sent out messages about a flu that usually wiped out the town, symptoms for Sleepers seemed different from those that affected the Townspeople and included confusion; drying, hardened skin that continued to bleed and peel over time; amnesia; and death.
We lost Majima during the Plague. Nobody has seen him in months, and with him went X'Ruhn, our two leaders at the time in FEAR. The disease continued to plague us for a full two months, devastating the community and claiming many lives. Golems descended from the lab, appearing in flesh to be human but unnatural. Despite reservations for some of us, they granted abilities to two groups: Medics and Explorers. The former were gifted the equipment and ability to synthesize a cure for the plague, while the former were able to get the ingredients:
-The Hair of a Waste
-Stone broken off from the tunnel shafts among the undead (Which seemed to carry memories of home. I've retained a sample for study)
-Blood from the Deer in town
Synthesis was not easy, but it did work, and caused a diseased creature to be expelled from the sick which then had to be destroyed. By March, the effects of the plague were wearing off. - VL
QUESTIONS
Can I leave?
So far: no, not on purpose. Previous attempts to walk out of town have resulted in hallucinating, paranoia, losing your sense of time, amnesia, and bleeding internally.
People do disappear sometimes, but since no one's come back and told us what they saw, it's impossible to know for sure whether they left or something else happened. According to Sodder, people who disappear from Deerington 'wake up' from the dream.
Individuals have since this time "returned," though they remember very little of their time and departures. We are unsure of what this all means and still investigating. - VL
Are we dead?
Unknown. Some of us were in dangerous situations before we showed up in Deerington. What is clear is that you can die in town and return several days later, in a weakened state. Some people report having a deer statue show up in the spot where they died. It's unknown if there's a limited number of times you can come back, or if the effects of dying worsen with each death.
I will include my own individual notes on death in Deerington separately. However, it is increasingly becoming that we are not dead, but rather trapped in a dream-like state. Each time that we die, according to Sodder (taken from the transcript of her conversation with Peter Parker. I trust its authenticity, but I caution anyone reading this to take all such revelations with a grain of salt), our souls become closer and closer to this dream world, until eventually we can no longer escape.
It is believed, at this time, that the Deer in town are former sleepers who died too many times and became trapped in Deerington as its protectors. The chief and most important of these is the Deer Spirit of Ramona Derwin. First of the Sleepers, founder of FEAR before our time and apparently a gifted witch in her own right, Ramona made some form of sacrifice to remain here until this whole situation could be resolved and Sodder, along with the other Deer, rescued. She is a large, powerful deer that is sometimes seen around town and who seems more familiar than the others. - VL
Transcripts of Peter Parker's Information Sessions
Date: 2019-09-11 03:43 pm (UTC)1) Recording 1
2) Recording 2
3) Recording 3
Follow-Up Timeline of Events Post February 2019 (CW references to gory stuff occasionally)
Date: 2019-09-11 04:28 pm (UTC)Regarding the Events in this Town and What they Mean:
-We are not certain that these events mean 'anything,' or at least I am not certain of this. They appear to occur once every month, vary drastically and mostly center on finding some way to make us uncomfortable and terrified. They may be individual nightmares of Sodder as she slumbers, presumably in a coma in the Lab on Mt Rheum.
Only certain "Events" seem to be of any sort of ongoing importance, and will receive special attention.
Always remember: If the natives are offering you a selection of special foods and drinks, they are almost certainly laced with SOMETHING. Some will be amusing. Some will be beneficial. Some will be embarrassing. Some will be terrifying or life threatening. The benefits may outweigh the risks for some but not others.
Schedule of Events beginning March 2019
March
-Throughout the month, obsessions would run rampant about various colors. They dressed entirely in shades of that color and behaved aggressively towards other colors.
-Pathways were found through the forest of the National Park that led into a ring of standing stones, apparently in another world or time. Women there offered soup that tasted of home and stories on the stones spoke of our lives and worlds. Since this time, hints have come forward that these women may have been ancestors of Sodder and her mother, but this is not yet confirmed (Though given her power as a witch, they may be tied to Ramona).
-Some residents turned into bears for a time. intimations were that this happened more to those conflicted by problems in their lives. The effect was disorienting and initially terrifying but largely harmless.
April
-Unseen implants were put into several Sleepers' bodies, which censored the words that they were able to speak and gave the impression of being watched.
-Several Sleepers were transformed in large eggs in town into younger or older versions of themselves. These effects persisted far longer than usual in some cases, lasting almost two months in outlier situations. Memories were frequently altered by these effects to reflect the younger state.
-Multicolored eggs of a medium size carried what has been described as a "Facehugger," a gestating state for a creature called a Xenomorph. Crab-like they moved rapidly to try and attach themselves to the face of a victim and implant a gestating Xenomorph in the stomach, which would later burst out and cause fatal damage to them. Tough, Dangerous creatures with acidic blood, they are not to be taken lightly if seen in the future.
-Pollen on the fringes of town resulted in horrifying hallucinations of a stalking figure, which led in extreme cases to suicidal actions to escape. No cure other than washing the pollen clear was found.
May:
-Age Regression persisted in this time, and the large colored eggs were still found around town. Some xenomorph young escaped and grew to maturity over the next several months.
-A strange fog descended on town. People within it found that their powers, if they had them, were either changed or did not work properly. Aternatively, people without powers might temporarily receive them from others.
-The Cats of the Authority disappeared temporarily. During this time, a vision of the Police Station in the past was found. It indicated that events in this town began several years prior, that Ramona was one of the first sleepers to arrive, and that locals were unsure what, if anything was going on with Sodder. It confirmed the likelihood that the Wastes are in fact the actual residents of the town.
While the Cats slept, the false residents of town and many sleepers were driven to anarchic acts of violence against each other. Riots on the street were common for weeks. Deaths were frequent.
June
-A traveling circus visited. Booths offered items from our homeworlds that should not have been present in this world (and likely exist only because this is a dream), and shows in the tent revealed secrets of our past in horrifying, macabre shows.
-Vicious clowns who turned into monsters that I am told were from the works of someone called "Stephen King" wandered the town, taunting and tormenting people. They were only vulnerable to silver or somehow accepting and dealing with the fears they manipulated.
-Dreadful monsters in the sewers were found who attempted to convert people into evil versions of themselves. They too were vulnerable to silver, but had a paralyzing poison. Generally, avoid the sewers unless you ahve a good reason to be down there.
July
-The "Great Sleep" was accessed by Sodder, allowing us to begin dreaming while in the dream (Yes, I am aware that this makes no sense. None of this does.). While in there, sleepers were provided a dreamcatcher to navigate the dream world, a weapon of antler horn, golden coins called drachma that become 'charged' and glow over three visits to memories within the dream and whistles that summon a spirit guide to help them.
-The Great Sleep can be entered when sleeping naturally.
-Provided that one can survive the dust storms or the giant worms that protect the roads of the Great Sleep (Go in groups, travel in a car and be ready for a fight, though death does not seem to be more dangerous than waking up from the dream in a dream.), memories of one's world can be accessed. these charge the drachma, for purposes we do not yet know. Dark paths are more or less 'positive' memories, and Light paths are more or less 'negative ones.
-As of September, the Great Sleep is still accessible.
-Mother Superior's agents appeared in town, dressed as nuns and armed with serrated halos, attempting to steal all supplies not already in people's homes. They could only be injured with a weapon laced with Sleeper Blood, and otherwise could suck anything up into them. They were unwilling to target those wearing symbols of the Christian mythology unless provoked. They are extremely cunning and dangerous if seen again.
August
-The Mayor introduced himself in a public broadcast, offering food to the sleepers and the chance to 'win' more.
-His food was laced with something that made sleepers more aggressive and competitive, to the point of lethality in extremes.
-The drinks were good at least.
-All members were put onto five teams (Bear, Wolf, Falcon, Fish, Rabbit), each of which granted powers (Strength, Telepathy, Flight, Swimming, Speed in order, along with other abilities over time), and pitted against each other in deadly games in a Dome and a race with robot threats. Winners received food, supplies, medicine and weapons. Losers were frequently injured and died.
-The Dome has hourly threats of various forms that come in. They are unpredictable, save that they repeat in a semi cyclic fashion. Some are physical (Storms, Quicksand, Giant Wasps and Centipedes, Poisonous Fog, The Rearranging of Terrain, Hunters who hunted Bears, Falcons and Wolves), while others afflicted the mind (Forced to tell the Truth, Bloodlust of various forms)
-As the Dome is ongoing in September when I write this, I will note that nobody needs to die in the dome for everyone to win. Surviving for 24 hours will get a crate of supplies, regardless of 'victories.'
Video Tape Series
Date: 2019-09-11 04:37 pm (UTC)If you are watching this, hopefully I am still alive but I can't guarantee it. I can't guarantee anything in this place. I'm making this tape and others to keep a record of what we've learned so far. Peter, Reaper and Majima are right. We have to keep a record in case we aren't the ones who finish this. I only wish Ramona had done a better job before us... but I don't know how much time she really had and she may have been working mostly alone.
[ahem] I am Vira-Lorr. I am the current Head of Magic at F.E.A.R. We are one, but not the only one, of the groups who fight against monsters and protect the wastes and fellow sleepers in Deerington. What follows is a discussion of some of the things that we have learned Each Tape will cover an individual topic as best I can manage.
Keep in mind, we've been trying to figure these things out for months. Reality changes here so easily that we are not entirely sure that anything is true. Trust nothing absolutely. Be open to anything. Get rest when you can. Keep a record. Eventually, one of us must free Sodder and this world, one way or another.
Tape #1 - Death (Mentions of Death)
Date: 2019-09-11 04:46 pm (UTC)*cough* Moira and Angela are better at this topic than me, and if you can find their notes on the network, they are thorough. But it still bears repeating. Death is not necessarily permanent in this nightmare world, but it potentially can be, to some extent.
Each time someone dies, they are returned to life we believe by the deer of the town and Sodder's power, about a week later. However, according to Sodder this gets harder each time, and each time we are brought back we are brought closer and closer to becoming part of the nightmare itself... at least until everyone is freed.
Each effect is more intense than the last. Each time it happens, the negative effects of a prior death happen. Their severity varies from person to person, and we've found that sometimes they can be mitigated somewhat, but it isn't predictable.
[She shuffled papers and made to look like she was reading them off. It was all for show. This was from personal memories, but she didn't like revealing that.]
The first time, you will be sick to death for a week. It will be the worst flu you've ever experienced. Medicine 'might' work, but I can't guarantee it. You'll ache for the rest of the month afterwards and have trouble sleeping.
Your death will also play out over and over again until it is purged by magic or some other unknown effect, a ghostly white apparition of that moment of death over and over again. If purged, a deer statue will appear in its place.
The second? You will forget some, or all of your memories from your life in your own world. It may be total or partial, but it will persist for about two months if nothing can break you out of the amnesia. The Great Sleep helped some, but again... it's not predictable.
The third? You will forget not only your home for two months but some or everything that has happened here. This may be total amnesia, or partial.
I recommend that you leave some sort of notes behind that you trust yourself to read or view. Things to help you not be too disoriented should you wake in your bead from a death, sick out of your mind and barely able to remember your name. Very few of us are really built to handle this sort of thing, so be prepared. yes, it's morbid, but do it.
For now, we only know of three deaths having an effect. There are guesses and suppositions that we may be able to be brought back six times, and that the seventh is an "unlucky" number, but nobody has been foolish enough to test this.
I will amend this video if we learn more.
Tape #2 - The Boats
Date: 2019-09-11 05:00 pm (UTC)[The feed kicks in again and Vira Lorr isn't actually in her office this time. She's on the side of a mountain in a high, rugged path, pointing towards five creepy looking boats in the side of the mountain some distance ahead. The camera is clearly set out on a rock for stability.]
Hello again. This video pertains to a location in the distance that we've managed to get into. I had been searching Mt Rheum for answers some months ago when I found these steps in the side of the mountain. Observe the colors. They're hard to see if you're not close and magic helps, but if you are very careful you can reach the first of the boats. [She proceeded to demonstrate and carefully showed the steps to the camera feed before putting it back.]
The boats are mostly there to terrify you and make you run away. There are disturbed spirits on the first boat, heads floating around that will bite you. Fire will scare them off and if you grab their hair, you can subdue them. But these are the only real threat we've found. In each boat you will see the strange and surreal, and in the fourth you will see horrible sights, mishhappen bodies and fear that chills you to the bone, but don't disturb them and push past and you may find a creature in the last boat.
Within the third boat, before that, bring sugar, oats, carrots, salt. There are deer, sleepers, trapped in it that cannot leave. Be kind to them and they will give you a gift, but... just be kind to them. They're trapped there.
The shades in the second boat appear to just be a trapped magic spell that is semi aware. You may ignore them safely, and they will ignore you. The fourth boat's fear seems to be its only effect. It feels very real, but nobody has been lost there yet. Still, be careful.
When you find the woman in the far boat, she offers a deal. A drop of your blood and she will allow you to ask one question as a group. It may be of here. It may be of your worlds. We believe she is truthful and supernaturally insightful, but I make no promises.
...if I am alive, and you ask. Please tell me what she said. I will be keeping a record of the questions asked.
[The feed ends. Attached to each copy of the Tape is a set of notes with information on the questions asked.]
1) Q: "How can Sodder be rescued permanently from the situation she is trapped within?"
A: "Start thinking with your minds: we are in hers. Sometimes freedom is the other end of a blade. Death is a permanent rescue."
2) Q: "How do I locate the Mother Superior?"
A: "Find a rosary and when she is near, it will swing in her direction. She may not always be near, but when she is, a rosary will serve as a fine compass."
Tape #3 - Lake Tomie, the Boat Master and Memento Mori
Date: 2019-09-11 05:13 pm (UTC)This was found in Lake Tomie. It contains a memory that it will reveal when touched outside of the water. I may return it eventually, out of kindness to the one that I think made this memory, but for now it is being stored here in FEAR HQ.
When it is touched, it will look at you, smoke will pour out and you will see the distant past. Women are speaking of needing to flee, of the need for a child to be born under a certain sign of the moon as part of rites of witches. They are part of a coven, a gathering of magic users with a powerful bloodline. There are hints at the end that we sleepers know the fate of the one who would come that would not be born under the correct sign.
I believe that the robed figure who leads the women is now the Boat Master. I intend to continue to hunt for more information. The one she speaks of, who will not be born under the correct sign, it is likely Sodder, Sodder's Mother or Ramona Derwin, witch and founder of FEAR. I lean towards the belief that it is Sodder, but it could be either.
Either way, it hints that Sodder and Ramona both carry a great deal of mystical power, which may explain why this whole world, this nightmare is possible. The fact that they were born apart from the sign may mean that this world is somehow tied to that curse.
More, I am not sure how to speculate.
[She covered the head and took out a piece of rock that glittered like stardust.]
However, this is not the only important part of this sculpture. I am firmly convinced its magic can be duplicated, so long as someone is capable of manipulating the mind and memories. A psychic, witch, medium or perhaps even technology may be able with the right research, to pin down what it is that is needed to seal a memory away in this fashion.
Paper rots here easily. FEAR was beyond a shambles when they found it again. Buildings degrade, and the notes found in the Hospital were ruined beyond recovery when Reaper broke in over a year ago. But this? This item lingered. It may be the only way to definitively create a record that cannot be lost, that can linger no matter what happens to us, to prepare others that might have to come after. I call it a "Memento Mori," a memory of death and the dead.
I will be using my studies of the rock from beneath the city, in the tunnels, this and other similar objects. Once I can do it, I intend to create a test memory using antler horn if possible. It has power, because it is tied to us.
If I find the method, I will record it for you.
Tape #4 - The Erasure Plague & The Sinkhole (Description of Blood, Disease, Amnesia Horrors)
Date: 2020-11-01 01:27 pm (UTC)Seated at her desk, she sighed and steepled her fingers.]
I don't want to be speaking to you about this, but there is a possibility it might return, and if it does? I want whoever you are to be able to see this information in advance, in detail.
In January and February of the previous year, we were beset upon by a plague of incredible virulence and horrible implications, referred to as the Erasure Virus. It has struck this town before, if the Dog Keeper is to be believed and I feel that he is. So, I am going to go through the information of the plague, and of its cure.
[She tapped a set of papers on the desk and held them up, reading very obviously. It gave her voice a calculated element, one devoid of emotion. It was pretty obvious that she was doing this in order not to personally think about what she was discussing more than absolutely necessary.]
Early warning symptoms are excessive, almost obsessive thirst, a sensation of itchiness and dryness that is unnatural. Fever is not uncommon, but again it is a dry fever. Skin may be cracked, painfully dry and yellowed.
As the disease takes hold, a violent, high grade fever will erupt. The dryness of the body will worsen. Dry, hacking cough is not uncommon. Outer layers of skin will begin to flake and peel away. It has been visually described as watching paint peel. The layer of skin underneath is painfully, almost excruciatingly dry. Further flaking may result in open bleeding from the resultant wounds.
The victim will begin to lose their memories and become disoriented at the middle stages. Early on, this disorientation is mild, but it will worsen over time. Eventually, major events and key details will begin to be lost and sense of identity will be "erased."
As the fever reaches its peak, the bleeding will become profuse and the person will start to take on a texture almost like a mannequin whose outer layer is flaking away. Amnesia may become severe or total, resulting in hallucinations that someone has become or always been someone else. False memories, those of other sleepers, may appear in the victim. The fever will worsen until death, at which point the full outer layer flakes away to leave a bone-dry husk of a person underneath.
[She set down the papers and put a quartet of item sets in front of her. First was a small pick-axe and a stone that looked like the night sky, glittering like stars. Second was what looked like a lock of hair preserved in a glass case, along with a set of special sheers. Third was a single ... needle? It was made out of antler and next to a hermetically sealed container of blood. Finally, there was a single vial, very carefully preserved and sealed of a serum. Putting on a gloved hand, she reached over and plucked a glass orb with some of the black stone inside and set it out in front of the others.]
Now then, the Cure. We were met by what were called "Golems" from the laboratory on Mt Rheum where we believe Julia Sodder is being held. We believe them to be possibly former sleepers turned into semi-robotic magical constructs, performing research in the labs, and working with Mother Superior. However, we cannot be certain.
When they came down, they infused volunteers with an essence that permitted them to find the ingredients, and for others to synthesize a cure. Anyone without this infusion, which took the form of a green cross for explorers and a blue cross for pharmacists, under the eyes, was incapable of making the cure safely. There is no guarantee that this is still the case. This is Deerington, after all, and things change. However, these are the ingredients.
Hair, taken willingly or unwillingly, with these sheers from the head of a Waste. I suggest asking nicely and offering them something in return. It's much easier and better, and they've been through enough. Blood, siphoned with a syringe made of antler and stored safely in containers like these. Do not bleed out enough that the deer would die. They were willing to help when this happened and hopefully will be again. Lastly, the star stone, which I will get to in a moment, was chiseled off with this chisel. These were synthesized with lab equipment and mixed to for the cure [She held up the vial.] When administered, it caused the vomiting up of a black blob of gunk that was semi-sentient and had to be destroyed before it fled. Fire is preferred.
I have only this one sample, so... if the Erasure Virus ever happens again? We'll need more, because I do not know that the Antidotes or Moon Essence will do the trick. And to get the star stone, you will likely have to enter a sink hole in front of the hospital, should it ever return. [She looked haunted as she said that.]
It is a place of death and horror. Descending, we found countless bodies, almost a hill of them. The floor of caverns that traversed beneath the city streets were made up of zombies stitched together. Occasionally, they would rise up with needles and try to... sew us into the floor. They could be beaten down, but came in great numbers. Do NOT travel alone. Go armed. Go ready for a fight. Be quiet if at all possible.
They are not the worst below. The lickers and winter lanterns are easily worse. The latter are horrid things with glowing eyes that sing a creepy tune heard from a distance. Avoid them. If you cannot? Do not let their gaze fall on you. Stealthily strike them from behind and they can be killed. If they gaze upon you, it can paralyze anyone, and eventually they lunge in to strike, damaging the mind and causing insanity that is incurable without magical means or the highest of technology.
Lickers are bipedal horrors that prefer to crawl on all fours. They're blind, but that doesn't matter. Their senses of taste, smell and hearing are sufficiently advanced to hunt prey. They have no skin, being all exosed brain matter and muscle, with vicious claws and whip-like, violent tongues. They hunt for meat within the tunnels by sound and are as dangerous as any of the silent hunters we have seen in recent months.
If you require a detailed visual account, speak to me. I will let you touch this [She indicated the orb.] It has a memory stored from a successful venture into the tunnels. You will see lickers, the zombie carpet rising up but you will not see winter lanterns. You will also see the cure prepared and administered, along with some signs of the disease.
Gods willing, you will never need any of this, but ... be prepared.
"Memento Mori" - Memory Vessels
Date: 2019-09-11 03:03 pm (UTC)-Mechanic: Each of these, per mod ruling, will cost the cost of the item used as a memory vessel +100 for the elemental and dream magic necessary to trap the memory.
The object contains a single memory that, when it is touched, is released and shows the person the vision as described. Content Warnings will be listed in the entry if necessary. These visions may be seen repeatedly, but the memory is trapped within the Memento Mori for as long as it exists.
Vira-Lorr loses access to the memories that she binds in this way, instead trapping them inside of the object to ensure that they are not lost even if she dies.
Memento Mori #1 - The Hand Mirror
Date: 2019-10-24 11:26 pm (UTC)----------
"Good," Vira-Lorr says. "If you can see me right now, I want you to pet the green chicken next to you on the head and tell Susan that she is a good girl. If she is not there, then time has passed and I hope that this sees whoever you are well enough, that it helps."
She coughs into her hand, looking uncomfortable and glancing to the side. As she did, the 'view' panned to the side, looking in the opposite direction. It continued the difficulty of telling whether or not one of them was the reflection, very much looking close and personally into a mirror's form. Looking back, the three eyed woman resumed speaking.
"This is a test. I've stored this memory here, specifically to test if it can be done. If you can see this, the test was successfully. This glimpse is meant to serve as a guide-post for you, a help and an aide. Should the worst come to pass and there is a need to share information with others who are struggling in this place, we must have a way more certain than documents. Deerington destroys them far too easily, but this method seems to have promise not to be lost."
A slow breath and she nodded once to the reflection. "I won't bore you more or confuse you more. When the vision ends, if you are me, I want you to trust me. If you have lost your memories, reach for the black box of jewelry by the bedside. There are glimpses of the truth, glimpses of your past that I will store in there. Each of them, I hope, will help you to remember everything more easily. I only beg you to please be more careful. We cannot keep doing this..."
"If you are not me, please do not touch the black box unless necessary. There are fragments of my past, things to help me remember who I am if I have forgotten. They are also very personal. Instead, I want you to go to this address." She held up an address and a crude map that clearly showed where FEAR headquarters was. "Bang on the door or enter normally, ask to speak to myself, to Moira, or whoever is in charge. If none remain, go to the old magical office and hunt around. There will be more guideposts there. Look for them. Ask for them. They will hopefully guide you forward."
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(The vision ended, and Vira-Lorr was satisfied by it. Not because it was good, but it successfully proved it worked, and gave just enough for her to know how to 'come back' if she died again...)
Memento Mori #2 - The Plague (CW for Zombie Horror and Plague Horror)
Date: 2020-03-19 03:58 pm (UTC)'In Case of the Plague - Touch Me'
=============
A pair of memories rush over anyone who touches the orb. It feels like they are being pulled in, towards the starstone with a rushing, sucking motion, and in the next they are in a place of abject horror. It is a tunnel in the dark. In the distance a literal hill of rotting bodies can be seen. There are easily a hundred feet or more of them piled upon the top of each other. Where the vision shifts, it floats beside several other individuals who walk on what can only be described as a carpet of rotting flesh, bodies sewn together as far as the eye can see in a tunnel where barely any light shows.
The vision is of a memory of one of Vira-Lorr's last journeys into the tunnels beneath Deerington. It shows her team, comprised of Jean-Paul "Northstar" Beaubier, Sarissa Theron and Newt Scamander along with her as they approach the walls of these tunnels, comprised of the same stone as was in the orb. With chisels, people who bore a green cross on their cheek began to work at the stone, to weather it and to draw the rock and out into bags for carry. A sound echoed, of stitches being ripped out.
"Oh god, no, not again," Vira-Lorr's voice could be heard saying. She was legitimately terrified. Her gaze turned, and the vision showed zombies pulling themselves out of the ground. Vira-Lorr pulled a large cleaver off of her back, angry and red metal shining in the darkness, and fire began to hurl towards them.
The view did not stop until the group was fleeing up the bodies of the dead, rushing to the ropes to clamber towards the light of the city streets and the hospital doors so very close to the gaping maw in the streets. The dead did not follow, but in the horror much could be seen of them. They were relentless and unending, their numbers beyond count. They were armed with needle and thread, wanting nothing more than to sew their victims into the carpet of the dead. They could be killed, and they moved like rotting corpses, but the more noise that was made, the more the Lickers came. Fast, inhuman things who relied on sound to hunt, they lunged with terrible efficiency to attack and devour anything that came to this hellish place. None of her fellows died that day, but it was a near thing and no amount of magical fire stopped the endless surge.
======
The second Vision came afterwards. The team, haggard, was giving supplies to a team of medics, all of whom had a blue cross under their other eye. The substances were obvious, clearly shown, and laid out but only the one with the blue cross was allowed to handle them.
A syringe made from antler through unknown means.
Blood, labeled as being deer blood.
Starstone from the depths.
Human hair, labeled as being from the wastes.
The process of preparing the cure was shown, and with it there was a vision of the golems. Strange, inhuman creatures, they barely resembled the visitors as they moved amongst them with supplies. But, when the cure that was being prepared by them and the medics was used on a sick person, even as they were cured, a black gun erupted from their lips, landing on the ground and screaming in fury before it resolved into a black snot monster on two legs that tried to flee.
Everyone moved swiftly to destroy it, before it could get away, and as it was obliterated the vision finally faded completely.
========================================================
From the vision, anyone who watches it can decipher all stages of the progress of the Memory Plague from Jan/Feb 2019, and how it is cured. They can know that the golems come from the research facility on Mt Rheum, and it was with their help that the supplies were acquired to get the ingredients. One can also see first-hand the horrors of a tunnel full of zombies and licker-monsters.
Memento Mori #3 - The Blackened Drachma
Date: 2020-12-11 06:41 pm (UTC)The Conception of Cynthia Sodder
The True State of Deerington
The Choice You Must Make
View with Care
=========
The moment one touches the drachma with an ungloved hand, shadows wrap around the person, and they see a vision from Vira-Lorr's perspective of her encounter with a surreal puzzle box, alongside a white-haired girl named Lysithea.
The vision is long, drawn out and detailed. It may feel as if an eternity is being taken while the puzzle is deciphered in its entirety, though the person can see exactly how it was done by the two of them, piece by piece. The following view of the paint-filled room gives at least an hour of footage, imagery flooding the person of one insane conspiracy after another scrawled on the walls by Superior, all of them detailing the lengthy, surreal history of Deerington.
Following it, they are treated to the sight of Mother Superior herself, in her natural form as a Pthumerian. The ensuing, tense conversation and the vision of Cynthia's conception, followed by the 'true state' of Deerington follow, right down to Vira-Lorr and Lysithea's 'death' at the hands of Superior's maddened form in the world below.
And with a snap, the person is back to their original state. A look at a clock says it has been perhaps five minutes, but it feels as if hours have passed.
Memento Mori #4 - The Ceramic Bowl (CW for Blood, Gore, Unbirthing Horror and Crawling in a corpse)
Date: 2021-02-11 07:45 pm (UTC)The horrifying sight of the past of the Queen, of her sacrifice, her plans and coming to Maine were visible before the fight between she and Allura, before the two awoke separately in their beds, and the memory winked out.
Memento Mori #5 - The Old Pipe (CW for Birthing Horror, Mind-Break, and Cthuluh horrors)
Date: 2021-02-11 07:50 pm (UTC)If someone puffs on the pipe, with or without tobacco being present, the taste will touch their lips and smoke will wrap around them, shrouding them in a mist before they find themselves sopping next to Jack Harkness in the Mayor's mansion. The sad story of Roderic's fall at the time of Julia's birth plays out, as does the fight between he and Jack, alongside Vira-Lorr, as they manage to pacify, to calm him down and verify that he can still be reasoned with. Barely.
Memento Mori #6 - The Recorder (CW Corpses, Childbirth Death, Blood, 4th Wall, Nudity)
Date: 2021-02-11 07:56 pm (UTC)When the note is played, the person will feel compelled to smile, just before slipping into a deep sleep. In it, they will dream of the moon presence, also known as Cynthia Sodder. Visions of her birth, of where her grave lies, and of Vira-Lorr and Orpheus from Greek Myth helping to bring her peace are there. It is, oddly, probably one of the more pleasant experiences that is seen in the Memento Mori in FEAR Headquarters.
The Seventh - A Patch (Murder of an innocent monster, blood, monsters and fighting)
Date: 2022-01-07 07:46 pm (UTC)they see a vision
The Eighth - A Fireman's Doll (Lotsa burning, being a dog and monstrous three headed dogs)
Date: 2022-01-07 07:55 pm (UTC)A vision comes to them