Northcliff Pass

[CLOSED] Bad thoughts give me bad dreams and my bad dreams make me get up and walk...

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 23:52:49 GMT

Posted by: gravioramanent

WHO: Vlad and Adhemar
WHAT: Two grown men demonstrating they're capable of a civilized conversation (in the presence of witnesses)
WHEN: Late at night, a few days after everyone discovered it's actually 1315
WHERE: The big thoroughfare between the infirmary and the chapel

( Read more... )

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August 2022 Mod Plot: Time Warp

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 01:51:12 GMT

Posted by: northcliffpass

Time Warp

IC: Wakey wakey!

One morning you awake to the sensation of the wool at last having been pulled from before your eyes. The reality before you is pretty stark: Northcliff Pass looks like it has been abandoned for the past two years, with the roofs and fences of some dwellings having caved in or collapsed due to neglect. (Because even if you spent the last two years repairing the same bloody door again and again and again, this curse has decided to kick you in the ass one last time on its way out the door.) It looks like no one has wandered these streets or visiting these houses and businesses since some tremendous disaster befell the village and forced everyone to leave.

Except you know that you haven’t gone anywhere. You know that just yesterday, the world around you looked very different from this ghost town. And you can remember leaning against that very fence which lies mouldering in the mud, or visiting that now abandoned market stall—and, over time, you find yourself recalling far too many inconsequential events and details than could possibly be crammed into any one day.

A. Sorry we missed you!
The Town Hall has now endured two winters without anyone around to repair the damage done to the structure by wind, rain, or snowfall, and so looks about as terrible as you might expect.

However, at some point over the last two years, someone entered the village from the rest of the world and nailed a notice to the door. Given that the parchment is in better condition than the wood it has been affixed to, it clearly hasn’t been there that long. The text reads, in summary, that any able-bodied villagers still living in the area may report the city of Cliffside for conscription into Duke Galein’s army before the end of June, 1315.

Yes, that’s right: 1315. Two years have passed you by.

B. Road Closure
At some point during the spring storms, a landslide took out a sizable chunk of the road leading into and out of Northcliff Pass. While there is some evidence that foot traffic has continued, there’s no way that any trade will make its way through until the mess of dirt, rock, rubble, and wrecked trees has been dealt with.

Do you want to volunteer your efforts to clean this up out of the goodness of your heart, or because you’re completely at a loss for how else to spend your time while processing what has happened to you? Maybe you just want to spectate to prove correct the old adage that there are only three things in this world that humans will always enjoy watching: 1) fire burning, 2) water flowing, and 3) other people working.

OOC: Plot info

Rejoice! Your metaphysical suffering has finally come to at least a middle, now that whatever curse has kept you and all your neighbours reliving July 16, 1313 over and over again has at last spat you out and found better things to do with its time. No, there’s no explanation forthcoming from anyone regarding the curse’s origins or what series of events led to lifting it, and if your memories of your before the Loop began feel a bit hazy and unreliable, well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it? You will surely recover the memories you lost in time. (Or you won’t. Curses are funny that way.)

But forget all of that nonsense for now. The good news is that the curse has been lifted! Northcliff Pass is safe at last! You are free! Free to figure out how to clean up this mess, anyway.

The prompts above are provided to give you a helping hand with your starters, but feel free to spin up your own. Make use of the #plotting channel in the Discord server to discuss ideas with other players, and throw any event or world-specific questions into the #mod-questions channel.

Some notes:

If you were injured for the duration of the loop, your injuries are now healed. (Physical ones, anyway. Your psychological damage is going to stay with you.)
It is up to you how much you choose for your character to remember, or to forget, of their time in the loop. Don’t assume that your character remembers anything specific regarding another character’s actions without first checking in with that player to be sure that you’re both on the same page.

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The Loopening

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 20:18:02 GMT

Posted by: northcliffpass

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: Northcliff Pass is caught in a time loop for their sins.
WHEN: From July of the last year to June of this one
WHERE: in town
NOTES: Please see the plot post for info!

( Things To Remember )

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[Open] Under New Management

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 04:47:45 GMT

Posted by: merrymeade

WHO: Anyone!

WHAT: Young Cousin Lukas takes on his first full day as the new Landlord. ~~Encouragement~~ Heckling required!

WHEN: Early September

WHERE: The Hammer and Spoke

NOTES: (Hello all I've never done dreamwidth RP before let me know if I have erred anywhere!)

( > Enter The Tavern )

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[closed] cause I have other things to fill my time

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 05:37:03 GMT

Posted by: engravitas

WHO: Ben, Dain, and Colin
WHAT: ferreting out terrible secrets
WHEN: after the execution
WHERE: in front of the carpentry shop
NOTES: who even knows

( you take what is yours and I'll take mine )

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A corpsing we will go

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 03:46:10 GMT

Posted by: gravioramanent

WHO: Volodymyr, Ver, Finian
WHAT: Collecting the dead and doing science (sorry Thom :()
WHEN: Shortly after Thom's execution
WHERE: The town square and proceeding outward

( Read more... )

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Hark! An Open!

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 00:34:42 GMT

Posted by: stableman

WHO: Detlef and YOU
WHAT: Maybe the Shepherds shouldn't get to kill people? Maybe?
WHEN: The few days after Thom's execution
WHERE: here and there
NOTES: VICE AND REBELLION

( Maybe there shouldn't be compromise... )

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Plot Event: June 1313

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 03:07:47 GMT

Posted by: northcliffpass

The sun is shining. The birds are singing.

And the Shepherds are back. They arrived late last night, known only to Captain Lance and the innkeeper, the latter of whom housed their belongings while they went off into the darkness to find their quarry.

This morning, the same shabby old platform used for speeches and soapboxing has been dragged out into the center of the square, and one of the Shepherds rings a bell to call the townspeople to it. They stand on either side of it, and on the platform, with his hands tied, is a familiar face.

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[Open] That could definitely have gone better.

Sun, 10 May 2020 22:12:48 GMT

Posted by: shepherddain

WHO: Dain and YOU
WHAT: Dain's been stabbed, treated, and is hanging around the village while he recovers, doing his best not to draw attention to himself. That's difficult for a Shepherd even under the best of circumstances.
WHEN: May
WHERE: Around -- probably not too far from the magistrate's house most of the time.
NOTES: Mentions of stabbing.

( Yes, that could DEFINITELY have gone better. )

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Springfest 1313

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 21:21:36 GMT

Posted by: northcliffpass

WHO: EVERYONE WHO WANTS
WHAT: it's springtime! and there's some bullshit!
WHEN: April
WHERE: The festival grounds and a bullshit place
NOTES: bullshit

( Read more... )

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OPEN | Civil Blood Pt. 3

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 02:02:29 GMT

Posted by: northcliffpass

Civil Blood: Part 3

It is the beginning of March, 1313, and winter has yet to remove its miserable claws from Northcliff Pass. But it has loosened the ferocity of its grip, at least, for the sun has finally taken up more permanent residence in the sky, and the ice and snow that have blocked the roads in and out of the village since November have begun to melt. Sights are set on preparations for Springfest (which hopefully, unlike the Harvest Festival, will not be interrupted by invading ghosts), and a trickle of foot traffic heralds the return of regular commerce--which, hopefully, signals the departure of Duke Galein’s men from the region.

But first, some inconvenient plot twists.

I. Come down the mountain

(OOC: Feel free to make use of the knights and squires in threads of your own, but make sure to ping one of the admins before having them go into detail about their experiences on the mountain!)

On the first bright, sunny morning in March, the last tattered remains of Sir Theobald of Haguenne’s noble retinue come shambling defeatedly back into the village. One wouldn’t be blamed for mistaking them for ghosts at first, except for the smell. Bruised, bloody and beaten down by their circumstances, they hardly resemble the brash adventurers who had set off to slay the griffon almost two months ago. They have clearly failed in their quest anyway; the griffon itself can still be glimpsed circling the mountaintop, its occasional screech piercing enough for the wind to carry its voice down to the village.

It’s a bit odd, though. One lone griffon, however ferocious, could hardly be responsible for depleting Sir Theobald’s retinue to this degree. And the knights and squires themselves look hollow-eyed and gaunt, like they haven’t slept properly in weeks and dread even the idea of closing their eyes.

For roughly a week after their return to Northcliff Pass, the Haguennot men can be seen drifting listlessly through the village streets, or hunkering down in small groups in the Hammer and Spoke--never outright rude to those who greet them, per se, but tight-lipped about what happened on the mountain. Only one of them will speak: Sir Theobald’s young squire, Alfred. But all he will say are the same words, softly, his eyes vacant. “Je ne reviendrai pas. Je n'entrerai pas.” I won’t go back. I won’t go in.

Which begs the inevitable question, in where?

IA. Last rites

Given the circumstances--that Haguenne is far away, that the retinue is depleted and demoralized--it is not surprising that, when given the option, Sir Theobald’s remaining knights elect for a local graveside service, rather than carting their lord’s remains all the way back to Haguenne.

The service is held at dusk a day or two after the retinue has had the time to recuperate from their ill-fated trip up the mountain. A little plot has been set aside for Sir Theobald in the graveyard beside the vicarage, though the soil is still frozen far too solid for gravedigging. Instead the vicar holds a service beside the plot while Sir Theobald’s remaining knights and hangers-on gather about; some sniff with emotion, while others look like they’d just as soon spit on the man’s remains if they thought they could get away with it.

It’s a sombre (if somewhat dismal and pathetic) service, and guests are welcome to attend--or rubberneck, if that’s more your thing.

IB. So about that griffon...

(OOC: Replies to this prompt will require the occasional mod tag!)

It’s still there, doing its thing, though at present it seems to have no interest in making the village a part of its regular hunting grounds. Now that the path up the mountain is mostly clear of treacherous ice, anyone curious about the massive winged beast has nothing but their own good sense to prevent them from trekking up to investigate.

If you are the intrepid, adventuring sort, and if you choose to head up to scout out the beast’s territory and hunting patterns, you’ll likely stumble across a different discovery on your way up towards the summit: the entrance to a cave, set deeply into the side of the mountain. Possibly it could be the griffon’s lair during bad weather.

II. Service Needed

When the soldiers finally leave the mine, it might appear to some-- those who have been paying attention-- that there are fewer of them. They look as haggard and haunted as Theobald’s retinue, but with the bleak reality of war still ahead of them when they make their departure for the battlefield at the border with Black Rock.

The dwindled numbers are troubling to Commander Brickenden, but even moreso to the young men of the community, who soon feel themselves being sized up like so many pieces of meat by passing officers: if one look like they can hold a sword, there’s a chance he’ll be surrounded and pressured to fight for what’s right.

Nobody’s being pressganged, but it’s the next best thing, at least for the few days it takes for the soldiers to make up what losses they can and finally take their leave to begin the long march back down the mountain.

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and by daybreak we'll be gone

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 18:38:18 GMT

Posted by: bonecraft

WHO: Roesia and... you...?
WHAT: Feeding time
WHEN: while the griffon is around
WHERE: A place of height outside the village
NOTES: Mention of animal death and related blood/gore

( Read more... )

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[open]

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 23:57:14 GMT

Posted by: infinitewatch

WHO: Lance and YOOOU
WHAT: birthday boy
WHEN: February 29th
WHERE: on the beat
NOTES: a paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox, HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA--

( if you don't sing you don't get no bursday cake )

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[open]

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 01:29:54 GMT

Posted by: engravitas

WHO: Ben and you
WHAT: soldiers gonna solj
WHEN: evening, sometime in February
WHERE: Hill Road
NOTES: I literally just haven't done anything with Ben in a while 8V

( what're you lookin at, butthead )

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CLOSED | the light we cast creates a bridge

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 22:51:25 GMT

Posted by: matkalainen

WHO: Tuo, Dain, Vervain, and an existential crisis or two
WHAT: Following directly on the heels of this thread, Vervain has to face some facts about himself. Tuo and Dain try to help.
WHEN: See above.
WHERE: Tuo's wagon outside the village walls.
NOTES: This is bound to be an emotionally Intense thread, but no immediate warnings yet. Will update as needed. Anyway want some appropriate mood music? edit: cw for suicidal ideation

( and guides the way across the ages deep )

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believe us to be born into a path straight and narrow

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 10:14:10 GMT

Posted by: pilgrims_egress

WHO: Simon Ashlock and OPEN
WHAT: Arrival in town!
WHEN: Early February
WHERE: Whatever building Simon can find in the snow
NOTES: None atm!

( on every crooked road we travel down )

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Blue Blue Caravan

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 05:38:25 GMT

Posted by: deathwalk

WHO: Wilde, Emery, Johanna and two open starters
WHAT: Stuck in NCP until the snow clears enough for him to gtfo
WHEN: Early - Mid February
WHERE: Various
NOTES: Screaming goats - may update as needed

( Winding down to the valley of lights )

( For Emery )

( For Johanna )

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Grave digger, grave digger

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 05:04:58 GMT

Posted by: ellrigaeta

WHO: Head Retrieval, Burial, and Bargaining Associates, LLC
WHAT: Lorne has Theobald's mangled, severed head in a bag that needs proper burial rites and so on.
WHEN: Just after this
WHERE: The chapel
NOTES: Definitely gore, possibly related body horror, will add more as needed

( Send me on my way // Release me to this earth // Within this shallow grave )

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Open | One hop ahead of the hump

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 19:05:49 GMT

Posted by: ghost4hire

WHO: The new town vagabond and YOU
WHAT: Gutters shows up in town and aggressively avoids the soldiers.
WHEN: Any time after the soldiers showed up
WHERE: All around town.
NOTES: Soundtrack. character specific prompts to be added, but also hey what's up.

( One trick ahead of disaster )

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OPEN | Civil Blood Pt. 2

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 17:21:49 GMT

Posted by: northcliffpass

Civil Blood: Part 2

It is February 1313, the dead of winter, and everything sucks.

To say that the garrisoned soldiers have long outstayed their welcome in Northcliff Pass would be, by and large, a massive understatement. After a series of events resulted in one soldier sporting a broken jaw and a local guardsman flogged at the request of the garrison commander, tensions between the garrison and the local population have been running high. And with no marching orders yet received to send the regiment down the mountain and to the front with Black Rock, this situation is a powder keg waiting to explode.

I. LESS COLD, MORE SNOW

The bitter cold that has had its talons sunk deep into the village for the last few weeks finally begins to ebb to more seasonal norms--which doesn't mean it isn't still frigid, but at the very least running your daily errands is less likely to result in blue lips and fingertips. The whole village, and even some of the soldiers, breathe a collective sigh of relief, and for a brief moment it seems as though the improving weather conditions mean that soon, the regiment will be on its way and life can resume its normal pace again.

That would be far too easy a way to wrap up this particular plot arc, of course, and so that isn't what happens.

Instead, near the end of the first full week of February, another massive snowstorm blows in from the north, bringing with it a veritable avalanche's worth of snow down from the Fjords. It strikes with so little warning that many would not be blamed for suspecting that the cause was an avalanche, and the volume of snow that soon piles upon sheds and rooftops causes thatching to leak and rafters to creak and groan under their new burden. Many villagers once again have no choice but to seek shelter in the chapel sanctuary or in the Town Hall, which has space and resources remaining to accommodate.

For everyone else, it is yet again time to dig yourselves out of your homes, hurl snowballs at your neighbours, and--if you had plans to depart--settle in for a longer stay in this tiny backwater village, for the roads out of Northcliff Pass are yet again impassable.

II.DIG OUT AND DIG DOWN

a. help pls

The sudden and unrelenting storm that has left Northcliff Pass yet again impassable and buried under meters (plural) of snow, has also thoroughly wrecked the soldiers' camp. For at least a day after the winds abate and the skies clear, the only sounds that can be heard coming from the festival grounds are the angry shouts of instruction and calls for assistance from soldiers increasingly desperate for aid.

Whether you answer those calls to provide assistance, or show up intending to get some payback/stir shit, you will doubtless have to deal with the surplus of snow one way or another. Better bring a shovel.

b. the mines

(OOC: responders to this log may occasionally be asked to roll dice for specific encounters)

At some point when a single location has been subjected to enough snow fall in a limited amount of time, it has to be acknowledged that there's really no point in continuing to shovel the snow... because there's just nowhere left to put the snow once it has been shovelled. The problem this creates with a large encampment of soldiers is rather instantaneous: where do they go now?

It's not precisely clear who suggests the mines first, whether it is a soldier with a keen eye or a villager with an axe to grind, but the idea is not as terrible a one as some might think. For one thing the more stable of the shafts have been shorn up over many years by solid and reliable timber, and there while there is no large single chamber for a group to congregate, there is about half a mile of mapped underground tunnels into which a regiment of men may find a tolerable place to bunk down until a better place can be found. The air will be close, but it will be breathable, and the risk of freezing to death at night is removed almost entirely.

It is still a terrible idea, but the amount of bad blood existing between the villagers and the soldiers, the likelihood of anyone opening their homes to the regiment is low.

The garrison commander puts out a call to the villagers (despite knowing very few will heed it ~~given he is such a fucking prick~~) for anyone familiar with the mines' tunnels to make themselves known. Anyone willing to provide some assistance with setting his men up will be compensated accordingly.

III. THEOBALD, HO (DAMN)!

Despite Brave Sir Theobald of Haguenne's glitzy arrival in and departure from Northcliff Pass some weeks ago, the ensuing drama between the villagers and the soldiers has somewhat cast most thoughts of the would-be hero out of people's thoughts--particularly given there's been no word either from Theobald or his retinue since. If anyone has thought of or discussed him in the intervening weeks, it has probably been to speculate on which scenario the odds favour more greatly: that Theobald and his grew fucked back off to Haguenne, or that the griffon ate him.

And on one bright winter morning perhaps three or four days after the soldiers have finally settled themselves into their new, temporary quarters in the mines, the enquiring minds of the village receive their answer.

It begins innocently enough, with the beast in question seen gliding along the wind currents near the mountaintop. But then its trajectory seems to shift against the wind, and slowly what initially appeared as a distant silhouette soon grows in size and definition: the griffon--for that is clearly what the beast is, now--is gliding towards the village.

Not with any immediately predatory intent, it seems, though it does seem to be occupied by something; its long, leonine tail gives the occasional excited thrash that a cat's might when excited, and every so often it dips its large raptor's head to pick at something in its claws.

Then it drops that something with a piercing shriek of displeasure, and dives, swift as a kestrel, to snatch it out of the sky. Its prey recaptured, it swoops back up in an elegant arc, and wings its way back towards its den on the mountain top.

And yet some part of its prey continues to fall, trailing blood and gore and viscera like a gruesome ribbon behind it through the sky, until it at last lands with an unsettling 'pfffstlch' sound right in the middle of a massive snowdrift in the centre of the village. There is quite a lot of red blood circling the suspiciously human head-sized hole in the snow.

Whomever decides to brave the macabre scene first to dig down into the snowdrift will discover the bloodied head of Sir Theobald.

(OOC: Anyone may post a starter observing Theobald's, uh, return to earth as it were, but please limit the actual retrieval of his head to one thread.)

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[open] take my mind and take my pain

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 22:15:09 GMT

Posted by: infinitewatch

WHO: Lance and you
WHAT: things have gotten a little bleak
WHEN: post-flogging
WHERE: around town
NOTES: warning for potential discussion of corporal punishment and other things

( like an empty bottle takes the rain )

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OPEN | what the f*ck happened here

Sat, 25 Jan 2020 22:27:13 GMT

Posted by: wardsdottir

WHO: Pippa & Emery, Agata, Lorne, Colin + you!
WHAT: The two wayward Wards return to Northcliff Pass to discover that everything is now horrible and on fire probably.
WHEN: Three or four days after this awful thing happens, and some lengthier and more amorphous period of time after this.
WHERE: The Ward household, around Northcliff Pass.
NOTES: For ease of RP (aka don't make me thread with myself), assume Pippa arrives home before Emery does. Discussion of physical violence and someone's near-miss with execution. Will include additional warnings as things come up.

( someone ?? explain??? )

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[Open and Closed] did someone ask for a small crisis of faith

Sat, 25 Jan 2020 02:45:10 GMT

Posted by: shepherddain

WHO: Dain, some closed prompts, and YOU
WHAT: Dain's in a bit of a tailspin and people who have been Worried about the presence of a Shepherd in the village may notice that something is different
WHEN: Now-ish, late January
WHERE: All over

( 'cause you're gonna get a small crisis of faith )

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Nothing ever comes without a consequence or cost [Aftermath | Closed and open]

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 02:09:22 GMT

Posted by: ellrigaeta

WHO: Lorne, Dain, Tuo and and you! Closed and open prompts
WHAT: Lorne is recovering and receiving some visitors
WHEN: After these events
WHERE: The magistrate's house
NOTES: CW for mentions of corporal punishment and resulting injuries, will add more as needed

( Tell me, will the stars align? )

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[closed and also open] a guardsman's very bad day

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 04:47:59 GMT

Posted by: infinitewatch

WHO: Lance, Lorne, Deron, and an open prompt for everyone
WHAT: crack that whip
WHEN: right after this
WHERE: the guardhouse and surrounding areas
NOTES: Mega warning for corporal punishment, will add others as needed.

( Read more... )

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