the_last_resort | The Witches Huts

Entry tags:

The Witches Huts

Who: Various
What: Swamp Hunting
When: M11 D27 - M11 D29 (Feb 17 - Feb 25) IMPORTANT NOTE days have been changed to make the plot more accommodating.
Where: Three different swamps far from the Village
Notes & Warnings: See the plot post for further details. You are allowed to go to more than one swamp. There's plenty of time, to. Plotting Links: The Marsh of Sorrow | The Offending Swamp | The Witch's Den. Participation is encouraged so that we can make later plots around expanded world access, or so that characters can use potions or cauldrons they didn't turn in themselves. The Slip 'n' Slide log is still open for tagging.

The Marsh of Sorrow: Foggy and murkey, sparse trees jut out of the bog like gnarled fingers reaching to an unseen sky. There's a light mist in the air- raining again in some form or fashion as every explorer who has returned has reported. Not all have returned, though, and caution is very much encouraged. There are more wild hounds than one would expect for somewhere that apparently doesn't have free grazing livestock. They seem to be waiting around for something.

It becomes obvious when a sheep becomes mired in the mud near the border. Easy prey. Luckily the hounds have never shown any interest in people.

The good sign is that that there are few skeletons and creepers. While one might assume that they're hidden by the fog, they're generally extremely sparse. Off in the distant fog there are lit spots, areas where old huts are, glowing mysteriously. Those are the places that the museum wants to be investigated. It just requires wading through the muck to reach them.

What the museum doesn't know is when the marsh is active, emotions play a role in whether someone can make it across. Unfortunately it's the only time that the huts can be located through the fog. People that are entering the swamp with grim feelings in mind will find themselves sinking. Perseverence, ambition, joy, curiosity? Those will help people strive through, and hopefully pull others to the surface.
The Offending Swamp: The museum doesn't tell people why it provides them with face masks, but oh, they will know when they hit the border of the swamp. It's a terrible smell, not quite like being near a sewer but not far off. That unfortunate paper-mill smell. The mask given to them will allow people to speak freely and unmuffled, but it only blocks out about 90% of the stench. This is one of the situations where someone might hope that the rewards are worth it.

The ground is far more solid than in the Marsh of Sorrow, with plenty of firm areas to roam. It makes the stench more irritatingly mysterious. There are few animals, too. But the answer to that becomes obvious when bursts of flame pop out of small holes in the ground. Apparently getting through will require great care.

The museum did not provide fireproofed clothes. But when the hut is found, luckily alongside its cauldron will be an abundence of fireproofing potions. Their purpose isn't obvious so it would depend on the curious or the adventurous to figure it out. That will at least make getting back out easier.
The Witch's Den: When entered, this swamp seems the more relaxing one. The temperature is moderate, the air isn't deplorably foul, the boggy areas are not as difficult to navigate. Once someone is within its limits, making their way to the hut, the more unsettling aspects of the swamp make themselves known.

Voices of people lost or left behind speak to people over their shoulders, soft and sometimes pleading, or accusing. They mutter secrets, things about their past, fears that people don't say aloud. Sometimes they're just whispers, and sometimes they're loud enough for the next person over to hear. Often they will tell people to go a certain way, toward another object or in another direction.

If they follow, it will put them back at the edge of the swamp.

There is a single hut in this one, far towards the center. As with the ones in the Marsh of Sorrow, it will glow as the swamp's abilities are active. It lies past the remnants of dilapidated houses and landmarks, a village likely abandoned long before any of the other ruins were formed. It is best found as the sky grows dark. Unlike the Marsh of Sorrow, though, enemies will crawl out of the dark.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah.

[He sounds a little surprised, but mostly relieved. This would usually be where he'd let go of Linda awkwardly, but she seems reluctant to let go right now and he doesn't want her to sink again. He squints through the mist, but it still seems like it's just the two of them and the camera.]

Gotta be a better way to do this.

[Without knowing what they're looking for, though? It'll be difficult.]

[Linda, on the other hand, is too busy looking at Boone--specifically, his feet] How did you get this close without getting pulled in too?

[confused but feeling safe enough to test this while still holding onto him, she lifts her feet, testing the ground around her. between her relief and her curiosity, she isn't sinking now. she taps a boot at the wet ground, letting go of him at last] This doesn't make sense...

I dunno.

[It was probably a stupid thing to do, to go in and just grab her like that. He didn't know what else to do though, and it was either that or watch her sink. He'll take a reckless decision over watching someone die when he could have done something to help. When Linda lets go of him he takes a step back, and pokes at the mud with the toe of his boot.]

Huh.

[He's not sinking for pretty much the same reasons as Linda, though he's still wary. He doesn't trust the ground not to try swallowing them again, but now that it seems firmer he's not as worried as he was when he couldn't lift his feet. He grunts, then looks around them again with a disapproving frown.]

If it wasn't a goddamn swamp, I'd say someone was messing with us.

[But swamps can't actively mess with people. At least, he doesn't think they can.]

[it was, but since it worked, she's not going to complain. she frowns at his words, though] Yeah... [she pauses] You don't think...there could be something in the swamp?

[it's the best she can think of for an explanation without giving sentience to a swamp. she eyes the mud again, and as her fear rises, her boots start to slip into that mud just a little bit. she takes a few hurried--but wet--steps backward, but it doesn't help] Boone! It's changing again!

In the swamp?

[He's not sure what Linda means. He doesn't get too long to think about it though before Linda is sinking again. He's still okay as far as he knows, so he takes her arm and starts to hurry her over towards a dead tree.]

Here, hold onto this.

[The branches are thick and sturdy, even if the tree has been dead for some time. It should keep them from sinking too much.]

[she lets Boone lead her, taking sticky, muddy steps over before grabbing a thick branch and holding it tightly. with the hope he's bringing, more than the tree itself, she stops sinking for the moment. frustrated, she looks from her feet back to Boone] I don't understand! What's happening?

Not sure.

[The swamp can't seem to decide whether it wants to drag them down or not, and that uncertainty is almost worse than knowing for sure. If they knew going further would end with them at the bottom of the swamp, they could call it off and head back. Instead, they're stuck trying to decide if it's worth risking it, and Boone knows if he goes back now he'll feel like he didn't try hard enough. He doesn't want to put Linda in more danger, though.]

What d'you wanna do?

[If she wants to keep going, they can keep trying. Maybe if they go from tree to tree and hope they don't sink between them, it won't be so bad.]

[Linda is frowning thoughtfully] Maybe...it has something to do with how the slippery spots kind of...turned on and off?

[at Boone's question, she looks at him in surprise. when she answers, her expression is a little wry] Somehow, I doubt going back is going to be any safer than going forward. [she pauses, thinking this through] We'll stay close and go toward a tree any time the sinking starts. That...should be safe enough.

[of course, by "safe enough," she means not very safe at all, but she doesn't want to just give up either. not when they've come so far--and the people of Blackway need them to solve this mystery]

Is that okay with you?

Maybe. Not sure.

[He doesn't know, he can't figure it out himself. He'll leave that up to people who are smarter than him.]

Okay. Let's get moving.

[As long as they play it safe, it should be okay. The mud doesn't seem so soft under his boots for the moment.]

But that still doesn't explain why you weren't sinking when we were in the same place...

[unfortunately, while Linda is smart, she doesn't have enough experience with extraordinary circumstances to make the leap of logic that she needs to--not so far, at least. but she's thinking about it]

Okay. [she nods resolutely, starting forward. as determined as she is right now, the mud is firm under her boots as well, which is lucky because, although they can't see it through the fog, they're not far from the hut now]

Not sure we're gonna figure out why, either. Better just focus on walking.

[He starts walking with her, squinting out through the fog. He keeps an eye on Linda incase it looks like she's about to sink, but she seems okay. As long as they're both doing okay, he isn't worrying too much. After a little bit of walking, where neither of them seem to be sinking, he sees a larger shape looming ahead in the mists. It turns out to be a hut.]

Think there's anyone inside?

You're probably right. [her tone is reluctant, though. she doesn't like feeling like there's some unknown force against them. but she focuses on continuing forward for now]

[she's keeping an eye on Boone as they go, too, relieved that he seems to be moving easily. as they approach the hut, she squints through the mist] I don't know--let's find out.

[she steps up to the doorway, putting a hand to her holster. there's no telling what might be in there, and she wouldn't put it past some of the wildlife to have taken up residence. she motions for Boone to stand at the ready to one side as she opens the door]

[Boone stands aside as Linda opens the door, ready to fire if anything comes wandering out. When nothing happens, he peers carefully around the doorway, and then grunts.]

Empty. Probably a good thing.

[The less they have to deal with out here, the better. He heads inside, checking around any corners just incase, and then relaxes a little. Only then does he notice the cauldron, and the potions sitting on a small table nearby.]

[she goes in with him, also checking around the room for anything potentially hostile. the potions catch her eye, though, and she heads over toward that table, frowning]

This looks like something out of a movie. What do you think is in these? [she picks up a beaker full of brightly-colored liquid, eyeing it uncertainly. for a second, she considers whether to sniff the liquid but decides against it]

[Boone heads over to the potions, and makes a face at them.]

Not sure. Looks like they've been here a while, though.

[He wipes his finger over the side of one of the potions, making a line in the thin layer of dust that's settled on them.]

Should probably take these back. Better be careful we don't break them.

[she nods; the dust on the potion she's holding is obvious, too] Yeah. At least they've got stoppers in them. [she sets the one back down, pulling the bag of supplies from her shoulder and opening it up. carefully, she starts to set the potions inside it one-by-one] Do you think one of these makes things slippery? I mean...not that it would explain how it could just become slippery and then stop being slippery, but...

[she likes to think they've come all this way through that swamp and are gathering these things now for a reason, at least]

Slippery? You mean like when everything was sliding around outside?

[Boone hadn't thought more about the cause of that particular incident. He was just glad when it stopped.]

Guess it's possible. Don't remember seeing anything like that on the floor, though.

Yeah. I mean, we're out here because Jeffers noticed something like it happening around here, so it might have something to do with it, but... [she shakes her head] I don't know how anything could cause that.

[she finishes loading the potions into the bag, slinging it back over her shoulder] But we should head back before it gets any later.

Guess we'll find out if we take these things back.

[He eyes the cauldron nearby, and then looks back at the table where the potions were standing.]

Think we should take that back too?

[It's not a huge cauldron, but it's still fairly heavy. Still, Boone gets the feeling it's related to the potions.]

[she turns at Boone's comment, frowning at the cauldron] We could try... [her uncertainty is clear in her tone. it doesn't look easy to manage, after all] But if we start sinking again? It's the first thing to go.

[He tilts his head at the cauldron with a thoughtful grunt, and then goes to pick it up. If it's too heavy, he'll just leave it. He doesn't want it to be an unnecessary burden.

...Yep, that's heavy. There isn't really any way he can hold it and keep a hand free, either. He doesn't doubt that he could carry it back, but it's going to be awkward going back.]

Guess we're lucky this thing isn't bigger.

[He nods towards the door.]

Okay. Let's get outta here. You see anything out there we've gotta deal with, or you think you're gonna sink, let me know and I'll drop it.

[she frowns as Boone grabs the cauldron himself even though it's obviously heavy] You sure we shouldn't be holding that between us? Like you said, we can always drop it if any of the wildlife comes after us.

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The Witches Huts

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