Event 001: The Potions

[atonementmods]

Characters: All.
When: February 1st
Where: Town Square
Warnings: None. Please put any warnings in the comment subject if it progresses that way!


As of this morning, there will be a steady rain over Penance that will darken the skies to black and fall as if somehow tainted and muddied, followed by a cold and harsh wind that will chill one to the bone if they dare to venture out in it... which may be necessary. The ground and roads will be slick and muddied, but there will be power outages due to the weather so staying in may not be necessarily more appealing. The rain will continue steadily for a week and be intermittent the rest of the month.

However, should anyone venture to the town square in search of warmth, there will be a large tent set up that is entirely illuminated regardless of whether the rest of Penance is or not. There will be supplies such as food and water for the taking, as well as a few old blankets for people to huddle under while they wait out the storm.

That's not all, of course. It wouldn't be atoning in the slightest if things were made too calm and cozy during the storm. There will also be letters left to each of Penance's new citizens detailing what this month's punishment entails.

It's time for your hosts to be a little less kind than upon arrival.

A table set up under the tent has five different kind of vials on it, plenty of each to go around. They have the following effects:

• Pink. Allows for one to hear the true thoughts of others, including what is thought about them for 24 hours during all interactions. This is to cause some self-reflection and insight into how they're viewed.


• Green. Allows for pain to be given to another for 24 hours. It will be agonizing pain and sickness. While this is extremely frowned upon, it will mean that the person in question will have participated in punishments this round and will be excused from drinking any other potion. However, remember that the actions we take now may have consequences in the future. It should also be noted that you won't get to choose who experiences the pain due to your decision, so no trying to take a grudge out on anyone.


• Purple. Allows one to feel the pain they caused another during their lives for 24 hours. They will feel what that person felt entirely. Hopefully this will cause some reflection and remorse for the actions that caused another to feel hurt.


• Blue. Forces honesty for 24 hours. No lying and one may even be compelled to spill their deepest, darkest secrets and sins to anyone who will listen. Transparency is key to atoning for past sins.


• Red Causes significant pain for 24 hours. It may be general pain like an ache in your bones that can't be soothed, or it may manifest in physical injuries such as cuts, bruises, etc. They say pain can be cleansing...

For those eager for punishment (which your hosts love to see), you may take more than one vial to spread out over the month, although taking multiple potions at once may not be entirely wise for most. Citizens may opt to try to avoid punishment this month, but again, remember all choices may have future consequences. Your hosts are here to see that you pay for your sins, not just scrape by.

With your letter collected, you may stay and get to know each other a little better while you wait for the storm to pass or insist on grabbing your items and brave the return to your home. The choice is absolutely yours.

Comments

[intheashes]

That drawl is familiar. The voice of a man he had met only truly briefly. He, once upon a time, joked that they were bonding, but in truth it had been a temporary thing. More so because he had gone and died. He hadn't a chance to see who else might have been hit. He'd been too busy falling from the bell tower.

Though that voice is familiar, Goodnight can't help but be a bit jumpy. He doesn't do well with people sneaking up behind him. Not these days. He's used to having someone there, to watch his back and make sure sudden surprised don't happen.

He manages a wane smile and flicks his eyes from Vasquez to the table. "No. They didn't. This is punishment after all. Why would they have something even remotely enjoyable here for you." He sounds a bit shorter, a bit less gentlemanly and pleasant. He's not got his lying to fall back on, his acts of polite civility. He's raw and unfiltered and he knows it must sound so bitter. "We should be grateful that they're even giving us the blankets and food. It's more than most guardsmen would give to a prisoner."

He looks to the supplies and then to Vasquez again. He might have said too much, admitting that he knows about that sort of thing. "Maybe they didn't realize you were coming and had yet to put out the proper drinks."

[quinientos]

Vasquez is trying to seem much cooler and calmer than he actually is. Truthfully, he's mostly annoyed because somehow he managed to get himself killed somehow without realizing it and that's the part that sits at him the worst. That he sees familiar faces here is something that he's not surprised about, but he's still not sure what all of it means.

He's especially not sure what the drinks are for. Raising a brow at Goodnight's tone, he thinks that the man definitely needs a drink. "You think we're prisoners here? I think this is still worlds better than what I've had to do before."

After all, a house, a roof, food, and drink? It's more than an outlaw can count on, most days.

[intheashes]

"Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage." He thinks that answers that question well enough. He scowls a little. "Just because we're free to wonder around doesn't mean we aren't captives all the same." It's not like they can leave. Where else is there for them to go? He knows where he's destined and he doesn't want to drag Billy down to hell with him.

"We're being cared for now, yes. But for how long? Eventually, the good graces of our hosts will run out. I wonder what the cost will be. The Devil always gets his due." Even though he does indeed enjoy the creature comforts of having that house and the food and his partner, Goodnight can't trust this. He's read too much. Seen too much. "Will you be prepared to pay your pound of flesh when the bill arrives." He's not certain he can, too much the coward.

[quinientos]

That's too poetic for him to give a shit about. Giving Goodnight a wary look, he's not sure that stone, iron, or anything matter if he doesn't have to sleep with a corpse and starve, or be picked off by an asshole like Bogue.

"Whatever cost they want to ask, what worse can it be than the things we already had to deal with?" he points out, brushing it aside even though he believes in God and sin and the devil. The trouble is, he also feels like he saw them in his life. "My pound of flesh was already starting to be carved. Are you scared, then?" he taunts. "What do you think the worst they can do is?"

[intheashes]

Goodnight is like that though. It's one of his few pleasures in life. Being pretentiously poetic, showing off just how well read and educated he was. With his trigger finger the way it is, all he has left is his words. And even those were no match for whatever he had drunk. He can't even hide behind the lies he spins.

He stiffens a little when he's asked what's worse than what he's dealt with. What could be more terrible than the lives they have led? He's seen Hell. They all had, in their way. But he knows automatically what was worse than a perfumed drawing room or freezing cold Elmira or anywhere else.

"Terrified." Because he can't lie. He's a coward and he's being forced to admit it. "I'm always afraid. Always. I thought I was getting better..." Then Rose Creek happened and he had run away. Sure he had come back, and where had that gotten him? It had gotten both himself and Billy killed. He sighs and looks down. He has no right to say it, not after he had left like that. "They could take Billy. They could take him and hurt him in front of me. They could keep me from him. I don't care what they might do to me personally. I deserve it. But Billy...he doesn't. He doesn't deserve any of this." Goodnight looks back up and his face is haunted, as pale as it had been the night they have laughed over cards.

"Perhaps you don't have anything to lose, but I do." He knows it's a harsh judgement, but he hasn't got his usual filter. "Billy can't be my pound of flesh. He's already paid enough for my poor decisions."

[quinientos]

Vasquez stares at Goodnight with sympathy, but he can't exactly bring himself to understand. He lacks empathy that way, because he's never had anyone or anything in his life, which means that the only thing they could take from him is his life. And, well, if he's dead, then they already managed to do that, didn't they?

"This is the trouble with letting yourself open up, being responsible for something," he warns, like he has any business talking about this when he'd been achingly lonely for the last several years of his life, only having a quick tumble when he can manage.

"Here's a better question. Do you really think anything you do here will change what they already intend to take?" he suggests. "Because I don't think so."