River’s Notebook
-> Two groups with their own goal
Our goal: Complete ritual
-> Map: Apartment building? City? Building, ground floor off limits
-> Length: Seven days, no repeats
-> No shadows – real setting
-> Own identities? Same position as others in building (tenants? cultists?)
Rules
-> Be social/communicate
-> Don’t try to leave
Other Group
-> Papyrus (Strength), Soot (Knowledge), Acorn (Social)
-> Goal: ???
-> Acorn “knows” us
Situation
-> Morning bell
-> Meals together on second floor
-> Logan (talkative) is a friend
-> Viewed as lovers? Partners?
-> Seven floors + open rooftop
-> Feeling watched/observed?
-> Miles some sort of leader? Talks about other people’s lives
Building
-> Ground floor ng (Fingerprint lock)
-> 1. ??? (locked), infirmary (with unfriendly/suspicious doctor?)
-> 2. Meals, meditation
-> 3. Rooms
-> 4. Rooms
-> 5. Library, open rooms (also sports)
-> 6. Some rooms + ??? (locked)
-> 7. ??? (locked) cultist room? Miles talks in the evening (no symbolism?)
Incidents
-> Night 1, Logan lost tongue (is conscious, otherwise unharmed? Accident?)
There was no way to follow the line of spreading, but it took no more than a single hour for the whole building to become aware of what had happened.
It showed in the whispers – the worried glances, the subtly lowered heads, the tense silence.
In all of this, Miles was nowhere to be found, which further enhanced the insecurity people were feeling. They stuck together closely in the common rooms, squishing together like penguins during a snowstorm.
The image would have been comical if River wasn’t aware of why this was happening.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It’s an odd injury”, River complained out loud. “At first glance, it seems like someone is trying to shut Logan up, but that makes no sense at all!”
“Dfmjerf tf’r ralii jilnf”, Crqfc jugffv.
“Lf tjr jii bo tlr olcufgr. Lf’r mbcrmlber. Lf mjc mbwweclmjaf atgbeut kglalcu bg wbalbcr bg fnfc ys rtjxlcu tlr tfjv. Pa’r cba fzjmais j agbqts flatfg, yfmjerf Obujc lr nfgs wemt jilnf jcv ibbxr-”
Ca atlr wbwfca, Elnfg qjerfv.
Ktf lwjuf bo Obujc lc atf yfv gfjqqfjgfv lc tlr wlcv.
Unhappy, he tugged at his own hair.
“Unharmed”, he complained. “He looks otherwise unharmed. No bruises on his face, no other injury I could see. Nothing that gives me any reason to believe he narrowly escaped being killed, or that he struggled at all.”
“So we are left with the very reasonable explanation of it happening due to this, yknow, being kind of a cult? Fits with everything and our goal.”
“Certainly. However, when we talk about ritualistic human sacrifices… That leaves us with a big question.”
Who was the part being sacrificed to?
And why only a tongue, leaving the rest of the human unharmed? The most common human sacrifices were lives, after all.
There was no god-like figure apparent in this building anywhere. Not in writing, not in art, not even in Miles’ stories. The general tension also implied that people were shocked at what had happened, which meant they weren’t aware of the existence of such a ritual.
“A… cult within a cult?” Aspen pulled a face. Maybe this place was just weird, but there were cultists in hiding?
“Many options. At least we can guess that this is part of the ritual we are expected to complete, but a single tongue doesn’t say too much. I’ll have to try if the doctor allows me to talk to Logan some more… I need to know what happened.”
The sunlight was shining on them much gentler than should be allowed given the situation. Looking out of the window in their room, River huffed out a breath of air.
“Not enough context. Does Logan have enemies? Did anyone see anything? Is someone else injured?”
A long pause.
“We will have to question people.”
“We will have to question people without them thinking we are questioning them.”
“Great. I’m a professional at being subtle”, Aspen groaned, slipping off the comfortable bed. “I’m a master of social interactions.”
They split up to cover more ground. Aspen went into the training room, River was in one of the open rooms and joined some people at the coffee tables.
Not unexpectedly, they were talking about Logan.
“He’ll be fine”, a gentle brunette woman tried to support River despite her own trembling fingers. “He’s a good man. He’ll be healthy soon enough again and join us.”
“It’s so sad that this happened to him, of all people”, a younger girl added, her voice a bit choked. “He’s such a bright, happy person! Why does he have to suffer?”
River quickly interjected. “Who would have done this to him? Does anyone dislike Logan?”
He got a couple questioning looks for that. “You of all people should know that everyone likes Logan. He’s such a kind man! Besides, do you really think someone here did this?”
An awkward silence fell.
“Who else would be able to?” River pressed on, though he could tell people were getting uncomfortable.
A man scoffed. “If someone wandered around here at night, security would have noticed them. I’m sure Logan will tell us he had an accident once he’s feeling better. You know, he tripped or something. You would be surprised about what kind of accidents I’ve heard of in my life!”
“Right.” The brunette agreed with him, cheering him. “Such a barbaric thing like cutting- …No one would do that! We aren’t animals.”
“We should cheer him up once he’s better and can leave. What do you guys think? Maybe we should get him a beautiful notebook that he can write into? Since he can’t talk anymore, he will have to communicate in writing.”
“Oh, let’s ask someone who binds books! Doesn’t Millie make her own journals? We could design our own cover for him!”
“That’s a great idea!”
The atmosphere shifted incredibly quickly. It was too quick for River to catch up with it, especially because he was still stuck on something.
If someone wandered outside at night…
…Security would bring them back?
There was actual security here that wandered the hallways at night, ensuring no one left?
He would have to confirm that somehow. If this truly was the case, then there were only so many options of how things could have happened.
Until lunch, River moved back and forth between several groups.
Logan was indeed liked by everyone.
He was friendly and always willing to lend a hand. One older lady was especially willing to talk about Logan – even a bit too much. She had a whole notebook that she kept like a diary, and didn’t let River leave until the bell for lunch rang.
River pretty much fled away from her to the dining room to escape her constant talking.
Aspen nearly jumped into his arms when he found the easterner. The dining room was a bad place to talk about their findings, so they’d have to share them later.
It turned out though, that even if they had wanted to talk, this wasn’t the best time for it.
The very moment everyone had settled, Miles appeared at one side of the room and people fell silent without the need for a call to attention. They naturally turned to him, waiting obediently for him to speak.
Miles’ soothing voice filled the room.
“I believe everyone here is aware of what happened to Logan”, he began quietly. “I hadn’t wanted everyone to be scared, so I would have preferred for details not to leak, but what has happened, has happened.”
He gave a soft sigh.
“Logan has indeed lost his tongue. He is, however, conscious and in a good state. He is not in pain, and our very own doctor is very optimistic about his recovery. Please, everyone, don’t let fear cloud your mind. I will keep you informed about how Logan is faring. You may come talk to me at any time.”
Under normal circumstances, such a speech would have caused people to only relax slightly. You would still hear them whisper and worry, wonder about what happened.
Not here.
It was like a switch was flipped.
All at once, the tension fell off people’s faces and the smiles returned. Lunch resumed as if nothing had ever happened.
“That’s so creepy”, Aspen whispered under his breath, trying to not look too weirded out.
Saying that this was brainwashing seemed wrong to River.
It wasn’t puppet-like behavior – there were many nuances to the way the people around him acted even as they calmed down, some more fidgety like a teenage girl at the next table over, some more relieved like the ones at his table.
If he had to compare it…
It was closer to a young child talking to an adult. The adult said it was fine, and the child believed them wholeheartedly.
Because the adult knows better.
Yes, that was what it felt like.
Miles would know if they had to be nervous. As long as Miles was calm, everyone else could relax as well.
Not worship. Trust.
That was why none of this reminded him of a cult.
There was no sign of worship anywhere, the peace here was completely built up on gentle, warm trust.
No one here wants to hurt you.
The thought lulled you in. Made you lose your wariness.
And that, more than anything… was starting to truly fascinate River.
How had Miles done it?
How was it that all these people believed in him? That his words could sway their thoughts, not mindlessly, but simply because they were convinced that his statements were truthful?
There was a lot to be said about the most charismatic people in people. Those that managed to sway the masses. A more peaceful example might have been Gandhi, a violent one Hitler. One should never underestimate the lengths that people could go to when convinced by someone whose words were enchanting enough.
Miles reminded River more of the former, for now. He was preaching communication, which was indeed the most important thing in any decent relationship, no matter which kind. Communication was the base for peace.
So, were there two cults here?
One that was barely a cult, that was peaceful and supportive, and one that was using the closed-off area to conduct a ritual?
Using these peaceful people as a sacrifice, was it a ritual to sow violence and distrust?
How odd.
How interesting.
Who was the one pulling the strings?
Beautiful!the more this mystery goes on the more I think I’m gonna completely fall in love with the ending……whether heartbreaking or heartwarming