EVENT: HOSPITAL EXPEDITION

[asgardmods]

Who: Anyone!
What: Hospital Expedition Time!
When: Day 70
Where: The hospital and surrounding grounds.
Rating: PG-13 for potential scariness

Warning: This log includes reference to and optional effects of psychotropic medication. Those intensely bothered by such things should be cautious or steer clear.



After The Doctors found the hospital, an expedition was organized. Those who signed up in that post or who just want to tag along will be heading out on the morning of Day 70 (April 20, ICly). After a 3mi/5km or so walk, they'll find themselves at what looks like a mostly modern hospital and outbuildings, surrounded as a compound by a tall wire fence. The fence is now full of holes, and it's obvious that the buildings haven't been used in decades. There is very little graffiti or other human-caused damage to the place, but weather, animals, and neglect leave it pretty worn down anyway.

Inside, the buildings are mostly empty of medicines and things. There's some broken-down equipment and a few bits of both modern and herbalist medication here and there but not much. The records room however is pretty much intact, besides the wear on paper from sitting in a non-climate-controlled room for 30 years. The records date from the native's reckoning time of 376-385, and are mostly not very informative, but reading through a bunch will reveal how the greyness progressed as a "disease".

Emotion left first, so through 376 and 377 the records state that people just seem to be mysteriously losing all personality and are somewhat lethargic, just going through the motions for no apparent reason. By 378 people are losing colour, and the hospital turns from a specialty hospital to a quarantine zone. People are brought there the moment they're diagnosed, and while it seems the conditions at the hospital were humane, it was crowded and generally not a happy place.

By 383 the staff have been replaced multiple times as they too get sick, and the conditions at the compound were degenerating by sheer number of patients vs number of healthy staff. It got dirty and the food rations were a bit tight, but it wasn't any sort of horrible place where people died. It was just overcrowded and understaffed, for the most part. There's notes about how any animals or even inanimate objects that come into contact with the sick also lose expression and colour.

The last of the records will be notice that there's no more room in the hospital and no successful treatment or cure, so everyone is going back to the city and shutting it down, by order of the gods. Essentially, the entire city is doomed to go grey, so they'll turn the city walls into the quarantine zone to try to protect the rest of the world.

The one other interesting thing in the records might be that in all of the individual patient records, one file (that seems like it was very thick) is missing. There's also mention in the general notes of "the Queen" being sick -- one of the earlier patients, even. Most record of her has been blacked out, however.

Aside from records, there's only one other interesting to be found during the day. A large room in the old laboratory building seems strangely personal inside, having couches, tables, and stacks of basic board games lying around. If the door to this room is closed, it will automatically lock, and within a few minutes anyone inside will start feeling... funny. Perhaps as an attempted treatment for the emotionless lethargy of the disease, the room is equipped to be air tight, and a dosage of an odourless, colourless, mood-improving gas released. The effect should be no more than a case of the giggles and a sharpening of the characters' sense of colour. The room will unlock after ten minutes or so of the gas being in effect, and the symptoms should wear off in an hour or two.

Beyond that, there isn't much to find besides a general spooky feeling. The attic storage floor of the hospital may contain bats, and there's signs of other animals nesting (rabbits, etc). The creepy atmosphere should make for interesting exploration though -- especially at night. Anyone inside after darkness falls should stay there. There my be the sounds of nearby wolves outside, but running into any is entirely optional and won't happen inside the buildings.

Each Doctor will be leading his own team, so if your characters will strictly be sticking to their team, make sure you note that in your starter or wait for your chosen Doctor to set things up for his team. You're also welcome to have your characters explore free-form with their friends or with strangers, so don't worry too much about structure! Have fun and go wild!

Comments

[occulthymns]

Yeah! You're taking dying way too seriously. It's not a bad thing.

[lethechained]

--....

But... don't most people not want to die?

[occulthymns]

Most humans I guess, but humans are really stupid when it comes to things like death.

[lethechained]

So it's different, for witches?

[occulthymns]

That's right. To us death isn't a bad thing, only murder.

[lethechained]

....

Why?

[occulthymns]

That's just the way things are. I can talk about the murder part, but the death part of that is personal. [She wouldn't even tell Vanitas when he asked.]

[lethechained]

[She's quiet for a moment, then,]

I understand. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable. I guess... it's different for everyone. [Every kind of one, in general?]

[occulthymns]

Mhmm! In my case it's more like it's prohibited - there are a lot of things Witches don't like humans knowing.

[lethechained]

Oh...! [She kind of presses her lips together after that, though. She's... not exactly a normal human, no, but she's not about to say that.]

That makes sense.

[occulthymns]

Yeah. It's kind of a pain sometimes, though.

[lethechained]

I'm sure. It's not always easy keeping things to yourself.

[occulthymns]

... Mm. [She frowns faintly, deciding to peer into an empty room at that moment.] It's annoying.

[lethechained]

[Naminé tilts her head ever so slightly. Interesting timing.]

... But I guess that some things really are better left unsaid. [Not all of them, though.]

[occulthymns]

[Euri nods, wandering to the end of the hall and peering around the corner. She's perking up immediately and glancing back.]

Hey! I think I found an exit!

[lethechained]

--! Really? [Walking over to see...!]

[occulthymns]

[She'll call Dog over as she approaches the door. It does indeed seem to be an exit - there's a worn out old exit sign about it, as well as a few faded signs on the door itself.

Dog will creep out from a nearby room, trotting over with a woof.]

Looks like it.

[lethechained]

[Naminé spares the dog a quick glance as he shows up, then turns her attention back to the door.]

Is it unlocked?

[occulthymns]

[Euri'll try to push it open! But she only manages about an inch. She'll give it a few more pushes before frowning.]

I think it's stuck.

[lethechained]

--! [Well, that's disappointing...! -- Oh, wait.] Do you... want me to try to help? [She's kind of hesitant, though, since she knows she probably won't be much help.]

[occulthymns]

Sure! [It can't hurt to try. Euri will put her hands on the door.]

On three.

[lethechained]

[Naminé takes a similar stance (mostly because she's not sure what else to do besides mimic Euri.)]

Right--...!

[occulthymns]

One... two... three!

[And on three Euri practically throws all her bodyweight into the door, since brute strength isn't her strong suit either.]

[lethechained]

[Naminé might be a bit less enthusiastic thanks to her lack of experience, but she does her best. She doesn't have much weight to throw, but throw it she does. ... Ow.]

[occulthymns]

[Their combined body weight is enough to move the door, since it was just some overgrowth impeding their progress.

So the door is flying open! ... And Euri is landing very unceremoniously on the ground with an 'oof'!]