The Next Night Network

Good...day, my fellow citizens. If it is day, who knows anymore?

According to the Librarian's report, we are running out of time, but there are several things happening on multiple fronts which give me hope that it is not entirely impossible to handle this World Eater which is on its way. Allow me to report what I know, and then we may discuss what we can do to hasten our various tasks and come together in order to succeed.

First, Weaver would like our collective assistance cleaning the Helix Station so that she may return to live in it. It is...a daunting task, if one is not yet accustomed to the level of violence and gore that seems to be commonplace here. A number of people died there, and while their remains are not an issue, there is still a fair amount of evidence of the violence that must be safely cleaned up. If anyone would like to put together a group to do so, I would appreciate it and so would Weaver - so much so that she has agreed to find us the information we would need to learn how to reverse the portal and potentially send the World Eater through it. Time is extremely of the essence, there. But, seeing as it is winter, or very nearly so, some may appreciate time in a warm, indoor station that is as safe as any, even if the bargain means washing and cleaning.

What we learned while down there was considerable, and Doctor Trafalgar has a sample of World Eater [ahem] viscera on which to experiment. We know that there may be one limited means of fighting the green-eyed spirits, using a potion, but work will need to be done to verify and then manufacture it. Pluto and her people were working on ways to fight back against them as well as the World Eaters, and while most of that was a bit over my own head, I expect the doctors - medical and technological both - have all of that information and can share it with any who can help them work on other routes of defense and attack. There is also more information out there to be retrieved, it seems.

We also learned more about the bomb that was used, and I would like to remind my fellow living dead that I have the location of a bunker containing an important mineral component of it. I should like to undertake an expedition to retrieve it once the proper containment protocols can be arranged. I defer to Doctor Ingram on that front, but I will be going along to guide and to fight if needed.

Now, with all of that said... [deep breath. Yeah, he talks a lot and this time is no different]

...the Librarian's message also suggested that some of the green-eyes are amenable to talking with us, perhaps we can arrange a truce or at least a mutual cease-fire. It seems there is a massive and dangerous 'boss' spirit, the Seven-Eyes, which will not listen to reason, and I will echo the plea: do take care, and do not go out alone. Not even to search for lanterns. There are a dwindling number of us left, and if too many take foolhardy risks, we may not be able to repair their lanterns. Any and all efforts of ours to stop the World Eaters and look ahead to a peaceful afterlife will end permanently if we lose the ones capable of repairing lanterns and working the portal. Of course, I do not plan to strike diplomacy with this creature, but if the Librarian is correct, there are others, and I want to speak with them. Sooner rather than later.

Winter is coming, and there is no knowing how harsh it may be. Our efforts to explore and travel may be severely hindered. I suggest we plan to move as quickly as we can to secure all of our advantages. I would propose one more thing...the Bonfire. It does serve as our light and heat but it is also what draws the World Eater here. I would like to hear any suggestions of how to best spread out the torches, move them so that they do not act as a beacon of their own. We need the light, but we also need to protect ourselves.

Thank you for listening. Please, tell me what you think.

[he opens with a deep sigh, tired and slightly pained]

My fellow citizens of Beacon...

The recent visits by spirits appear to have been fruitful, in the sense that some of us have learned new things about this world and the past. If you have something valuable to share, I encourage you to speak up. I am less concerned about network security these days so we need not purposefully meet in person. I should like to know what you all know, and in turn, I have some disturbing news of my own.

The spirit who met me...I believe, strongly, was actually one of my own people, from my world. A foe, in the past, whose death impacted me personally. I have no evidence aside from the sensations of his thoughts, which in the dream state is hard to be sure is real, but my experience is difficult to interpret any other way. This means that the spirits are not just the former residents of Beacon from before the darkness, they are also...us. Our own. Others like us who were brought here upon death and forced to try to rectify the situation before it's too late. It is very likely that in time, we too will become masked spirits.

Hence, 'what is death to a dead thing?' Their deaths brought them here, and the world turned them into what we see.

[a long pause. Not because the rest is difficult but because that's such a heavy thought and he's not managing it well]

Additionally, through his memory of still being human, I have discovered the location of some sort of bunker, a storage space hidden behind a thick metal door. The 'plutonium' that the Night Market wanted so badly is apparently kept there. If the Wild Hunt is no longer a threat, it may be safe to mount an expedition to recover it, I have the location written down as I remember it being given to my mind. However, I think the more urgent and prudent expedition should be to Helix Station, if Weaver would be so kind as to transport us. I will have plans made to leave within two days of now. Do let me know if you wish to join me, I have already spoken to some but would like to settle it.

Please, share with me what you have all learned.

I come bearing some unpleasant news, which Commander Rosinante, Grandmaster Kuai Liang, and I discovered within the last day. Before I begin, if there is anyone with better medical training or healing abilities who can help the two of them, it would be much appreciated. We encountered a violent spirit who did quite a lot of damage.

That said, we went to look into a strange phenomenon the Grandmaster found while looking for torches, and ended up at what they have said is the 'radio tower.' I believe this is where the modern sorts managed their communications, Daylight explained some of it to me some time ago. There are many smaller details which any of us can relate to you but I take to the network to report some incredibly dire news, and to ask if anyone can recognize or translate part of a message.

[it takes some rather obvious fumbling to get the tablet to play a pre-recorded message while sending this one, pity his awkwardness, but then this message begins to play clearly. Kuai got a good recording of it to share.]

I confess I had thought that the reason the Night Market did not visit earlier this month was much more mundane. Flood damage, perhaps, or a loss of communication with Master Rastus. This...is far worse. I do not know the timing of the message, when it was first sent, but the fact that nothing has come up from the bottom of the lake to destroy us yet...well, I don't think I can say what that means.

There is also this, if anyone is capable of translating...

[a shorter recording, now that he's got the hang of it. Morse code if anyone has the chops to tackle it!]

I do not know if we have the resources to actually mount a rescue or do anything about it, but I feel our last remaining chances at survival may slip away if we do nothing at all. World Eater aside, it may be that the portal itself and our ability to resupply will be cut off if we cannot reach them at all. Your thoughts?