We're not in Appalachia anymore, Toto.

RP Date: 2026-10-26

Location: The Last Chance

Participants: Adamina, Charleigh, Spizzzo

Summary

Charleigh is newly arrived in Grimwych. She manages to find her way to the Last Chance, meets Spizzzo and Adamina, and begins to grapple with the new reality of Grimwych.

This archive was published after approval by all listed participants.

Roleplay

Charleigh was looking like a drowned rat in a tattered nightgown hunched down by the fire the way she was. Slow droplets of the lake was still falling against her cheeks mixed in with a few self pitying tears that was trying to comfort the woman. "I was dreaming..." she was softly whispering to herself as she rocked on bare feet.

Spizzzo pushes into the tavern, wearing the fine vest and ensemble he had been wearing when he emerged from the lake, now much worn although dry and clean, supplemented by a makeshift cloak of scavenged tapestries from the ruined watchtower. He is carrying a large pot full of a simmering stew, which he is bringing to supplement the offerings in the tavern. He slows as he notices Charleigh. Soaking wet, covered in mud, badly disoriented? Check, check and check. His voice rolls out in a soft and deep wave, "Oh, honey..." He sets the pot down near the fire and holds out an arm toward the woman. "Miss, come sit by the fire before you get cold. Once you're warm I'll make you some stew. It has ... game meat."

Charleigh looked over her shoulder at the man who seemed to have managed to be dry and clean. Maybe he was one of the locals? He seemed to have seen this before because he was well prepared to deal with her state. "I was dreaming of swimming, and I awoke not far from here..." she was chattering her teeth meaning the fire wasn't doing the job fast enough. "I just need to get home before Ma and Pa awake and find me missin" she stayed where she was even with the offer of a meal. "I don't want to take your food Sir.. We have plenty back home the fields was good to us this year..."

Spizzzo shakes his hand and, now that she's speaking, takes the initiative of reaching very slowly and visibly out with one arm, palm flat, fingers extended, and places just a very gentle pressure on Charleigh's shoulder. "Miss. Come sit. My name is Spizzzo. Spizzzo Spizzzoson. You came up through the lake? You need to get dry before anything else. Fire, warmth, and a little stew."

Adamina steps in out of a cold and dreary evening and pushes the hood of a cloak pilfered from somewhere down around her shoulders. Expecting to find the place empty, she is pleasantly surprised to find Spizzzo and a newcomer, the letter of whom she regards with concern. "Have you just arrived? Are you all right?"

Charleigh felt the pressure and flinched as it made her realize this wasn't a dream. She had never felt something in a dream like she had the water and now his hand. A nod is gave as she quickly wipes her eyes and moves to where the man had instructed. "My name is Charleigh..." she snivels out as the emotions behind the young woman was trying to calm. "I did come from the lake... I was dreaming I was swimming... But when I woke up I was on a muddy bank" She held up the filthy hands she now owned and each step she took left a bit of mud smudged against the wood.

Spizzzo looks thankfully to Adamina as he walks Charleigh over to a chair by the fire. "This must all be very disorienting. Very confusing, perhaps scary. But you're safe right now. You did a good job getting to a warm building. We'll get you dry." Spizzzo heads over to the bar area and fishes out a large mug and a spoon. He dips the mug into the stew pot and brings the steaming cup over to Charleigh. "Even if you aren't hungry, it'll warm your hands." He doesn't address the issue of getting Charleigh home as he transfers his stew pot to the tavern's fireplace to keep warm.

Adamina removes her cloak and drapes it over the back of the chair opposite the one Charleigh is sitting in. "Get yourself warm. I'm sure it was very frightening to come through like that, but you are safe here and with us." Her eyes follow the silver haired man as she continues speaking. "We might be better off, sheltering here for the evening.  I saw no sign of any shadow creatures, but I did hear the most awful howling and the moon is full."

Charleigh took the bowl from Spizzzo, the warmth was actually more comforting than the thought of stew. Her stomach felt as if she needed to vomit, it made her wonder how much of that water she had swallowed. "Thank you" she said not forgetting the manners she was raised with, though the one about eating what you was served was not gonna happen. It was not a dream, she was there, they was here, and now the woman was talking about shadow creatures. "Okay" she breathed in sharply from her nose and straightened her back. "Where am I? This doesn't look like Morgantown or Ashvillian and those are the towns close to my home..." those could have been traveled to while sleepwalking right?

Spizzzo sighs deeply, both at the inevitable question, 'Where are we?' but also the necessity of the explanations about 'shadow monster' and 'howling.' Well. First things first. "We are in the town of Grimwych. About...maybe almost two months ago, give or take, we started coming out of the lake here. Not all of us have all of our memories of where we were before. There was nobody in the town until we arrived." He sits back on a chair, looking to Adamina for any advice on what made her feel calmer upon arrival. His long ears twitch idly, responding to evening sounds.

Adamina takes a seat in the chair she put her cloak over and folds her hands neatly on the scratched and scuffed up tabletop.  Despite her long sleeves, a peek of brightly-colored ink can be seen rebelliously poking through the edge of the dark blue fabric.  If only ahe had a nice hat to complete the look. "We are all trapped in some kind of extradimensional space.  Aside from Grimwych, none of us know where we are or why we're here.  We have all been trying to get our bearings and figure that out.  The shadow person is a rumor started by someone named Morgane; I haven't seen such a creature, and the howling is probably a werewolf.  There were quite a lot of those in my home world."  As if to accentuate her point, the high pitch of far-off howling can be heard through the windows.

Charleigh could feel herself having one of those fits that came with the horrible thunderstorms that used to roll through the valley. Ma would tell her to breathe into a paper bag, but now she had no bag. "Trapped" she said with a gasp of air that hurt. Tremors in her hands started to ripple the stew in the bowl. What sick fate had she found herself waking into.

Spizzzo moves closer to Charleigh, crouching down slightly to meet her eyes. "Miss Charleigh. May I rub your back? I think you might find it grounding and soothing." He moves into position to do so, but waits for some sign of affirmative consent before beginning. With his other hand he helps to steady the stew, without taking it away from her.

Adamina regards Charleigh's rising panic with measured calm. "For now," she replies quietly. "But we will look out for each other, won't we, Spizzzo?  Until all of this mess is resolved."

Charleigh was breathing but the way her heart was pounding made everything around her become muffled. Back.. Soothing.. was heard from the man who had been nothing but kind. "That's fine.." maybe the touch would ground her again, much like his shoulder touch had. The woman's words also seemed to help, made her feel like a community might be forming here, and that can always make some things more easier.

Spizzzo nods seriously to Adamina as he rubs his hand in gentle circles between Charleigh's shoulder blades. Sensing the need to natter on, Spizzzo provides an audio focus. "I have a little cookfire by the watchtower, right near the lake. I try to catch people as they emerge, but obviously I am not omnipotent. You did a great job reaching safe shelter for the night, I believe there are still vacant rooms upstairs here. Warm, dry, secure."

Adamina raises her eyes to the upper landing visible atop the stairs. "As far as I know only two people are staying here all the time. The rest of us seem to have found other lodgings."  Where was Marw hiding out?  Mina had half a mind to scout out the area and find out, just for Foxx's sake. "No one appears to own the place, and unless Mr. Corvo is in attendance there isn't any drink, but we're managing."

Charleigh slowly nods at the words that was spoken to her, but she had never stayed the night alone somewhere. In all her twenty years there had always been family in her home. "I saw some tracks leading here... So I followed them" her hand had settled as the reality was coming clearer to her. "I don't drink but right now I wish he was here..."

Spizzzo nods quietly and continues rubbing Charleigh's back. "Stew will be good for you, if you can keep it down." He looks to Adamina for a moment to try and guess if she'd mind sharing this tale. "When Adamina came up, I think she maybe spit up half a lake's worth of water before she could handle stew. Do you remember where you came from very well? If it's not too painful, nice memories can be soothing."

Adamina gently corrects Spizzzo. "That was seawater.  I'm not sure I was ever submerged in the lake.  It was more..." Her brow furrows, because the memory is fuzzy and strange. "Jimmy and I were in the lifeboat, and this wave came up behind us, and..."  Her brow furrows.  What had happened after that?  Her throat still burns a little from all that saltwater, and the frantic gasping for air from rapidly filling lungs.  <i>I should have drowned.  "</i>We were whaling and the ship went down in the storm."

Charleigh looked down at the stew and let her manners lead the way. The broth was sipped, the taste of game apparent in the flavor, and she felt it slide down her stomach warming her insides. "I lived on a farm that my pa was born on... There was a white house and a faded red barn. A few animals.." that is when her voice caught again. Would Mutt worry when he didn't find her in the morning?! The woman's words come about a ship going down. So not everyone here came the same way. She was dreaming, the other in a boat. "What about you Spizzzo? Do you remember?"

Spizzzo smiles and pats Charleigh's shoulder, finally stepping back now that she seems as settled as she's likely to get tonight. "No, I'm one of the lucky ones. My earliest memory is trying to breathe lake water, before determining I must be a terrestrial animal. I don't have any loved ones to miss or home to yearn for, so I can focus on making sure the rest of you feel safe and cared for, for as long as you're here."

Charleigh takes another mouthful of the broth because Spizzzo had been right about it warming her on the inside since the gown she still wore was just now stopping dripping water. "Since you said that people came from the lake, and it was also said about two months of this happening..." the pit in her stomach opened for her next words. "This trap is going to be home for awhile?"

Adamina got weirdly logged out or something, much sorri.

Charleigh need the post?

Adamina remains seated, calm and quiet.  Reserved even, but not in a way that comes across as cold or inattentive.  Her eyes move from person to person as they speak, Spizzzo's words ringing with her:  <i>one of the lucky ones.  </i>"I haven't been here that long.  Maybe two weeks?  Three?  It's hard to keep track of time." She puts on a suitable smile for Charleigh. "Your father's farm sounds nice.  Were you close to your parents?"

Spizzzo nods quietly. "Well. One day at a time. We all hope for the best, but we'll do the best we can, all together. I believe there is a benevolent spirit in Grimwych, making sure we have what we need. Hopefully that includes a way home for those in need. " He looks around, heeding Adamina's advice about the night. "Perhaps I'll bunk down here tonight. You might be comfortable in one of the rooms upstairs. But I should rest. Have to be up early to check for fish."

Adamina nods quietly to Spizzzo. "Rest well, friend. I'll stay up until the sun rises and keep an eye on things. I've some sewing to do."

Charleigh sighed at the asking of her family. "The farm was nice, but it was a lot of hardwork.." her brow slightly furrowed. "A lot fell on my plate as the oldest of six.." she placed the stew down beside her on the table. "But Ma always made sure I had time to study." When Spizzzo mentioned needing some rest she didn't know if she could sleep tonight, what if she dreamed herself somewhere else. "Mind if I just sit here for awhile and watch the fire.. When the sun comes up I wouldn't mind not meeting everyone in a night gown, so I am going to see if my wrapper may have came with me."

Spizzzo nods, "We'll look together, the three of us once the sun comes up." He tucks his legs onto a long bench, and sits back against the wall near the fireplace. He lets his eyes drift closed.

Adamina glances at the closed window. "I wouldn't go out now if I were you," she says softly. "I don't know who specifically might be a werewolf, but there are no normal wolves in Grimwych." She sets her bag on the table and starts picking through it. "I was the youngest of six. My brother was almost grown by the time I was born." She has found that she prefers the night, the quiet, the familiarity of darkness all around her. "As Forrest I'm concerned you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I don't mind company."

Charleigh nodded a thanks to the woman and for the first time since arriving she smiled. "Our youngest is a toddler named Petey." in her mind she could see him running, but every time she tried to recall his face it was nothing but a blur. Maybe it was shock still? A small nod was gave to the woman "I will stay indoors at night then." this would be a tomorrow problem for the sleep walker, because tonight there would be no sleep. "Thank you.." she said softly as she picked at a smear of mud on her gown. "I will just gather myself, and take it all in small steps."