Encounterlogs
Cailyns Odd Encounter Sr Kylia
Cailyn, an amateur paranormal investigator, is shaken when a rift bizarrely opens in the central hallway of the colonial building she's in, and a timeswept templar tumbles out. The armored stranger from the past demands to be returned, brandishing a sword, but Cailyn, clad in modern attire that perhaps suggests to the templar she's a sorceress, insists she has no such powers. Confusion ensues as the templar attacks, embedding her sword into a wooden table. When Cailyn tries to reason with her, the templar gradually lowers her guard, questioning her surroundings and asking for assistance to find her way back. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Cailyn cautiously offers help, warning the displaced warrior of the risks of wandering into modern society unguided.
Meanwhile, Clara, enduring the consequences of the town's 'cleanse,' succumbs to a moment of weariness and finds herself trapped in a dreamlike mall, relentlessly searching for gifts that transform into unwanted items at checkout. Disturbed by mysterious strangers urging her to discern reality from illusion, Clara struggles to wake. A sense of urgency consumes her as the dream becomes increasingly unsettling, with crowds that hinder her and eyes that follow her every move. At last, a forceful nudge propels her towards a side door, prompting her escape into an abyss that awakens her. Exhausted and shaken, Clara questions the reality she endured, finding herself back in the safety of her bed, with only the aftereffects lingering as evidence of the ordeal.
In the same realm, Autumn seeks to combat the manipulative influence of the 'Calm Mind' app entangled in Haven's supernatural fabric. Consulting with Carter and Order Librarians over comm links, they brainstorm strategies to approach the server farm in Boston. Options like causing a power outage or a DDOS attack are considered to seize control or disrupt the app's influence. With a more targeted approach, Autumn suggests exploiting testing sessions and associated vulnerabilities. Carter highlights the risk of persistent third-party installations, even if the app is removed from official stores, signaling an ongoing battle beyond the immediate plan to neutralize the threat.
(Cailyn's odd encounter(SRKylia):SRKylia)
[Mon Jan 1 2024]
In the central hallway of an eerie colonial building
The oppressive atmosphere continues into the central hallway, walls of decorative wooden paneling, each marred with some form of rot, feel strangely cramped. The electronic chandeliers give too little light for comfort, casting shadows that play tricks behind pots of wilted flowers. Paintings, each in lavish frame, add a forlorn touch as if abandoned, rueful. The hallway features a hardwood floor, polished smooth yet caked in dust, creaking with each and every step and sometimes, adding another creak by itself.
It is dusk, about 36F(2C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky. Ankle high mist flows through the area.
(An amateur paranormal investigator has stumbled onto the truth of the supernatural world and has evidence. Your target and their allies are tasked with containing the situation.
)
As Cailyn hangs about in the central hallway, an almost imperceptible hum vibrates through the room, as the air begins rippling and distorting, like a surreal mirage that warps the reality of the space, and it's rapidly expanding from being the size of a fist to being almost person-sized as it consumes more and more of the surrounding area.
Cailyn looks up from her phone, clearly disturbed by the change in the air. "Um," she manages to say as she watched the mirage expand. Her head tilts to the side in utter curiosity. "... This is rather new."
The rift in the fabric of time tears open, and through the temporal breach, a timeswept templar falls through, clad in armor adorned with the echoes of eras long past, landing with a jarring metallic thud. As the disorienting effects of the temporal jump begin to subside, the timeswept templar takes a moment to collect herself. With a deliberate inhale, she steadies her breath and rises from the ground in an instinctive motion, "Sorceress!" She spits, unsheathes a european broadsword, "Return me to wh're i cameth!"
Then, almost as swiftly as it emerged, the unnatural distortion vanishes, leaving no trace of its transient existence. It seems like it's not going to be possible for Cailyn to grand this very angry sword-wielding woman's request.
Ah yes, a pair of well-loved jeans and a tulip adorned sweater- The garb of a modern sorceress. And this particular sorceress just blinks in surprise as the templar is spat out into her world. There's a hesitation in the redhead as a blade is bared, a look of offense, before she puts her hands up in surrender.
"And where... Uh... Dost thou cometh... From?" Cailyn asks, trying to put it in words this time-addled templar might understand?
"DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH ME!" Spits the timeswept templar, and without warning, she lunges forward and slashes her sword toward Cailyn's leg. Cailyn narrowly evades the arc of the sword with a graceful dodge and the blade slams into a table with a force that embeds it deep within the unyielding wood. The Templar grapples with the stubborn resistance of the lodged weapon, her muscles teansing with each strained pull like she were trying to free excalibur from the stone. A few more moments and she may be successful in doing so.
"Oh-" Cailyn sounds out as she steps out of the way of the incoming blade, hands still remaining in the air. She gritd her teeth, frowning at the damaged table. "Sarah's gonna hate that... Look- Miss? Dame?.. You?" The redhead tries to get the templar's attention, "Why don't we just talk this out? Hello, my name is Cailyn and I do not practice magic. Is it the sweater? Does that make you think I do?"
With a resolute effort, the templar wrenches the sword free from the table, the metallic rasp cutting through the tension in the air. She begins to prowl toward Cailyn with measured steps, however, a subtle change transforms the templar's demeanor, a moment of reconsideration visible in their eyes, as the sword lowers from being held at the ready to hanging at her side, "Thee didst not doth this?" She questions, disbelieving, "Then who is't is to censure? Wh're am I?" There's a decisive shake of her head, "T matt'rs not. I must to return to Ruxox. I shall needeth a h'rse. Can thee taketh me to thy lord?"
Cailyn slowly lowers her hands as she looks over the poor woman before her. She doesn't move fast nor with any intent to harm. "I... Have a feeling you may not like what I have to say," the redhead claims, voice gentle. She chews on her cheek, racking her brain on how exactly she can break /everything/ to the woman. "Horse? Alright... Look- I never caught your name, but... Your situation is very delicate. To put it bluntly, you're in the future. But I know people who can help- People who've dealt with those like you."
The Templar snorts dismissively, a sound that punctuates her visible annoyance, "If thou art not going to help then stayeth out of mine own way." She turns on her heel to leave, still fully clad in armor, and with a sword held at her side, no doubt something that will raise alarms amongst an unaware population,
"Wait wait wait, I /am/ helping!" Cailyn shouts after the Templar before running over- Possibly much faster than the armored woman- and blocking the exit. "You will get yourself hurt if you walk out this door. I'd rather not let that happen."
(Your target is attacked by a dream stalker who subjects them to their greatest fantasies in the dream world in order to keep their body passive while it's energies are fed upon. They need to, possibly with the help of allies entering their dreams, resist the temptation long enough for other allies to find them or for them to wake up.
)
In the midst of a cleanse Haven is just an average New England town. As dusk settles and the sky darkens. Clara remains at home in her bedroom. Without the spooky monsters that go bump in the night, what can really concern Clara at this time?
Clara may find she's a little sleepy, as she has some time to think about things and how she internalizes the cleanse and her current situation in Haven.
Clara yawns loudly, no need to cover it when alone. She's still in her warm winter outfit, and the comfort of the situation is so great that she simply decides to close her eyes for a while, willing to let sleep take her. It's just a nap, a nice way to recharge after the fireworks of last night kept her up. She pulls the front of her hat down to cover her eyes, leaning into the pillow while she considers the events of the past couple months.
There is a subtle shift, a floating feeling like Clara is falling into the comfy cloud that is her bedding. It's not scary or designed to wake her, instead its the pull of sleep that wisk Clara into a dreamlike state.
The transition finds Clara standing in a shopping mall. It's absolutely packed, people are milling about in all directions, there are decorations on the ceiling that indicate the holiday season.
As far as dreams go it's pretty tame, the good lighting and lack of obvious things to fear instills a sense of calm and subtle excitement. Clara doesn't really remember why she's here, probably to get a gift!
Of course, that makes the most sense. Clara doesn't celebrate the holidays herself, but a couple friends went out of their way to get her truly wonderful presents this year. She begins wandering the aisles, looking for signs that might indicate where she could find an adequate return gift for at least one of the people on her mind. Surely they'd appreciate their own gifts in return.
While Clara travels through the mall she finds it hard to move through the thick crowd, they act as quicksand, slowing travel in the way that most dreams make it hard to willfully move when you want to get somewhere. Still Clara finds herself in an unusual aisle but in a dream, all disbelief is often suspended. This aisles has lingerie, a gun rack, make up, food, and such an assortment of things Clara could likely find anything she'd want to give a special someone.
So kind of Dreammart to make everything so readily accessible. She picks up a few items, a new high quality Thruster finned surfboard for one friend, a new saddle and old cowboy revolver for another, and for one last friend a first edition copy of Ernest Hemmingways "The Sun Also Rises". Clara hums happily as she attempts to make her way to checkout, not minding the crowd. People are busy, after all, it would be rude to push.
As Clara makes her way to the check out she is filled with good holiday gift giving feelings. Its almost a shame that she's already selected every item she wishes. On her way to the checkout Clara is bumped into by a faceless person who is there and gone faster than she has a chance to see them, "This isn't real." the passing stranger tells her, but then is lost in the crowd.
It only takes a moment to brush off the weird moment but as Clara reaches the check out and goes to array her gifts on the belt, none of the items are what she intended! All her wonderful gifts are some other variety of item, instead of a surfboard, there is a yoga matt, instead of the saddle and revolver there is a clown make up kit. The book has become some rather raunchy pornography.
That's...not what she ordered. She's so sure of it. Her head tilts in the direction of the stranger who bumped her, looking back at the items again. Best to return them, she would never get any of these for her friends. But who was that? Her curiosity has ever been one of her weaknesses, and Clara leaves the items behind, making apologetic excuses and platitudes for the people she's having to navigate around, heading in the direction of that faceless stranger this time. Maybe they know what happened to her items.
The stranger is gone but the joy of shopping quickly returns, this little set back simply means Clara must stay and shop again! The aisles are full of new items, multiple perfect gifts, always different, usually something Clara knows would be perfect for each friend. When she takes them to a front, and goes to place them on the belt she finds them always something she didn't pick, something boring and not appropriate.
Being trapped in this loops of joyous shopping the dream fog that Clara suffers from gradually wanes, then it snaps when another mysterious shape bumps her from behind then walks away around a aisle corner to disappear, but not before saying, "Wake up."
There's plenty of joy to be found in the act of shopping, but it's becoming a bit disconcerting, then distressing as every time it falters. When the bump comes, she thinks nothing of it. Bumping into people all...what time is it anyways? This place is packed. Not until the voice comes though. Clara snaps her eyes on the stranger, picking up her pace to follow this time. What the hell is going on?!
When Clara starts to become aware of the dream she realizes she can't simply open her eyes to wake up. No she thinks, no she knows, through some internal feeling that if she exits the mall then the whole thing will end.
The crowded mall is massive and with all the people in the way it's hard to figure out an exit, though there is exits signs everywhere like a mall typically would have. As people move about, occasionally brushing against Clara, some faces can be seen staring right at her in passing, it's creepy, its like every figure in the mall is here to keep an eye on Clara but none of them directly interfere, they just keep moving, shopping, eating at the cafe, etc..except they do this while staring.
Clara is sufficiently freaked out at this point. She looks for any door at all at this point, she's desperate to get away from this main area with all the people. Exit signs seem to be her only guide, but at this point she'd take an employee's only area or the greenhouse, if this mall has one.
Time stretches endlessly, increasing Clara's panic, every exit sign just leads to a new area of the mall, she's sent on a wild goose chase through these signs. The nature of the dream allows the architecture of the mall to be illogical and loop back on itself over and over. It seems like Clara can never get out. That is until a voice and two hands shove her from behind in the direction of a small side door, "Escape, go now." it hisses.
Clara doesn't even bother to look back, hyperventilating at this point. She needs out as much as she needs to breathe, slamming into the door shoulder first and clawing at the handle in hopes of pushing, pulling, or breaking the damn thing open, kicking at the bottom of the frame as she does so, muttering under her breath "Let me the fuck out!"
Busting through Clara topples out into a voidless space, the void is endless, there is a brief period where it seems like she made a huge mistake and is now trapped in nothing for all time. But then her eyes open and she finds herself in her bed just as she was before she fell asleep. Though hours were spent in the dream, hardly an hour passed according to her clock. She feels the immense lethargy of running for her life, she feels it in her muscles and bones and will continue to for the next day or so. It may have just been a dream, but the results feel very real. At least its over..
Clara rolls over, sitting up too fast. Dizzy, exhausted, out of breath. She pulls off the winter hat, cold sweat pinning hair to the front of her face. Next come the gloves, and she sits with her face in her hands, fingers clumped in her hair. "What the fuck" makes it's way past her lips, and she flops backward onto the bedding once again as she gets her heartrate somewhat under control. "I fucking hate winter."
Coming out of the Nymph's Rest, Autumn is at the sidewalk looking at her phone. She is looking at the research she had gathered on the cleanse as she taps her earpiece. "This is Autumn Lynx speaking," she says quietly in the shadows. "May I please get location on where app is being operated?"
A perpetually fatigued Librarian crackles onto the comms: "Which app you're talkin' about?" he requests over the pop of gum and a faint sounds of Skyrim in the background. "That Calm Mind shit? Seems to be comin' out of a server farm from Boston, an' piggybackin' off the MyHaven shit."
"Yep, that's the one," Autumn nods her head while she speaks on the Order comms. She uses one finger to tap on the GPS app. "Looks like I'm going to Boston then," she continues, walking towards her bike to mount on. "Just send me coordinates."
The Order Librarian's voice comes through the comms again, this time with a serious tone, tinged with urgency, "Alright, before I fire off on sending the coordinates to the server farm in Boston, walk me through exactly how you plan on goin' through this. What're you going to do when you show up? How do you plan on separatin' which server they're usin' versus any of the other services running out of there?"
Autumn pauses and ponders on the voice's words. "Well, I'm going to convince them to shut down server thing as they will probably have targets on their backs by others around town," she murmurs, staring at her phone. "Could try to seduce one of them into helping me with it also." She closes her eyes, still pondering before she opens them and adds, "If all else fails, I will have to force them."
The Order Librarian's tone becomes even more grave as he processes Autumn's plan. "Autumn, while I appreciate your confidence, we need to think this through more strategically. Convincing or seducing someone to shut down a server in a highly secure server farm isn't a walk in the park. These places have strict protocols, and the staff are usually well-vetted. Not to mention, if this app is as entwined in Haven's supernatural happenings as we think, those behind it aren't likely to be easily swayed or seduced."
The comms go quiet briefly until he returns with a critical update: "I don't think you need to waste the gas going to Boston since it seems like you're already in ground zero. Might take a minute, but we could possibly do something here in town."
"I see," Autumn slowly nods her head in understanding. "You are right. Now I understand. So what is good plan that you have?" She doesn't move from her spot in her bike, one foot on the ground as she then opens a hidden app on her phone with a crossed sword and scroll as its icon. 'Help required on dealing with Operation Calm Mind,' she begins to text on the app.
Carter arrives a few short moments after Autumn sends out a message in a gray Mercedes, stepping out quietly before he moves over to greet her with a mild smile. "Evening, Autumn. So... Do you have a plan set out?", he wonders with his brows mildly lifted in curiosity.
The Librarian who'd been coordinating with Autumn sends him the coordinates to Autumn's current location just outside of the Nymph's Rest. "Appreciate you makin' the time to assist, Andersen. Was just letting Autumn in on a theory that it might be possible to tackle this Op' right here, but she ain't have a solid plan. Page me when there's somethin' concrete worked out, otherwise we're just wastin' precious man hours I can be spendin' getting this one hundred percent in Skyrim."
"Of course! Well, do we have a lock on the location of wherever this app's being hosted?", Carter wonders in response to the Order Librarian who gets into contact with them as he's slipping out his phone, seeming to be considering a number of possible courses forward contingent on the answer to that question, his eyes flitting curiously back to Autumn. "I brought my gear in case you want the 'hot' option. If I had to guess, the facilities are probably reasonably well-insulated, but I have doubts about a strong presence of guards.", he supposes, before laying out a few alternatives. "Depending on how much we know about the infrastructure in the area, another option might be triggering a blackout in the area. An interruption of service caused by a deliberate power outage could provide a temporary reprieve, which could allow for the utilization of our abilities to make that reprieve more permanent.", he considers, before adding, "Another tried-and-true method that wouldn't even involve a direct assault might be a simple DDOS attack, though I have a feeling Sie probably has some protections against network attacks like that, but at the same time, we have pretty massive networks.. and I'm sure someone's thought up some way of circumventing conventional DDOS protections.", he supposes.
"Well research said that user group had participated in testing app in closed sessons," Autumn says to Carter. "Perhaps if we can find those sessons-" She stops and nods her head towards the man. "Blackout can work, yes."
Carter hums, considering it for a moment. "Most modern tech's brownout-resistant, so it's unlikely that we could fry it that way, and as for a blackout I imagine any break would only last as long as the power's out. Even so, that'd probably also make breaking and entering into wherever the rigs are held a lot easier... Ideally, we phone demolitions for that, entering with a contingent of Shields. I've doubt that the facilities could resist a full-fledged assault from our assets unless Temple's directly involved - which I don't think they are from what another of my friends has said, but that's another matter, and I might be mistaken.", he supposes, giving a single nod. "So.. With that in mind, how might you wish to proceed?"
The Order Librarian's voice crackles back over the comms, responding to Carter's inquiries and Autumn's suggestions. "We've pinpointed the server farm's location in Boston. It's a state-of-the-art facility, so expect high-level security measures, both digital and physical. But Carter's right; they might not have a heavy guard presence. These places rely more on surveillance and electronic security."
He pauses, considering the proposed strategies. "A deliberate power outage is a viable option. It could cause enough disruption to give us an opening. We'll need to be precise in timing and execution, though. As for a DDOS attack, it's worth considering, but like Carter said, they likely have robust protections. We would need a formidable network to break through."
The Librarian shifts focus to Autumn's idea. "Finding those testing sessions could give us valuable insight. If we can access records or even just the identities of the testers, it might provide us a backdoor into understanding how they're using the app. It could lead us to vulnerabilities in their system."
And then, a pause, before he wryly asks the golden rule: "Have we tried just uninstalling the app?"
"The app could still be there in phone data even when uninstalled," Autumn speaks to her earpiece. "But it can be shut down if it violates rules. And yes, sessions can be key to op. And we can pinpoint app's anomalies from there."
"That could be a way forward.", Carter supposes to Autumn with a single nod, quietly considering that for a moment as he reflects on steps from there, before phoning in to comms for input from the Librarians as well: "Possible caveats; even if the app gets taken off the app store, there's the possibility that people hold some attachment to it - at which point a sizeable contingent of users - Android users...", he says as he wiggles his Samsung phone, "could still use the app as a third-party installation, which could potentially continue to propogate whatever specific element's causing this."
Meanwhile, Clara, enduring the consequences of the town's 'cleanse,' succumbs to a moment of weariness and finds herself trapped in a dreamlike mall, relentlessly searching for gifts that transform into unwanted items at checkout. Disturbed by mysterious strangers urging her to discern reality from illusion, Clara struggles to wake. A sense of urgency consumes her as the dream becomes increasingly unsettling, with crowds that hinder her and eyes that follow her every move. At last, a forceful nudge propels her towards a side door, prompting her escape into an abyss that awakens her. Exhausted and shaken, Clara questions the reality she endured, finding herself back in the safety of her bed, with only the aftereffects lingering as evidence of the ordeal.
In the same realm, Autumn seeks to combat the manipulative influence of the 'Calm Mind' app entangled in Haven's supernatural fabric. Consulting with Carter and Order Librarians over comm links, they brainstorm strategies to approach the server farm in Boston. Options like causing a power outage or a DDOS attack are considered to seize control or disrupt the app's influence. With a more targeted approach, Autumn suggests exploiting testing sessions and associated vulnerabilities. Carter highlights the risk of persistent third-party installations, even if the app is removed from official stores, signaling an ongoing battle beyond the immediate plan to neutralize the threat.
(Cailyn's odd encounter(SRKylia):SRKylia)
[Mon Jan 1 2024]
In the central hallway of an eerie colonial building
The oppressive atmosphere continues into the central hallway, walls of decorative wooden paneling, each marred with some form of rot, feel strangely cramped. The electronic chandeliers give too little light for comfort, casting shadows that play tricks behind pots of wilted flowers. Paintings, each in lavish frame, add a forlorn touch as if abandoned, rueful. The hallway features a hardwood floor, polished smooth yet caked in dust, creaking with each and every step and sometimes, adding another creak by itself.
It is dusk, about 36F(2C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky. Ankle high mist flows through the area.
(An amateur paranormal investigator has stumbled onto the truth of the supernatural world and has evidence. Your target and their allies are tasked with containing the situation.
)
As Cailyn hangs about in the central hallway, an almost imperceptible hum vibrates through the room, as the air begins rippling and distorting, like a surreal mirage that warps the reality of the space, and it's rapidly expanding from being the size of a fist to being almost person-sized as it consumes more and more of the surrounding area.
Cailyn looks up from her phone, clearly disturbed by the change in the air. "Um," she manages to say as she watched the mirage expand. Her head tilts to the side in utter curiosity. "... This is rather new."
The rift in the fabric of time tears open, and through the temporal breach, a timeswept templar falls through, clad in armor adorned with the echoes of eras long past, landing with a jarring metallic thud. As the disorienting effects of the temporal jump begin to subside, the timeswept templar takes a moment to collect herself. With a deliberate inhale, she steadies her breath and rises from the ground in an instinctive motion, "Sorceress!" She spits, unsheathes a european broadsword, "Return me to wh're i cameth!"
Then, almost as swiftly as it emerged, the unnatural distortion vanishes, leaving no trace of its transient existence. It seems like it's not going to be possible for Cailyn to grand this very angry sword-wielding woman's request.
Ah yes, a pair of well-loved jeans and a tulip adorned sweater- The garb of a modern sorceress. And this particular sorceress just blinks in surprise as the templar is spat out into her world. There's a hesitation in the redhead as a blade is bared, a look of offense, before she puts her hands up in surrender.
"And where... Uh... Dost thou cometh... From?" Cailyn asks, trying to put it in words this time-addled templar might understand?
"DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH ME!" Spits the timeswept templar, and without warning, she lunges forward and slashes her sword toward Cailyn's leg. Cailyn narrowly evades the arc of the sword with a graceful dodge and the blade slams into a table with a force that embeds it deep within the unyielding wood. The Templar grapples with the stubborn resistance of the lodged weapon, her muscles teansing with each strained pull like she were trying to free excalibur from the stone. A few more moments and she may be successful in doing so.
"Oh-" Cailyn sounds out as she steps out of the way of the incoming blade, hands still remaining in the air. She gritd her teeth, frowning at the damaged table. "Sarah's gonna hate that... Look- Miss? Dame?.. You?" The redhead tries to get the templar's attention, "Why don't we just talk this out? Hello, my name is Cailyn and I do not practice magic. Is it the sweater? Does that make you think I do?"
With a resolute effort, the templar wrenches the sword free from the table, the metallic rasp cutting through the tension in the air. She begins to prowl toward Cailyn with measured steps, however, a subtle change transforms the templar's demeanor, a moment of reconsideration visible in their eyes, as the sword lowers from being held at the ready to hanging at her side, "Thee didst not doth this?" She questions, disbelieving, "Then who is't is to censure? Wh're am I?" There's a decisive shake of her head, "T matt'rs not. I must to return to Ruxox. I shall needeth a h'rse. Can thee taketh me to thy lord?"
Cailyn slowly lowers her hands as she looks over the poor woman before her. She doesn't move fast nor with any intent to harm. "I... Have a feeling you may not like what I have to say," the redhead claims, voice gentle. She chews on her cheek, racking her brain on how exactly she can break /everything/ to the woman. "Horse? Alright... Look- I never caught your name, but... Your situation is very delicate. To put it bluntly, you're in the future. But I know people who can help- People who've dealt with those like you."
The Templar snorts dismissively, a sound that punctuates her visible annoyance, "If thou art not going to help then stayeth out of mine own way." She turns on her heel to leave, still fully clad in armor, and with a sword held at her side, no doubt something that will raise alarms amongst an unaware population,
"Wait wait wait, I /am/ helping!" Cailyn shouts after the Templar before running over- Possibly much faster than the armored woman- and blocking the exit. "You will get yourself hurt if you walk out this door. I'd rather not let that happen."
(Your target is attacked by a dream stalker who subjects them to their greatest fantasies in the dream world in order to keep their body passive while it's energies are fed upon. They need to, possibly with the help of allies entering their dreams, resist the temptation long enough for other allies to find them or for them to wake up.
)
In the midst of a cleanse Haven is just an average New England town. As dusk settles and the sky darkens. Clara remains at home in her bedroom. Without the spooky monsters that go bump in the night, what can really concern Clara at this time?
Clara may find she's a little sleepy, as she has some time to think about things and how she internalizes the cleanse and her current situation in Haven.
Clara yawns loudly, no need to cover it when alone. She's still in her warm winter outfit, and the comfort of the situation is so great that she simply decides to close her eyes for a while, willing to let sleep take her. It's just a nap, a nice way to recharge after the fireworks of last night kept her up. She pulls the front of her hat down to cover her eyes, leaning into the pillow while she considers the events of the past couple months.
There is a subtle shift, a floating feeling like Clara is falling into the comfy cloud that is her bedding. It's not scary or designed to wake her, instead its the pull of sleep that wisk Clara into a dreamlike state.
The transition finds Clara standing in a shopping mall. It's absolutely packed, people are milling about in all directions, there are decorations on the ceiling that indicate the holiday season.
As far as dreams go it's pretty tame, the good lighting and lack of obvious things to fear instills a sense of calm and subtle excitement. Clara doesn't really remember why she's here, probably to get a gift!
Of course, that makes the most sense. Clara doesn't celebrate the holidays herself, but a couple friends went out of their way to get her truly wonderful presents this year. She begins wandering the aisles, looking for signs that might indicate where she could find an adequate return gift for at least one of the people on her mind. Surely they'd appreciate their own gifts in return.
While Clara travels through the mall she finds it hard to move through the thick crowd, they act as quicksand, slowing travel in the way that most dreams make it hard to willfully move when you want to get somewhere. Still Clara finds herself in an unusual aisle but in a dream, all disbelief is often suspended. This aisles has lingerie, a gun rack, make up, food, and such an assortment of things Clara could likely find anything she'd want to give a special someone.
So kind of Dreammart to make everything so readily accessible. She picks up a few items, a new high quality Thruster finned surfboard for one friend, a new saddle and old cowboy revolver for another, and for one last friend a first edition copy of Ernest Hemmingways "The Sun Also Rises". Clara hums happily as she attempts to make her way to checkout, not minding the crowd. People are busy, after all, it would be rude to push.
As Clara makes her way to the check out she is filled with good holiday gift giving feelings. Its almost a shame that she's already selected every item she wishes. On her way to the checkout Clara is bumped into by a faceless person who is there and gone faster than she has a chance to see them, "This isn't real." the passing stranger tells her, but then is lost in the crowd.
It only takes a moment to brush off the weird moment but as Clara reaches the check out and goes to array her gifts on the belt, none of the items are what she intended! All her wonderful gifts are some other variety of item, instead of a surfboard, there is a yoga matt, instead of the saddle and revolver there is a clown make up kit. The book has become some rather raunchy pornography.
That's...not what she ordered. She's so sure of it. Her head tilts in the direction of the stranger who bumped her, looking back at the items again. Best to return them, she would never get any of these for her friends. But who was that? Her curiosity has ever been one of her weaknesses, and Clara leaves the items behind, making apologetic excuses and platitudes for the people she's having to navigate around, heading in the direction of that faceless stranger this time. Maybe they know what happened to her items.
The stranger is gone but the joy of shopping quickly returns, this little set back simply means Clara must stay and shop again! The aisles are full of new items, multiple perfect gifts, always different, usually something Clara knows would be perfect for each friend. When she takes them to a front, and goes to place them on the belt she finds them always something she didn't pick, something boring and not appropriate.
Being trapped in this loops of joyous shopping the dream fog that Clara suffers from gradually wanes, then it snaps when another mysterious shape bumps her from behind then walks away around a aisle corner to disappear, but not before saying, "Wake up."
There's plenty of joy to be found in the act of shopping, but it's becoming a bit disconcerting, then distressing as every time it falters. When the bump comes, she thinks nothing of it. Bumping into people all...what time is it anyways? This place is packed. Not until the voice comes though. Clara snaps her eyes on the stranger, picking up her pace to follow this time. What the hell is going on?!
When Clara starts to become aware of the dream she realizes she can't simply open her eyes to wake up. No she thinks, no she knows, through some internal feeling that if she exits the mall then the whole thing will end.
The crowded mall is massive and with all the people in the way it's hard to figure out an exit, though there is exits signs everywhere like a mall typically would have. As people move about, occasionally brushing against Clara, some faces can be seen staring right at her in passing, it's creepy, its like every figure in the mall is here to keep an eye on Clara but none of them directly interfere, they just keep moving, shopping, eating at the cafe, etc..except they do this while staring.
Clara is sufficiently freaked out at this point. She looks for any door at all at this point, she's desperate to get away from this main area with all the people. Exit signs seem to be her only guide, but at this point she'd take an employee's only area or the greenhouse, if this mall has one.
Time stretches endlessly, increasing Clara's panic, every exit sign just leads to a new area of the mall, she's sent on a wild goose chase through these signs. The nature of the dream allows the architecture of the mall to be illogical and loop back on itself over and over. It seems like Clara can never get out. That is until a voice and two hands shove her from behind in the direction of a small side door, "Escape, go now." it hisses.
Clara doesn't even bother to look back, hyperventilating at this point. She needs out as much as she needs to breathe, slamming into the door shoulder first and clawing at the handle in hopes of pushing, pulling, or breaking the damn thing open, kicking at the bottom of the frame as she does so, muttering under her breath "Let me the fuck out!"
Busting through Clara topples out into a voidless space, the void is endless, there is a brief period where it seems like she made a huge mistake and is now trapped in nothing for all time. But then her eyes open and she finds herself in her bed just as she was before she fell asleep. Though hours were spent in the dream, hardly an hour passed according to her clock. She feels the immense lethargy of running for her life, she feels it in her muscles and bones and will continue to for the next day or so. It may have just been a dream, but the results feel very real. At least its over..
Clara rolls over, sitting up too fast. Dizzy, exhausted, out of breath. She pulls off the winter hat, cold sweat pinning hair to the front of her face. Next come the gloves, and she sits with her face in her hands, fingers clumped in her hair. "What the fuck" makes it's way past her lips, and she flops backward onto the bedding once again as she gets her heartrate somewhat under control. "I fucking hate winter."
Coming out of the Nymph's Rest, Autumn is at the sidewalk looking at her phone. She is looking at the research she had gathered on the cleanse as she taps her earpiece. "This is Autumn Lynx speaking," she says quietly in the shadows. "May I please get location on where app is being operated?"
A perpetually fatigued Librarian crackles onto the comms: "Which app you're talkin' about?" he requests over the pop of gum and a faint sounds of Skyrim in the background. "That Calm Mind shit? Seems to be comin' out of a server farm from Boston, an' piggybackin' off the MyHaven shit."
"Yep, that's the one," Autumn nods her head while she speaks on the Order comms. She uses one finger to tap on the GPS app. "Looks like I'm going to Boston then," she continues, walking towards her bike to mount on. "Just send me coordinates."
The Order Librarian's voice comes through the comms again, this time with a serious tone, tinged with urgency, "Alright, before I fire off on sending the coordinates to the server farm in Boston, walk me through exactly how you plan on goin' through this. What're you going to do when you show up? How do you plan on separatin' which server they're usin' versus any of the other services running out of there?"
Autumn pauses and ponders on the voice's words. "Well, I'm going to convince them to shut down server thing as they will probably have targets on their backs by others around town," she murmurs, staring at her phone. "Could try to seduce one of them into helping me with it also." She closes her eyes, still pondering before she opens them and adds, "If all else fails, I will have to force them."
The Order Librarian's tone becomes even more grave as he processes Autumn's plan. "Autumn, while I appreciate your confidence, we need to think this through more strategically. Convincing or seducing someone to shut down a server in a highly secure server farm isn't a walk in the park. These places have strict protocols, and the staff are usually well-vetted. Not to mention, if this app is as entwined in Haven's supernatural happenings as we think, those behind it aren't likely to be easily swayed or seduced."
The comms go quiet briefly until he returns with a critical update: "I don't think you need to waste the gas going to Boston since it seems like you're already in ground zero. Might take a minute, but we could possibly do something here in town."
"I see," Autumn slowly nods her head in understanding. "You are right. Now I understand. So what is good plan that you have?" She doesn't move from her spot in her bike, one foot on the ground as she then opens a hidden app on her phone with a crossed sword and scroll as its icon. 'Help required on dealing with Operation Calm Mind,' she begins to text on the app.
Carter arrives a few short moments after Autumn sends out a message in a gray Mercedes, stepping out quietly before he moves over to greet her with a mild smile. "Evening, Autumn. So... Do you have a plan set out?", he wonders with his brows mildly lifted in curiosity.
The Librarian who'd been coordinating with Autumn sends him the coordinates to Autumn's current location just outside of the Nymph's Rest. "Appreciate you makin' the time to assist, Andersen. Was just letting Autumn in on a theory that it might be possible to tackle this Op' right here, but she ain't have a solid plan. Page me when there's somethin' concrete worked out, otherwise we're just wastin' precious man hours I can be spendin' getting this one hundred percent in Skyrim."
"Of course! Well, do we have a lock on the location of wherever this app's being hosted?", Carter wonders in response to the Order Librarian who gets into contact with them as he's slipping out his phone, seeming to be considering a number of possible courses forward contingent on the answer to that question, his eyes flitting curiously back to Autumn. "I brought my gear in case you want the 'hot' option. If I had to guess, the facilities are probably reasonably well-insulated, but I have doubts about a strong presence of guards.", he supposes, before laying out a few alternatives. "Depending on how much we know about the infrastructure in the area, another option might be triggering a blackout in the area. An interruption of service caused by a deliberate power outage could provide a temporary reprieve, which could allow for the utilization of our abilities to make that reprieve more permanent.", he considers, before adding, "Another tried-and-true method that wouldn't even involve a direct assault might be a simple DDOS attack, though I have a feeling Sie probably has some protections against network attacks like that, but at the same time, we have pretty massive networks.. and I'm sure someone's thought up some way of circumventing conventional DDOS protections.", he supposes.
"Well research said that user group had participated in testing app in closed sessons," Autumn says to Carter. "Perhaps if we can find those sessons-" She stops and nods her head towards the man. "Blackout can work, yes."
Carter hums, considering it for a moment. "Most modern tech's brownout-resistant, so it's unlikely that we could fry it that way, and as for a blackout I imagine any break would only last as long as the power's out. Even so, that'd probably also make breaking and entering into wherever the rigs are held a lot easier... Ideally, we phone demolitions for that, entering with a contingent of Shields. I've doubt that the facilities could resist a full-fledged assault from our assets unless Temple's directly involved - which I don't think they are from what another of my friends has said, but that's another matter, and I might be mistaken.", he supposes, giving a single nod. "So.. With that in mind, how might you wish to proceed?"
The Order Librarian's voice crackles back over the comms, responding to Carter's inquiries and Autumn's suggestions. "We've pinpointed the server farm's location in Boston. It's a state-of-the-art facility, so expect high-level security measures, both digital and physical. But Carter's right; they might not have a heavy guard presence. These places rely more on surveillance and electronic security."
He pauses, considering the proposed strategies. "A deliberate power outage is a viable option. It could cause enough disruption to give us an opening. We'll need to be precise in timing and execution, though. As for a DDOS attack, it's worth considering, but like Carter said, they likely have robust protections. We would need a formidable network to break through."
The Librarian shifts focus to Autumn's idea. "Finding those testing sessions could give us valuable insight. If we can access records or even just the identities of the testers, it might provide us a backdoor into understanding how they're using the app. It could lead us to vulnerabilities in their system."
And then, a pause, before he wryly asks the golden rule: "Have we tried just uninstalling the app?"
"The app could still be there in phone data even when uninstalled," Autumn speaks to her earpiece. "But it can be shut down if it violates rules. And yes, sessions can be key to op. And we can pinpoint app's anomalies from there."
"That could be a way forward.", Carter supposes to Autumn with a single nod, quietly considering that for a moment as he reflects on steps from there, before phoning in to comms for input from the Librarians as well: "Possible caveats; even if the app gets taken off the app store, there's the possibility that people hold some attachment to it - at which point a sizeable contingent of users - Android users...", he says as he wiggles his Samsung phone, "could still use the app as a third-party installation, which could potentially continue to propogate whatever specific element's causing this."