Strangerville Mystery - Afterword

Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit to Strangerville.

I'm pretty sure that was my shortest "full length" story to date.

The Sims 4: Strangerville is an unusual expansion for the game, in that it is the only one I know of with a storyline-based adventure as the central theme of the pack. Most of the Sims game is much more free form, the stories being something we, as players, bring to it.

All in all, I found the adventure of Strangerville to be more fun than I expected. 

For a long time, I simply wasn't interested in Strangerville. The whole alien conspiracy vibe wasn't my cup of tea. I eventually did pick it up on sale, intending to use it for the stuff it came with (clothes, furniture, etc.). Then, an idea for a way to use the story snuck into my mind... 

What was Lucius doing when Vlad attacked at the start of Book 1? Now we know. 

(I actually had a whole scene I was going to put at the end of Faust bringing Vlad the news that Lucius had fallen and the time to strike had come. I cut it because I realized it didn't make any sense with the rest of the story. The whole reason I wrote this story, and I cut it.)

Anyway, I didn't want Lucius to be the point of view character. It kind of spoils the mystery of him. I needed someone else, but I didn't want to introduce a completely new character. After some thought, I decided Molly would be perfect.

Molly was an unexpected supporting character, a pre-made sim from the High School Years expansion who stumbled into teen Gwen and Cas's inner circle almost by accident. I felt like she deserved a chance to shine. The contrast between the solidly mundane Molly and the magical Lucius made them a great partnership. Molly being canonically a lesbian meant I didn't need to worry about the possibility of romance between them, keeping their relationship one of friends and partners in mystery.

Despite not wanting to introduce new characters, I realized that Molly and Lucius needed someone local to hook them into the mystery. The Sigworth family, a set of premade sims from Strangerville itself, stepped into that role. I played them for a bit, to walk in their shoes, and quickly discovered the joy of young Christie. I think we may see more of her in a future story.

The last bit that I'm particularly proud of, and that's all me, was bringing Lucius and the Mother Plant together in the context of Irish mythology. Regular readers will already know that I've struggled with "getting sci fi into my fantasy" at times... but this just clicked for me. Having already established that the Spellcasters in the Wyrd'verse are essentially elves, it wasn't a big step to link them to the Tuatha de Dannan and the Mother to the Formoiri. 

I enjoyed writing Strangerville Mystery and, again, I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Now, please forgive me, but I want to leave you with a more serious thought - the world isn't always good, but the simplest people can be heroes. Just by being good, by acting with kindness, compassion and friendship, we make our little corner of the world better. 

Onward

Strangerville Mystery - Ch 18 - The Aftermath

Rangerville, Thursday, May 20th, 2021, 7:45PM

The dying screech of the Mother of Flowers echoed across Rangerville, in the throats of every one of Her thralls and the quivering vibrations of Her strange plants. An eerie silence followed.

Slowly, the strange plants subsided, shrinking back into the dry earth. The enthralled citizens woke, as if from a nightmare. 

The sun set across the Great Western Desert, marking the ending of great and ancient horrors and a new beginning.

Ministry of Defense Command Center, Rangerville, Friday, May 21st, 2021, 10:30AM

"Sergeant Sigworth, the Ministry built this base, twenty years ago, specifically for Project Orchid," Colonel Gant said firmly. "Now you are telling me that, without consulting anyone, you and a group of unauthorized civilians took it on yourselves to destroy Orchid!?"

"Sir, yes, sir," Jess replied, wincing.

"Explain yourself, Sergeant," Colonel Gant snapped.

"Sir, the base, including the entire command staff, had been compromised by Orchid," Jess began. "Without my knowledge, the civilians in question had begun an independent investigation..."

"... and Dr. Prescott was able to deliver the anti-spore compound directly into what turned out to be an extremely vulnerable area of the entity, thereby destroying Orchid," Jess concluded. "I would just like to add, sir, that as the ranking NCO, and only member of the base command structure, uncompromised by Orchid, I considered these actions to be both right and necessary to preserve civilian lives. Sir."

"Sergeant Sigworth," Colonel Gant shook his head. "I honestly don't know whether to recommend you for a medal or a court-marshal."

"Sir, yes, sir," Jess smiled.

Rangerville, Saturday, May 22nd, 2021, 8:30AM

"See, what did I tell you, man?" Erwin said. "Everything worked out fine."

"Containment efforts were underway," Erwin's contact said mildly.

"Hey, the entire army base, and most of the town, were gettin' mind-controlled by alien shrubbery," Erwin said. "The containment efforts weren't workin'. You knew that. You needed fresh eyes on the problem. So, you turned to your ol' buddy Erwin."

"Choosing to act outside the command hierarchy was a difficult decision, and a considerable risk," Erwin's contact replied. "There was no way you could have known that the 'fresh eyes' you engaged would be this effective." 

"Yeah," Erwin said. "I'll admit it. We got lucky."

"You managed to recruit not only an extremely talented engineer with the temperament to handle the crisis but also a psychokinetic active with first-hand experience of the hostile species," he said. "This would appear to go beyond random chance. It represents a degree of coincidence that would almost suggest predestination." 

"You gotta be careful talkin' like that, man" Erwin said. "You'll end up gettin' kicked out of the Agency, like I did. Course if you do, you could always come work with me at the curio shop."

"Perhaps I shall leave such observations out of my report," Agent Hunt replied.

Rangerville, Monday, May 24th, 2021, 6:30AM

"I thought you were dead!" Molly groaned.

"I told you the potion we took had a chance to hold off Death," Lucius said.

"A chance! You were unconscious for days," Molly sighed. "I thought you might be dying. I was going to take you to the hospital, but Christie kept telling me that your damn cat told her you just needed sleep... and I took advice from an eight-year-old translating for a magic cat! How weird is my life!?"

"I would have hoped that you at least had more faith in my potions," Lucius replied smoothly.

"You mean like that potion that put me to sleep for three days," Molly ranted, "and might have turned me into... and I'm quoting here... a twisted hybrid plant creature."

"Not, I grant you, one of my better efforts," Lucius admitted.

"You know, I don't think I'm cut out for this hero thing," Molly sighed.

"Molly, I've lived a very long time," Lucius said. "Believe me when I say, you are a fine hero."

"That might be more meaningful if it wasn't coming from a guy in his boxers, Obi-Wan," Molly chuckled.

"Yes, pants do tend to lend a certain gravitas to a moment," Lucius laughed.

Rangerville, Monday, May 24th, 2021, 6:00PM

"Well, Bonnie of the Bounteous Bosom tells me they're shutting down the sensor and hazmat projects," Molly said. "I guess they don't need them anymore."

"At least the colonel decided not to court-marshal me," Jess said. "The MoD is still 'investigating the incident,' and they're going to want to talk to you all."

"That should be good," Dylan said, glancing significantly at Lucius.

"I may be unavailable," Lucius said. "They're welcome to come talk to me in Henford... if they can find their way up the mountain. Those paths can be hard to follow when a dense fog descends."

"Why do I get the feeling those fogs tend to descend when people you don't want to talk to are trying to climb that mountain," Molly grinned. 

"Strange how that happens," Lucius smiled.

"I heard Biobro Brian was down in the crater," Molly added. "I think they had him looking at the Mother's... body, I guess. I hope we don't have to do this all over again."

"If they do something as unwise as trying to revive the Mother... well, you'll find the fog lifts for friends," Lucius said. "Also, you all have my phone number."

-------------------------

"You're really going back to Henford," Molly asked.

"I am," Lucius nodded. "I dread to think of the state of my garden after all this time." 

"I guess, after all this, you'll be glad to get back to your garden," Molly said.

"I will," Lucius said. "We prefer the quiet life, Huntress and me. What of you? Will you continue chasing FutureTech's problems from place to place?"

"You know, I'm thinking of putting in for a permanent position here," Molly said. "It might be nice to stay in once place for a little while."

"Well, Obi-Wan, it's been weird," Molly said. 

"Wyrd indeed," he smiled with that too-knowing smile of his. "I am glad to have met you, Molly Prescott."

"Likewise, Lucius or Taranis or whatever your name is," Molly sighed. "I'll see you around."

"I suspect you will, at that," Lucius smiled. "Until that day, fare well my friend."

-------------------------

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Strangerville Mystery - Ch 17 - The Battle of Strangerville

Classified Ministry of Defense Research Facility, Rangerville Crater, Thursday, May 20th, 2021, 7:10 PM

As the door to the Mother's chamber slid open, Molly grabbed her gear and charged through.

"Everyone in position," she shouted. "Surround Her!"

Molly refused to give herself time to think. She was sure that if she did, she would run the other way. Seriously, what kind of lunatic charged into the underground lair of a sixty-foot mind controlling alien plant monster armed only with a so-called weapon kitbashed out of a leaf-blower and loaded with a freaking magic potion? What kind of person led her friends into a situation like this?

Lucius had called her a hero. Looking up at the eldritch horror of the Mother of Flowers, Molly was pretty sure heroes weren't supposed to be this terrified.

"Get Her!" Molly shouted, 

Praying to whoever might be listening that the thing actually worked, she pulled back the lever on her potion-sprayer. Sure, they'd tested them back at the trailer park, but Molly had worked on enough projects to know that works-during-test and works-in-the-field were two completely different things.

She was shocked and grateful when the gadget thrummed to life, spraying out a thick stream of the viscous, bubbling potion. Struggling, she aimed the spray at the massive monster.

The Mother's gnarled skin blistered where the potion struck. The titanic beast's bellow of pain and rage was deafening. Huge tentacles lashed the air, swinging within inches of Molly's head.

Distantly, she was aware that they weren't alone in the massive chamber. 

Lucius had said that the Mother would call her thralls to defend her. Fortunately, he'd also been right when he said that She would be distracted and confused by the potion. So far, the thralls shambled around but made no effective attempt to stop Molly and her little band of would-be heroes.

"This will teach you to mind-frell a guy with a potion-sprayer," Dylan shouted, mangling a perfectly good Ghostbusters quote. 

Some part of his mind was screaming in gibbering terror, but he refused to listen to it. Without really realizing it, he simply refused to believe any of this was real. Hiding behind the illusion that he was the hero of a really weird action movie, he wildly sprayed the incomprehensible horror in front of him.

Aim and fire, soldier, Jess thought to herself. Aim and fire. 

She'd served King and Country for eight years, but she'd never been called upon to face combat. This certainly wasn't the first battle she'd expected or feared, but her training held. Discipline kept her focused, kept her firing, despite the pants-wetting terror. Underneath the training and the terror was the lone thought - Protect Christie! 

"Give Her all you've got!" Molly shouted. 

Doggedly, she stood her ground, holding the sprayer on target.

The Mother's thick blue skin was blistered and burned, but the titanic horror was untiring. Another frond/branch/tentacle lashed within inches of Molly's head. 

We're not doing enough damage, Molly thought even as she heard her sprayer sputter. She was running out of potion.

"IS LIOMSA AN RÉIMSE SEO!" The Mother roared.

"Eat this!" Molly yelled back. 

Throwing her sprayer aside, she grabbed her last jar of the potion and hurled it at the monster.

The Mother of Flowers reared up, green steam bursting from the ruptured, delicate inner petals of Her mouth.

The wordless screech reverberated through the cavern, a sound of pure rage and denial.

The massive creature shuddered...

... and fell.

"Holy shit, I didn't think would work!" Molly shouted. "Hell, yeah!"

She could hear the others shouting in victory and the thralls groaning. 

"Molly!" Dylan shouted. "Molly, come quick!"

"What is.. No," she gasped, running toward him. "No, no, no." 

This wasn't happening. This couldn't happen. 

"Lucius!"