Milo's Lazy All-Purpose Catch-All!

[pinandcove]

Who: Milo Fields and YOU

What: Oh, y'know. Just hangin' around.

When: Whenever you're free.

Where: Here and there.

Warning(s): Will add as needed but most likely this'll be where NSFW junk goes


A handy little open post for Milo Fields, you know, the farmer? Milo is a creature of habit and can be found in the same 4 places all the time like a goddamn Stardew Valley character so this is a catch-all for finding him in one of those places. It starts from after Dahlia's birthday gala and runs until I get tired of using it. Hooray!



-Farm Boy-

Milo is a farmer. He has been for a fair portion of his life, and a woodland homesteader for another. So of course in a weird purgatory on a haunted island, the place he's going to feel most at home is on his farm.

You can find him most days caring for his animals, exercising his horse, or tending to whatever crops are in season at the time. Come pay him a visit! Or maybe he can see what you're getting up to from his farm. He has a pretty good view and likes people watching.


-Down by the Bay-

One of Milo's favorite hobbies is fishing, so most of the time on weekends you'll find him up early, sitting on an old, unused dock on Jack's Marina, with a fishing line in the water. Want to sit and chat? Enjoy the seaside? Fish with him? You're welcome to grab a seat. In his own world he would've offered you a beer, but alas. Or maybe you're at the beach on other business.


-Insert Joke about Wood Here-

A common chore of Milo's is chopping wood for his fireplace. He doesn't need a ton of it in the warmer months, but he usually stockpiles a little each time so that he has a ton for winter and doesn't have to go out into the snow.

If you're out in the woods, you can often find Milo with an axe, gathering logs and then chopping them with his burly arm and a half. Are you exploring? Come say hello. Are you in trouble? Milo will barrel to your aid like a big dummy.


-Oak & Iron-

Milo also hangs out in the tavern a lot because he likes beer and hot food and card games. Feel free to get drunk with the himbo and enjoy some Midwestern hospitality. Anyone up for Poker? Or maybe Milo can teach you how to play Spit.

Comments

[batteryacid]

"You don't have to change that for my sake. I just thought it was funny when I realized," Eddie explains with a smile.

Eddie sets aside his cup. And if his hand is hovering toward that nice knife that River made for him, it's only a just-in-case... just in case whatever's in the box is dangerous despite being buried for a long time.

"Go for it," Eddie tells Milo, "it was your note that led to it, so you do the honors."

[pinandcove]

Milo opens the box to find a crumpled piece of paper inside. He furrows his brow, unfolding it. It's old, but it seems to have yet another letter written on it. The difference is that this time, neither he nor Eddie are the obviously intended recipient.

"...What the hell?"

[batteryacid]

Eddie asks to see the paper. When given it, he reads it over several times.

"Two things immediately jump out at me. Well, more than that, but... this talk of 'conduits' and 'anchors' makes me think of magic. Which makes me think of River, even if her magic might work differently." He bites the inside of his cheek and worries at it lightly before speaking again. "And... if this is regarding the curse, this makes it sound to me like some people on the island had a hand in cursing this place."

Eddie sighs. "I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. What do you think, Milo?"

[pinandcove]

"I think... I think you might be right. I hope it was an accident, at least. Maybe they, I dunno... attracted something here?"

After a moment, he rises. "We should go look in that cabin."

[batteryacid]

Eddie draws in a breath and blows it out slowly, considering.

"I think maybe we should hide this in a new place, first. Maybe at your farm? And I'll leave a note for Angel about where we're going, just in case. If something happens... at least he'll know. But we definitely should go look in the cabin."

(Didn't Sam mention wanting to fix up one of the old cabins to live in? If the anchor is still there, who knows what it would do to Sam or to baby Lou! That's just extra reason to check things out.)

[pinandcove]

"Yeah... I wonder if we shouldn't, like. Take it to Mayor Poe or somethin'. But I'll take it home for now. Meet you out front of your place in 20?"

[batteryacid]

"Works for me," Eddie says.

They split up for the moment -- Milo back to his farm, Eddie into his farmhouse. Eddie writes a note for Angel and leaves it on the kitchen table.

Angel -
Milo and I are looking into something important. Investigating in the third cabin from the path in Lockwood Forest. Proof is at Milo's place. We should be back before dark. I am taking the lantern from the gate with me, as you'll have seen.

Please arrange search party for the morning if we don't return. And take the proof to Mayor Poe.

- Eddie

[pinandcove]

For now, Milo just places the chest on his shelf and comes back, having gotten a lantern, his gun, and a working knife. He jogs back over, waving.

"Hey man! Ready to roll on out there?"

[batteryacid]

Eddie's got his dagger on his belt and the lantern from his front gate in one hand.

"Ready to go," Eddie says. He looks a little nervous, but that's not going to stop him from finishing the investigation.

[pinandcove]

"Don't stress. We got this." Milo claps his shoulder reassuringly. "Let's boogie!"


He sets off, heading toward the woods. It's a bit of a hike, but before too long the cabins start to come into view. They're a ways off from the trail but still visible. "Which one was it? The third one from the road?"

[batteryacid]

"Third cabin from the path," Eddie confirms with a nod.

Eddie is surprised to find that he's not too tired after the hike into the woods. Apparently all of his farming and walking (and chasing after Bobbin) has been doing him some good. Had he tried a trek like this around his arrival? He would have been completely out of breath.

As it is, Eddie unsheathes his dagger and raises his lantern. "I should probably go first. You've got the gun and you can cover me while I make sure everything's clear."

But, as usual, Eddie is waiting for feedback before he proceeds. Never one for giving orders, indeed.

[pinandcove]

Milo, however, is perfectly content to let Eddie take the lead. It's a sound strategy, after all. He waves the other man his approval. "After you!"

[batteryacid]

Eddie approaches with caution. Once he's on the porch of the cabin, he carefully sets down the lantern to test the door -- finding it unlocked. So he leaves it open a crack, picks up the lantern again, and then uses his foot to push it open.

The glow of the lantern reveals that plant life and mushrooms have encroached upon the abandoned structure. The air is thick with spores, and Eddie feels an itch in the back of his throat at just the thought of having to breathe it in. He resolves to try only breathing through his nose.

"Under the floorboard..." Eddie mutters to himself, peering around the cabin. It's a single open space, and he can see the ruins of a bed in one corner, and a table in the opposite corner on the diagonal. Any other furniture was taken away or has long since rotted into mushroom food. Eddie can't see which floorboard might be the hiding place in question, but he also doesn't see anything lying in wait to attack them.

Eddie backs out of the door again, and calls out to Milo, "It's definitely abandoned! Full of plants and rot, but otherwise empty. I need help to find the right spot!"

He's being a little circumspect with how he says it, just in case. No one is in the cabin itself, but someone might be watching or listening. At least the rotten state of the cabin means it's unlikely that Eddie and Milo could be enclosed within... they'd be able to smash their way out.

[pinandcove]

"You got it, Chief!" Milo follows him in, having stayed behind a moment to watch the door for any unwelcome tagalongs. Like an enemy spy or whatever. Or Bobbin.

But all seems well, so he begins testing floorboards with his feet to find any particularly loose or creaky ones.

Though it's more likely that Eddie will be the one to find this particular thing, hidden in the corner nearest him under a floorboard that is already partially broken. The glint of a metal latch catches in his lantern light...

[batteryacid]

Eddie is also testing out floorboards, keeping his eyes down and trying to do his best not to sneeze or cough in the dusty, spore-filled air. After some time, Eddie sees that glint and says, "Hey, there's something shiny -- over this way." He points, but a moment later moves toward it.

Eddie sets his lantern on the floor, close to the shiny thing... and sees that it's a latch. When he gets the floorboard up, he draws his dagger and pokes around with it in the space below... just in case. You never know when you might run into a hostile squirrel or something.

But there's no animal life down there... just a small box.

Eddie pulls off the lid, and sees the silver locket within. His voice is more hushed as he asks Milo, "Do you think this could be the anchor the letter mentioned?"

[pinandcove]

"...Man, I dunno. An anchor is like... a tether, right? Something that keeps something locked to something else? So maybe this is like, I dunno, important to somebody."

He frowns thoughtfully, taking the locket from the box to look at it. Inside, the photo and the name. "Aww, look. A lesbian wedding." He shows Eddie the picture.

[batteryacid]

Eddie smiles faintly, at the picture and at the reminder that no one has a problem with that kind of wedding here. "They look happy."

He squints at the inscription. "Linette... and Harriet. I don't recognize those names. But-- achoo!" Eddie stumbles back a bit, blinking after that sneeze. "L-let's get out of here first. Hide it in your pocket? We... can make it sound like we didn't find anything when we leave. Just in case."

[pinandcove]

"Woah! You okay? Is it the dust?" Milo pockets the locket and makes for the door. He assumes they can talk more about its contents at home.

[batteryacid]

Eddie sniffles a little. "I hope it's just the dust, and not an allergic reaction. Achoo! Let's head back."

Eddie sheaths the dagger again and follows Milo to the door. Once they are out of the cabin and back on solid ground, Eddie dusts at his clothes with his free hand.

"Yuck. What a waste of time," he complains, for the benefit of anyone who might be listening. And then he starts down the path toward home.

[pinandcove]

"Yeah, bummer," Milo agrees. His acting is less convincing, so he assumes the less he says, the better. He's probably right.

They trek on back to Northwest Hollow and Milo pops into Eddie's house for a chat.

"Hey, I been thinkin'," he starts, pulling the locket back out. "That blonde lady in the picture. I feel like she looks familiar somehow."

[batteryacid]

Eddie relaxes now that they are in his house. He picks up the note he wrote for Angel and folds it once, twice, before tearing it into strips. He looks up when Milo pulls out the locket.

"Let me get another look?" and Eddie peers at the picture in the locket. After some thinking, and absent-minded tearing of his now-unneeded note, Eddie says, "Does she look like Dahlia to you? Not exactly, I mean. She's not Dahlia but... maybe a family resemblance?"

[pinandcove]

"Oh, you know what?" He tilts his head to look again. "You might be right. Doesn't Dahlia have like... Well she used to have twelve siblings I think. Older sister, maybe?"

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he frowns. "...I think... I think this means something really bad happened to these people."

[batteryacid]

"Dahlia is the last of her family," Eddie says quietly, solemnly. "I've heard that enough times. So if this blonde woman is Dahlia's older sister, she's dead. And so is her wife, I bet. Otherwise, wouldn't this locket be with the wife?"

[pinandcove]

"I guess someone coulda stole it... Maybe we should ask Dahlia?"

[batteryacid]

Eddie frowns thoughtfully, and starts twisting a strip of paper in his hands, nervously.

"Okay, what I'm going to say is probably going to sound bad, so hear me out all the way first." He takes a breath. "If we ask Dahlia about this, she's going to want to know why, and she's probably going to want the locket back. But we shouldn't give her the locket, because it's supposedly the anchor thing that the secret letter talked about. We don't want people to know we found it, and if it's dangerous she shouldn't keep it in her house, right?

"I think we need to take this to someone who knows magic... someone like River, and get her take on it first. And since the Leeds were such a big important family, there's got to be a lot about them in the history of the island. We can find out for sure about Dahlia's family and if this blonde lady is one of her sisters by researching at the library."

Eddie drops his gaze to the table after that speech, bracing himself in case Milo is going to get mad. It is a pretty cold way to look at the situation.