Organization, methinks, is more than half the battle when creating attractions whose universe is expansive. I’m not just creating a single attraction in a world, but multiple, so in the end, the Calamity grows by whole themed areas. Not in every case, perhaps, but in many. A Vampire’s Vengeance, Rise of the Warlock Queen, and House are standalone attractions—though House will be getting a sequel, this is where Solomon’s story will end. Bus Driver, however, sits as one attraction in a growing world where CANOPY Corp has failed miserably in their containment procedures for cosmic and extra-dimensional entities. There are a number of attractions planned around CANOPY, and so getting the foundation right is imperative. Unholy Requiem, Archivist, Dark Father, Irreverent Eulogy, and Shrine of Radiance all take place in a universe I’ve titled Children of the Damned, and the world-building for this series is unfathomable. None of this would be possible without some capacity at organizing all of the detail underlying the characters and groups and locations, etc. Week over week, the organizational structure of these stories is constantly being improved upon, with tooling being built to push this work along. There is much in development! And this requires much in the way of organization.
Now, on to Backstage! Our vampires venture into the dark below ground in this edition’s installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance. Solomon takes a ride on an elevator of questionable integrity, but one you’ll find familiar if you’ve been Backstage long enough, in House. And the bus driver gets some much needed rest in, well, Bus Driver.
Let’s get into it →
There is little excitement to share this week with regard to such attractions as Rise of the Warlock Queen or Unholy Requiem, though I have began making notes about the astrology system that will be prominently featured in Shrine of Radiance, and the Dark Father and Archivist series which all fall into the Unholy Requiem universe. This aside, this week saw more scaffolding with CANOPY Corp, which sets the foundation of the Bus Driver universe. And House has made—and will make—some interesting nods to other attractions across the Carnival of Calamity. If you’ve read Groundskeeper, you’ll know it when you see it.
This weekend may see more effort made toward completing the next phase of edits for Warlock Queen, in which case I shall have much more to share on this attraction in the following edition. More to come, and soon.
Would you step foot into a goopy tunnel? Our reckless elder Edgar doesn’t appear to have any qualms about it. How does it turn out for he and Isabelle? Read this edition’s installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance to find out where they end up:
Solomon had a card reading and now wants another, but is that really what he needs? He stops and looks around and discovers a frightful truth about his surroundings. Read all about it in this edition’s installment of House:
This edition’s guest attraction is terrifying and tragic. A man goes to find his wife’s body in an effort to protect from the evils that plague the local cemetery, only to find himself plagued by those evils as well.
on sale now
A traveling merchant finds himself in quite the predicament when he manages to win a duel, leading him down a dark path. A tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
Welcome to another installment of Bus Driver! Have you been enjoying this attraction so far? I know I know, the action comes and goes and is few and far between, but some of the environmental factors are interesting, are they not? And wasn’t Griselda’s story a bit curious, made all the more real by the bus driver’s witness of the beheaded beast during the parade? If you have no clue what I’m talking about, you can catch up with Part XXXIV here. Worry not, my esteemed guests, for danger lurks around every corner and you never know what might pop up where and when. But enough of that; the bus driver is in no condition to fight. In fact, it may be time for the bus group to get some shut eye.
Hal had no need to go very far. In fact, he didn't even need to stand up. A small group of residents and passengers piled in, with Mark in the lead. Mark stopped at the foot of the stair and crinkled his face while the passengers filtered into the room and gathered their belongings.
"Y'all just went and smoked one without me? Fuckin' rude, Hal," said Mark. The two laughed. Mark then turned to the bus driver. "Boss says to get you settled. You ready for bed?"
The bus driver nodded. He was well past ready for bed.
Mark gestured with his head for the bus driver to follow, then turned to walk back up the stair. The residents with him cleared the way to let him pass, then fell in behind him along with the passengers and bus driver.
Mark led them outside and around the building to a door in a metal frame. The bus driver noticed this entry was different from the other, and watched as Mark disengaged the locks and pushed the door open, revealing a stairway going up.
"Hey what's this all about?" said one of the passengers.
Mark turned and pointed to the next building over. Set into its side was another door of similar build. "We all sleep in these raised shelters." He stepped across the threshold and began walking upstairs, talking as he went, the passengers following with wariness, the bus driver following unconcerned. "We're all closed in tight as bug, with everyone off the street by 1am--except the Watch, that is. You'll hear why if you manage not to drop off right away."
At the top of the stair was a hallway with a number of rooms branching off.
"There should be enough rooms for everyone to sleep comfortably," said Mark. "Bathrooms are small but should suffice. Shower's at the end of the hall if you want one. I'll be in here if anyone needs anything," and he gestured to the door to the left of the stair. "Just knock."
Lamps stuck out at odd angles from the wall between the doors. One of the passengers reached out to touch one and was stopped by Mark.
"Whoa, yeah, let's talk security. Those fixtures will activate defenses on the stair in case of a breach. You also have pull cord at the back of the closet in each room. Those activate defenses in the hallway. They are tucked away for a reason, so you don't go yanking it while people are trying to get out."
"They're mechanical," said the passenger who had been about to touch the lamp fixture.
"Yup," said Mark. "Almost every defense we have is designed to work without power. Those fucking monsters out there will just bowl over anything, including generators, so we had to adapt."
The passengers looked, as if waiting for more information or some signal the tour was over. Mark failed to pick up on this. He went downstairs, shut and locked the door, then went into the room he would be staying in. The passengers turned to look at the bus driver who shrugged. In spite of his sluggish mind, he collected himself enough to suggest everyone pick a room and wished them all good night. He then turned and ducked into the closest room and shut the door behind him. He dropped his bag by the door and pulled his clothes off in the few steps it took to get to the bed in the cramped space, listening as doors began opening and closing all down the hall. A door to the rear of the room to one side of the headboard led to the bathroom. The bus driver stepped in to do his business. There was another door across from where he was seated. The bus driver reached over and opened it to peek in. It was a shallow closet, with a rack and a low shelf, and the pull cord mentioned earlier. He shut the door, finished his toilet, cleaned himself up, then threw himself on the bed.
He lay for some moments thinking of all he experienced upon leaving the settlement. The giant in the funnel. The flat tire. The stories in the basement dining room. The parade with the beheaded flying monster. Buildings with booby-trapped hallways. An outpost with liquor and weed in abundance. It had only been hours since they had left, but it felt like a week already. What more would he deal with as they made their way to Las Vegas? In his drowsy cross-faded addled brain, he had a vague sense of warbling and wailing arising outside. Perhaps a few hours earlier such sounds would have brought on anxiety, but not now. The alcohol and the weed did their trick. The last thought the bus driver had before falling asleep was the brief consideration of his excursion as a bad dream; he would find himself back at the settlement upon waking.
Was this all a dream after all? Will the bus driver awake to find himself back in the settlement, as if none of this ever happened?
Unlikely. I know that. You know that. The bus driver knows that. But he really is hoping, isn’t he?
What we don’t know is what all the warbling and wailing entails. Also, what do the inner building defenses look like? Will the bus driver’s rest be cut short, or will he awake bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for the next leg of the journey? There’s only one way to find out! Come back next week!
There’s always so much to keep up with, isn’t there? Not to fear, you need not keep up with all of it, as I’ve mentioned here before. Venture on those attractions you are most attracted to; when the time comes, perhaps other attractions will curry your favor and you’ll traverse the whole of Backstage before these attractions take their official place in the Carnival of Calamity!
Do you have favorites? Do you have comments? I would love to hear them! Please, reply to this email, comment on this post, or use any of the buttons below. In the meantime, I look forward to your next visit.
Cordially,
Mad Alex
Please, for the love of all that is unholy and calamitous in this world, please let us know what you think of this content! The buttons below will each take you to a respective survey consisting of two to three questions. Your opinions will help shape the future of Backstage at the Calamity.