Inhabitants of Sunflower Apartments

While the influence of the Lords is usually contained within their Domains, some reach way outside of them. The Tower of the Lord of the Puppets that marks his territory can be seen from very far away. His little Dolls patrol the areas surrounding it. And once in a while, they manage to find a human settlement. In most cases, they'd either kidnap or murder its inhabitants to provide their master with the parts for his new creations. But there is one exception. One settlement they haven't told their master about. One they treat as their playground, with their own dolls.
For about a year, inhabitants of the Sunflower Apartments have been imprisoned and terrorized by four squads of Dolls.

Before

The current inhabitants of the Sunflower Apartments found them only by a stroke of luck. For whatever reason, those four flats and the square between them are surrounded by a powerful ward against Spirits. After the Extinction, a few groups of survivors got here, either when hiding from threats, running away from creatures chasing them, or simply stumbled on this place when searching for shelter. Smart enough, they used apartments on the inner sides of the flats, which helped them avoid attracting any more dangerous threats. But there was a constant threat looming to the north of them - the Tower of the Lord of the Puppets. For now, it was quiet, and so they managed to live peacefully, creating their own community, and even establishing a small trade route with two neighboring survivor settlements.

How it started

A patrol of Dolls moved out farther than usual, finding one of their neighbors. Since their Lord wanted more parts, the inhabitants of that settlement were hunted down, kidnapped, or killed. But it wasn't one of the captives or escapees that revealed the location of Sunflower Apartments. One of the Doll squads specialized in tracking and they managed to find some cart tracks leading out of the attacked settlement. And so, they did what they knew the best. They found the settlement.
But instead of doing what they did to the first one, they decided to have some fun. They took over the area in the name of their Lord. Anyone who opposed them in a violent manner has been taken to the center of the square and brutally beaten to death, an act that was supposed to break the weaker wills. For the next few days, they captured and broke the legs of anyone who'd try to escape. Growing bored of that, they announced that anyone who tries to escape next will be responsible for the death of another person.
The inhabitants of the Sunflower Apartments were imprisoned.

Now

Once in a while, the Dolls return to the settlement, providing it with food, water, and medicine for a small price of entertaining them. And what entertains them varies from one Doll to another. Some want to see people dancing, acting, or painting for them, some want to be paid with new pretty clothes. Some want to see bloody fights or humiliating acts. The worst thing, they provide just enough for the survivors that some of them really think that those Dolls care about them and that the world outside might be more dangerous. A few even started to worship them or their Lord.

Related Locations

• Sunflower Apartments
• The Tower of the Lord of the Puppets

Dead squad's plans

Dead Squad is aware of what happens at the Sunflower Apartments but without better gear, a distraction, or help from outside, they probably won't intervene, in fear of being found by Lord's Dolls. Even if they managed to silently take out the four squads there, its inhabitants should probably be moved somewhere else before other squads get there to check on their status.