S1 Ep3: Bottom of the River

[00:00:30] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Legacy and I play Rosanna. [00:00:33] Speaker B: Hi, I'm Scott and I play Arthur. [00:00:36] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Jade and I play Julia. Hi. [00:00:39] Speaker D: My name is Elijah, and I play Zephyr. [00:00:43] Speaker E: And I'm bloody porcelain. I will be your storyteller for the evening. Since our first ancestor stared out at the ocean, man has held a unique relationship to water. It is both a fascination and a source of dread. Fathoms so deep they hide creatures made horrific by evolving to intense pressure and a lack of sunlight. Sucked under rapids and smashed against rock after rock. Bodies left to decompose against whatever fundament held their broken corpse in its grasp. And massive waves seem unstoppable when they rush toward shore during a storm, ships sink, dragging countless souls into the depths below. Rivers break their levees and flood entire towns, sweeping away buildings and burying the inhabitants in feet of mud and detritus. But after centuries of women being drowned in witch trials, lost souls throwing themselves from bridges to escape the agony of their life, and criminals using the destructive power and hidden properties of deep bodies of water to hide the evidence of their crimes, is there any surprise that there are other threats beneath the waves? When scientists and investigators can come up with no reasonable explanation for sudden drownings, reasonable people chalk it up to freak accidents, drugs and partying. But mad men. Mad men aren't reasonable. Mad men have stared into the depths and seen the truth. They have seen spirits haunting the waves. They have witnessed blue seaweed tangled hands reaching for them to pull them under. They have heard the siren song calling them to lean closer to the surface, to gaze into the darkness below. And they keep coming back, thinking that somehow they can change the tide. They can somehow not end up like all others before them. Tonight, let's tell a story about the Mad Men. Good evening, players. In our last session, you arrived in the small town of Gila Bend, where you discovered that there were a string of mysterious deaths. Deaths in the town, three car accidents nearly back to back over the course of only a week and a half, and three mysterious drownings of local teenagers in less than 2ft of water down by the river. You haven't had time to make it out to the river, but you did hopefully address the haunting out on Route 85. Afterwards, having returned a new friend to her car and the safe embrace of her family, you return to your spot for the night outside of the space lodge and motel. Some of you slept in the double beds inside, taking advantage of getting to sleep in an actual bed after. Everyone also got a shower for the night while the rest of you returned to the camper and slept there. It's morning now, and as you all start to slowly surface from your deep sleep, you realize that you are already missing one of your group. There is, however, the signs that Victoria was there and somehow managed to not only get up and leave without you noticing, but got up, made you breakfast, left it on the counter, along with a note saying that she was headed over to the rest to the rescue, and she'd be there all day. Breakfast is a simple fare. It's pre made breakfast burritos that she threw together. All you have to do is pop them into the microwave, and they'll be ready to go. But now you're in this town and need to figure out what you're going to do with your day. Who wakes up first? Rosanna, as usual. Right. Well, you're awake. What are you going to do? [00:05:33] Speaker A: I think that first thing that I'm going to do is sneak out, because I slept in the camper, in the RV. I'm going to sneak out into the kitchen, grab one of Victoria's breakfast burritos, and I'm going to grab my camera and my journal and my really pretty fountain pen, and I'm going to go out for a little morning walk. How far away am I from Gloria's? [00:06:17] Speaker E: Oh, you're a ways away. Gloria lives on the reservation, and you're in the heart of town. I mean, you could walk there, but it would take a while. It's much faster to just drive. [00:06:30] Speaker A: Then. Instead, I think I'm going to go get some coffee. [00:06:34] Speaker E: Coffee is very doable. The coffee shop is literally right next door. It's technically in the same building. When you walk inside, there aren't too many people here yet. You see a couple of people are filtering out with Togo Cups, getting ready to head to work. Not many people are inside and, like, sat down. But when you get there, the owner of the establishment who you met yesterday, who Victoria, attempted to do her grocery shopping through his kitchen. He's there and hanging out, wiping down counters. It looks like he's keeping up with the morning coffee rush, but not terribly busy at the moment. He looks up and he goes, ah, strawberry. [00:07:44] Speaker A: Good morning. Think I could just grab a cup of Joe? Maybe another one of those donuts, if you got one. [00:07:53] Speaker E: I've definitely got the coffee. I can look to see if there's any more donuts. I know for a fact we have cherry tarts in the back if we don't have donuts. Would you like one of those? [00:08:05] Speaker A: Sure, why not? [00:08:07] Speaker E: All right. He he turns and pours you a cup of coffee, and when he when you hand it over, it has the distinct aroma of vanilla to it. Seems like no matter where you go, people seem to know that giving you something sweet is probably the way to your heart. But he hands over a vanilla scented coffee for sure and then heads into the back to see if he can find you a doughnut or a tart maybe. And after a minute, he returns, and he does, in fact, have a strawberry donut. [00:09:05] Speaker A: Fantastic. And she reaches into I reach into my bag and I take out a couple of bills, and I just lay them on the table for him. Is Julia working today? [00:09:22] Speaker E: She is not. I gave her the day off because she saved my bacon yesterday. But if you need her, I could call her. You all seem to get pretty close pretty fast. [00:09:38] Speaker A: No need to worry about that. Her and I exchanged numbers. I just wanted to thank her for giving us a small tour yesterday. [00:09:50] Speaker E: No problem. So he hands it over, takes the money and Rosanna. As you turn to either find somewhere to sit or to walk back out the door, you notice you catch a reflection out of the corner of your eye of yourself. But you notice that your silhouette isn't quite right. Instead of your hair being down and long and flowing like it normally is, it looks like it is piled up atop your head in rather ornate curls. But when you turn your head to look normal weird. [00:10:58] Speaker A: And I take my donut and my coffee, just find a little booth in the corner and get to writing my daily thought. [00:11:17] Speaker E: While that is happening, who is the next person up? [00:11:35] Speaker D: I'll probably wake up next and notice that Rosanna's gone. And I'm just kind of like, okay, we'll just how the day is going to be. We're just going to spend a few hours here, I guess, until Victoria gets back, and I'm going to spend a few minutes to kind of walk around outside and look for a payphone, if they have one. [00:12:12] Speaker E: There is odly enough a payphone in the hotel lobby. It's not outside, but it is inside, which is probably a blessed coincidence for you because it's hot outside. It may be the end of September rolling into October, but you're still in the middle of the desert. [00:12:35] Speaker D: Before I before I even touch the payphone, I'm going to bring out, like, my little brick Nokia phone, and I'm going to text Trap, which is an old work friend, and send a text that says, Doctor is on vacation. So appointments are postponed for the moment, but it's like code for, I'm going to be gone for a while. Don't respond. [00:13:10] Speaker E: You don't get a response. [00:13:13] Speaker D: And then I just kind of linger at the pay phone for a bit. Just thinking, like, yeah, I just think for a bit. And then I dial the number I know for the compound and wait to see if anybody picks up. [00:13:42] Speaker E: You are calling the compound? [00:13:45] Speaker D: Yes. [00:13:48] Speaker E: Okay. I wasn't expecting this, but we'll run with it. Good morning, Rising Star Ministries. How can I help you? [00:14:04] Speaker D: I hang up, like, just as soon as I hear somebody actually pick up, I'm just like, no. And then I just hang up and go back to the room and see if Arthur is awake. [00:14:22] Speaker B: So I assume that means that it was Zephyr and Arthur in the room, I guess. Yeah. I was trying to figure out the arrangements, and other people were waking up in the camper, and I was like, well, I guess I wasn't in the camper if there was more than one person there, because there were two beds. So I guess that Arthur was in the other one. So Arthur is awake by the time Zephyr gets back, then. [00:14:48] Speaker D: Yeah, I just kind of, like, poke my head in and just like, oh, it looks like Rosanna's gone. I don't think she left a note. So I guess we can just kind of wander the town for a bit and figure out what's up with the swamp. [00:15:08] Speaker B: The drowning in the river, you mean? [00:15:11] Speaker D: Yeah, the river, yes. [00:15:16] Speaker B: Yeah, sounds good. Think I need some coffee, though, before we start looking into that. While it is a comfortable bed, it's a lot to think about. Last night didn't sleep well? [00:15:31] Speaker D: Yeah, it was very honestly, a little terrifying. I don't know. You guys seem to handle it pretty well, so I guess we're pretty good so far, but I don't know. I wish I could have helped, but it is what it is. [00:16:03] Speaker B: I mean, you were helping Zephyr, and I, like, put my hand on Zephyr's shoulder. Don't ever think you're not helping us out, because there's a lot that you do for us around here. [00:16:15] Speaker D: It's, like, instantly gonna touch me. It was like, oh, jeez, thanks. And then just kind of, like, leaves. [00:16:29] Speaker B: So waking up, little backtracking a little bit, arthur would have woken up, found that he was alone in the room, and just listened to the voicemail that he got last night one more time before kind of doing his. Normal motions of waking up and stretching and doing some breathing exercises, and then looks at the pack of cigarettes that used to be Jillian's, and he only has two left because he's been smoking them like crazy the last few days. And that's when Zephyr walks in. So he's still in the state of, like, what am I doing with myself today? And what is going on with my life? And then Zephyr walks in, and there's that interaction. We just. [00:17:11] Speaker E: Okay, um, I'm going to call for a couple of roles from people. First and foremost, zephyr, can you please make your haunted role? Rosanna, can you please make your nightmares roll? Arthur, can you make me a wits and awareness check? [00:17:41] Speaker B: Sure, I could make a wits and awareness check. Not at all wondering why I'm the only one making that role, but okay. [00:17:51] Speaker E: I have other roles for other people. [00:17:54] Speaker B: It's fine. It is fine. I will not argue. [00:17:58] Speaker D: I got four successes, okay? [00:18:04] Speaker B: I only got two kree coffee. My awareness is fairly low. [00:18:19] Speaker A: I got four. [00:18:22] Speaker E: Okay. I believe you meet the threshold, and so does Zephyr to not have to deal with the negative effects of your two roles. Arthur, you don't notice anything out of the ordinary zephyr, can you make me a wits and awareness check? [00:18:44] Speaker D: Oh, no. [00:18:48] Speaker A: Too powerful. [00:18:53] Speaker E: I was going to do this earlier, but then you decided to crank call Cult, so I had to deal with that first. [00:19:03] Speaker D: I got two successes. [00:19:05] Speaker E: Okay. You also do not notice anything right away. It just to make sure that everybody is aware because I'm not sure if you guys are looking at the twitch. Your danger is at a two right now. It went up after last session. Not going to explain why, but it did. [00:19:38] Speaker B: Well, I think it has something to do with Zephyr calling from a trackable phone to a trackable phone line. [00:19:43] Speaker E: Oh, you know what? That's a good point. It probably just went up. [00:19:50] Speaker B: Mm hmm. [00:19:51] Speaker A: Great job. [00:19:52] Speaker E: I will have to make some roles behind the scenes this next time I get you guys into a role play scene so that I can find out if they know where you are yet. Okay. [00:20:04] Speaker B: So thanks, buddy. [00:20:08] Speaker D: I got you. Just trying to reunite you with your wife. [00:20:14] Speaker E: You all go on about your morning. Zephyr, should I assume that you are writing in your journal? [00:20:25] Speaker D: I'm actually going to take a trip to I guess if they have, like, a general store and see if we need to stock up on anything. [00:20:39] Speaker E: There's a grocery store? [00:20:41] Speaker B: Yeah, there was a grocery list that Victoria made and handed to the store guy who he handed back. Thank you. [00:20:50] Speaker E: He was like, I'm not giving you my stores. I need these to run my business. But there is a grocery list. In fact, it is up on the cork board. And the grocery stores, it's a couple of blocks down and across the street. So you're going to have to cross, like, the highway that cuts through town, but it's a relatively small town and you should be able to manage no problem. [00:21:16] Speaker B: Yeah, it's one of those highways that cuts through town. [00:21:20] Speaker E: I mean, it is a legitimate highway, but it is a legitimate highway. It's just the part of the highway that nobody goes on, really. [00:21:28] Speaker B: But there's a stoplight on the highway. Yeah, one of those kind of situations. [00:21:36] Speaker E: So you can head that way. Arthur, what are you doing with your. [00:21:43] Speaker B: So, after getting my breakfast burrito and reading the note from Victoria, letting me know where she's at for the group, I do wander in for some coffee to find. Yes, yes. Now I'm going to get myself a coffee. Not the special strong cup of joe that we were introduced to, not the. [00:22:07] Speaker E: Leaded special that Jesse has. [00:22:11] Speaker B: Just a regular cup of coffee and sit with her at the table because I want to talk to her. Hey. [00:22:30] Speaker A: How'D you sleep? [00:22:32] Speaker B: Not great. [00:22:34] Speaker A: Not great. Bed? Too comfy or something? [00:22:39] Speaker B: Yeah, too comfy of a bed. Too nice of a one star motel. Too cool on a hot day, that kind of thing. [00:22:57] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:23:00] Speaker B: Hey, I've got a real serious question for you this phone. Is there a way to make an untraceable phone call? Like, is there a way to block the number to make it untraceable? I know there's some tricks and some things and I'm not sure what they mean and acronyms on the Internet that's like VDM or whatever. I don't know what it is. [00:23:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I could put a VPN on it. You could use a boner. Sorry, it's been a long night for me, too. A burner phone app? Don't don't start with me, boy. [00:23:58] Speaker E: That's getting clipped later. [00:24:05] Speaker A: You could use a burner phone app. Could try star six seven, but I don't trust it worth the damn anymore. Why? [00:24:19] Speaker B: Well, I'd like to make a phone call to respond to a voicemail that I got, but I'm already going to put one family in jeopardy making the phone call. And I didn't want to do anything that would put my new family in jeopardy. So I thought, how do I keep them from tracking it like they do in movies and stuff? I assume that's a thing that they can actually do. And I wouldn't put it past the church to have all kinds of methods of tracking incoming and outgoing phone calls. So I was hoping that there would be a way to make an untraceable call to a number. [00:25:14] Speaker A: Okay. [00:25:17] Speaker B: Without endangering us. Without endangering you and Zephyr and Victoria, because I made a phone call. [00:25:26] Speaker A: At least you're playing safe. If you want, we can go back to the RV, we set your phone up with my VPN, throw your ass in London or make the call. [00:25:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Even if it sends them on a wild goose chase overseas or something that works? [00:25:50] Speaker A: Well, I do know a thing or two about wild goose chases, considering that's basically how I operate. But, yeah, like I said, it should be simple. I can throw you on my VPN, then kick you off right after and we'll get you that. [00:26:10] Speaker B: Is there like a time limit like at the movies? Like, oh, leave them on for 30 seconds or whatever. Is that like really a thing or not really a thing? [00:26:18] Speaker A: No, you just got to be careful. [00:26:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, obviously don't say something like, yeah, it's hot here in Arizona, or thought about I thought about trying to find another phone, like a burner phone or whatever, but I thought this town probably only has pay phones. That's not a good idea. [00:26:45] Speaker A: I mean, we could definitely try burner phones. Honest to God, I don't know why we don't have burner phones. It's crazy dangerous to use your personal phone to make phone calls that might get you in trouble. [00:26:57] Speaker B: Yeah, the only thing I mean, for me, I have to have a specific number and I know you helped set this thing up so that they couldn't just track me with the phone, so I don't even know why I'm explaining to you. [00:27:13] Speaker A: Right. Yeah. Listen, more than happy to set you up with what you need. Just give me 1015 minutes. [00:27:32] Speaker B: Oh, I'm going to need at least that to drink this coffee, you and I, and clear my mind. [00:27:43] Speaker A: You doing okay? [00:27:48] Speaker B: Good question. Doing? Ish that's what the kids say, right? Ish. [00:27:55] Speaker A: I don't know. I don't get out of my house much. Well, now I do. But. [00:28:06] Speaker B: Last night wasn't really anything that bothered me. I thought real long and hard about you and your particular situation, what that means for us, and how different, really, is it that you can see what you can see and I can read some lines and hold a ghost in place or push them back? How different is that, really? Sounds kind of like the same thing. I'm not worried about that. [00:28:37] Speaker A: Who knows? Listen, I know that it's a weird situation, and I knew for a while that I had those gifts, but I didn't want you guys to fear what I am, because I do care about all of you, despite our little tissues and tufts. [00:29:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. I had a neat surprise last night on my pillow. [00:29:14] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you like them? [00:29:18] Speaker B: Yeah. Thanks. You want to drink some coffee in awkward silence now for that? [00:29:27] Speaker A: Ten or 15 minutes would absolutely love. [00:29:33] Speaker B: Sounds good. [00:29:39] Speaker E: Zephyr while these two lapse into awkward silence over their morning coffee, you head to the local grocery store. I assume that you were looking to fulfill the grocery list that was left behind by Victoria. Is there anything else that you would like to get, or is this just a standard run and you're just looking to fill time? [00:30:08] Speaker D: Just a standard run, yeah. And if I had, I guess once I reconvene with both of them, I'll just ask if they need anything extra. That's not on the list. [00:30:25] Speaker E: Okay, well, I would assume that are you going to text them while you're at the store, or are you stopping in to ask them before you go to the store? [00:30:36] Speaker D: Stopping in to ask first. [00:30:39] Speaker E: Okay. You pop into the coffee shop where they are sitting awkwardly, not talking about anything in particular anymore. Rosanna, will you please make me a wits and awareness check? As Zephyr walks in for the love of God, roll higher than a two. [00:31:12] Speaker B: Don't be a two. [00:31:13] Speaker A: Don't tell me what to do. Hold on. Yeah, no two. [00:31:22] Speaker E: That's amazing. Okay. Everything's normal, Zephyr. Everything is totally fucking normal. [00:31:29] Speaker A: I'm sure it is. [00:31:33] Speaker E: Zephyr walks in. Go ahead and ask your question, Zephyr. [00:31:39] Speaker D: As I notice them both just sitting there awkwardly, I just kind of walk up and don't say anything. So it's just like a weird, awkward. [00:31:52] Speaker E: Situation because I'm like, three way awkwardness. Got it. I'm like, am I menage awkward, so to speak. [00:31:59] Speaker D: Just like I don't know if I should say anything because it seems real tense right now. [00:32:10] Speaker A: How you doing, buddy? [00:32:16] Speaker D: I'm heading to the store if you guys need anything. And I show them the list that Victoria left. [00:32:24] Speaker A: I immediately grab it right down strawberry creams and then shove it right back to his chest. If you wouldn't so mind to check for me if they have any of those. They are my favorite candies and shared my last ones with Victoria. And now I'm kind know needing something to look forward to if they don't have it. [00:32:56] Speaker D: Is there a good replacement that you want? No. [00:33:03] Speaker A: Surprise me. I guess they don't have it. [00:33:07] Speaker D: And then, like, turn towards Arthur and. [00:33:10] Speaker E: Just like. [00:33:14] Speaker B: I'm good, Seth. Thanks. [00:33:17] Speaker D: Go to the store. [00:33:20] Speaker E: Okay. You head out to the store. It's a reasonably quick and easy trip. There are a couple of times where you have to ask somebody where something is. You're not exactly a culinarian. And there are a couple of things on the list that Victoria is asking for that you are like, what is that? And it turns out that it's just some weird obscure name for something super fucking common. [00:33:50] Speaker B: Oh, cocktail onions. She meant cocktail it. [00:33:57] Speaker E: But you don't find everything, unfortunately. And Rosanna, I'm sorry, I did roll for this between sessions. There's no strawberry creams. I am calling bullshit. [00:34:15] Speaker D: Excuse me? I'm going to use Cincinnati unnatural because something weird is going on. [00:34:21] Speaker A: The fucking werewolves, man. They're stealing my shit. They know. They all know. [00:34:29] Speaker E: You look and you look and you look. You look in three different aisles and there is no strawberry cream anything except for strawberries and stuff to make cream or just whipped cream. That's the only strawberry cream you can find in the whole store, unfortunately. Um, so you manage to find the rest of it, though. You find the the dog food. You find, you know, milk and cereal and just all of the little bits and bobs that Victoria asked for. You end up having to downgrade a couple of things where she asked for something a little bit higher quality. And they just don't have it in such a small store in such a small town. But they've got more common versions of things. And yeah, that's about that. Are Rosanna and Arthur doing anything else at the coffee shop, or are you guys going to continue to sit in awkward silence? [00:35:41] Speaker B: I have no plans. My plans was to see if there was a way to make a phone call that was untraceable so that I didn't crank all the Colt's mainline number. [00:35:54] Speaker A: And I guess my morning plans shifted from writing in my journal to showing Arthur the wonders of VPNs. [00:36:07] Speaker E: Okay, so after you finish your coffee while Zephyr's still at the store, you guys head back to the RV. And Rosanna, it doesn't take you long to get things set up. You know that there's no real way to protect that phone specifically. Even a VPN won't protect a phone from being traced. You can set him up with a digital phone number and throw that onto a VPN, which is very simple. So in the end, actually, let's see. Can you roll me intelligence and Technology? And if you have any edges or perks that you want to use, just tell me what you want to do. [00:37:03] Speaker A: None just yet. Can I trade intelligence for resolve, though? [00:37:11] Speaker E: Can you explain why you think resolve should be what you're rolling with? [00:37:14] Speaker A: Because it takes a little bit of time to set everything up and to make sure that things are connected correctly. And she would be taking her time with it to make sure that they are untraceable. [00:37:30] Speaker E: You know what? I will allow it. [00:37:47] Speaker A: I'm going to willpower some of that three successes. [00:37:55] Speaker E: Okay. It takes some time. Doesn't go as smoothly as you were hoping it would at first. I'm distracted. You are distracted. But eventually you get everything set up and ready to go to the best of your ability on such short notice. You feel like if you'd had a little bit more time and a little bit more warning, this would have gone a lot smoother. But this is also the first time you have tried to set up something like this on the road and not from a stable location. So you're working at a slight disadvantage with subpar equipment. However, Arthur, as Rosanna hands you a headset with a microphone attached to it, there is a dial pad up on the screen that you can type the number into. [00:39:01] Speaker B: I am going to call the number that called me last night, the one that left the voicemail. Katie Lynn's secret phone. [00:39:12] Speaker E: Okay. Can you do me a favor? Roll me two dice. Just tell me what the numbers are. Let's see if Katie Lynn is even available to pick up the phone right now. [00:39:26] Speaker B: So I'm rolling dice. Hunter Hunter. [00:39:31] Speaker E: And then a dice pull of two. [00:39:33] Speaker B: Two. Got it. All right. That's right. They give the numbers on that nine and seven. [00:39:37] Speaker E: Wow. Yeah. So you call, and almost immediately, the phone picks up. Hello? [00:39:52] Speaker B: Oh. Hey, Arthur. Yeah. [00:40:03] Speaker E: I didn't think I'd hear from you so soon. [00:40:05] Speaker B: Are you coming home? I thought I was going to be leaving a message. I wasn't expecting you to answer, but I'm glad you did, because that means that you're okay. At least okay enough to answer a phone. [00:40:26] Speaker E: Yeah, I'm fine. [00:40:33] Speaker A: Are you okay? [00:40:38] Speaker B: In many ways, yes. In some ways, no. I can't really give you any details because it would be too dangerous for both of us if I did, but I am safe for now. Listen, my heart breaks for what I'm putting you through right now, and I am so sorry that you're having to deal with everything. And all I wanted you to know is that I'm hoping that this, whatever it is that I'm this journey that I'm on, this literal and figurative journey, eventually, is for the best for us. [00:41:44] Speaker E: Me, too. Me, too. I don't really understand why you had to go, but I'll always support you. [00:42:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. And actually knowing that is one of the things that keeps me going toward what I hope is everyone's safety and betterment. If I could just if I could just come get you, I would be happy. But I know that it would be wrong of me to try, and I just hope that in the end, this is all resolved and you're safe. I honestly don't even care if, in the end of all of this, I am safe. All I care about is that you're safe and that you're happy. And that's really it. And that's all I really wanted to say with this call. [00:43:14] Speaker E: I'll I'll be happier when you're back home. I know that you need your time. This is all just really hard. I'm not allowed to go to service anymore. [00:43:40] Speaker B: Ah. They're they're taking even that away from you. [00:43:50] Speaker E: Said when I have I have found my way back to God. I can come back. [00:44:02] Speaker B: But you're not the one who's lost it's. Me? Not you. You're amazing and spiritual and smart. You're not the one who's lost themselves. I am sorry that they're taking that from you, and I wish that they would at least allow you to be you. [00:44:37] Speaker E: I it's okay. It's just it's only because I got into an argument. John's wife was saying that you were well, that you had turned your back on everyone on the speaker and on the Lord, and I lost my temper. It's okay. I'll be okay. I forgot my grace for a little while. [00:45:29] Speaker B: That's disappointing, even from John's wife, because she doesn't even know that what I do is also for her and him and their children. And anyway, I'm saying too much. I do hope it gets at least better for you, and I promise that I will be with you in time. [00:46:06] Speaker E: I believe you. I know you will be. And eventually, they'll believe you, too. I have that faith. I should go. [00:46:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I should go, too. This was probably a bad idea for both of us, but I'm glad no. [00:46:31] Speaker E: I'm glad I got to hear your voice. I was starting to lose hope. I love you. Please stay safe. [00:46:45] Speaker B: I love you, too. [00:46:49] Speaker E: Bye. [00:46:50] Speaker B: Bye. [00:46:53] Speaker E: And there's long seconds where you watch the time for the call continue to click on and you could tell that she hasn't hung up. It's like she doesn't want to or she can't before it finally cuts off about five, 6 seconds later. [00:47:21] Speaker A: You doing all right? [00:47:28] Speaker B: No. [00:47:32] Speaker A: Hey, it's all right. You you got to hear her voice. That's good. [00:47:47] Speaker B: It that is actually good. [00:47:58] Speaker A: Um can we pray together? [00:48:05] Speaker B: What? [00:48:08] Speaker A: My daddy is a preacher, and in times of stress, even being who I am, I find comfort in prayer. [00:48:37] Speaker B: It's really strange for me to be questioning whether or not we should be praying. [00:48:46] Speaker A: Mmhmm. I'll reach out my hand. You don't have to join me if you don't want to. [00:48:58] Speaker B: No, I'll join. [00:49:00] Speaker E: You. [00:49:02] Speaker B: I have to believe in something, right? I have to believe that there's a reason for all of this. That there's some person, hopefully positive entity in the universe that's doing all of this, that gives us all of our presence. It lets you see what you can see. So there's someone to pray to. Maybe not the person I used to pray to before, but still someone. [00:49:31] Speaker A: Sometimes it's just good to pray. A safe day. [00:49:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:43] Speaker A: And if he allows me, I'm gonna put my hand on top his give him give his very gentle squeeze. Um, I hope you don't mind something a bit more traditional. [00:50:12] Speaker B: For prayer. [00:50:14] Speaker A: Yeah. Stop me if you haven't heard this one yet. Bow my head and I close my eyes. Our Father who are in heaven and hallow be thy name. Thy kingdom come will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. [00:50:51] Speaker B: Amen. You know, I've I've never heard that one before. [00:50:56] Speaker A: Really? [00:50:57] Speaker B: Yeah. In the cult, we just do a bunch of weird stuff, right? We pray. That weird. Sheep. [00:51:03] Speaker A: Sheep. You know, tell me if I'm crossing a boundary for you. What exactly was it that you did in your religion? [00:51:19] Speaker B: I'm messing with you. I know that prayer. I was kidding. But no, it was really just church. Like a church of congregation of people who wanted something more in life, but that more was kind of strange but not unusual. Realistically, it was all pretty normal and pretty much like every organized religion that exists out there with a few slightly iffy things that maybe the government wouldn't like, but also used to be old practices of various religions. Anyway, they just kind of got brought back into fashion. Kind of like 70s clothes. But there was this idea that the speaker was this being of, like, a human that had been gifted with the abilities of sort of like a second coming of Christ kind of feel. And we all believed it till we realized that that was a lie and that this entity was something that you and I would kill. Now still don't know what it was. Something that can apparently suck life out of people. Thought it was a vampire, but lately been thinking that I was misled on that one. [00:53:05] Speaker A: Hey. Knowing what we do, it could be anything. But there's a group of us. I'm sure if taking the speaker down is something that you want to do, the four of us, as long as we got each other's backs at this point, she realizes that her hand is still on his and she kind of moves it. [00:53:54] Speaker B: If we could take it down, I would want that. But I honestly don't care, really, as long as there's people I can save. Easiest way, cut off the head of the snake. Body of the snake dies. But sometimes just getting someone away from the snake's bite is all you can do. [00:54:27] Speaker A: Saves them from venom. [00:54:29] Speaker B: Mmhmm. [00:54:37] Speaker A: I bet she's wonderful. [00:54:42] Speaker B: Yeah, she is. And smart and funny and pretty. Dang stunning. No offense to you. You're a very pretty person, but I'm just somebody that is slightly more pretty, in my opinion. [00:55:08] Speaker A: I'm sure that she's. [00:55:12] Speaker B: Yes. [00:55:18] Speaker A: But if there's anything that I help, anything that I can research, I can pull on my string of connections, see if there's. [00:55:32] Speaker E: Anything. [00:55:38] Speaker B: Help you you know, I was thinking about that, and at this one, I don't know that there is. I don't know much, but this was helpful. I appreciate you taking all that time to make all those weird Internet connections and make that phone call happen. [00:55:56] Speaker A: You know, one of these days, I'm going to have to teach you how to do this on your own. [00:56:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm sure you will. [00:56:07] Speaker A: Until then, I don't mind. [00:56:13] Speaker B: Thanks. [00:56:17] Speaker A: Then she closes down close down all of my all of my different browsers and stuff. There are a couple of times where I kind of pulled the screen off to the side and closed down a couple of other things, and then I'll put it back. And then just close down some YouTube videos and whatnot. And shut down my computer. [00:56:41] Speaker B: Yeah, YouTube videos. That's what the kids do these days, right? Yeah. [00:56:46] Speaker A: See, that one is a little kitten and a duck running around backyard together. What are you me for? [00:57:00] Speaker B: Nothing. [00:57:02] Speaker A: I know that grin. Something's on your mind? What's going on? [00:57:06] Speaker B: Nothing. Just wondering about your money slaves. [00:57:12] Speaker A: That were my what? My money slaves? [00:57:16] Speaker B: Yeah, that was what Zephyr called them. [00:57:24] Speaker A: How I make my money is entirely my own business. Unless you want to make my business your business. [00:57:31] Speaker B: I absolutely agree with you. Unlike most people who wear collars, I actually have zero hang ups over that sort of thing. [00:57:45] Speaker A: Honestly, very curious to find out how you think I make my money. [00:57:54] Speaker B: I mean, you mentioned people, and so we just assumed that you made money from people giving it to you. [00:58:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I do make money from people giving it to me. That's how most businesses work. [00:58:05] Speaker B: Yeah, that is how businesses work. It's just a transaction, and I don't have any moral hang ups about that sort of thing. [00:58:14] Speaker A: AHA. You realize that I'm an information broker, right? [00:58:22] Speaker B: Sure. You sell information. [00:58:26] Speaker A: I don't think you're entirely convinced. [00:58:29] Speaker B: I don't think it's your only source of income, if that's what you're asking. I think I'm going to go find out where Zephyr is. [00:58:38] Speaker A: Good save. Good save. [00:58:40] Speaker E: It is about this time that the door to the RV bangs open and Zephyr comes in carrying a couple armloads of bags and sweating slightly because he had to walk down the street in this heat hauling all of these groceries. Might not have thought that plan through. [00:59:01] Speaker D: The walk was nice. [00:59:05] Speaker E: Despite the weight, I guess. But he kind of hauls these bags of groceries up into the RV, and once again, Sephir, you step into what seems like an awkward situation. [00:59:20] Speaker D: I once again don't say anything. It just. [00:59:27] Speaker B: Need help with that. Here, let me help you with that. This move around small RV space. [00:59:34] Speaker A: Okay, you're pressing up against me. Okay, we're going to just over to the fad. How was grocery shopping, Zephyr? [00:59:50] Speaker D: I hated it. There were too many people. [00:59:56] Speaker B: But, hey, we got how many was that? Three or four? [01:00:02] Speaker D: Too many? [01:00:04] Speaker E: It was two. There were two. Too many. [01:00:07] Speaker A: Too many. Do they have them? [01:00:14] Speaker D: I'm so sorry, but they don't. [01:00:18] Speaker E: You might be cursed. [01:00:20] Speaker D: I'm sorry. [01:00:21] Speaker A: Don't. It's the one thing that brings me joy and laugh, and I can't get it. That's fine. Probably put groceries away and head out. We have a river to go and investigate. [01:00:41] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, we have a river to go investigate. Right. [01:00:46] Speaker E: As groceries are being put away and people are hurriedly talking about having a river to go investigate, will all of you make me wits and awareness, please? [01:00:59] Speaker A: Let's go. Successes. [01:01:02] Speaker E: Each. [01:01:12] Speaker D: Said wits and awareness, correct? [01:01:15] Speaker E: Yes. [01:01:16] Speaker B: All right, I'm going to have to use some willpower on my roll, because. [01:01:20] Speaker D: Seriously, I only got two successes. Can I also roll willpower? [01:01:27] Speaker E: Yeah. Anybody who wants to use willpower can use willpower. This is hilarious. You guys are just critical five. [01:01:34] Speaker A: Critical five. [01:01:36] Speaker B: Thank goodness. Even with my willpower, it's like. [01:01:42] Speaker E: Goddamn poetic that it's Rosanna, for people to notice. Okay. As you are sitting there kind of awkwardly trying to squeeze away from Arthur as he inadvertently ends up pressed up against you while he's helping put away groceries, zephyr goes to reach up to put some things in one of the upper cabinets, and you notice on his left hand, on his ring finger, something you've never seen before. There is a gold weding band on Zephyr's finger. [01:02:23] Speaker A: Hey. You forget to tell us something, Zephyr? [01:02:27] Speaker D: What do you mean? [01:02:29] Speaker A: When the hell did you get married? How many wives do you have? Or husbands? I'm not here to judge. [01:02:41] Speaker E: Zephyr, you have not noticed the ring yet? Unless Rosanna points it out to you, which I did. Well, then you do notice there is a ring that you have never seen before on your finger. You do not remember putting it there. [01:03:00] Speaker D: Interesting. You know, if you wear something for so long, I guess you stop noticing it. [01:03:15] Speaker A: How many partners do you have? [01:03:18] Speaker D: Not enough. [01:03:21] Speaker B: I thought you were going to say too many. So that's impressive. [01:03:26] Speaker A: I am curious to know how many too many. [01:03:29] Speaker D: Then when she mentions it, I'm trying to take it off if I can. [01:03:36] Speaker A: How many do you have? [01:03:38] Speaker B: Six. Seven is too. [01:03:41] Speaker A: Hmm. [01:03:42] Speaker E: While they are talking about how many partners Arthur has, you do manage to slip it off. What are you going to do with it? [01:03:54] Speaker D: I just put it in my pocket. [01:03:56] Speaker E: Okay, I'll make a note. [01:04:01] Speaker A: Fantastic. [01:04:04] Speaker D: Yeah. Also, in the midst of you guys mentioning my hands, you notice that I'm actually missing my pinky finger on my left hand. [01:04:19] Speaker B: Is that a new thing, or has that always been a thing? [01:04:21] Speaker D: No, that's always been a thing. This is the first time hands have been mentioned. That lake. [01:04:33] Speaker A: Anyway. Yeah, the river. Not river. [01:04:38] Speaker D: Body of water. [01:04:40] Speaker B: It is not a lake. It is a river. [01:04:43] Speaker A: It is a river. A river in which we all need to go and investigate, maybe get out of this RV. [01:04:50] Speaker B: This is where we got to go right now. [01:04:52] Speaker A: Exactly where we need to go. We need to go and find this river and investigate it and maybe leave this RV for a couple of hours. [01:05:01] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:05:02] Speaker A: And then Rosanna's just going to walk out. [01:05:05] Speaker D: I could use another walk. That'd be fine. [01:05:09] Speaker B: It's a little hike. Yeah. Are we going to drive there, or are we just going to walk there? [01:05:14] Speaker A: Rosanna's already out the RV. [01:05:16] Speaker B: Okay. Guess Rosanna's walking. [01:05:21] Speaker E: It's a heck of a walk, but okay. [01:05:24] Speaker A: We can edit things to get out of that RV. [01:05:30] Speaker D: I'll also walk, so I avoid any conversation about anything. [01:05:39] Speaker E: Arthur, are you going to also walk, or are you taking the RV? [01:05:43] Speaker B: No, I'm going to drive there because they're going to be exhausted when they arrive, and they're going to need somewhere to sit down. [01:05:50] Speaker E: Okay. Is there anything you guys want to do before you go? [01:05:57] Speaker D: I did want to ask Arthur if it's possible if he could either bless, like, maybe a bottled water or bless my knife. [01:06:12] Speaker A: We got to crush 25 silver pieces and turn it into holy water. [01:06:16] Speaker D: Yeah, just like a general. I know that you're still, I guess, technically a holy man, so is it possible you could, I don't know, create holy water? [01:06:34] Speaker B: Sure. I mean, I know the procedure of creating holy water, as it were, but I don't really know if the practical use and the application for what we do would actually work. Like, I could make holy water that you could use to ceremonially dress, whatever, or splash on a baby, and then their soul is safe for that kind of thing. Would that holy water slam into the face of a vampire and do something? I don't know. [01:07:08] Speaker D: Okay, I just wanted to ask, and then I leave out the van after. Rosanna. [01:07:14] Speaker B: No, it's a fair question. Talking to myself. Okay, cool. Well, I'm not walking there. That is not happening. [01:07:24] Speaker E: Well, Arthur, the advantage to you not walking means that you have more time, you know, that you could wait a good bit before leaving, and you'd still beat them. And as you're kind of hanging out in the driver's seat, having your cigarette, listening to your talk radio, maybe browsing the local paper, as you are, I. [01:08:02] Speaker B: Definitely would have picked one. Yeah, pick one up at the coffee shop since I have plenty of time before I have to start driving the. [01:08:07] Speaker E: RV, as you are. Want to. Do you see a familiar car? Pull into the parking lot nearby, and you see an equally familiar face climb out of said car. Julia is in normal street clothes. She's not in her uniform. Looks like she may just be stopping in for something, but she pulls up right next to you. [01:08:44] Speaker B: Rolling down the window of the RV. Hey, kid. [01:08:48] Speaker C: How are you. [01:08:51] Speaker B: Doing? All right. Working off lack of sleep. Fortunately, that coffee in there is quite strong, so hey, did you not get. [01:09:02] Speaker C: A room in the motel? [01:09:04] Speaker B: Oh, I did. [01:09:07] Speaker C: Fair enough, I guess. [01:09:09] Speaker B: I mean, listen, just throwing it out there, but if you're going to be kind of doing this sort of stuff, you're not going to sleep well, even in a nice hotel, even at the Hilton in New York City or something. You're just not going to sleep. Yeah, too much anyway. Are you going to work? [01:09:33] Speaker C: No, I just forgot something yesterday. [01:09:38] Speaker E: You forgot your check? You were so concerned about everything else that was going on that you did not stop to grab your check before you left. [01:09:51] Speaker C: So I'm just going to run in and grab that real quick. [01:09:55] Speaker B: Sure. Yeah. I'm going to have a cigarette, and I'm going to head off to the river, apparently by myself in the RV. They took off already. The others. [01:10:04] Speaker A: Oh. [01:10:04] Speaker C: Can I join you? [01:10:08] Speaker B: Your grandmother would kill me. But I assume that you're going to wander over to the river now that you know that we're over there. If I don't let you join me. Yeah, I'll then get in. Go do what you're going to do. I got plenty of time. [01:10:25] Speaker C: All right. I just walk in and pick up my check and then walk right back out. [01:10:33] Speaker E: Yet. Doesn't take you long. You walk in, your boss has already got the check in his pocket, kind of gives you a knowing look and then holds it out for you. And it's really easy to grab it and go. And then you climb up into the passenger seat of the RV. Smells like breakfast burritos. Because only one person ate one. [01:10:59] Speaker B: Yeah, there's two sitting there. Probably on a little plate on, like, the table. [01:11:08] Speaker E: Hey, I missed breakfast. [01:11:09] Speaker C: Can I have one of those? [01:11:11] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, they're not mine, so go for it. [01:11:15] Speaker C: I'll go ahead and take one. Why not? [01:11:17] Speaker E: Perfect. Okay. So, Zephyr and Rosanna, are you two going to have any conversations? Is there anything you want to talk about or are you genuinely walking there in complete silence and just being awkward? [01:11:32] Speaker D: Complete silence. [01:11:34] Speaker E: I'm starting to think that Victoria is, like, the glue that holds this group together. To see only reason any of you are able to socialize normally, which is angry all the time. There's, like, hands in paw. [01:11:49] Speaker D: Like, my head is a little down. I'm just kind of speedwalking a little. [01:11:52] Speaker E: Even though it's hot. [01:11:53] Speaker A: Are you okay? [01:11:57] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask? [01:12:00] Speaker A: Because you're speedwalking. You're not looking up, which, by the way, is a terrible idea. You should know this by now. And you've been kind of not really talking to me, I guess mostly I don't know how often talk to Arthur, and I don't know how often talk to Victoria. [01:12:32] Speaker D: I'm usually pretty quiet by default, so I didn't notice that it was bothering you guys. I'm sorry. [01:12:42] Speaker A: No, just checking in. You good? [01:12:57] Speaker D: I'm still alive, so I guess that's good, right? [01:13:04] Speaker A: What do you can as alive? I guess that really determines whether or not it's a good thing. [01:13:14] Speaker D: Just as soon as she just asked that, I'm just kind I just, like, stop walking. It's a little too early to ask that type of question. And then I just walk again. [01:13:37] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:13:40] Speaker E: Saffron your hand still in your pocket? Yes. Okay. [01:13:53] Speaker A: Gonna kind of kind of rush walk a little bit faster to kind of keep pace with him. I don't know why I decided to walk. It's hot out, and I guess I really just wanted out of that RV. I don't know why you decided to walk. [01:14:17] Speaker D: I just like walking. Fresh air is always nice. You can really just think without worrying about somebody interrupting your thoughts. And I'm not saying, like, you're interrupting me thinking if it came out that way, the background noise is nice. [01:14:47] Speaker A: Ah, I guess so. I I'm just I don't like being away from my computer tablet, you know, for all my money slaves. [01:15:06] Speaker D: Is that how you really make your money? [01:15:09] Speaker A: How do you think I make my money? [01:15:16] Speaker D: It can you just tell me? [01:15:25] Speaker A: My following comes from a couple of places. Before I met you and Arthur and Victoria Jay, I dealt with people who like to share information for profit. A lot of my dealings, believe it or not, are not what some people think when they meet. I'm not going to lie and cannot tell anybody. Promise me. Honey, I don't speak in silent tongue. You're going to have to speak up. [01:16:30] Speaker D: I promise. [01:16:37] Speaker A: I sell information on the dark web. [01:16:43] Speaker B: Okay? [01:16:43] Speaker D: I thought it was going to be something a lot worse. [01:16:45] Speaker A: Like what? [01:16:47] Speaker D: I don't know. I feel like there are a lot of things that are a lot worse than just selling information on the dark web. [01:16:58] Speaker A: And then there's also the adult entertainment thing, but we're not going to get into that. [01:17:03] Speaker D: I mean, that's not a bad thing. [01:17:06] Speaker A: No. I have a feeling that you and your religion, just from the amount of partners that I know that Arthur has, have probably dealt with things like that in the past. [01:17:22] Speaker D: I mean, to be honest, I wasn't there because I believed in the religion. I was there because they needed somebody that knew how to patch people up. And I don't know, for some reason, they liked me. So they kept me around. [01:17:48] Speaker A: Well, you're quiet, but you're likable. [01:17:55] Speaker D: Thanks. [01:18:00] Speaker A: And I'm happy that we got a little bit closer. I know that it's unsettling what we do, but well, you all got me to leave my house, which isn't something most people can do. [01:18:27] Speaker D: Well, I'm glad that we got you out of your house. You're a really refreshing person to be around, even though we deal with a lot of very fucked up things. So it's I don't know, you just give off an aura of just I'm just here, so it's nice. [01:18:52] Speaker A: Yeah, I appreciate that. It's nice to hear. If I had one, I'd offer you strawberry cream, but unfortunately God's playing some cold, cruel, sick joke on me right now. So who knows? Maybe if I pray about it yeah. [01:19:19] Speaker D: You could probably have Arthur cleanse you or something. I don't know. [01:19:27] Speaker A: I'm going to ask that you never say that ever again. [01:19:32] Speaker D: Okay. [01:19:34] Speaker E: Sorry. [01:19:35] Speaker D: I didn't mean to offend you. [01:19:37] Speaker A: No, it's not offensive. It's a thing. Everything's fine. [01:19:45] Speaker E: I promise. Zephyr. Yes? Make me a Wits awareness check, please. [01:19:52] Speaker A: God. [01:20:05] Speaker D: Like zero suspects and then we all die. [01:20:07] Speaker E: Yeah. Rockstall. [01:20:09] Speaker A: Everyone dies. [01:20:10] Speaker E: Oh, God. It was one. You would like to spend a willpower you can. [01:20:18] Speaker D: That's dreadful. [01:20:21] Speaker A: Wait, no. [01:20:25] Speaker E: God. [01:20:30] Speaker D: Two. [01:20:31] Speaker E: Okay. As you are walking and as Rosanna pointedly asks you never, ever to talk about Arthur cleansing her again, you kind of duck your head just out of, like, embarrassment and bashfulness. And you catch out of the corner of your eye Rosanna's shadow. And it's another one of those things where the silhouette just seems off somehow, and you kind of turn and when it's out of the corner of your eye, it almost looks like her shadow is wearing a gown. But Rosanna's definitely wearing pants and a sweater. But when you actually turn to look at it, it's normal weird. Also, maybe it's because you're clenching your fists because you're feeling so awkward. Maybe you're just fidgeting. You can feel the ring is back on your finger. You don't know when you put it back on, but at some point, while your hand was in the pocket where the ring is, you slipped it back on. [01:22:02] Speaker D: Without pulling it out. Can I rub my thumb against it to see if there's, like, any engraving on it or anything? Or is it just completely smooth? [01:22:13] Speaker E: It feels smooth as your thumb passes over it. You might have to look a little bit closer if you want to see what details there are to see if any. [01:22:30] Speaker D: I'll wait until we're done with the river situation. [01:22:35] Speaker E: Effort like everything in its own time. Damn it. We'll just ignore the weird shit that's going on with my fingers. Okay, you all continue your walk towards the river. Arthur and Julia, is there anything you two want to talk about, or are you just going to hang out and then eventually pull out and start driving towards the river? And bypass these two who have decided that walking was the best idea ever. [01:23:09] Speaker A: We'll hitchhike, we pass them. [01:23:12] Speaker C: I would like to suggest picking them up, but I don't know if that's going to be a thing. [01:23:18] Speaker B: They made their bed. They can sleep in it. [01:23:21] Speaker D: They can walk in it. [01:23:23] Speaker A: They can walk in it. [01:23:25] Speaker B: I'm not wearing their shoes, so no. I actually was going to ask if Julia knew anything about the river, if there was any kind of being from here. Is there like any urban myths or history? Because last night we just dealt with something that was very much like a historical incident in the town, but also a kind of urban legend. So anything new that you didn't mention last night? [01:23:50] Speaker C: Do I know anything? [01:23:52] Speaker E: I mean, there's always weird stories about rivers, regardless of what town is on them. You don't know of anything in specific about this particular area. You just know that the general rule is that you don't go down there. Like, nobody goes to the bend in the river. It's not done, it's not safe. Nobody really talks about why. [01:24:22] Speaker B: But all the kids are told to avoid it. [01:24:24] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. And most of them studiously do, which is unusual for teenagers. [01:24:30] Speaker B: Yeah, because a lot of them would go, like, play in it and be like, oh, go there and smoke with their friends because no one goes down there. That kind of thing. [01:24:37] Speaker E: Exactly. [01:24:39] Speaker B: Well, that's weird. That's a really weird thing, don't you think? [01:24:45] Speaker E: The big thing, Julia, that you know is that it is generally taught to everyone from a very young age you don't go to the river, at least not this part of it. [01:24:59] Speaker C: Rivers are dangerous for kids, so I guess they just teach all of us to never go to the river, especially the bend. That's my best guess as to why. I honestly have never really felt like going down there. [01:25:14] Speaker B: So you've never actually been down there? [01:25:18] Speaker C: Not to that specific part of the river, no. [01:25:23] Speaker B: Is there like a hangout or anything? Like upriver from that area? [01:25:28] Speaker C: Not that I know of. But there might be, right? [01:25:33] Speaker B: Because I'm just thinking, what if we're dealing with something similar to what we dealt with yesterday? Like another kind of angry, incorporeal, semi thing that is the, I don't know, drowning victim of a summer camp in which they were unobserved or whatever and ended up washing down river and now they're haunting this particular bed. Maybe they come back on every Friday the 13th or something. This is the plot of a movie, isn't it? I'm describing to you the plot of a movie. [01:26:07] Speaker C: Pretty sure that's a movie. [01:26:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:26:09] Speaker B: Got it. Well, anyway, it doesn't make it any. [01:26:11] Speaker E: Less valid, julia, you do know that at least in your lifetime, there's never been a summer camp here. In fact, the stretch of the river that you are going to is a little bit off the beaten path. You guys are going to have to hike a little bit to get there. Not nearly as much as Rosanna and Zephyr are making themselves go through. I love the thumbs up, but you are it's not the easiest place to get to, you know, and there are, like, places in town where teenagers hang out and whatever, but for the most part, not really along the like. The thing about Arizona is that it's not a great place to hang out outside. Like, regardless of what time of year it is, it's not the most pleasant thing in the world. You get maybe two weeks out of the whole year that are pleasant to kind of chill out outside where the temperature drops to, like, springtime temperatures for the rest of the country. You get about two weeks of that, and then it goes right back to being super friggin hot all the time. So most of the time, if teenagers choose to hang out somewhere, they look for a place that's indoors where they've got some cover away from the sun and everything. You know how to get to the stretch of the river that you're going to, you know that you were always told not to go there. And in fact, the only time you've ever heard of anyone going to this part of the river, it was your grandfather. When you were very little, your grandmother fret was fretting the whole time he was gone, and your father went with him. And it was very much one of those things where it felt like the adults were up to something very serious that you were not cut in on because you were a kid. And your grandmother made it very clear that if she ever found out that you were down there, you had better hope that you died. Because if she got a hold of you and you weren't dead yet, you very soon would be. Granny doesn't fuck around. She doesn't deal with any of that. And generally she's also one of those people who is adventurous enough and has always kind of promoted you going out and exploring, unless she thought it was genuinely dangerous for you. So for her to put her foot down and say, no, you don't ever, ever do this. And if you do, you will be in the kind of trouble that you will never be able to describe to other people properly. That means it's pretty serious. [01:29:06] Speaker B: Sounds like your grandpa and dad and grandmother knew something was up about that place. [01:29:11] Speaker C: Yeah, I kind of want to call to see if they can tell me anything, but also I feel like I'll be dead if I do, so I don't think I'm going to do that. [01:29:20] Speaker B: Your grandmother is a smart woman. The moment you start asking a couple of questions, she's going, now, you're not. [01:29:25] Speaker A: Down there by the river, are you? [01:29:28] Speaker B: That was not a good impression. No, it was not. It was horrendous. All right. Your grandmother already hates me. Just never tell her that I did that. [01:29:41] Speaker E: I won't. I'll make a note. Gloria knows things no one should know. [01:29:57] Speaker C: Gloria sees all. [01:30:01] Speaker E: Omnipotent grandma. [01:30:05] Speaker B: But yeah. So that's really it, though. We get there however long it takes to get there, where we can get to, and then we can wait for the others to catch up so we can hike in together. [01:30:16] Speaker E: So you pull up at the closest spot that you can, which is a little like it's a little spot off of the highway near the reservation. It's one of those little pull off spots that they tend to have near, like, places that you can go fishing and whatnot when there's a body of water nearby. Yeah, just a safe little pull off for cars. It's technically a county road, not a state road at this point, so it's rough and not hugely well maintained. But you find a place to park and climb out. There's a good 1520 minutes hike ahead of you. Do you guys want to wait for Rosanna and Zephyr? They're probably a couple of minutes behind you. [01:31:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:31:15] Speaker E: Okay, cool. So you hang out and wait for them to catch up. By the time they get to you, they are both sweaty and Rosanna looks distinctly uncomfortable. And, like, this was the worst decision she ever made. Zephyr looks sweaty and awkward and is looking at the ground more than where he's going, but that's not terribly uncommon for him. [01:31:45] Speaker B: And by the time they arrive, I will have learned all of Julia's Hobbies and her favorite books. [01:31:54] Speaker E: Probably you've been giving her a thorough interview. [01:32:03] Speaker C: Nice to see you guys again. [01:32:06] Speaker A: Yes, good to see you, too. [01:32:09] Speaker E: Sorry. [01:32:10] Speaker B: Check here. [01:32:11] Speaker A: Yeah, we took a detour. [01:32:16] Speaker C: What type of detour? [01:32:21] Speaker A: You know, the Arizona heat's. Always. [01:32:24] Speaker B: Nice. [01:32:26] Speaker A: Sit in. Nice. I'm so uncomfortable. Can I go change before we do this? [01:32:34] Speaker B: I mean, you probably want to change your shoes at least. Doesn't look like perfect walking shoes. It's a hike. [01:32:41] Speaker A: She looks down to her Converse. Maybe I'm going to go wear not this. And then she scuttle up on into the RV and slam the door. [01:33:05] Speaker D: Zephyr just takes off his jacket and just rolls up the sleeves on his shirt and I'm fine. This is fine. [01:33:12] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. [01:33:13] Speaker D: A little sweat. [01:33:14] Speaker B: Arthur also anybody sleeves on his shirt so that he's got short sleeves. [01:33:21] Speaker D: How muscle bound is Arthur? [01:33:27] Speaker B: Not so much passable muscle structure. He skips both arms day and leg day at the gym. Right. [01:33:40] Speaker E: Arthur is definitely he is fit, but not fit in the do you even lift bro? Manner of fit. He's slender is a good way of putting it. [01:33:55] Speaker B: He maintains a regular amount of eating and diet. That's about the extent of his healthy. [01:34:03] Speaker C: Arizona heat and being in a literal desert. Julia is still wearing a jacket and boots because she wants fall weather very much. [01:34:12] Speaker E: Yeah. Does Julia also. [01:34:15] Speaker D: Roll her sleeves of how jacked is she? [01:34:20] Speaker C: Julia's pretty strong. [01:34:22] Speaker A: Julia's red. [01:34:25] Speaker E: Julia, you realize as she rolls the sleeves of her own jacket up, and you can tell that it's kind of an afterthought. She's so accustomed to the heat that it's not really bothering her. But seeing you take off your jacket and Arthur roll his sleeves up and Rosanna go inside to get into something that breathes better, she rolls her own sleeves up, and you realize that she probably works out more than any of you. [01:34:56] Speaker B: You know. [01:35:00] Speaker E: She looks like she's in pretty good shape. And, Julia, just so you are mean, I'll give you the option. I put on your sheet that you are good with knives. I don't know that you would have thought to bring your bow and arrow with you, which your grandfather and father trained you with, but the knife that they've trained you with, you I would assume you always have with you. Unless you're working. [01:35:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I keep it on my side, on my belt. [01:35:37] Speaker E: Yes. Works for me. And that is actually something that, you know, has been blessed. Your grandmother saw to it when it was gifted to you that everything was done properly. You don't know if it will make any difference if you actually have to fight something, but it makes you feel know it means something to you. And that's what matters. After a while, Rosanna comes out of the RV. Rosanna, are you in, like, shorts and a t shirt now? [01:36:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm in a tank top and shorts, and I still got the Converse on. But heftier sock. [01:36:32] Speaker E: Zephyr looks incredibly awkward and shy and as fidgety as hell around Julia, which he wasn't like this yesterday. But you do notice, as he is wicking away sweat from his brow and everything else, that that ring is back on his finger. [01:36:57] Speaker A: Where did you get that rang, Zephyr? It's very nice. [01:37:06] Speaker D: I don't remember. Honestly, I don't even remember having it at all. [01:37:16] Speaker B: That is strange. [01:37:18] Speaker A: Out of a curiosity, does that ring look familiar to me? At. [01:37:32] Speaker E: Let me look at what you. [01:37:33] Speaker B: Have while you're doing that. Arthur is trying to keep himself from actually looking at Susanna, but apparently the dice are telling a different story. [01:37:43] Speaker A: Susannah. [01:37:46] Speaker B: His mind is blown. He's like, I don't even know who I'm looking at anymore. [01:37:49] Speaker D: I knew he was a cheater who's a Susanna. [01:37:55] Speaker E: Make me just a flat intelligence role, Rosanna, to see if it rings any bells for you. [01:38:09] Speaker A: Okay. Two successes. [01:38:21] Speaker E: I mean, it's a very basic gold band, so it could be familiar. But men's gold band rings, they're not terribly ornate or specific. They all kind of look the same. In fact, you're pretty sure you've seen Arthur wear one that looks very similar to this. [01:38:51] Speaker A: I then look over at Arthur's hand, make sure that his ring is still there. [01:38:56] Speaker E: It is. [01:38:57] Speaker A: Okay. [01:38:58] Speaker E: Not that I don't assuming that Arthur wears his wedding band every day, I'm assuming. [01:39:03] Speaker B: Yep. Yes. [01:39:04] Speaker E: Okay. Absolutely, then, yes. [01:39:07] Speaker C: Zephyr, can I see that ring? I would like to look at it closer and investigate it, if that's a thing I'm allowed to do. [01:39:15] Speaker E: If Zephyr is willing to give you the ring. [01:39:21] Speaker D: Sure. And I, like, take it off and then just kind of plop it in her hand. [01:39:30] Speaker E: What are you looking for precisely, Julia? [01:39:34] Speaker C: I would like to look and see if there is anything to do with the occult in this ring. Like any engravings or weird vibes. [01:39:47] Speaker E: Make me an intelligence occult ring or intelligence occult ring. Intelligence occult role. [01:39:59] Speaker C: Two successes. [01:40:05] Speaker B: What just happened? [01:40:08] Speaker A: Sorry, I had a misclick. [01:40:13] Speaker B: You clicked away. [01:40:16] Speaker A: Leave me alone. [01:40:19] Speaker B: We're professionals, I swear. [01:40:23] Speaker C: But two successes. [01:40:26] Speaker E: Okay, so nothing is immediately obvious to you. It looks like a fairly standard ring. You get a weird feeling holding it like it's not yours. You're not supposed to have that, but you're not sure why. You're not sure if it's just the fact that wedding rings are special and have a lot of meaning to them and maybe you shouldn't be handling something one that isn't yours. Or maybe there's something genuinely up with it, you're just not positive. [01:41:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm not really sure. And I hand it back to Zephyr. [01:41:19] Speaker D: Put it back on. I mean, you put it back on? Yeah, instinctively. Oh, God, we're all going to die. I'm so sorry, you guys. God, it's the grief, I tell you. It's clouding my mind. [01:41:42] Speaker E: I love that first panic, but, yeah. [01:41:48] Speaker D: I put it back on. And then, honestly, before I really joined up with you guys, and even before the cult, I admittedly did some pretty shady things. So I would not be surprised if somehow I stole this from somebody and just it was in my bag. I don't know what? [01:42:17] Speaker B: Wait, you're not sure if he stole it from somebody? How does that make any sense? Are you trying to say that you just slept walk robbing someone? Like, what are you trying to say? [01:42:30] Speaker D: I used to steal a lot of things for people and did a lot of shady things, and sometimes I would lose track of the things I did, so I would not be surprised if somehow this belonged to someone and I just had it. Who knows? [01:42:49] Speaker B: Just amongst your stuff, you're saying? Yeah, all right, because I'm like, you didn't have it yesterday, Zeff. [01:42:57] Speaker D: So maybe my subconscious wanted to accessorize. But anyway, let's get to this river. [01:43:14] Speaker E: So are you all headed for the river or are you going to stand there and stare suspiciously at Zephyr. [01:43:23] Speaker C: Swap to the river? I figured I can go first since I know the way. Most likely. [01:43:28] Speaker E: Absolutely, yeah. [01:43:30] Speaker B: I'm a little concerned, but there's nothing I can really do about Zephyr and this whole sleep stealing thing. [01:43:37] Speaker E: Sleep stealing? Sleep theft. He would have stole at the pawn. [01:43:41] Speaker D: Shop, but he's like, wait, the pawn shop has cameras? [01:43:50] Speaker E: So you head down to the river with Julia leading the way. Julia, would you please make me because this is a hike and it's not necessarily the safest space hiking through the desert in Arizona let's go. With composure and survival access. Nicely done. Okay, so you are a steady guide, even though you've never personally been to this part of the river. This is your home. You know what to look out for. You keep them safely away from rocks where it's likely that there's going to be ratlesnakes or something equally nasty hiding among them. You walk by a cactus with a particularly pretty flower that Rosanna is able to pluck and tuck into her hair without hurting herself, which is impressive. Um, kitty. Sorry. You make it to the stretch of the river where you are reasonably certain the deaths happened. And for the first time, you guys kind of understand why the story was that these three teenagers died in less than 2ft of water. It's not because the river is only 2ft deep. It's because the shallows on the edge are so shallow that you can almost see the bottom. Despite the fact that it's pretty muddy, you can very easily see the section where they would have fallen and would have had to have fallen to drown in so little water. And I don't know how many of you have spent a lot of time near bodies of water like rivers, but it's this section that's almost got, like, a divot of it where there's, like, almost a natural sandbank under the water that kind of sections off this part of the river from the rest of the body. So if they had fallen there, it's unlikely they would have gotten swept out into the greater part of the river. They would have just sat in this weird pool. [01:47:05] Speaker C: Can I look around and see if I see anything strange? [01:47:10] Speaker E: Absolutely, if everybody would like to. Depending on your approach, you could make either wits and investigation or wits and survival. Survival if you were looking for strange things from a natural perspective. Investigation, if you're looking for something out of place. Three successes. [01:47:46] Speaker D: Four successes. [01:47:49] Speaker A: Can I add my desperation die to this? [01:47:54] Speaker E: Because I'm doing absolutely. [01:47:58] Speaker B: It was four successes for me. I think Elijah and I hit at the same time. [01:48:04] Speaker E: Yeah, I've got three from Julia, three from Elijah, four from Arthur, three from Rosanna. Does anybody want to use Willpower before I move on? Okay, we're going to start with those of you who went with threes first. Julia, did you use investigation or did you use survival? [01:48:33] Speaker C: Survival. [01:48:35] Speaker E: Okay. So I've already pointed out the part of the river that's kind of sectioned off, like, that's immediately obvious to you. Other things that you notice that the others kind of don't and you're a little bit surprised by because it's been a bit since the drownings happened. You find the faintest impressions of footprints in the mud at the edge of the river. These should have washed away and been eroded by now because the drowning was well over a week ago. But there are very faint impressions in the mud that show that there were definitely several sets of feet here, and none of them look to be like big, heavy boots that you would expect from the rescue workers who would have found them and retrieved the bodies, you know, that most of them would have worn, like, waiters and things like that. And those have very distinct boot prints. These are not that. These look like tennis shoes and things like that. And what's OD is that they are all headed directly into the water instead of, like, adjacent or perpendicular to it. You also notice that despite it being the middle of the day and bright and sunny, the water seems oddly dark, even in the shallow pool. It's not that it looks muddy, but it looks shadowed almost. Okay, who else? Who's next? Zephyr, did you use investigation? [01:50:31] Speaker D: I use survival. [01:50:34] Speaker E: Okay, so you notice about the same stuff that Julia does. You got the same number of successes. So the two of you are kind of conferring back and forth as you're noticing all of this. Yes. [01:50:52] Speaker D: And I also see if this place has a dead zone, like the road. [01:51:00] Speaker E: In a moment, let me finish giving everybody their results before I forget, and then we'll come back to that. So hold on to that thought. Rosanna, what did you use, survival or investigation? [01:51:18] Speaker A: Investigation. [01:51:20] Speaker E: Okay. Investigation wise, there isn't a whole lot here that's unnatural. If there was a lot to find in the first place, a lot of it's clearly been cleaned up. And that might be one of the first things that actually sticks out to you. If this were to be a place where teenagers would come and hang out and party, like the story that the media has given and that the police have said these kids were out here and they were drinking, they might have been doing drugs, that kind of thing. If they had been, you would expect to see, like, empties. If this was a hangout spot, you would expect to see something cigarette butts, matches, empty beer cans, empty bottles, something. But there's nothing here. It is pristine. And that's probably one of the first things that stands out to you. The other thing that you notice is very similar to what Zephyr and Julia noticed, which is that there are sections of the water that somehow seem unnaturally dark, considering that there is sunlight beating down on them. Even with it being muddy, you would expect it to be muddy. It would be brown and impossible to see through, but it wouldn't seem dark. Does that make sense? This isn't like that. This is dark and shadowed. You would expect this from, like, deep, deep water, much deeper than this. Um, and you notice that that darkness extends well, past the little sandbar that sections off this, like, half pool. It extends far past that out into the base of the river, which you can tell is deeper than those 2ft where the teenagers drowned. Arthur. Arthur. [01:53:43] Speaker A: Sleepy head. [01:53:46] Speaker E: There you go. [01:53:47] Speaker A: Good morning. [01:53:50] Speaker B: I was just lulled by the peacefulness of your voice and, like, drifted. [01:53:56] Speaker E: Okay. Did you roll investigation or survival? [01:54:02] Speaker B: It was investigation. [01:54:04] Speaker E: Okay. What you notice that nobody else does is that this isn't a dead zone. But the sound here is weird. It is somehow there are parts of it that seem incredibly crisp and easy to make out and other parts that seem like they're faded, like somebody turned down the volume. Not that they're muffled, but just that they're quieter than everything else. Like, the water itself seems oddly quiet for a river. Can everybody please make me a willpower roll? Remember that you cannot roll any willpower that you have spent. [01:55:10] Speaker D: It's your remaining correct. [01:55:12] Speaker E: Your remaining willpower. [01:55:26] Speaker B: Julia's dice pool. [01:55:29] Speaker E: Julie. [01:55:30] Speaker D: Jesus Christ. [01:55:32] Speaker E: Julia, I actually think you would have had six dice because remember, you burned a willpower to reroll earlier. [01:55:40] Speaker C: I didn't reroll earlier. [01:55:42] Speaker D: Oh, you did? [01:55:44] Speaker E: Never mind, then. Never mind, then. You're good. Okay. Awesome. All right. [01:55:52] Speaker B: I did one. I have a pretty high dice pool myself, so I mean, it's totally. [01:56:00] Speaker E: Hold. Okay, so with these roles in mind, we've got two from Rosanna, zero from Zephyr, three from Julia, and three from Arthur, correct? [01:56:20] Speaker B: Correct. [01:56:21] Speaker E: Okay, now we get to find out what those mean. First, we're going to start with the two people who rolled three successes, which is Arthur and Julia. Arthur and Julia, you are both equally focused on what you're doing. Arthur, you hear it first. There is this voice, and it is the sweetest, most alluring singing you've ever heard. And you feel this tug, like, in your chest that makes you want to walk towards the river, but you stop yourself. Julia, you are in much the same boat where there's this moment where your feet start to shuffle towards the water, and then you stop and your hand instinctively goes to that knife and the talisman that your grandmother gave you yesterday. Rosanna, you also hear the voice, and you start to shuffle towards it. It doesn't occur to you? Not to. You just sort of start to kind of half close your eyes and you almost want to dance. Zephyr, you make a beeline for the water. You are very quickly and rapidly walking towards the shallows. [01:58:32] Speaker D: I do have magic resistance. Would that count towards this? [01:58:39] Speaker E: No, this is not magic. [01:58:41] Speaker D: Oh, no. [01:58:43] Speaker A: I have thwart natural, but you aren't utilizing it. [01:58:53] Speaker C: Seeing Zephyr walk into the water, can I grab his arm and try to certainly try. [01:59:01] Speaker E: I would like you to make a strength, and we'll go brawl roll. And, Zephyr, you can also make a strength and brawl roll. [01:59:20] Speaker B: Is there any way that I can assist her? Grabbing him because I was thinking the same thing. It's fine if not. I was just wondering if. [01:59:35] Speaker E: Julia before you make your role, arthur. [01:59:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:59:42] Speaker E: Make me a decks and athletics check. Let's see if you can move fast enough to help. [01:59:49] Speaker B: That is way better than strength and brawl by, like, a lot. So, yeah, I'll take it. Dex athletics, that's a whole big goose. [02:00:07] Speaker E: Egg of you see it happening and it's like your brain moves to help, but your body just can't keep up and thankfully, Julia is on it. You see Julia rather rapidly move and wrap her arms around Zephyr's shoulders and try to haul him back from the water. Zephyr, you don't want this to happen. You don't want to be stopped. You need to go. She needs to let you go. [02:00:52] Speaker D: Am I allowed to act or am I, like, completely? [02:00:57] Speaker E: You're allowed to act as long as it is within basically the directive that I just gave you. [02:01:06] Speaker D: I'm going to shove her, try to shove her off. [02:01:15] Speaker E: Make another strike, the brawl roll. Let's see how that goes for you. [02:01:19] Speaker D: I have a real sad. [02:01:24] Speaker E: Before we have you making rolls. Julia first, I was like, I'm going. [02:01:28] Speaker D: To try to stab her, but I'm making. [02:01:36] Speaker E: You could roll. I expected it to be zero and I was going to tell you not to bother, but you could definitely roll. [02:01:47] Speaker A: Wow. [02:01:49] Speaker C: Can I use the willpower? [02:01:51] Speaker E: You can use the that. You try to push Julia off and Julia is like a wrestler. Julia lifts you up off of your feet and then deposits you on your ass on the bank of the river and holds you in place. Meanwhile, Arthur, you look up as you realize that Julia has Zephyr well in hand. You look up in time to see Rosanna very gently, kind of like, moving into the water. She's not charging the way that Zephyr was, but she's like, half dancing, kind of like, got her arms out, kind of doing this weird, like, hippie style dance. She looks utterly at peace with what's happening. Maybe not that over the top. [02:02:50] Speaker D: You said hippie dance. [02:02:51] Speaker A: Yeah, you said hippie dance. [02:02:56] Speaker B: So first reaction is Arthur sort of grunting and muttering under his breath. Of all the times for Victoria not to be around the time when something like this happens, and then he's going to go try to stop Rosanna from doing what she's doing. I don't know how, but he's going to try to at least physically stop her and then try to see if he can talk her down. [02:03:20] Speaker E: Okay. If you are attempting to physically stop her, that is strength and brawl and it's an opposed role. So, Rosanna, you would also be making this role. [02:03:33] Speaker A: Are you ready for this? [02:03:35] Speaker E: I think you both have the same pool. [02:03:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I believe it. [02:03:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:03:40] Speaker B: Boom. [02:03:45] Speaker A: There it is. There it is. [02:03:48] Speaker E: Wow. Okay, so you reach out. [02:03:57] Speaker A: What a bad time to win. [02:04:02] Speaker B: The worst time to win. [02:04:04] Speaker C: It looks like you're going to have. [02:04:05] Speaker A: To follow me to the water if you want me to. [02:04:08] Speaker E: For those of you at home, Arthur rolled a one and Rosanna rolled a nine. They both have a single die in this pool. So Arthur goes and attempts to grab Rosanna. And Rosanna just casually as all get up, considering how tiny she is, very casually, as part of her dance, just shoves him away. [02:04:37] Speaker A: It's a little hip check, too. [02:04:40] Speaker E: You love to see. [02:04:43] Speaker B: Like, I imagine now it's going to turn into one of those scrambly Benny Hill things where I'm chasing her around in circles and she's just dancing. [02:04:54] Speaker E: Is there anything else you want to try, Arthur? Are you going to just I'm going. [02:04:57] Speaker B: To try to talk to her. Be like, don't listen to the song. [02:05:02] Speaker E: Okay. So if you are attempting to break through this, I'm going to call for hmm. I'm gonna call for resolve and performance. [02:05:23] Speaker B: I'm quite good at those things. [02:05:25] Speaker E: If you are wanting to use prayer, I will allow your specialty. If you are just trying to yell at her, then you just get the base pool. [02:05:36] Speaker B: No, I'm just trying to yell at her and it's sermons that I have my specialty sermons. But, yeah, no, I'll just do it. I'm just trying to shout at her, so oh, I'll take it that would be five successes. [02:06:02] Speaker E: Okay, Rosanna, make me another willpower roll. [02:06:07] Speaker A: Okay. [02:06:08] Speaker E: Arthur is enabling you or attempting to enable you to come to your senses. And it works. You are up to about mid calf in the water and Arthur shouts at you, and when he does, you snap out of it, stop in your tracks, and you look back to realize that you are up to about halfway up your calves in the water. Arthur is standing on the shore. Julia is practically sitting on Zephyr, who is still struggling to try to get into the water. And you can hear singing and it's the most beautiful thing you've ever heard. [02:07:20] Speaker A: Yeah. I make my way back towards the shore and give Arthur a bit of a thank you. [02:07:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [02:07:37] Speaker E: Oh, sorry. [02:07:39] Speaker B: Glad I was able to stop you. [02:07:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Do I remember pushing him out of the way at all, or was I just, like, lost in myself? [02:07:52] Speaker E: Vaguely. You kind of remember really wanting to go into the water and being kind of annoyed that he got in your way. As you are coming out of the water, can you please make me it? Dexterity. Athletics check. [02:08:17] Speaker A: War. [02:08:18] Speaker B: What? Evil river bend. [02:08:27] Speaker C: Oh, are sirens a thing? Is that what we're learning? [02:08:30] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying. That's what I think it is. That's what I think we're doing. [02:08:34] Speaker D: We already got ghosts, so I wouldn't be surprised. [02:08:37] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:08:38] Speaker B: Banshees zero. [02:08:43] Speaker E: You go to take that final step out of the water and up onto the riverbank and something cold and clammy clamps around your ankles and starts to pull you backwards. [02:09:00] Speaker A: I'm going to reach out my hand. [02:09:03] Speaker E: Board. [02:09:05] Speaker B: Arthur yeah. I'm going to reach. Try to grab it. Yeah. [02:09:09] Speaker E: Hey. I would like you both to roll. Let's make it a strength and who. I'm trying to find a way to not have you guys just end up with the worst possible dipoles strength and composure. [02:09:45] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Well, gives you a little bit more to work with. [02:09:50] Speaker A: Mmhmm. [02:10:21] Speaker E: Cool. [02:10:22] Speaker B: I have four. [02:10:24] Speaker E: Wow. Okay, I have to roll something behind the scenes. One momentum. Okay, whatever this is fights you, and it fights you hard. Rosanna and there's a moment where you are sure that you're going to get pulled in, but Arthur and yourself kind of cling to each other, and he puts all of his weight into pulling backwards, kind of throws himself back towards the ground, and you throw yourself forward towards him. And the momentum that the two of you manage to pull off works, and it wrenches your ankles free and you end up out of the water. You also end up kind of face planting into Arthur's chest as you two land on the riverbank. But at least your face planting into his chest is not the other way around. [02:11:32] Speaker A: Did I lose a shoe? [02:11:35] Speaker E: You did, yes. You lost both of them, in fact. But you still have your socks, soggy as they are. [02:11:47] Speaker B: So what the heck is going on? [02:11:50] Speaker A: Well, I felt something called the clammy wrap around my ankle, and she almost clings on to him as if she's fighting for her life to not just up and bolt. [02:12:07] Speaker E: Zephyr, I know you're not going to win this, but I would still like you to make another strength brawl roll to try and knock Julia off of you. Julia, if you could also make a strength brawl roll to see if you can hold at this point. [02:12:19] Speaker D: Can I stab her? [02:12:21] Speaker E: Oh, my God, you can certainly try. All right. [02:12:25] Speaker C: I don't want to be stabbed. I got three successes. [02:12:29] Speaker E: Don't touch me. I don't like to be touched. [02:12:34] Speaker C: Don't try and follow siren song. [02:12:36] Speaker E: So go for Dex melee zephyr oh, God. [02:12:42] Speaker D: I don't even think I have oh, no, I have that. Okay. [02:12:44] Speaker E: Do I have a point in that? Oh, fuck. [02:12:47] Speaker A: Okay, how. [02:12:51] Speaker E: What are you trying to stab her with, by the way? [02:12:54] Speaker D: I have the knife that I zero. [02:12:57] Speaker E: Success. [02:13:00] Speaker D: But I have that knife. [02:13:03] Speaker E: No, that's true. That's true. [02:13:04] Speaker C: You have a K bar. [02:13:07] Speaker E: So you grab the knife off of your belt and you yank it from its sheath, and Julia sees it, and just casual as could be, just smacks your hand and it goes flying. [02:13:20] Speaker A: Get off me. [02:13:21] Speaker E: Get the fuck off me, please. Oh, I gotta get in the water. [02:13:27] Speaker D: Let me get in there. [02:13:29] Speaker B: It's like the opposite, because the opposite is Arthur's gonna, like, hold Rosanna and stroke her a little bit, like, try to calm her down because she's freaking out. So we've got two different situations happening. [02:13:42] Speaker E: At the same situations. Rosanna and Arthur. Rosanna, even though you are dealing with your own panic, it is impossible to ignore the screaming and outrage from Zephyr and the fact that Julie is manhandling him in a way that most men would find either emasculating or kind of a turn on gaslight. [02:14:07] Speaker A: Geeking girl boss, I guess. Good for you. [02:14:13] Speaker C: Can I get some help? [02:14:15] Speaker A: Maybe you're asking the two probably weakest people you'll ever meet. Okay, yeah. [02:14:20] Speaker C: Maybe you can talk to him. [02:14:22] Speaker A: I don't know. [02:14:23] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a good point. [02:14:25] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:14:26] Speaker B: And I'll let her get off me so that I can get up and go over there and talk to him. [02:14:30] Speaker A: Yeah, she'll follow behind. [02:14:35] Speaker D: All you see is just, like, flailing arms as I'm, like, trying to zephyr. [02:14:40] Speaker B: Zephyr, calm down. Something is messing with your mind. [02:14:43] Speaker D: I know, but I don't know what. [02:14:45] Speaker E: You want me to fucking do. [02:14:47] Speaker D: I got to get in the water. [02:14:52] Speaker A: Look me in the eye. Look me in the eye. We're going to take some deep breaths, okay? [02:14:57] Speaker E: Okay. [02:14:57] Speaker A: I need you to listen me. I need you to clear your mind. [02:15:02] Speaker E: Arthur and Rosanna, I would like you. One of you needs to roll resolve and performance. The other one can also roll to give that person an extra die. [02:15:15] Speaker A: Okay? [02:15:17] Speaker B: So my resolve and performance without the sermon specialty would be six dice. [02:15:23] Speaker A: Mine without it would be five. But I have a public speaking specialty. [02:15:28] Speaker E: For me, I don't think this counts as public speaking. [02:15:31] Speaker A: Okay. So I will provide you with. [02:15:42] Speaker E: Arthur. You get an extra die. [02:15:44] Speaker B: Okay. Got it. Is this I forgot to ask this earlier, but is this a direct opposition to a supernatural thing, a direct conflict? Physical, social, or mental? [02:16:00] Speaker E: Yes. Because you are battling whatever it is that is controlling Zephyr's impulses. You are battling for control. [02:16:09] Speaker B: And we're at desperation one still. [02:16:14] Speaker E: I believe so, yes. [02:16:18] Speaker B: Okay. [02:16:22] Speaker E: Zephyr, you kind of get yelled at a lot like Rosanna did, and there is something in the way that Arthur speaks. There is a power in his voice that you've never really noticed before, and it snaps you out of it. And you realize that you are sitting there with slightly soggy shoes. Well, you're laying there with slightly soggy shoes, and Julia is sitting on you to hold you down. But the impulse to go into the water is, for the moment, abated. [02:17:05] Speaker D: Okay. I'm fine. Yes, I'm fine. Please get off me. [02:17:09] Speaker C: All right, I'm going to stand up. [02:17:11] Speaker D: I just dust myself off and just walk to the van. I'm just like, I'm good. [02:17:22] Speaker E: Now it's a hike to get back. This is not a quick walk. [02:17:26] Speaker D: I'm just going to start walking. [02:17:30] Speaker B: Zeph, hold on. I think we should probably figure out what's going on here before we just abandon it for the next people to come down and get murdered by the riverbend. [02:17:38] Speaker D: I'm not abandoning it. I just need some space right now. [02:17:45] Speaker B: I'll look at the other two, and I'll be like, but let him have a moment. Sure. I am going to keep an eye on him, though, and I'll start slowly. I'll try to keep a distance to give him a moment, but I will keep an eye on him, because just a moment ago yeah. [02:18:01] Speaker D: I'm not like suicide. [02:18:03] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:18:03] Speaker D: I'm not, like, trying to go too far. I'm just like. [02:18:09] Speaker E: Someone touched him. He's not okay. [02:18:11] Speaker D: Yeah, I was held down, and that. [02:18:15] Speaker A: Wasn'T fun, giving me flashback touch me. And I didn't lock it either. [02:18:19] Speaker D: God. Just not a good time. [02:18:24] Speaker B: Okay, well, sorry. [02:18:25] Speaker A: No, the thing grabbed my ankle. Listen, it was the thing that grabbed my ankle. Okay. [02:18:43] Speaker C: Can I look in the water to see if I can figure out what grabbed her ankle? [02:18:47] Speaker E: You could absolutely try to make me wits, and let's go with some awareness. [02:19:03] Speaker A: Okay. [02:19:12] Speaker C: Three. [02:19:17] Speaker E: You don't see anything at first. But as you were looking, your eyes kind of follow that dark shadow in the water, and you follow it out past this shallow pool into the greater part of the river, and you can swear that you see something human sized and vaguely human shaped, kind of lit under the waves and then disappear into the shadows. [02:19:58] Speaker C: It's definitely too far for me to. [02:20:00] Speaker E: Stab in the moment. [02:20:03] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:20:04] Speaker E: But, you know, it's there. [02:20:06] Speaker C: Can I tell the people that are here, which I think might just be Rosanna? [02:20:10] Speaker E: You can tell Rosanna. [02:20:13] Speaker C: Hey, Rosanna, I think I saw what grabbed you, like, person shaped, and it swam into the deep water. [02:20:28] Speaker A: I'm going to reach into my backpack. [02:20:31] Speaker E: Okay. [02:20:31] Speaker A: Going to take out my tablet. [02:20:33] Speaker E: Okay. [02:20:34] Speaker A: I would like to use my library merit. [02:20:38] Speaker E: Okay. [02:20:39] Speaker A: I want to figure out who are they? [02:20:46] Speaker E: Ah. Tell me remind me how that how this merit works. [02:20:52] Speaker A: I roll my resolve and occult, and it's not a merit. It's a perk. [02:21:00] Speaker E: Perk. Remind me how the perk works, and. [02:21:03] Speaker A: I basically get, like, a brief synopsis of what this might be if I get four success. [02:21:10] Speaker E: Okay, go ahead and roll. [02:21:23] Speaker A: And do I get to add my desperation die? [02:21:26] Speaker E: Yes. I'm going to actually say that you get two desperation die. I'm going to say that you guys have faced enough that it has gone up now. [02:21:38] Speaker B: All right, well, we know that it can pull us into the water and kill us, and that's if even if we don't let Me Roll get sucked in by its song. So that seems pretty desperate to me. [02:21:51] Speaker E: Goodness. That's not okay, so you had to hit a four, right? [02:21:58] Speaker A: Yes, but I still have to roll the one desperation, so I got four successes. [02:22:04] Speaker E: Okay, so what you get with a very quick search is that there are a couple of options. Throughout mythology, there have been a number of dangerous water based entities that were known for drowning, hapless, sailors if they were at sea. That were known for dragging people under when it came to things like rivers and ponds. There are also stories of malevolent spirits of those who may have died and been drowned in a river trying to trying to inflict that same death on others. And of course, there is the quintessential story of sirens from Greek mythology that were known for trying to lure men to their deaths. The biggest difference here is that you and Julia both hear it and you were impacted by it. And typically the siren songs didn't affect women the way that it affected men. Also, the Sirens were out at sea and you're on a river. [02:23:42] Speaker A: Interesting. [02:23:44] Speaker B: I mean, if they're seabasts, why aren't they river sirens? Come on. [02:23:54] Speaker E: That's cute. [02:23:59] Speaker A: Anyway. Yeah. So from what I'm able to pull up here on my database is we might be looking at some creature who's dragging people out to the death so that way they can experience the thing that they had to experience. Usually malevolent creatures. [02:24:32] Speaker E: Noting that the Sirens ate are believed to have eaten their victims. Not always, but generally. Same with the mermaids of the same basic storylines. [02:24:52] Speaker A: I mean, we're either dealing with sirens, mermaids, or basically women of death at a hangout in the ocean. So, you know, all three options, I guess, but two of them eat both. [02:25:18] Speaker C: Well, those teenagers weren't eaten. [02:25:23] Speaker A: So I think that we got ourselves a malevolent little motherfucker and definitely wasn't a Siren because usually, at least according to Greek mythology, you and I wouldn't have been affected at all. And I got pulled in. Hmm. [02:25:49] Speaker C: I wonder if we can find a way to get it out of the water. Most things that live in water don't like getting pulled out of it. [02:26:04] Speaker A: I mean, we could, but we'd be playing a dangerous game. Yeah. I don't know about you, but I don't have gills. And if you do, I would really like to know because I have questions. [02:26:26] Speaker C: I live in the desert. You have nothing to worry about. [02:26:34] Speaker A: Fish people. Question mark. Question mark. Got to add that to the database. Anyway, the only thing that I could think of is if we want to try to lure this thing out, is if we tie one of us up to it or tie rope. We're going to do the old tabletop trick where one of us gets tied to a rope to just throw themselves into the water and just hope that with a combined strength of three friends that we can pull it out. That is the only thing I can think of, and I can already assure you this, Darlin, if you couldn't tell Zephyr, arthur and I are not physically enhanced. We're all cute as buttons and adorable as shit, but we're not the strongest in the group. [02:27:40] Speaker C: Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. [02:27:46] Speaker E: Pun intended. [02:27:49] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:27:51] Speaker A: One of us has silver tongue and the other two are really good at books and not Zephyr's really good at really good at well, stealing shit. [02:28:06] Speaker C: Well, I hate to say this, but I think that it needs to be one of you three that gets tied to the ropes that I can help pull. [02:28:15] Speaker A: MMM. [02:28:19] Speaker C: Who would be willing to play bait? [02:28:22] Speaker A: I mean, I'll do it. Don't want the other two getting hurt. [02:28:36] Speaker C: Before we do this. Does anyone have any other ideas that might not get us all killed? [02:28:44] Speaker B: I'm off following Zephyr. [02:28:46] Speaker D: Yeah, I'm, like, off in the woods. [02:28:51] Speaker B: Yeah. If Zephyr's not in your shot to be part of this conversation, then Arthur is not as well. [02:28:58] Speaker E: How far away did Zephyr go? [02:29:01] Speaker D: Probably, like, a few feet or so. Enough where I can still see the back of them if I were to look, but enough where I can just be by myself. [02:29:15] Speaker B: All right, so I guess Arthur probably. [02:29:17] Speaker E: Can still hear yeah, you can still hear the conversation. Zephyr can't. He's very purposefully put distance between him and them, but you're kind of trying to hover halfway between each. [02:29:30] Speaker B: Absolutely not, Rosanna. Absolutely not. If anyone is going to debate, it will be me. [02:29:40] Speaker A: You have a wife. [02:29:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [02:29:46] Speaker A: I got nothing tying me. [02:29:49] Speaker B: I don't think so. Think that without you, they wouldn't have information. None of the rest of anyone, any hunters anywhere would be stuck not knowing things. I mean, you legitimately just pulled out a tablet and kind of got an idea on what we're dealing with here. You know what I've got? Waning faith. That's what I've got. [02:30:14] Speaker C: Okay, I don't mean to sound rude, but I feel like we need the lightest person. [02:30:21] Speaker B: So it's me. [02:30:23] Speaker D: I'll start walking back. Can I hear. [02:30:30] Speaker E: Back just in time for Julia to kind of imply that Arthur's fat, which is hilarious because Arthur is a slender slender. He's a very handsome slender just I'm. [02:30:44] Speaker B: Just throwing it out there. This is not in any kind. No, hold on now. I think that in your bra alone is basically my entire torso. So I'm just throwing it out there that perhaps I am the lighter one here. All right, so let's just remember that next time we have to decide who's the lighter one. [02:31:04] Speaker A: Wouldn't you like to know, arthur, wouldn't you like to know? [02:31:07] Speaker B: I actually don't need to know. I'm just pointing out that you are endowed with qualities that I do not have, and those qualities do, in fact, have a weight. [02:31:17] Speaker E: This is amazing. The best conversation I've ever heard. [02:31:23] Speaker D: I guess while they start arguing about I'm going to start looking for a rope so I can just go ahead. [02:31:30] Speaker E: And do arguing over various body issues. Zephyr starts tying himself up, goes over to Julia for help. Julia, do you, like, immediately set to helping Zephyr secure himself with this rope? [02:31:48] Speaker C: Are you sure you want to do this, Zephyr? [02:31:52] Speaker D: I mean, I tried to stab you, so I feel like I should at least make up for it. [02:31:57] Speaker C: You don't have to make up for that. But I would find it fun if you stabbed the creature that we drag out. [02:32:04] Speaker E: Like, can you do that? [02:32:07] Speaker B: No, seriously. Hold on. Zeph and I'm going to step up and start untying stuff. No, listen, I know we're trying to do a thing here, but listen, okay, I'm going to be real with all of you. If you have me on the other end of the rope, it is bad news for all of you. So I am just going to do. [02:32:28] Speaker A: This now and start I'm going to just point this out. Any of us on the other side of the rope is bad news. [02:32:35] Speaker B: No. The kid is going to probably be the best option. So we'll be fine. [02:32:40] Speaker D: Look, both of you guys have some sort of power or something you can do that would affect it? I just have a knife. [02:32:51] Speaker B: Well, maybe that's what we need here. What am I going to do standing there waiting for baits to get captured? I have to wait for it to come to me. [02:33:02] Speaker D: But I mean, can you pray underwater? Say it out loud, or does it affect the move in your head? [02:33:10] Speaker B: I really just have to be kind of thinking about it. Yeah. [02:33:23] Speaker D: It be does your research say if anything hurts them in particular, like, a general idea so we're not just doing this and then we fuck up? [02:33:40] Speaker A: Unfortunately, my database on that stuff is back in the RV. [02:33:49] Speaker C: Fire kills most things. [02:33:53] Speaker B: I mean, she's not wrong. [02:33:57] Speaker A: Do any of us have fire? [02:34:02] Speaker C: Can I roll? [02:34:03] Speaker E: Survival to make a fire, pulls out. [02:34:07] Speaker B: His lighter and goes, listen. [02:34:10] Speaker E: Arthur has a lighter because it's well established that he smokes. You're not sure if a lighter is going to be enough to burn something that is coming out of the river because it's going to be wet. But Julia absolutely could attempt to make that fire bigger with survival if she wanted to. [02:34:30] Speaker A: Guys, hear me out. We could have fish fillets for dinner. [02:34:35] Speaker C: What would I be rolling with? [02:34:38] Speaker E: Uh, intelligence, most likely. [02:34:41] Speaker B: Okay, well, fish fillets. But if it's like a mermaid, then a half person fish fillet. Like a long fish? [02:34:51] Speaker D: I don't think they count as a person. [02:34:54] Speaker E: Arthur EW. [02:35:00] Speaker C: Three. [02:35:03] Speaker E: Oh, actively? Is that the plan now? Are we actively trying to do so. [02:35:08] Speaker B: Julia'S whole business is to be a do person and not a talk about a person. [02:35:13] Speaker E: Julia is just like, y'all are just standing here. I'm going to do something. So Julia, arthur is like, in the process of talking and making the joke about Longfish, and Julia just plucks the lighter out of his hands and goes and builds a fucking fire. While you guys are busy talking about potentially building a fire, you all turn and look at there is an actual campfire built next to the river. [02:35:42] Speaker A: I love women. [02:35:46] Speaker B: I mean, me too. So we're in the same boat. [02:35:51] Speaker C: Well, we have fire now. [02:35:53] Speaker B: Okay, good. Thanks. Good job. Good job, kid. [02:35:57] Speaker D: Are we just going to drag it over the fire if we catch it? [02:36:02] Speaker A: So here's what you do. You get some time, and you start to tie that around the body, and then you roast it over fat. Please, I don't want to eat any mermaid fish. Woman, whatever. [02:36:16] Speaker B: You're the one who made a joke about fish fillets for dinner. [02:36:20] Speaker A: It's better than a joke about long fish. [02:36:27] Speaker C: Hmm. [02:36:29] Speaker B: I mean, they're the same joke. [02:36:30] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:36:35] Speaker B: And I go back finishing tying myself with a rope. [02:36:40] Speaker E: Okay, so it looks like Arthur is going in. The rest of you, I assume, are going to take the other end of the rope. [02:36:49] Speaker C: Yes? [02:36:50] Speaker A: Yeah, sure. [02:36:52] Speaker E: Before we have anybody else make any other roles, I would like Zephyr and Rosanna to both make me strength and athletics checks. I want to see. I don't have one guy even remotely helpful to Julia. [02:37:13] Speaker A: I've got this. Don't worry. Julia. [02:37:16] Speaker B: It's just funny that three of know put our stat that has one. [02:37:26] Speaker D: Wait, put me back in the. [02:37:32] Speaker E: So. So Zephyr is still kind of freaked out by what happened. He's going to try his best, but Julia, you can tell he's going to be more of a hindrance than a help. So you put him on the end of the rope. [02:37:45] Speaker D: It should have put me on the rope. [02:37:51] Speaker E: Yes. [02:37:52] Speaker C: Could you go stand by the fire and look pretty? [02:37:58] Speaker D: I'm, like, contemplating throwing myself onto the fire. [02:38:02] Speaker E: Not allowed. Rosanna, on the other hand rosanna, on the other hand, actually does something that could be helpful, could be a wise move. And she wraps the rope around her waist so that she doesn't have to depend so much on hand strength as just the weight of her body pulling against it. So you have to just be in front of her, and she's going to back you up. So essentially what's going to happen is if you guys manage to coax this thing enough for Arthur to catch it like bait on a hook, dear God, you will get an extra die to roll towards your strength pool. Okay. This is so interesting. Okay. [02:39:04] Speaker D: Wouldn't it be smart to tie the other end of the rope to a tree? [02:39:09] Speaker E: Was anybody else looking at Scott's face as I was talking about how interesting this is going to be? Because Scott had, like, this thousand yard stare, like, he was staring down the barrel of his characters. Like. [02:39:25] Speaker B: How in the hell am I. [02:39:26] Speaker A: Going to get out of this gaslight gatekeep girl boss. That's what you got. [02:39:34] Speaker E: Is anyone else going to be doing anything in preparation for this? Because some of you do actually have, like, powers. [02:39:45] Speaker B: I mean, I have some brass knuckles that glow in the dark and some protection from it and a ward, but I can't. So the problem is that I realized that I actually can't use my repel the supernatural without holding this is to. [02:40:03] Speaker E: Pull it out, by the way, what are you doing that's crazy book out of your pocket? [02:40:08] Speaker B: I have to leave the book on the bank because I can't dive into the water with the book in my pocket. Otherwise I destroy my entire. [02:40:18] Speaker E: It, so. [02:40:18] Speaker A: I mean, we know. Just send Zephyr down there. [02:40:22] Speaker B: No, I still have the brass knuckles of punching. That's still a thing that I have. [02:40:28] Speaker E: He does have items. [02:40:30] Speaker D: Okay. Yeah. [02:40:32] Speaker A: I'll put Arthur's book in my bag to keep it safe. [02:40:35] Speaker E: Okay. Yes. [02:40:39] Speaker C: I was just going to say just one more time, I want to make sure no one has any other better ideas. No. Okay. [02:40:49] Speaker A: Not a single one. [02:40:52] Speaker E: Rosanna, are you planning to use anything? [02:41:01] Speaker A: I kind of want to see if I can have a vision of what this thing looks like. Like, fully. [02:41:15] Speaker E: You can attempt to force a vision to happen. You're going to be at a disadvantage because you haven't really had any you've only had the one interaction with it, and that was it grabbing you like you haven't really seen a piece of it. You're not touching any part of it anymore. So let's see. What is your pool? To force a vision to happen? You didn't write that down on your sheet. [02:41:57] Speaker A: It's in your yeah, it's a ma. [02:42:07] Speaker E: You can at the cost of one superficial willpower damage. You may attempt to force a vision or omen. Okay, so you're going to roll me wits and awareness and take a superficial willpower damage. [02:42:21] Speaker A: Got it. Two successes. [02:42:34] Speaker E: You don't get much. You get an image of long, floating and flowing dark hair with features that you can't quite make out specifics of, and dark eyes. But it's the kind of pale that suggests that the face might have actually been tan at one point, but has not seen the sun and has been in darkness for a long time, so it's lost a lot of its natural color. And big, dark eyes and these reaching, grasping hands that feel like they are reaching out to you. And for a moment, you can almost feel them wrap around your throat right before your eyes pop open. And there is a whisper in your ears that nobody else hears, sister. There was not in a voice that you recognize. [02:44:24] Speaker C: Are you okay, rosanna? [02:44:30] Speaker B: Splish, splash, splish, splash. Oh. [02:44:33] Speaker E: Is Arthur going into the water? Like, actively going into the water right now? [02:44:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [02:44:38] Speaker E: Okay, Rosanna, if you're going to say something, you better say it quick, because I'm about to launch into a thing. [02:44:49] Speaker A: Long hair. Grab her by the hair, pull her up. Use it as a base yank. I know you're good at that, boy. [02:45:02] Speaker E: Well, okay. [02:45:04] Speaker A: I am joking. [02:45:07] Speaker B: Yes, ma'am. [02:45:09] Speaker E: That thought firmly in mind arthur, you wade into the water. Are you talking at all other than the yes, ma'am to Rosanna? [02:45:22] Speaker B: Just mostly to myself, I guess. But I am going to actually you know. No, there's a thing here and you know what? Screw that thing. Yeah, no, I'm definitely going to be like, hey, fish, fish, fishy, fish. [02:45:37] Speaker E: Oh, great. Okay, awesome. [02:45:40] Speaker B: Come on then. [02:45:42] Speaker E: So you have to wade out past the two foot deep pool into the river itself, right. And you very quickly find yourself getting past your calves, past your knees, up to your thighs, and then your waist. And then you barely have a moment to spot it before this hand that seems somehow both pale white and blue, like it's cold, snaps up out of the water and grabs you by your priest collar and starts to haul you under. Can you please? Well, first what are you going to do? Are you going to try and grab it back? [02:46:39] Speaker B: First I'm going to smack it in the face and then I'm going to try to grab it and pull it out of the water. [02:46:46] Speaker E: Okay. And you are using your new brass knuckles, am I right? [02:46:54] Speaker B: Yeah, sorry, go ahead. [02:47:00] Speaker E: You're doing intelligence and occult. That's how those work. Right. [02:47:07] Speaker B: So the way that the artifact works, if I understand correctly, it adds a die to the related pool that it's used for. So I think in this case, this would be like the brawl, right? Yeah. [02:47:17] Speaker E: This would be strength and brawl and you get an extra die. [02:47:21] Speaker B: Right. So it's strength and brawl with that extra die. So it's two plus your desperation. Right. And then I was to going say plus the desperation because this is a. [02:47:31] Speaker E: Direct conflict with also by the way, they are glowing. Mightily like even in the middle of the sunlight you could see the glow coming off of these things. [02:47:43] Speaker B: Like the thing is glowing. [02:47:45] Speaker E: No, your knuckles. [02:47:47] Speaker B: I was like yeah, my knuckles. I was going to say, yeah, the knuckles are glowing. Okay, cool. Yeah. They're almost like I'm holding a flashlight. That's what you're saying? Yeah. Which so everyone at the bank can definitely see this glowing thing in my fist. [02:48:00] Speaker E: Yes. [02:48:04] Speaker B: All right, so that would be two dice for that and then desperation, it's two. Right. And I am going to be thinking about this situation, thinking about how I am taking on the supernatural and a hand thing like fist cuffs and remembering that I want to take down the speaker. Can I use that soulmate thing to reroll? [02:48:37] Speaker E: Yes, you can use your soulmate ability. [02:48:41] Speaker B: Thinking about K. You only get to. [02:48:42] Speaker E: Do this once per session. [02:48:44] Speaker B: Yeah, that's why I'm like, I'm going to do it. It didn't do anything. [02:48:51] Speaker E: Okay, so you get one success. [02:48:54] Speaker B: I got a success. [02:48:57] Speaker E: Unfortunately, you land the blow, it hits it, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. In fact, this hand, which is distinctly feminine, tightens around the white part of your priest collar and you see a face just barely surface from the waves. Unfortunately, nobody on the bank gets to see this because your back is to them. And this thing is directly in front of you. And this woman pulls herself up just enough to where her mouth breaks the water and goes, you're coming with me, Priest, and then pulls you under with her. And there is a level of hatred and malice in her that makes your blood run cold. Whatever it is about this entity, this shit's personal, way more personal with you than it seemed to have been with Rosanna. [02:50:02] Speaker B: Oh, wow. Some priest pissed this thing off at some point in cool, so or not. Maybe it's literally me. Maybe that's the problem. [02:50:14] Speaker E: Um, I'm going to give you an option. You can attempt to fight against it pulling you under, which would be a strength and brawl, or you can attempt to basically hold your breath and wait for your friends to try and pull you out. If you fight back, you might be able to keep yourself above water, but you also may end up making life a little bit more difficult for your friends. It's like you might drown if you let it pull you under, but also it may make life a little bit easier for your friends. [02:50:58] Speaker B: I think that I am going to let it pull me under and I'm just going to try to grab it, which was the original plan before I tried to punch it in the face and just hold on to it, holding on to me and let the friends do the work. [02:51:13] Speaker E: Okay. [02:51:15] Speaker B: I'm the hook, as it were. [02:51:17] Speaker E: You are. In that case, I'm going to let you make a stamina and composure roll, okay? Because this is all about can I hold my breath long enough and can I keep from panicking as I am pulled under this water where I can't really see anything? [02:51:35] Speaker B: And I know it's going to sound like I'm trying to power game or something, but does the desperation still play? [02:51:41] Speaker E: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. No, you're in direct conflict with this thing. So yes. [02:51:47] Speaker B: Gotcha. Okay. [02:51:53] Speaker E: Three successes. Okay, guys, up on the banks, you see Arthur kind of jerk forward and you see him bring his arm down like he's trying to punch something. And then a second later, he just pitches forward, like face first into the water. You don't know if he did that on purpose because he goes awful easy. Like, he doesn't even fight it. He just topples in. I don't know if any of you are, except Scott, are old enough to remember these, but do you remember Weebly's wobble, but they don't fall down. It looks like a weebly, except that he doesn't pop back up. [02:52:44] Speaker C: I would like to immediately start pulling with my full strength. [02:52:48] Speaker A: Yeah, Rosanna is going to start. She almost looks angry at this situation. She's just the one strength she's got. With all that one success she's got, she's going to help. [02:53:04] Speaker C: Okay. [02:53:07] Speaker E: Julia, roll your strength and athletics. You get an extra dive because Rosanna is actually capable of helping you. [02:53:19] Speaker A: Sorry, Zephyr. [02:53:20] Speaker E: No offense ever. [02:53:23] Speaker D: I'll just stand by the fire. [02:53:26] Speaker A: Keep it warm for us. [02:53:28] Speaker C: Can I use a willpower? [02:53:32] Speaker E: Yes, absolutely. Four successes. Okay. You manage to haul him a little bit closer to shore. What's effectively going to happen is this is going to be a long form challenge. I had him roll to see how many turns you have to get him. [02:53:53] Speaker B: Out of the oh, okay. That's cool. Very good. [02:53:59] Speaker E: Of course, Arthur, that also means that during these intervening turns, you have to basically hold on to this thing. I'm not going to make you roll to see if you can hold your breath, but you do have to hold on to it, or at least keep it from realizing that this was all part of your plan. So if you can find a way to explain how you're doing that, that doesn't rely on you simply being strong enough to hold on, we can talk about that. [02:54:35] Speaker B: Unfortunately, I can't talk to it. [02:54:39] Speaker E: You cannot talk to it. [02:54:43] Speaker B: But could I maybe make it look like I'm terrified, even though hide that. [02:54:50] Speaker D: I have a plan? [02:54:50] Speaker E: Certainly. Try give me manipulation and bluff. Okay. Yeah, let's do that. [02:55:00] Speaker B: I wasn't sure if that would work. [02:55:02] Speaker E: Yeah, it's subterfuge. That's what I was going to call for anyway. So that's perfect. Manipulation and subterfuge with your bluffing specialty. As an aside, desperation has just gone up to three. [02:55:15] Speaker B: Oh, okay, then. All right. [02:55:17] Speaker E: You are actively underwater and wrestling some sort of weird water creature that wants to drown you. So I would say that this is a desperate moment. [02:55:29] Speaker B: So I'm essentially trying to make it look like I am terrified and have no idea what's going on, thus hiding the fact that there's a plan here. [02:55:38] Speaker E: Yes. [02:55:40] Speaker A: Holy shit. [02:55:43] Speaker E: All right, well, that is eight successes. You sell this hook, line, and sinker and pun in. Yeah, you sell this very well. You are staying remarkably calm, but you don't look calm at all. You look like you are freaking out. And whatever this thing is, this female creature does not seem to notice the rope around your waist, only that it is having a hard time hauling you further in. So it is continuing to fight to try and pull you in. Julia, make me another roll. [02:56:26] Speaker A: Still six dice. [02:56:27] Speaker D: Can I try to help this time? [02:56:31] Speaker E: You can certainly. [02:56:34] Speaker C: Willpower. [02:56:36] Speaker E: Again, how many willpower have you burned so far? [02:56:39] Speaker C: Two. [02:56:41] Speaker E: Okay, then. Yes. Zephyr, you can also run over and try to try to make us a strength in athletics. [02:56:51] Speaker A: Come on, Zeph. One. Die. [02:56:55] Speaker C: At least one, please. [02:56:57] Speaker A: One. [02:57:05] Speaker E: Excellently. That's amazing. Okay, so, Julia, you are pulling and you're making very solid progress. And then suddenly you feel this extra tug on the line behind you. And you glance behind you as you're putting all of your strength into this, and you realize that Zephyr has joined the end of the rope behind Rosanna. Or no, zephyr has squeezed in between you and Rosanna because Rosanna's got it wrapped around her middle. And the two of them are putting everything that they have into hauling their friend out of the water. And it's actually making a difference, is Arthur is even closer to the shore. You can almost see him, like his back is just starting to break the surface. One more good tug and you should have him into the shallows, which will make it much easier. [02:58:16] Speaker B: Right now, when it was on the other side, I couldn't quite make out it was except that there was a shadow covering you. It was like, what is going on? [02:58:31] Speaker E: Okay, Arthur. [02:58:33] Speaker B: Yes. [02:58:36] Speaker E: You have to make it one more turn. What are you going to do? Are you going to try for the same thing? [02:58:44] Speaker B: I'm going to try to keep convincing this thing. I'm totally scared, and it's winning. [02:58:51] Speaker E: Make another roll. [02:58:53] Speaker B: How many has a roll last time? I forget. Six. Three. Yeah. [02:59:00] Speaker E: Yep. [02:59:10] Speaker B: Bam. I'm gonna no willpower on this one. [02:59:18] Speaker E: Okay. [02:59:20] Speaker B: Only got one more. [02:59:23] Speaker E: That's five. That's pretty good. It continues to seem to believe you, though. You can see a flicker of frustration and worry on its face as it realizes that you're getting so close to the edge. All right, Julia, seven dice this time. Seven dice this time. All right. [02:59:59] Speaker A: Hey, Zach, we're helping. [03:00:02] Speaker E: Would you like to burn another willpower? [03:00:04] Speaker C: Yes, please. [03:00:06] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:00:11] Speaker D: Let's go. [03:00:13] Speaker E: You see Arthur's back breaking the surface, and you realize that you've got your two new friends behind you. And there is something about that that is incredibly empowering. And you hear in the back of your mind, and this is something that only you can hear, Julia. You hear a distant but powerful howling, and this burst of strength seems to go through your body. And you plant your feet and you yank with all you have. And Arthur seems to almost pop up out of the water like a fish on a line. And attached to him is this pale woman in shredded clothing that's so tattered and so worn, you can't even tell the time period that it came from. She has an incredibly long black hair. Can you make me, Julia, a wits and let's say a wits and academics role, please? Not bad. Three. You realize as you see her, as they land in the shallows, arthur is no longer so deep that he can't keep his head above water. He's safe. He's gasping and kind of grappling with this creature, trying to hold onto it. And you realize and realize with startling clarity that her facial structure is incredibly similar to a lot of the women on the reservation who do not have your mixed heritage. And she is shouting in your native tongue that you grew up hearing from your grandparents and your father a string of curses at Arthur and at the she keeps calling him priest. You know, having spoken to arthur. That that's not his actual title. Within any sort of church, he was more of a reverend than a priest. But this woman does not seem to differentiate. All she sees is the collar and that religious station and fervor and is shouting curses at a man that you can only assume had heard drowned as a witch. [03:03:27] Speaker C: I would like to run over and try and grab onto her. [03:03:31] Speaker E: Okay. Are you simply trying to grapple her, or are you trying to fight her? What are you trying to do? [03:03:38] Speaker B: For now, I would like to just. [03:03:39] Speaker C: Grab onto her and hopefully someone can talk to her, because I know that last time that worked was the ghost thing. [03:03:47] Speaker B: Okay, so I'm out of the water, then. [03:03:50] Speaker E: You're in the shallows. You're no longer in danger. You're basically sitting in a kiddie pool right now. [03:03:57] Speaker B: All right. Okay. Well, I'm going to try to pin this creature down. That's about all I can do. And I'm going to shout for my book. [03:04:06] Speaker E: I would like you both to roll. What? Sorry. [03:04:09] Speaker D: I was saying I'll grab the book for him. [03:04:11] Speaker A: I have the book in my mm hmm. [03:04:16] Speaker B: Okay, what are we rolling? Sorry. [03:04:19] Speaker E: Julia and Arthur, you're going to roll separately. You're going to be rolling strength and brawl. Julia, you only get your pool. You don't get any help with this. Two. Okay. [03:04:40] Speaker B: Two. [03:04:42] Speaker E: Wow. Okay. What up, Arthur? Jesus. Okay, Zephyr, this is direct conflict. [03:04:56] Speaker B: It is. [03:04:57] Speaker E: I was just surprised that you got two successes zephyr and Rosanna. Which one of you is going for the book? [03:05:07] Speaker A: I am. [03:05:08] Speaker D: Yeah, she has it in her bag. [03:05:10] Speaker E: Okay, Zephyr, what would you like to do? [03:05:12] Speaker D: Oh, God, I don't even know what I can do because both of you guys are trying to grapple her, and then okay, yeah. While they're grappling in, I'll try to. [03:05:27] Speaker E: You'Re going to grab your knife off the ground and try to stab it. Yeah. [03:05:32] Speaker D: Just to see if regular items work on it or if it needs to be blessed or anything. [03:05:38] Speaker E: Okay, so you grab your K bar, make me a Dex, and melee roll. [03:05:46] Speaker D: All right? [03:05:53] Speaker E: And. [03:05:56] Speaker D: You add on to what you get from the weapon onto the whole role. Correct. [03:06:06] Speaker B: For damage, yeah. [03:06:09] Speaker D: Or no, you do that if it's damage. [03:06:12] Speaker E: If you manage to hit it. [03:06:14] Speaker D: Okay. Good to know. You said melee and Dex? [03:06:20] Speaker E: Yes. [03:06:24] Speaker D: See, I'm going to use willpower. My God. [03:06:36] Speaker E: Yeah, that's probably a good idea all day. Is it the full moon? [03:06:45] Speaker D: I don't know. [03:06:46] Speaker B: The dice did not want to tell. [03:06:48] Speaker D: You got one success. That's better than nothing. Jesus Christ. Oh, I know. It's fine. [03:06:57] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:06:58] Speaker D: I only got one success. This is sad. [03:07:04] Speaker E: You do hit her. Okay, but from what you can tell, the blade barely nicks her, and she doesn't seem to bleed or anything. She doesn't even seem to notice. She's too busy being grappled by two other people who are desperately. Trying to pin her to the ground to keep her from blasting out again. Arthur has several scratches on his neck from where her hands were gripping at his collar. Yes. [03:07:45] Speaker D: Can I take off his collar, like, the piece and throw it and see if that's what she's after particularly, or if it's his whole vibe that she's like, I'm after him. [03:08:00] Speaker E: We'll say that you can try that on the next turn. You've already had a chance to try and stab her. Hold on one SEC. Sorry. My headphones were beeping at me. Okay, Rosanna, what are you going to do? [03:08:21] Speaker A: I've got the book. I'm going to run over and bring it to Arthur. I want to see if I can get a good look at this woman's face, because I heard Sister being whispered to me. I want to see if there's any sort of lack if her and I can get a good look at each other. If there's any sort of lack. [03:08:46] Speaker E: Going on. [03:08:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [03:08:50] Speaker E: Okay. So you take the book over to Arthur and you kind of thrust it into his free hand as he manages to pin one of her arms down with his knee. And in that moment, her like, she's tossing and flailing and trying to get free of them. And her head kind of whips to one side, and the hair kind of falls away from her face. She doesn't look physically like anyone you know, except that you recognize some of the same facial structure features. But that's not something that you would notice from your past. It's just something you've noticed from being around town and having spent time with Julia and her grandmother. Make me a wits and insight, and I will allow desperation dice for this. [03:10:08] Speaker A: All right. [03:10:08] Speaker E: Because you're attempting to glean information. [03:10:16] Speaker A: I'm going to spend a willpower. [03:10:19] Speaker E: Okay. [03:10:22] Speaker A: There we go. Six successes. [03:10:25] Speaker E: Yeah. Okay. So there's nothing in her face that seems familiar, but you notice almost immediately after you look past the physical, you start to kind of put the pieces together. There were stories that you read about people who had drowned, usually violently, and you can see the hatred that she is spewing at Arthur, specifically. This woman is essentially a spirit who was drowned as a witch. And she was calling you sister because you have that connection to the other in common. She saw almost a kinship in you right now. She doesn't seem to notice you right now. She's too busy trying to kill Arthur. But Arthur. [03:11:29] Speaker A: Get off her. Listen to me. Trust me. [03:11:40] Speaker B: So the book is in my hand? [03:11:42] Speaker E: It is in your hand. [03:11:45] Speaker B: And she's talking to me, but I can't hear her because I am very caught up in the fact that this thing's been trying to kill me this whole time. And so I'm going to just simply say, shout as I hold the book over my head, like, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me as I slam the book down on this thing's head. [03:12:10] Speaker E: Okay. Make your role. [03:12:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll just do so. That is eight aggravated damage that I do to this thing. [03:12:27] Speaker E: Okay. [03:12:29] Speaker B: Eight aggravated damage. [03:12:31] Speaker A: Oh, fuck. [03:12:36] Speaker E: This thing. This woman lets out a whale of agony, doesn't melt away into nothing. But you can see somehow you can tell that somehow she is lesser for what you have done. You have whittled away at a large part of her being. It's clear that she's physical in that you can interact with her, but she's not physical, in that she is alive. [03:13:26] Speaker B: Sure. [03:13:27] Speaker E: Does that make sense? [03:13:28] Speaker B: Some kind of undead you're dealing with. [03:13:30] Speaker E: Some sort of spirit or whatever, and whatever you did greatly diminished its ability to affect the physical. But it is not dead yet. Not re dead yet. Okay, Julia. [03:13:55] Speaker C: I was going to try talking to the thing and convincing her to stop trying to kill him, but now he's hurt her, so I don't think I could say anything that would convince her to not try and kill him. So I think I'm going to bring out my knife and stab her in the back. [03:14:13] Speaker B: Literally. Stab her in the back. [03:14:16] Speaker E: You'd have to stab her in the front because she's pinned on her back because you two grappled her. [03:14:20] Speaker C: I was imagining it incorrectly. [03:14:22] Speaker E: All right. [03:14:22] Speaker C: I'll stab her in the chest. [03:14:24] Speaker E: Okay. Make me a Dex and melee roll. [03:14:28] Speaker C: And how exactly do the proficiencies work? I don't remember. [03:14:35] Speaker E: Just Dex and melee to hit. [03:14:38] Speaker A: If you have a specialty in something, you add a die. [03:14:41] Speaker E: Yes. [03:14:42] Speaker C: Okay. Thank you. [03:14:44] Speaker E: Sorry. Yes. Eight dice, six successes. That's pretty good. Yeah. You connect solidly. And I'm not even going to make you roll damage because I know what this knife can do. You plunge it into the space where this woman's heart would be. [03:15:17] Speaker B: Is it also aggravated damage? [03:15:20] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:15:21] Speaker B: Got it. [03:15:23] Speaker E: It is a blessed knife from her people. Yeah. Follow her eyes go wide, and her whole body goes still, and she stops fighting. And it's like they were clouded over before. She was so enraged that they weren't clear. They were just full of this seething, roiling, deep emotion. And now they look clear, but also confused, as if she is surfacing from some sort of horrific nightmare that she's been living over and over and over again since this happened to her. And she turns her face, and she looks at you. And then she looks at Rosanna. [03:16:42] Speaker A: And. [03:16:42] Speaker E: It'S like Arthur isn't there anymore for her. She doesn't seem to notice him. And Rosanna, you hear her say a word that you don't understand, but has a tone of recognition to it. And then she turns back to you, Julia, and speaks again. When she spoke to Rosanna, Julia, she said sister. But when she speaks to you, she says. [03:17:24] Speaker C: I'm so sorry all this happened to you. [03:17:26] Speaker E: Just before. She goes and she gives a kind of tear. It's hard for you to understand how you know that her eyes are full of tears because she is so wet, but her eyes tear up and go kind of misty. And then her whole body turns into water and disperses. Some of it is soaked into the ground underneath of you, and some of it drifts back into the river. And, Arthur, you realize as she disappears that your priest collar is laying on the ground at your knees where her body was. At some point in the struggle, she had managed to grab it and pull it away. [03:18:37] Speaker B: I'm going to kneel down, pick it up, and for a moment, I sort of question whether I should put it back on. But then I realized that I have to have some kind of faith, because otherwise that definitely would not have worked. And so I put the collar back on. [03:19:05] Speaker E: You put the priest collar back on? [03:19:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [03:19:15] Speaker E: What do the rest of you want to do in this quiet moment after this being has let go? Rosanna, you are highly in tune with the space around you right now, and you don't feel her anymore. [03:19:48] Speaker A: Back when colonizers came, a lot of priests, such burned women, drowned women being witches, I felt something with her. I'm gonna look over to Arthur. You okay? [03:20:56] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I'm alive, and you all saved me, so yeah. Are you okay? [03:21:16] Speaker A: Going to get on my knees and just kind of touch the sand or the dirt that she laid at. She's moved on. Can't feel her anymore. [03:21:44] Speaker B: I'm sorry that we had to do that so violently, but I think there was a lot of violence in her soul. [03:21:57] Speaker A: If I had to choose between you and her, I'm choosing you. Julia. She said something to me. Language. I'm not familiar with myself. [03:22:25] Speaker C: You said sister. [03:22:34] Speaker A: Just like in my vision. It I think it's safe to say that whatever was infested in this river is not there anymore. [03:22:52] Speaker C: Hopefully it'll be safe now. [03:22:56] Speaker A: Don't go after midnight. [03:23:03] Speaker C: I make a lot of bad decisions. [03:23:07] Speaker A: Rolling with us is one of them. [03:23:13] Speaker B: I mean, kid, I'm I'm absolutely glad you came. [03:23:23] Speaker C: Sorry I suggested putting you out for bait. [03:23:28] Speaker B: Nobody had a better plan. [03:23:32] Speaker A: You know, kid, you're smart. You ever decide that you want to get into this work, you got my number. [03:23:44] Speaker C: Thanks. [03:23:44] Speaker B: And you have that knife. Not going to even say understand what happened, but it feel like it worked about the same as we smack it in the face of the book. [03:24:02] Speaker C: It was my grandfather's, so it's pretty special to me. [03:24:10] Speaker A: Try not. [03:24:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [03:24:15] Speaker A: Should we get back to the RV? I'm no master chef, but I think all of us could do with a little bit of a dinner after the event. [03:24:33] Speaker D: I'm going to make sure to kick out that fire before we leave. [03:24:39] Speaker E: This zephyr can. [03:24:41] Speaker A: Do. [03:24:45] Speaker E: You even bring some water up from the river just for good measure, just to make sure that it is completely out. Stir the embers. Keep pouring water over them until there isn't even a tiny little bit of a glow. You all collect yourselves. Rosanna, you manage to find your shoes buried in the muck and the mud in the shallows. They will take some clean. It's going to take a little bit of a little bit of effort to clean them, but they're salvageable. They didn't get swept away because of where you were when they came off. All of you are going to need a change of clothes at some point. Julia is probably the most dry person here. No, wait, actually, Zephyr is the most dry person here because never made it to the water because Julia tackled him. [03:25:56] Speaker C: For his own good. [03:25:59] Speaker D: I appreciate it. [03:26:00] Speaker A: Politely tackle. [03:26:05] Speaker E: Respectfully. [03:26:06] Speaker B: It was a respectful tackle. [03:26:09] Speaker E: You all gather yourselves and head back to the RV. I'm going to assume that Rosanna loans Julia a set of clothes. [03:26:24] Speaker A: The most appropriate clothes she has to send her home to her grandmother. [03:26:32] Speaker E: You all have a lovely late lunch. It's still a little too early for dinner, but you can manage a late lunch. And I would assume some of you are at least hoping that you'll see Victoria before dinner time. But you have a nice late lunch back at the RV before you drive back into town. Is there anything you all would like to do before you park back at the lodge and wait for Victoria to show up or while you're parked at the lodge waiting for Victoria to show up, is there anything specific you guys would like to do? Would like to talk about? This is me as the storyteller saying we've got about 15 minutes left and I'm going to let you guys decide how you want to wrap up the session. [03:27:27] Speaker B: Well, Arthur really only has, like, the same shirt three times, so he's going to look exactly the same after changing his clothes as he did before. But the problem is that his last cigarette was made into some kind of mushy, so because it was in his pocket. So he's going to just kind of be thinking about what to do next and then just say to Zephyr, hey, where's that grocery store again? [03:28:00] Speaker D: Are you going to walk there? I know how to walk there. [03:28:06] Speaker E: Yeah, you can also just drive right on your way back into town. [03:28:12] Speaker B: No, I guess so. [03:28:15] Speaker E: Yeah, it's literally on your way. [03:28:21] Speaker B: Then pick up a pack of cigarettes and then get the lighter back from Julia. [03:28:30] Speaker C: It's dry. [03:28:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it'll be fine. [03:28:38] Speaker E: Julia, is there anything that you would like to do? [03:28:43] Speaker C: I would like to send a text to my dad that just says, the river is safe. Oh, I feel like you'd know what that means. [03:28:56] Speaker E: You get an answer back says dot, dot, dot. Oh, really? [03:29:09] Speaker C: As safe as a river can be. [03:29:13] Speaker E: We'll talk when you get home, however, a text comes through that is littered with typos a few moments later from your grandmother's cell phone, but you could just barely make out that it says, I'm proud of you. [03:29:45] Speaker C: I sent her a little heart emoji that she probably can't get on her cell phone. [03:29:52] Speaker E: She has a smartphone. She totally could. She just doesn't know how. [03:29:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I am absolutely glad that was the text you got and not the tell that priest that he's dead when I find him. [03:30:13] Speaker E: You get a response to your heart with how did you do that? [03:30:20] Speaker C: I'll explain later. [03:30:24] Speaker E: Zephyr, is there anything you would like to do? You've had a rough go of it today. [03:30:29] Speaker D: Oh, God. [03:30:30] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:30:30] Speaker D: No, I'm just sitting at the you. [03:30:33] Speaker E: Have been nearly possessed by some sort of weird ghost siren lady. [03:30:38] Speaker D: God. Yeah, I'm just sitting at the window and just kind of like fidgeting with the ring on my finger. Just kind of like spinning it and just staring out the window. [03:30:53] Speaker E: I'll make a note. [03:30:57] Speaker D: I got to stop touching the ring. God damn it. [03:31:01] Speaker E: Rosanna, is there anything specific you would like to do? [03:31:10] Speaker A: There's a couple of things I want to do. First thing I want to do is check my emails. [03:31:15] Speaker E: Are we checking the email? [03:31:18] Speaker A: We are checking the email. [03:31:21] Speaker E: Excellent. Wondering if this was going to come up. Rosie, it is never easy to lose a friend. The fact that you are all still breathing and moving is good, though. AV, Z, they'll all need you to keep being strong. I have no doubts you can do that. The road may be unforgiving. That's true. Might I suggest you make a second home in whatever ride you were taking this way? Lights, ornaments, the like. It won't give security, but it will give comfort. When you get here, I'd be happy to give you matcha and more. You still haven't told me what you were seeing in those visions you were having. I have a few friends that might be able to help in interpretation. As always, I enjoy hearing from you. Stay safe, stay sane. Sincerely, Peter. [03:32:19] Speaker A: And she'll respond Peter it has been a long couple of days. The visions are getting more and more omnipotent. Weird, but clearer than ever before. My most recent one was a woman. Long dark hair, dark eyes, with skin that looked like I hadn't seen the sun in maybe over a hundred years. She called me sister. I think we were kin, or at least close. V, Z and A are working their buns off trying to keep each other sane. I think A and I are starting to get along a little bit better. I've grown an immense amount of respect for him in the last couple of days, and it's easier to relate. Z is still quiet and V is still angry, but I love them anyway. Hopefully we'll be in Florida soon enough. It'd feel nice to have a friend to feel normal. Until then, guess we just got to keep emailing each other. [03:34:49] Speaker E: You. [03:34:51] Speaker A: Talk to you soon. Sincerely yours, Rosie. [03:35:02] Speaker E: All right. Is there anything else you would like to do? [03:35:07] Speaker A: I'd like to go and poke Arthur. [03:35:10] Speaker E: You want to go poke Arthur? Go for it. [03:35:19] Speaker A: Hey, you want to go get a drink tonight? [03:35:31] Speaker B: Yeah, why not? [03:35:34] Speaker A: It cool. [03:35:41] Speaker B: But is that for two or just us? [03:35:48] Speaker A: I'll let you decide. [03:36:00] Speaker B: Well, I bet he'd probably say no, because that would be more than two. [03:36:14] Speaker A: Thanks. Tonight. I'll see you in a bit, all right? [03:36:28] Speaker B: Yeah, sure. [03:36:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [03:36:32] Speaker E: Arthur she is turning to walk away, maybe to go back into the lodge and maybe take a shower because she's got wet and gross. Will you please make me a Wits awareness check? [03:36:46] Speaker B: Yeah. [03:36:47] Speaker E: Because you've done so well with those today. [03:36:52] Speaker B: I assume it's not in direct opposition. [03:36:55] Speaker E: It is not. [03:37:08] Speaker B: Going to happen. [03:37:10] Speaker E: As you watch Rosanna turn to walk inside, you kind of follow her with your eyes. And as she goes to push through the front door for just a moment, you catch her reflection in the glass. Because it's a glass door. It's one of those reflections that doesn't have a whole lot of color or a whole lot of detail, but you can see her outline, and you can see that her hair, the front of it, is up in these dramatic curls atop her head that you almost instantly recognize as, like, victory curls from the 1950s. You blink, and by the time you finish blinking, her reflection is normal again, and she's inside. Could have just been a trick of the light, but. [03:38:10] Speaker B: Hmm. [03:38:12] Speaker E: Definitely. OD. [03:38:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Hmm. I'm gonna go ahead and drop that in my back pocket to deal with later. [03:38:25] Speaker E: Does anybody else have anything that they want to do before we wrap it up for the evening? [03:38:33] Speaker A: No. [03:38:37] Speaker E: Zephyr is like, I have learned that this is not my night. I'm not going to tend to. [03:38:44] Speaker B: Maybe. [03:38:49] Speaker D: Say, ha, sowing the seeds of mistrust. [03:38:59] Speaker E: Anything else? Anybody at all? [03:39:02] Speaker A: No? [03:39:03] Speaker E: Okay. You all take a few moments as Julia. It's time for her to depart and head home. She's got to go deal with facing her father about the fact that she went and did something that she's been pointedly told not to do her entire fucking life, and she did it without telling anybody first. You all have a lovely, quiet moment to say goodbye and the promise that you will keep in touch. You all have plans to leave first thing in the morning, provided that everything goes well for Victoria with her new pupper. And then Julia climbs into her car and heads back to what you hope is her normal life, that this is the last thing she deals with of this nature. But there's a small part of you that doesn't think this is going to be the last time you see her. Julia, thank you for joining us. It's always a pleasure to have you. [03:40:24] Speaker C: It was so fun. [03:40:26] Speaker E: I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself. Okay, the rest of you, you all settle into the winnebago as you wait for Victoria to come back from the rescue and take a moment to breathe. Satisfied with the day's hunt, but also keenly aware of just how vulnerable all of you are and how dangerous water can be. [03:41:09] Speaker A: You. [03:41:11] Speaker E: And that is where we are going to end for the nightmare.