S1 Ep9: Hell's Comin' With Me

[00:00:30] Speaker A: Hi, my name is Eli, and I play Zephyr, the entrepreneur. [00:00:35] Speaker B: Hi, I'm legacy, and I play Rosanna, the inquisitive. [00:00:41] Speaker C: Hi, I am Scott. I play Arthur, the faithful. [00:00:45] Speaker D: Hello, I'm Zoe Tripper, and I play Victoria, the underground. [00:00:51] Speaker E: I'm bloodied porcelain. I'll be your storyteller for the evening. The boundaries which divide life from death are, at best, shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends and the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe. When we last left off, Arcell had just had a very successful hunt where they had set out to avert a disaster that was planned and would have been executed by a group of wraiths looking to cause mass casualties. Had they not managed it, there would have been thousands more deaths in New Orleans. To top off what had already happened in Texas, after their hunt, they traveled to an old plantation house that looked like it had been completely overhauled and refurbished, retaining some of the old charm, but fully decked out with all the modern amenities and staffed with a smattering of household servants. And Dietrich's own son was even there. They turned in for the night and settled. When you all wake up in the morning, at some point in the evening, I apologize. Arthur showed up. Arthur, by the time you got there, everybody had already turned in for the night. You had a bit of a haul to get there. You were basically told where your room was, that you had free access to the kitchen if you needed it. Otherwise, there would be breakfast made in the morning. And to let them know if you needed anything, all of you were given rather opulent rooms. I'm not talking like you were not, like, royalty level, but very nice compared to what you've gotten accustomed to. Even, like, the nicest hotels that you guys have gotten on nights where you were like, you know what? We've been through the shit. We're going to get somewhere nice for the night. Could not have touched the level of comfort in this place. Everything smells good. The beds are all made up with very obviously freshly laundered linens. Every room has a private bathroom where you have the option of a soak or a shower. Whatever works for you. Rosanna, what you notice when you wake up in the morning, what you realize when you wake up in the morning is that you didn't have any nightmares. It didn't even feel like it was a struggle not to have one this time. It was like the first really good, peaceful, solid sleep you've had that you can remember. You're not even sure if you dreamed. It was so peaceful. Zephyr you wake up in the morning very well aware that you don't feel the kind of cold oppressiveness that tends to come when you fail one of those roles that you have to make every morning. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and you just have this nagging feeling in your gut that everything's going to go wrong for you today. You don't have that feeling today, Victoria. You slept like the dead. You wake up to your dog sleeping on your feet. Dietrich is not in bed with you, but you know that. He was there basically all night. He's always woken up earlier than you, and he is currently. You can hear him kind of puttering around in the bathroom nearby. Arthur, you had a lovely sleep. You've never really had a hard time sleeping, though, so it's not a huge thing for you. You might have been a little preoccupied and had a hard time falling asleep, but once you were out, you were out, and you wake up in the morning, all of you, to the smells of breakfast cooking downstairs. What would you all like to do? Should I go through the list and ask everybody individually what their morning looks like? Okay, we'll do that. Since nobody wants to answer. Zephyr, what does your morning look like when you wake up without that gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach? [00:06:24] Speaker A: He kind of just paced around the room a little bit because it's weird being in such a nice place, and instead of leaving the bed undone, he makes sure to refold everything, put everything up. He's like, I know that they have service here, but that's a little weird. So he's just like. And then. Because after all the stuff that happened the previous day. Going to take a look in the book for any information on Wraith. [00:07:01] Speaker E: Okay. All right, so you're going to look in the book. I'm sure that there is a role associated with this. Give me an intelligence and a cult check. [00:07:31] Speaker A: Okay. [00:07:35] Speaker E: Ooh. Do you want to willpower anything, or are you sticking with two? You don't have to. It's purely an option. [00:07:51] Speaker A: I will only because it's early. [00:07:59] Speaker E: Four. All right, so the first thing you realize is that there is a strange sort of tug to this book. Like, there is something about it that kind of wants to draw you in, and you find yourself very focused on it. The second thing that you realize is that it is still very much in that weird gibberish language that you couldn't figure out. But as you're sitting there, you realize that it may just be that you haven't sat down with the right people to figure it out. You know that the book has the symbol of the group that Victoria's been looking for, so she may be able to help you. And you're very sure that if you and her and Rosanna and possibly even Arthur, but definitely the three of you, if the three of you sit down for an hour or so in the morning, you could probably put together enough of a cipher to be able to make out the rest. You are also pretty sure that you have found the parts of the book that look like they're about wraiths just based on some context clues of the pictures and whatever. But it's hard to know without being able to translate the text itself. [00:09:35] Speaker A: Okay. Since I can't read the text, the visuals that are in it, is there, like, anything that really stands out or it's just kind of like, this is like a simple diagram or anything? [00:09:51] Speaker E: Most of them are diagrams of anatomy and things like that. But there are some things that make you think that it might be about wraiths, because you notice that there are sketches of those ghostly chains that you have seen. I shouldn't say ghostly because they're on paper. They don't necessarily look ghostly, but very heavy chains are sketched out. In some places, there is a sketch of what looks like a piece of fabric that's being ripped or stitched together. Again, there's little notes drawn, written in the margins and whatever, but it's hard to be positive without translating. But all of the different context clues definitely make it seem like you're definitely in the right part of the book. [00:10:47] Speaker A: And last question. [00:10:49] Speaker E: Yes. [00:10:50] Speaker A: The picture that looks like fabric being. [00:10:53] Speaker E: Torn. [00:10:56] Speaker A: Were we able to see the shroud being ripped open, or can only Victoria see that you were not able. [00:11:06] Speaker E: To see it being ripped open? It's not really a physical thing, but you can kind of figure that this is probably somebody's interpretation of what happens and what it looks like. [00:11:19] Speaker A: Okay. [00:11:21] Speaker E: What it would look like if they could see it is a better way of putting it. Okay. Unfortunately, you are looking in a book that is made for anatomies, for creatures that technically don't have an anatomy anymore. So you're kind of having to go on context clues more than, like, direct comparisons. Okay. [00:11:46] Speaker A: Yeah. So I just kind of, like, tuck it underneath my pillow and go downstairs where breakfast is. [00:11:54] Speaker E: All right. Before we do that, we will pop over to Rosanna. Rosanna, what does your morning look like before you leave your room? [00:12:05] Speaker B: I'm going to take a nice long shower, first of all. Then second of all, I think, check my emails. [00:12:15] Speaker E: So you get a great shower. The water pressure and temperature is perfect. It's one of those showers where you could key in the exact temperature that you want and it'll adjust for you, which is great. The pressure is a little harder to adjust, but comes out like an almost full blast. You're like, oh, my God, it's like a massage when you leave the bathroom. On your bedside table is a little silver bowl with a cover on it. [00:12:56] Speaker B: All right, I guess I'm going to open up the COVID Inside. [00:13:05] Speaker E: Under the COVID is a bowl full of strawberry creams and individual wrappers and a little note that says, I heard you've been looking everywhere for these. So I had some delivered and just signed d out of character. I apologize to anybody who can hear my cat in the background. There's literally nothing I could do about how needy she is today. Has a cat somewhere and she won't shut up. The one downfall of staying here, I. [00:13:48] Speaker B: Mean, anybody who is around Rosanna's room is just going to hear a happy. [00:13:52] Speaker E: Little scream, which is basically everybody except for Victoria, who is in the master, which is on the other side of the house. All they're going to hear is, oh, my God, Patrick has just become Rosanna's favorite person. Okay, so tell me about the emails. Are you sending emails? You haven't gotten anything from your friend, but you did literally just email him last night? It's not uncommon for there to be a delay. [00:14:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm mostly checking for replies. [00:14:43] Speaker E: Trying. [00:14:44] Speaker B: To see if maybe I got anything back from the two that I reached out to. I'm not expecting them to. [00:14:55] Speaker E: Not yet, no. Although there is a message from one of your chat friends who says that the girl that only showed up the one time and then sort of disappeared, popped back in very briefly and said, like four things and then left again. She wasn't online for very long and that what she sent was really kind of garbled and disjointed. Like it didn't make any sense. So it could have been they logged in and an animal walked across the keyboard and then they realized and logged back out. It was hard to tell. [00:15:34] Speaker B: Going to reach back out to that guy and ask for screenshot of what she wrote. [00:15:40] Speaker E: They tell you that they will see if they can go and dig it up out of the archives, but the chat is kind of not designed to save things by dint of what it is. So they'll see what they can do. [00:15:55] Speaker B: And I guess all that's left is I'm going to get dressed, throw on a sweatshirt over what I'm wearing, and I got to go find Arthur. Okay. [00:16:13] Speaker E: Arthur, what does your morning look like? You wake up to the sound of Rosanna squealing? [00:16:19] Speaker C: Well, yeah, I think that he probably heard it outside. I think that Arthur probably got up and went immediately outside to have a cigarette and really think about all of the stuff that had been going on. So the squeal was probably heard when he was outside, like, through her window. That's what I think was going on, which is fine. So he's outside of the house smoking at the time of the squeal, and then initially has an instinctive, like, I've got to save Rosanna kind of response. But then it becomes clear that it's a happy scream, and we'll just go back to smoking and thinking about all of the stuff that's going on, particularly the things he discovered yesterday and what that means for the future. [00:17:11] Speaker E: Okay, well, I will tell you that when you went outside, you had to go downstairs first. There is no balcony off your room or anything. So you walked through this massive chef's kitchen, like a home kitchen, but it's got the best of everything as far as finishes go. And there are obviously, staff. There's, like, a cook. You passed a woman who's kind of bustling around, who looks like she's probably a maid or, like, a housekeeper and probably has more on her plate than she is accustomed to, because the number of people in the household, like, doubled overnight. More than doubled, really tripled or quadrupled. Everybody, you know, seemed very polite. They gave you little smiles, but they didn't really bother. [00:18:15] Speaker C: I absolutely would have done the thing where I was like, as they're walking, Arthur moved out of their way to very clearly not be a problem. [00:18:23] Speaker E: Right. While you were outside. At one point, the maid came out and put, like, a cup of coffee down on the table nearby and just left it there for you. It was obviously meant to be yours, but she didn't want to interrupt your thoughts because you had the thousand yard stare going. She was just like, I'm just going to leave this here. Okay, Victoria, last but certainly not least, you wake up to gozer on your feet and dietrich puttering around in the bathroom nearby. And you are incredibly well rested. Your ears don't even ring, which is surprising. But you feel like you're at 100%. [00:19:15] Speaker F: Oh, excellent. [00:19:16] Speaker D: No, I just kind of roll over a little bit, and I kind of eye the bathroom for a while, and then I look to Gozer, who I know needs to go outside at this point. And I'm just like, well, aren't you handsome? And I'll say that loud enough for Dietrich to hear it, but I'm clearly petting Gozer. Do you want to go outside? [00:19:42] Speaker E: Dietrich calls from the bathroom. Well, I'm still getting ready, but he. Give me a few minutes. Sure. [00:19:52] Speaker D: Precious. No, I'm going to bring Gozer outside. I'll be right back up. And even in a place like this, Victoria is still going downstairs in booty shorts and, like, a sweater. It's really no different. [00:20:09] Speaker E: You will have the advantage that, because you were in the master, you're, like, the one room that does have a balcony, and the balcony has, like, a spiral staircase down to the backyard. So you're able to get down and out into the backyard, where Gozer can do his business and you don't have to wander too far. When you come back up, there is a cup of coffee by the bed. You could tell that there's another cup of coffee, but Dietrich has it because he has a very particular coffee blend that he likes. I mean, it's kind of the one thing he's never shared with you. He has coffee that the guests get, and then he has his coffee. [00:21:01] Speaker C: Coffee life. [00:21:02] Speaker E: You don't know if it's just the fact that his coffee, he can only get in very small quantities and it's very expensive or if there's something weird about it. But his has a very particular scent that you kind of pick up. [00:21:15] Speaker D: Civic cat poop coffee. [00:21:17] Speaker E: Is it? [00:21:18] Speaker D: Because I will mock him mercilessly for this. [00:21:25] Speaker E: Kind of. [00:21:25] Speaker D: Like, I grab my cup of coffee, and I sit on the edge of the bed with Gozer's head probably in my lap, just kind of waiting for Dietrich to come out of the bathroom or wherever he. [00:21:36] Speaker E: Yeah, it doesn't take him long. He comes out a few minutes after you get back in and kind of gestures at the bathroom showers. All yours. [00:21:52] Speaker D: Well, before I do that, I just wanted to say thank you for letting us all stay here. The place is amazing, by the way. [00:22:01] Speaker E: Yeah. Every time we met up before I was on business, I don't come home very often. [00:22:11] Speaker D: Be fair. Most of the times we met up before, I was also on business. In as much as my business is these days. [00:22:19] Speaker E: Yeah. Um, I know we don't normally talk about business, but he didn't tell me much before you fell asleep. [00:22:36] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:22:37] Speaker E: Who the hell are these people? Like, they're friends of yours, so obviously they're welcome. But. [00:22:45] Speaker D: I mean, I don't see any sense in keeping it a secret from you? But we're what is collectively known as hunters, and we hunt things like ghosts and vampires. [00:23:03] Speaker E: You're ghost hunters? [00:23:08] Speaker D: In the less film and be cheesy online way, but yes. [00:23:14] Speaker E: Ah. Okay. All right, I'll bite. I guess. [00:23:28] Speaker D: You can pretty much ask any of them to confirm it for you if you like. [00:23:32] Speaker E: It's just an OD little group you've got. What, a preacher? And hope you don't mind my saying so, but I'm pretty sure the redheads got it. Only fans. I'm 99% sure I've seen her somewhere. [00:23:56] Speaker D: Yes, actually, you've likely stumbled across her content, then. [00:24:05] Speaker E: Yeah. The other one. I don't know. Other one just strikes me as a particular brand of shady that makes me a little sketchy. [00:24:15] Speaker D: Zephyr's good people just quiet. [00:24:21] Speaker E: I'll take your word for it. [00:24:23] Speaker D: I'm sure you'll meet all of them soon enough, but. Yeah, it may shock you, but the preacher is kind of necessary in our line of work. [00:24:34] Speaker E: I mean, I imagine if you're going around performing exorcisms, it's helpful to have a man of the cloth, I guess. [00:24:43] Speaker D: Yes. [00:24:44] Speaker E: Just a weird. I'm not wrong. It's a weird situation to find someone like you hanging out with someone like that. [00:24:57] Speaker D: Well, I never really told you much about me or where I came from or anything like that, so I get where you're coming from. [00:25:12] Speaker E: Yeah. All right, well, I'll take your word for it. Go get your shower. [00:25:18] Speaker D: Sounds good. Gozer's not coming with me, so just kind of don't mind him. [00:25:24] Speaker E: I'll get up. Oh, he's fine. We got along fine after you passed out last night. [00:25:28] Speaker D: Good, because if he was biting you, I'd be really concerned. [00:25:33] Speaker E: No, he did not bite me. We played tug of war until he was tired enough to go to bed. [00:25:41] Speaker D: That's a long time. [00:25:43] Speaker E: Yeah, it was. [00:25:48] Speaker D: With that, I just kind of put my coffee aside, and I approached Dietrich, giving him. I get really close and really intimate before giving him a little kiss on the lips and then head into the shower. [00:26:03] Speaker E: I mean, obviously, he returns it and looks. He's got that grin on his face that's like, half smirk, half, like, boyish, happy smile that he sometimes gets. You've never seen him do that in front of anybody else. Even when you get intimate with him in front of other people, it's almost always all smirk. But when it's just you, it's a little bit sweeter. And you hear the water start up, and you hear, come on, ghost. Let's go. And you hear him and gozer leave the room. [00:26:49] Speaker D: Yeah. I take my shower. Really enjoying the whole amenities here, because. [00:26:57] Speaker E: The fact that we live out of. [00:26:58] Speaker D: An rv most of the time, this is like heaven. So I take a little longer of a shower than I normally would, because I imagine, like, truck stop showers are all cold all the time. Just misery. [00:27:13] Speaker E: Ah. [00:27:17] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I have some actual experience with that. They're. They're okay for about ten minutes after that. Then, yes, they're all cold all the time. [00:27:26] Speaker D: What happens if multiple people are showering? I assume it's kind of like you. [00:27:31] Speaker C: Get ten good minutes, and then it doesn't matter whether there's you or 100 people all at the same time. [00:27:41] Speaker E: All right, so as the morning goes on and people become available, everybody sort of eventually filters into this little breakfast nook off the kitchen. They don't make up the full, fancy dining room area, but the breakfast nook is cozy, and it gets lots of light because it's almost completely surrounded by windows. And there's a full spread. It's pancakes and bacon and sausage and eggs that you can kind of tell them which way you want them cooked, and they'll make sure that you get, like, eggs that are good for specifically, you. Dietrich's personal chef is very good at what he does, talks at a very thick creole accent. And as you guys look at the spread, you realize that the cooking is way more rustic than you would expect from such a nice place. You would expect somebody who's probably been classically trained in some big, big school. But it looks like Dietrich just found the best local cook and was like, come work for me, and I'll pay you an obscene amount of money to cook the kind of food that I like. Right. It's all made with bacon grease and things like that. Really good down home southern cooking. It's not the fanciest thing in the world, but it's all delicious. And you guys have some time alone at the table after Dietrich. Dietrich kind of comes in, and he gets, like, a small plate and kind of drops a kiss on top of Victoria's head and says, I'll be back in a bit. I've got some work calls I've got to make. You guys enjoy yourselves. [00:29:43] Speaker D: Sounds good. It feels as though we have some things to discuss, and I kind of give Arthur a look like it's where the fuck where you look. [00:29:55] Speaker E: He notices the look that Victoria's giving and kind of meets Arthur's eyes and his eyebrows go up, like, oh, somebody's in trouble. And then bails without a word. He's just like, I'm not going to be here when she's mad. [00:30:09] Speaker C: Arthur just kind of shrugs his shoulder, like, this happens all the time. [00:30:13] Speaker B: This is my life. [00:30:17] Speaker E: So you guys are left alone at the breakfast table to have whatever discussion you need to have. [00:30:33] Speaker D: So you'll be happy to know that everything went really smoothly last night for us. But I got to say, I've never seen you so shaken up before, and I would appreciate an explanation on what's happening with you. [00:30:54] Speaker E: Because I'm nosy like that. [00:30:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Are you all right? [00:31:03] Speaker C: Ah, sort of. I guess the. I guess I should just tell you what happened there. Nothing happened. But I did find that the speaker had a secret group that he didn't tell us about. And it didn't seem like they knew about us either, that they have their own styles and customs, and it's different. It's, like, almost that there were two different versions of the Church of the rising star and that the speaker told different things to different people and gave different symbols to different people and different lifestyles to different people because there were similarities. But there was enough differences that there was a different culture, which really is shocking for someone who thought that their job was to bring people into the fold, to. To realize now, obviously, that there was a very. The speaker was obviously up to something. And I never, like. There was, like, a wool over my eyes, essentially, the whole time, because here I was trying to bring people to the compound, and there was a whole different compound with kind of different styles and traditions somewhere else. And the speaker obviously came here. And I think that whenever the speaker was gone from our compound, this is where he was. [00:33:14] Speaker D: In. [00:33:17] Speaker C: Outside, kind of near. Yeah. This group saw the speaker, I guess, as often as we did, and it almost feels like the times that we were. The speaker wasn't with us at the compound. The speaker was here. I don't. I mean, I can't. I don't have a calendar of the speaker's whole last several years of being gone from the compound in California, but it kind of felt like the dates would match up if I were to go put the two calendars next to each other, that they would match. They were different. There were some differences. There was. Their star looked different. The men dressed different and had beards. They were very much more. Not quite amish. Right. But similar in kind of dress, it felt like. But they also had tattoos. I wish I had gotten a better look at them, but I didn't have a good chance to see what the tattoos that they all had were. So there was some kind of different, whole different thing. And I think that if I had more time, I probably would have discovered differences in doctrine. And it's like, to seek, like, I thought that we. I was hoping that I was close to figuring out how to deal with the speaker, but this makes me think that I don't know what I thought I knew anyway, that there's a whole different line. Like, I've been leaning on my book where I wrote down things that I remember the speaker saying so I could take them apart now that I know more, but now I don't even know if any of that is helpful. [00:35:26] Speaker A: Would I know anything about a separate compound? [00:35:34] Speaker E: You do know that the speaker would occasionally leave California and would be gone for a week, maybe two weeks at a time. You don't know where he went. And sometimes they would come back and they would be in that very kind of depleted state that would inevitably lead to someone ascending, so to speak. But you don't know where they went, and you didn't know anything about a second location. I will say that given your close proximity, you're probably not surprised that there were other groups out there. If anything, the one thing that probably surprises you is the fact that they share a name like that seems weirdly sloppy. But if the whole point of having two locations was so that they always had another place to go, which is what you would have two locations for, it seems od that the name would carry overload. [00:36:57] Speaker A: In the middle of you recalling your discovery and suffer. Just kind of, like, sits in his chair a little and avoids eye contact. I know the before. I think it was the same night that we all, me, you, and jillian left. They came back pretty injured. So I don't know if that has anything to do with this. But I know that they left occasionally, like, maybe for one or two weeks, but I wasn't aware of this. [00:37:44] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I know that the speaker left. I mean, we were all kind of aware of it. Not that I myself didn't leave for stretches of time, but I was on a task. But I was aware that sometimes the speaker was gone. I mean, we all. Like I said, we all were. I guess it makes sense that the speaker was going to maintain some other compound and some other group. Now I have to wonder if there's not going to be another one somewhere else and another one. And for all I know, there's multiple versions of these compounds. [00:38:30] Speaker A: Did any of them say if they saw them recently. [00:38:39] Speaker C: It didn't seem like the speaker has been around recently. Yeah, I mean, it hadn't seemed like. It seemed like it had been some time since the speaker was last there. Probably. Well, I don't. I don't know. [00:39:00] Speaker E: Arthur, can you make just a raw intelligence role? [00:39:03] Speaker C: An intelligence role? Absolutely one of my worst roles. [00:39:11] Speaker E: Well, make it intelligence. And did we establish a role that you could use as, like, a stand in for religious stuff? [00:39:28] Speaker C: I mean, I do have a cult, but I also have biblical knowledge. Right. In my academics. [00:39:36] Speaker E: Yeah, let's do your academics and intelligence. [00:39:41] Speaker C: Does the biblical knowledge apply? [00:39:42] Speaker E: Yes. Okay. So something you did hear, is that something that you were told by the preacher who is, as you noticed before, much more fire and brimstone than you or any of your colleagues at the California compound? [00:40:10] Speaker C: Very much more like Arthur is now, but not as Arthur was then. Right. [00:40:14] Speaker E: I get it a bit. Yeah. He seems very like what you would expect of, like, a Southern Baptist style preacher. [00:40:22] Speaker C: Right. [00:40:25] Speaker E: You did notice that there is stuff that they preach that has nothing to do with the Bible, or at least not any bible you've ever read. You didn't get a chance to get your hands on a copy of one of their books to be able to tell if they changed the book or if they just have their own additional stories that they tell. There was a much bigger focus on an end of days type of scenario, not quite a rapture. And something else that you did that you do notice because you overheard the preacher kind of talking to some of the other faithful, was that they next plan for the speaker. They think the next time they'll see the speaker is when the coming of age ceremony for the young men happens, which was not something that ever happened at your compound. You've never heard of this coming of age ceremony. [00:41:29] Speaker C: Right. [00:41:30] Speaker E: And as you and Zephyr are kind of like, comparing notes and talking about things, it occurs to you that the tattoos, you saw them on young men who were very clearly underage. You're pretty sure you saw a boy as young as, like, 15 with one of these tattoos on his arms. On one of his arms. So you get the sneaking suspicion that because only the men have these tattoos, that it's probably got something to do with that whole coming of age ceremony. But, like, as you two are talking, you're kind of starting to put pieces together. When you were there, there was a lot of input and a lot of things for you to try and take note of in a very short period of time when you were by yourself and you were very keenly aware that if anybody figured out that you weren't supposed to be there, it could go poorly for you. [00:42:32] Speaker C: Like, you can't ask questions about something that you should know. [00:42:36] Speaker E: Exactly. [00:42:37] Speaker C: Yeah, okay. Yeah. Like, I get the feeling that the compound in California had a little bit more hippie esque feels because it was probably because of the location and the types of people that would be attracted to it, versus out here, where the types of leadership and people that would be attracted to this version of the church of the rising star would have a different feel to them. Like, it's appealing to the audience. Right. Than the doctrine standing for itself, as it were. And so that was something that was different. And I had to pretend not to be shocked or surprised by any of it in order to not get discovered as, like, I was undercover. Right. And if they knew who I was and if they figured out that I was me, not necessarily knowing who I am. But things might have gone very badly. [00:44:03] Speaker A: I'm glad you made it back safe. That's the most important thing. [00:44:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, it sounds like we all had a very eventful nat last night. [00:44:29] Speaker C: Yeah, I know. It went well. Apparently. So what happened? [00:44:40] Speaker B: Well, we got to the concert hall. A bunch of shenanigans took place for us to be able to get into the concert hall. We managed to shut down the power lines. Victoria and I got into a fake cat fight. That was fun. [00:45:03] Speaker C: Oh, too bad I missed that. Arthur will start eating. Some would. I don't know who would win between the two of you. Honestly, I'm going to guess Victoria. [00:45:18] Speaker B: Maybe in a brawl, but never mind. But we managed to get in and close the. Is she here? Is Amelia anywhere? [00:45:36] Speaker E: You have not seen Amelia? You have no idea where she is? Last time you saw her was as you guys were leaving the venue. She got into the camper with all of you. [00:45:47] Speaker B: I got to go check in on Amelia, see if she's still hanging around the camper. [00:45:53] Speaker D: We're also down at Jesse, aren't we? [00:45:56] Speaker B: We are. [00:45:57] Speaker E: You guys are down at Jesse. So, assuming that one of you would have gone looking for Jesse on your way down to breakfast, maybe. Jesse's room is cleared out. His bed's already been stripped and remade, and there is a note basically saying that he got a call and some fresh intel on his current hunt and that he wishes you guys the best. And if you need him, he's a phone call away. But he's got to go check in with his people and see if he can deal with that. [00:46:43] Speaker D: I get it. [00:46:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:46:47] Speaker E: And the housekeeper would have, if asked, would have said that they called for a car to take him into town so that he could go get his truck or. No, you guys were towing the truck. They had spent, like, half an hour this morning helping him jump that damn truck so that he could leave a question. [00:47:16] Speaker D: His son or his brother? Because I remember the last episode. It was his brother. [00:47:21] Speaker E: Oh, sorry, his brother. You're right. There was a lot of jokes and a lot of back and forth about him being a son last time. And y'all put the thought into my head, and now it won't go away. Yeah. His little brother, who you have not seen this morning, but apparently he was up when Jesse was up, which was pretty close to dawn. So. [00:47:47] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, Jesse was really helpful, and all of us actually managed to pull our weight. [00:48:02] Speaker A: In the middle of them. Sorry. Telling Arthur about all the stuff that happened. Zephyr is going to get up, run, not run, but kind of speedwalk to his room and then grab one of the shirts that he stole off of the stand from the concert and then come back and just kind of slide it across the table towards Arthur. Here's a souvenir. [00:48:30] Speaker E: When you go in to grab the shirt from your room, your bed is. [00:48:35] Speaker F: Made. [00:48:37] Speaker E: Like, freshly made, and the book is sitting on the bedside table. I don't like that you left it under your pillow. I don't know what you expect. [00:48:51] Speaker A: I'm going to put it back under the pillow. [00:48:56] Speaker C: There's no maid do not disturb room hang. [00:48:59] Speaker E: Yeah, if there's, like, a piece of. [00:49:00] Speaker A: Paper or something, I'm going to, like. [00:49:02] Speaker E: Not a hotel doofus. [00:49:08] Speaker A: Like, a piece of paper and write, like, a small note, like, please don't touch my book. [00:49:11] Speaker E: Thank you. My mate's going to be like, stop leaving your fucking book in the bed. What do you want from me? I have a job to. [00:49:21] Speaker B: Hey, Victoria, tell your sugar daddy that I really appreciate the gift that he left me last night or this morning. [00:49:32] Speaker D: Sure. By the way, apparently a fan. Ah, he's a fan. Without saying he's a fan. [00:49:45] Speaker A: Is he one of the money slaves? [00:49:48] Speaker D: Could be. [00:49:49] Speaker E: No, I'm not. He's at the door to the kitchen, just kind of leaning against the door jam, and he's got that pose where he's, like, one shoulder against the door jam and a thumb in his belt loop, and he's just sipping his coffee and looking highly amused. [00:50:09] Speaker C: Not that there would be any shame in that friend, of course. [00:50:13] Speaker E: No, I'm a manager of similar types of talent, so I have seen your work. Well done. [00:50:29] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:50:31] Speaker E: You ever need a decent manager, let me know. [00:50:35] Speaker D: More money to fuel our ghost hunting excapades. By the way, I told them I. [00:50:41] Speaker E: Don'T know if anyone cares. [00:50:42] Speaker B: By the way, thank you so much for the candies. I really appreciate it. I've been looking for these things everywhere, and she just lifts up the little bowl and puts it in front of her, and she just starts kind of unwrapping the candy and just pops one in her mouth. [00:50:58] Speaker E: No problem. That one sort of mentioned it as she was passing out last night. And I thought it seemed important to her that you get something nice. So if that's the biggest thing I get asked for in all of this, then I'll call this a win. [00:51:20] Speaker D: I mean, you did turn out the power in an entire city so we could try a hairbrain scheme to save a lot of people. So thank you for that. And I don't even know where to begin to repay you for it. [00:51:34] Speaker B: Never mind. [00:51:37] Speaker E: I could think of some places. [00:51:41] Speaker D: All right. [00:51:43] Speaker E: We'd have to discuss those in private, though. [00:51:46] Speaker C: Arthur is noting to himself that he said places and not things and just looking at his food while he cuts it. [00:51:53] Speaker B: Well, this has been a very lovely breakfast, but I think I'm going to go step out and get some air. [00:52:03] Speaker C: Yeah, maybe I'll join you. I think I need another cigarette. [00:52:07] Speaker E: All right. And so, as Rosanna and Arthur leave, Dietrich just sort of watches them and then turns back to Zephyr. And Victoria does say something. [00:52:18] Speaker D: No. And I kind of watch them go, making sure they're out of earshot. It's like they have a thing going on and it's potential that our conversation kind of reminded them that they have something to talk about. That would be my guess. [00:52:35] Speaker E: I see. [00:52:40] Speaker A: Are you two a thing? [00:52:43] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. For a while now. Nice when we're able to get together. Anyway, I don't have any permanent claim or anything, if that's what you're asking. Are you two a thing? Should I be jealous? What's happening? [00:53:04] Speaker A: No, you have nothing to worry about. [00:53:09] Speaker D: I was more amused about how you phrased that, but no. Zephyr is just a good friend of mine. Zephyr, Dietrich. Dietrich, Zephyr. [00:53:18] Speaker E: We met. But nice to meet you again. [00:53:21] Speaker B: Me, on the other hand, I'm the real. [00:53:26] Speaker D: Threat. [00:53:26] Speaker E: Yeah. He will sit down and join you two nibble on toast like he already kind of had his breakfast, but he doesn't want to be rude. And we will pivot to Rosanna and Arthur as they head out front towards the parking lot, which is where the camper is parked. [00:53:55] Speaker B: How are you doing after. After everything? [00:54:03] Speaker C: Well, I haven't been able to really process what this whole new thing means, but. Yeah, see, like, I thought that I was so much closer to understanding the speaker so that we could do something about it, but now I don't know. What if? There's a whole new set of things I have to learn to find out what exactly the speaker is? It's like going in to fight a werewolf thinking you're fighting a vampire. [00:54:44] Speaker F: Right. [00:54:46] Speaker B: Well, then you let us help. It doesn't have to be just you. [00:54:58] Speaker C: I know. I mean, I'm going to need your help. There's no way I can come to realize that I'm not going to be able to take the speaker down myself. And it was crazy that I ever thought that that could be. [00:55:14] Speaker B: Then we help. [00:55:18] Speaker C: You know. [00:55:23] Speaker B: By the way, I think. Okay, I don't really know how to say this. I need to show you something. [00:55:37] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:55:41] Speaker B: It might be worth it if we go into the camper for this because I don't need other eyes seeing. [00:55:54] Speaker E: It. [00:55:57] Speaker C: All right. [00:56:00] Speaker B: And she's going to begin to kind of, like, lead him to the camper or to the rV. And while she's doing that, she's just going to take. She had transferred the bowl of candy into her purse, and she's going to just swing her purse over to the side, open up the compartment, take out a strawberry cream and offer one to Arthur. [00:56:31] Speaker C: Sure. Thanks. [00:56:37] Speaker B: Might have been different hunts, but both were semi successful. And I need someone to do this tradition with. [00:56:47] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay. Unwrap the candy. [00:56:56] Speaker B: Okay. And the moment that they get into the. Into the rv, she closes and kind of, like, locks the door and you. Okay. So there was one small detail I left out during my little rough explanation as what happened last night. And. Okay, just humor. Humor me for a minute. And she slides the hoodie off and kind of. Okay. And then shows off the new tattoo that she's got. [00:57:43] Speaker E: Arthur. There is a very precise tattoo of celtic knotwork that is, it's not fully visible because it kind of disappears into. Into her cleavage, but there is enough that you could see the top of what looks like a tree surrounded by a circle of knot. [00:58:10] Speaker C: So after Arthur starts to notice that she's trying to show a tattoo, and. [00:58:17] Speaker E: It looks like it would have had to have been there for a while. Like, it's not red, it's not raised like a brand new tattoo would be. [00:58:23] Speaker C: Right? So first he has to realize that she's showing him that, and then he starts to see it. And that's really good work, but it doesn't look fresh. Have I just not noticed it before? [00:58:41] Speaker B: Well, no, I just got it yesterday, last night. That's not the only thing that's new. And she's going to kind of open up her palm, and she's going to let the wood slide out of her. She's going to let the wood slide out of her skin and begin to form her bow. [00:59:17] Speaker E: She'd like me to describe it for you. [00:59:19] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:59:21] Speaker E: So what you see is Rosanna kind of reaches out to you and she shows you her palm, and you notice that. And Rosanna, it's kind of the first time you've noticed because you were so busy with everything last night. There is another small tattoo, like, on the palm of your hand, and where that tattoo is splits open, and from it, these two long, flexible, they look like branches of a tree, grow out of her palm, and they wrap around each other until they form the shape of what looks like a bow. And the center kind of flattens itself out in one area to create, like, a handle where her hand could rest naturally. [01:00:13] Speaker C: Arthur will immediately back up in reaction to it, go, jesus. And, like, reach in his pocket, but keep it there. What the hell is going on, rosanna? [01:00:25] Speaker B: I don't know. That's. What is that? I'm trying to figure that out. I didn't even have time to really react to this last night because of just how crazy things were from the moment that we kind of stepped foot. Okay? So I got a calling, right? And it was musical, and it was latin, it was airy, and I was following it, and it led me to this willow tree. And I went into the willow tree, and it turned into something beautiful. There was moss and rocks, and everything was so comfortable and almost looked like a little, like glass of heaven. There was a woman there, the long, gorgeous, black, strawberry blonde hair, freckles all over her face. And she was telling me that I was a part of some family. And then next thing I knew, I had sharp things of wood piercing my skin. And I was getting, like, etches sketch tattooed all over me. I don't actually know what's going on. I don't know. But this thing, this what I can do, this bow, it helped us with the ghost. [01:01:59] Speaker E: Arthur, as she is hurrying and rushing to say this, you, unfortunately, just can't help yourself. You're still just a dude on some level. And you glance down and the tattoo is gone. [01:02:15] Speaker C: So the stick is in her hand. The bow is in her hand, and the tattoo itself is missing. [01:02:20] Speaker E: Yes. [01:02:26] Speaker B: It. [01:02:31] Speaker C: Attacked you and gave you some kind of internalized wood thing that you can draw on. I mean, do you realize that your tattoo and this thing seem to be related? [01:02:54] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, yeah, now I do. I don't know. I don't know what is going on. And I am curious and afraid and surprised. [01:03:19] Speaker C: Yeah. Arthur will pull the brass knuckles out of his pocket, but not, like, in like a fist, but as he's holding them out to see if they're glowing. So he's going to hold it up to see if it's glowing. Right now. [01:03:38] Speaker E: Does it glow for anything supernatural? [01:03:41] Speaker C: It glows in the presence of supernatural. [01:03:44] Speaker E: Yes, it is glowing. [01:03:45] Speaker C: Okay. All right, so at least we know something. [01:03:51] Speaker E: There's always been a faint glow anytime Rosanna's around. But it is definitely stronger now than it used to be. [01:04:01] Speaker C: So, objectively that this, whatever it is, I mean, if I couldn't already identify the fact that it just came out of your hand, that it's something else. I have to say now that this confirms my suspicions that you've been given something from something supernatural. And I don't know if that means you're infected with the shards of wood or, did you make a deal with it? [01:04:36] Speaker B: Did it offer, it didn't offer me really anything. It just said that I had gifts. But we already knew that I had gifts. She just said that I was a part of something bigger, and. [01:04:59] Speaker A: I don't. [01:04:59] Speaker B: Know what that means. And, yeah, I don't, yeah, I don't, I don't know what to, what to do anymore. [01:05:32] Speaker C: This new thing, does it hurt you? [01:05:37] Speaker B: I mean, it hurts going in and coming out, but after that, I feel fine. The tattoos don't hurt. I had a perfect night's sleep for the first time in ages. After it, I don't, I don't know what I, what I am. I'm not, I mean, I'm human, I guess maybe. I don't, I don't know if it's, and then she's gonna kind of, like, begin, I'm gonna begin to, like, force it back into my hand. Wow. All I know is that it comes out when I need to be protected. [01:06:59] Speaker C: Does it? So I don't, I don't even know what to say right now about this. [01:07:11] Speaker E: I. [01:07:22] Speaker B: Wanted to talk to you private about it. [01:07:26] Speaker C: I mean, if you didn't make a deal, then this is something else, right? This isn't gained power from some otherworldly entity or not possession. Well, it might be possession from something from the other side if it attacked you or. [01:07:51] Speaker B: That's the thing, is, it didn't attack me. The willow tree just kind of popped a couple splinters in my wrist, and next thing I know, I've got this. [01:08:08] Speaker E: Just as a reminder. She did apologize and say it was going to hurt before it happened and made it very clear that she wished that she had more time, that she was kind of fighting just to be present with you for as long as she was. [01:08:26] Speaker B: I remember is that she apologized about how painful it was going to be, and she wanted to explain to me more, but she was, I guess, fattened with time to be there with me and to explain. So. [01:09:01] Speaker C: You know, I obviously am going to think things about this because of my experiences. And I've come to realize that sometimes maybe, you know, like one part of me would want to say, God works in mysterious ways. And maybe this is a gift. Maybe this is a messenger giving you some power. But on the other side, I've been deceived by that sort of thing in the past, thinking that certain people could grant gifts from God. So I want to be okay, that you're okay, and hope that this is something for good. And that thing that I keep saying lately, that I keep almost like a broken record, saying that we're not evil, like, what we do with what we have or the powers that we have is what makes us good or bad. And so I'm just going to have to say it again. And part of me wants to say that whatever this is, this could be a good thing, a gift for you to fight the evil if it helped with the hunt. But then a part of me worries that something has infected you and that things are going to go badly because of it. And I don't want that for. Not for us, but for you. [01:10:51] Speaker B: I just. I need. I need you right now. I need my. My rock. Because I'm afraid. Like, there's something in me that's telling me that I shouldn't be afraid. But we've been through so much shit in the last month. I don't want to think that any harm is going to come my way. But what if it. What if it does? And what if I. What if I put y'all in danger, and it's, um. And she kind of begins to kind of, like, fall back into a chair? What if I'm putting you all in danger? What if I'm hurting? What if I hurt one of you guys? [01:12:06] Speaker F: No. [01:12:14] Speaker C: Arthur's going to step up with that candy and put his hand on her and hand her the candy. So just breathe. Breathe. All right. You are as worried about this as I am. So I appreciate that you're not just, like, super excited about your super new powers. And I think that's healthy. And I'm not going to lie, I have feelings about it. But you obviously need help figuring out what this is for, so I'm here for you. And if you are going to put us in danger, Victoria and I will, and Zephyr will deal with it, and we'll figure it out. If you have to be locked in some kind of special sound bath or something for a little while while we work it out, then we'll have her help with that. Zephyr needs to do some experimentations, then we'll help with that. And then I will rip whatever it is out of you and destroy it so that you are fine. [01:13:54] Speaker E: Okay. [01:13:56] Speaker B: All right. [01:14:01] Speaker E: Rosanna, make me a perception and awareness roll, please. [01:14:07] Speaker B: You mean a wits and awareness? [01:14:09] Speaker E: Wits and awareness, yes. Wrong system, silly perception. Too many things in my head. [01:14:26] Speaker B: I actually pumped my awareness not too long ago. [01:14:29] Speaker E: Ha. [01:14:31] Speaker B: Okay, three. [01:14:36] Speaker E: You still don't see Amelia? [01:14:43] Speaker B: Amelia's gone. Sorry. [01:14:53] Speaker C: Is Max gone too? [01:14:57] Speaker E: Is who gone? [01:14:59] Speaker B: Max. [01:15:03] Speaker D: A radio ghost. [01:15:05] Speaker E: Oh, you don't know if he's here or not? He's always been harder to see. Unless he wanted to be seen. But you don't get any hint of him? [01:15:17] Speaker B: I mean, I don't really sense him, so. I mean, we're literally completely alone in here. [01:15:29] Speaker C: Anyway. Is it possible that after whatever you did to close the veil, that they ended up on the other side? [01:15:41] Speaker E: You know that Amelia was on the same side that you were after the veil was closed, she was with you when you left the concert. [01:15:50] Speaker B: I mean, she was with me when we left the. No. [01:15:57] Speaker C: Was she with you when you got here? [01:16:01] Speaker B: She was. Then we all missed Oroshi. [01:16:05] Speaker E: You don't have any memory of her being on the property with you. You know that she was on the road with you. You don't know when she disappeared, you all were exhausted and it was late. So you're not entirely sure when she went missing. But now that you think about it, you have no memory of her being here when you guys got out of the rv? She didn't react to the house. And you would expect her to react to something like this? [01:16:35] Speaker C: What do we know about Victoria's friend? [01:16:43] Speaker B: Nothing regularly. [01:16:51] Speaker E: You know that she calls him man. [01:16:55] Speaker C: Note that to himself and just start being very suspicious and paranoid as Arthur is all the. [01:17:04] Speaker D: Mean. [01:17:04] Speaker B: She calls him daddy. That's about it. What are you thinking? [01:17:13] Speaker C: Well, I'm wondering if there's not some kind of thing that we all missed when we came here. I wasn't with you all, so I don't know what it was like, but I just rolled in in this rented car. But could there be award or something on the property? We are in a place where believing in things like voodoo is not that weird. And so it wouldn't surprise me if there was some kind of. One of the servants or something potentially has some kind of thoughts about things and does stuff. Wouldn't surprise me at all if that were the case. But it's something more nefarious, perhaps a shroud vortex or something here, maybe. I mean, obviously, I'd have to look to you to see if we could sense it. And then Arthur looks at the knuckles and then just goes, I mean, maybe these are glowing for a different. [01:18:29] Speaker B: She rests her hand on the knuckles to see if it intensifies at all. When she has her hands physically on him. [01:18:42] Speaker E: At first? No, when it's just like her fingers. But when you move your palm where the branches would normally appear. Whoops. When you move your palm where the branches would normally appear. Directly onto it. Yeah, it gets a little bit brighter. I mean, barely. But if you're really looking for it, you can see the difference. And when you pull your hand away, it continues to glow just slightly dimmer. So it could be. You could be something else. It's hard to tell. [01:19:22] Speaker C: I guess maybe we see if we can find. Would she wander off, do you think? [01:19:30] Speaker B: I don't think so. I mean, she's actually pretty communicative, talks a little bit too much, but, you know. [01:19:41] Speaker C: Well, maybe we should see if we can look around and see what we can see. I don't know if talking to Victoria would help or if it would cause problems, because she. I don't know. I don't know how easily she'd be convinced that maybe there's something up here. This is her guy's place. [01:20:01] Speaker E: Yeah. [01:20:04] Speaker C: But. And Arthur will like a Rosanna. And even though he's really genuinely concerned, he is still a guy. And catches a glance before looking at her face. [01:20:21] Speaker E: The tattoo is back now that the bow is put away. [01:20:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:20:31] Speaker C: Arthur, I'm honestly here for you. Yes. [01:20:35] Speaker E: Make me a composure. [01:20:38] Speaker B: Oh, no. [01:20:39] Speaker E: And intelligence check. [01:20:42] Speaker C: Oh, wow. Okay. [01:20:43] Speaker E: As you are kind of looking at the tattoo. [01:20:48] Speaker A: Like, try to guess what her cup size is. [01:20:53] Speaker E: No. [01:20:57] Speaker C: What happened? [01:20:58] Speaker B: Oh, my. If he only gets, like, one success, I won't be surprised. I'm just saying. [01:21:05] Speaker E: Do you want to stick with one? [01:21:09] Speaker C: No, I'm going to go three. [01:21:10] Speaker E: Okay, cool. You spend the willpower, you get three successes. Despite all of the jokes, there was an actual reason for having you make this check. You realize as you were looking at the tattoo, because you're looking at the top edge and that knotwork that kind of wraps around the top of the tree, and you realize why it's kind of familiar. While not exactly the same, the tattoos around the men's arms at the compound had very similar patterns. Not exactly the same. They were stylistically different, but you realize that it was kind of not workish. Rosanna's is very obviously celtic in origin. Like, you've seen enough crosses to know what Celtic not work looks like. But there are other types of not work, and theirs looked similar but different. [01:22:15] Speaker C: So a different style of not. Like it's still not work, but a different style of not work. Kind of similar knots. [01:22:28] Speaker E: No different knots. [01:22:29] Speaker C: Okay. [01:22:32] Speaker E: It was not work, but a very different kind and style of knot. [01:22:38] Speaker C: Okay. Wonder what that means. All right, well, that's a note for Arthur to look into. What different kinds of not work exist. [01:22:53] Speaker B: I can think of a couple. [01:22:57] Speaker E: Hey, what? [01:22:58] Speaker C: Research is going to go very badly. [01:23:04] Speaker E: What if Zephyr and Victoria wanted to talk about Dietrich can kind of come or go. If you ask him to step out, he won't get offended or anything. If you guys need some time to talk, just between the two of you, or you can include him in your conversation. It's up to you. [01:23:24] Speaker A: He doesn't really say anything. He just kind of looks around a bit while they're sitting there, because he also thinks it's a little suspicious that he didn't have any nightmares or anything. And he's like, oh, we are in New Orleans. And my grandma, who's really superstitious, kind of told me things to look out for, so I'm just kind of like. But, like, trying to be as polite as possible. [01:23:52] Speaker E: You don't notice anything inside. It just seems like a normal house. I mean, a really nice house, but normal. There are more antiques in this place than you would expect in a swanky, super, up to date place, but it is an old house, so maybe they came with the place, or maybe he just is a lover of history, considering that he lives in an old plantation home. [01:24:23] Speaker A: Actually, can I use Cincinnati natural while I'm sitting? [01:24:28] Speaker E: You absolutely can make your role. Is there, like, a threshold of successes for sensei unnatural that you have to hit? [01:24:40] Speaker A: Not really. I don't know. Let me double check. [01:24:44] Speaker E: I'm positive I've asked this before, but I am prone to forget things since the unnatural. I think it's what's the colder science, depending on the nature of the endowment, must achieve on three to five. Yes. Go ahead. Okay. [01:25:16] Speaker A: We got only have one. [01:25:18] Speaker E: Like to willpower. [01:25:19] Speaker A: Yes. [01:25:20] Speaker E: Because you need at least a three. [01:25:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, got a three. [01:25:24] Speaker E: And you got a three. Okay. So you don't feel anything explicitly unnatural. There is a general feeling that something about the whole place is slightly off, but it doesn't feel bad or negative in any way. It's just like you've gotten accustomed to feeling certain things when you use this power and you just don't feel them here. [01:25:52] Speaker A: I do have precision with that. Would that change anything? [01:25:58] Speaker E: Precision? It tells you if anyone in the room is a creature of the Supernatural. Nobody in the room is a creature of the supernatural. Okay. You can feel that Victoria's got some vibes, but overall feels like human and has always kind of felt that way to you. And you would imagine that it's probably got something to do with what she can do with sounds. [01:26:31] Speaker C: Yeah. Some of us are just bass line. [01:26:37] Speaker E: And, like, you've. You've always gotten a pretty strong vibe off of Arthur and Rosanna, too. Victoria's. Out of the three of them, Victoria is the most normal, is the closest to normal. Arthur's faith has always kind of been a bit of a beacon for you, where there's something about him that is more than just human. [01:27:04] Speaker A: Okay. And then I'll just continue to sit in silence and eat because I'm like, I don't know this man. [01:27:12] Speaker E: I feel like I might be making things awkward by hanging out. I guess I'll go check some emails and let you crazy kids talk about your rock and roll and whatever. [01:27:31] Speaker D: Oh, sure. No, it makes you sound way older than you are when you say the cris. Yeah. I'll see you later. I'm honestly not sure what to do with myself for the rest of the day. We'll probably be out of your hair soon enough, though. [01:28:01] Speaker E: You could stay as long as you want. He'll stand up and does the kiss on top of your head thing and then grabs his coffee and walks away and leaves the two of you alone. Would you like to talk about anything? [01:28:17] Speaker A: I'm going to wait, like, a few more minutes to make sure that he's, like, all the way. [01:28:23] Speaker E: He's proper gone. He's not hovering. [01:28:26] Speaker A: Yeah, it's just like, I don't trust this man. [01:28:29] Speaker E: You don't trust anybody. You still haven't told Jesse your name and you've gone on a hunt with him. [01:28:36] Speaker A: I gave him a band shirt. [01:28:37] Speaker E: That's good. Your. You haven't even told him your fake name. All right, I don't know what you want from people. [01:28:45] Speaker D: That's the bonding, is giving someone a shirt. [01:28:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So he's just going to kind of wait until he knows that both of them are alone and then like, hey, Victoria. [01:29:06] Speaker D: Yeah, what's up? [01:29:08] Speaker A: How do you feel about taking a look at the book with me? [01:29:14] Speaker D: Waiting for you to ask that of me? Yes, please, let's look at the book. [01:29:21] Speaker E: Really? [01:29:21] Speaker A: Kind of like, not. [01:29:27] Speaker E: Yeah. He's. [01:29:30] Speaker A: Genuinely a little excited to look at it with her because in a weird. Not a weird way, but secretly he admires her as a big sister. He's like, yeah, we're going to go do this. [01:29:45] Speaker D: She's just excited because she's been wanting. [01:29:47] Speaker E: To look at those books. So are you both going up to your room or are you going to get the book and bringing it back? [01:29:52] Speaker A: We can go to the room because again, I don't trust this man. [01:29:57] Speaker E: Okay, so you guys get up there. The book is still under your pillow. It has not been touched because it was only moved so that the maid could make your fucking bed. Weirdo. Are you going to. So how are you going to go about this? Because last time you were kind of stingy about how much Victoria was even allowed to look at. [01:30:27] Speaker A: I'll let her get a good look of it, but I'm kind of like semi hovering with my hands. You can hold it, but I'm also going to be holding it. [01:30:41] Speaker E: Okay. So it's this awkward. Like, Zephyr is like a five year old with a new toy. And they're trying really hard to share, but are struggling with the concept of what sharing is. So they're like, I'm going to hold my baby doll. And you can touch my baby doll, but you can't hold my baby doll because it's my baby doll. [01:31:07] Speaker D: Surprisingly, does not bother Victoria at all. [01:31:09] Speaker E: She's just happy to get to actually feels. [01:31:14] Speaker D: I don't like sharing much either. [01:31:17] Speaker A: It's like just a mutual understanding on. [01:31:19] Speaker E: A lot of levels. [01:31:20] Speaker A: Just like, yeah. [01:31:22] Speaker E: Okay, so I would like one of you to make intelligence investigation and the other can help. [01:31:30] Speaker D: I will help. I want to state that the first thing I'm kind of looking at in this book is I go back to the symbol for the Linnaeus society and I start looking for anything that's out of order with the moth like, if there is text hidden in the wings or something like that, just some sort of clue. [01:31:47] Speaker E: So the moth is actually. And I'm sorry, I didn't mean intelligence. I meant wits and investigation. [01:31:56] Speaker A: Okay. [01:31:58] Speaker D: How are you in the wits department? [01:32:00] Speaker A: I only have. [01:32:03] Speaker D: Might if I can make this roll. That'd be really cool. [01:32:06] Speaker A: Yeah, please do. [01:32:07] Speaker D: Okay. [01:32:10] Speaker E: Do you have investigation, Zephyr? [01:32:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I have two. In investigation, you get two extra dice from Zephyr. [01:32:18] Speaker D: That's a sweet seven. [01:32:21] Speaker E: Excellent. How does five successes sound? Five successes. That sounds pretty excellent. Okay, so the first thing you notice is that the moth is actually exactly like what you have seen before. There is nothing about it that's different, except that it's, like, big and it's inside of a book. That's not normally something that you would see. It's not like the society went around branding its reading material because if it ever slipped out of their hands and ended up in the wrong place, they wouldn't want their symbol floating around. [01:33:05] Speaker D: Maybe that, to me, seems like it came from somewhere older, like the inlineaeus society adopted the symbol when this is. [01:33:12] Speaker E: Just kind of like one of the. [01:33:13] Speaker D: First incarnations of it. [01:33:15] Speaker E: Possibly. Something else that you notice as you guys are kind of looking through the book is that that was in the front cover. When you flip to the back of the book and look at the back cover, it's the same symbol, but it is in shades of red. So instead of that beautiful kind of bluish green, it is deep, like blood red, maroon, crimson, that kind of thing. They are like mirror images of each other, except for the color. Other things that you notice. You see imagery that you've hunted enough vampires that you guys are 99% sure is vampire anatomy. You see stuff that looks like it could be werewolfy. Hard to tell, given that you guys had really only saw angry pupper as it was bursting through walls and trying to eat your faces and you were running from it. And Zephyr does eventually point out the. Does eventually point out the sections that they are pretty sure are about wraiths and ghosts. And again, a lot of what's depicted is probably more theoretical than literal, but it's as close as you guys could think of to a physical representation of the things that you have felt and been told about. You do think that if you guys put your heads together and maybe pulled in Rosanna because she's just got that raw intellect, power that you guys don't have. But with Victoria's history, Zephyr's innate drive to figure out the puzzle, you two could probably do the bulk of the legwork on your own. And would really. Mostly, Zephyr thinks that the thing that Rosanna could contribute the most, if it's even needed, and it may not be, but the thing that she could contribute the most to this effort is that Rosanna could probably help you guys with a deciphering tool on her computer. You guys have seen what she can do enough to know that she has a way of being able to turn things into gibberish with tools on there, and could probably reverse engineer with one of those tools if it's needed. I will say this, victoria, you're not as sensitive as Rosanna is, but you are sensitive enough that you have the sneaking suspicion as you were looking at things, that whoever reads the information in this book is going to have to pay for the information that they get. Somehow that's not terribly surprising to you. That was a lesson that was kind of driven into you at the Linnaeus society that everything esoteric and magical comes with a cost. You don't know what the cost is? Like your bells. [01:36:49] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:36:50] Speaker E: No. [01:36:50] Speaker D: As I'm looking at this, I kind of like look up and I meet my eyes to zephyrs and I just go, you ever play with 3d glasses when you're a kid? You got like the blue tint and the red tint. Wouldn't it be funny if just looking through a blue tent would make all the red text pick up? That'd be hilarious. I was just thinking about that because the moth at the back is red. It's probably way more complicated than that, but it would be funny if that was the solution. Beyond that, I get this feeling that if we figure out how to read this, if you figure out how to read this. [01:37:37] Speaker E: It'S going to curse you're. [01:37:45] Speaker A: I figured, which is why I was. Which is why I was a little hesitant to show anybody else. But I figured I'm willing to pay the price if it'll help us basically do what we need to do. [01:38:10] Speaker D: Yeah, you and I think alike. I think that's where I'm at as well. I'm willing to pay that price. I'm willing to bleed from the ears to do what needs to be done. I didn't want to let you go into this without warning you first, but you already knew, so not an issue. [01:38:35] Speaker E: Yeah. [01:38:41] Speaker A: You all have kind of your own thing that you can do, so maybe this way I can help in other ways that aren't as direct. [01:38:53] Speaker E: I don't know. [01:38:56] Speaker D: Be careful. And welcome to the ranks of the cursed if we figure this out. [01:39:02] Speaker E: That said. [01:39:06] Speaker D: I know you're kind of possessive of this thing. Like, you're literally hovering over my hands right now. And I love. [01:39:16] Speaker A: Hand. If their hands are almost touching, kind of like pulls his hands back, he's like. [01:39:23] Speaker E: Sorry. [01:39:24] Speaker D: No, it's okay. I think our best bet for solving this is Rosanna. She is so smart. Like, light years beyond what my tiny brain can do. So she's a good person to ask. [01:39:49] Speaker E: I was just going to say, as you guys are chatting, Gozer has made his way over and has, like, laid his head on top of the book in your laps and is just looking up at you and is, like, doing that thing where he'll roll his eyes from one to the other and his eyebrows will move at the same time. [01:40:05] Speaker D: The expressive dog look. [01:40:07] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead and give him head scratches. [01:40:11] Speaker D: I imagine we both kind of put the book aside and give, like, lots of head scratches. [01:40:17] Speaker E: That seems to soothe the beast. He accepts his scratches and lays down at your feet and allows you to continue your conversation. [01:40:31] Speaker A: We don't really talk that often. [01:40:37] Speaker E: But. [01:40:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't know. I think you're pretty cool. [01:40:43] Speaker D: I also am very fond of you. But you know what, Zephyr? I think you and I, we don't talk a lot, but we talk enough. I feel like I understand you really well, despite how little we have to. [01:40:57] Speaker E: Say to each other. [01:41:01] Speaker D: Thanks for being by my side all this time. [01:41:07] Speaker A: Hopefully the others don't find out about our secret crying. [01:41:14] Speaker E: You know what? [01:41:15] Speaker D: I would rather they didn't know that. I want them to continue to think that I'm pretty tough. [01:41:21] Speaker A: You are. Especially at the concert. That was amazing. You were amazing. You're pretty tough. [01:41:35] Speaker D: Make me all feel sappy stuff. [01:41:40] Speaker F: Jeez. [01:41:41] Speaker D: I don't like feeling things. Zephyr, what are you doing? [01:41:44] Speaker E: Need another shower? [01:41:50] Speaker D: But, yeah, I actually just give Zephyr, like, a really warm smile and I say, you've been a really great teammate. [01:42:02] Speaker A: You too. And then he puts the book away and then leaves. [01:42:11] Speaker E: We got to find Rosanna. This is too. This is ill letting people. So, are you guys headed outside to go find Rosanna? Are you waiting for her to come back in? What's the plan? [01:42:26] Speaker A: I'm going to wait for her to come back in only because I definitely don't want Arthur to know because I'm already a little paranoid that he hates me. From the previous confession. [01:42:42] Speaker E: Arthur is also the first person to lecture somebody anytime something cool happens. [01:42:49] Speaker A: It's like, I know one of these days he's probably going to punch me. And I deserve it, but we'll get to that. [01:42:56] Speaker E: But I want to put it off as long as I can. All right, cool. Rosanna and Arthur, are you guys headed back inside? [01:43:07] Speaker B: Before we do, she's just going to take a couple of more candies and open up his palm and just slide them in and close them back up. I know that you and I talked earlier about your trauma, and I don't know if they're going to help you, but they help me. And so, remember how I told you that I'd help you come back in if you ever fell out? [01:43:48] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:43:57] Speaker B: You okay? [01:43:59] Speaker C: Yeah, of course. As long as you're okay. [01:44:10] Speaker B: By my side donor. [01:44:15] Speaker C: That'S where I'll be. [01:44:19] Speaker A: You, um. [01:44:28] Speaker B: Goodbye. [01:44:39] Speaker E: Back inside? Yes. No. [01:44:45] Speaker B: Leaving that up to Arthur. [01:44:52] Speaker C: Conflicted as he is, as both a friend and slightly more than friend, and as a man, Arthur will, yes, start to head back inside. [01:45:06] Speaker E: Is Rosanna following or is she staying outside? [01:45:12] Speaker B: She's going to wait for him to close the door and she's just gonna remember on her breath, God damn it. Then she's gonna walk out. [01:45:23] Speaker C: Yeah. It should be noted, there was a brief moment where Arthur was seeming to stall about something and then was like, maybe we should go inside. [01:45:34] Speaker E: Gotcha. Gotcha. [01:45:35] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:45:36] Speaker E: All right. Well, with that juicy amount of drama hanging over our heads, let's head back inside. Where Arthur runs almost immediately into Zephyr as he is coming down the stairs. Oh. [01:45:58] Speaker C: Hey, Zephyr, you know where Victoria is? [01:46:03] Speaker D: Right here? [01:46:04] Speaker A: Yeah, just point behind. [01:46:05] Speaker E: Victoria's just up the stairs. [01:46:10] Speaker C: Is there somewhere we can maybe talk? I think Rosanna and I are starting to notice something. [01:46:17] Speaker D: Okay, are there feelings involved in this talk? Because we've had enough. [01:46:23] Speaker E: I guess we're done with your sloppy. [01:46:29] Speaker C: And I'm just like confused looking at Rosanna, like, what? [01:46:34] Speaker D: I just kind of wave it off like it's a joke, like, no, it's fine. [01:46:38] Speaker E: I don't know. [01:46:39] Speaker D: We can go in the RV. We can go literally anywhere. [01:46:44] Speaker C: Came from there, but that's fine. Maybe the RV is the best place. At least outside. I think maybe outside of earshot, there's. [01:46:54] Speaker D: A really nice garden. Did you see it? [01:46:57] Speaker C: I mean, I have seen it, but I haven't gotten to look at it. [01:47:02] Speaker D: Me neither. [01:47:07] Speaker C: All right, so outside, go inside, outside, outside, inside. [01:47:13] Speaker E: Right? [01:47:16] Speaker D: We're like cats can't make up our mind. [01:47:21] Speaker E: Y'all need daddy day trick to show up and tell you guys what to do. [01:47:31] Speaker C: Don't call Arthur out like that. Anyway, so heading to the garden once we get far enough from the house, Arthur's just going to open up about his thoughts and feelings that maybe there's something about this location. And with the express understanding that his thoughts about there potentially being a ward or a vortex or something here that's causing Amelia and potentially max to not be around anymore, that it's not necessarily pointing fingers at anybody. But it could also be that this place. Because the more I thought about it, this place is very old and could have had something on it before. And that is just sort of residual. So this may not even be something that necessarily Dietrich or any of his servants are actively doing. It could just be the location itself. Right? So like he's not trying to point fingers necessarily at any particular people, but just maybe there could be someone that's actively making it feel like that or it's something else entirely. Doesn't know. But just that theory, he's throwing it out there to the other two. [01:48:42] Speaker E: Right. [01:48:43] Speaker D: I didn't realize Amelia was just vanished. That's weird. I mean, when I brought up ghosts earlier to him, he didn't question, but he didn't really seem like he believed me. [01:49:02] Speaker C: I mean, I'm sure that there's some level of anyone who lives in know, New Orleans, Baton Rouge or anything that has. It's like how many people in the world kind of believe in ghosts, right? Like lots of cultures just accept it as a thing. And it sort of feels like in this particular area that seems to be fairly more common. So I would assume that that's probably why. [01:49:31] Speaker D: Makes sense. [01:49:31] Speaker C: But I don't know this Dietrich person very well. So you would be able to answer that better than me. [01:49:40] Speaker D: I've always known him to be kind of straightener. I like just. [01:49:46] Speaker E: Trustworthy. [01:49:50] Speaker D: But I guess we could. If it comes down to it, we can't figure out any other way to discern this. We could just straight up ask him. [01:50:07] Speaker C: Have any of you noticed or seen any signs or symbols or anything around the property? I've. I've only been here for about 7 hours. [01:50:16] Speaker A: Wait, are you guys still on the stairwell or are you guys left? [01:50:22] Speaker E: The assumption is everybody. [01:50:24] Speaker A: I was like, yeah, let me make sure. [01:50:27] Speaker C: No, I was trying to gather everyone together to go talk in the garden or wherever about this weirdness. [01:50:36] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, he has a lot of weird. I wouldn't say weird. A lot of the antiques here have something to them. But that's kind of a given with how old they are. [01:50:56] Speaker C: Sure. This is an old house. [01:50:58] Speaker E: To be clear, the antiques don't have anything supernatural to them. You just notice that given how nice the finishing of this place is and how recent, it was obviously remodeled. There are a lot of antique furniture pieces in the house. [01:51:15] Speaker A: But the house in general has, like, a weird kind of. [01:51:18] Speaker E: Yes. The house, if anything, has a conspicuous lack of vibes, basically. [01:51:31] Speaker A: I don't know. The whole place is kind of weird. But as long as nobody's getting killed, I guess it's fine. [01:51:44] Speaker C: I don't know. I don't have a lot of experience with religious concepts down here. But this could be a thing where this place is protected against ghosts. And that's why there's no Amelia. It doesn't seem to be draining us in any way. In fact, from what I'm understanding, everyone slept fairly well last night. And I'm looking at the two who don't normally sleep very well. [01:52:11] Speaker B: Yeah, I didn't have even, like, a dream. I don't know how you slept last night, Zephyr. [01:52:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I also didn't have any weird dreams. But if Victoria trusts him, I'm sure we could just ask him directly. [01:52:38] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:52:40] Speaker D: I should also mention that I went to bed last night being pretty beat up and woke up feeling good this morning. So that's weird. I expected to be hungover today. Or as close a proximity to hungover as one bleeding from the ears can feel. [01:53:04] Speaker C: Well, then I guess maybe I'm just overthinking this. But I also, of course, overthink anything that looks like a gift. [01:53:18] Speaker A: Which is understandable. [01:53:21] Speaker D: Hard to expect nice things in our line of work. [01:53:25] Speaker C: Exactly. Usually someone had to do something or sacrifice something or make some deal with something to get that kind of thing. Or it's just going to kill us all. And it's Jillian in disguise, right? [01:53:42] Speaker A: Maybe, yeah. [01:53:48] Speaker E: What's the plan, guys? [01:53:51] Speaker A: I'm down to just ask. [01:53:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that we should just ask. If we can see any or notice anything, then great. If the garden has anything weird in it, great. Then we can maybe start figuring it out. But I think that for the most part, we'll just ask Dietrich and then figure out what our next move is. [01:54:08] Speaker E: I won't make you guys roll. Those of you who have the ability to sense things that are supernatural or otherwise, for the most part, just notice a conspicuous lack. Given how old this place is, you feel like it should have more going on with it than it feels like it does. I assume Victoria will be the one to go find Dietrich. [01:54:34] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:54:36] Speaker E: He is in his study, which is large with floor to ceiling built ins that are just filled with books. There is a violin on display? Pegs along one wall. It looks old. Looks like an antique. Probably worth a pretty penny. [01:55:04] Speaker D: Like the mission has just fallen apart. And I am immediately distracted towards this violin on the wall. [01:55:15] Speaker E: What's this? Old family heirloom. I never learned how to play, but that's pretty. And I had an easy spot in here for it. [01:55:28] Speaker D: If I service this, can I play it? I'll replace all the strings. [01:55:36] Speaker E: Or you tell me what you need and we'll get the stuff for it. I don't want it leaving the property, but, yeah, that's fine. [01:55:47] Speaker D: I have my violin here, so I wouldn't have to go far. But I am getting distracted. My friends and I have a question for you. And we don't want it to come. [01:56:00] Speaker E: Off as rude, but should we go out and talk to your friends instead of you coming and asking me on your own? [01:56:08] Speaker D: Yes. That's what I was going to suggest, is you should come downstairs with me and. [01:56:15] Speaker E: Yeah, sure. And he'll kind of set his pen aside and hop up and follow you outside into the morning sunlight. Feel like a child has been brought to the adults of the family and is about to be chastised. What's going on? [01:56:39] Speaker D: It has to do with our line of work. So I'll wait for everyone to kind of have their input. Aw, you're not in trouble, if that helps. But we would like to know the truth, more or less. [01:57:01] Speaker E: What's up? Truth about what? [01:57:05] Speaker D: At this point, do we kind of arrive to the others? [01:57:09] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. No, I assumed that he was saying that he felt like a child about to be chastised as he reached everybody. Okay. [01:57:23] Speaker C: Who'S going to ask the question? Victoria? I mean, I can. I was just wondering if you were asking it or not. [01:57:32] Speaker D: Well, okay, so feel free to back me up on this, but we've noticed a complete lack of weirdness here and we have questions about that. [01:57:46] Speaker E: You're going to have to be more specific. I mean, it's my house. I would hope that there's not a lot of weird shit going on. [01:57:53] Speaker C: So for most places, there's like a background level of supernatural. [01:58:00] Speaker E: We lost legacy. [01:58:02] Speaker B: Legacy? [01:58:04] Speaker E: That's okay. Legacy. Sorry. [01:58:10] Speaker B: My discord decided that it was going to restart on me again. [01:58:14] Speaker E: I love that. It's always discord. Okay, cool. [01:58:20] Speaker C: So there's a background supernatural, as it were, an energy that is kind of around. Anyway, for a place like this, your home, we would expect to have some kind of residual energy for a place this old. Right? People that have lived here before, things emotions that have happened, and we're just not noticing any of that to the point where some things that we normally have around us are not here, if that makes any sense to you, sir. [01:59:01] Speaker E: What kind of things would you normally have around you that you thought you were going to bring into my home? [01:59:08] Speaker C: Nothing that we would bring into your home, as it were. I'm obviously not going to put you in any undue unsafe situation. [01:59:16] Speaker E: You're concerned that it's not with you. That kind of implies that you would have brought it with you. [01:59:21] Speaker C: Sure. I mean, you bring things with you, too. There's emotions and feelings. [01:59:26] Speaker E: Sure. But I live here. [01:59:28] Speaker C: Right. And that sort of gets to the question is, do you have any reason to suspect that there's like an old, like this plant, this place had an old voodoo thing here or some other reason why it might be protected or warded or something? [01:59:46] Speaker E: I mean, we've got the witch bottles. [01:59:50] Speaker C: Tell me more about the witch bottles. [01:59:54] Speaker E: I would expect that hunters would know about that sort of thing. It's an old tradition meant to keep spirits and evil in general, away. [02:00:06] Speaker C: Right, I understand that, but where do. [02:00:08] Speaker E: They buy a property, bury them on certain parts of the property, and then they absorb some bad shit. [02:00:18] Speaker D: Absorb? [02:00:20] Speaker E: Yeah, they stuck in evil stuff. [02:00:25] Speaker B: At that. Rosanna immediately takes her iPad out of her bag and begins to kind of tap into her database. And I want to look into seeing how to make these witch bottles. [02:00:49] Speaker E: Okay. Witch bottles tend to be, they come in various different varieties, depending on where you're from. They're kind of like a worldwide phenomenon. They like earthen jugs and things like that in some places. In other places, they're like literal mason jars. More modernly, they're like literal mason jars. They'll be filled with herbs. Sometimes they're filled with iron, nails, things like that. And typically they're buried at the edges of a property line or under the hearth of a home, sometimes under the front porch. And they are generally meant to keep the bad shit away from the people who live there. There are also, you find with a little bit more digging, you find instances where rather than them kind of sucking in and absorbing evil, they just sort of radiate a general protective barrier, almost especially when they're put on the edges of the property, that sort of thing. Dietrich does not seem at all surprised that these are here. He obviously knows about them and doesn't seem surprised they work. [02:02:07] Speaker C: They've just been around for a very long time. Or did you have somebody put them in? Like, did one of your servants want. [02:02:13] Speaker E: To put them in my family's own, this place, for like five, six generations. We replace them every few decades. I replaced the most recent set when I had the place refurbished and moved in. Because nobody had lived here for a while. I paid very handsomely to have a voodoo madam from the city come in and. Come in and replace them for me. [02:02:47] Speaker C: Well, sir, I have to let you know that you did not get swindled. They are working. [02:02:55] Speaker E: Well, that's good. [02:03:00] Speaker C: And I'm going to look at the others and I'm just going to say. That sounds legit. [02:03:04] Speaker B: I have to say, I don't see anything. [02:03:11] Speaker E: Then I had her do a general blessing on the house itself because nobody had lived here for so long. [02:03:17] Speaker C: But seems like you've done your research, sir. Sorry to interrupt your business. Then we were just confused because we don't normally encounter people, not in our line of work, who would do exactly what you've done. [02:03:33] Speaker E: I live in a very steeped in tradition and folklore part of the US. [02:03:41] Speaker C: Yes, which is what I said earlier. And I, like, looked at the other ones to confirm that I did, in fact, say that earlier. [02:03:49] Speaker E: So what were you all trying to bring onto the property that didn't follow you? [02:03:56] Speaker B: I have a friend with us. [02:03:58] Speaker D: Yeah? [02:03:59] Speaker E: A friend? What kind of friend? [02:04:08] Speaker B: Ghost companion. [02:04:13] Speaker E: Okay. [02:04:13] Speaker B: I see her and I talk to her. [02:04:16] Speaker E: I'm going to assume that she's not. [02:04:18] Speaker F: No, no. [02:04:19] Speaker B: She actually recently. [02:04:27] Speaker E: And he's going to look over at Victoria. You pick up a ghost in Houston? [02:04:35] Speaker C: Yeah, an unfortunate soul who was caught in everything and was yet to cross. [02:04:39] Speaker B: Over about mine and Victoria's age. [02:04:43] Speaker E: Well, if she's not evil, one would assume she didn't get sucked into one of the jars. She's probably stuck at the property line. I would assume. [02:04:57] Speaker C: If that's how the witch bottles work. Yeah. [02:05:01] Speaker B: Could always go check. [02:05:07] Speaker E: I'll be honest. When I decided to overhaul this place and move in, there was a lot of spooky shit going on. So I was not super interested in leaving it that way if I was going to live here. Yeah, it's for the best. [02:05:24] Speaker C: Again, not many people do what you've done, but you've done it exactly right. [02:05:30] Speaker E: Well, that's something, I guess, to keep herself safe. Yeah. Anything else I can help with? [02:05:41] Speaker D: Would you be willing to part with the name of this madam, in case. Because we have some unfinished business and she might be able to help. [02:05:53] Speaker E: I would have to call her. She's not one of those look them up in the phone book types. It was a friend of a friend of a friend who got me in touch. But I'll give her a call, and if she's cool with it, I'll text you her information. [02:06:10] Speaker D: We appreciate that. [02:06:14] Speaker E: Okay. Anything else? [02:06:24] Speaker D: Not on my end. Is there anything we can do for you? You've been so. [02:06:32] Speaker E: Um, not you specifically. And he'll look at Victoria, but the rest of you could make a promise to bring her back safe. [02:06:44] Speaker C: I mean, of course, that's essentially the only reason I exist here. This is what I'm saying to him, looking at him. [02:06:59] Speaker E: All right, just understand that if you don't, you'll have to deal with me, and you don't want to deal with me. [02:07:08] Speaker B: Don't worry. We'll make sure she's nice and safe and well fed and snuggled up just right. [02:07:17] Speaker A: Make sure to water her daily. [02:07:20] Speaker B: Take her out to the bathroom. [02:07:23] Speaker D: I'm kind of silently petting Gozer, and I'm trying to avoid giving everyone, like, the don't make promises you can't keep. [02:07:31] Speaker C: Look, I mean, they basically just described everything that Gozer is going to do. I'm just saying that, yes, I'll make sure she gets back. [02:07:41] Speaker E: He will take a moment to kind of kneel down and give Gozer a good, long pet. He and Gozer have clearly already found out, like, figured out the pecking order. [02:07:54] Speaker D: And Victoria's on top. [02:08:01] Speaker B: And daddy Dietrix is on the bottom. [02:08:07] Speaker E: But, yeah, he'll give Gozer a good, long screech behind the ears, and you kind of hear him mutter, and you're pretty sure he's speaking Creole as he's talking to the dog, and then he'll get up and walk away. Well, you guys stay as long as you want. Let folks know if you're leaving and whether or not to expect you back. [02:08:35] Speaker C: Yeah, we should figure that out. But as soon as he leaves, Arthur's like, yeah, so I. I mean, that was exactly what a person should do. So I suddenly just wanted him to realize that I kind of respected that he did that. If you're gonna buy a house, especially a plantation, you should probably do that. [02:09:02] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:09:09] Speaker B: So what now? [02:09:15] Speaker D: See if we can locate Amelia. Wait. If we can speak to the madam and figure out a plan to deal with Harper. [02:09:28] Speaker B: Do we want to. [02:09:31] Speaker E: Flip? [02:09:32] Speaker B: Some of us go check on Amelia. Some of us go wait on an answer. [02:09:40] Speaker D: I think I'd like to check on Amelia. I could use the fresh air. [02:09:45] Speaker B: Yeah, obviously, I'll go with you. [02:09:53] Speaker D: I can't talk to her, but otherwise. [02:09:55] Speaker C: That would be very strange. I'm standing here outside the property. Are you here? [02:10:01] Speaker D: Amelia, if you're here, throw this pebble at me. [02:10:06] Speaker C: Chime this bell. Oh, wait, don't do that because that might be bad. [02:10:12] Speaker E: Okay, so we're going to make this reasonably quick. Rosanna and Victoria and Gozer take a quick walk. I say quick. It probably takes all told, like, half an hour to actually get to the borders of the property because it is a fucking plantation and it's humid and it's a deeply unpleasant walk, but also kind of really nice because it smells good, because there's like honeysuckle and everything else because of the time of year. And you get to the edge of the property where there is, for whatever reason, a feral cat who won't shut up. And as you step over the property line and kind of out onto this county road that leads to it, there's Amelia and Max sitting on the side of the road. Oh, my God. They're here chit chatting and looking annoyed, but also a little lost and unsure what to do with themselves. And as soon as Amelia sees you, she jumps up to her feet and she's like, where the fuck have you been asleep this whole time? Did you guys just not notice? [02:11:23] Speaker B: No. Listen, okay, so there's an explanation, right? There's those little like, yeah, I'm sure. [02:11:30] Speaker E: It'S got something to do with the fucking wall, or that's right there. You don't see a wall? [02:11:39] Speaker B: Fucking wall. [02:11:44] Speaker E: You're not making any noise. [02:11:45] Speaker C: All of a sudden you went mute. [02:11:48] Speaker E: Oh, wait, now we can hear you. Maybe. Hello? Yeah. [02:11:52] Speaker B: All right. [02:11:53] Speaker E: You're good. Okay. [02:11:55] Speaker D: Am I getting Rosanna's half of the conversation? [02:11:57] Speaker E: You are getting Rosanna's half of the conversation. [02:12:01] Speaker D: I'm just like, well, I'm glad everyone's safe. And kind of waving into the area where they are not. [02:12:10] Speaker E: He says, turn her so that she's at least facing the right way. This is just. [02:12:14] Speaker B: Okay, okay. And then she's going to grab Victoria by the arms and move her towards the direction that they're standing now. Wave. [02:12:22] Speaker E: Amelia's waving back. There you go. [02:12:24] Speaker B: She's waving back. [02:12:26] Speaker D: I'm great. [02:12:28] Speaker B: Listen, so I kind of promised Amelia a gumbo date, okay? So I don't know if we were waiting on the boys to figure out if we could go see the voodoo lady. [02:12:51] Speaker D: Here's the issue. We're safe here. And this is something I was thinking about last night. We just threw the biggest monkey wrench of monkey wrenches into the plans of those people that are running around causing all this trouble. If we step out of here. I worry they might be on us pretty quickly, so I would respectfully wait on your gumbo date. [02:13:23] Speaker B: Well, yeah, but eventually, we're going to. [02:13:27] Speaker E: Have to step out. [02:13:29] Speaker B: Trust me, I'm fine. Listen, if I didn't have these two out here waiting for us, I'd be perfectly, more than 1000% fine sitting where we have safe walls away from the ghosts. No offense, guys. Safe walls away from the evil ghost. Because you're not evil. You're fine. You're fine. She's obviously going from Victoria back to them every time she makes a comment. [02:13:58] Speaker E: Like, don't worry, don't worry. [02:13:59] Speaker B: You guys are mean. What's going to happen when we have to step out to go and finish what we started? [02:14:10] Speaker D: I assume the Orpheus group and nem are going to be on us pretty fast, and I would prefer that we're together for that. I mean, you remember when Harper just showed up to us at the one safe house, right? Just knocked on the door, invited herself in? Yeah. [02:14:36] Speaker B: Well, who knows? Maybe my new gift will help us out a little bit. [02:14:45] Speaker D: I was pretty out of it. Is this new gift you speak of? A bow. Okay, yeah. I mean, not the weirdest thing that we've run into, but I'm both awestruck and kind of, like, taken aback. [02:15:09] Speaker B: Yeah, you should have seen how Arthur reacted. I assume a fear, concern, mostly. Yeah. I don't know why I was expecting him to take his little book that he's gotten whip it at me, but he didn't. But his hands went in his pockets. I live one more day. [02:15:36] Speaker D: There's been a lot of times where I've wanted to hurt every supernatural thing we've come across. But the more we've done this, the more we've made friends along the way. And I gesture to where I know the ghosts are now. And I say things are changing. [02:15:58] Speaker B: Like I said, there's a lot of evil in this world, but some can't help what they've become. I mean, literally, Amelia's living proof of not living, but she's proof of you. Can't help what you are sometimes. [02:16:19] Speaker D: I swear, though, if we meet a nice biter, my world is going to go upside down. [02:16:25] Speaker B: If we meet a nice biter. [02:16:31] Speaker E: I. [02:16:31] Speaker B: Think mine will, too. Those ones and the puppy dogs that chased us out of town are the ones that are kind of still on my list. And now, on top of I got to play a fun game of what am I. [02:16:56] Speaker D: Rosanna? [02:17:00] Speaker E: I don't know. [02:17:04] Speaker D: I like you for who you are. The feelings came back. I'm sorry. Today's been a gross day for feelings. [02:17:13] Speaker B: It's okay. I've seen you cry. [02:17:18] Speaker E: No, you haven't. [02:17:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I have. [02:17:21] Speaker D: How much do I have to pay you to say that you have not seen me cry? [02:17:29] Speaker B: Take me on a. Take me on a date and we'll talk, all right? [02:17:35] Speaker E: There better be fucking gumbo on that date. [02:17:38] Speaker B: Of course there's going to be gumbo on that date. I promised you. I already promised you. [02:17:44] Speaker E: Sitting out here on the road. [02:17:50] Speaker B: You're worse than a girlfriend sometimes. I swear to God, we're not even dating. I promise, next time we go out, I won't leave you abandoned on the side of the road. But I kind of can't help it right now. [02:18:08] Speaker E: Could you all hurry up so we can go? [02:18:11] Speaker D: Yeah, we'll do our best. We're just waiting. Oh, I do not hear this. [02:18:16] Speaker E: You do not hear this. [02:18:18] Speaker C: I was like, wait, was she speaking through Rosetta's mouth? How is this happening right now? [02:18:23] Speaker D: That's just Zoe being a derp. [02:18:27] Speaker B: Or here, how about this? Zoe, you get. You get Arthur to make up his mind about what the fuck he actually wants, and we'll call it even. Then she'll. Then she's going to turn back and walk back into the property. [02:18:50] Speaker E: Well, with those heavy feels hanging over y'all, Amelia and Max give this little forlorn wave as they cannot follow you back onto the property. And you two walk back up to the house. [02:19:06] Speaker B: I blow them kisses on the way back into the house. [02:19:17] Speaker E: Zephyr, would you like to have arranged for Arthur to be busy so that you can talk to Rosanna and Victoria without Arthur hovering? [02:19:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll probably wait until it's later at night if we end up staying a few more days. [02:19:37] Speaker E: You guys are probably going to leave that day, but you've got some time before you really need to because it's still fairly early. But we could say that you talked to Dietrich's brother, who is kind of a car guy, and suggested that it would be really helpful if maybe he could help Arthur do some general tune up work on the rv before you guys have to potentially take it back on the road because you've literally driven across the country. It's probably at about the point where it needs an oil change and things like that. And, Arthur, you kind of get roped into having to help with working on the rv. [02:20:24] Speaker C: It's weird that Arthur is the one working on the rv, considering that Zephyr is the more mechanically oriented one, but it's fine. Arthur drives a lot. It's kind of his baby. [02:20:37] Speaker E: Basically, what he ends up telling you is that Zephyr, he tried to get Zephyr to help, but Zephyr kind of looks squicked out at the idea of getting dirty. [02:20:49] Speaker C: Right. It's fine. I get it. Arthur's or Zephyr's. Like, so, yeah, of course. Someone needs to watch while someone messes with the rv. [02:21:08] Speaker E: All right, cool. So I apologize for kind of having to rush through that, but we've already spent way longer on these scenes than I thought we were going to. So, Zephyr, Rosanna and Victoria, I am going to allow all of you to make some roles. Rosanna, your role is primarily to help them with decryption. [02:21:30] Speaker B: Okay. [02:21:31] Speaker E: So I would like an intelligence and technology role. [02:21:34] Speaker B: Okay. [02:21:38] Speaker E: I would like. Oh, goodness. Victoria, to make a looking at your sheet, what would be good for this charisma? [02:21:53] Speaker D: Roll. [02:21:55] Speaker E: Let's go. Widths and insight. Okay. And we'll say that for Zephyr. Look at your sheet. I've got everybody's sheets open. It always takes me a minute. We're going to go with intelligence and let's go with subterfuge because they were trying to hide things and you're trying to kind of decrypt and decipher. [02:22:39] Speaker A: Can I reroll that? [02:22:43] Speaker E: You guys can spend willpower. As you wish. [02:22:49] Speaker A: Nope, still got one. [02:22:51] Speaker E: Okay. Zoe got a critical seven. [02:22:55] Speaker D: I did. [02:22:56] Speaker E: You got one. Legacy got four. Well, thankfully, Zoe kind of carried everything there. You guys managed to get just above the threshold for what you needed because of that big seven successes. And you managed to. It takes a little bit. It takes a few hours. But by the time Arthur and his new buddy have finished kind of bantering and doing manly things. [02:23:34] Speaker C: That'S what we're doing most of the time, just entering in manly things. [02:23:39] Speaker E: Zephyr is able to kind of start making sense of things in the book with the number of successes that you got because you guys got just above the threshold when you left off. You got into the book. Zephyr, what were the two creatures you were looking up? [02:24:03] Speaker A: Definitely the raves, especially the page that had, like, the chain drawings and all that, just to see what that was about. And of course, also because I know last time I asked you, there wasn't any creature that looks similar to the speaker. So I'll do, I guess, the werewolf page. [02:24:34] Speaker E: Okay, cool. Well, you don't super need the werewolf stuff right away, so I will get you a bunch of stuff on that so that we're not spending a lot of in game time on something that you don't need tonight. For wraiths, there isn't a ton. What is there is. You know that they are bound to the world of the living by objects. Those objects kind of provide an anchor that keeps them from getting shunted back. Also helps them stay a little bit more sane when they have those objects close. If those objects become threatened, it is more likely to push them over into this other state that the book describes as a shadow. And their shadow is kind of the most extreme, dark parts of their personality amplified without any of the good stuff. The good stuff gets shunted into the back. Their shadow is almost always, to some degree, cruel. It has some sort of mission, some sort of thing that it wants to inflict on the rest of the world, that sort of thing. You know that it does talk about different types of wraiths. Primarily. It talks about ones that can kind of affect the material world without actually being a part of it. Commonly referred to as, like, poltergeist, that sort of thing. It talks about ones that are specifically skilled at controlling and manipulating humans, like inhabiting them and possessing them, which you have already seen. You know, that Gillian can do that. Talks about different kind of different types of ghosts. Some ghosts are just recently dead and haven't been swept off to an afterlife yet. Some ghosts are stuck in like, a loop where they're just forced to relive their death over and over and over again. And that's the majority of hauntings seem to be along that line. Ghosts in and of themselves don't have their own bodies, so there's no anatomical drawing. It does make it clear that other types of supernaturals don't seem to be possessed as ably as humans do. Humans with magic seem more sensitive to them. But the book suggests that vampires are way less likely to get possessed. [02:27:22] Speaker A: Oh, sorry, go ahead. [02:27:26] Speaker E: And same with werewolves. Werewolves are almost. Whoever wrote the book wasn't positive. But it doesn't seem like werewolves are even capable of being possessed. Like they are just so inert against it that it's not possible. What was your question? [02:27:47] Speaker A: Yeah, that's kind of what I was going to ask. You already answered that. [02:27:53] Speaker E: Sorry. It does talk about items and prayers and. What do you call it? Certain types of practiced behaviors that are kind of steeped heavily in some sort of faith seem to be the most effective against them. Which kind of matches up to what you have learned. Arthur is extremely good at bitch slapping ghosts once he knows where they are. It does make it clear that a ghost has to have some connection to the physical realm for that to work, though. Like, if they're in this kind of shadow place, that's not the afterlife, but also isn't the living world, it's much harder to get to them. Somebody might be sensitive enough to see them, might know that they're there, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they can affect them. It does talk about reapers and makes it very clear that reapers are to be avoided. Reapers have attacks that you guys haven't even seen. As far as the book seems to suggest. Like, the reapers that you ran into, it could have gotten much, much uglier than it did. If those reapers have the same things that are listed in this book. Again, the book seems to be mostly focused on physical creatures more than wraiths like this. It does make it clear that the less of a hold on the living world a wraith has, and the thicker the veil is, the more they get pushed out. So if a wraith has fewer of those connections, fewer of those items that help them stay here, and the veil gets kind of hardened, they can get cut off. [02:30:06] Speaker A: Okay, that is good to know. [02:30:13] Speaker E: Wraiths also kind of have no real loyalty to their own. They might form alliances and things like that, but at the end of the day, if a Wraith thinks it can get something from one upping someone it made a deal with, they very well might. They're very, very cutthroat. It seems to be a very survival of the fittest kind of, kind of society, and it suggests that wraiths are effectively immortal. It's rare to see a wraith get really, really old, but if they do, they get extremely powerful and are kind of not to be fucked with, if you can help it. The book is very explicit in that it cautions against trying to one v one an older wraith. More recent deaths are easier to deal with, and ghosts and wraiths that have kind of gotten stuck and haven't really had a chance to interact with the afterlife much. But the longer they have spent as a wraith and not a ghost, the harder it is to deal with them. It's kind of one of those things where they're like, if you can out fucking smart them, if you can't, good luck kind of thing. So that's what you get from that. I will send you a bunch of stuff on werewolves between this season and next season so that you know what you get from that. I will say that as soon as you finish reading the first passage on wraiths, you are immediately hit by an urge that feels like it has almost attached itself to your psyche or your soul. You know that the next hunt you go on, you have to come back with a trophy. You have to, preferably a physical piece of whatever it is that you have hunted. Though other things may stand in for you. If whatever you're hunting doesn't have a physical body, but you don't know for sure how that's going to go. Hey, could you roll me your sense the unnatural power. [02:33:07] Speaker A: Two. [02:33:10] Speaker E: As you are reading this, or as you are finishing up reading this, and you tuck your book away back into your bag, and Arthur comes in to wash his hands in the kitchen sink, you recognize a couple of things that you kind of never noticed before because there was always that kind of low level weird everywhere you went. It just sort of blended in. But now that you're in a place with a distinct lack of weird, you notice that Arthur, in general has some weird coming off of him. You can't make out anything specific. You know that it's not like it's not a creature. Arthur is mortal, but there is something about him that is just weird. Kind of. It's similar, but less intense than like how Rosanna has that constant Aura of weird. [02:34:27] Speaker D: Okay, cool. [02:34:29] Speaker E: Now that everybody has done their research and the rv has gotten a tune up, Arthur has learned far more about oil changes and spark plugs than he ever thought he would need to know. [02:34:46] Speaker C: But I'll add a dot in technology or something later. [02:34:52] Speaker E: Actually, you're going to get a dot and drive because that's what's used to work on cars. Specifically on cars. All right, all that being said, what's the plan, guys? [02:35:17] Speaker C: I mean, that's Arthur's question. Are we going to just keep staying here? I thought we still need to get to Florida. For Rosanna's purposes. [02:35:26] Speaker A: Waiting to hear back from the madam, right? [02:35:33] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, if we hear back from her. [02:35:37] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:35:37] Speaker D: If that's not an option, we need to figure out what we're doing now. [02:35:46] Speaker E: At one point, Dietrich did stop in with Victoria and let her know that he's got work. He's got to go. See, he's. He's. He actually headed out a couple hours ago. There was a time where they both disappeared for a while, and then she came back and he left. [02:36:05] Speaker D: It was one of those places. [02:36:07] Speaker E: One of those places where people disappear? Yes. [02:36:14] Speaker B: You repay that favor, then. [02:36:16] Speaker C: One of the places, he was thinking. [02:36:22] Speaker D: It'S a big favor to repay it. [02:36:26] Speaker E: Louisiana. Goodbye. All right, so what's the plan? [02:36:47] Speaker D: So as much as I'm sure none of you want to hear this, we need to find Harper. We need to stop the Orpheus group long term if we can. [02:37:05] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I mean, if we don't know where they are, because last I checked, we didn't know where they were. Makes it hard. [02:37:18] Speaker B: I mean, they're somewhere up in New York. [02:37:20] Speaker E: Yeah, Max did mention that he thinks they may be somewhere in New York, so dealing with the Orpheus group may be a longer term thing, but there are some immediate threats in the local area. As far as you know. [02:37:44] Speaker C: What are the immediate threats? Because I am not seeming to remember. [02:37:47] Speaker E: You guys managed to stop the Wraith's last thing, but you didn't banish any of them. You managed to knock one of them out of one body and stop the explosions from happening, which was great and went off really well, but that greater group is still out there. [02:38:09] Speaker B: We need to take care of the bigger problem before we can move on anywhere. Unfortunately, Florida will have to wait. [02:38:25] Speaker C: I see. Well, I guess we need to go into town, as it were, and figure out where they're at, see if we can remove them from the face of existence, as it were. [02:38:43] Speaker B: Mmhmm. [02:38:48] Speaker D: I have a feeling that they are going to find us once we leave, so just be prepared. [02:38:57] Speaker C: I guess we don't want to have, like, a fight at the edge of the property just because that'd be disrespectful to our guest, but, I mean, having some kind of protection would be really helpful, but, I mean, I also don't want to mess up his stuff. He's been generous. [02:39:19] Speaker B: I could try to make one for our rv. The only problem is if we do run the risk of booting out the two helpful ones. [02:39:34] Speaker E: Also worth noting that, Rosanna, you are very distinctly aware that you could not see Amelia and Max until you stepped over the property line. It was literally like there was a wall between you and them. So there's no option to stand on one side and look out and be able to see things. You have to be outside of that border. [02:39:56] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I mean, that's the main reason why I haven't done the sort of thing that I used to do when we went anywhere, sort of try to ward our vehicle because I recognized that that might be a problem for our abilities or the ghosts trying to help us. So maybe not the smartest thing to do for the rv. [02:40:26] Speaker A: Do you think that maybe there's something that we could get, that we could wear so it's not affecting a whole area, but just our bodies? Would that. [02:40:39] Speaker C: Sure. [02:40:40] Speaker A: That might be easier. [02:40:44] Speaker C: We probably figure something like that out. [02:40:46] Speaker B: If we can get a hold of the madam. That might be worth asking her. [02:40:54] Speaker C: Well, do we want to try to take the fight to the wraiths? [02:41:01] Speaker D: Yeah, I've been thinking about it. I trust our abilities at this point. I think we can do this. [02:41:17] Speaker A: We just have to. The reapers don't come back. [02:41:21] Speaker C: Well, I think we've learned something from the reapers. We didn't expect them. And now that we can expect them, then there might be something different that know we're aware of their existence, so no surprise when they show we. Victoria, I think you seem to be getting the hang of whatever this newfound ability you have is. [02:41:47] Speaker D: Yep. [02:41:48] Speaker C: And yeah, I think that we all have some better knowledge this time. So I think that you're not wrong, Seth. But I think that we're different. I think that first encounter was a surprise for us all. I think we have more expectations. So do we leave and head to the town and wait for them to find us? Sorry, go ahead. Rosanna. Didn't mean to interrupt. [02:42:13] Speaker B: I was going to say, I think we're also just better equipped. In general, we have more knowledge than we did when we first were dealing with everything, so. I mean. [02:42:31] Speaker C: It'S been in the lightning last few days, that's for sure. [02:42:38] Speaker D: I would almost say this is the first time we're actually going into something armed with knowledge. [02:42:48] Speaker B: Knowledge is the deadliest weapon. [02:42:55] Speaker C: Well, I mean, obviously we don't want to go directly to town square and try to fight something that only we can see, but who knows? Maybe we can find this voodoo madam person in town somewhere. Or we could just go to a cemetery and go, ha. It's on the nose. That actually might be bad for us. Let's not do that. [02:43:29] Speaker A: Yeah, because I don't know if we've heard anything back, so it might be better to go into town for this one because the longer we wait, the more damage they can do. [02:43:44] Speaker B: Yeah, we don't exactly know where they are either. Well, we're leaving, I guess. We're leaving. [02:44:03] Speaker E: Okay, you guys load up into the rv, and you are headed where? [02:44:11] Speaker C: Anywhere. [02:44:13] Speaker E: All right, so you guys are just going to start driving towards New Orleans. Cool. Yeah. So you guys get to the edge of the property, you stop long enough for Max and Amelia to join you so that they're not trying to ghostly chase you down the road. [02:44:37] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Max and Amelia are sounding a lot like cats. [02:44:40] Speaker E: Oh, my God. Give me a break. I can't help it, you guys. Ah. Hold on a second. I'm so sorry. It. The second I said hold on a second, and I muted, she shut up. I don't understand what's happening. She knows you guys get them on board and you start driving, you do not make it all the way to the city. You guys are kind of on the outskirts in one of the less populated, like, half abandoned neighborhoods when Rosanna kind of immediately all the hairs on the back of your arms stand on end kind of thing. Like, you can feel the veil here. It's really, really cold all of a sudden, despite the fact that you're in the middle of New Orleans or in the middle of Louisiana, and there are feral cats everywhere. Oh, my God, so many cats. [02:45:57] Speaker C: Harbinger of the veil. [02:46:03] Speaker E: And as you are kind of slowing down to give Rosanna a chance to kind of orient herself and figure out what the hell is going on, you see a very familiar person kind of dart out into the street right in front of the fucking rv. And Arthur has to slam on the brakes to stop from crashing into the person that you now realize is Jillian in a meat suit. She looks panicked and like she's desperately trying not to just lose her mind. She definitely doesn't look angry and sardonic like the last time you saw her. And all Rosanna hears is, oh, shit, from Amelia. [02:46:58] Speaker B: Oh, no. [02:47:02] Speaker C: Arthur will climb out. Harper or. [02:47:14] Speaker F: Jillian? Jillian. It's Jill. It's Jill. It's Jill. Yeah. This is very, I think, brief, maybe. Can I talk to everyone, please? [02:47:35] Speaker B: Looking back at the rV, I promise. [02:47:37] Speaker F: It'S not the other one that you're calling Harper. Harper is just the name of this body that's not really the. [02:47:46] Speaker C: Oh, okay. It's Jillian. And she wants to talk, I guess. But Arthur's hand is on his knuckles. [02:47:59] Speaker B: Yes. [02:47:59] Speaker E: And. [02:48:02] Speaker B: Rosanna's hand is ready. [02:48:07] Speaker A: I'm just like, Amelia, get in here. [02:48:14] Speaker D: Jillian was like, you have to destroy us. And now we're like, okay, is it time? [02:48:20] Speaker E: Amelia does her best to jump into to join powers with Zephyr like a wonder twin. [02:48:42] Speaker B: What are you doing? [02:48:46] Speaker F: Did everyone come out? [02:48:48] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:48:49] Speaker D: Well, I did. [02:48:52] Speaker A: I'm still kind of, like, just sort. [02:48:55] Speaker C: Of weird puppeteering, walking out. [02:48:57] Speaker E: Not even that. [02:48:59] Speaker A: Just like, oh, it's the love of my life. [02:49:07] Speaker F: So I know I said the next time you see me, you still can do that, but I don't know what you guys did at the concert or whatever, but you really set back my boss or the person that's in charge of me. I don't want to. You really set them back. So I guess, congrats, guys, but the time is now. You have to close the veil. You have to close the veil as soon as you can. [02:49:46] Speaker D: Where is it? Where do we need to close it? [02:49:49] Speaker E: At. [02:49:53] Speaker F: Storytelling. [02:49:56] Speaker E: As far as you could tell, Jillian, it could kind of be done anywhere, but you did find it easiest to maneuver and get around here, so this is probably a good spot. The veil is literally everywhere, but there seems to be a lot of activity, and the veil seems thinnest here. [02:50:17] Speaker F: Okay. Honestly, here would be the best spot I was able to get out without being the whole arm sucky throwy thing. It seems like it's pretty thin here. So if you can close the veil, you guys are significantly a step ahead. Finally. Yeah, that's all I can really say. [02:50:54] Speaker E: Sephir, you have Amelia kind of riding along with you, and you're starting to get adjusted to having her there. And you notice that you can see things that you couldn't see before. You can see this kind of. It almost seems like there's like a patina, like a thin sheen of color over everything, but it's not actually color. It's like a gray dulling of the world around you. And you can't help but wonder if this is what it always looks like to ghosts, where everything is a little bit less colorful, a little bit less full of life. But you do notice a couple of things that are very specific. You notice that there is a very thin thread kind of thing. It's barely there. It's almost like a cobweb that you can barely see. And it is drifting from where Jillian is standing to you and into your bag, specifically. And there is also one running from Jillian to Arthur's pocket. [02:52:20] Speaker A: I guess while she's talking, I'm going to start digging in my bag to see what it's linking to. [02:52:31] Speaker E: Takes a couple of minutes. You actually end up pulling out your, like, not fully pull out your book, but you get to where your book is, and you pull out a thing that you've used to mark the pages on the werewolves because you want to read more about them later. And it is the pamphlet. And when you pull it out of the bag itself, you can see that line go straight from the pamphlet to Jillian, like it is connected to her heart. [02:53:09] Speaker A: I kind of. I just kind of hold it and look at it and don't really say anything. But does she look completely there? Like she's not about to. [02:53:26] Speaker E: Does she? Oh, she doesn't look like she's about ready to snap and go all dark and whatever. But she does look like she, you know her well enough to know that she does not know how long this will last. Like, she is clinging to this control that she has for the moment. And she has made it clear that whatever you guys did fucked up her boss, but she doesn't know how long that lasts. And maybe that has something to do with why she's able know hold on the way that she. [02:54:07] Speaker A: God. [02:54:09] Speaker E: See Scott over there shaking his head. [02:54:15] Speaker A: I'm going to make my way over to her and I'm going to grab her hand and put the pamphlet in her hand. [02:54:33] Speaker F: Oh, I remember this billion. [02:54:42] Speaker E: You can see that thread and it hits you what he just handed you. Could be a good thing or could be a bad thing. Depends on who's in control. [02:55:03] Speaker F: Yeah. So I'm not sure if you guys have figured this out yet, but there's things that hold. She's like looking at this and it's kind of like. There's a lot of emotion here. There's things that hold stuff like. Or beings like myself here and separate. How could you just hand this to me? And this is one of mine. [02:55:46] Speaker A: Yeah. It still has the creases in it. [02:55:53] Speaker F: Yeah, it was really hot that day. I probably shouldn't hold on to this. [02:56:04] Speaker E: She's going to hand it back to Zenber. [02:56:08] Speaker F: It's very hard to keep the control that I have. And if it comes back. Yeah. Can I see the thread that connects me to Arthur? [02:56:24] Speaker E: Make me a wits awareness check. [02:56:27] Speaker F: It's awareness. One, two. [02:56:50] Speaker E: Can see it. [02:56:51] Speaker F: Okay. [02:56:53] Speaker E: You're not sure what he has, but you know he has something in his pocket. Gotcha. [02:57:00] Speaker F: She's going to look back at Zephyr and then look over to Arthur. Do you have anything of mine, Arthur? [02:57:15] Speaker C: Yes. Is it a good thing or a bad thing to show it to you? [02:57:27] Speaker F: Um, you probably don't. You probably don't have to show it to me, but I guess just. So besides closing the veil, obviously I said you guys have to get rid of me whether you decide to or not or whatever. You have to get rid of my tethers to get rid of me. And I guess just so I can confirm for you, what is my tether to you. [02:57:56] Speaker E: I guess. [02:57:58] Speaker C: See? And Arthur will remove the brass knuckles from his. [02:58:09] Speaker E: Bless you. [02:58:11] Speaker C: I was trying not to sneeze into the microphone so hard and I couldn't get the mute to come up. [02:58:19] Speaker E: The thread is very visible to Zephyr and to Jillian. The thread going from the knuckles to you, really? [02:58:37] Speaker F: That's what's attaching me to you. Those dumb things? [02:58:43] Speaker C: Yeah, they're pretty dumb. They also happen to be powerful. [02:58:51] Speaker F: No way. [02:58:53] Speaker C: Yeah, way. And he'll hold them up and show that they're kind of glowing. [02:58:59] Speaker F: Oh, cool. Wow. You guys got so cool since. Anyways. Well, once you decide to get rid of me and close the veil, you guys have to get rid of those things or break them or do whatever. Am I not too sure? [02:59:23] Speaker E: You're not positive if it's that they need to be destroyed or if maybe they can be cleansed. Could vary from item to item. [02:59:36] Speaker F: Okay. [02:59:38] Speaker E: You're reasonably certain that the easiest way to deal with the paper is probably just to destroy it, as sad as that is. But the knuckles might be harder because they're literally metal. [02:59:52] Speaker F: Copy. But enough about me, because this is bigger than me. I think here is a great place to close the veil. There's too many things getting out and too many things coming in. And I think this will set them back and give you guys more time to do whatever you need to do. [03:00:20] Speaker E: Okay. [03:00:24] Speaker D: I immediately bring out my bells. I don't start playing them, but they are ready for when we are ready to go. [03:00:35] Speaker C: Arthur will grip tighter on the knuckles and. Yeah, guess he's ready. [03:00:42] Speaker B: And I'm going to summon out my bow. [03:00:51] Speaker E: Seems very attentive and like he is waiting for a command. [03:00:57] Speaker F: What is that? [03:00:58] Speaker E: That's how it comes out. [03:01:00] Speaker F: That's sick. [03:01:04] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [03:01:04] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:01:05] Speaker B: Tattoos disappear. [03:01:10] Speaker E: Jillian, at some .1 of the other race that works for your boss did tell you a story about some weird chick with a fucking bow that grew out of her hand. She shot him. That was you? [03:01:24] Speaker F: Oh, my God. There was so much talking back there. [03:01:26] Speaker C: Back at the place, at the supernatural water cooler. [03:01:33] Speaker E: Pretty much. [03:01:33] Speaker B: I was kind of just floating in. [03:01:35] Speaker F: The background, kind of bystander of listening, but. Oh, my God, that was you. [03:01:41] Speaker E: This is so cool. [03:01:41] Speaker F: You guys got so cool. And the bells, Victoria. [03:01:45] Speaker E: And ripping things open. [03:01:47] Speaker F: And I heard that someone got thrown out and popped out. [03:01:50] Speaker E: Oh, my God. [03:01:51] Speaker F: Look at the dog. You guys all got so. Y'all have grown. I'm so proud. But scared. [03:02:02] Speaker B: Well, once upon a time, crazy shadow chick told us that we needed to. [03:02:14] Speaker F: Oh, that was neat. [03:02:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [03:02:17] Speaker D: For a moment there, before Jillian kind of started saying, the bells are cool, I was feeling like the kid with the triangle in band. But then I'm just like, okay, it is cool. [03:02:36] Speaker F: Well, I guess our last hunt together. [03:02:41] Speaker C: Yeah. [03:02:42] Speaker D: You're coming with us. [03:02:44] Speaker F: Yeah, I guess if I can. [03:02:48] Speaker C: See what the veil thinks. [03:02:51] Speaker E: Right. [03:02:54] Speaker F: All right. I guess I'll sit back and watch. [03:02:59] Speaker E: Okay, so you guys need to figure out how to close the veil and you need to figure it out fast. Zephyr and Jillian especially can see it. The veil is getting rapidly thinner, like something is pressing against it and trying to shred it from the other side. Rosanna, you can sense it more than see. And Arthur and Victoria both feel the temperature dropping in the middle of the day on a street just outside of New Orleans, dropping rapidly. In the time that you've been standing here, it's probably dropped a good five degrees and it's still going down. [03:03:45] Speaker D: That spurs me to do something now because that's scary. Something bad is happening and I'll start trying to counteract it without opening the veil first because it doesn't need my. [03:03:56] Speaker E: Help to do that. It make your roll. [03:04:11] Speaker D: Everything's all messed up when I need it. Do I get my specialty at all? [03:04:26] Speaker E: No. What's your specialty? [03:04:30] Speaker D: I guess this is bale ghosts. [03:04:33] Speaker E: Oh, no. Yeah, you absolutely get it. It's close enough. [03:04:36] Speaker F: Can I assist everyone with their roles? [03:04:40] Speaker E: Sure. We could say that you were giving them. Everybody gets an extra die to their pool. [03:04:51] Speaker D: I did a Willpower reroll on that. [03:04:53] Speaker E: Holy shit. That's eight successes. Well, Victoria's got this. With Jillian standing beside her or behind her and kind of coaching her and giving her feedback, she is able to start to alter the density of the veil around her. The temperature somehow seems to drop, but also not at the same time. It's weird. Like you guys feel it get far more intense, but the temperature doesn't necessarily go down, if that makes sense. It's a little bit like standing closer to a huge block of ice. Like the temperature around the block of ice hasn't changed. But because you were closer, you feel it more. It is going to be a time thing with this. Victoria, with your eight dice, you're good for a while. I'm not going to make you roll for a bit, but you are very much invested in doing this. You will still be able to give gozer commands if need be. [03:06:12] Speaker D: Right? [03:06:15] Speaker E: Okay, who's next? [03:06:25] Speaker C: I mean, I don't know what to do. I guess Arthur could do some kind of prayer or something. But I don't know what else I think I can do with this particular situation. [03:06:46] Speaker E: Rosanna, is there anything you want to do? [03:06:52] Speaker B: I want to. I want to activate my bow with the empower perk. [03:07:09] Speaker E: Remind me what that does. [03:07:11] Speaker B: I roll in intelligence in a cult at difficulty four. And I increase my artifacts dice bonus to plus three instead of just plus one. [03:07:24] Speaker E: Perfect. Okay, cool. Go ahead and make your role, Zephyr. Anything you want to do, just kind. [03:07:33] Speaker A: Of like, kind of watching, making sure if anything pops up that they can't see, I can just let them know. [03:07:43] Speaker E: Um, we'll say that Zephyr is going to kind of shift so that he is standing next to Jillian, but facing in the opposite direction so that they have a set of ghostly eyes pointed either way. [03:07:58] Speaker B: I'm going to reroll that. [03:07:59] Speaker E: Okay. [03:08:00] Speaker B: Four successes. [03:08:01] Speaker E: You got your four. All right, so you have your bonus. Cool. As the veil begins to ripple and thicken and shift around you, you all see multiple people start to kind of file out of what seem like derelict and abandoned houses around you. There's at least four or five of them that have stepped out into the open. Jillian can tell that they are more than human. Zephyr can tell that they are more than human. And so can Rosanna. Arthur can kind of guess because his knuckles have gotten even brighter, if that was possible. But there are also lots of cats. [03:09:02] Speaker C: Barrel cats everywhere, I tell you. [03:09:06] Speaker F: Not the kitty. [03:09:07] Speaker E: I'm so sorry, guys. [03:09:09] Speaker B: No, you're fine. [03:09:10] Speaker D: It's great, to be honest. [03:09:12] Speaker B: Pretty good. Adds to the ambiance. [03:09:17] Speaker F: It looks like we have company. [03:09:22] Speaker C: So it would seem. [03:09:26] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm just going to take out my knife. It's like. [03:09:32] Speaker E: There are two behind the group in the direction that Zephyr is facing, and there are three in front of the group. I'm going to assume that Victoria is kind of standing in the middle of everybody so that she is the least likely to get hit if anything comes at you. [03:09:48] Speaker C: Right. So we have to protect. Right? Like, that's basically the plan here. Everyone. [03:09:53] Speaker E: Very important to keep her protected. You're also not sure what happens to ghosts that are in bodies when this happens. They might get pushed out. They might still stay because they've got this particular anchor. You don't know. Even Jillian isn't sure. She knows that her boss is powerful enough that her boss kind of had to jump bodies frequently because he was staying too long, would do damage and the body would get less usable. But she's new, so. Okay. [03:10:41] Speaker C: Arthur will start his normal, sort of chanty prayer thing. The ward that he tries to throw up to give distance. I guess I have to target a specific creature so I only can choose one to throw off. And there's many more than one, but. [03:10:58] Speaker E: Correct. [03:10:58] Speaker C: Just fy. I was double checking that before we got to this point. [03:11:03] Speaker E: Yeah, that's fine. Is there a specific one you would like to pick or are you just going to pick the. [03:11:10] Speaker C: Whichever one is the closest? Yeah. Slow that one down and then wait for the next. [03:11:14] Speaker E: So you pick a tall, broad shouldered white guy in, like, a wife beater and beat up jeans and old, old steel toe boots. Got it. He looks like somebody they may have picked up off of, like, a factory floor somewhere. They were just like, here, you're in my new ride. Let's go. [03:11:41] Speaker C: All right, so, yeah. After his brief stint of latin, he then starts the english portion of like, depart o unclean spirit from this creature of God. And he's doing that as they're getting closer. [03:11:50] Speaker E: Okay, make your role. [03:11:52] Speaker C: All right, let's see if this works. All right. Seven. Oops. I got to actually type in the command. Okay. And then. Right. I'm still in despair, so no desperation here. Do I have one from Jillian or. [03:12:16] Speaker E: No, you do. [03:12:17] Speaker C: Okay. [03:12:19] Speaker F: I'm praying with you. [03:12:21] Speaker C: Ooh. All right. I'm gonna spend a willpower to reroll that. I hope it works. Well, three. Three is the number. [03:12:40] Speaker E: Okay, cool. I will make some eye rolls behind the scenes. All right. So rather than wasting time on doing a specific, like, having everybody roll to figure out what the turn order is, we are going to go with Victoria. Arthur Gozer, Rosanna Zephyr, ghosty people. Jillian sounds good because Jillian is helping everybody. Jillian's at the end of the order because that'll give her a chance to decide if she wants to spend the next turn continuing to help or if she wants to act on her own. She can only do one. Okay, so Arthur has done his blocky thing at three difficulty. Victoria is working on the veil. Victoria, what would you like Gozer to do? You can give commands while you work with your belt. [03:13:44] Speaker D: Gozer is going to be basically covering me. I know that's what everyone else is doing, but he's not going to be running out there and biting people. He's by my side. [03:13:54] Speaker E: Gozer is on guard. Is there a specific distance you want him to leave you to go after them in regards to how close they can get? [03:14:06] Speaker D: Probably 10ft. That sounds decent. [03:14:09] Speaker E: Yeah, that's fine. It won't take long. That's probably going to happen next turn, especially if they start running. Rosanna, you have range, baby doll? [03:14:24] Speaker B: I do. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to make my job just a smidge a little bit easier. I'm going to step behind and rest my back up against Victoria's and I'm going to repel the unnatural. My range for that is 2 meters. [03:14:44] Speaker E: 2 meters. All right, is repel the same thing that Arthur has, where you have to pick a specific. [03:14:52] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [03:14:54] Speaker E: Okay, so I assume you're going to pick one of the ones that are coming up behind her. [03:15:00] Speaker B: Yes. [03:15:00] Speaker E: All right, so you pick a young asian woman who is the closest from that direction out of those two, and. [03:15:13] Speaker B: I have hands free on mine. So with my big mind. [03:15:23] Speaker E: You reach up and you draw a little, like, cross on your forehead and focus your power. And that's kind of all you need to do. [03:15:29] Speaker B: And it's resolving colt, I believe. So I get to add my specialty for the wraith. [03:15:37] Speaker C: I forgot about that myself. [03:15:40] Speaker E: If you want to roll an extra. [03:15:42] Speaker C: Die Arthur, to see if you get the wraith thing. I have two dice, actually. [03:15:47] Speaker E: Well, then you can roll an extra two if you. [03:15:49] Speaker C: No, no, don't worry about it. [03:15:51] Speaker E: Okay, go ahead. Rosanna. [03:15:54] Speaker B: Okay. [03:15:58] Speaker E: Damn. Okay, she comes up short, like, immediately. I'll roll for her just to double check, but I'm pretty sure she can't even make that. So there's that. [03:16:14] Speaker B: And I'm just going to hold my bow at her. [03:16:18] Speaker E: Hey, Zephyr. [03:16:21] Speaker A: I am also protecting Victoria. I guess whoever wasn't held back by Rosanna and Arthur. Arthur's didn't hold anyone back, did it? [03:16:35] Speaker E: Yeah. Arthur is holding back a large man from the front, and Rosanna is facing in the same direction you are and is focused on a young woman. [03:16:46] Speaker A: Okay, so I guess whichever one is the closest to being in our area, I'll kind of just make sure to keep them blocked off, and I'll stab them if they come up. [03:17:01] Speaker E: All right, so you don't have, like, a repel power, but you are ready to tangle with them if they get close enough, yes. Okay, very cool. Holding action. Ghosties turn. All right, so the ghosts that can move do. Arthur, you got so very lucky. He rolled one under your difficulty. You barely kept him locked down for this turn. The asian woman is stuck and unfortunately does not have a ranged weapon to be able to do anything. The man bends down and tries to grab a rock, but it's not even a particularly big rock and hurls it and just whiffs hard. Seems like this ghost is not accustomed to being in this body because it just sails right over you. All's heads. Okay, the other three that are not held back are running at you. Guys. Go ahead and make me an attack roll for Gozer. I need Zephyr to make me an attack roll. I believe you've got a one handed knife, so it's Dex and melee. Okay. [03:18:32] Speaker A: Would it also, because I'm currently possessed, would that also add to it? [03:18:40] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. You are augmented. You get your desperation dice, and you guys are currently at four. [03:18:50] Speaker A: Okay. [03:18:54] Speaker E: Melee and Dex. Yes. Gozer gets willpower. It should be on his little character. He. I think they get, like, two. Melee and Dex Zephyr, plus your desperation dice. [03:19:15] Speaker A: And you said that we have four, right? Yeah, it's four. [03:19:19] Speaker E: Okay. And you get an extra from Jillian because Jillian has been helping less. [03:19:33] Speaker A: That's five. [03:19:39] Speaker E: Oh, look at five critical. That's not bad at all. [03:19:47] Speaker C: Nice. Look at that pool too. [03:19:51] Speaker B: Oh, beautiful. [03:19:54] Speaker E: All right, so that leaves one more. Jillian, roll me a single die, please. I'm gonna see who they're gonna try and go after because there are multiple targets here. Okay. They are headed for Arthur. There is a young man who looks like he is barely college stage, maybe 19 or 20, and he bolts at Arthur and gets three successes. Three. Bludgeoning is effectively what it would be. Bludgeoning damage. Okay. I don't know what your stuff is. [03:21:04] Speaker C: Yeah. So is this superficial damage, then, or is it superficial? [03:21:10] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:21:11] Speaker C: Okay. [03:21:12] Speaker E: He throws a punch. [03:21:14] Speaker C: So first it's halved because of the shielding from the knuckles. So that would put it at, like, it was three. So one or two, maybe. [03:21:24] Speaker E: And now it's rolled down for enemies. [03:21:26] Speaker C: All right, so then it's havved again for the superficial. So I think I only take one either way. [03:21:30] Speaker E: One. Yes. [03:21:30] Speaker C: Yeah. [03:21:31] Speaker E: Okay, so this scrawny college age kid comes up and just decks you in the side of the jaw. Okay. Gozer sinks his teeth into the leg of an older woman who looks like she's probably in her 40s. She looks like somebody's, like, soccer mom. Sinks his teeth into her leg. She does not scream. She kind of grimaces a little bit, but you feel like it's probably more because she's having a hard time moving now because there's this massive fuck off dog on her leg. You could tell that he's doing a lot of damage. And the two kind of very quickly get into, like, a struggle where she is trying to stay upright, and he is doing what dogs do and trying to bring her to the ground. And the third one was attacked by Zephyr. Zephyr, you're not sure what you're capable of when you've got a ghost writing around inside of you, but you open your mouth and give this battle cry that you would like. That's very distinctly not you. Everybody else is like, I didn't know that. Zephyr's body could make a noise like that. And then the blade kind of sinks into the belly of this man, who looks like he might be in his, like, 50s. Maybe. Your hand instinctively reaches up to grab his shoulder, and then your other hand, without you thinking about it, brings the knife kind of upward into his belly. And you watch as there is not just this rush of blood around the wound, but there is this flash of greenish blue at the same time. And you can see almost superimposed over the body's face, the face of another person who looks to be in intense amount of pain. And you have the feeling that you may have damaged the ghost just as much, if not more, than you damaged the person. [03:24:16] Speaker A: Nice. [03:24:19] Speaker E: You don't know exactly how much you did, but you know you fucked him up pretty bad. And that he looks like he is on the struggle bus right now. Jillian. [03:24:31] Speaker F: Yep. [03:24:31] Speaker E: It is time for the next round. There is one ghost that is not being handled, that just punched Arthur in the face. You can continue to help, which is kind of you calling out things that you can see that others might not be able to and kind of loaning them all just a little bit of your ghostly energy. Or you can step in and physically help, but you also don't know what happens if you get physically hurt with your shadow. Yeah. [03:25:08] Speaker F: So, yeah, I'm going to keep helping everyone. [03:25:11] Speaker E: Okay? [03:25:11] Speaker F: Yeah. You got it, guys. [03:25:16] Speaker E: Jillian, being the former heavy hitter of the group, is kind of coaching people on how to fight. That's kind of what you hear. It sounds half like a boxing coach calling out, like, okay, hit him like this and do that. Blah, blah, blah, blah. But it's also like you can feel this empowerment that kind of pulses through you. That doesn't feel quite normal, but also doesn't feel bad. It's like someone just shot you up with a tiny bit of caffeine. Yes. [03:25:48] Speaker A: I forgot that I had a specialty with knives. [03:25:57] Speaker E: Looking. I was like, oh, shit. Roll one more die, and let's see if it adds to the number at all. All right. Okay. You're not the only one who's forgotten specialties today. I know. [03:26:10] Speaker A: I murdered an old man. [03:26:12] Speaker E: It does make a difference, okay? You get an extra success. You watch as the old man falters, and you have the feeling that maybe one more good thrust with that knife would probably end him. You don't know if it'll end him physically or spiritually or both, but something is going to happen if you manage to hit him as hard again. Okay, back to Victoria. We haven't really burned through all of your successes. If you would like to roll again, you can. But there is a chance that if you botch it, you're going to lose successes. Or you can just continue. [03:27:06] Speaker D: I like to imagine this is like a confidence thing. I've got this right now. I don't need to try to push it. Granted, it may go faster if I succeed, but I feel good right now. [03:27:20] Speaker E: Slow and steady is what you're going for. Okay, cool. You continue to play. You can feel your ears are starting to ring. But right now it's not so bad that you can't handle it. Arthur, you still have the big guy at a distance, but you've got the scratchy guy who just decked you in the jaw. [03:27:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm going to let go of the guy at a distance, and I am going to have to take care of this guy in front of me. [03:27:54] Speaker B: Okay, go for it. [03:27:55] Speaker C: I realize, by the way, something that just occurred to me that I'm standing in front of harm's way for Victoria. [03:28:02] Speaker D: You are? [03:28:05] Speaker E: Yes. [03:28:06] Speaker C: Which is my redemption for my drive. [03:28:09] Speaker E: So you now have your desperation dice back. We just had to get through one turn. [03:28:14] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. It just occurred to me after my turn that was like, oh, wait, hold on. I'm finally making a sacrifice play. Finally doing it. All right, so I'm going to let go of the guy and then just swing with my hand to try to hit this young person. And this is a wraith kind of thing, right? It's a ghost person. [03:28:34] Speaker E: It's a ghost riding around in a body. Yes. [03:28:36] Speaker C: Okay. All right, so then I can. All right, so we go hunter, dice, and then I've got seven plus two, nine plus 110 plus one. And what is our desperation? [03:28:57] Speaker E: Four. [03:28:59] Speaker C: Okay. Hopefully I don't go into despair again. [03:29:04] Speaker E: Holy Jesus. [03:29:07] Speaker C: That would be twelve successes, storytelling. [03:29:09] Speaker E: Twelve crime. [03:29:15] Speaker C: Arthur, how do you want to do this? [03:29:18] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:29:19] Speaker C: Arthur's hand with his glowing knuckles that have gone really bright because there's something very supernatural right in front of him. Just swings his arm. And you all know that he doesn't have his book in his hand anymore. He's just swinging his arm and just hits the thing in the face. And I assume that it would rock this person back into the ground, but I wonder if it separates the physical body from the wraith inside. [03:29:46] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. No, you hit this thing so hard that the kid, it's almost like something out of a movie, leaves the ground temporarily before he falls. And as the body falls, this ghostly form, for those who can see it, kind of hovers in the air for a moment as they are separated, as it is knocked directly out of the body. [03:30:11] Speaker C: Yeah. And in that moment, Arthur feels this empowerment and he has this mental thing like, okay, I guess I'm the righteous hand of God. That's where he's at. [03:30:27] Speaker E: All right. Damn, Arthur. Okay, Gozer, pop the fuck off. [03:30:37] Speaker D: Another role from him. [03:30:39] Speaker E: Yes. [03:30:40] Speaker B: Okay. [03:30:48] Speaker D: This is going to be last willpower. [03:30:51] Speaker E: Go for it. [03:30:53] Speaker D: Four successes. [03:30:54] Speaker E: All right, that's not bad. Gozer shifts slightly as the woman tries to wrestle him back. Like, she reaches out to try and shove him off. And he takes a step back and lets her leg go and then jumps at her throat and barrels her to the ground. There's a lot of blood. Those of you who could see ghosts very quickly notice that the woman or that a ghostly Figure slips out of the body as the body starts to not be alive anymore because a wolf just went for the throat. Be careful or it may go for your jugular. [03:31:46] Speaker C: At least my person's just knocked unconscious. [03:31:50] Speaker D: Listen, I'm busy and I didn't say don't kill them. [03:31:55] Speaker E: Well, be fair. [03:31:56] Speaker D: I doubt he would have obeyed because protective mama. [03:32:04] Speaker E: Okay. All right. So that takes care of two of the ghostly things. Rosanna, you have the woman at a distance. You can take a shot at her if you would like to. [03:32:20] Speaker B: I would very much like to do that. [03:32:23] Speaker E: Do it. [03:32:24] Speaker B: All right, I am going to pull back on the bow and I am going to shoot. And I believe we said that my pull was resolve and firearms. [03:32:35] Speaker E: And you get your additional three because you impact your bow. [03:32:40] Speaker B: All right. [03:32:40] Speaker E: And one from Jillian. [03:32:48] Speaker B: Ten successes critical. [03:32:49] Speaker E: Damn. [03:32:51] Speaker C: Nice. [03:32:52] Speaker E: Y'all just are making my final fight, which I thought was going to be difficult. Look like nothing. All right, I'm. Everybody's rolling, so good. Power of Julian. [03:33:03] Speaker C: We're finally showing that we've come into hunters. [03:33:09] Speaker E: You've grown. [03:33:10] Speaker D: We did it. [03:33:12] Speaker E: After all the sessions of Zephyr getting dominated by strong women. [03:33:19] Speaker D: You can't. [03:33:27] Speaker E: Having to struggle to do, to do anything physical and mostly just having to work in tandem with Zephyr to do the most minuscule thing. Y'all are just wasting everything. I love all of this so much. Okay, Rosanna, you pull back on the string of that bow, that string that nobody else can see but you can feel. Nobody else can see an arrow. It just looks like you've pulled your arm back, but you can feel the tension. You can feel this thing wanting to work with you. And there is this rush of power that seems to go through you from your chest into your hands, and it flies from your bow, this arrow, and becomes vaguely physical, visible to those around you for just a moment. And it looks like this gleaming golden arrow that looks like it is sprouting branches and leaves and things. And then it embeds in the woman's chest, and her eyes go really wide, and there's a look of panic, and then the body falls backwards, and you see a ghost standing where the body was with this arrow, which bursts, and dozens and dozens of vines shoot out and wrap around her. You see what looks like some sort of tear open up, and not the veil, but, like, in spacetime behind her, you get a glimpse of something verdant and green, and she gets sucked backwards through it, and then the tear closes. [03:35:40] Speaker D: Next. [03:35:43] Speaker E: Zephyr. [03:35:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm just going to straight up kill the stabby stab. [03:35:51] Speaker D: Do it. [03:35:52] Speaker E: You are augmented. You get your desperation dice. [03:35:57] Speaker C: All right. [03:36:01] Speaker A: So that's Dex and melee, plus Jillian. Is she still helping? [03:36:09] Speaker E: Yes. And your desperation. [03:36:15] Speaker A: And it's still. [03:36:16] Speaker E: If you want it. Yes. It's still four. [03:36:19] Speaker C: Okay. [03:36:19] Speaker E: Y'all are doing too well for me to give you more desperation dice. [03:36:22] Speaker C: You're like, actually three. You're not that desperate. [03:36:31] Speaker E: Four. Not bad. Do you want a willpower? Yeah, go for it. Holy shit. Yeah. Okay, cool. You hear Amelia in your head, and she's just like, we got this. We're fine. Watch. And you could feel her hand kind of, like, cover yours, like she is helping you to grip the knife the right way or maybe just tightening your grip on a spiritual level. And as you thrust forward to where, you know, a vital point on the body would be, you feel the knife's blade tilt just a tiny bit, like she knows that she is aiming for something that isn't physical. And the knife slips in between two of the ribs, smooth as butter. [03:37:25] Speaker C: What did this girl do in her living life? I have to ask. [03:37:30] Speaker E: But you know what, Amelia? [03:37:31] Speaker A: I'm starting to like you. [03:37:32] Speaker E: That's a good question. And you hear breath escape as you pull the knife back. You hear, like, air come from that wound that you just created. You punctured a lung. And then the body crumples as they grip at their stab wounds. The two stab wounds. And the ghost, you could tell, tries to stay in, but it's like they are connected to that knife. It's like they're impaled on it. They can't. As the body falls, they stay. [03:38:18] Speaker A: Can I see its face? [03:38:19] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. [03:38:21] Speaker A: What kind of face is it making? [03:38:25] Speaker E: Horrified. It's not sure what's happening or how you just did what you just did, but it's still. [03:38:33] Speaker A: Well, you said they're immortal, so you can't kill them. [03:38:36] Speaker E: You can't kill them, not properly. But you have the feeling they're not going to be able to affect much of anything for a little bit, for at least a while. And if you really wanted to, you get the sneaking suspicion that you might be able to hold on to this one. [03:38:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [03:38:56] Speaker E: Would you like this to be the trophy that you take? Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and. [03:39:00] Speaker A: Just take my little trophy. [03:39:03] Speaker E: You have that thought. You have that thought that you want to hold on to this one. And you kind of feel Amelia in you. Kind of pause, like, what? Really weird. Okay, but we're talking about this later. And you can feel the knife get ice cold in your hand. And you watch as this soul gets sucked into the blade of the knife. You're not sure how that happened. Amelia's not sure how that happened, but she knows that she helped you do it. She's like, whoa, I didn't know I could do that. That's cool. We're still talking about this later. [03:39:45] Speaker A: I'm just like, you helped me to judge. [03:39:52] Speaker E: Okay, so I believe that that leaves us with two. The big man that's no longer being held back. Right? And. No, just the one. Right? I think this is the only one left. I think you guys have just wasted all of the others really quickly. Jesus Christ. Okay. All right, big man coming at you. I would like Sam or sticker. Sorry. I would like sticker to roll. Go ahead and use Jillian's dice pools. Dice for this ghost to attack somebody. You could pick somebody like strength athletics, strength brawl. Okay. [03:40:46] Speaker C: Not so good. Virgilian. [03:40:50] Speaker E: One, two, three. Yay. [03:40:57] Speaker F: That's not too bad. Do I have to choose who it hits? [03:41:03] Speaker E: Or you could roll a die and I'll tell you who it is. [03:41:06] Speaker F: Yeah, I don't want to be like, sock this one in the face. [03:41:09] Speaker E: Oh, yeah, look at that. Well, I meant one die. I can't do anything with a full pull. [03:41:17] Speaker C: Yeah, you have to roll one die, and then we're numbered one through four, five. [03:41:22] Speaker E: If you can't. Not quite, but. [03:41:25] Speaker F: Okay, that's one die. [03:41:31] Speaker E: Arthur, I'm so sorry. [03:41:35] Speaker C: No, it's all right. This is my whole thing. Stand in front of the punches. [03:41:40] Speaker E: This is my. And was seven and. All right, cool. Jillian, please reroll some of the failures on that roll that you made. [03:41:52] Speaker F: Yeah, look at that. Three successes. [03:41:55] Speaker E: It's bludgeoning. Sorry. Superficial. So you take one. Superficial damage. Really? You're going to have a nice. Well, yeah, because you half. Right, and then you half again because of your relic. So you take one. Superficial. So you're going to have a lovely, like, a split lip and, like, a black eye tomorrow. And assuming that this guy doesn't survive the rest of this upcoming round, that's all you're going to walk away with. And I can't believe you guys have rolled so well. [03:42:28] Speaker C: And this is actually mostly Jillian's help on that one because these knuckles are what's doing most of. Okay, cool. [03:42:37] Speaker E: All right, cool. Jillian, I'm assuming you're going to continue to help, because helping keeps you from having to do anything that might give your shadow something to feed on. [03:42:49] Speaker F: And also, this is kind of badass. [03:42:53] Speaker E: To watch your friends come into their own and prove that they're capable of taking care of themselves. [03:42:58] Speaker F: It's a good send off, hopefully. [03:43:01] Speaker E: It's almost like it plays right into your afterlife mission of teaching people a lesson and making them better. All right, cool. Victoria, I am going to need a roll. [03:43:15] Speaker D: All right. [03:43:18] Speaker C: Do well. Do well. [03:43:20] Speaker E: I get one from one from Jillian. Jillian as well. [03:43:25] Speaker D: Okay, cool. [03:43:32] Speaker E: Is not bad. That's pretty good. You were using about four for each turn, so you're fine. You continue to hold on. [03:43:40] Speaker D: Okay. But if I will power reroll, you. [03:43:44] Speaker E: Could willpower reroll and speed it up. Go ahead and try. Yeah, you can feel it thicken just a little bit more. Cool. [03:43:55] Speaker D: Yeah, I see what Gozer does, but I don't really have time to deal with that. And honestly, he's doing a great job. [03:44:01] Speaker E: Well, it is Gozer's. Oh, no, it's Arthur's turn. Arthur's got the big ghost right in front of Arthur. [03:44:09] Speaker C: You know, just took a punch from this guy, and feeling so much confidence from the previous strike, will turn to this one again. And with the glowing thing in hand, try to bring down this one in the same powerful kind of way. We'll see what happens on this one. [03:44:28] Speaker E: Right? A haymaker. Do it. [03:44:29] Speaker C: Yes. It was eleven and then four. How about 16 on this 116? [03:44:43] Speaker E: Holy shit. Cool. [03:44:44] Speaker C: With an overreach. So our danger goes up, because I don't want to go into despair. [03:44:50] Speaker E: Okay, well, cool. Tell me what it looks like as you wield the literal fist of God. [03:45:08] Speaker C: Right. The hand, just this glowing bright, probably white color. It's like a bluish. It usually glows. Right. [03:45:18] Speaker E: Can I give you a little bit of flavor that I just thought of? You grip these knuckles tight, Jillian. You feel something shift. And you look over and you know in that moment that you can help Arthur reach a pinnacle that he is on the cusp of but will never make on his own. And you will yourself to let go of this item. You push just a little bit of power into that thread, and the thread snaps. And Arthur, as you bring your fist up, it connects with this man's jaw. You see teeth go flying. You see the body get sent backwards several feet, like we're talking, like full on anime flying backwards. Lands a good 4ft away. And your whole hand was glowing, this vibrant, radiant, goldish white. And as you relax your hand and your arm, you look down and you're not wearing knuckles anymore. You're wearing a bracer that wraps around the top of your hand and over your fingers. [03:46:50] Speaker C: Oh. [03:46:53] Speaker E: The same words are still etched into it, into the metal, but it's like it took on a new form. And it feels wholly and completely yours now. [03:47:09] Speaker C: All right. [03:47:12] Speaker E: Jillian, you feel. [03:47:16] Speaker D: You are. [03:47:17] Speaker E: Having a harder time holding on to this world. The veil is getting thicker. There is one more item tethering you to the mortal, to the. To the living world, the Skinlands. But you feel very assured that you have just literally handed off the baton to Arthur to become like the protector for your friends, to take up the job that you can't do for them anymore. Rosanna, you smell clover and wild roses and honeysuckle, and they wash over you and you feel warm, like you are standing in the middle of an open field on a spring day. It is somehow cool and warm and comforting. And everything feels so good. And then it slowly dissipates. [03:48:32] Speaker B: It just. [03:48:34] Speaker E: Like that tear in the world has dissipated. Loops back to Victoria, muzzle covered in blood, and does that thing that he does where he comes up behind her and he wiggles himself between her legs and sits. The rest of you feel the veil get colder and thicker. Zephyr, you look down at the pamphlet in your free hand, and you can see that the thread is still there. But you can also look over at Jillian and tell that she is struggling to hold on to this body. You no longer see the secondary thread. It's gone. It's just what you have. And you two realize that you have seconds, maybe a couple of minutes, before Victoria closes the veil. And you will presumably lose each other until Zephyr can. Until Zephyr meets his end and potentially gets to join you on the other side. [03:50:16] Speaker A: He's going to walk over to Jillian and kick Amelia out for a second. [03:50:27] Speaker E: Amelia, like, throats herself out. That's weird. She wants no part of it. She's like, nope, done. It is worth noting that as soon as she does that, you can't see the thread anymore. And you can't necessarily see how hard it is for her to hold on. God. [03:50:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Then he takes Jillian's hand and places the pamphlet and then just starts making out with her. [03:51:13] Speaker C: No, I'm just going to be, like, nothing to see here, children. No. Let's give them a moment. [03:51:20] Speaker E: All right. [03:51:20] Speaker B: I'm looking away. Okay. I don't see anything. [03:51:25] Speaker E: Sorry. [03:51:26] Speaker B: My virgin eyes, they see nothing. Okay. All right. [03:51:31] Speaker E: I love that you two start making out and everybody else panics and looks away, except for Victoria, who is so focused on what she's doing. Victoria, you feel like you can maybe hold on for one or two more rounds for everybody to get to say goodbye, but you can't do this for long. Your ears are starting to bleed. You can feel it. [03:52:01] Speaker D: Yeah, I kind of, like, soften the melody from the bells just enough so that bisc goodbye can happen. It's kind of bittersweet, and I just try to remain focused. Gozer is a great comfort as he's sitting between my legs, even though his mother's little is covered with blood. Yeah, I kind of say my own goodbyes, but I can't as I'm currently playing. [03:52:38] Speaker E: I think that Jillian can feel it. I think Jillian knows she can feel what's happening with the veil more intimately than anybody else can. And she knows that your version of saying goodbye is holding on to the state that it's in just a little bit longer so that she has a moment. Zephyr has already said his goodbye. Unless he has something he wants to say. [03:53:08] Speaker A: Yeah, afterwards, I'm just going to say, I'll see you on the other side, you ass. And then just rip up the pamphlet with her. [03:53:21] Speaker E: Well, don't rip up the pamphlet yet. We're going to give everybody. Give everybody their moment. You can rip up the pamphlet. [03:53:29] Speaker B: What the fuck, bro? [03:53:31] Speaker E: Sorry. Yeah. I'll just say you on the other. [03:53:35] Speaker A: Side, you ask, and then just let. [03:53:41] Speaker E: Rosanna. Everybody's going to get their turn. I promise. Scott. Rosanna, this is your chance. [03:53:50] Speaker B: Rosanna's running to Jillian and she's just giving her the biggest hug that she can. And she just holds her for a minute and just whispers in her ear. I hope you don't mind. I'm giving Arthur more cherry can and more strawberry candies. But that will always be our thing. [03:54:15] Speaker F: It's okay. Also, you're giving him more than strawberry candies? [03:54:19] Speaker B: What do you mean? [03:54:22] Speaker E: Jillian, she's just going to look her. [03:54:25] Speaker F: In the eyes and be like, you do you, girl. But she's also going to hug her and be like, take care of yourself. [03:54:35] Speaker B: I will. But I miss you, Jay. [03:54:38] Speaker F: Also, did you literally send someone through spacetime with an arrow? [03:54:45] Speaker B: Yes. [03:54:46] Speaker F: Okay. [03:54:49] Speaker B: I've got some secrets that you didn't know about. [03:54:52] Speaker F: That's wicked sick, isn't it? She's got to hug her tight. [03:54:58] Speaker B: I'm going to miss you. [03:55:01] Speaker E: All right, sticker, while you were embracing Rosanna, you noticed something. If you would please look at your dms. It's up to you if you decide to say it, but I am afraid. [03:55:28] Speaker F: When she pulls back from the hug, she's just going to look at Rosanna for a bit and kind of be like, what's that on you? And she's going to try to dust her a little bit. [03:55:40] Speaker E: Does not come off. You could tell that it is kind of suffused into her. [03:55:49] Speaker F: Unfortunately, this is a lesson I can't teach you. You got something attached to you, but I don't know what. But it's not like me attached to you, like us attached to you. [03:56:00] Speaker E: It is something else, some sort of other that you can't put your finger on. You've never seen it before. [03:56:07] Speaker F: It's not bad, but it's not entirely good. Good. But I guess that's your next mission. [03:56:17] Speaker E: Arthur, you have seconds. You can hear Victoria's breathing is getting a little bit labored, a little bit shaky. She's struggling. You don't have long. [03:56:32] Speaker C: I don't think you have time to tell me what the speaker is. But I guess you don't know. [03:56:38] Speaker E: Sticker, I'm sorry. Jillian has no idea. [03:56:44] Speaker C: But I guess just this then. And I hold my finger up and very playfully because I'm now more powerful or whatever, and go, like, don't make me have to destroy you. [03:56:58] Speaker F: I'd be honored. [03:57:01] Speaker C: And then, like, reach out with just the hand to shake it. Just shake hands. And that's all that Arthur will do. [03:57:09] Speaker E: And that is the moment when Zephyr realizes that if he doesn't let her go, he doesn't know what happens to Jillian when the veil closes and he rips up the paper, the pamphlet. Jillian, you have time to watch as the shreds of the pamphlet flutter and fall like mothwings. And the thread flickers and fades and you don't even have to step out of the body. You can feel the veil thicken and become hard and it pushes you out gently. And for those of you who could see her, you get one last look at your friend before she's gone. There is also a moment where you see, all of you get a chance to see Amelia standing there. And there are tears on her cheeks, but she's smiling and she gives a little wave. I think this is where I get off to. Didn't get my gumbo date. I'm going to haunt for that. [03:58:55] Speaker B: That's okay. I'll eat it in your honor. [03:59:00] Speaker E: Almost worse. And then she disappears. Um. [03:59:08] Speaker C: What? [03:59:08] Speaker E: A guy's here over the radio of the still running rv. Max's voice he says, you've got to keep going. You've got to get to New York. You've got to stop them before this happens again. Thank you. I think I can let go now. And then there is static. And Rosanna. The general sense of the rv being more than just an rv is gone and you guys are left in the middle of the road with multiple bodies. [03:59:52] Speaker A: I start hiding the bodies. [03:59:56] Speaker E: Like I. [03:59:57] Speaker A: Remember how to do this. [03:59:58] Speaker E: Well, thankfully, you have somebody tied to illegal activities at your party who may be able to help you with that. But we will have to find out during an epilogue episode, which should happen sometime in the next few months. Thank you guys so much for sticking with us. I know we ran over. I hope everybody enjoyed the finale as much as we did. I hope there were some tears wept and some moments of triumph shared with that 16 successes. Sweet Jesus, Arthur. You beast. We will see you guys again next season.