S2 Ep6: Keep it Close

[00:00:30] Speaker A: I'm Aubrey, and I play Isabelle. [00:00:34] Speaker B: Hi, I am legacy, and I play Rosanna. [00:00:40] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Scott, and I play Arthur. [00:00:44] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Termite, and I play piper. [00:00:47] Speaker E: And I'm bloodied porcelain. I will be your storyteller. The evening for Mad Men, there is an undeniable impulse to turn their focus outward, to look at the wider world and see threats on all sides. They harden themselves against an ever encroaching darkness in an effort to protect those they love. Fixations form, and they turn their focus away from the places and people they feel the most connected to. Digging in, they make themselves the bulwark against the world's monsters. They fight, they bleed, they survive. And then they turn back to find that the monsters are not lingering in the distance, but sitting at their dining table, raising their children and sharing their bed. Tonight, let's continue a story about the Mad Men. Two sessions ago, the group first arrived in New Orleans. They pulled in their new rv. Rosanna got up and promptly collapsed. Before we begin tonight's session properly, we're going to find out what happened to Rosanna. You were standing in the rv you had just pulled in in New Orleans. You were thrilled to finally not be driving, because while you were happy to drive the new rv, it's a very smooth ride compared to the old one. It's still exhausting, especially because this is a much bigger and more difficult thing to handle. So by the time you got there, your thighs were a little sore, your calves were tense because you have to press on the petals harder in something of this size. And you stand up and the world kind of went a little gray at the edges and then darker and darker and darker until you opened your eyes and you were somewhere else entirely. You are standing in a room with rough hewn stone floors and three rough stone walls. They feel like they've been around for a long time. This is the kind of roughness that comes from being old and not terribly well worked when they were built. Like, whoever put this together didn't particularly care about the comfort of the people on the inside, but not. It obviously hasn't been used so much that the stone has worn smooth from people walking on it either. You can tell because your feet are bare under you. You can feel the way that the stone almost feels like it wants to cut into your skin. It doesn't, but it's that kind of discomfort. It presses. And when you look down, you realize that the tattoo that you normally carry on your chest isn't there anymore. You're not sure if that is a unique thing only to where you are now or if it's gone for good. It's unclear, but it's certainly alarming to suddenly have it not be there. It's been there for months. It's become a part of you. You're comfortable with it there. So now that it's gone, you're not entirely sure what to make of the loss of it. At your feet is tuafla. She looks haggard compared to the last time you saw her. When you summoned her, she was ethereal and otherworldly. It was like someone had taken the things, the stuff that makes beautiful dreams what they are, and spun it into a person. Here she looks pale, not fair pale. Her hair is curly still, but it's messy, like it hasn't been properly cared for in a long time. Her knees are red from kneeling on the stone and where you had seen silver and gold chains that you were holding. You realize that she has heavy, thick iron bands around her wrists, around her ankles, around her neck, and you can see her skin at the edges of those bands is red and inflamed a little bit like what you saw with the other things, but worse, much, much worse. And there are strips of skin on her bare arms and legs that look like she has been touched by, I don't know, hot metal, maybe. And the chains, rather than you holding them, extend from her beyond the wall of iron bars to a woman who looks remarkably like you. She isn't wearing makeup. She is covered from head to toe in black. She's not wearing a dress like you would expect a nun to, but she does have the habit. Her hair is hidden under the wimple. She is holding the chain in one hand and a rosary in the other, but she is wearing trousers and a black shirt that comes all the way up to her throat, and Tuasla looks at you and there are tears and desperation in her eyes, like she wants you to understand, and as tears kind of slip down her cheeks, she pleads with you, I'm sorry. I didn't want to. I tried not to. She didn't give me a choice. And your sister wraps the chain once around her hand and tugs on it hard, and it pulls to athwa towards the bars, and you realize that those marks that are all over her skin are because every time she hits the bars her skin hisses and sizzles and she snaps at the woman at your feet. Silence. You were not given permission to talk. [00:08:59] Speaker B: Rin. [00:09:02] Speaker E: Hello, sister. I don't go by that name now. [00:09:08] Speaker F: But. [00:09:11] Speaker B: The what are you doing? [00:09:19] Speaker E: My job of her? No. She's been poorly behaved. [00:09:29] Speaker B: And so you punish her by making her burn and bleed? [00:09:36] Speaker E: She has to repent. [00:09:38] Speaker B: She does not have to do anything. She's done enough repentant in our family. The hell? When did you. Oh, my God. What the hell happened to you? [00:10:01] Speaker E: I found my purpose. Stepped into the role that we were both supposed to play, but your personality wouldn't allow you to. Fulfilling a destiny like ours is a lot of work, but I think I'm up to it. [00:10:28] Speaker B: I don't think you quite understand what you're getting yourself into, treating this woman like that. [00:10:34] Speaker E: I'm not sure that you are the one to talk to me about what I do and do not understand. You're very new to this life and fumbling through every step of it. I've been watching. [00:10:55] Speaker B: I refuse to hear this from the woman who went missing for over a year and a half with no contact of anybody in our family. [00:11:04] Speaker E: Oh, dear. I didn't go missing. I left. [00:11:08] Speaker B: Without saying a word to our family, our friends. I have been looking for you for over a year and a half. [00:11:16] Speaker E: I know. [00:11:17] Speaker B: No phone call, no nothing. No, fuck you. Fuck you. [00:11:28] Speaker E: Are you done? [00:11:29] Speaker B: Goddamn fucking traitor. You know. You know that your church does not like our people, and yet you're working. [00:11:42] Speaker E: For the same people have been a part of this church since its founding, almost. You're not what you think you are. [00:12:04] Speaker B: No. [00:12:04] Speaker E: Honey, I thought your friend would have told you she was doing genealogical research on us. Didn't she mention. [00:12:15] Speaker B: Not. No, we're not. [00:12:28] Speaker E: Sweetheart. Why do you think we have her? And she'll gesture at the woman at your feet. [00:12:37] Speaker B: Because our line are a bunch of assholes. [00:12:42] Speaker E: We needed power. Serve the church. She's not a demon. She's not a bloodsucker. She's not even a werewolf. She's a creature of dreams and imagination, which, thankfully, is something that God has seen fit to bless us all, with every human. She's just a manifestation of our power and the gifts that God gave us. Our family, particularly adept at being able to tap into that. We showed her a higher purpose than she had before. And saved her from a calamity that wiped out most of her people, funny enough. [00:13:34] Speaker B: And so we enslave her for years and years and years. As what? Repentance? Thankfulness? [00:13:44] Speaker E: Oh, no. She's a tool. An arrow in God's quiffer, so to speak. [00:13:51] Speaker B: She does not belong to us. [00:13:55] Speaker E: They all do. You realize that. [00:13:58] Speaker B: No. [00:13:59] Speaker E: The changelings, they're creatures of human imaginations. They are literally born from us. They're gifts. Most people are not strong enough to be able to put any good use to put them. [00:14:20] Speaker B: Teddy, Rosanna is going to kneel next to. I'm never going to get that right. She'll kneel down next to her and. [00:14:42] Speaker E: Just. [00:14:46] Speaker B: Grab her, grab, grab the hand that was pressed up against the cold iron bar. [00:14:58] Speaker E: He kind of winces, but she doesn't pull away. [00:15:08] Speaker B: When did you get so cold? You were never lacked this. Then again, you turn to a church that does nothing but take and take. [00:15:23] Speaker E: I didn't turn to them. They came to me. We have a much bigger family than you realize. There's an entire branch of our family that we didn't even know about growing up. We were always supposed to be a part of it. You and I, especially. Twins, are special. We run in the family, so to speak. But your. She'll kind of give you a look that is a little sad, a little regretful. I didn't keep you as together as I probably should have as your sister. By the time they found us, the damage had been done. So it was just me. But they brought me in. They taught me about our family history, about the unique role that we play and have played throughout the centuries. Taught me how to tap into her. Why do you think all of the things that you could do started around the time that I went missing? [00:16:59] Speaker B: We can't. We can't. Not in good faith, this. So you went Catholic? Or are catholic or. We're always catholic or whatever you want to call yourself. [00:17:27] Speaker E: What? [00:17:30] Speaker F: Just. [00:17:38] Speaker B: You know, good, good for you. You know, really, really good for you. You found a purpose in your sad, lonely, meaningless laugh. And it's to torment others and it's to take things that really, really, we have no business dealing with. And you take and you take and you take. You're probably worse than when the fucking blood sucking leeches. Congratulations. [00:18:15] Speaker E: We're the reason why the leeches haven't overrun the world, sister. Yes. Occasionally there are little groups like yours, and they wander around and think that they make a difference, but it's a drop in a very, very large, very deep ocean. My brothers and sisters in Christ. We're the reason why humanity isn't mass enslaved in this world. I've worked with freelancers like yourself on a few occasions. We tend to send them into problems that are small enough that they don't particularly merit our time, but certainly have caught our attention. While we deal with bigger issues, we can cleanse entire cities. And we have, in a night that's what faith does. [00:19:31] Speaker B: You can take your faith and shove it where the sun don't shine. [00:19:37] Speaker E: Very like you fucking. [00:19:44] Speaker B: You know, it's all right to admit that you were the family disappointment growing up, but you don't need to be the family disappointment now. What business do you have with these people, anyway? You know what they say about them on the news and the stories that people tell about your kind. [00:20:10] Speaker E: Oh, you mean the public facing part of the church? Yes, it does have its problems, and I would love to purge every last one of them. Unfortunately, that's not my focus. My focus is monsters like you. I'm not a monster. I'm one of God's chosen. [00:20:29] Speaker B: You are not one of God's chosen, Wren. You're a woman in all black pretending to be something that she's not. [00:20:40] Speaker E: Have you ever seen what real faith can do, Rosanna? Real faith? [00:20:52] Speaker B: Yes, I have. [00:20:57] Speaker E: I would love to hear an example of what you have seen. [00:21:05] Speaker B: You claim that you watch me well. [00:21:08] Speaker E: I can't watch you every moment of every day. [00:21:11] Speaker B: It seems like you watch me well enough. [00:21:14] Speaker E: I keep tabs. [00:21:24] Speaker B: I'm going to rest my hand on the bars and try to open them. [00:21:30] Speaker E: Okay? Hmm. How do I want to make you roll for that? Because you are not in a place that is entirely yours. Let's go with. Let me open your sheet. Roll me your unspent willpower. But you are at a negative two. [00:22:24] Speaker B: Critical. [00:22:26] Speaker E: Holy shit, that's impressive. Okay, so you reach up, and the first thing that you find is that it hurts when you grab the bars. It doesn't hurt you as badly as it obviously hurts tawafla. But there seems to be something to the natural connection that you share with her and the magic that she used to bring you here, that it is carried over some of her weaknesses to you. It is genuinely painful. You can feel the skin on your palms and your fingers beginning to slowly burn, like you are getting, like, the world's fastest sunburn, but you steal yourself against it and you pull really hard on the door. And there is a moment where you don't think anything is going to happen. And Toaflav reaches over and puts a hand on your leg. And there is a shot of, like, the only thing I can describe it as is, like, raw hope and the power, creative energy that just shoots through you. And you know that if you focus hard enough, it's less about doing something physically to the bars and more about willing this place to bend to your will and not just your sister's. You can tell that it's still not easy. And even with a six, that's a critical. The only thing that happens is that the lock clicks. So you could tell that the door can open. Like you don't manage to just yank it off its hinges or something like that. You've barely managed to unlock it, but that's enough for you to step out if you would like to. [00:24:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm going to step out. [00:24:47] Speaker E: And. [00:24:48] Speaker B: Look down in my hand. [00:24:54] Speaker E: She looks from you to Toafla, who is cowering again, and then back to you. And you can tell that the look is very much. I'm going to deal with what you just did later. And it makes tawafla shrink back again before she looks at you. [00:25:18] Speaker B: You don't get to confine me into a cage. [00:25:21] Speaker E: Well, to be fair, you showed up there because she's there and she's the gateway. [00:25:29] Speaker B: That doesn't matter, Rin. And then she's going to grab onto the chain. [00:25:43] Speaker E: That does burn, that burns like acid. And it doesn't seem to be bothering her, she just sort of watches as you grab it. [00:25:54] Speaker B: Or. [00:25:54] Speaker E: What are you trying to do exactly? [00:25:56] Speaker B: I want to try to gain control of the chains, to make it in a place that's far more comfortable than a prison cell. [00:26:07] Speaker E: So you want to change the whole surroundings? [00:26:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:26:12] Speaker E: Okay, first of all, you grab onto the chain and you're trying to change the area around you. You're going to have to make another unspent willpower check. [00:26:26] Speaker B: Okay. [00:26:27] Speaker E: You are still going to be at a negative two. And this is going to be a very high DC, like that six probably won't do it. Wouldn't do it for you. For this. [00:26:45] Speaker B: God. [00:26:47] Speaker E: So you see the space around you flicker and the chains start to go a little bit lighter, a little bit more polished looking. But the pain that's going through you is too much. And it gets to the point where you feel that hand from tuafla grab the back of your shirt and yank you back away from it. Yeah. I don't know what happens. I don't know what happens to you if you get too badly hurt. Here. I'm sorry, I couldn't. Couldn't let you keep hurting yourself. [00:27:48] Speaker B: Yeah. Just gonna look down at her hand. [00:28:02] Speaker E: Your sister looks almost bored. Are you done throwing your little fit? [00:28:17] Speaker B: It's for someone who fights monsters. You're probably the biggest one of them all. [00:28:45] Speaker E: Isn't a yes and it isn't a no. Sister. [00:28:50] Speaker B: We're not sisters. [00:28:54] Speaker E: You can't escape blood bond. Trust me. We've looked into it would have made my life much easier if I hadn't had to deal with the shared connection. And she'll glance ants at Toafla does make all the work that I have to do so much harder. Especially when she took advantage and gave you my weapon. [00:29:42] Speaker B: Get over it. You weren't built to wield that weapon anyway. We both know that. [00:29:54] Speaker E: You're not going to hurt my feelings, if that's what you're trying to do. [00:29:58] Speaker B: I'm not. I'm just simply stating facts. [00:30:03] Speaker E: It's funny, because that weapon was built for my soul, not yours. [00:30:09] Speaker B: Really? Then why does it fit like a glove? [00:30:13] Speaker E: Because we're twins. Although my understanding from the videos we managed to pull up of your little show down on the streets of New Orleans is that it doesn't quite fit you like a glove. It wouldn't have to grow out of my hands. It would just show up when I wanted it to. But it's fine. Seems like an adequate price to pay for theft. Your own little Hail Mary every time you summon a weapon that was meant for a warrior of God. But I didn't bring you here to talk about all of this. I brought you here because it is time that you finally had the family history lesson that you've been missing out on so that you can understand your place in things. Because the flailing around in the dark and getting friends to try and dig into complicated genealogical records is only going to get you so far. And you've already created enough waves for me that I would prefer to not have to keep cleaning up the mess. In your research and your time doing what you do and trying to bring down the church, how much research have you done on an organization that started with us called the second inquisition? [00:32:17] Speaker B: It was the first inquisition. [00:32:19] Speaker E: First, yes, but I'm asking about the second, because it's a different organization now. [00:32:27] Speaker B: It's not just the catholic church. It's also government officials. [00:32:33] Speaker E: Yes, we. [00:32:35] Speaker B: More polished than the church, less. [00:32:42] Speaker E: They're very concerned with appearances. But it's us who does the who. We do the real work. They provide us with access. We provide them with power. But make no mistake, we are the heart of all of it. None of it would work without us. We came to the table with extensive knowledge of the monsters and how to hunt them, how to kill them, what the different classifications are, what their level of danger is to humanity. You see, when we work, and she'll gesture at herself, when the faithful arm of the inquisition is allowed to do its job properly, we don't have catastrophes like Chicago. But when the governmental arms get a little too gung ho. City blocks get leveled. But that's neither here nor there. Again, this is supposed to be a history lesson. When the first inquisition was founded, our family were a part of it. Some of the original warriors, so to speak. But there are a number of sources of power in the world. There are people with magic who can disrupt what some call the weave in more direct ways, who are still faithful. And we tolerate them. Others we don't. Others we get rid of whenever we find them. They're problems. But when you have the power to rip apart reality, and you don't have the faith required to know what that reality needs, do you become a threat? Our family were. We started out similar to what you call mages. Now, we had limited gifts and a lot of faith. One of our gifts allowed us to tap into raw, creative energy, like what you have seen this one do. And she sort of glances at Tuafla. She and her kind are creatures of imagination. They're the pinnacle of what the human mind can come up with, made into beings. And when handled by people who can handle them properly, they can essentially become very handy batteries. For lack of a better term. A more graceful term. I don't remember what uncle called it. Anyway, I didn't go missing. One of our uncles, great great uncle, I believe, showed up. We had a. I don't know, a two or three day visit where he told me everything. He showed me all the records. Introduced me to some of our cousins. And told me about the purpose you and I were supposed to serve. Our role in the family destiny and the church hierarchy. Unfortunately, by then, you'd already become so wrapped up in your own damage, in your need to be. Well, in your need for righteous indignation, so to speak. But I found my calling. Found out that I'm very good at this. I am. I have a knack for learning how to wield things like this. And she'll gesture it to Afla. I summoned her on my first attempt. Which was? I don't know, perhaps two days after the first reports of my quote unquote disappearance went out on the radio. I didn't disappear. Well, I didn't go missing. I disappeared. I dropped off the radar, mostly. Funny enough, because me being openly attached to you put you at risk. Thought I was doing you a favor. I didn't know that you would get caught up in riffraff. I was hoping you'd go on to live a relatively normal and productive life. Sad for the loss of your sister. But I don't know. I was hopeful one day there would be nieces and nephews running around, that I could make sure we're safe from a distance. The way that I made sure that you were safe for quite a while. From a distance. She couldn't leave well enough alone. Couldn't put all of those smarts to use. So Katuafa told me all about your little vow to set her free. Was it? Should know something. Releasing her from the bonds, even if I were willing to help you, and I'm obviously not, is probably just going to kill her quicker. She's been tied to our bloodline for goodness hundreds of years, maybe longer. She doesn't have a body anymore. She has nowhere to go. Free her soul. She'll probably just dissipate, get sucked up by the dreaming, become part of the chaos on that side of things. She and I have had lengthy discussions and I've talked to the scholars here. Nobody knows exactly what happens to the changelings when they don't have a body to go to. Seems like at least some of them just wink out of existence. And she's been gone for so long, I don't think there's been anyone around to teach her the changeling way. But as long as she's tied to us, she's in a form of stasis. As long as there's a bloodline for her to remain with, she doesn't die. And contrary to what you may believe, there are great many changlings who. That's all they want is the immortality of the olden days, when they were all still children of the dreaming. Only. [00:42:05] Speaker B: So tormenting her is keeping her alive. [00:42:12] Speaker E: Tormenting? Oh, you mean the bars. The bars. No, that's her punishment. [00:42:20] Speaker F: Let. [00:42:20] Speaker E: For acting. No, let her go. I have no reason to. She belongs to the family. She always has. She's not just mine, and she's not just yours. Well, even once you and I are dead, there will be future generations and future sets of twins who will require her acquire it. [00:42:55] Speaker B: You make a really bad nun, you know that? [00:42:58] Speaker A: Rap? [00:43:01] Speaker E: I think, technically speaking, I'm not a nun in the truest sense. So you become a part of the church and you take your vows and whatnot, but eventually you are forced by the nature of this position. By the nature of this position, you are forced to break your vows to do the things that the Bible says are unforgivable. We accept that. That's a price that we pay on behalf of others to protect others. I continue to wear the trappings because it is my way of keeping with those vows. I can keep up on poverty, chastity, that sort of thing. I admit, kindness has been one of the things that I have struggled with. [00:44:18] Speaker G: So. [00:44:22] Speaker E: Now that you've had a very quick and dirty history lesson, you should understand something. I can't stop you from drawing on her power or from summoning her. But if you try to force her to work against. Try to ask her or encourage her to work against my means and my ends, she'll be punished every time. Doesn't have a body. It's only painful for her, but it won't kill her. And I have no problem helping to teach her the error of her ways. Spare the rod and all that. She had a reasonably easy existence before you started poking into things you weren't supposed to. Before she started giving you clues to look into. That's a better way of putting it. Sloppy work on her part, too. Anyway, think I'm going to put you back to sleep for a little while, sister. And you'll wake up eventually, I'm sure. Oh, that reminds me. Your friend with the pink hair. Pass along a message for us, will you? Tell her if she behaves, her friend will be fine. Greenbriar will take very good care of her. If she doesn't, her friend will find out everything. Every dark little secret she doesn't want her to know. [00:46:39] Speaker B: Burn in hell, Brent. [00:46:44] Speaker E: Oh, I have one. This will be a favor for you. Your companion, Arthur. I have a clue for him regarding the head of his culture. Tell him to look into the first commandment. And then she will reach out and she sort of taps the spot right between your eyes. And before you can do or say anything, the world goes black. And you can feel yourself falling. And then you hear a scream. [00:47:38] Speaker G: And. [00:47:39] Speaker E: The sizzle of flesh. Before everything goes black. You wake with you the sound of sizzling flesh and a woman screaming in your ears. You don't know how long it's been. It's an abrupt wake up. You feel like you're falling. And suddenly you're laying on a bed in the RV. On the main bed in the RV, staring at the ceiling. Gozer's head is beside your thigh. Looks like he was probably actually had it laying on your thigh. But you moved and startled him. But just before this happens. Arthur. [00:49:01] Speaker C: Yes? [00:49:04] Speaker E: You were sitting at Rosanna's bedside. [00:49:08] Speaker C: I was. And I was talking, wasn't I? [00:49:14] Speaker E: You were. Did you still want to do that? [00:49:17] Speaker C: Yeah. It's fine. I need you to wake up Rosanna. Something that cricket said. Every rose has its thorn. He implied that you were the thorn. But you're not the thorn, are you? You're the rose. You're the beauty that enriches the world, aren't you? You're the one who brings hope and makes this world a better place. And I'm the prick that no one wants. You know that thorn has a job. Supposed to protect the rose from predators that would harm it. But people, they just. They don't. They want the rose. They don't want the thorn. They just cut it off. Got the rose. It's just a stem. That's nothing. That's kind of what's going on here, Rosanna. I don't bring beauty. I don't bring peace. I bring pain and tears and blood. Everything, everyone is dead or trapped. Jillian, Victoria Zephyr. They're dead. Katie. Lyn is trapped. And you. I don't know what's going on. [00:51:20] Speaker B: But. [00:51:20] Speaker C: I need you to wake up. I need you to come bring some beauty into this world of darkness. [00:51:35] Speaker E: You wake up, you're falling there screaming in the background. Arthur said there. [00:51:53] Speaker C: Was that. Shit. Are you awake? Hey. You're here. You're here. Hey. It's okay. [00:52:12] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:52:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Hi. She just grabs onto him and puts him in like a hug. [00:52:46] Speaker C: Arthur hugs back and he's looking at his hands and trying to figure out if he did this or if something else happened. Just not clear as to what just happened. [00:52:55] Speaker E: Speaking of hands, Rosanna, you're holding on to Arthur and you do that thing where you hug somebody and your hands kind of form fists around pieces of their shirt to hold onto them a little bit tighter. And you realize that your palms hurt. And when you look, there are crosses burnt into your palms. And you realize that the part of the cross where the two pieces meet is almost exactly where your bow would grow out of, on the hand that it comes from. [00:53:58] Speaker B: My hands hurt. Arthur. [00:54:06] Speaker C: Trez, look at her hands while still holding her. [00:54:09] Speaker E: You have to kind of peel her off of you slightly and pull one of her arms, like, in front of you. But, yeah, they're angry. It looks like somebody branded her across. [00:54:23] Speaker C: Wow. Those weren't there before, right when we moved? Nope. [00:54:28] Speaker E: It's like they showed up immediately when she woke up. [00:54:34] Speaker C: Isbell, gonna need some help in here. Okay. [00:54:43] Speaker A: Start making my way back to the room. [00:54:46] Speaker E: Hyper. This is around the time that the events at the very end of the last session happen, right? [00:54:55] Speaker G: Hello? Piper. [00:55:14] Speaker B: Arthur, do you have your. Do you have your bible on you? [00:55:18] Speaker C: Yeah, hold on. It's right here. I've got it. [00:55:28] Speaker B: And she's going to take the book in her hand and very. She looks, like, afraid to touch anything. Now, the tip of her fingernail kind of goes to move the pages over, and she's going to turn to the back toward where the Ten Commandments usually are. It. Read that first one. Read that first one. [00:56:16] Speaker C: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Is that what you mean? [00:56:23] Speaker E: It. [00:56:28] Speaker F: Ahead? [00:56:31] Speaker B: Yeah, your. Your cult leader, your big false God. [00:57:13] Speaker G: That. Yep. [00:57:14] Speaker C: Cool. [00:57:15] Speaker A: I will definitely see if it's very obvious that Rosanna's got some messed up hands. I will immediately jump into trying to help. With. [00:57:30] Speaker C: What do you. What do you mean? Your sister did this to you? You've been with us the whole time? [00:58:00] Speaker B: She pulled me in. Into a prison cell with the fay. She's. She's got some weird faith. [00:58:28] Speaker F: Monster. [00:58:36] Speaker G: This. [00:58:37] Speaker D: Moment that Piper calls from the. From her room. Hey, we've got a fucking problem. [00:58:43] Speaker A: Not quite a few problems. [00:58:45] Speaker C: Piper. [00:58:48] Speaker G: Yeah. [00:58:50] Speaker C: Is it an immediate threat? Do we need to move? Yes, because right now. Oh, shit. [00:58:59] Speaker A: I've got Rosanna. We may need to drive. I got this. I've got this under control. [00:59:07] Speaker C: Hey, glad you're awake. And then Arthur will kind of lean in and just hug her, but then have to move out toward whatever immediate threat is happening out there. [00:59:31] Speaker F: Okay. [00:59:34] Speaker E: Arthur makes his way out into the main part of the bus where Piper is sitting in front of her computer. [00:59:44] Speaker C: Rosenna's awake. [00:59:47] Speaker D: There was a fucking cat that knocked me out of the, like, hold, like, lean to the side. [00:59:56] Speaker C: And so the speakers on the screen. [01:00:00] Speaker E: Is that the goal? Yeah. Okay, then, yes, he is. [01:00:12] Speaker G: Piper. Piper. And hopefully Arthur. I'm hoping you can all hear me. Obviously, this is one way. [01:00:27] Speaker C: How does he know who you are? [01:00:30] Speaker G: This is not how I intended to contact you. But of course. I mean, we're not even moved in yet. My hope was to invite you to dinner. If you could come by later this evening, or immediately. Honestly, we could get pizza. Just. I don't know, I suppose. Call your wife. Yeah. Whenever you'd like to call your wife and drop on by for a conversation, we're here. You'll be perfectly safe. I'm sure you have concerns, but I just want to talk. No hard feelings on my end, guaranteed. Now, do I just. Is this broken or do you can't tell me? I'll just pocket it. You can get it when you come back. [01:01:18] Speaker D: Yes, remotely powers and bound. [01:01:21] Speaker E: Okay. [01:01:21] Speaker C: No, I wouldn't have done that. If he's going to carry it around this pocket, it might have given us some valuable intel, but it's not that stupid. [01:01:33] Speaker D: If anything, he would have intentionally given us information that would give us either a false sense of security or a false sense of urgency. And we do something either very stupid or very stupid in the opposite direction. [01:01:50] Speaker E: It. [01:01:51] Speaker C: Okay, you're the expert on this. Listen to you. [01:01:54] Speaker D: You said that Roseanne was awake. [01:01:58] Speaker C: Yeah, Roseanne's awake. She had some kind of experience. She's awake and she's injured. So Isabelle's looking at her, but she said something about her sister doing all of this, has her brought her to some kind of jail with the fay. I'm not sure what's going on. It sounds like a magical thing, honestly. [01:02:30] Speaker D: Great. Love that for us. Well, we should talk to her, at least get her up to speed with what happens. [01:02:43] Speaker C: Yeah. Want to be real honest with you, Piper, I want to make a phone call, but that's what he wants me to do. [01:03:02] Speaker D: If you even somewhat just reach for your phone, I'm going to personally destroy it. [01:03:13] Speaker C: Yeah, it is pretty stupid, isn't it? Yes. All right, well, let's find out what's going on with Rosanna, and then we can figure out how to handle this. Invitation to dinner. [01:03:32] Speaker A: Do I need to roll medicine? [01:03:39] Speaker E: Yeah, go ahead and roll me into medicine. [01:03:42] Speaker C: Cool. [01:03:53] Speaker A: That's three successes. [01:03:57] Speaker E: Other than what's on her hand are burns, but they're not like, they look really bad because they're new, right? You are trained enough to know that these will probably heal with minimal scarring, if any. They're going to hurt like a ton of a bitch for a while, but it's pretty standard. You just. Standard burn procedure. You have her get up and have her kind of dunk both of her hands and like the tops of her wrist, because the bottom of it kind of travels down onto that tender skin at your wrist. Have her kind of like dunk her hands in essentially tepid water. Not cold, not hot, just like perfectly room temperature. And that Rosanna kind of immediately starts to pull some of the sting, know, and after that, it's mostly just keep them clean, keep them dry, wrap them, that sort of thing. [01:05:00] Speaker A: Probably have some sort of burn cream. [01:05:02] Speaker E: Yeah, you absolutely do. It's deeply unpleasant. But in the grand scheme of things, this is the kind of wound that, while it hurts like a son of a bitch, is mostly nuisance. [01:05:23] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:05:25] Speaker A: It'll be okay, Rosanna. They're not as bad as they look. [01:05:31] Speaker C: Just. [01:05:33] Speaker A: I'll try not to irritate them. I'll change these in a couple hours. We'll keep doing it till they're healed. [01:05:47] Speaker B: Okay. [01:05:54] Speaker A: Isabelle has no bedside manner. It's like I have done the thing. Hand on the shoulder. It's gonna be okay. [01:06:06] Speaker D: One member of the party with any sort of social skills. [01:06:12] Speaker A: Well, usually when Isabelle's dealing with them, she doesn't need. [01:06:20] Speaker D: Yeah, Piper's gonna walk in. Um, I'm glad to see that you're awake. Shit just hit the fan in a bad way. [01:06:39] Speaker B: Of course. Papper. You need to be very careful. [01:06:52] Speaker D: Why? [01:06:56] Speaker B: Well, my sister, she. She. She mentioned something about a man by the name of Greenbriar. [01:07:15] Speaker C: Oh, God. Hmm. [01:07:19] Speaker B: And she said that if you behave yourself, you would take care of her. But if you act out, he'll tell her everything. I don't know what that means. [01:07:41] Speaker D: This is more important than my secrets. I swear. I'm going to hunt down your sister and kill everyone near her. She so much lays a finger. [01:08:01] Speaker C: Piper. Looks like you and I are on the same page right now. [01:08:06] Speaker D: Yeah, I think so. What else? What else happens? [01:08:18] Speaker E: You. [01:08:49] Speaker F: There. [01:08:49] Speaker B: She was torturing. [01:08:54] Speaker D: Reason added to the list for me to hunt down and kill your sister. [01:08:56] Speaker C: Got. Got it. [01:08:57] Speaker D: It. Things are not going well. In her favorite. [01:09:16] Speaker B: She mentioned something about the first commandment and the speaker. She said something about real faith. And I think that's how she managed to do this to my hands. That she's always. That she's keeping tabs on me. My family there, they're part of this thing all the second. Well, we know. We know what the second inquisition is. She's on the religious sect of it and. Oh, my God, she's a monster. She's everything that I vowed I would never become when I got into this. [01:10:28] Speaker D: It's a bone. [01:10:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:10:31] Speaker D: When was the last time you spoke with your contact? [01:10:35] Speaker A: Yesterday. What did you tell her I mentioned. I asked if she had ever heard of Orin Labelle. She said she would give me some information. [01:10:49] Speaker E: It was today. [01:10:50] Speaker A: It was today? [01:10:51] Speaker E: Yeah, it was this morning. After Rosanna collapsed. [01:10:55] Speaker A: Well, after Rosanna was already unconscious by this point. [01:11:06] Speaker D: Was there anything else? [01:11:12] Speaker A: We talked about the curse. Mostly what I was doing. And also, this is me out of character, remembering everything that I said. But we mostly talked about whoever did this to me, their connections. And I did ask her to look into Rin Labelle. I didn't mention anything about you, Piper. [01:11:41] Speaker D: That's not what I'm worried about. At this point. [01:12:02] Speaker B: I don't know if I'm gonna be much of a help to y'all right now. [01:12:09] Speaker D: We don't need you to be. Just. [01:12:14] Speaker G: Rest. [01:12:16] Speaker D: Keep yourself safe. Do you need to eat? [01:12:30] Speaker C: Okay. [01:12:35] Speaker D: And we're in, like, Rosanna's room, right? [01:12:38] Speaker E: I mean, you're in the rv, there's not a room. You're just back where the bed is. [01:12:43] Speaker D: Yeah, we're in area. [01:12:45] Speaker E: Yeah. [01:12:46] Speaker D: Where does she keep the strawberry cream candies? [01:12:50] Speaker C: Also had the same thought, but you beat me to it. [01:12:56] Speaker E: Rosanna, where do you keep your strawberry cream candies? Other than one conveniently in your cleavage at all times? [01:13:02] Speaker D: Well, yeah, I mean, that's. [01:13:10] Speaker B: She just kind of gestures to the bedside table. [01:13:21] Speaker D: Piper grabs it, takes one out, puts. [01:13:25] Speaker E: It in your hands. [01:13:33] Speaker D: Don't think, just. [01:13:38] Speaker C: Yeah, someone smart once told me that contained happiness. I think you like your mics off. [01:13:52] Speaker B: Okay. But she puts it in her mouth and she'll close her eyes. [01:14:02] Speaker E: What are you thinking about when you close your eyes? [01:14:15] Speaker B: The night at the bar where her and Arthur got drunk with sloppy drunk. [01:14:28] Speaker E: Oh, no, that was not the sloppy drunk night. [01:14:31] Speaker B: And Mama Mia and Abba were playing on a jukebox, and the three of them were just kind of like, dicking around and dancing with each other. [01:14:45] Speaker E: That was the night that Arthur got sloppy drunk and Rosanna held her liquor. Okay. [01:14:51] Speaker B: Her proudest moment. [01:14:55] Speaker E: You focus on that moment and you can feel that. You can sense the moment where that goes from being a piece of candy to sunlight on your tongue. It's like going from struggling to get out of an icy pond, knowing that you're going to die, to pulling yourself out onto a warm spring. Into a warm spring Meadow. It takes a minute, but it's there. And everybody else in the room, including Isabelle and Piper, smell wildflowers and strawberries and cotton candy. And each of you smell one thing that distinctly reminds you of the happiest moment in your childhood. And I would like to know what that one thing is. We'll start with. Start with Arthur. You're the closest. [01:16:25] Speaker C: Happiest moment from childhood. [01:16:27] Speaker E: One smell that reminds you of it. [01:16:34] Speaker C: Probably. Yeah, probably just wet grass. [01:16:46] Speaker E: Like that. Okay, Piper. [01:16:52] Speaker D: I can't for the life of me remember what the specific smell was called, but like the air after a rainstorm. [01:17:06] Speaker E: Petrochor. [01:17:07] Speaker C: Yes. [01:17:10] Speaker E: Isabelle. [01:17:12] Speaker A: The salty sea know you get when you're kind of close to the beach, but just sort of that first time you smell it. Maybe you stepped out of your car to take a break on a very long drive, and you get your first smell of the salty sea air. [01:17:35] Speaker F: Nice. [01:17:38] Speaker E: You're all sort of sitting there and taking this in. Rosanna is tasting and smelling strawberries and wildflowers, and for just a moment the three of you around her start to feel a little bit like you've stepped into a waking dream. And then it abruptly fades when the phone in your pocket rings. Arthur. [01:18:19] Speaker D: Answer it. [01:18:22] Speaker C: You sure? Seems like a bad idea and I don't want you to destroy it. [01:18:31] Speaker D: Answer it. [01:18:39] Speaker C: And he answers it. Hello? [01:18:50] Speaker F: Adeline. Hi, Arthur. [01:18:57] Speaker C: Hey. Yeah, it's me. [01:19:01] Speaker B: Hi. [01:19:03] Speaker F: This is so silly. The speaker asked me to check in with you. Didn't realize he knew I had this phone. [01:19:16] Speaker C: Yeah, I was a little worried about that. [01:19:20] Speaker B: What do you. [01:19:22] Speaker C: Well, you know, I didn't want you to get in trouble for having something that maybe you shouldn't have had. [01:19:30] Speaker F: I hit the phone, I. Well, I guess the cat's out of the back. He didn't seem upset. [01:19:48] Speaker C: Really? [01:19:50] Speaker E: Well, I guess. [01:19:55] Speaker C: I guess my leaving didn't upset him too much then. At least not to take it out on you in any way. [01:20:03] Speaker F: I mean, I don't know. I don't. I don't know if I would say he wasn't upset. I mean, we'd all be. We were all pretty hurt. And I think the speaker just felt betrayed. That's how he's put it before. [01:20:28] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:20:33] Speaker F: However he felt before, it seems like he's in a good mood now. Is everything okay? [01:20:44] Speaker C: Um, not really. A friend of mine just got hurt, and I'm trying to make sure they're okay. [01:20:55] Speaker F: So. Sorry. [01:21:00] Speaker C: Yeah. Are you okay? Is everything okay over there? I heard you said you were moving and getting ready to go. [01:21:07] Speaker F: Yeah, everything's great. We've landed in Louisiana and it's beautiful here. It's hot as sin, but it's beautiful. There's so much space. You'd love it. [01:21:28] Speaker C: Yeah, it sounds great. I mean, I've been out that way. It's pretty hot. Get that hot this time of year. [01:21:45] Speaker F: I mean, we're almost moved in. It's still a mess. But is there? Where? Where? Actually, out of character. Do I know where you've been before? You haven't said anything. [01:22:03] Speaker E: No. [01:22:09] Speaker F: I guess we're a long way from California, so there's no chance of seeing you anytime soon. [01:22:17] Speaker C: Actually, I'm not too far away. I might try to see you. Where in Louisiana are you exactly? Maybe I'll try to, I don't know, figure out how to find you. [01:22:33] Speaker F: Near New Orleans. I think I can probably get you the direct address. Would you really come by? [01:22:53] Speaker C: Yeah, I think I might, but it might be a little bit. [01:22:59] Speaker F: Don't tease me. [01:23:05] Speaker C: There's. There's a little bit going on right now, but I think we'll see each other sooner than later, all right? [01:23:17] Speaker F: Liam's been going on about all of the. I'm sorry. The speaker's been going on about how excited he is for the growing church, and it means good things when. You know, I just. I want to share it with you. [01:23:39] Speaker C: Liam. I don't think I've ever, ever heard anyone call him that. [01:23:45] Speaker B: Oh. [01:23:48] Speaker F: Sorry. It's informal. He's been spending time together, and he just sounds so cliche. You just said, call me Liam. He's the speaker. He's a speaker. And I'm sorry, that was not. [01:24:16] Speaker C: I just. Like I said, I've never heard anyone, even people in his closer circle, the inner group, call him that, so that's surprising. I didn't realize the speaker had a name that was. I don't know. Sometimes you wonder if it's just, like, john or something. But I guess you're calling him Liam now. It must be closer than the close inner circle, then. [01:24:49] Speaker F: I mean, I don't think that I would say that. I think that he saw that I was feeling isolated and that I really needed somebody. [01:25:21] Speaker C: Well, I'm. I'm glad that you're doing a lot better. And I mean good. It's really good. [01:25:37] Speaker F: Is your friend going to be okay? [01:25:41] Speaker C: I hope so. We're not sure right now, but. Yeah, think so. [01:25:56] Speaker F: Well, you can bring them all by, I'm sure, if you're traveling or you'd like a place to just rest for a while. [01:26:13] Speaker C: Yeah. Sounds like you've got a home there. Sure. There's spare rooms for the friends. [01:26:24] Speaker F: Like I said, it's huge. Oh, my gosh. Excuse me one moment, and I'll kind of put my hand over the phone for a second, and you can hear the mumbling. [01:26:39] Speaker C: I'm going to look at the others and just go. I don't like this. Like mouthing it. Hey, Arthur, are you there? [01:26:56] Speaker B: Awesome. [01:26:58] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:26:59] Speaker G: Charming as hell to hear your voice. How are you. [01:27:07] Speaker C: Doing? All right there, Liam? How are you? [01:27:10] Speaker G: Well, that doesn't seem like the truth, but I appreciate it. Um, honestly, if I said I was doing perfect, I'd be lying, too. Ain't nobody perfect in this world. [01:27:24] Speaker C: That's true. That is true. [01:27:29] Speaker G: Anyway, are you coming by? Because sooner is better. I know we're still setting up, but that's nothing. That can just be done. And I do need to talk to you and yourself. [01:27:42] Speaker C: Just me? You just want to talk with me? [01:27:46] Speaker G: No, everyone. I think I can be helpful to all of them. And honestly, of course I'm most looking forward to seeing you. But meeting Popper and Lillian and Rosanna, they seem like charming folk. [01:28:06] Speaker E: Isabel. Not Lillian. Not sure who Lillian is. [01:28:10] Speaker C: Isabelle, I mean, Arthur was going to throw that. Oh, I guess we're not perfect, are we there, speaker? But yeah, no, my cell and I. Yeah, they want to talk to you too, there, speaker. You know, in order for that. For that to happen, though, I just got to know one thing. [01:28:42] Speaker G: You need to feel safe. [01:28:45] Speaker C: No, I don't need to feel safe. I need to know that she is safe. [01:28:56] Speaker G: You hear a pause, and then the crunch of gravel. Sounds like the speaker is walking. Arthur, I'm going to be very clear with you right now. As honest as I've ever been, I will not hurt Katie Lynn. I like her. Just Fun. She's in no danger from me. Honestly. She's in more danger from you, the way you treat her heart. I'm sorry. That was very personal. These are stressful times. [01:29:32] Speaker C: Yeah, they are. [01:29:37] Speaker G: All right. It would be lovely to be able to discuss the details of these stressful times with individuals who understand them. Do you catch my meaning? [01:29:52] Speaker C: I think I do. I think that I've come to quite a bit of understanding over the last couple of months. [01:30:00] Speaker G: Good. Well, indeed, I hope to see you quite soon. I mean, you have the phone number. You can all just text your pizza preferences. [01:30:18] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm sure we'll do that. [01:30:22] Speaker G: Honestly, again, it's good to hear your voice. I know. I know you're not necessarily coming back to the faith. I understand that faith is a challenging thing, and we almost meet it in our own way. But to talk to you as a man would be, I think we could both benefit tremendously. [01:30:49] Speaker E: It. [01:30:53] Speaker C: Would be nice to be able to talk man to man. [01:30:58] Speaker G: Delightful. You got anything else? Want some kind of assurance? I'm unarmed. [01:31:07] Speaker C: Yeah. I've never seen you with any kind of weapon. That's true. Nothing made of iron, at least. [01:31:18] Speaker G: Well, the cult tends towards peacefulness and pacifism. It keeps the feds out of our business. [01:31:23] Speaker C: Yeah, it does. [01:31:24] Speaker G: Yeah. [01:31:24] Speaker C: No, I used to go out and talk to people about the practices. [01:31:29] Speaker G: You were perhaps our most successful. Yeah. [01:31:32] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay. Let me talk with myself, and I will get back to you there. Liam, see what we can figure out. [01:31:42] Speaker G: Excellent. And the drone is unharmed. She can have it back as soon. [01:31:46] Speaker C: As you get here. Yeah, I hear they're pretty expensive these days. I'm not sure. [01:31:54] Speaker G: Me neither. Technology. It's amazing. [01:31:59] Speaker C: Something like that. Yeah. [01:32:04] Speaker G: Good afternoon, sir. [01:32:05] Speaker C: Good talking to you, Liam. It's good to hear your voice or something. [01:32:09] Speaker G: Oh, you want to say about it? Katie Lynn? [01:32:12] Speaker C: Yes, I would love that. Thank you very much, sir. [01:32:15] Speaker G: Sure. Here you go. Crunch of gravel. [01:32:21] Speaker F: Hello? [01:32:23] Speaker C: Hey. So, yeah, we've made some arrangements. Like I said, we're going to see if we can come by and see you. [01:32:32] Speaker F: Really? [01:32:33] Speaker C: Yeah, the speaker kind of made some good points. He wants to have dinner. [01:32:43] Speaker F: That would be amazing. Tonight? [01:32:48] Speaker C: I'm not sure. I'll have to see where we are and how far we can get, but I'll get back to you. I think we're going to try. [01:32:59] Speaker F: Okay. All right. I'll see you later. [01:33:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Hey, don't be too worried about the people, guests and stuff. I know sometimes you get with trying to make everything perfect for everyone. Just find something to occupy yourself that doesn't make you think about all the guests coming and distract you and make sure that everything's all. [01:33:29] Speaker F: Why would you say that? Now that's all I'm going to be. [01:33:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:33:41] Speaker F: Well, now you don't need to come at all. I'm kidding. Please come. [01:33:46] Speaker C: I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're smart like that. [01:33:52] Speaker F: You're not so bad yourself. I'll see you soon. Hey. I love you. [01:34:02] Speaker C: I love you. See you later. [01:34:09] Speaker E: Arthur has just hung up the phone after speaking with the speaker. And Katie Lynn, Rosanna and Isabelle is helping Rosanna to tend to her hands. And Piper, I think is plotting to blow multiple people up or something. I don't know. Yeah, whatever it is, it probably involves fire. So what are you guys going to do? [01:34:40] Speaker C: The speaker has invited us all to dinner on the compound. Yeah, pizza, apparently. [01:34:51] Speaker A: Lovely. Are we sure that's a good idea? [01:34:58] Speaker D: Not even a little bit. [01:35:01] Speaker C: It's not a good idea at all, but. [01:35:08] Speaker B: I'm sorry, can we take maybe the five steps back? Bigger. Inviting us to pizza on the compound in California even though we're over here? [01:35:22] Speaker C: No, the compound. That's the one here in few hundred feet that way, outside of New Orleans. We kind of discovered some information and it seems that there's a bigger play going on here. One that involves Liam Key. [01:35:50] Speaker A: That's the speaker. [01:35:53] Speaker D: It also involves your sister. [01:35:59] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:36:03] Speaker A: And quite possibly the person who cursed me. [01:36:08] Speaker D: Yes, because if I remember correctly, it. [01:36:10] Speaker E: Was an outgoing payment to Rin. [01:36:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I believe so. [01:36:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:36:16] Speaker B: I'm sorry, an outgoing payment to my. [01:36:24] Speaker D: Sister from the churches or the cult's funds? [01:36:30] Speaker B: Yes, church of the presence. Poverty my ass. [01:36:42] Speaker E: It. [01:36:43] Speaker B: During my talk with Ren, she brought up how she wanted to keep some of her more holy. Whatever bullshit oath that they take when they get inducted into the vows. [01:37:04] Speaker C: Right? [01:37:04] Speaker B: Yeah. And she was like, well, I've decided to keep my chastity and keep to poverty. Yeah, poverty, my ass. [01:37:12] Speaker A: It was a sizable payment. That's definitely not someone living in poverty. [01:37:17] Speaker C: No. [01:37:18] Speaker B: I'm going to find that fucking bitch and yank her hair out. [01:37:23] Speaker C: I think that's better than what I'm going to do to her. Yeah. [01:37:28] Speaker B: I've got a list of things I want to do to that girl. [01:37:34] Speaker A: We'll help. [01:37:38] Speaker D: But for now. [01:37:43] Speaker C: We have. [01:37:44] Speaker D: To decide what we're doing with this speaker situation. [01:37:50] Speaker C: Yeah, we talked just now on the phone, he and I, and see, he. There's. I'm just gonna come out and let you all know he's. Something is going on, and he is using Katie Lynn for part of it or something. She's part of his inner circle or some such now. And he's claiming that he quite enjoys her and that she's entirely safe. Which, if I have to believe that everything he said is a lie, that she's not that safe. [01:38:41] Speaker A: Hostage. She may not realize it, but he's. [01:38:46] Speaker D: Being completely honest with that last part. [01:38:50] Speaker A: I mean, as long know. I guess we don't do anything stupid. [01:38:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I guess so. [01:38:55] Speaker D: Even if we do, I don't think Katie Lyn is at any risk. [01:39:02] Speaker C: Well, that makes one of us, I guess. But, yeah, he's offering some kind of. I mean, he didn't actually say there was any kind of protection or amity for us. He just wanted to talk with people who know is what he was kind of implying. I don't know exactly, but I think he's kind of implying that people who know about monsters and mages and all of that, like. [01:39:45] Speaker B: It'S. [01:39:46] Speaker D: Or he wants to speak with people that know what it's like to be hunted. [01:39:55] Speaker C: Maybe. [01:39:56] Speaker D: I guess one way or another, all of us are. It comes with the job, unfortunately. [01:40:07] Speaker A: Should we be worried? Should we be worried for our safety? [01:40:13] Speaker D: If there is ever a situation in this job where you're not worried for your safety, you are doing something wrong. [01:40:19] Speaker A: I meant should we. Do we want to go there armed? Will that be a bad idea? [01:40:29] Speaker B: I mean, some of us don't have a choice of whether or not we go there armed. [01:40:35] Speaker A: That's fair. But yours isn't as obvious as a gun. [01:40:45] Speaker B: Up to Arthur. [01:40:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:40:56] Speaker C: See, the. There's. It depends on what it is. A gun would. The speaker doesn't really move around alone. And some of the people that he has around him are protectors of sorts. Not exactly. Security, but something very similar to it. If we came with obvious weaponry, that would be a problem. Especially when it's just supposed to be a dinner, right? It would be in bad faith. But it depends on what you consider a weapon. Because for them, I assumed that they wouldn't think that my book or myself were a weapon. And I don't know how many drones you have. Piper. He has one that he said he would give back to you, probably after any kind of conversation if he were telling the truth. [01:42:15] Speaker D: Worst case scenario, I just build another one. [01:42:21] Speaker C: But I also think it's a bad idea to go unprepared. [01:42:32] Speaker D: I think going unarmed is going to put us at more risk. [01:42:41] Speaker A: That makes sense, because if they see. [01:42:43] Speaker D: Us as a threat, then they get hostile. [01:42:47] Speaker C: Exactly. [01:42:51] Speaker B: Well. [01:42:56] Speaker C: And Arthur looks over at goes. I really wish you, buddy, listened a little better to someone here, because you'd be a great weapon. [01:43:12] Speaker D: Unfortunately, I think even bringing Goethher could be a bad. [01:43:18] Speaker C: Mean. [01:43:18] Speaker A: Somebody's gotta watch therapy. [01:43:27] Speaker E: Just to remind you, Arthur, one of the things that you learned about this particular branch of the church during your time watching them is that most of the people who leave the compound and travel back and forth are pretty rough and tumble crowd. If you guys came in here loaded and angry, it would probably go poorly because you are dramatically outnumbered. And that's assuming that they send all of the non combatants away. And you only have to deal with the bikers with the norse tattoos. [01:44:13] Speaker C: Yeah. So he's not unprotected. I think that it's this. I think the piper's right. If we came in, it would be more hostile. If we came in hostile, it would be more dangerous for everyone. [01:44:29] Speaker D: Exactly. [01:44:32] Speaker B: Then we go in with better intentions. [01:44:47] Speaker E: And. [01:44:49] Speaker B: See where this conversation lands us. [01:44:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:44:57] Speaker D: BP. Just in case. Just in case something happens, I would like to have an extra copy of the device I use for the unnatural. Just on my person. [01:45:11] Speaker E: That is totally fine. Do you want to hide it in case you get patted down? [01:45:17] Speaker C: Yes. [01:45:18] Speaker E: All right. Make me a manipulation and subterfuge check, please. [01:45:26] Speaker D: Okay. I'm not great at those using desperation on. This is probably a bad idea because it could go very poorly. [01:45:40] Speaker E: Hold on. You are underground. Let's be a little bit more appropriate to your particular creed. Let's go. Dex and Dex and larceny. [01:45:59] Speaker D: Dex and larceny. [01:46:00] Speaker E: And if you would like to use your desperation dice, because this calls on your. Go ahead. Make my day. [01:46:14] Speaker D: I would like to ask the other players, how do we feel about that? [01:46:17] Speaker A: Go for it. [01:46:20] Speaker C: It is kind of your thing. [01:46:22] Speaker E: You've got four. [01:46:24] Speaker D: Yes. [01:46:25] Speaker E: So it could hurt you or it could really help you. [01:46:30] Speaker D: Am I shooting for a specific difficulty or just many successes? [01:46:34] Speaker F: All right, roll it. [01:46:38] Speaker E: Oh, dear. [01:46:39] Speaker D: Overreacher. [01:46:43] Speaker E: You did six successes. That is true. But you still have to pick. Overreach or despair. [01:46:47] Speaker D: No, I'm saying, like, do I want to take overreach or do I want to go into despair? [01:46:52] Speaker B: I mean, we're already at desperation five. [01:46:55] Speaker G: Yeah. [01:46:55] Speaker D: We're at danger five. [01:46:57] Speaker B: Danger five. [01:46:58] Speaker C: Yeah. That sort of reaches a point then, doesn't it? You can't increase the danger. [01:47:07] Speaker D: Yeah, let me check. [01:47:08] Speaker E: That doesn't mean that bad things won't continue to pile on. Just because the little gauge doesn't go above five doesn't mean the game doesn't go above five. [01:47:20] Speaker D: Yeah, I do think genuinely it can. Zero to five is just generally. [01:47:34] Speaker E: The game kind of assumes that you guys won't let it get this bad. Yeah. Well, it. [01:47:46] Speaker C: I mean, neither is a good option, really. [01:47:48] Speaker D: Neither is a good option. These are both bad. I'll take despair. [01:48:02] Speaker E: Hey, you fall into despair. What a pity. [01:48:13] Speaker D: So it's not hidden. [01:48:18] Speaker E: Well, you got six successes. [01:48:21] Speaker D: I think falling into despair is an automatic failure. [01:48:25] Speaker C: Yeah, that's sort of the downside. Oh, well, so the overreach allows for it to be a success, but the despair makes it a failure. Yes. [01:48:38] Speaker E: Okay. Thank you for being honest. Yeah, it's just, unfortunately, you. It's such a weird shape that you're just like, fuck it. And you just tuck it into, like, the inner pocket of your jacket. They'll find it if they go looking for it. [01:49:10] Speaker C: Isabel, we've never been in a situation like this before. With you. I'm not sure how you deal with the things in the dark. [01:49:23] Speaker A: I have spent a lot of time learning how to make things. If you remember, I rigged the other rv up with the flashbangs and glitter. [01:49:41] Speaker C: So explosions, that's how you can do that. [01:49:44] Speaker A: I've also gotten really good at tinkering with gear or making stuff out of very little in a pinch, if needed, usually to fight kindred. But you use it for other things as well. I mean, if we wanted to say, maybe come up with some sort of smoke bomb if things get real bad, by some cover, you can make those really, really small, like the size of ping pong balls. [01:50:19] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:50:28] Speaker E: It. [01:50:29] Speaker A: If you think that's a good idea, like, I don't. Can try and keep them hidden, but. [01:50:36] Speaker C: I think that we'll just have to go as is then. [01:50:40] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, it's a house there are cleaning supplies. I can work quickly if it absolutely is necessary. [01:50:48] Speaker C: Okay, this is a terrible idea, but I don't see any other way that we can deal with this situation. Especially considering that he knows we're here and was kind of being polite in not simply telling us that he would come to us if we didn't come to him. But I get the distinct feeling, yeah, he just. [01:51:24] Speaker A: Where we are, we take too long. It'll be knock knock knock on the side of the rv. [01:51:28] Speaker E: Arthur, your phone chimes a text message. It's from Katie Lynn. Reminder, preferred toppings and allergies, please. And it's signed with a heart. [01:51:47] Speaker C: So I guess they really want to know what kind of pizza we want. [01:52:00] Speaker E: Then there's another chime. And what kind of wine does everybody like? [01:52:07] Speaker C: And also wine. [01:52:17] Speaker A: Well, I'm kind of partial to knew. [01:52:20] Speaker D: What we were dealing with. I would tell you to tell him that pizza online is a horrible combination. [01:52:34] Speaker C: Yeah, well, does anyone have any food allergies? I can't even believe I'm asking this. [01:52:44] Speaker A: Question that I'm aware of. And if they really need to know, preferred toppings, mushrooms and peppers. [01:52:57] Speaker D: Okay, I couldn't care less. I'll be completely honest. [01:53:03] Speaker C: Yeah, I don't think I'm going to eat it either. But anyway. [01:53:09] Speaker A: Do you expect the speaker to poison the pizza? [01:53:13] Speaker D: I don't expect it, but it's a possibility. [01:53:16] Speaker A: It's a possibility, yeah. We'll play by your wine. Whatever. I am also going to cross all my I's and dot all my t's, make sure that people will come looking for us if we do get missing. [01:53:42] Speaker C: Rosanna, you've been awfully silent. [01:53:57] Speaker B: Don't know if it is a good idea that I go. Seeing how close knit he seems to be with my sister, at least on a financial level. And other reasons. [01:54:31] Speaker E: One moment. Discord has rebelled and we have lost. [01:54:35] Speaker C: A termite and seen. Don't. Just. [01:54:38] Speaker A: I can't believe the speaker took out termite. [01:54:42] Speaker C: Sorry. [01:54:43] Speaker D: All I got assassinated. [01:54:45] Speaker B: I can't believe you've done this. [01:54:48] Speaker E: Isabel fumbled her explosives roll. [01:54:54] Speaker F: Okay, continue. [01:54:56] Speaker E: Sorry. [01:55:02] Speaker B: I don't. I just. I don't know if it's a good idea that I go. [01:55:09] Speaker D: It's not a good idea if any of us go. I genuinely don't think you'll be at any more risk than any of the rest of us. [01:55:21] Speaker B: It's not just the speaker that I have concerns about. But I will go if you think that is the safer option. [01:55:43] Speaker C: Go ahead. Piper. [01:55:44] Speaker D: It's best if we all stick together? [01:55:48] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:55:49] Speaker E: Arthur, you have another text message. [01:55:53] Speaker C: I'm going to take a second to look at it before I look at it. I agree with you, Rosanna. I don't know that it's entirely safe for any of us. But I do have a very strong feeling that if I don't have you there to tell me not to punch him in the face, that I will punch him in the face. [01:56:18] Speaker B: And that wouldn't be good for anybody. Not right now. [01:56:22] Speaker A: No, I won't. [01:56:24] Speaker B: So I guess I'll go. If no other reason than to keep Arthur from punching Liam in the face. [01:56:35] Speaker D: Yeah. Arthur's the only one you need to worry about. Definitely. [01:56:39] Speaker B: Well, listen, I've only got two hands, okay? Don't make this hard on me. And they're both broken right now. Well, burned, but broken. [01:56:49] Speaker A: I wasn't going to punch him in the face. Yeah, sure, he's a cult leader and really creepy, but I didn't want to mess with that. I've seen what he does to corpses. [01:57:01] Speaker C: Yeah, we need to talk about that. But right now, I'm going to look at the text so as not to explain what's going on. [01:57:10] Speaker E: The speaker says you should bring the dog. I didn't know you had a dog. [01:57:17] Speaker C: Well, speaker is just continuing to prove his strange ability to know things being everywhere. Right, everywhere, all the time, all at once. Knows about Gozer. But that just takes us back to thinking he was somehow involved in Victoria's death. [01:57:44] Speaker D: Keep in mind, we've already shown that there are transactions between the Linnaeus society and the Church of the rising star, so that isn't terribly out of the realm of possibility. [01:57:55] Speaker C: Anyway, Gozer, buddy, you've been invited. Dinner, too. Do you have a favorite? Pizza? Arthur's being sarcastic as hell with the bad idea. [01:58:08] Speaker D: Rosanna, I will explain all the things you've missed. Cricket reached out earlier today. [01:58:15] Speaker B: Oh, I miss Cricket. [01:58:18] Speaker D: We're going to be working with them more in the future, but we have some information we went through and that we got. [01:58:32] Speaker B: Okay, well, Rosanna's gonna get on her knees in front of, uh, and give him a couple pets. Now, you gotta be on your best behavior, okay? You can't go batting and growling at people. Gotta be a good boy. [01:58:49] Speaker E: He licks your face and then looks. [01:58:53] Speaker C: At him and goes, but don't let her get hurt. So bark and growl at anyone that gets close to her. [01:59:00] Speaker E: My buddy, he sneezes at you. [01:59:03] Speaker D: If things go wrong, please bite someone. [01:59:09] Speaker C: I'm just going to throw a text in that says pepperonis and a vegetarian mushroom? [01:59:16] Speaker D: Yeah, mushroom and peppers thing. You didn't specify what kind of peppers? [01:59:23] Speaker C: Peppers. [01:59:25] Speaker B: Got it. [01:59:26] Speaker D: Banana and green. [01:59:28] Speaker C: Yes. [01:59:30] Speaker E: Hey, is there anything you guys want to do before you leave? Any rolls we need to make before you roll out? [01:59:39] Speaker A: No. [01:59:39] Speaker B: Okay. [01:59:40] Speaker D: I would like to go into this having the ward up for the unnatural. [01:59:50] Speaker E: Let me look at the exact wording on that because I think that that's, like, a scene thing and this has. [01:59:58] Speaker B: No mechanical benefit, but Rosanna is going to go and look for a little bow tie to put on Gozer. [02:00:10] Speaker E: Arthur, do you have any bow ties? [02:00:13] Speaker C: Arthur has a bunch of preschoolers. [02:00:16] Speaker D: That's not a bow tie paper. [02:00:18] Speaker E: Do you have bow ties? [02:00:22] Speaker D: Let's find out. [02:00:25] Speaker E: I love that you are willing to roll for this. This makes me very. [02:00:29] Speaker B: Thank God. [02:00:30] Speaker D: Yes. [02:00:32] Speaker E: You go hunting and all you find is priest collars and Arthur's things. And then Piper's like, what are you looking for? And you're like, I wanted to make him pretty. And she hands you a bow tie. [02:00:42] Speaker B: Just going to put a little bow tie on gozer. All right, buddy. You look very dapper. Now. Who's going to be a good boy and protect us in case somebody big and bad comes and scares us? She's going to, like, ruffle behind his ears. [02:01:01] Speaker E: He does that, like, squeaky dog yawn thing that they do. [02:01:10] Speaker C: Arthur is going to purposely delay the group a little bit because he realizes if they just get out of the rv and go walk out of the compound, then Katie Lyn will go. Wait, that wasn't that much time at all. You were right outside. What the shit? [02:01:25] Speaker E: Okay, so you're going to hang out for an hour or so before you. [02:01:29] Speaker C: That's a little bit of time just to make it seem like we were having to drive from somewhere. [02:01:33] Speaker A: I will also make sure I'm not bringing my gun in with me. I will take that off out of its holster and take off the holster and leave them here. [02:01:41] Speaker C: Okay. Arthur will actually do the same. [02:01:46] Speaker E: I mean, we all know that Arthur's not great with the gun anyway, so that's fine. The thing that makes Arthur scary is not the gun. All right. [02:01:58] Speaker A: I will also send a text message real quick to Allison saying, going for dinner with Liam Key will send a message later, implying that I will use a code word to let her know that I'm okay. And we'll let you know later how it went. And if doesn't hear back from me within a certain period of time, assume something has gone. [02:02:38] Speaker D: Something has gone parlorty of Louisiana. [02:02:42] Speaker E: She responds back immediately with, your weird, unemployed friends worry me. Please be safe. [02:02:52] Speaker A: And she knows I'm in New Orleans? [02:02:55] Speaker E: Yes. Because she sent you there. [02:02:57] Speaker C: Yes. [02:02:59] Speaker A: It's not hard to find what the cult is. [02:03:01] Speaker E: No. You gave her a name. You know her well enough to know that she'll know within the next 15 minutes exactly who the fuck Liam key is. [02:03:09] Speaker A: Oh, we had a conversation about Liam Key last night. [02:03:13] Speaker E: You did? I'm sorry, you did? My bad. I forgot about that part of the conversation. I remembered everything. [02:03:17] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:03:21] Speaker E: Okay. All right. Anything else anybody wants to do? Piper, your ability is a scene based thing, so you're going to have to do it when you get there. [02:03:32] Speaker D: I'm gonna do it when we get there. [02:03:33] Speaker E: Okay. [02:03:33] Speaker D: That's gonna be, like, the first thing I do. [02:03:36] Speaker E: All right. And just to remind you, it helps you with abilities that they might use, but not necessarily them. [02:03:43] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:03:44] Speaker E: Okay. Very cool. All right, you all make your way to the compound and your do we. [02:04:03] Speaker C: Drive up to the front door, keep our van hidden away? [02:04:13] Speaker A: It's not exactly hidden very well. [02:04:16] Speaker D: Yeah, they look down the block and. [02:04:18] Speaker A: They see the massive rv. [02:04:22] Speaker E: I mean, it's hidden for right now. If you guys were to walk a distance. Yeah. You actually did do really well. And we're very specific about not getting too close. Yes. So if you guys were willing to walk a bit, you could get there without them seeing your rv. The question really is, do you think they already know? [02:04:43] Speaker C: Yeah. And is it just make it a hindrance for us to get back to it in a hurry if we have. [02:04:47] Speaker D: To, yeah, I think taking the rv in is the right play. [02:04:53] Speaker A: Maybe not in taking it up. Yeah, to the gate. [02:04:57] Speaker C: And then we leave it outside. Yes, I follow. [02:05:02] Speaker B: Okay. [02:05:06] Speaker E: You guys pull up outside of the compound. You are let in by a man in biker leathers. Who's in front seats. In the two front seats, Rosanna and Arthur, I assume. [02:05:32] Speaker C: Yep, indeed. [02:05:34] Speaker E: Who's driving? [02:05:37] Speaker C: Well, I think. Are you sure? Because your hands are currently not so great. [02:05:43] Speaker E: They're bandaged. She can drive if she wants to. [02:05:45] Speaker C: It's generally if Rosanna would like to. Arthur will not get in her way. [02:05:52] Speaker E: Rosanna, you pull up to the gate. A guy in biker leathers comes over to your window. Kind of gives you a long once over. Like, he's not shy about it. And it's not like Skeezy. It's mostly like, wow, she's really pretty. Wasn't expecting. [02:06:11] Speaker C: Brother. Arthur says for the passenger seat. [02:06:16] Speaker E: He looks over at Arthur and just sort of shakes his head a little bit. And he's just like, right. Speaker invited you. [02:06:27] Speaker C: I guess they don't do that here. Okay. Yeah, that's right. [02:06:33] Speaker E: And he'll kind of nod and step back and you watch as two others kind of run over and open up these big gates that are wide enough to allow the bus or the rv to drive through. [02:06:47] Speaker C: No, we get out and walk the rest of the way. [02:06:50] Speaker E: I think they're not going to let you just park in the gateway park. [02:06:55] Speaker C: Fine. [02:06:58] Speaker D: I would like to block the entire gateway, please. [02:07:04] Speaker E: You can park on the street outside of the gate or you can park inside the compound. It's up to you. But you can't park in the open gate. [02:07:13] Speaker D: I do think parking inside the compound is a better play because it means we won't have to get through the gate to get to the rv. [02:07:19] Speaker A: That's fair. [02:07:23] Speaker E: They let you in, you are directed over to. It's not really a parking lot. It's more just like a gravel area where you expect. They probably park a lot of their work trucks and stuff, but it's kind of the only area big enough for a vehicle of this size. In fact, there's a couple of old school buses that have been painted over and are probably used for the rare excursion. And like the back corner of this big area, you park there, climb out, and one of them walks you towards what looks like a relatively newly constructed house. It's two stories. It's hard to tell from outside, but something of a structure of this size could easily have five bedrooms, maybe six. And standing on the porch are Katie Lynn and the speaker. [02:08:28] Speaker D: Question, is there like a specific difficulty that you want me to roll against for the extending award? Because it doesn't give one in the book. [02:08:36] Speaker E: No, that's because it varies based on your enemy. So go ahead and roll. [02:08:41] Speaker A: Okay. [02:08:41] Speaker D: I rolled two successes to extend. Well, so the defending role, that makes sense. But there's not just extending the ward. [02:08:56] Speaker B: That's because it's a natural thing that happens when you. [02:09:01] Speaker E: It just automatically does its thing. You rolling is to see how effective the word is, but it automatically goes out. [02:09:10] Speaker C: Gotcha. Yeah. [02:09:12] Speaker D: I got two successes on the roll noted. [02:09:18] Speaker E: I have a question for Isabelle. [02:09:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:09:21] Speaker E: Are you spending a willpower? Because this is a new scene. [02:09:29] Speaker A: An award doesn't do anything for my. [02:09:33] Speaker E: Not for bloodborne curses. No. [02:09:43] Speaker A: Yeah, because I feel like I will spend that willpower because I feel like it's kind of important to be able to have my full faculties around me. [02:09:55] Speaker E: Okay. And this is not something, I'm not going to make you waste willpower or anything. Like, that. This is purely so that I know what kind of information to give you. Are you using it before you get out of the rv? Are you waiting until you get up close? Like, are you approaching with the curse kind of still in full force before you activate it? [02:10:17] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that would be that, because I have noticed that sometimes certain supernatural creatures look a little different in this weird fallout world. So I kind of wanted to get a look at the speaker before I did that, just because I remember that gunshot looked very different than everyone else did. [02:10:41] Speaker E: Yeah. Okay, so as you approach, the biker dudes and Katie Lynn all look like corpses. In fact, all of the biker dudes look like corpses that have been on your table after particularly nasty motorcycle accidents. [02:10:59] Speaker C: Fun. [02:11:04] Speaker E: The speaker, on the other hand, looks odd. He looks like a corpse, but he looks like. Not like a corpse from a car accident. He looks. Well, not just a car accident. He looks like a corpse that came out of a car accident. You had one during one of your residencies. You were touring other medical examiners offices, like, around the country and whatever, and you did a very brief stint way, way up north, like, near the Great Lakes. And one of the corpses that came across the table was a victim who went off a bridge into icy water and froze to death. And so he's got the bluish lips and kind of, like, slight tinge of frost along his cheeks, that sort of thing. He still looks like a corpse, but he looks specifically like a frozen corpse. [02:12:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:12:19] Speaker G: Welcome. [02:12:20] Speaker C: Oh, just before. I just realized something. Just before we get out, could Arthur try to empower his thing on his wrist? I forgot about that until just now. [02:12:33] Speaker E: What do you mean by empowered? Oh, if you just activate it. Yeah, go for it. [02:12:38] Speaker C: No. So I have to make a roll to see if I get bonus dice when I use it instead of its regular one. Die. [02:12:44] Speaker E: Yes. Go for it. [02:12:46] Speaker F: Yes. [02:12:46] Speaker C: Okay. I remembered that there was something I was supposed to do. All right, let's see what happens. No, doesn't happen. Never mind. [02:13:03] Speaker E: Okay, four. [02:13:05] Speaker C: I have to get four. And I only got two. That didn't happen. [02:13:11] Speaker G: Well, hello, all. Welcome, welcome. Come on in. [02:13:20] Speaker C: Hello, speaker. [02:13:22] Speaker G: Lovely to meet you, obviously three of you. Pleasure. I am the speaker, the rising star. And while I would love to talk to you for a moment, I would hate to get between Arthur and Katie Lynn. My goodness. [02:13:39] Speaker A: Spend months. [02:13:39] Speaker G: Please. I definitely say hello. [02:13:44] Speaker F: I run down the front steps and just jump, hug Arthur. [02:13:50] Speaker G: Warms the heart, doesn't it? [02:13:52] Speaker C: Yeah. Arthur will catch her and just squeeze. [02:13:58] Speaker F: It's so good to see you. [02:14:02] Speaker E: I think fully. [02:14:03] Speaker F: Just even plants a kiss. [02:14:06] Speaker E: I think. [02:14:07] Speaker F: I'm just so happy to see. Oh, my gosh, I can't wait to show you around. And there's so much space, like I said. And we're going to keep expanding. And the pizza is inside for all of your friends. I'm so sorry. I'm so sweaty. We've been moving all day and unpacking and you're here. [02:14:37] Speaker C: I am sorry. Also me. I was forgetting it. These are my piper, Isabel, and then this is Rosanna, dear friend of mine. [02:14:54] Speaker F: Oh, wonderful. I'll shake everyone's hands. [02:15:02] Speaker B: Sorry, I got into a little bit of an accident this morning. It's very nice to meet you, Kaylin. Arthur's told me so much about you. And you seem even lovelier in person than the words he used to describe you. [02:15:23] Speaker F: Arthur. Hopefully he hasn't over exaggerated. I'm sure it's all just. [02:15:35] Speaker E: He's charming, isn't he? [02:15:39] Speaker F: He's. [02:15:42] Speaker B: Quite the charmer. Yes. [02:15:47] Speaker G: Well, let's not have you all stand out there. Come on, the kitchen's all set. I didn't get pineapple. I kill people who eat pineapple. Come on. [02:15:54] Speaker A: Pineapple? [02:15:55] Speaker D: On pizza. Pineapple in general. [02:15:57] Speaker G: Oh, on pizza? No, it's an absolute sin. [02:16:01] Speaker C: Well, we didn't order any, so that sounds like everyone's at least safe from that, aren't they? [02:16:10] Speaker G: It's a joke, Arthur. [02:16:14] Speaker C: Indeed. [02:16:17] Speaker G: We head inside. [02:16:20] Speaker E: Katie Lynn, I know you just moved in, and it's a little mean to ask you to talk about the state of your new house that you have barely started to unpack. But would you please describe at least what the layout of Katie Lynn's dream house is? Because that's effectively what this is. [02:16:42] Speaker F: Yeah, it's freshly built, but it is modeled after the New Orleans victorian style homes, almost mixed with a little bit of that colonial, classic revival. Tons and tons of light on the first floors and even in the second. The kitchen is huge because it has to feed a lot of people, growing family, as you know. And it features this large butcher's block, almost butcher top island that there's just stacks and stacks of pizza boxes all over. The whole place has been whitewashed, or at least all the exterior. So it's pristine. It almost glows. And it's on a little hill, so you can kind of see the rest of the space from the kitchen and the porch around. Just outside where there's a little greenhouse and it. [02:17:48] Speaker E: Excuse me. [02:17:49] Speaker F: Sorry. Everything smells freshly painted, freshly milled wood. It's nice. It feels like a clean start. And I spend the whole time explaining this to you, just talking about all of the work we've been doing. [02:18:05] Speaker E: Arthur, you can tell walking into this place, because you saw a lot of the houses in California when they were new. This place was built by hand. The people who live here built this. [02:18:17] Speaker C: House also knowing if this is Katie Lyn's dream house, Arthur would recognize that. [02:18:24] Speaker E: Yeah, it takes you a couple of minutes because you're a little clueless. But the more she talks and the more excited she gets, the more you start to remember conversations where she talked about if your family ever got big enough that it would merit a bigger place. This is what she dreams of. And it was always those conversations where she was very humble about it. She's like, you know, that kind of, I know we don't need anything this big. Even if we have a bunch of kids. We could make do with a smaller place. But if I could have my deepest, darkest heart's desire, this is it. [02:19:12] Speaker C: I, this is wonderful. This is like everything, isn't it? [02:19:22] Speaker F: I know it looks big, but it's perfect for everyone who's going to be here. And I think that it's just wonderful. But it is to share, obviously. [02:19:37] Speaker C: Yeah. Other wives and husbands and things, right? [02:19:44] Speaker F: Yeah. Families and just lots of space for kids to run around. And she'll point out to the, again, the big yard, basically, and for growing and gardens. And I just think it has so much, it has so much potential. And I'm so excited to see how it grows. [02:20:20] Speaker C: Wonderful. [02:20:23] Speaker F: Oh, my gosh. I've been talking so much. Everyone, help yourselves. And there's wine and beer and sodas in the fridge. And please make yourself at home. [02:20:35] Speaker G: Indeed. I understand you've been traveling quite a bit. It must be. I mean, yeah. Kick up, put your feet up. Make yourselves comfortable. [02:20:42] Speaker D: Everybody stay close to me. [02:20:47] Speaker G: I understand your defensiveness, but things you. [02:20:51] Speaker F: Need between all to look at your hands. Rosanna. [02:20:55] Speaker G: Oh, my goodness. [02:21:01] Speaker B: I think I'm all set. We just put fresh bandages on them a little bit ago, but thank you. I appreciate the offer. I wouldn't want to. [02:21:18] Speaker F: Well, tell me what you want from the pizza. I can grab it for you. Don't worry about having to trouble yourself if you're injured. [02:21:28] Speaker B: It's all right. You are the host. I don't want to over overstep. [02:21:40] Speaker F: It's really no trouble. And I'm already headed to the island to grab food for you. [02:21:47] Speaker C: You can say a no all you want, Rosanna, she's going to give it to you. [02:21:53] Speaker G: The speaker steps up next to Rosanna. Wait, give me. But that does seem rather painful. Recent, yes. [02:22:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [02:22:09] Speaker G: I'm going to extend my hands. May I? I intend to return to your friend's electronics. I could give a gift to each of you if I. I'm trying to. Please. No need to suffer unduly on account of profession. [02:22:32] Speaker B: And she looks at Arthur and then looks at Piper. And then she just takes a deep breath and puts her hands out. [02:22:43] Speaker G: I take your hands, I turn them face up, I place my own over and pull the burn out of you. [02:22:56] Speaker E: Rosanna. You are vaguely uncomfortable, but the pain is almost completely gone. Like the discomfort, as you can tell, is from the skin being weird and kind of blistered, but there's no heat in it anymore. [02:23:18] Speaker A: And can I make any kind of occult role while watching? [02:23:21] Speaker C: I was about to ask. [02:23:24] Speaker E: Anyone who would like to. Who was watching that can make an occult role? It just looked like he ran his hands over the bandages and then pulled them away and Rosanna looked shocked. [02:23:34] Speaker B: Intelligence. [02:23:35] Speaker E: Intelligence, yeah, we'll go with intelligence. [02:23:40] Speaker A: My spec with kindred. Not going to apply, right? [02:23:43] Speaker E: No. [02:23:46] Speaker D: Oh, shit. I did well on this one. [02:23:50] Speaker G: Yeah. [02:23:55] Speaker E: Da, da, da. [02:23:57] Speaker A: I only got two successes I'd like to. [02:23:59] Speaker E: Willpower. Go for it. All right, so we have two people with fours. It's hard to be sure. Could be healing, could be some manipulation of heat. But I think only Rosanna would recognize that it could be a manipulation of heat because only Rosanna is aware that that's what happened. But from getting to kind of glance at the moment between them and then seeing the shock on Rosanna's face, Piper, healing magic is the most obvious answer to you. [02:24:44] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:24:49] Speaker G: I hope that helps. [02:24:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you. [02:25:01] Speaker G: Happy to be of service. Think nothing of it, really. And I think here's Katie Lynn with your pie. [02:25:08] Speaker F: I was just going to interrupt. Yeah, I got one of everything. I wasn't sure which one your preference was and just a I again, seriously, everyone, please help yourselves. You look shocked and starving. [02:25:28] Speaker C: Yeah, it's been a day. [02:25:31] Speaker E: Katie. Lyn, Gozer's nose is. As soon as you don't have the pizza in your hand, Gozer's nose is in your hand like he's sniffing at the smell of pizza. [02:25:41] Speaker C: I forgot to introduce the most important. [02:25:43] Speaker E: This is the biggest fucking dog you've ever seen. He looks more wolf than dog, but he seems harmless because he is sniffing all over you. [02:25:53] Speaker F: I let him sniff my hands immediately, and as soon as. If he doesn't get aggressive or anything, I will immediately start giving him the biggest screeches. [02:26:07] Speaker E: Yeah, no, I rolled. He doesn't get aggressive at all. He is instantly. He sits and his tail is going so hard that it's thumping against the floor. [02:26:17] Speaker F: Who is? [02:26:19] Speaker C: Everybody but Arthur. This is Gozer, my buddy. Arthur says, like, giving him a side eye, like, don't fuck this up for me, bro. [02:26:35] Speaker E: Oh, my goodness. He's so big. [02:26:38] Speaker F: Arthur, did you get a dog? [02:26:41] Speaker C: No, he's kind of a mascot for our little travel crew here. [02:26:46] Speaker F: Oh, do they take good care of you? [02:26:51] Speaker G: I certainly hope so. He appears to be the prettiest of the bunch. [02:27:00] Speaker E: As the speaker kind of stands there and Katie Lynn is loving all over Gozer. Gozer does something that none of you have ever seen him do, which is that he lays down and then rolls over and shows his belly in their direction. [02:27:17] Speaker A: Betrayal. [02:27:18] Speaker E: He was belly. [02:27:19] Speaker G: What a charman, fellas. [02:27:22] Speaker F: Oh, my gosh. What a good man's. [02:27:27] Speaker G: Absolutely. I'll take the knee and give him a scratch. [02:27:33] Speaker E: She's quite pleased. Seems quite pleased. Mouth open, tongue hanging out. [02:27:42] Speaker G: At least one of you can relax. This is delightful. [02:27:46] Speaker A: I mean, I think at this point, Isabelle will kind of just break off and be like, yeah, I guess I'm going to at least make it look like I'm going to relax and eat food. Someone's going to break the tension. [02:28:02] Speaker D: I'll be honest, I haven't been able to relax for the last eight years. [02:28:06] Speaker G: No time like the present. [02:28:11] Speaker F: Well, if there's anything we can do while you're here. I'm sorry. He's just so sweet. [02:28:19] Speaker G: Actually is. [02:28:21] Speaker F: I'm going to run and see if I can grab a couple pieces of pepperoni and sausage off of a pizza to give to Gozer. We don't have dog food. We didn't have dogs. We can get dogs, right? [02:28:34] Speaker G: Oh, absolutely. We'll need to get dogs now. Several. [02:28:40] Speaker C: Here for the compound. Just dogs running around. [02:28:44] Speaker G: I was thinking as pets. But you make an excellent point. [02:28:50] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:28:53] Speaker G: At some point, I do need to discuss something with the four of you, but no rush. As I say, eat, drink, be mer. [02:29:03] Speaker D: I know you do have a lot. [02:29:04] Speaker G: Of catching up to do. [02:29:07] Speaker F: If you want some privacy, I think there are some workers outside still that I can take pizza out to. [02:29:16] Speaker C: That's probably a very generous thing, I think. Don't you think? [02:29:21] Speaker G: Speaker generosity is the name of the game. You're a blessing, Katie Lynn. [02:29:30] Speaker F: I'll be back. And, yeah, I'll. Clearly, you need some space, so I'm going to step Outside. [02:29:37] Speaker G: Business must. [02:29:42] Speaker C: What do you think should Gozer go with her. Maybe he can see. Run around the yard. What do you think? And Arthur looks to the. [02:29:53] Speaker A: Know. He has been kind of cooped up a little bit. All mean. Good chance up to Gozer. Yeah. [02:30:00] Speaker E: Want to go for a run? Boy, Gozer kind of looks back and forth. He gives Rosanna kind of a long look, like he's waiting for a command, or at least permission. [02:30:23] Speaker B: Yes. Go. [02:30:26] Speaker F: I promise I'll bring him back. [02:30:29] Speaker E: He will get up and hurry after Katie Lynn, then. And they head outside with a couple boxes of pizza. And you hear masculine voices outside that sound very happy at the sight of pizza. [02:30:46] Speaker C: Thank you. [02:30:46] Speaker E: And then the door shuts. [02:30:52] Speaker D: Okay, so let's be honest. You know why we're here already. [02:30:57] Speaker G: Well, I have several theories. Hopefully to learn some things and hear an offer. But potentially to kill me? [02:31:07] Speaker A: I honestly don't. [02:31:08] Speaker G: I would not recommend that. [02:31:09] Speaker D: I don't plan to try to kill you. I would like to. But there are other, more important things at hand. [02:31:22] Speaker G: Excellent. Why don't we play a little game? We're going to play a game of truth. I get to ask one of you a question. They get to ask me a question. One to one. No lies. Before you agree to play, know that I will not be enforcing the rule of no lies. I leave that power to the universe itself. You interested? [02:31:50] Speaker D: I'll play. [02:31:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll play. [02:31:52] Speaker B: I'll play. [02:31:56] Speaker C: Yeah. [02:31:59] Speaker G: Delightful. All right. [02:32:10] Speaker E: To. [02:32:12] Speaker G: Well, let's start where we are. Miss Piper, why do you want to kill me? [02:32:29] Speaker D: Right now? I need something to vent my frustrations at. And you're the closest thing that might give me some sense of validation and relief. [02:32:45] Speaker G: Very honest. You have my respect. What do you want to know? [02:32:54] Speaker D: What are you? [02:32:56] Speaker G: A God. [02:33:00] Speaker B: That's what she meant. [02:33:02] Speaker G: Arthur. [02:33:06] Speaker C: Yep. [02:33:16] Speaker G: Why do you hate me? That seems personal. [02:33:25] Speaker C: I think it's pretty obvious to the both of us that there's been some level of deception related to this group. Who you are, what goes on around here. And that deception is the reason that I am angry. [02:33:59] Speaker G: It's an interesting answer. I suppose the rest of the evening will say whether or not it's true. [02:34:10] Speaker E: You. [02:34:10] Speaker G: I think you know it's not complete. But ask you a question. [02:34:24] Speaker C: What exactly happens to someone when they ascend? [02:34:30] Speaker E: Close. [02:34:33] Speaker G: That was what I thought you were going to ask. When someone ascends, I bring them into a private space. We sit together, we talk. Talk about the things that are important to them. The things they want and need out of life. We really get to the core of who they are. And then I place a hand on the side of the head. And I look into their eyes. And I draw that core out. And I use it as fuel. And what's left is. Well, a husk. You can't live without a soul. They die. Does that answer your question? [02:35:35] Speaker C: I guess we'll find out. [02:35:39] Speaker G: Excellent. Rosanna, how did you get those bones on your hands? [02:36:06] Speaker B: My sister gave them to me. Counter question. Why are you working with my sister? [02:36:26] Speaker E: You. [02:36:27] Speaker G: I do not wish to lie. But I must clarify. Who is your sister? [02:36:38] Speaker B: Know her as a woman named Rin Labelle. [02:36:45] Speaker G: Rin Labelle? I paid her not to report my true nature to whoever she works for. They seemed dangerous. [02:37:04] Speaker D: We can agree on that front. [02:37:09] Speaker G: I don't employ her. I bribed her. Ms. Isabelle? [02:37:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:37:33] Speaker G: What do you want? Most. [02:37:39] Speaker A: Loaded questions. Like most right now. Most in my life. [02:37:45] Speaker G: In your life? Call it a personal and professional career. I suppose the answer is yours. So long as it's not trivial. You understand? [02:37:59] Speaker A: Want to not end up as. [02:38:07] Speaker C: A. [02:38:07] Speaker A: Body on a table. The end of a long night torn apart by some strange creature. I would like to kind of pauses for a moment, thinking how honest she wants to be. And say. I would like to help someone important to me solve a problem that's been puzzling them for a while. And I'd like to find peace. [02:38:55] Speaker G: I find your first and third goals antithetical. But I understand contradiction more than most. Ask your question. [02:39:06] Speaker A: A Vincent Pendleton. What did you hire him to do? [02:39:20] Speaker G: Pendleton? [02:39:23] Speaker A: Or maybe you knew him as Edward Carnby or Stephen Sharp or Jonathan Turner. [02:39:32] Speaker G: No, Pendleton. He's a kindred of the Linnae Society, right? [02:39:37] Speaker A: Yes. That is what we're pretty sure of. [02:39:44] Speaker G: Well, I don't employ him directly. I have a standing contract with the Linnaeus Society. They occasionally remove unawakened mages from my ranks. Before they become a problem for me. Does that answer your question? [02:40:06] Speaker A: For now. [02:40:08] Speaker G: Excellent. Now we're going to reverse the game. Each of you going to ask me a question first. And then I will respond. We can take the order however you prefer. [02:40:23] Speaker A: I think some other people have questions they want to ask before I do. So I'm going to let you go. [02:40:32] Speaker D: You said that you're a God. Which one? [02:40:42] Speaker G: I like you. Very direct. I'm Loki. [02:40:48] Speaker C: No. [02:40:48] Speaker A: Scott. [02:40:48] Speaker G: Of trickery. Yes. My middle name Chosen is Oswald. Surprise. My question in return. What would it take for you to help me disappear forever? You do it for free? [02:41:31] Speaker D: If it'll stop you from being a problem for us. Or at least a perceived problem. I see no reason not to I. [02:41:47] Speaker G: Next question. [02:41:57] Speaker C: Liam. Loki. Whatever your name is. [02:42:04] Speaker G: It's been a while since someone else used that one. That's funny. [02:42:11] Speaker C: Yeah. Guess that's what you get when you're doing some trickery. What are you planning on doing with Katie Lynn? [02:42:31] Speaker G: Arthur. [02:42:32] Speaker A: Arthur. [02:42:32] Speaker G: Arthur. Such a romantic warmth. The heart, really. Your attachment to her is, in its own way, epic. In the tradition of epics. Well, there are two possible paths for Katie Lynn. It is my power to annul her marriage and also to marry her again. I intend to make her the first wife of the speaker. This is where my question comes and the two paths are created. If you help me accomplish my goal, to disappear forever, I will name you my replacement. You will be the speaker of the rising star, with all the forces and resources that entails. Katie Lynn will be your wife. She will hold both of you a position of prestige you have yet never known. You may direct the organization as you see fit. And obviously, I will be gone. No more souls. No more death. Just a solid number of people willing to do whatever you say with God on their side. Interested? [02:44:22] Speaker C: Is that my question? [02:44:24] Speaker G: Yeah. Yes, it is. [02:44:45] Speaker C: Well, it. [02:44:47] Speaker E: It. [02:44:48] Speaker C: Some part of me immediately wants to accept, if for no other reason than to lead all of these confused, lost people into a little bit more of the truth, gradually, precept by precept, until they are not caught up in something that is deception. But another part of me recognizes that if you truly are Loki, that this deal you offer has some kind of catch. And I think that answers your question. [02:45:56] Speaker G: All right. Rosanna or Isabelle. I suppose you can take the orders you prefer. [02:46:08] Speaker B: Up to you. Not you. [02:46:14] Speaker G: Up to you. Isabel. [02:46:16] Speaker A: Go for it. [02:46:17] Speaker G: If you. [02:46:18] Speaker B: All right, well, here's more of a logistics question. So, according to norse mythology, you're supposed to be in Asgard. Why aren't you in Asgard? Why are you here? [02:46:33] Speaker G: There's a far more shrewd question than you realize. And it gets it where I want to go. I was perusing the earth, as is my right. Occasionally, I believe I was looking for a woman. Didn't find her. Instead, I found a hole. A hole in space. Being the curious sort, I thought I'd step through, see what was on the other side. Then the damned fool mage that made the hole went and blew himself up, and it closed. And now I'm here, learning about kindred and changelings. Hunters, inquisitions. So, in answer to your question, by accident. I didn't mention changelings. By accident. Though in order for me to get home, I require not only some skilled individuals to do a little legwork. But a man possessing considerable faith, one who has been tested and is not. No one in the rising star measures up. And also the aid of a changeling, a creature of the fae. Though the most important member, potentially not present. I'll make contact with him separately. My question for you, Ms. Rosanna. What would you accept as payment or trade for the aid of your family's bound servant in my return to my world. And keep in mind that I am capable of offering quite a bite. [02:49:15] Speaker B: You'll help us get rid of my sister. [02:49:22] Speaker G: Deal. Only one left. [02:49:37] Speaker A: Well, with your dealings with Linnaeus, society is there. It's probably a pool hardy thing. But what is the best way to find them? I have a bone to pick. [02:50:00] Speaker G: An entertaining choice of words. If you do as I ask, help me return to where I came from. You can pick as many of their bones as you want. I'll lure them into an ambush for you. I'll even have some of the boys help you out. That's what you want? [02:50:22] Speaker A: There's one person I want from there. I really don't care what happens to anybody else. [02:50:30] Speaker G: That makes it a lot easier. A kindred a. [02:50:45] Speaker E: You. [02:50:47] Speaker G: Be honest. I don't know what your sister is professionally, but we'll get her one who will do it. Because it's the right thing. And by far the biggest offer I've made. Still on the fence. How about it, Arthur? What would you do to get rid of me forever? [02:51:29] Speaker C: I still believe that there's some deception in this. [02:51:35] Speaker E: It. [02:51:36] Speaker C: But I don't see any other solution. If you are who you say you are and your goal is as you say it is, then I guess the best course of action is to find that hole in space, or whatever it is, and put you back in it. [02:52:07] Speaker D: From the fans of things. We're going to have to make a new one. [02:52:13] Speaker G: Still warming to you, Miss Piper. [02:52:18] Speaker C: And I accept. [02:52:27] Speaker G: Well, all right then. A deal has been struck here in the circle of truth. I mean, at this point, we can just converse. I've been open with you about my connections, my contact, my organization, my enemies, my friends. I understand what you're up against. I know better than most. In fact, you know there's a pack of werewolves who want to tear you all the shreds. And they're not doing it because I asked them not to. [02:53:03] Speaker D: The fuck did you get yourselves into? [02:53:06] Speaker A: They definitely look over at Arthur being like, attack Cole Clan. [02:53:13] Speaker D: I thought there was one. [02:53:15] Speaker B: No. [02:53:22] Speaker C: I mean, there's a reason why I've been doing a lot of reading on their kind. [02:53:33] Speaker D: Well, that certainly makes Victoria's death less mysterious. [02:53:40] Speaker C: Here's a question for you, low key. Or should I call you Liam? [02:53:45] Speaker G: Liam. Liam. Here in the material, please. Thank you. No speaker in the presence of the cult. It's speaker outside these grounds in private meeting Liam. [02:53:58] Speaker C: Okay. Speaker. If I take over as the speaker, what stops this clan of werewolves from just coming and killing all of these people? [02:54:17] Speaker G: Well, I suppose you will. Obviously, I'm going to leave you with enough resources to get that done. [02:54:29] Speaker C: You certainly have enough resources of the rising star. [02:54:31] Speaker G: Yeah, the coffers of the rising star are not insubstantial. And I haven't extensively studied the weapon systems of the current world. [02:54:40] Speaker D: We've seen how expensive your bank accounts can be. [02:54:45] Speaker G: All right. You know who I've been paying? Do I have you to thank for that again? [02:54:55] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:55:01] Speaker G: I'm glad we can all be friends. It would have been a shame to kill. [02:55:09] Speaker C: Yeah, it would have been. [02:55:13] Speaker G: Yeah. Numbers, resources, fighting men. Obviously, they're not going to go for every compound. They want you, not California. So you'll know where they'll be. We're already going to run an ambush together for a vampire. So you know where. You know when you can be prepared. I don't imagine there'll be more than a dozen. [02:55:40] Speaker D: I imagine running an ambush for one vampire. What if we'd lure more and pit them against each other? [02:55:52] Speaker G: Tempting that. I can't control the movements of the werewolves while I'm here. It's more like they stay away. [02:55:59] Speaker D: Use Arthur or Rosanna to pull the werewolves in to where we're going to ambush the vampire. [02:56:08] Speaker A: I would personally like to have something of the vampire left when it's all over. I do need to study that. [02:56:18] Speaker G: I know the partnership is young, but I fear I must veto this plan. That's too much chaos in one place. If you want the vampire alive, the werewolves will make that extremely difficult. And an ambush for one group of supernaturals is a risk. An ambush for two groups of supernaturals? Even opposing groups. I have limits. [02:56:42] Speaker E: It is about this time that you all hear steps. And a little from as Katie Lyn is coming up. Back up the porch steps. [02:56:54] Speaker G: Civilian faces, everyone. We'll discuss this more, of course. [02:57:02] Speaker C: Hey. [02:57:05] Speaker F: Closer. Had such a good time. And he got so many veggie brubs. Yes, he did. Is everything okay here? [02:57:13] Speaker G: Yes, we've had a lovely conversation. [02:57:17] Speaker C: Yeah, the speaker and I have talked it. [02:57:22] Speaker F: Oh, wonderful. Does that mean you're staying? [02:57:30] Speaker G: I'm afraid Arthur, his companions will have to travel a little more. Their business is not entirely concluded, but they're welcome to return whenever they see fit. [02:57:41] Speaker F: Oh, okay. [02:57:43] Speaker C: I mean, we have a few things to get done, but after that, I'll be back. [02:57:51] Speaker F: Okay, then. I guess, you know you like to say the night. [02:57:59] Speaker C: We have time, Arthur, look at the others just to see what they're thinking. [02:58:05] Speaker F: It's gotta be more comfortable than that RV. We have so much room. [02:58:11] Speaker G: Beds, individual rooms for all. [02:58:15] Speaker C: Individual showers. Arthur will. [02:58:18] Speaker G: Individual showers? Yeah, you can take a bath if you want. I think there's a jacuzzi out back. [02:58:23] Speaker A: Oh, God, that sounds amazing. Isabella's thing where she's kind of just. [02:58:28] Speaker G: Like. [02:58:33] Speaker A: Been a bit since we had real showers. [02:58:41] Speaker C: It's been a. I mean, I guess it's up to everyone if we need to move on. [02:58:54] Speaker G: Well, we got three yes votes if Goza counts. Isn't that right, Gozer? [02:58:59] Speaker D: I think Goza counts for at least two. [02:59:00] Speaker A: At least. [02:59:02] Speaker E: Gozer flopped himself down across Katie Lynn and the speaker's feet. [02:59:11] Speaker G: And it's settled. You are welcome in the New Orleans branch. The rise and stall. [02:59:18] Speaker F: Arthur, can I speak with you? [02:59:22] Speaker C: Yeah, of course. Sorry, everyone. We'll be back in a minute. [02:59:27] Speaker G: Oh, no apologies from you two. [02:59:31] Speaker A: I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. We'll be here drinking beer and eating pizza. [02:59:36] Speaker E: Please. [02:59:37] Speaker F: We've clearly ordered too much. [02:59:41] Speaker G: No such thing. [02:59:44] Speaker E: Okay, you two, step away from the others and find a quiet place to talk. [02:59:55] Speaker F: You're really going out again? [03:00:00] Speaker C: I mean, yeah, it's kind of the agreement with the speaker. Some things that we need to finish up and tie up before it can come back. [03:00:15] Speaker F: When you were gone, did you find yourself at least? [03:00:22] Speaker C: You know, most of the time I was worried about you. [03:00:32] Speaker F: Really? [03:00:34] Speaker C: Yeah. I was thinking about a lot. And I'm as simple answer to your question as I think I have. I understand more about who I am and more about where I stand with God. So that's a yes? I mean, sure, everyone's going to have more self exploration to do, but outside of that. Yeah, I worried about you. I thought about you practically the entire time. [03:01:26] Speaker F: Practically the entire time. I. You've been together a while and, you know, you can be honest with me. Are you looking to bring Rosanna into the. [03:02:05] Speaker C: Mean? That's kind of. Kind of up to Rosanna. I guess she has a choice decision. I. But being honest with you, there's certainly been some development of something between Rosenna and I. But I have not done anything because I couldn't. I mean, you know how it works. And you were not involved. So I've managed to at least do better than the times I've done before. [03:02:56] Speaker F: Arthur, all I've ever wanted for us is just to be happy. And it's really hard when you're away already. And she's. She's beautiful and clearly very sweet, and I just wish that I had youth been more open with me about it. [03:03:30] Speaker C: It didn't start at all like that. We were just together. She joined with Jillian and Zephyr and I, and we were traveling with another friend at Gozer's. Mom, actually. [03:03:48] Speaker F: And you disappeared for two months, and. [03:03:51] Speaker E: You and. [03:03:58] Speaker F: I don't want to be upset. [03:04:00] Speaker E: I, um. [03:04:07] Speaker F: There it was. This is. This is a lot. And I feel like you aren't being honest with me, and I'm worried about you. [03:04:35] Speaker C: Make two of us. [03:04:39] Speaker F: I'm here. I'm safe. I have the speaker. I am not going anywhere. [03:04:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I know. I mean, I really understand that. And I made a choice just now because of that. [03:05:15] Speaker F: What do you mean? [03:05:26] Speaker C: When I said that we will be back. I mean that we will be back, and I will be back for good. [03:05:42] Speaker F: It really. [03:05:46] Speaker C: Really. [03:05:54] Speaker F: Do you promise? [03:06:01] Speaker C: Yeah, I do. [03:06:05] Speaker F: They hold up my pinky finger. [03:06:12] Speaker C: Arthur reaches up and takes it with his. [03:06:24] Speaker F: Please do not make me regret being your first wife. [03:06:41] Speaker C: I promise that I'm not that. This is no deception. This is the truth. We have a few things to take care of with the speaker. He and I and us are going to work on something together. And then when that's over, then I'll be back. [03:07:09] Speaker B: Okay. [03:07:11] Speaker C: I'm not going to disappear again. [03:07:17] Speaker F: You better not. That was the hardest part, I have to admit. And I assume you'll be making it up to me. [03:07:31] Speaker C: For the rest of my life. [03:07:36] Speaker F: You better. Do you want to see the room? [03:07:45] Speaker C: Yes, of course. [03:07:50] Speaker F: I do. Yeah. If everyone else is starting to find their spaces in the home, I'll start dragging him down the hall. [03:07:57] Speaker E: They're all still hanging out inside. But you are welcome to drag Arthur off if you would like. Unless somebody wants to stop you. [03:08:05] Speaker F: Sorry, my lights auto changed. Yeah, I think that's all I needed to say to Arthur. I can actually head back to the kitchen and make sure everyone finds their spaces as well. [03:08:24] Speaker E: Would my players like a cell scene before everybody goes to bed? Or are you all just going to find your rooms? [03:08:36] Speaker D: I think we should probably discuss what just happened. [03:08:39] Speaker C: Yes, I agree with. [03:08:42] Speaker A: Okay. [03:08:43] Speaker G: I imagine there's a lot to be talked about. Absolutely. You know, I'll take a walk. [03:08:50] Speaker E: Katie. [03:08:50] Speaker G: Lyn, would you like to take a little walk? [03:08:52] Speaker F: Absolutely. [03:08:54] Speaker G: All right. I'll give a ride back, I promise. [03:09:01] Speaker C: Yeah. I was going to go to the. [03:09:05] Speaker G: Yeah. [03:09:05] Speaker C: Hey, have a good walk. [03:09:10] Speaker E: All right. They slip out, gozer moves over and nuzzles at Rosanna's hand. Kind of leans aside against her legs. And you all are alone for the first time since arriving. And learning an awful lot about the speaker, maybe about each other. And about threats you didn't necessarily know about entirely. [03:09:49] Speaker A: Well, that was something. I did not have that on my. What is up with the speaker? Bingo card. [03:10:00] Speaker E: A pack of werewolves. [03:10:03] Speaker C: That, too. [03:10:06] Speaker D: A pack? [03:10:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I think. Didn't we mention that? I'm pretty sure we did. [03:10:12] Speaker B: You said where you mentioned werewolves, there. [03:10:15] Speaker D: Might be some werewolves after you. You did not mention how many. [03:10:19] Speaker B: To be fair, we didn't know how many there were. [03:10:25] Speaker C: More than one, less than 100. I mean, that was basically what we knew. [03:10:32] Speaker B: We don't know what a pack signifies. [03:10:40] Speaker D: Half dozen to a dozen. [03:10:44] Speaker C: That tracks. [03:10:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [03:10:52] Speaker C: I mean, just throwing it out there. Wasn't there something about the federal government and going after your past or something there? Piper, mean. [03:11:00] Speaker D: Yeah, but I told you about. [03:11:04] Speaker C: Gonna. I don't want to fight about this. Yeah, so that's information that we had. [03:11:10] Speaker D: I'll be honest, it's mostly just worrying. One or two werewolves. One thing. [03:11:20] Speaker A: A dozen is significantly more. Yeah, I've definitely seen what they can do to people. What just one can do to people. [03:11:39] Speaker E: It. [03:11:39] Speaker A: So, yeah, I'm very. I'm very much for taking this deal. If it'll not get us murdered by werewolves. [03:11:53] Speaker C: I'm going to be honest with all of you. I took this deal because it didn't seem like there was any other option that didn't involve everybody dying horribly. [03:12:05] Speaker E: Yeah. [03:12:09] Speaker D: I do still think that helping him is the best thing we can do. He doesn't want to be here, we don't want him here. [03:12:24] Speaker A: Exactly. [03:12:25] Speaker C: Yeah, well, that far didn't give me. [03:12:42] Speaker D: My drone back yet. [03:12:46] Speaker E: Piper, your drone is actually sitting on, like, a nearby table. It's literally in the room. You just haven't noticed it yet. [03:12:54] Speaker C: I was going to say that if we didn't get it back from him before things went down, apparently I will become speaker. In which case, the drone would come back to you. Once I knew where it was stored. [03:13:11] Speaker D: I could build a new one much faster than it would take for all of this to happen. [03:13:20] Speaker E: Interesting. [03:13:21] Speaker A: Also noticed I got away with not answering a question for the last time. But I'm not going to mention that to him. [03:13:30] Speaker D: In a way, the question you asked gave him the answer to his. [03:13:35] Speaker A: That's fair. [03:13:47] Speaker B: I think that I might actually go back to the rv tonight. And it's probably best if one of us. [03:13:56] Speaker G: Yeah. [03:13:58] Speaker B: Guarded. [03:14:00] Speaker E: I'm glad. [03:14:03] Speaker C: You. Yeah, you don't look very comfortable, and I. And I don't blame you a lot. And apparently your hands are just healed. [03:14:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Let's check that real quick. And I will go. [03:14:30] Speaker D: Not the most insane thing that happens. [03:14:32] Speaker E: You take the bandages off isabelle, and it's less that they're healed and more that they're significantly less inflamed. And you know how with burns, when you kind of, like, hover your hand near them, the skin feels hot. Her skin feels cool to the touch. It's like he pulled all of the heat right out of it. [03:15:02] Speaker A: Impressive. I will still probably rewrap them. I probably need them anyways. [03:15:09] Speaker E: They're still going to need some healing, but they're much further along in the healing process because that heat isn't there anymore. In fact, you are 99% sure that she's not going to have a single scar because the heat cut pulled out as early as it did. [03:15:40] Speaker B: I'm going to go now. You all can keep goes for the night. I'm going to go. [03:15:53] Speaker D: There's food in the fridge of the rv if you want to. [03:15:56] Speaker B: I'm all set. I can't eat right now. And she's going to get up and walk out the door. [03:16:12] Speaker D: Piper turns to look at Arthur just kind of. [03:16:22] Speaker C: Yes, Piper? [03:16:25] Speaker D: You gonna go after her? [03:16:31] Speaker C: What do you mean? Should I be? It feels like she needs to be alone right now. [03:16:48] Speaker G: There's a bit of that. [03:16:53] Speaker A: I think we all need a little space. Not exactly things you can get in an rv. [03:17:05] Speaker D: I think she's upset about more than just the things we talked about. [03:17:15] Speaker A: You do have a wife. [03:17:16] Speaker D: Keep in mind, when she seemed to start getting uncomfortable was when we started talking about us staying the night. [03:17:27] Speaker C: Oh. I was reading her being uncomfortable the entire time we were here. [03:17:31] Speaker A: It got worse. We were all a little uncomfortable. [03:17:35] Speaker E: But it. [03:17:37] Speaker B: It. [03:17:45] Speaker C: Does make sense. I. Okay, if you want her, go. [03:18:21] Speaker E: Arthur, are you going to go? [03:18:26] Speaker C: Oh, man, yes, I guess so. Fuck yes, he's going to go. [03:18:38] Speaker E: Okay, Rosanna is halfway across or down the little walkway. No, actually, she'd probably be well across the little street and over towards where the rv is parked before Arthur finally got enough of a clue to follow her. So that's where she is when you get outside. [03:19:06] Speaker F: Arthur. [03:19:07] Speaker C: Rosanna. [03:19:14] Speaker B: Aren'T you going inside and getting ready for. [03:19:21] Speaker C: Um. Yeah, I was planning on doing that, but I couldn't because you're not feeling well right now. And you not feeling well is hard for me. Because there's a big elephant in the room, isn't there? [03:19:54] Speaker E: You. It. [03:20:14] Speaker B: Well, you were right. Your wife is gorgeous. Absolutely. And such a sweetheart. [03:20:28] Speaker C: Yeah. I don't really know how to handle this because I recognize that some of the things that I feel and some of the things that I think are okay are not necessarily the same way that other people think. And because of that, the thoughts that I might have aren't necessarily things that you'd agree with. [03:21:16] Speaker B: What thoughts are those? [03:21:18] Speaker C: Well, let's just start off and say that I want you to be happy, and I will do whatever needs to be done to make that true. And I recognize that you opened yourself to me, and I wasn't really able to, at the time, respond to, that's okay. You may not. Also, I am deeply connected to Katie Lynn. And we've been married for a very long time, and that doesn't change anything. But here in this place, we feel that we can care the same way about multiple people. And I don't know how that makes you feel. And I don't know if that is anything you could comprehend or even be able to be part of. But my feelings for my poor Katie Lynn are not necessarily an indication that I don't have feelings for you. Makes sense. [03:23:29] Speaker B: Yeah. Arthur, I've never, like, you know, we've talked about this before. I don't know what I want. I've never been involved with anybody before. So until that happens, I don't have an answer. [03:24:29] Speaker C: Ah, yeah. [03:24:31] Speaker E: Up. [03:24:35] Speaker B: And I was very uncomfortable in that house. [03:24:56] Speaker E: You. It. [03:25:00] Speaker B: Because I didn't feel like I belonged there. I'm kind of going through a bit of an identity crisis right now, and that me not getting to say in whether or not we stayed or not didn't help, because I don't want to be here. I'll be completely honest, I don't. You guys have. Have a good night. Um. I had a very traumatic day, and I wasn't even awake for a good 70% of it. And all I need is a friend. But you have a wife who needs you too, so. Sorry, I don't. I'm really bad at this. [03:26:53] Speaker C: It's fine. You want me to see if Isabelle or Piper won't come talk with you about everything going on? I think you have to get your hands wrapped again anyway, right? [03:27:12] Speaker B: I can wrap some myself. I don't want to take away from their bath. Time and showers and staying in a stable environment for a nap. So I'll be all right. [03:27:29] Speaker C: But, so I just want you to know that I hear your answer. And I always support your decisions, whatever they are, because I am your friend. [03:27:52] Speaker E: You. [03:28:09] Speaker B: Have a good night, Arthur. [03:28:15] Speaker C: You too, Rosanna. [03:28:19] Speaker E: Okay. Rosanna returns to the RV. Arthur stands for a long moment and watches her go before he turns to make his way inside. And what none of the players see is what was happening at the same time just around the corner. Go ahead, you two. [03:28:53] Speaker G: Well, that was hard to watch. I'm sorry. That was. You all right? [03:29:01] Speaker F: It's fine. I. I've been dutiful and I've been kind. And you're sending him away again, and I understand that it's. [03:29:18] Speaker G: Katie Lynn, I assure you, I would love nothing more than for him to stay here the rest of his life. Well, not, but here for the rest of his life, at your side. [03:29:29] Speaker F: No, I understand. He was like this before when he traveled. And I'm doing my best. It's just hard. And disappearing for two months and not knowing. He promised that it was going to be different this time. And now. [03:30:02] Speaker E: It. [03:30:03] Speaker F: He's chasing her out of the house and I get it. [03:30:10] Speaker E: And. [03:30:15] Speaker F: We'Ve just been through a lot. And it's a lot. [03:30:22] Speaker G: We are all challenged by God in our ways. Do you know why I employ individuals who've led difficult lives? [03:30:37] Speaker F: Why? [03:30:40] Speaker G: Because to experience hardship and come through it with your faith strengthens you, hardens your belief. You are perhaps the strongest person that I know. Don't tell the other wives that. Because Arthur is, in his own way, also incredibly strong in his belief. He challenges himself. He fights with himself. And he will fight his demons till the day he dies. But because he fights and finds his faith, it makes him stronger. It's why he was always one of the best of us. I don't know if you know that, but of all those who work for me, your husband was perhaps the best. And it will be nothing but a blessing to have him back. [03:31:52] Speaker F: I understand. I just. I wish that the challenges that you say make us better people were not coming through him. [03:32:13] Speaker G: It would be tremendously pleasant to have serenity in the storm, to have the person you care about the most be your safeness. I long for that safety as well. We'll see if we get it or if we wait until we're in, God willing. Now, Katie Lynn, you can do me one small favor. [03:32:50] Speaker F: Anything. [03:32:51] Speaker G: Go inside and get some. [03:32:57] Speaker E: It. [03:32:59] Speaker G: Go on, girl. Have yourself the good time. You have more than earned. [03:33:05] Speaker F: I'll see you in the morning. [03:33:09] Speaker G: Rest well. [03:33:11] Speaker E: All right. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where we are going to call it for the evening. Thank you for joining us. Bye.