Episode 52
Episode 52 - The Duel
The epicenter of the chaos spreading across the state is unsurprisingly in flux as unseen hands shift the game pieces across the board at speed.
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Transcript
Hello?
:What time is it?
:Who is there? I don't know.
:Situation Green Grove, medium.
:Sorry, love, I have to take this. Y'all are gonna go ahead and get in the vehicle that was driven to the Pine View Residences by our new agents, Bennett and Shields.
I just need to know who's gonna take the wheel.
:I would think that Nicholas Shields would probably volunteer. However, if somebody else were to say they wanted to drive, he would let them. He's going to make as though he's. He's driving.
:Parasite.
:I nominate Jesus.
:Paris heads for the back seat.
:We'll let him take the wheel.
:Jesus, take the wheel. I love that.
:Carrying on, pile into the vehicle.
:Brandon, boy, he could drive too. Right?
:Shields goes ahead and turns on the engine, and the, I guess, SUV begins rumbling down the road out of Little Rock and back towards Fayetteville, Arkansas. It's a fairly long trip and it's pretty silent. Shields at one point looks around, he looks a little anxious, and he decides to turn on some music.
What does Shields listen to?
:Shields would probably be listening to 70s rock or country, whichever he comes across first.
:Yeah, he's Canadian.
:Right. It's easy to find.
:Nickelback.
:Nickelback.
:Oh, yeah, it's always Nickelback. Yeah.
So you go ahead and crank up the Nickelback, and this, like, gives you some extra morale for the trip, and you kind of turn it up and let the dulcet tones of Canadia's foremost rock band fill the air.
:That's just good music. Okay.
:You love yourself some Chad, huh?
:You know it, buddy.
:I got nothing to follow up with.
:Chad. I don't. I don't get it.
:That's the name of the lead singer.
:Chad. Chad Kroger.
:Okay, I don't. I don't listen to Nickelback, and I think I made that obvious. So we won't speak of it ever.
:Good. It's good cover. Good cover. I got you. I got you. Yes. You've never heard of Chad from Nickelback? All right, this bit is done and done. Let's move on.
:Well, Amelia looks back at Felix and Frankfurt and says, you know, he started with Bieber Fever.
:Really?
:Oh, yeah, the Biebs. He's. What can you say about him? He's a God.
:The trip passes uneventfully, and eWord GPS guidance takes you straight to Wizards Carpet Carrying More. The storefront is located in a plain industrial park. It's next to a flooring store and another empty building.
And as you drive into the parking lot, you can see that something tragic has befallen this. This Block of commercial estate, part of the building that used to house Wizards Carpet Care and more has collapsed inward on itself.
There's singed materials, broken slats of wood and vinyl sticking up out of this collapsed side of the building into the sky like a animal's ribs. It's clear from the score marks on the ruin that it has suffered a terrible fire.
Not just that store, but also parts of the surrounding stores that I just mentioned. There's a large pile of rubble, burnt carpets, giant swaths of fabric stacked outside like cordwood.
And there's actually only one vehicle right now in this parking lot and very little activity over again, this ruin. But as you drive in, you do see an old man poking through some of the collapsed portion of the building.
He's wearing work boots, jeans, up to the bottom of his ribcage. He's hunched over, obviously extremely elderly.
He's got a walking stick or at least some sort of poking device because he's doing his best to overturn some of this destroyed detritus. Seems to be looking for something in the remains of the business.
:Can we tell how recent the fire was? Was that like just happened or has been a minute?
:There's no smoldering embers, but you don't know exactly when the fire occurred.
:Obviously they've got all the trash still sitting out, so it hasn't been that long, I suppose.
:Okay, here's the deal. I'm gonna go talk to the guy. Maybe y'all just sit tight, okay?
:Sure. Yeah.
:Shields goes ahead and parks next to the only vehicle. Was the only what? Did you describe the only vehicle?
:I didn't, but it's white Toyota Corolla. Okay.
:Does he see a GPS system at all?
:You're gonna get out of the vehicle or park next to this one and. Yeah, go look into the well. Just a casual glance.
:If you can't see, it's fine.
:Yeah, the windows are tinted. You'll need to walk up to it and cup your face around it and peer in if you want to see what's inside the cabin.
:Obvious, but no, thank you. All right, so he's going to walk up to the old man.
:It's not easy. The collapse obviously sent debris out into the parking lot. So you have to kind of gingerly make your way through all this garbage towards the man.
He turns as you approach and furrows his brow, squints at you.
He doesn't say anything as you pick your way through the debris strewn footpaths towards where he's standing in the middle of what Was once a showroom.
:Well, this is just rotten luck. Look, I was coming to see if y'all could help me, but looks like you could use some help. So what can I do for you?
:I. I'm. He looks down at the ground. I'm looking for any of the files that I had in my office, but I think. I don't know where they could be. They.
They might be gone completely. I. Oh, God.
:Well, buddy, that's a real shame. Tell you what I'm gonna do. I can help you. Look. How long you planning on being here, bud?
:Until the sun goes down. Well, still have light until I need to take a seat. He coughs a bit into the back of his hand.
:I brought some friends, actually, and we were gonna get a quote on carpet cleaning, but looks like you need more help than we need, so we're gonna help you out, okay?
:I can't ask. Ask you to.
:It's no trouble at all.
:Soothe me. It's. He nods and looks down sadly, his eyes watery, full of sorrow.
:Okay. Nicholas Shields makes his way back to the car. And he's gonna open up the driver's side and lean his head in.
He's gonna just quietly say to them, there's an old man in there rooting around. He's looking for some old papers. And I told him we'd help him. So let's get to it, huh?
:Say no more. Right behind you.
:Yeah. Hey, Felix, you should probably stay in the car. You're a bit of a local celebrity.
:Now, it seems, but I'm really good at looking for papers.
:That's like his, but just honk the horn if there's any problem.
:You're right. I mean, the one time it comes up, but. Okay.
:I could really use a data collater and someone who understands the Dewey Decimal System. God damn it.
:This was your moment.
:My soul. So you three go ahead and disembark and make your way carefully over to the old man. He puts out his hand, shakes a bit.
None of you are physicians, but everybody can roll in intelligence.
:And my failed 52 of 45.
:Bennett, you have had family members who have suffered from Parkinson's before. It's very clear to you that he's in mid to late stages as he holds out his hand to shake yours and the others. My name's Fred.
This used to be my store for God for 40 years. Over 40 years. I don't know what I'm gonna do now.
:I understand. It's a terrible loss, sir. And it's the least we can do to help out.
:I. I'm looking for a file cabinet.
:It's.
:It's black and it has all my papers in it, all my financial filings in it. I hope that by some acts of mercy, it's. It survived this tragedy.
:We're going to do what we can.
:He nods and starts using his walking stick to poke around the debris, overturning chunks of vinyl, wood and scorched patches of carpet.
:Fred, why is your filing cabinet fireproof?
:He looks up at you. He's very, very sad. His face is just haggard. It's like a basset hound's droop. He shakes his head slowly. I just. I hope there's some trace. Something.
:Do you have any idea what happened here to start the fire?
:I think. He shakes his head no. I don't know. I don't know.
:Well, that's okay. We're gonna help you out here.
:Yeah. Don't you worry. Just. Why don't you take a. Take a load off and we'll. We'll get to it.
:I'll let all three of you roll. A human intelligence about to say.
:Can I roll human on what he just said? Doesn't matter.
:Remember, you can check any failures. And I also failed.
:72 success.
:Hey, no failure. Dang goodness. I was looking at the last one.
:He nods and turns away from you, hunched over, doing his best to stay upright as he searches through the debris. All right, y'all, if you're really helping him out, you can roll searches or you can continue to engage him in conversation.
:Paras looks over at Bennet and Shields says, just kind of puts his hands up. What are we looking for here?
:You're looking for a filing cabinet.
:Wow.
:So Shields and Bennett start, all right, roll up their sleeves. Start digging through some of this debris. You really need gloves. This is extremely dangerous.
The building is in an absolute state of disrepair and an imminent threat of collapse.
As you peel back layers of burnt and melted vinyl, you do quickly realize that there's jagged edges, like maybe these chemical smells that keep wafting up. Before we get too far up and you can see a piece of the second story. I'm sorry, the second floor.
A piece of tile just falls and clatters onto the pile of debris below it. Okay, it's not in great shape.
:Shields is going to pause and say, you know, sir, this is a real unsafe situation. We should all probably come back with hard hats and gloves and then we can get to it.
But it seems I don't feel comfortable having you here, sir, with the level of risk that's posed right here.
:It's definitely a safety risk, Sir. Do you have anyone locally or friends or family that we can call to get you home to for now?
:He looks up at both of you and just shakes his head. I have to stay. I understand, though. I understand.
:I'll tell you what, you give me your phone number, I'll send you home. We'll dig here for it and we'll call you if we find it, okay? I just. I'd feel real bad if something fell and hurt you.
We're younger and we'll go get some protective gear and we'll, We'll. We'll take care of this for you, sir.
:He shakes his head sadly and says, thank you so much, but I, I have to. I have to search.
:I'd really. I'd never forgive myself if you were to come to any harm, sir. Do you have some family maybe that you can go visit with and we'll give you a call?
:It's because of them that I'm out here. It's because of them that I have to be out here. I have to find it.
:I'm going to hum that.
:Oh, sure. It's a minus 20%.
:Minus 20. God damn. 96 of 40.
:Fred? I don't think I introduced myself, but I'm Amelia. Is there something specific in your filing cabinet that you're looking for?
Anything that we could really put our eyes on in the search? And do you have someone we can call that you can just sort of spend some time with while we help you in the search?
I understand the importance of your family.
:He shakes his head. I need to. I need to be out here. I need to do this. As for what I'm looking for, I. Looking for my financials, kept them in my office, which.
He looks up at the teetering second story of this large carpet care business that once was. And another linoleum tile falls as if on cue, clatters against the debris strewn ground.
:Is that white Toyota Corolla? Is that Fred's vehicle or. It's just a vehicle. That's.
:Are you going to ask him?
:Fred, is that your. Your Corolla over there?
:He looks up as if woken from a short haze and he nods to you. Looks a little not suspicious, but he's looking at you. He's perked up.
:I only asked because that was my. That was actually the first vehicle that I had when I started learning to drive. Lovely little silver Toyota Corolla. They're great cars.
:It's. It's a Workhorse.
:He says, well, perhaps we could just go have a seat at your vehicle and let these good gentlemen keep searching to help you find, you know, your. Your financials. What would you say to that?
:I appreciate. I appreciate it, but I have to stay here. I have to keep looking.
:Chris, could I roll a persuade to try to talk him into just hanging out with me at the car while the guys keep looking?
:Sure.
:Roll your persuade.
:Success. 18 out of 40.
:You go ahead and even though he just refused, you go ahead and take his right arm and continue kind of cooing at him, talking about, you know, this car and family and asking him about his family. And he sort of allows himself to be taken through this trash slowly. He's shuffling. Definitely seems like he's in his twilight years.
And you move him out of direct danger into the parking lot and closer toward the car.
:I know you said there was only one car. We didn't see any of the vans.
:That's correct.
:From where we could, yeah.
:Okay.
:Was there a part of the building that's, like, obscured from view? If I was to walk around.
:You walk around. There is a big hole through the building now, so it's not difficult.
You kind of look up skeptically at the teetering building above you that is definitely in danger of collapsing. But you poke your head out the back, you see a cluster of burnt and dented AC units, but nothing else.
:Walk back over to shield. Yeah, and there's a. Quietly. I know the vans are here. I'm not sure if we're going to find what we're looking for.
:I know, but. But that man's concerned about financials, then, you know, maybe there's something for us in there.
:Okay, well, I'll follow your lead.
:All right, so we're gonna get back to it.
:So y'all are gonna start digging without gear through this dangerous debris. You look over at shields, and you can see you're not gonna make any headway without some sort of machinery or protective gear or very thick gloves.
Let me just Fiat that for you, okay?
:Yeah. Shields. Look, I don't know what you're expecting here. I don't think we're gonna be making much progress.
And I really don't like the look of that building.
:Okay, Bud, I'll defer to your skill set.
:If only you had a filing genius who could easily discern where a filing cabinet would be and how to open it and look at stuff.
:Hey, book boy, get out here.
:So we're gonna head back to the car, let the old man Know we're gonna get some safety equipment and be back.
:So you head back to the vehicle. The old man, he's sitting in his driver's seat. His legs are outside of the vehicle. Amelia shakes his hand and says goodbye.
All of you are now back at the suv.
:Hey, why don't we swing past Hawk City Mushroom Supply just to put eyes on it again? Maybe there'll be something to see on the way to get this gear.
:Okay, Actually, before you do that, something happens with Tiberius while y'all are out there speaking to Fred and picking through the bones of his livelihood. So you look at your phone and you just see there's a voicemail. You didn't feel it ring?
When this is done, it's the moment that they open the door and say, yeah, we should probably head to the Hog City Mushroom and Herbal Supply. You have one unheard message. First unheard Message sent at 15.
:Hello, Andy. Endlessly amusing. Endlessly amusing. To think that you could get away. To think that you could hide.
To think that in the loony bin, of all places, you would be safe. I thought about taking you there, curled up in the corner, staring at the frayed edge of the bedsheet. But there was no fear. You were numb. A shell.
And the fear is so delicious. The fear is. Well, not necessary. But you're insignificant. And you've never known importance or significance. But I will change that.
I will bring significance to you. See you soon.
:End of message. To delete this message, press 7. At that exact moment in the middle of this conversation, you open the doors and you all start filing in.
:Tiberius, or should I say Felix, closes his phone as you walk in, talking to each other. For those who look back, he looks clammy, he looks distant. And he might be shaking.
:You okay, Tab? Felix? You doing okay, Felix?
:He walked. He was there. He was at the hospital.
:Who's that? Who was at the hospital? What hospital?
:Who was at the hospital?
:Whatever. Whatever Fletcher is now. He just called me. I don't even know. I got this burner. How did he even get my number?
:You spoke with your friend Fletcher?
:He's not.
:He just. He just called me.
:That's not Fletcher. Fletcher's dead, remember? Whatever is running. Fletcher called me. He said he was there at the hospital. He said he's coming.
He said he's coming to get me.
:Well, so how does he know where you are?
:I don't know.
:Same way he got his burner phone number, Whatever that is.
:I'm not crazy, I swear. He just called me.
:No one's accusing you of that.
:Chris. I'd like to check the caller ID or phone log.
:Yeah, it's. It's unknown.
:I put up the phone. See? See, you just called me.
:Is it star 69? I think we can try calling back the number that last called.
:You sure?
:You get a operator's voice saying service incomplete.
:No, he's too smart. I told you we should have went after them. I told you they're a liability. They're coming. They're going to kill us all.
:They're not going to kill anybody, Felix.
:They already have.
:Hey, man, you need to get yourself together. Pull it together, bud. We're right in the thick of it right now. You can't be. You can't be going apart like this.
If they show up, we'll deal with them, okay?
:I saw. I saw that woman, Chloe go through a couple of police officers, shooting directly into her. I don't think we will.
:Yeah, look, it sounds bad. We've dealt with that. That's kind of what we do. So just keep it together or they definitely will tear you apart.
:What if they did something to me? What if he was there at the hospital?
:Go ahead and roll your sanity from helplessness.
:Do you feel like they were? Do you feel different?
:My sanity. I got a question mark.
:Yep. Yep. You always get that.
:Yep.
:What would you like to project? Any potential loss. It is an option, but it does cost willpower and bond power is up to 10 again.
:Right. So I will.
:Yep. But you know how quick that goes down.
:Yeah, I will put it on Sharon Rodriguez.
:All right. Roll a 1D4, please, fellow bird watcher. All right.
:One, two. No, sorry. A one. Yeah, I don't know why I did a plus one.
:Yeah, that's interesting, but nope, it's a one. So willpower is now at nine. Sharon has decreased to a value of three. I'll take care of that for you.
You gulp and you think about those long mornings spent listening to the call of the blue jay with Sharon. Shake yourself out of what was beginning to feel like a dark pit in your stomach.
:Hey, Felix. Look, Tiberius. Whatever. Look, there's only two of us left, okay? If. If what you're saying is true, and I believe you, what you're saying is true.
We're the only two left, okay? And look, if you start. You start going off. You want me to take care of it? I mean, if I start going off, I want you to.
I'd want you to do the same thing.
:No, no, no, no, no.
:Start.
:Start going.
:What are you Even talking about you guys.
:Hey, hey, Felix, look. Remember Francis did that thing.
:Who's Francis?
:We gotta. You and I have to stay in this, okay? We gotta stay in this. I got your back, okay? I've got your back.
:Yeah. Yeah. I'm still in. I'm still in.
:Nicholas and I have your backs.
:Let's see this through, man.
:I'm here with you. Just.
:We're right here, buddy.
:I know that you don't know us yet, like you know them, but we have your back. I hope that you can learn to trust us.
:I don't really have much of a choice. You're the only people I haven't seen gruesomely murder someone else. So you're my best bet. And he's gonna stare out the window.
:The scenery passes you by as the vehicle lurches its way towards the Hog City Mushroom and Herbal Supply Company.
:The burnt out husk of.
:It's a. There's a good. There's a good possibility for the two of you who have been here before.
You recognize the storefront that's located in the corner of a plain run of the mill classic American strip mall. You see that it's next to this boxing themed sports bar. It's called 12 rounds. This time of the day it's darkened. It's not open for business.
In fact, there's really very few vehicles out front. You do see what looks like a pair of large moving vans. And there is some activity at the storefront.
The Hog City Mushroom supply of people moving in and out with boxes. These are men that look to you from afar like movers, moving company representatives. But you're not so sure.
Of course, they are all wearing similar uniforms. Otherwise there are four lease signs up on other parts of the strip mall.
It's really not much else happening here except for what I've just described.
:What'd you want to do here?
:I don't know. Just hoping Paris tries to get a closer look at the boxes. Does he? Are they just standard moving boxes? From what he can see, you're in.
:Your vehicle, driving into the driveway, seeing this activity from afar. If you want to examine the boxes, you'll need to position yourself. Make yourself pretty much obvious.
Unless you're going to peer from around a corner with some binoculars or something.
:No, that's okay. I don't know. I was hoping. Nevermind. Doesn't matter. Let's go get that. Let's go get that gear.
:You sure about that?
:Something we should be looking for here. I mean, it was an important stop for you or something.
:Honestly, with all the craziness and then seeing this place, seeing that last place haven't been burned down. I just had a hunch. It's a bad one. Don't worry about it.
:You know, a hunch. That's not usually a bad thing to go on. It's not. It's your intuition. I mean, we could stop along the way.
:Out of character. I was kind of just hoping that there would be like a. Honestly, I was kind of hoping there'd be a van or something.
I was like something that might be able to help. We could jump onto.
:There is plenty for you to jump onto, but you'll have to jump onto it.
:Indeed.
:Let's do this. I mean, I'd like to get a close look to see what these guys are doing. I could.
Are these, Chris, are these connected building connected to any other Feliz buildings? I'm gonna. I think my play here is I'm gonna pretend to be, you know, a prospective tenant just kind of checking the place out.
:It is. So it's in the corner right of the strip mall.
Closest to it is this, is this bar that does have cameras on the outside, but there's no cameras pointed towards where all this moving activity is going on. And the Hog City storefront is located next to it is a small.
Looks like it used to be a barbers or a salon, but a small kind of abandoned little spot with a big for at least sign in the window.
:Okay, I'm gonna walk. Yeah, it's like, Gail, let's pull over here.
I'm gonna pretend to be respective tenant here for, I don't know, a military surplus store or something, and I'll. I'll chat him up for a moment, just see, just on the guise of, you know, getting a feel for the neighborhood and maybe I'll see something we can use.
I still. I still don't feel right about this place. There's still something funny going on here.
:Okay. Nicholas Shields pulls his car into the parking lot and parks it.
:So what I heard is three of y'all are going to stay in the vehicle while Paris slash Frankfurt makes his way over to the adjoining empty business front.
:Amelia asks Paris, what is it, Paris, that makes you feel like something funny is going on here?
:The pills that we're dealing with have been, from what we could tell, moved through this place. And Finster. Finster, yeah, he. He tried to get some information out of here. And you gotta remind me, he tried and it was. Did not go well. Right?
Is that how that went a lot of bad rolls.
:No, y'all just saw it was locked and left and went to Biotech. Oh, I thought he was another locked door situation for our team. It's like, oops, locked door. I can't beat that. Next.
:Oh, no. I thought he went into the Hog City supply and, like, talked to. Talked to the guy behind.
:No, that was Drizzle's hemp.
Y'all talked, like, three of y'all talked to Ken Burns there, and he led you to Hog City Mushroom and Herbal Supply because they're the ones who make the proprietary blend for Sandman's Helper.
:Got it. Got it. Okay. No, this place is. It's on our list. It's a lead. You never know when something might just fall out in front of you.
:Do you need any of us to follow you in?
:Yeah, no. You're welcome to come along, be prospective business partners. How about that?
:Amelia looks who's going over to Nicholas and smiles. That was her way of saying, you're going. Right. I'll stay with. I'll just stay here with Felix if you need us.
:Since y'all are okay partners, I'll allow her glance to communicate all of those things to you.
:He knows me well.
:And Nicholas ducks his head and says, okay, guess I'm going in.
:Frankfurt, Paris, you and Shields leave the vehicle and walk over to this activity that I described. The folks who are busy moving box after box of what looks like hydroponic equipment, fertilizer, Mycos substrate, all sorts of things.
They barely stop what they're doing to look up and acknowledge you. They seem quite busy, quite hurried.
:Are they moving in or are they moving out?
:You can tell that they're moving things out of Hog City.
:Oh, so they're, like, packing up and leaving? Is what it looks like okay to you?
:Yes.
:Hey, excuse me. Any of y'all. Any of y'all work for Hog City or you're just a moving company?
:One of the men just unloads a dolly at the top of a ramp, brings it back down, says, yeah, yeah. We just got contracted to move this out today, so. On a tight schedule.
:Oh, gotcha. Yeah. Is he. Is the owner here or any of the other employees?
:I don't think so. Boss had a key. Pretty typical. He shrugs.
:Oh, just unlocked and let y'all at it. Okay.
:He nuts.
:Yep. Have a contact information for it. I know it sounds weird.
My business partner and I are looking at the unit a few doors down here for a business and trying to get a feel for the neighborhood. But looks like he's moving out. Just curious why.
:Yeah, I had no idea. I'm just getting everything packed and onto.
:The trucks, you know, if he's going to be coming back around later or.
:He shakes his head. Doubt it.
:Mind Chairman what his name is. Just trying to. Trying to get connected to the. My boss here before? No, the. The guy who hired you.
:Oh, I have no idea.
:Oh, dang. All right.
:Yeah, I'm just running the crew here, man.
:I appreciate it. Thank you.
:You nuts? He brings the dolly back inside.
:Another mystery solved.
:Yeah. Paris, grab shields. Kind of like, walks off to the side, like. All right, well, they're leaving in a hurry. I can't help but wonder if this is all.
I mean, think about it. We had the incident out at the pharmaceutical plant or warehouse, and then fucking Wizard's Carpet Care burns down. No, not Wizard's Carpet Care.
Sorry. Yeah, it was Wizard Carpet Care, Chris. Is that right?
:Wizard, Wizard's Carpet Care and more. You discovered was recently firebombed or burnt down.
:So, taking all that into account, I know it's going to sound crazy, but let's split the party.
:No.
:Oh, no. So, yeah, with Wizard's Care burning, being burned down, and now this guy's guy's clearly getting out of here quick, right?
I think we're running out of time.
:We're definitely running out of time. Got any ideas? I'm not an ideas man. So what you got in there?
:Yeah, I'm more. I'm more of a blow things up kind of guy. Look, let's. That wasn't me with the store, by the way. I didn't. I didn't set that on fire.
That was not my emergency.
:I never suspected that. Just so you know, I don't think that's the kind of guy you are until I see otherwise. I think we're good here.
Let's go talk to the real brains behind this operation. Okay. And he slaps him on the shoulder and heads back to the car.
:Paris chuckles.
:Okay, y'all are back in the vehicle in the parking lot of Hog City Mushroom and Herbal Supply.
:What did he learn?
:Oh, yeah, it looks like.
:Well, not a lot.
:So it looks like the owner. Well, no, we learned something. He's. He's getting out of here. They're moving out. They're moving out fast.
Apparently, the contract came through yesterday. I can't help but wonder if this is related to the fire. Well, the fire we saw at the Wizard Carpet Care.
:Where are they going?
:Well, the crew doesn't know. I didn't ask them, so I don't know if they know that or not.
:Well, the timing is interesting. Perhaps Fred could shed some light. He's local, so he might know something. That's what's going on.
:I mean, the crew should know where they're taking the stuff that they're driving to.
:That is typical mover sop.
So you might get, you might be lucky there, that they are following that there are some movers that do just circle until they come upon their destination. This could be one of those businesses.
:Well, to be fair. Well, first of all, I think it's a weird question. Hey, by the way, where are you taking all this stuff anyway? Just go out of curiosity.
:It is a weird question, but there.
:Are movers that will load it up, take it to a central warehouse the next day.
:Maybe they're going to a central warehouse. We'll never know.
:We could follow them. We could, you know, we could put a tail on Chris.
:Does it look like they're loading up one truck or is it a small truck that's going back and forth?
:So it looks like two mid sized semis that they're loading up.
:Okay, so would there be any. Do you think any of them would object in their busyness to us just walking on in and taking a look around?
:Yeah, absolutely.
:One way to find out.
:We could also follow them. We could tail the trucks once they're done moving out, see where they go.
:Aren't y'all law enforcement? Half these guys probably are on parole. Just wave your.
:Your badge and what, just to find out where they're going? I mean, it seems a little.
:You got something else?
:They've gotta have at least a lead guy. You know what, if you don't mind, maybe I'll go try talking to them, see if I can just.
:Okay.
:Get that contact information you were looking for before.
:Bennett hops out of the vehicle, starts walking purposefully over to the movers. The same foreman type. Individual stops. He's unloaded another dolly, sees you approaching. He sighs. He looks up as you get closer to him.
He seems expectant. He doesn't say anything.
:Sir. Hello. My name's.
:Yep.
:Yeah, I understand you're busy and I just would appreciate a contact to speak to about leasing these offices. The owner, so we can learn more about the area.
:He points at the sign. There's a number on that leasing sign. I'm sure you can get in touch with whoever's renting this stuff out. I'm running a moving crew here today.
I don't have anything to do with the leasing here.
:You are hired by the owner to move the product.
:Yep, that's what we do.
:So I'm just looking for the owner's information.
:I don't know who hired us. I get three or four calls a day. We pack up the trucks, we drop stuff off, back and forth, back and forth until the sun goes down.
:HE LAUGHS Amelia is going to flash her badge and just. I like the numbers of whoever you're in contact with.
:Listen. He kind of squints at the badge. I don't have any numbers. I don't understand what you think I have, but I don't have.
:You just said that someone called you to move this.
:My boss at dispatch arranges jobs for my crew, and we go to six or seven different places a day, pick things up, drop them off.
:That's how we perfect boss at dispatch. I'll take his number or her number. Name and number, please.
:He shrugs. Okay, sure. He goes ahead and takes out his cell phone, types a few things, turns it towards you. You see a number there? The name is Lewis.
Just Lewis that he has in his phone. Probably not going to want to give you any information. Was that. What badge was that? Kind of squints over where you pocketed your badge.
Did that say Interpol?
:Is that what you saw?
:His eyes are a bit wide.
:All right, carry on. Sorry for wasting your time, and thank you very much for your help.
:Okay. He turns away.
:Emilia turns and walks back to the vehicle with the rest of the guys. All right, so he was just about as helpful as he was with you. But I did get his boss's name, Lewis and number.
If we think that calling this would help us any further with what's going on here. Who's good at persuasion?
:Oh, not me.
:Yeah, all right, we're not looking at each other's character sheets. Just if you're gonna call.
:No, no, no, that's not what I mean.
:You may not even have to roll up persuade. So if you're gonna call, just call. Yeah, don't.
:Hey, everybody, I didn't mean it like that. I really didn't.
:I feel worried. I would say I'm like a persuasive 46.
:Persuade.
:That's how I'm.
:Good.
:Fair. I said persuade. That's not even after the fact what I meant, but sorry, I'm a noob.
:Well, at this point, we've got. All right, so we got a number we can call. We've got.
Or we can go to the hardware store, pick up some safety gear and Go back and dig through Wizard Carpet Care. What time is it, Chris? In terms of the game going down.
: Let'S make it: :We got lots of time.
:Paris, I mean Paris. Can you walk up to that man? Push him down, Take and shoot him. Take, don't shoot him. Take his mom. His, his, his, his piece of paper, his teeth.
:Take his teeth.
:Take his piece of paper with the address.
:I know you want paper.
:Tell them it's police property and, and we'll leave. The cops are already looking for us. Don't forget, I'm not the only one the cops are looking for.
:I don't think we can walk up to this guy again without him getting very suspicious.
:It is suspicious.
:You're going to take something, land the plane.
:I kind of blew him off.
:They do glance up at you as they go back and forth from the storefront as you're all in the car yelling at each other within plain view of their activity.
:There you go.
:I'm kind of out of character at the moment too because I'm just trying to make sure we understand all of our avenues here. We've got hardware store to get safety gear to go back to. Wizard Carpet Care.
:How does that help you?
:We've got digging through to find the.
:Thing that doesn't necessarily.
:Do you really think you're going to find a bunch of paper in a burnt out building? And how is that paper going to help you?
:I think that was just a metaphor, a Chris metaphor for us being burned.
:But the other people in the party were making a thing out of it.
:It's true. It's true. This old man, I got to take care of him. Or we at least have to be able to show him your stuff is gone.
:Well, you know, if we're gonna talk avenues, I'll. I'm trying to help you. Trying to give you some follow through for some of these avenues that we're suggesting. So I did.
I didn't mean to be such an asshole.
:I suppose if I hadn't pulled us over to Hawk City, we'd be on our way back there right now with some hard hats and it's true.
:Ppe. Paris.
:Yeah, Paris.
:Hand me your gun.
:Hold on, hold on. I am still trying to make sure we all understand everything. I'm still out of character at the moment. Yeah, it's the.
Okay, so Priscilla says it's a bad idea going back, which I'm not saying.
:It'S a bad idea. I'm just saying if you kind of think through that activity, what does that get you?
:That's fine. Eric's the one who was driving the thing with digging through the place. So. Eric, do you still want to do that?
:That was just an in character, him being helpful. Nicholas was being helpful. A, he can't help but be nice.
:And B, Yeah, otherwise the maple syrup hardens in his veins and he dies.
:Canadians are so nice.
:Shatters into shards and he bleeds what blood he has left.
:Yeah, that's why he needs a warm heart. Because if it's cold, it freezes up and he dies.
:Oh, no, that's just how it goes.
:I'm not comfortable assaulting the guy to get the address. I'd rather just tail them. That would be my approach.
:You can definitely wait for them to finish and follow them.
:So I guess Amelia came back and she was basically disregard the persuade. I can call, but does anyone else, particularly Paris, you initially went in. Would you like to call Lewis and see what's going on here?
:Sure, yeah. I mean, I can call him, I think.
:Can someone hand me a $100 bill and your gun, please?
:Felix, perhaps?
:She's.
:Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna give you my gun.
:I'm gonna die. I know.
:You need something to do. Amelia dials Lewis number and hands the phone over to Paris. Here you are. If you wanna put on speakerphone, that's probably best. Nobody but in.
:He puts it on speakerphone.
:Ring.
:Oh, sorry. Trail.
:Hey, is this Lewis?
:Yep, it's Lewis.
:Hey, sorry to call you. I'm gonna be. My name's Frank.
I've been looking at one of these buildings here in the next to the unit that your guys are moving out of the Hong City mushroom supply. Just trying to get in touch with.
:Hold on.
:What's up?
:Okay.
:Yeah, I see that. Okay.
:Are they making. Did they fuck something up?
:Did they break something? He sounds angry.
:No, no, nothing like that, man. You're good. Team's great. I just. I'm just evaluating the building.
I'm looking at May putting a business in here and I saw they were moving out, so I wanted to try to talk to the owner and he didn't know, Gave me your number, wondering maybe if you had his contact info or know where these. These guys are going with everything. Just trying to do my due diligence. You know how it is.
:You want to know the owner of the. Of the hog city?
:Yeah, I'd like to know why. Yeah, I mean, I'd like to know why he's moving out so quick. I mean, I just.
You Know, I looked at the building last week and didn't seem like they were going anywhere. I'd love to know if he. You know what I mean? Like he knows something I don't.
Like are there rats in the walls or, you know, a leak underneath the building or something.
:Go ahead and roll. Persuade plus 20%.
:That is a 36. Success.
:So I just got a number. I didn't get a name or anything. It's pretty. Pretty typical. Let me pull up the invoice.
:Appreciate it. Thanks.
:Yeah, it just went through.
:It looks like Biotech Pharmaceuticals. What the credit card belonged to? I guess to a company card. No name. No name, no name.
:You hear him typing?
:I mean, they're taking it to a barbecue place outside of Fayetteville. Town called Junction or something. Yeah, Junction. But, yeah, they're gonna be.
:That's our next stop.
:Yeah, it's called.
:You hear him scrolling a bit.
:It's called Smokey Ridge Barbecue. Yep, Junction, Arkansas.
:All right, well, maybe I'll see if I could figure out this bio farm thing or maybe Smokey Ridges, you know? It is, man. I have been burned once before. Opened up a spot and turned out there was a leak in the building.
:Why don't you just go in and take a look? I mean, they're moving the whole place out, though.
:That be all right?
:Yeah, no one gives a shit.
:All right, well. Yeah, we'll do that, too. Appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. All right. Take care.
:He hangs up Our boy, Lou.
:Well.
:Well done, Bennett.
:Good call. Let's. Let's go take a look.
:If anything, we can just cross this off. A list of things that you have to worry about.
:So is it the whole team strolling in four abreast?
:Felix.
:Felix.
:Felix, too.
:I feel like Felix wants a field trip.
:Felix is probably pretty noticeable.
:Yeah, Felix is pissed. He's not gonna go in. He wanted to go in with a gun.
:You could still go in with a gun. You just gotta get that. Just gotta get that sleight of hand. Gotta pickpocket.
:Nah, don't walk in with your arms.
:Crouch down behind Paris and wait for the little eye symbol to go dark.
:Sa. Can I get. Can I get one? I just need to double check something here. So they.
So they saw me get out of the car with shields and say, hey, we're opening a business. And then they also saw Bennett get out of the same car and flash an inter. An Interpol badge. What he saw.
:He did not love my badge. But he didn't understand it.
:They were all like, yeah, Maybe this guy might be. Or maybe he really won't give a shit.
:I don't think he's. I think he just understood. All right, this is above my head. Here's my boss's number. Carry on. He just. I don't think he's gonna get that deep.
:All right, who's going in?
:I'm going. Paris is heading in.
:Felix is staying in the car.
:Yeah.
:All right, Felix, you're gonna hang tight. Hopefully you don't get any more phone calls or voicemails.
:I'm sure it's gonna be fine.
:It'll be fine. You three go ahead and disembark and start walking towards the front of Hog City.
The same man is right now smoking outside, leaning against one of the walls. And he watches you approaching. He doesn't say anything. The rest of his crew is working hard.
:Just keep walking.
:Oof. Amelia looks right at him, winks. Lewis is a gem and carries on.
:He laughs, takes a long drag from a cigarette as you walk past a man with a very heavy piece of what looks like a. Maybe a small oven of some sort, like a microwave oven, but it looks more advanced. And he squeezes by you as he makes his way towards his truck.
Y'all are now inside the darkened storefront of Hog City. Along the walls, you see rows of empty shelves, small piles of dirt and dust showing that things have been recently removed, which is not surprising.
There's a clerk's desk, looks like there was once a register there, but it's missing behind the desk. You can easily see, even from this angle, that shelves below it, once lined with something, but currently empty.
There are a couple of binders there and some generic plastic shopping bags that have been laid aside on the floor, but otherwise nothing else. There's an open door that looks like it leads into a back room. You can hear movement back there. A couple of men yelling at one another.
Sounds like they're working. Y'all look around as the activity continues.
:Paris, is there something that. Do you know what you're looking for here so you can give us an idea so we can help you find it?
:Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. Shields and Bennett have no. We didn't bring up speed on all the stuff.
:Yeah, they don't have.
:Did we.
:They don't know what the fuck's going on at all.
:So we're just here to help.
:Looking for something that's. That's on all good, but there's not much up here. It looks like this place has been completely cleaned out, so you can either go to the back.
You can talk to some of the crew guys here. Whatever you want to do. It's the world's your oyster.
:We filled them in on the. We did. So we didn't fill them in on sand. I thought we did fill them in on Sandman and all that stuff, right?
:Yeah, but they've never been in here. All they know is that it is the place where they're supposedly making a proprietary blend.
:We need to be looking for anything related to that Sandman drug. That's. That's what we need to be keeping an eye out for. This place is related to it somehow. I don't see anything up here.
Why don't we head to the back, see if there's something back there?
:Okay, that sounds good.
:You three wind your way back through the open door into what is a much larger part of this building. You can see that there were once, perhaps several large insulated tents. They're in various states of disassembly.
You see the men back here pulling apart PVC pipes, folding up giant vinyl tarps, setting aside and wrapping what looks like potted plants and herbs and mushroom racks. You can see that there are three greenhouse tents still up that have yet to be dissembled.
They're also taking conduits and piping and irrigation, like everything's being dissembled and packed away. Here in the back, there are four men in the same uniform you saw outside taking care of this work.
Right now, you see a man go ahead and disconnect what looks like another one of those ovens. He picks it up with a grunt and begins to walk it past you. He nods to you as he makes his way back towards the front of the store.
You do see that there are two doors along one of the sidewalls in this large, open area. This is the sidewall closest to the bar. 12 rounds. The first door is open, and you can see what looks like office furniture being packed up.
No one's in there right now, but you can see, like, a chair has been wrapped with plastic. There are several boxes marked office, etc. You see, the second door, though, is tightly shut, and it's emblazoned with a red and black disposal sign.
The men here don't really take notice of you.
:All right, let's start looking around, see if we can find anything.
:Are those two doors that you just mentioned anywhere near the tents that haven't been taken down yet?
:They're actually on the other side of the floor, so no.
:Paris heads for the office.
:The Open or closed.
:That's the open door. You walk over and kind of stick your head in.
You can see pretty much everything in here has been packed or wrapped with plastic or otherwise blanketed with moving blankets. Looks like there was a desk in here, a filing cabinet. Some of the boxes are marked things like miscellaneous supplies. Nothing is by itself.
Everything's pretty much packed up and ready to be loaded onto a truck right now.
:Right. Yeah. They would have been the ones to label any. I guess. All the boxes are labeled.
Any boxes that look have a weird name on them, like anything related to Sandman or any.
:It's as I described. I would definitely tell you if you saw Sandman's helper anywhere in this entire building immediately.
I know we're on the lookout for weird shit, but it's. Yeah, it's not there.
:So everything. Yeah. Okay. So everything's just packed up by the movers and.
:Okay, if you want to take this all apart and see if these are mislabeled and see if there's drugs in here, you're welcome to do it.
:Not gonna do that. Sounds like a bad idea. I'm gonna head for the next door. And they said disposal.
:Yeah. It's got this red and black lettering. Seems to be a warning almost. But the door is unlocked. When you open it up, you can see that there's no light.
Because when you try to fumble for the switch, flip it up and down, there's just no power at all in this room. It's small. The light coming in from outside gives you decent dim view of what was in here. But it's clear most of it's been moved out.
There's a shelf on the other side of the room across from the open door. Now it's empty. To your right, there's obviously a spot where there was perhaps a large shelving unit as well, maybe one that was made of wood.
You can see the outline on the floor of where it used to be, but otherwise you don't see anything else. It's so dark in here, though, it's tough to tell. You look up at the ceiling and you can see that the light bulb has been removed.
:I just. I use my phone, flashlight, illuminate the space, see if anything else catches my eye.
:Yeah, go ahead and roll your search plus 20%.
:Critical success.
:Nice.
:Didn't even need the boost, did you? Even from back here, you turn on your light. As Bennett and Shields peer behind you, you can see that the shelf right across from you is.
It's been bumped. And part of it has pressed into the wall behind it. And you can see that it's just a large flimsy piece of drywall and that there's a space behind it.
There must be. It's obvious to you, hey, do you.
:See this come in here?
:Here we do.
:Bennett also close the door, fills up her phone flashlight to add some extra.
:He closes the door behind it, but then walks over to the wall, moves the shelf aside, kind of pushes on it a little bit.
:It's easy to move aside without anything on the shelf.
You move that out of the way, stick your fingers behind the large piece of drywall, and you just kind of slide it away to reveal what's obviously a small storage room behind the larger part of the storage room. And there's a dampness, a mustiness that assaults your senses almost immediately. Reminds you of something.
You can't quite place it, but it's a very familiar scent. It takes you a moment to adjust your eyes. The breath sort of catches in your lungs because it's not pleasant. It's not a pleasant smell.
It's very earthy. And you see on the floor there are three sky blue kiddie pools, all empty.
You also see against far wall what looks like a small shelf with a statue on it. And your heart catches in your throat for a moment. Paris.
Because you see next to that small shelf, there's a chalk outline of a door hastily scrawled into the wall.
:The fuck me, not this.
:What is.
:What's up, man?
:This is familiar to you.
:Paris walks over to the chalk and lightly touches it. Just kind of feels the chalk on his fingers and looks at it and looks at the wall again.
:You are adapted to helplessness, so you automatically pass your sanity roll for it.
:I suppose that's good.
:It's not got you taken care of.
:It's not. It's ugly. Good. It's just like New York. What the fuck is this doing here? Look, hang on one moment. Look over at the statue. Do I recognize the statue?
:You've never seen it before, but it still feels very familiar. In fact, as your eyes continue to adjust the outline, the form, the shape, it's gotta be. The statue's carved from maybe a greenish red stone.
Sort of a red marbling runs through it. So it makes it very unique. It's about 8 inch high. You can smell something very foul on it.
But it's depicting a beautiful woman with an enormous bustle and skirt. She's peering up at the viewer from behind a fan.
You can't see the lower part of her face, but her eyes seem to follow you as you move around it, staring.
:Start praying.
:Oh, is this the same. Is this the same statue I saw we found at the ritual?
:It's not the same, but it reminds you of it greatly.
:I say, man, what the fuck is this? Look. Yeah, y'all are just. Okay, go with me on this, okay? We were on a.
We were on a mission in New York, chasing someone who was using these chalk outlines to move from place to place. I don't know, like portals, almost.
:Magic portals.
:Yeah. Look, I don't know. It is what it is, and I've seen this before, and it was not a good situation.
I don't know what this is doing here or what this has to do with anything. It doesn't make sense. We found Paris just kind of cuts off there. It's like, we're going to take this with us. Kid grabs the statue.
:Oh, boy.
:It's very sticky to the touch, almost waxy. And you pick it up, it's much heavier than you thought it was going to be.
And you have to kind of heft it in order to get it in a comfortable position for carrying.
:Oh. How big is the statue?
:It's only 8 inches tall. It's not big at all.
:Wow. Oh, wow. It's just a beast.
:Don't you find it strange that this room was sort of marked for disposal? Knowing what's in here, somebody knows that they didn't want this to be found. Clearly, it has to be the Biotech.
We already learned from your conversation with Lewis that Biotech Pharmaceuticals is moving everything from here to Fayetteville. And while Nicholas and I don't understand what we've just found here, you do. And you've seen it before.
:And so, I mean, I wouldn't say I understand it, but, yeah, I've seen it. From what I can tell, someone, if I understand this, someone got the hell out of here through this way.
I don't know why they'd leave this statue behind.
:Paris, this is coming from your prior critical. You were distracted by the sight of the door and the statue because of your contextual history.
But you look down now at the ground, and you can see someone has tried to scuff away what looks like maybe patterns or decorations that were etched into the concrete here. You flash your light across it, you can see it's a rusty red that perhaps used to fill these etchings.
But even though somebody has gone to some lengths to obscure by moving out this substance, it's clear to you that these are symbols, sigils, runes, geometric patterns, Whatever someone drew all over this concrete floor. Not just drew, but etched into it. The symbols mean nothing to you, but it feels. It fills you with a coldness, a familiarity.
You begin gritting your teeth almost unconsciously, until you notice you're doing it. In fact, Bennet and Shields both look at you. Because it's making a sound as you grit your teeth.
:Would there be an opportunity to roll? Not a cult. And unnatural in this situation if I don't recognize it?
:Absolutely.
:All right, because I'd like to just. He looks at it just in case he recognizes anything.
:Here.
:From now, he's thinking back to New York, actually. Which one is it? Would it be occult? Or would it be unnatural?
:In this case, Unnatural? Please.
:Okay, let's see if we can. It's a one critical success.
:The success is a success.
:Yeah, I know. This is when Paris disappears. Yeah.
:Get ready to open your third eye to the void.
:This is not good.
:You look down. Can I look at that?
:Roll back.
:You look down at these patterns. And for a moment, there's a flash in your mind's eye of white teeth in the darkness, hissing at you. Hiss, but you can't make out what it's saying.
And you remember. You remember the man who said he would gift you something after serving him.
The man who told you that you would be able to see, perhaps with a second sight. At his behest, you need only ask for his succor. And you can see these teeth flashing. A voice mumbling. But it's buffeting against this room.
It's buffeting against these symbols you're standing upon. And you can feel them reverberate from some sort of outside energy. An energy you know is coming from those flashing white teeth. Boom. Boom.
You feel it again and again. All goes black as you fall to the ground. Bennet and Shields watch you collapse on the floor as Shields and Bennett watch Paris have.
Well, what looks like an episode. We're going to move the camera back outside, past the moving vans, past the moving crew to Tiberius.
Your phone buzzes and you see that there's a voicemail waiting for you.
:Whoa. I bet you this one's a good one.
:Yeah, it's just like, hey, you've won a cruise trip to Turks and Caicos. You have one unheard message. First unheard Message sent at 15.
:Hello, Andy. It's amusing to see what your silly little mind will conjure to try and protect yourself from reality. Thinking I am not me.
That hypothesis is a fallacy. What you see what you know. No, it's me. It's Ryan. It's Fletcher. I made a choice.
The choice to see past all that petty shit they make you slop around in. Do you think I'm reaching out to you as I continue my work just to taunt you, to torture you? No. It's because you have so much potential.
Make the right choice, Andy.
:Choose.
:See you soon.
:End of message. To delete this message, press 7.
:Well, it definitely did not make me feel good at all. So I'm going to search the car for a weapon, a gun or anything, really. Just nothing that's inside of a sealed container that I can't open.
:Shield. Spin it. Did you leave your weapons behind in the vehicle?
:No, I don't think that Shields would do that.
:Okay.
:Neither would Bennett.
:And we know would there be like.
:A spare in a glove compartment.
:Paris, Frankfurt, we know you don't have a firearm anymore, so there's nothing you would have left there except for your concealable knife. But I imagine your concealable knife is on your person. Am I correct?
:Yeah, I wouldn't. Wouldn't take that off for.
:I think shields is actually quite the rifle. Yeah, what he would have brought, like.
:Wouldn'T be inside the passenger area or inside the cabin of the car.
:But it's an suv, right? So I can look just back there?
:Yeah, for sure. Tiberius. There are closed cases here that look very much like sportsmen or military in nature.
There is obviously a rifle case back here stacked under some duffel bags of what looks like clothing and maybe other toiletries or equipment. There are also a few cases, black cases as well, that look like they could house something. All of them have. Go ahead and roll your luck.
:A success? I never fail.
:Good start to great last night.
:Oh, man, you jinxed yourself.
:All of them have locks on them, but it appears that one of the smaller cases is open. It's not set to have latched properly or it was purposely left open for some reason.
But you see as you open it up, about six canister grenades in there. Now, you're not a grenade expert or even a grenade journeyman, or even a grenade layman, so you're not exactly sure what you're looking at here.
There's really no text on them at all, but you see a pin and you see a spoon. They're cylindrical and silver. Dang.
:How small is this box?
:It's the size of a large briefcase.
:Could I put it underneath my seat?
:Yeah, it's slim enough to fit under the seat of the SUV in the back.
:I'm going to do that. And what does Andy want to do here after this call? He's going to call back the first number.
:You get an operator just like before. That tells you the service is no longer connected.
:Okay. And if I just try to call back the unknown number?
:Same thing.
:Okay, that's what I'll do then.
:So we'll follow the camera right back in through the doors of Hog City Mushroom and Herbal Supply, back into the back area where the crew is still taking down the few last greenhouse sized tents here, and into the disposal room in the secret area that was hidden by a false wall. But instead of returning to the action, I want to talk about what Paris is experiencing right now.
Because he's very much conscious and though his vision went black for a moment, for him, much time passes somewhere else. Paris, you actually find yourself sitting on a worn stone bench.
You look down at it and you see that its surface is marred with cracks and patches of vibrant green moss. As you continue to look around, you see the ground beneath your feet is paved with smooth, polished stones.
They're arranged in elaborate patterns that seem to undulate like waves frozen in time. It's a courtyard.
:Nope.
:As your gaze continues to look up, you see the courtyard surrounded by cherry blossom trees with delicate pink blossoms that seem to glow in the moonlight. Clouds drift across the sky quickly like wisps of smoke and send strange shadows across this scene before your eyes.
You watch the trees as their branches sway gently in a cool breeze. They add to the dappled shadows that fly across your vision.
There's a longing for peace and tranquility that seeps into your bones, as if the vision, the very air here, should be imbued with some sense of calm. But instead there's an eerie stillness that just hangs heavy in the air.
It's broken only by the distant howl of wind through the leaves and faint whispers that seem to emanate from the ancient stone walls that surround the courtyard. The silence is indeed almost palpable.
It fills you with this sense of unease and you try to scan for any signs of life in what seems to be a deserted place.
And as you sit in stillness, not yet ready to rise from this stone bench, your eyes are drawn to the towering tiered temple on the other side of this courtyard.
The intricate architecture twists and contorts before your very eyes, walls leaning at impossible angles, windows and doorways appearing and disappearing like mirages. From this distance, you can see endless quarters stretching out into uncertain beckoning with a sense of Foreboding.
A chill runs through your body as a primal instinct tells you that something more final than death resides within the structure, waiting for its next victim to wander inside. Your heart races as you resist the urge to stand and explore, afraid of what you may find within those twisted walls.
As you continue to watch the temple's shifting corridors, your eyes are drawn to a grotesque statue standing in the center of one of the moving rooms. Like the temple itself, it is ever changing, shifting into different forms with each passing kaleidoscope of the temple. Strange shifts.
Sometimes it takes the shape of a woman with piercing eyes that seems to follow you. Other times, it becomes an amorphous mass with no discernible features except for a fan held aloft by invisible hands.
It's made of obsidian, its surface riddled with veins of gleaming gold that give off an eerie glow in the dim light far away. But what truly unsettles you is the feeling that the statue is waiting for something or someone. Again, an instinctual fear.
It awaits at the back of your head, creeping up and down your spine, telling you that she waits and demands something that most cannot afford to give you. Try not to stare. Stare at it each time when it appears, but your gaze keeps drifting back despite your best efforts.
And each time you do, it seems to have changed even more dramatically than before. You can't shake off the feeling that if you were to see what lies behind the fan held by the woman's hand, you would lose everything.
A wave of dread washes over you as you imagine what horrors may lurk beneath it. But Paris? Your mind. It dares to consider the possibilities despite your best efforts.
And a sharp pain shoots through your head as if something is tearing away from your thoughts and disappearing forever. You know that whatever secrets lie behind that fan are meant to remain hidden.
And it fills you with both fear, but also curiosity that scares you the most. You force yourself to continue to sit on the old, worn stone bench. Your gaze. You tear it away to allow it to wander lazily around the courtyard.
Your eyes suddenly alight upon something new. Glittering geometric lights floating above another benchmere paces away to your right.
The realization of another presence hits you like a wave crashing onto shore. You're not alone. Your heart beats a little faster as you turn to face the source of the lights.
Cascading triangles shift and morph into more complex polyhedrons, each facet radiating a deep royal blue that seems to pulse and ripple like reflections on an ocean's surface. Your mind is filled with wonderful and curiosity at this unexpected Sight before you in this peaceful part, the amorphous mass of shapes and hues.
It turns its gaze. If you can call it that. It turns its gaze towards you. Its presence is unlike anything you have ever encountered before.
You hear no audible words, but the message it conveys is crystal clear. It's as if you were recalling a conversation from long ago, effortlessly understanding every word if you already knew them.
To your surprise, you find that you can respond in a similar manner. Almost as if tapping into this distant conversational memory from another time and place. Experience is both surreal, exhilarating.
It leaves you in this state of awe and wonder. You remember it's alien words.
:What are you? How have you become trusted?
:I'm. What is this place?
:A prison. Tiny thing.
:Oh, did you get mazed?
:Huh? How long have we been here?
:Changes from a royal blue to a pale green. Several of the polyhedrons become simpler for a moment and then increase in complexity. You don't remember a response to that question?
:What are you?
:We were sent here by another one who holds in his hands a whip in a cudgel that we found we could not ignore. He is small, too, though slightly bigger than you. And luckier.
We will find him when we escape this place and show him that he is not as clever as he thinks.
:How are you planning on escaping this prison?
:We were sent to eat the heart of his enemy. But the enemy was prepared for those such as we. You can help us. As we can help you. Deal with me. Thing of sweet blood. Of hot blood. For free. I'm.
A trade is required. Give me something small. Something you will never miss. We will do the same. That will be the key. That will be the gate.
:Well, on principle, I have a rule against entering into consciousness with interdimensional beings, typically. But maybe I can make an exception this time.
:Just don't take off your pants.
:Just.
:Just please tell me I don't take my pants off.
:That's right. Hot blood.
:It glows a rosy red, lush across its glittering polyhedrons.
:Okay. What did you. What did you have in.
:You? Realize that you can part with something. Something that makes you, you know, some of the wisdom. Not gonna do it.
You know, some of the wisdom that you've gained over your life might work well. You also know that perhaps something that gives your body mind, vigor would work equally as well. You can make a choice.
:I can teach you how to drive a boat. I'm pretty good at that. Sorry. No, let me think about this.
:That is your most valuable skill. Sir, I would never Part that if I want.
:He's been so critical to our success.
:Quote unquote. Quote unquote success. So, mechanically, I'll let you know how this is going to work. You can choose to give of skill or of body.
This means you can reduce any skill over 50% to base or 0%, or permanently lose one point from a stat of your choice. And also remember, you don't have to deal with an extra dimensional being if that's what you choose to do. So don't.
Don't think I'm railroading you into a forked path here. There are other paths.
:How dare you railroad him.
:No, no. I like. I actually like the idea of wants to interdimensional. It's kind of fun.
:Could be a fiddle competition just throwing that out there.
:I love it.
:I think what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go the stat route and I'm gonna give up. I'm gonna play this in character, though, just so you know what I'm doing. I'm gonna give up a point of power.
Cause it seems like it makes sense in the situation.
:Remember, you've been presented this innate. You know, you remember being presented this choice, right? This is a memory of a conversation you're having somehow in this moment.
:That's true. Okay. Yeah, I'll. It'll get me out of here. We'll help you get out of here as well.
:Yes.
:Can you tell me more about who sent you to. He said what? The heart of your enemy. Tell me more about them.
:He is like you, holding tools he barely understands when. Just not ready. But when we leave, we will show him.
:Does he have a name that you're aware of?
:You don't remember a response to that question? You watch the glittering shapes turn a deep purple.
:What do I call you?
:We are outside.
:It takes a long time before it ends with that. Just remember. A lot of time passing, uncomfortable amounts of silence.
:We are.
:Okay. All right. You've got yourself a deal.
:You hear hissing in your head.
You remember hissing growing from the back of your skull to behind your eyes, causing glittering explosions of energy as your teeth chatter, your arms go rigid and cold. And you wake up. You wake up, your eyes opened as if no time has passed at all. And sh. Bennett, go ahead and roll me. Dexterity times five.
:Oh, okay.
:Yes.
:What? Oh, there's a failure.
:Oh, clonk. Paris forgets everything due to his head injury.
:As Shields and Bennett watch Paris suffer some sort of fainting episode, Bennett rushes forward to try to catch him before he slams against the concrete floor etched with strange, marred symbols.
He falls into her arms, and she holds onto his limp but heavy body, and although she's unable to stop his fall altogether, she does provide some slowness. She slows down the momentum of his body crashing against the floor before he even hits the floor.
His eyes are back open, and by the time he does hit it, he's lucid again, seemingly only having suffered a very brief, brief moment.
