Shades of the West – Episode 4 – The Past Come to Light

Kenzie Tartaglione:

This is a horror actual play. Viewer discretion is advised. Content warnings for this episode include blood, body horror, ghosts, gore, grief, guns, and harm to children.

Ashley Westover (Game Master):

The Vast Basin stretches out before the four of you, but despite the wide horizon, you feel distinctly claustrophobic. The visit to Judith's house while enlightening did not fill you with much hope. Temple has you firmly in its grasp, and according to the eccentric old woman in the house behind you, that is where you will stay. The sun is still high in the sky, like it has been all day, and like it will be until night falls like a curtain over the land.

You still have several hours before that happens, if your watch and the sun are to be believed. One thing commands your attention as you look out onto the merciless desert, a glittering spot where the silver mines lay nestled on the side of the hill, catching the sun's rays and reflecting them back out into the sky. You are much closer now than you were this morning and can make out the shape of the entrance, the path leading up to it, and several pieces of equipment strewn about haphazardly in the distance.

Stevie Faye:

Despite all of the, for lack of a better term, fucked up shit we've seen thus far. I think this visit at this house has been by far the most unsettling thing for Bea, and so it was just kind of like living in that unsettledness.

Riley Maness

:

Having had the least serious time in the house, Travis is just thousand yards staring at his hands, as if he had the blood of a thousand souls on his hands, but it's just flour. It's in dough. He still has the apron on that that drew that gave him that says, “Kiss the Cowboy. He’s just, he doesn't know what happened to himself. It's like, he's like, he's having flashbacks, even though it just happened.

Brendan Hooker:

Abe is lost in thought about something. Really doesn't like the idea that they could be stuck here for a number of reasons. And he's just kind of making trying to make himself more determined to fix whatever's wrong and get out of here. But he's definitely still very much shaken and is just projecting confidence and intention to ignore the fact that he is very scared.

Linnie Schell:

Discovering the things in Judith's house, sort of showing that this unbroken chain of correctness and authority that he thought his faith was sort of proclaiming into the world has, I think, shaken him very badly. And I think it's not necessarily the idea that the faith is different than he was expecting, because, you know, of course he adopts and uses a lot of things relevant to whatever the local area he's in. It's not necessarily that. It's the clear signs that the evidence that his faith was just part of one of many traditions is very much there but does not exist in the world as a whole, which means that someone must have been putting effort into covering it up. And that really the only thing he can make sense of is that at the highest levels of his faith, the sort of false narrative has been perpetuated. And he has been in service of a lie at a deep level by a family that he trusted to tell him kind of the unvarnished truth of the world. And so he's kind of spiraling into does he even know what's right and wrong anymore?

Ashley (GM):

As you and your compatriot soldier on, you think back to just a few minutes ago. You know, Judith, or maybe an hour or so, time is... Judith asks for your help to make cookies, then led you by the arm through one of the many makeshift paths that weave through her house. The sounds of chimes made from glass and tin and bone followed you as your shoulders brushed past them in this narrow space, eventually coming to the kitchen.

It is just as cluttered as the rest of the house, though there is more floor space and it looks to be where Judith spends most of her time since the dust in here isn't as thick as it is in the rest of the house. With sunlight streaming in from the windows and with Judith bustling about as she was gathering ingredients for the cookies, you're struck with a memory. What was the last thing you baked with your mother?

Riley:

Probably a set of cookies like this when I was maybe a teenager at most. Not actual baking, but makeshift making. Definitely a batch of some concoction that she confidently, even though she didn't probably believe in it all that much, she probably believed in a batch of food I had tried to put out as a type of medicine back before I left town for the first time.

Ashley (GM):

As you are whisked back to this moment where you're in your mother's kitchen, the sunlight filtering through the open windows and she's got bowls of the different experimental batter that you've been, you know, fiddling with different ingredients for. There is a knock at the door. And your mother is just sort of like, she looks to be busy trying to get the fire started in the oven. And so she like asks you to go and see who's there. She's like,

Ashley (Mrs. Black):

Are we expecting any company?

Riley (Travis Black):

I don't think so. I'll take a look.

Ashley (Mrs. Black):

All right. Well, if it's if it's your Auntie Margaret, tell her that dinner's gonna be a little delayed if she's popped around for that.

Ashley (GM):

And she gestures to the mess that you guys have made in the kitchen.

Riley (Travis):

Definitely will, definitely will. let's see.

Ashley (GM):

As you open the door, it's a beautiful day out. And so that is highly juxtaposed with the figure standing in front of you flanked by two much taller and more intimidating people. In front of you stands Goldtooth, the man that initially gave you a loan because he was just so nice and then sort of time after time you got further and further in debt with him and then by the time you realized it was too late to have an equitable relationship with this man. He fully had you sort of under his thumb in your hometown, but this is the first time that he's actually shown up where you and your mother are. He looks at you and he says,

Ashley (Goldtooth):

Hi son.

Riley (Travis):

Mr. Gold.

Ashley (GM):

He brushes past you, doesn't even like ask to come in. He just walks in to the house and your mother sort of startles in the kitchen. You're not sure if she recognizes who he is or not, but he definitely has a reputation in the circles that you've started to get in. His compatriots, one of them follows him inside and the other one stands by the door as he just starts making slow circles around your mother's house just looking at the furniture, the silverware, at her, and then back at you.

Riley (Travis):

There something I can help you with?

Ashley (Goldtooth):

Well, I believe you know your interest is due, but you haven't been around the club lately, so I figured it'd be time for a house call.

Riley (Travis):

You know me to always pay when I can. And as it is now, I cannot. I'm working on getting a little more money for you to pay you properly. But that doesn't matter because this isn't mine. This isn't open for yours to take.

Ashley (Goldtooth):

And how are these endeavors of yours really working out there, son?

Ashley (GM):

And as he smiles, like his signature gold tooth sort of glints evilly in the light. It's not a very clever name, but it is evocative, descriptive.

Riley (Travis):

Did enough to pick up the second horse. Raven's coming along just fine. Wagon still needs that repair, but I've done enough.

Ashley (Goldtooth):

But like you said, you are not able to pay your interest today. Is that correct?

Riley (Travis):

I do believe that's what I said. I don't believe I misspoke.

Ashley (Goldtooth):

Alright. As I'm a forgiving man, you know, I'm generous, kind, and if people cannot pay in gold, then there other ways that I can extract what is due to me.

Ashley (GM):

And he, with like a wave of his finger, the first of his bodyguards comes up to you and you’re like you said, you're just like late teens. You're probably a scrawny, nothin’ little guy at this point. And he grabs your arm and sort of like slams you down into the kitchen table. And your mother, who has been sort of frozen, just holding a bowl of batter up until now, drops it and screams as she goes,

Ashley (Mrs. Black):

No, no, honey, no!

Ashley (GM):

And then the other guard walks in and as you are pinned to the table, he brings his knee up and squarely hits you in between the legs. And then as the first one throws you down to the ground, Gold Tooth looks over and he says,

Ashley (Goldtooth):

Now, this is interest, but your life and the rest of what blood you have left to spill is what will be owed if you do not get me my money. Is that understood, sonny?

Riley (Travis):

Not if you keep coming around here.

Ashley (Goldtooth):

I'm gonna be going where you are.

Riley (Travis):

I’ll only say it again, this… this place isn’t for you. I want to make that perfectly clear. I’m a great asset for you right now. I’m right underneath your thumb, all I have to do is keep giving you interest. I’m not going to make enough in this town. There’s not enough money in circulation for me to get out from under you. I don’t see what this is getting you at all.

Kenzie (Game Master):

I think this would be great social role.

Riley:

Twenty-four.

Ashley (GM):

You see that one of the thugs is poised to kick the shit out of you while you're still down, but Goldtooth holds up a hand and he says,

Ashley (Goldtooth):

You know what, you're right. There's not enough money here for you to really be of much use to me, so go out, get me what's owed, and if you do that, I won't come back here. Do we got a deal?

Riley (Travis):

You just find me at my Emporium, and we'll be right as rain.

Ashley (GM):

And he turns to your mother, gives like a little dip of his hat,

Ashley (Goldtooth):

Ma’am.

Ashley (GM):

And he and his goons walk out.

That's the point that you were then brought back mentally into Judith's kitchen. The look of your mother's horrified face, the mess on the floor, the aching in your gut as you like got kicked and fell to the ground. You find yourself, you have a mixing bowl in your hands that you just absentmindedly stirring and Judith was stoking the fire in the oven as you came back to yourself and she gives you a sympathetic look.

And as your feet press on beneath the midday sun, you look over to your compatriots who are all in deep thoughts of their own as you head towards the mines.

Kenzie (GM):

You guys are gonna get two plot points, one for that incredible role and one for the flashback.

Ashley (GM):

You are following Abner of all people as your group makes their way up the gentle slope that leads to the mines. Normally, you would take a more active role in navigating your surroundings, but your mind is currently preoccupied with the revelations you experienced in Judas' museum. As you stood there, examining every artifact for answers, you vaguely registered the sounds of Bea and Abner chatting at the table, the door slightly cracked open behind you. You don't know how long you stood in that room, trying to wrap your head around what all of this meant, but, the next thing you know, you heard a knock at the partially open door and the scent of fresh baked goods wafting towards you.

Ashley (Judith):

How’s your breakdown going?

Linnie (Jebediah Monroe):

Ugh… I feel it is cruelly going... in a most unkind manner. Why do you even have all this stuff here? What?

Linnie:

I think he takes out like the collection of amulets from other things, from other other face and other cultures and sort of shakes it says, like as it jingles like,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Why… why not have any of other stuff? Why why just from the Family?

Ashley (Judith):

Family? Is that is that what you call it nowadays?

Linnie (Jebediah):

It's what we've always called it. It's always just been the Family. You know?

Ashley (Judith):

Sure, sure. Well, to answer your question, I... It's the thing that kept coming back, you know? It's... It's nice when visitors come and bring a little updates, but rarely... There's not really anything else that has such a clear progression that I've found. I suppose I like patterns and I like seeing evolution. I like seeing how things change since everything here always stays the same. But, it also, you know, back in the day, was a source of comfort for the people here. The... What do you call it again? The Family?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah, the Family, know, the all there's one, the one that is all sort of a catch-all.

Ashley (Judith):

Yeah, I can see how they got there.

Ashley (GM):

And she walks towards like one of the oldest pieces from like this timeline that evolved from like the eye in the hands into the symbol that you have today. She says,

Ashley (Judith):

Well, back when everything first started, it was the Everwatchful. That's how it was introduced. It was nice to know there was something looking out for ya. It made you feel less lonely out here in the... wasted deserts. But it... it... It didn't last long. I don't know if the land is what corrupted it, or if it corrupted the land, or if maybe everything is just one big soup of coincidence that turned out really shitty for us here. But I do know they ought to blame for what's been tearing apart the people in the night Cookie?

Ashley (GM):

She holds up the plate towards you.

Linnie:

Jeb just absentmindedly takes a cookie and is just looking at this like, doing the thing where he's looking at the circular cookie and the circular wheel and just trying a little bit desperately to find some meaning. And he just says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

What do you mean that they caused this? There's not like that, that's like, that is not what we're set out here to do is in fact directly antithetical to our current - or not even our current, the way things have always been, you know, we protect the people and then they're - they're part of us, they're part of the Family and then the Family protects each other.

Ashley (Judith):

Well sure, it's it's you know, but you know, good intentions and all that can can lead to some quite gnarly consequences, You currently work towards banishing things, correct? Or putting them to rest?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yes, at peace. You banishment is a last resort, of course. Sort of the finding solace in the next life.

Ashley (Judith):

Well, the way I see it, if someone like you has the power to put things away, they also have the power to bring things here and sometimes it doesn't all go so well. Maybe that's why y'all don't really do that anymore, huh? You learn your lesson, that's good for you actually. I'm glad to hear that, glad to hear that.

Linnie:

Jeb takes a bite of the cookie. Is it good?

Ashley (GM):

It is good in the sense that it is baked well and it's got a sweetness to it, but there's also like a grasshopper leg in there. And so however Jeb feels about the extra protein, it still tastes good and it's edible. But you know, she's making sure you guys have enough calories and proteins to go out the rest of your - it’s like a little like - yeah, if he doesn't like bug legs, he won't like it, but otherwise...

Linnie (Jebediah):

It's just kinda like my mom used to make.

Ashley (Judith):

It’s an old recipe, that’s for sure.

Linnie (Jebediah):

No, I'm sorry, That... That... I feel like I'm getting distracted from the initial point. So you keep dropping a gratuitous amount of hints and, you know, vague allusions to the fact that the thing that I have built the foundation of my entire life on has caused just sort of a general evil, but also the evil that will kill me. Could you perhaps...

Ashley (Judith):

Oh, do you want me to not hint? Do you want me to not hint anymore?

Linnie (Jebediah):

I would like you to be more specific. So not to be - to do more than hint, just not - to not not hint, but to do more than hint. To give me a clear recollection a picture of what's happening here to the best of your ability and knowledge.

Ashley (Judith):

Yeah, yeah, I can do that.So… your little... little... churchy cult temple thing is what summoned a creature here that's probably gonna eat your insides. Is that... Is that pretty straightforward for you?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Just my insides? And is there a way to perhaps prevent that unfortunate fate?

Ashley (Judith):

I mean, I’m no fighter, never have been, so I tend to just sort of like avoid

Linnie (Jebediah):

So it - would it respond well to violence or being asked nicely? Sort of my two main modes of attack.

Ashley (Judith):

Well, when it first got here it was supposed to be... protector for this town, but... it got too hungry. And so maybe if you feed it enough people all it wants, it'll get full and then you can talk to it. I guess? This is pure conjecture. I have no clue what's up with that freaky little dude.

Linnie (Jebediah):

You said dude. Is it a human avatar or just a vibe of a person?

Ashley (Judith):

Oh, no, it's not a person. It's a... gosh.

Ashley (GM):

And she starts like mumbling as she like walks back out with she was she like we gotta share these and like walks back out into the dining room and like just puts the the cookies in front of Abner.

Ashley (Judith):

So like imagine a nightmare, right? And then imagine if it could take your tummy and rip it out. Is that, is that clear? Is that more…

Linnie (Jebediah):

It is more specific. That is, that is -

Ashley (Judith):

See? See? I can do this all day. I got specifics out the wazoo. Anyone else want a specific? I feel like I'm on a roll. I'm on fire. Not literally. That sucked.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah, guys, if you want to ask for more specifics, my guest, but also the cookies are good.

Linnie:

And I think Chubb just sits down and like pushes the cookies at Abner.

Brendan:

Abner eats a cookie.

Linnie (Jebediah):

They got the grasshopper legs, you know.

Brendan (Abner Slade):

I do love a good grasshopper leg. So, it's important to diversify that. Can we kill it?

Ashley (Judith):

I don't know. That's a great question. Maybe? I mean, anyone who has like gone out has gotten killed in a very physical manner, so we can only assume it's got some sort form that can harm and be harmed but whether that is to a terminal degree is has not yet been proven.

Stevie (Beatrice Lebowitz):

You seem to know most everything how do you not know if this thing can be killed?

Ashley (Judith):

Well, ‘cause it hasn't happened

Brendan (Abner):

Well, I mean, I've never been here before so… And there’s very few things I can't kill.

Ashley (GM):

She looks like she goes,

Ashley (Judith):

Yeah, you tend to have like a little switch you turn off in your noggin before just doing any sort of atrocity you want. That's impressive, honestly, not many people can do that.

Brendan:

He’s taking a back. I don’t think he knows how to respond to that.

Stevie (Beatrice):

Okay, well you say that there's nothing that you can't kill, but how many weird supernatural bloodthirsty creatures that we don't really know anything about have you killed?

Brendan (Abner):

At least seven. Gotta be at least seven.

Ashley (Judith):

That's a lucky number.

Linnie (Jebediah):

I can personally attest to at least five that have been verified.

Riley (Travis):

I hit one with my cart once.

Stevie (Beatrice):

So I'm the odd one out here?

Brendan (Abner):

You just haven't been around long enough.

Stevie (Beatrice):

Alright then, I'll let y’all take the lead. I guess we are killing this thing.

Linnie (Jebediah):

As you claim, and suppose that we accept this claim that the family had something to do with the raising of this creature, assuming raw power and force don't defeat it, would the similar tools put it back to sleep? Or is it sort of mutated beyond the ken?

Ashley (Judith):

I’ve lived in this house for as long as memory is alive. And I was never part of your fancy little club. So even if I could answer that, I would not know what those tools beyond my ken might be. Although, normally silver tends to work pretty well, but it lacks the silver mine up yonder. So I'm not sure if maybe the opposite thing, I don’t know.

Stevie (Beatrice):

What’s the opposite of silver?

Ashley (Judith):

Dirt. But there's lots of that out here too, so I don't think that's gonna be its weakness.

Brendan (Abe):

Jebediah, in your faith, what is the significance of silver?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, So with these things, it's a little hard to tell sometimes whether the meaning came first and thus imbued the object with power or the power came first and thus the meaning became apparent. So... Normally, it is a value and so there's some element of sacrifice if you use it to defeat something of evil. But then also it is sort of a pure shiny metal that is easier to get than gold. So if you told someone you had to kill someone with gold, they might just say, well, I'm gonna die. But if you said, well, you get some silver, then it usually works. And I've never been clear if it is the belief or the silver that really does it in the end. But, you know, you believe hard enough and you use silver, you know, 50/50.

I feel that I had certainty on this topic up until about twenty minutes ago or however long I was in that room. So I don't wanna suppose more. But yeah, a shiny, pure thing that you strive into the heart of darkness and defeats it, sort of the general vibe. So it could really be anything though. I think that through the antithesis of the thing that you imbue that thing with sort of is a destructive method.

Brendan (Abner):

If I may, I might suggest that coal might be the opposite of silver.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Are you suggesting we burn it to the ground?

Ashley (Judith):

Oh!

Brendan (Abner):

Coal could be could be maybe gunpowder. Maybe we get in this mine and blow it out of kingdom come.

Ashley (Judith):

I mean, we certainly didn't have guns when it first got here, so that is at least something new to try.

Brendan (Abner):

It's just cold, it's dirty, it stains, it's impure. Doesn’t sound like silver to me but I also don't really track with any of this stuff that you do.

Linnie (Jebediah):

I have to say after today I am feeling a little more inclined to your destructive tendencies.

Brendan:

He gives a big ole toothy grin.

Linnie:

Jeb blushes and then looks away a little bit.

Kenzie (GM):

As you all begin to leave Judith's house, Jeb, you're kind of the last one through the door looking back over your shoulder one last time at the crack to the museum room, that kind of destroyed your sense of morality. And you notice a shift as soon as you step down the porch of Judith's house. Stepping through that doorway was like stepping through another time. And the world begins to move around you like molasses. Your concentration pulled backwards slowly out of the present to another place and as your foot steps down off of that last you're in the Shade Flats. A place you know well, better than most people in the West. Purple haze from the moon casts your shadow darker and longer than normal. Pale flickering visages of lost souls, all of them needing, wanting, grasping at you to give what only you can give, sucking you dry from their mere presence. Your headache is back pounding.

And Luck is there with you. But this was Luck before he was Luck. Luck before his name. You were meant to find him one, like so many before him. And he had begged to come with you to find it. And unlike so many before him, you didn't tell him no.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Is this -Luck? Is that-? Is that you? What? What's happening?

Kenzie (GM):

He looks at you a little oddly.

Kenzie (Luck):

Did one of them give you that? Is that my name now?

Linnie (Jebediah):

What do mean, now? It's been your name for twenty years, long as I've...almost as long as I've known ya. What?

Kenzie (Luck):

I wish to know you twenty years.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Aw… Luck, are you not dead?

Kenzie (GM):

He pats his chest, his body.

Kenzie (Luck):

Not yet. But if one of those seams comes even a little bit closer to me, I fear I might.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Alright, well... I think... Either got hit on the head... One too many times... Well, too many times, one too many. And... I'm hallucinating. Or... This is lovely dream and I'm about to die. Either way...

Kenzie (Luck):

Well this is a dangerous place, but you said you could handle it.

Linnie (Jebediah):

No, no I can handle it. The Shade Flats, that's - here, here, take my hand, we're gonna be fine.

Kenzie (Luck):

Alright.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Here, just - now - The thing you gotta remember with the Shade Flats is boundaries. Right? Is, you gotta be secure in your own emotional boundary. Cause they want, they want the life that you have.

And it's alright if you want to share that life, but they're not allowed to take what you do not want to give them. So, just concentrate on my hand, and just remember that you are alive. Well, yeah, you are alive, and they aren't, and that's terrible, but there's nothing you can do to fix that. And so the thing that you can do is to remain alive and help them as you can. Sort of... put on... you know, Does that feel better?

Linnie:

So like he's holding on very tightly to Luck’s hand and trying to like exude this sort of mental boundary around the two of them, sort of this little like psychic bubble.

Kenzie (GM):

His hand is warm in yours and he looks at you from the side

Kenzie (Luck):

How do we ask one of them for their name?

Linnie (Jebediah):

I like to go sort of this... Even the Shade Flats have currents. Even the Shade Flats have bits apiece. So I like to wander a bit and try to find a bit of an eddy, bit of a cooler spot. A place where things don't seem so turbulent. Yeah, like that one over there.

Linnie:

Where it points out like the smoke is eddied. There's some like smooth stones.

Linnie (Jebediah):

And then I… Just go sit down like that right there.

Kenzie (GM):

Sits down, follows your instructions.

Linnie (Jebediah):

And then I like to light a little candle and then I just start talking about the person that I'm looking for name for and ask if anyone has maybe walked a similar path and feels like their name could do some more walking, a little more happiness attached. And I tell them, you know, about this person's kind eyes and how this person just sort of lights up a room whenever they walk into it and how just has this sort of patient air that makes anyone, even some grouchy, grouchier folks, take notice and to really pay attention to what they're saying. You know, so tell them about the kind of person I think might change the city for the better. Just given half a chance. The kind of person you'd want to stand behind and sort of just watch them work their magic.

Kenzie (GM):

Things are happening differently than they happened the first time. A ghost, a shade that floats past, kind of turns and their face morphs into the image of a man that you've seen on wanted posters, block letters “Slade” underneath. And the shade stops for a really long time looking at you. Until Luck almost has to snap you out of a daze.

Kenzie (Luck):

Is that is that the one?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Oh, uh… sorry. No, I I don't... I don't think that one is willing to give up his name just yet.I don’t think its the right one.

Kenzie (Luck):

Alright, well, I'll wait for as long as it takes.

Linnie:

I think Jeb's looking around, like still looking around the spirits, still watching this, the shade of Abner is… What does it seem like the rest of the spirits are doing here?

Kenzie (GM):

This space is overrun with them, except for these eddies that you find yourself in where they pass through because of a curiosity about you less than a vengeful or angry personality towards you. And so currently, the shade that took on the visage of the wanted poster is the only one passing through this area. But as it passes through, you are pretty sure that others will float through as well.

Linnie:

I think Jeb, watching the shade walk past, or the shade float past, sort of brought back to the possibility of all of this and says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Luck, do you remember how we got here? Does something seem off to you? Aside from the fact we're in the Shade Flats.

Kenzie (Luck):

Yeah, like this whole - I was gonna say this whole place feels off to me. But, no. I mean, I - You you offered to get me a new name, and this is what we had to do to go through with that so… We walked here.

Linnie:

Does Luck have a pocket watch on him? And then if so, think Jeb will try to check it. Like I think Jeb is really trying to get a sense for like, is this actually a hallucination or has some time fuckery really happened?

Kenzie (GM):

I don't think Luck would be an individual that carry a pocket watch, but I will have you roll a Supernatural roll.

Linnie:

Nineteen.

Kenzie (GM):

This happened. This is a memory that you of helping Luck. It is not playing out how it should. It is being worked and changed as you live through. Whether or not this is happening in the present in your, like, living it as you and your group are leaving Judith's house, or whether you are changing the past, you cannot figure out.

Linnie:

So on one hand, I could be trapped in a phantasman with something that's gonna eat my stomach. On the other hand, I could fix the greatest wrong that's ever been done in my entire life. And there's just really no way of knowing. Great. This is fine. Jebediah, you have spent your whole life. It's fine.

Linnie (Jebediah):

You've obviously followed me out to these flats because you trust me. And I... I... I think I honestly did not know why I said yes. And so… would you trust me if I said to you once again that I think that I am from the future and that I remember this, but I do not remember it this way.

Kenzie (GM):

He gets off, gets up off of the ground upon seeing the anxiety that you're struggling with. And he goes,

Kenzie (Luck):

Well I won't lie to you, feels like a little bit of a tall tale coming from the future and what not and maybe this is too forward of me, but yeah, I followed you here, cause I'll always follow you. I'll be by your side every step of the way. Always.

Linnie (Jebediah):

If it's a bit of a tall tale, I can tell you a little bit of a story. So imagine there was this, sort of hardened, hardened man who didn't really believe there was a lot of good things left for him in his world. And one day a young man came looking for a name, something he'd done for many folks before, except this man wouldn't leave him. And this man promised to never leave him. They went out to the Salt Flats and they came back and some say they met a ghost that gave them a name and some say they just found one along the way. Who's really to know?

You know when they walked out of those Shade Flats, a man, and the luckiest thing that ever happened to him, walked out and they were in love for many years. And they had an incredible life together. And then one day, something very, very unlucky happened. And there was a carriage, the doctor that came too late, and a man left all alone. But then maybe sort of ran from his problems for several years, or maybe a little bit longer.

And I don't know where in that story I am right now, Luck, but I think my part of that tale's done. And if you still want that, then I think you should know that even telling you this now, that tale might not end the way I want it to. But that you should take that name and we should walk out of here.

And again, with the not being sure where I am in the story, I'm not sure I can come with you, but the me that can will. And if not, I want you to take your name and I want you to take this lantern and I want you to come find me.

And I think Jeb hands over the lantern he's been carrying at his belt, which is engraved with symbols kind of all over it and just exudes sort of ghostly mystical power and as he holds it up you can see all the ghosts are illuminated but the land itself is not necessarily.

Kenzie (GM):

There’s a hesitance for him to accept this lantern from you. And he says,

Kenzie (Luck):

I'll keep my promise until you tell me to break it.

Kenzie (GM):

And he reaches out and he grabs the lantern. And as he grabs the lantern, the world kind of explodes in this white light, the brightest light that the Shade Flats have ever seen. And it's replaced by a red tinted sun in the afternoon outside of Temple. And for the first time in years, that black spot on your peripheral vision doesn't stay there when you turn your head. And you see in the near distance, Luck, standing in the middle of the desert holding up that lantern.

He puts a finger to his lips and shakes his and brings the lantern down to his side. And as you feel that a weight on your own hips have shifted, and you don't have that lantern in your possession. But you can see him now.

Linnie:

Jeb sort of like tips his head up as if he sees him and keeps walking but not doing a very good job of not constantly looking over to where he is.

[ad break starts]

Kenzie:

Pardon the interruption, but here’s another show, we think you’d like.

[“Soul Operator” promo begins]

Tatiana Gefter:

Hello, my name… my name’s Tessa. Tessa Whitlock. My name is Tessa Whitlock. I don’t know where I am. I don’t remember anything. I’m not alone. There are a lot of us here. There are kids here. We’re real. This place is… There’s something wrong here. Please, if you’re hearing this, please help us. If you get this tape… god! Is this even recording? Dammit -

Out now, everywhere you can listen to podcasts.

[“Soul Operator” promo ends]

Kenzie:

If you thought that voice sounded familiar, that is because that was Tatiana Gefter who played Alma in season 2, Of Kith and Pen. You can find the links to Soul Operator in the episode description.

If you want to support the podcast, you can head over to our Patreon. Or, if you’re not into mostly subscriptions, but you’re enjoying the episodes, you can head over to our Ko-Fi and leave us a tip. Enjoy the rest of the episode!

[ad break ends]

Ashley (GM):

As you all continue up towards the mine, it’s getting closer and closer. Jeb, you're having your little moment towards the back, just sort of following the group. Bea you are trying to find meaning in the different things that Judith was saying and trying to figure out how the fuck she knew certain things and also what the fuck this towel is supposed to do. Like it's you're trying to puzzle out a puzzle and you're not even quite sure if all the pieces are to the same image.

Travis and Abner. As y 'all get closer to mine, the hills get steeper as you get closer to it. And like I mentioned, there are equipment pieces sort of like strewn about. Like there's a wheelbarrow over here. There's like a pickaxe there. I want you guys to roll me… I would say Physical or Supernatural since the two of you are the ones sort of currently leading the group just as you're observing your surroundings and trying to get the lay of the land so to say.

Riley:

I have an eight for physical.

Brendan:

Yeah that's - that is three ones.

Ashley (GM):

As as you guys approach the mine, you’re approaching it and then all of a sudden you're in front of it and it's like there was like bit of a jump, you're not sure in time or space or what the fuck is going on, but you're slightly disoriented and...

Travis, you see, since Abner's a little bit farther ahead than you, as he's looking up at this mine, which it's, you know, the standard like, like, like two posts and then a post on the top as like a like a square arch almost like you see in a lot of mining areas. You see a hand reach up from the stone and out of the ground and it's got these long razor sharp claws attached to it. It does not look - Travis, it is distinctly not a human hand, but you don't know what else has thumbs? The fingers are too long and there's one too many joints on them.

And Abner, you're looking at this mine trying to figure out the best way to go in, and then all of sudden you feel this sharp pain in your leg. And you look to see claws digging into your calf and trying to pull you down. And with a sinking feeling in your stomach, you feel your shoe start to go into the rock itself. I'm gonna need you to give me another Physical roll.

Kenzie (GM):

And take a burden.

Brendan:

God, I'm rolling so badly. That is seven.

Riley:

I fully grasp the situation. I see the hand grabbing him and I see it sinking. Is the hand still visible or is it like in the rock now?

Ashley (GM):

The hand is still visible. It's like just started to pull him in.

Riley:

All right. I've worked with his guns enough to feel confident enough to do this. I'm going to try to shoot it.

Ashley (GM):

Okay. Give me a Tech roll.

Riley:

Oh, let’s go! This is, this is, this is where I fuck up. This is where I roll all ones.

Brendan:

Could we, could you potentially, is it, is it bonds so that you add an additional d6? Would that be relevant here?

Riley:

I’ll add it, I'll do another, why not? Okay, this isn't bad. We have 12, 16, 20. With the extra it became 6d6, because Tech is already my best. That’s twenty-six. I see the wrist and the hand being really long. And I think if it's that, if it's like this elongated, there's a chance it's brittle. So I'm just aiming for the hand.

Ashley (GM):

The bullet tears through this hand and the fingers, instead of letting go like a normal hand would, it's like they rip out of Abner's leg and then fold backwards, like the knuckles go two ways and then the hand sort of like curls back and there's this green and like dark green spurt as it disappears back into the earth. Abner, your leg is on fire.

You are not quite sure what happened with a three. All of a sudden there was pain and you heard a shot and you are not sure if the shot caused the pain.

Kenzie (GM):

And that's another burden.

Ashley (GM):

But you turn to see Travis pointing a gun at towards your leg.

Brendan:

So not realizing what actually happened, Abner is going to yell out in pain and like grab it as grab it as his leg and then glare at Travis and say,

Brendan (Abner):

You stupid son of a bitch, I swear.

Riley (Travis):

Oh, you wanted to go down there. you wanted to go down there. Are you ready for hell that badly?

Brendan (Abner):

I will hobble over and physically attack Travis.

Riley (Travis):

I'll put you in a box and put you down the river, Grandpa.

Brendan (Abner):

I love to see you try.

Riley (Travis):

Oh please.

Riley:

I take five steps back. I take five steps back.

Riley (Travis):

Come on then! Come on then!

Brendan (Abner):

You son of bitch. When I catch you, when I catch you, I'm gonna, I'm gonna fidget feed you your toes.

Riley (Travis):

Look at your goddamn leg. I didn't shoot you.

Brendan:

Look at his leg. Is there a bullet hole?

Ashley (GM):

No, there are, there are, six, like, shredded claw marks.

Brendan (Abner):

What happened?

Stevie:

I have a special action that specifically says that I can quote “safeguard my friends from feelings of fear or anger.”

Kenzie (GM):

Depending on how high you roll, this could travel a bit with you all rather than just staying in this moment.

Stevie:

Okay, that is a 24.

Ashley (GM):

Bea, there is such a sudden desire to get these two to stop yelling at each other and to calm down and oh god, there's blood, what’s happening, Abner got hurt. And then as you do that, you feel this wave sort of ripple off of you, like still water. And Abner and Travis, the two of you, willingly, but sort of like encouraged, like you take like a genuine, like, deep breath. Maybe the first (deep breath) deep breath y'all have taken in years depending on y'all's current situation. And Abner, you know what a bullet hole looks and feels like. And while the sudden pain and the very familiar noise happening pretty congruently startled you, you know that - you can tell that it was not caused by Travis. There’s like a sense of almost gratefulness as that realization hits you more so than the normal of like annoyance of like, I can't believe I was wrong about something. You know what I mean? Instead of your normal knee jerk reaction, there's more of a calm, emotionally mature sort of feeling.

And Travis, you feel sort of proud of yourself and the way that you were able to handle something so quickly and so efficiently. And there's just this odd beat of calm that happens. And as quickly as the wave sort of like passes through you and like gives you these feelings so you understand where you're both at, it ripples away again. But there's something in the air around Bea specifically.

Brendan:

Abner, getting this moment of clarity and calm, he’s going ot look at Bea, look at Travis, look at Travis holding his gun that he just fired, stand up straight instead of continuing to hold onto his leg, walk over to Travis, big cowboy steps. Look him in his eye, his eyes and say.

Brendan (Abner):

What were you shooting at?

Riley (Travis):

In most genuine way possible. I don't fucking know. It was a hand that grabbed you.

Brendan:

Complete silence and stoicness, unblinking. Abner is going to wrap an arm around Travis, pull him close, whisper in his ear,

Brendan (Abner):

Thank you.

Brendan:

The stiffest half-assed hug you've ever gotten. And then he's gonna push him away and say,

Brendan (Abner):

Give me my goddamn gun.

Riley:

Before I hand back your gun, I'm gonna look over you one time, because… You found clarity, but I don't know if your body's found peace yet because of the multiple holes in your leg now. But sure, sure, why not? Why not? I'll take out the one empty shell and give the revolver a re -up before I pass it on back to you.

Brendan:

Do a fun, fun gun trick.

Riley (Travis):

Don’t don't shoot me. Old man, old man.

Brendan:

Do a bunch of flips behind the back, spin it on one finger, put it back in, point it directly at Travis's head, spin it into the holster.

Linnie:

I think Jeb comes up, like, just at the tail end of this and standing next to Bea is like,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah, what? Where just happened?

Stevie (Beatrice):

Honestly, it's not completely clear, but we are all taking a nice deep breath and taking a step back and focusing on the far scarier bullshit ahead of us. Yeah.

Brendan (Abner):

You've got a real command in presence, Bea.

Stevie (Beatrice):

Me?

Brendan (Abner):

Yeah. You got a voice on you.

Stevie (Beatrice):

I don't think anyone's ever called me commanding.

Brendan (Abner):

Well, it's a subtle kind of commandment. It's not loud and rough. It's... it just... carries like an

Stevie (Beatrice):

Thank you?

Brendan (Abner):

Yeah.

Riley (Travis):

All right, Abner. I think you're experiencing blood loss. We're gonna we're gonna get this leg patched up.

Brendan (Abner):

My head really hurts and so does my leg.

Stevie (Beatrice):

Yeah, should we get that like wrapped up with something?

Brendan (Abner):

No, I got it.

Brendan:

I'm just gonna... reach into his - take out some of his... He gets hurt a lot. It's not that unusual. And take out like some gauze and just wrap it around his leg.

Ashley (GM):

I’ll say it didn't hit any like…major. There's not like really any arteries really in your calf anyways so it hurts like a bitch. But you've walked on worse. As you all turn back towards the silver mine, the sunlight it looks almost as if it's not just reflecting off of the rock and like the bits of silver that are still clearly visible here. Like this is not an empty vein. This is not something that was thoroughly, like even at the entrance you guys can tell there is a lot of silver in here. But the sun doesn't so much reflect off of that as it does the entrance itself and the void and the darkness that is there. There is a bit of light that creeps in and you can see sort of where there might be some turns farther down, but where the sun would normally reach to fully illuminate, it's like only halfway getting in there.

Linnie:

So how much gunpowder we got?

Brendan (Abner):

My thinking is that this used to be mine. So I was thinking we'd look around for some dynamite.

Stevie (Beatrice):

And we're settled on blowing up the mine.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, not settled, but it feels like we should… Maybe we can investigate and search for dynamite at the same time. Sort of a two-pronged approach. Taking into account both your excellent suggestions.

Brendan (Abner):

To be clear, I'm not saying we blow up the mine. I'm saying we find what it was in here and blow it up in the mine. I've done this kind of thing before. I've blown out a mine before.

There was a man who was rude to me at a bar. He worked in the local mine.

Riley (Travis):

Abner, did said local mine include a supernatural creature that popped you like a Capri Sun or is that, or is this new territory for you? Cause I just..

Brendan (Abner):

If it had anything supernatural in it, it wasn't going back out after that. don't know. All I know is that fucking Timothy is gone and that's all that matters.

Linnie:

I think I'd like to search around, like get up close, move forward, yes. Maybe not enter the mine entirely.

Ashley (GM):

I'll say as you approach the mine, your eyes, eyes start to adjust to the darkness. Yeah, do you guys have, as a side note, do you guys have like other lamps, torches, light sources?

Linnie:

Where’s Luck?

Kenzie (GM):

Luck has followed you here. His last words to you were that he would follow you, can keep that promise until you didn't want him anymore. And so he is still like kind of at that same distance from you, but in line still.

Stevie:

I think Bea has like some matches, but not necessarily a lantern.

Ashley (GM):

I’ll say that, you know, those like a little like headlamp things that have like the oil wick that you put on them? Jeb, as you get closer, you see that there's like a wheelbarrow with a couple of those in it. I'd say only a couple.

Linnie:

I think Jeb would also have, yeah, like a rudimentary torch. Like some like emergency light, but not hours and hours of it. I think he'll seize those and says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, it looks like there's some mining equipment around. Are we all resolved that we're going to enter the mine?

Riley:

Maybe we see in the wheelbarrow, maybe if they're stocked up enough to have that, that means they're stocked enough to maybe have an equipment room or an equipment shed. Something somewhere else in the mine. I know this didn't see much coming up, but also I don't think any of us saw anything on the walk up considering the state we were in before the Travis shot, not Abner scenario. So maybe we check for one of those.

Riley (Travis):

Surely there's something, this is a well-constructed mine if they went deep enough for some evil to root in it. Personally, if I was an evil spirit, I'd want at least two stories of space. I can't imagine it would take like a five, five by five, you know?

Ashley (GM):

Travis, as you're sort of like saying this to the group and like got your hands on your hips looking around, you see that the outside in the desert, it's like the flat land going down the hill and besides the random rock or overturned wheelbarrow or the rusty pickaxe you saw, the only other equipment you find is this other wheelbarrow of headlamps. But you assume maybe if there is some sort of shed with equipment it would be further into the mine itself.

Kenzie (GM):

Bea as you're kind of looking around this area, your eyes fall on something in the rock that seems odd. It's just like not smooth or flat or rounded in the same way that the rest of this exterior of the mine is.

Stevie:

I think if the rest of the group is just kind of like yapping to each other about like, we should find a shed and should we go in and this and that, you will kind of just like silently peel off a little bit. Just kind of go investigate this. And I think kind of doesn't quite touch it, especially considering what happened with the chair back at like the house, but kind of like hovers a hand close.

Kenzie (GM):

What does your brother look like?

Stevie:

Benjamin had like one of the most youthful light filled faces, a boy could ever have. He had these eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. His were kind of always a little bit more full of light, whereas B's were a little bit more like a doe, kind of this constant deer in the headlights. He had a sort of like mess of brown hair that their parents were always trying to get him to smooth out, but he'd always would mess it up and just looked very, very much like the two of them. Anyone in their vicinity could tell they were siblings. If not, by the way that they looked and their shared features and just the way that they carried themselves when around each other.

Kenzie (GM):

You slowly kind of pass your hand near this spot on the wall. And you see the press through the stone of a finger and then a hand and then the side of a face and it's hard to pick out distinct characteristics. But the only image in your mind you can think of is Benjamin is very slowly the stone kind of like pushes outward with the visage of a young boy.

Stevie:

Everything in Beatrice's mind is screaming to pull back, to take even just one step backwards, to move away because when something is moving and changing out in the West, it is not good usually. But despite all logic, every muscle and bone in its body saying to pull back, she can't. And there's almost a slight kind of lean forward, a lean into this.

Kenzie (GM):

Do you touch the stone?

Stevie:

Yes.

Kenzie (GM):

As you touch the stone, you feel a moistness and you feel water almost as if it's trickling out from the corner of the eye that you can see pushing through this stone. But then it becomes more and more until it's running in a stream down the face of this rock pooling all around your feet, getting into the seams of your shoes. Until it all pauses, it all stops. rock solidifies with a hand and half a face. The stone isn't wet, but your boots are still wet.

Stevie:

Bea immediately drops to its knees and presses her hand more firmly into the stone, almost willing for whatever this was to come back, despite the continual go away, move away, forget about this, despite the I don't want to think about this, I don't want this memory back. There is a tiny, unsilencable part of her soul that says, I need to talk to Benny. I need to tell him that I'm sorry. I need to tell him that I would take his place. I need to do something. And Bea presses her hand so firmly into the stone, willing with everything that she can muster for this to come back, for anything. For just a sign. And Bea starts not quite crying, but just that sort of silent inner sobs.

Kenzie (GM):

You plead for this moment for yourself and you press hard into the stone. But like everything in the West, it only gives what it wants to give and it takes everything. And so as you press into the stone, it is solid. The dirt crumbles between your fingers, but you cannot get any closer to this than it let you.

Stevie (Beatrice):

No. No, please I… Fuck!

Stevie:

And Bea sort of slams a fist against the stone for the first time, truly letting anger out. And then sort of falls back a little bit, just sits there, shaking, ruminating, kind of stuck in this feeling.

Kenzie (GM):

The face stays like it's become a part of it.

Stevie:

Bea’s eyes don't leave the face and the hand. Just staring at it, trying to connect with it, to feel something, anything. Has pretty much completely forgotten about the mission, what lies ahead, blowing up the mine, this creature, what time of day it is, if they need to be going inside soon. This is the only thing. It consumes her field of vision. It stings from behind her eyes. It is all there is.

Ashley (GM):

The rest of you are still sort of looking for equipment or whatnot. And you hear the sun outburst from it. And you turn to see they’re just… they’re just sort of kneeling in front of this wall of that leads into the mind this piece of stone that's sort of jagged on it, but there's you're not quite sure maybe it hurt itself. You’re not quite sure what Bea is reacting to.

Linnie:

I think Jeb's gonna lean over to Travis and say,

Linnie (Jebediah):

You wanna go, check that out?

Riley (Travis):

Man, Bea's gotten like this before. I never - I don’t think I remember the last time I heard ‘em curse like that though. I’ll go see.

Riley:

And the paternal instincts kick in a good bit here. But the lack of knowing how to use them also kicks in as Travis does saunter over and does what he believes is best. And the footsteps are enough to make his presence known. And he knows that. And he believes Bea has heard his weight of movement and the pattern of his footsteps more than enough times walking pacing back and forth in dirt or on getting up and off of the horses or the wagon. All Travis does is make his presence known. Bea can tell he's standing maybe a foot or two behind, probably kneeling down with you if you're still on the ground. Not saying too much. Not really saying anything, but it's clear that he's there. Because he's never understood this. He's never going to understand this. Polar opposite of probably everything that Bea could ever need outside of someone to just be there. But he's here. Like he has been since you first met.

Stevie:

For I think the first time since there's been any kind of thing, any semblance of something like this, doesn't hear Travis's footsteps. It's blocked out. She is so entranced in whatever has just happened. But she does kind of feel the presence of someone. And she's not quite talking to Travis, and she's not quite talking to itself, but it's just kind of staring at this stone, and she still has a hand pressed into it, and just continues to like kind of press further, putting more of her body weight against it.

Stevie (Beatrice):

No, he was just here. He can’t. Every fucking time I close him, what is the point of seeing these people and these things and having this surround me if I can't even... Fuck!

Riley:

And as he tries to find the words to speak, Travis, in the very few times he goes for physical contact with Bee, because, you know, this ain't my kid, but they are my kid now. Travis's hand lays over Bee's as they push against the wall. Not to take it away, but to kind of ground the presence a bit more. Make it much more clear that Travis isn't here to put himself into this situation but to be here with ya.

Riley (Travis):

I know a lot of this is not how we planned on it turning out and then probably the farthest from everything you expected. Losing people, losing things, losing who you are, it’s part of how life is out here. The journey that we're that we're on today can't move on until we either take what we want from yesterday or leave it behind. And we could sit here and we take minutes, we could take an hour even looking at this situation and the pieces that we have left behind, we can pick them up move on and do it later or we can leave them behind altogether. This puzzle that you're in, it’s impossible for me to solve. Or even probably help you with too much. I think now's a chance to figure out at least a part of it by getting out of this town.

Stevie (Beatrice):

The thing is I didn't lose anything out here. I lost everything back there and then I got something I didn't want or need and I came out here hoping to lose that. Now it won’t go away and that there's no reason for it to be here because I always thought that the reason is that maybe, maybe he blames me like I blame myself and maybe there's some sort of apology or swapping places or something I could do but he doesn't want to talk. He never talks to me. Just these signs show up and they disappear. So what's the point of it all? It's not - everywhere I turn, every time I get close to an answer, it's another dead end and there's no true end in sight. It just goes on and on and on in this inescapable maze.

Riley (Travis):

There's not an end. Maybe he's just trying to show he's here too. Maybe there’s - you say there's an apology maybe. There's no way you haven't made it by now. There's no way you haven't lived with this in your head every day since it happened. I've seen it. I've heard it from ya. I”m sure maybe even told Jeb a little bit about But everything's right here. If you think he's right there, there's an answer to be found. But maybe the answer is that everything is here already. Maybe there is nothing to find. Maybe the thing that is holding you back is yourself. All we really can do right now is keep moving forward because that's what you've done all along.

Stevie (Beatrice):

If there's nothing to find, then it's the point of moving forward.

Riley (Travis):

I don’t know. I started moving forward for the sake of others. I got out of town to keep my mother and my father safe. And then I lived a life of talking and lying and cheating and stealing and working for people who do bad things. And I kept moving on because that's all I ever knew how to do.

If I hadn't kept moving forward, I wouldn't have been lucky enough to have you in the wagon with me. If we keep moving on, we can find something else. Part of the journey's the end. And you gotta walk away from it for it to end.

Ashley (GM):

As the two of you are having this moment and sort of confiding in each other and struggling to find some shred of hope for you Bea, Abner, you have taken the liberty to get, you know, you're a practical man, like make sure you're prepared for things. And so you've got one of these headlamps working and you've shined it into the mouth of this cave of the mine. And it glitters as it goes across the wall. And then it hits a shady darker spot, just a few feet inside, so close that you're surprised you didn't see it before. And it looks to be the shape of like a small human, a child maybe of like 10, 13, like just based on the size with their face pressed up against the wall and their back is to you. So you can't quite see what they're doing.

Brendan (Abner):

What is kid doing here?

Brendan:

I’m gonna approach silently, not telling anyone, trying to get a better look at this kid. Mostly like is this a normal child or is there something wrong here that I need to be worried about.

Ashley (GM):

As you approach this form, there is this sinking feeling in your gut that something is not right. And as you get closer, you see that instead of having their face and arm pressed into the cave wall, their face and arm are inside of the cave wall. And there is a ring of dried blood sort of right where their face meets the stone. And as you get closer and reach out a hand to touch this figure, it falls to the ground. It is rotted and as soon as it falls there's this wave of nausea that comes over you as you see instead of having there be a geode or what not, see embedded in the stone there are layers of skin and bone and brain and muscles. There's a circle where the radius and ulna are surrounded by flesh and meat and you look down at this unidentifiable victim of Temple.

And you turn to notify your friends to throw up maybe it's it and you realize with another layer of horror that the sun is no longer out and night has fallen in Temple.

Kenzie:

That was Kenzie Tartaglione and Ashley Westover as your GMs, Riley Maness as Travis Black, Stevie Faye as Beatrice Lebowitz, Brendan Hooker as Abner Slade, and Linnie Schell as Jebediah Monroe. You can find out where to follow the cast as well as their own projects in the episode description.

If you liked the episode, we'd love to hear from you, so leave us a rating and or a review. We appreciate you listening. And a special thanks to Scriv the Bard, the writer of this wonderful system, Bard RPG.