S3 E7: The Night of Ruined Birds

Michelle Kelly:

In the aftermath of the last case, JJ and Zion meet up at the Isthmus diner to try and get some gossip, and Jo teams up with Onyx to experiment with the mysterious plans for a lens she found at Viola Wetherby's lab. Mama Amoretta receives invites for them all to attend the Night of Gilded Birds at the Arclight in Nova, an artistic gala for young artists to find patrons. The night promises a bustling party, free-flowing sparkling wine, a slew of dates and wonderful music. We must ask ourselves, as a young harpist arrives on stage, how will she fare in her performance this evening?

Kenzie Tartaglione (Game Master):

Jo and JJ, you feel yourself falling. Emptiness in your stomach and you touch down on something, but you don't get hurt. It's light, feather-like, and you begin to see color opening up in the space in front of you. You don't see one another, but you find yourself somewhere you've been before. You were a little younger, maybe a lot younger. And as this color spreads and the scene comes fully into focus, I need you, JJ, to tell me where you are in your memories.

Atlas Matthews:

I am back at my first house and me and my younger sister are in our backyard. And maybe we had some sort of like fort back there. I'm back in a memory where we're hiding something under the floorboards that's just for us. Maybe it's a time capsule. We have a time capsule because we just learned about it and we were very excited.

Kenzie (GM):

Your backyard has this thick, large, beautiful tree and underneath it you have built yourselves this little hideout and hangout. You are running through the backyard after your younger sister who holds this metal box underneath her arm and she rips open the door she turns around and you see this bright smile on a young girl's face.

Kenzie (April August):

Come on JJ I know the best spot!

Atlas (June July August):

What I -

Atlas:

And I think JJ like kind of makes a decision like, I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth if I get to like re-explore this moment with my sister who I have not seen in a very long time.

Kenzie (GM):

And she leaves the door open for you to follow in as she runs inside, drops the box with a loud bang onto the wooden floor, and gets down on her hands and knees and starts trying to wedge her fingers between the cracks in the wood.

Kenzie (April):

I know I can do it! It's right here! (Grunts)

Atlas (JJ):

No, it's the one over... You never remembered. It's the one over there.

Kenzie (April):

Oh!

Atlas (JJ):

It was always three boards from the left side in the corner.

Kenzie (April):

One, two - Oh, you’re right.

Kenzie (GM):

She moves over to where you directed and gets her fingers under. It's a lot easier since this one's actually loose. She rips it up.

Kenzie (April):

What if it doesn't fit?

Atlas (JJ):

Well, we'll dig deeper.

Kenzie (April):

Okay!

Atlas (JJ):

But it’ll... It'll fit. know that it... Never mind. Here.

Atlas:

And I think JJ gets down on her hands and knees and remembers pulling out other little doodads they had hidden throughout the years. And is like,

Atlas (JJ):

I wish... No, we shouldn't put the marbles in the box. It's full already.

Kenzie (April):

Yeah, we've locked it. We can't look at it or open it for a long time. That's the rules.

Atlas (JJ):

Pinky promise.

Kenzie (April):

Pinky promise.

Kenzie (GM):

She hooks her pinky around yours.

Atlas (JJ):

All right, quick, before mom and dad call for us for dinner.

Kenzie (April):

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Kenzie (GM):

She like jams it in underneath the floorboard and you guys both have to take the wood and press it back down on top and it kind of digs itself wedging further into the dirt underneath this little fort of yours.

Atlas:

And I think JJ like smiles and is like really satisfied with it and then like looks up at her younger sister and is just like realizing again like.

Atlas (JJ):

You know, April, I... I'm really happy to see you.

Kenzie (GM):

Her brows furrow.

Kenzie (April):

JJ, you see me every day! You sleep next door!

Atlas (JJ):

And every day I'm happy to see you.

Kenzie (April):

Pfft. Gross.

Kenzie (GM):

She stands up,

Kenzie (April):

Maybe… just in case!

Kenzie (GM):

And she starts jumping up and down on top of the floorboard trying to smash it further in.

Atlas (JJ):

No, no, no, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

Kenzie (April):

What?

Atlas (JJ):

It's like this.

Atlas:

And JJ will start jumping on it as well.

Kenzie (GM):

And both of you just jumping up and down, squealing with laughter as you bury this time capsule. As the energy of the moment kind of dies down like you remember it doing, she's looking at you. Bright smile on her face. And you distantly hear a note. And as you hear that, you watch in a horror as her face begins to melt. Skin dripping from forehead to chin, eyes disappearing into her skull until it's featureless. A blank slate. Faceless.

Atlas (JJ):

April? April, no, no, no, no, this was a good dream. This is a good dream.

Kenzie (GM):

The color in the scene is sucked from the space.

Atlas (JJ):

April?

Kenzie (GM):

Your voice echoes into nothingness and you feel yourself begin to fall again.

Atlas:

I’ll just close my eyes.

Kenzie (GM):

Jo, as colors begin to appear around you. Where are you?

April Consalo:

I think I'm in my dorm room at Rhetman's with Mel. I'm on my bed reading and she is sitting on the floor also studying and the sunlight is like streaming through the windows and it's very calm and peaceful. But I stop reading and just like look at her for a long time.

Kenzie (GM):

Through the dust motes that are lit up by the sun in this room. Mel is sitting on the floor, knees up, book in lap. She has on this little bit larger than fitting sweatshirt that has Rhetman’s across the front of it. She has on slacks and her shoes are off by the door and she's got on these thick heavy black socks. And you watch as she's turning pages, her toes just wiggling in concentration.

Kenzie (Mel):

I can feel you watching me.

April:

I kind of like gently nudge the back of her head with my foot.

April (Joanna Gilmore):

There's no way that you knew that.

Kenzie (Mel):

It's a sense. I can feel it.

April (Jo):

Can you stop being boring and pay attention to me?

Kenzie (Mel):

You're also reading!

April (Jo):

I don't really want to do that anymore.

April:

Jo kind of like flips around on the bed so that her face is close to Mel's face.

Kenzie (GM):

She is adamantly not looking at you. Eyes still trained on the book.

April (Jo):

What are you even reading about? Oh, maths. You don't need this.

Kenzie (Mel):

I think it's actually quite important.

April (Jo):

I could just teach you everything you could possibly want to know.

Kenzie (Mel):

Then why aren't they paying you to teach here?

April (Jo):

They should! I mean, I'm much smarter than Professor Moore.

Kenzie (Mel):

(sighs)

Kenzie (GM):

She closes the book and like leans her neck back against the bed, her head kind of rolling over so she's looking at you.

Kenzie (Mel):

You're quite the distraction. I knew coming over here to study was the wrong choice.

April (Jo):

Is that really why you invited me over?

Kenzie (Mel):

I think that the way I remember it is you asking after class the other day if we could study together this weekend.

April (Jo):

You're right. This is all my fault. How am I going to make it up to you?

Kenzie (Mel):

I can think of a couple ways.

April:

Jo looks at her huge brown eyes lit up by the sun, her curly hair like a halo around her, and just thinks that Mel looks so beautiful. And she tells her.

April (Jo):

You really are… stunningly beautiful. You know that?

Kenzie (Mel):

Oh!

Kenzie (GM):

And she readjusts herself a little bit so she's like back a bit straighter against the edge of the bed. Takes the book off her lap and puts it on the floor.

Kenzie (Mel):

I don't know if... Well thank you.

April (Jo):

There's no way you don't know. You do own a mirror.

Kenzie (Mel):

Okay, but when you look in the mirror… do you say that to yourself as well?

April (Jo):

I tend to avoid mirrors when I can. Not really a pastime of mine, although if I had your face and those eyes I would definitely spend a lot more time doing it.

Kenzie (Mel):

Don't really think I'd want you to have my face?

April (Jo):

No.

Kenzie (Mel):

Because I like what I'm looking at.

April (Jo):

Perfect. We'll just get rid of all of our mirrors and stare at each other all day.

Kenzie (Mel):

Stare at each other forever!

April (Jo):

I’d be happy with that.

Kenzie (Mel):

Are you thinking of the future? You never do that.

April (Jo):

Mmm, you've caught me. I don't know, I think I can maybe do one week? Maybe a fortnight into the future? But that's really stretching it for me.

Kenzie (Mel):

One week. Let's do it.

Kenzie (GM):

And she gets up off the floor, and she goes over to the wall where you have a small hanging mirror, and she takes it down and turns it around and sets it on the floor.

Kenzie (Mel):

There we go, one down. The rest in the world to go.

April:

Jo hops off of the bed and goes over and takes Mel's face between her hands and looks down at her.

April (Jo):

Perfect.

Kenzie (GM):

You hear a note. Grabs your attention. You feel this gooey ichor on your fingers as Mel's face begins to drip, falling down until it's blank. Faceless. And the room and the colors like snap into a small point in front of you and it disappears.

Mama Amoretta, you stand with your family and listen to this harpist begin. There's a young woman, one of the oldest, probably 18. The harp carried on by a stagehand. She has a stool, a couple notes elongated, drawn out, reverberating off of the high ceiling. Sweet. She doesn't look at the audience. She's concentrated on her performance. And it begins slow, peaceful, if not melancholic. And then you hear a scream, high pitched. Then one low pitched, a glass shattering on the floor, a tray clattering, gasps and turning of heads. The doors that you came through slam shut and around the room next to you, people are frozen.

Andres has moved, shifting his attention to his daughter who is stock still, mouth hanging open. You see your own children, Yarrow, glassy-eyed, Zion with an uptick to his lip like he's about to smile. You see JJ staring emptily at the stage, Arthur behind her, a faraway look in his eyes. Further back in the room, you see Jo being held up by Jack as if they had been dancing, but now two motionless bodies. There's movement of people trying to figure out what is happening, touching these frozen, sock-still individuals, and there doesn't seem to be response from any of them.

Danielle Halen:

Is it all young folks?

Kenzie (GM):

It is all younger individuals, though no one too young, no one too old. Everyone, as you look around, seems to be JJ and Jo's age, so, you know, 20s.

Danielle:

Can I make a connection that perhaps the harp music to some degree might be causing this?

Kenzie (GM):

I think that with your investigative nature, yes.

Danielle:

Amoretta’s gonna tell Andre that she goes,

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I think we need to stop the music right now.

Kenzie (GM):

His eyes kind of widen, pull away from Everly’s face and he nods at you. You see that the host, Rosalind Glynne, is like running up the steps on the stage and that's when you hear this very off note out of the harpist’s playing. And you see Zion and Yarrow next to you kind of like come back to their senses. Andres has followed Rosalind up onto the stage. The harpist at the commotion of people coming up during her performance has stopped and playing and is looking around shocked. The host grabs the microphone at the front of stage and says,

Kenzie (Rosalind Glynne):

Everybody please stay calm. We’re going to take a little break from the show.

Kenzie (GM):

And it looks like she wants to say more but she doesn't know how to or what to say. Andres kind of gestures for the harpist to get up and gets her off the stage.

JJ and Jo, you come back into the present moment. Jack almost like drops you as she also comes back but like catches and stabilizes and lifts you back both back up to normal standing. Arthur, behind JJ, just has tears streaking down his face.

Atlas:

JJ looks similar.

Danielle:

I think Amoretta might also inform Andres that she wants to take a look at that harp specifically, so if they can keep that on stage for the time being, but before she investigates that, she wants to check in on all of her kids.

Kenzie (GM):

Arthur drops his hands from your shoulders.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Did you see that too?

Atlas (JJ):

Did you see that?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: What -

Atlas (JJ):

What did you see?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Something that I had kind of forgotten about. And now want to forget.

Atlas (JJ):

I saw something try as I might I can't forget. I'm so sorry I brought you. I don't know what just happened.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: It's not your fault.

Atlas (JJ):

You shouldn't. I need to find...

Atlas:

I think I'm gonna look up how does Zion look.

Kenzie (GM):

Extremely confused. You see that his jaw has clenched very tightly. And he does have on a new clean black shirt and red trousers. He looks not as dressed up as everybody, but way better than he looked upon arrival.

Atlas:

Does he look upset?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Honestly, he looks angry.

Atlas:

JJ is going to like try to catch his glance and if they can't get it, like almost like grab on like the shirt sleeve and just be like.

Atlas (JJ):

Did - what happened? Are you okay?

Kenzie (GM):

There's a struggle for him to find the words he wants, so he settles for.

Kenzie (Zion):

I’m fine. Are you okay?

Atlas:

I think JJ will like, take a minute and just-

Atlas (JJ):

Yeah, honestly, I- I- it was- Did it happen to everyone?

Kenzie (Zion):

I don't know. Mama, are you okay?

Danielle:

Mama Amoretta will nod and she’ll go.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I’m alright. I'm more worried about y'all, frankly. It only seemed to affect, uh, younger folks, so I didn't see whatever y'all saw, but whatever it was seems to not been pleasant for anyone. It's with that music, so I'm gonna try and figure out what the heck that is.

Atlas (JJ):

Oh, I, um, I- I didn't see anything. It was... it was... just... I didn't see anything.

Kenzie (GM):

I need you to roll me the mask.

Atlas:

That is a seven plus one, so an eight.

Kenzie (GM):

They give you the benefit of the doubt and remain convinced even if there is some evidence of your lie.

Atlas:

The evidence being me saying, I saw something. No, I didn't. Just kidding.

Kenzie (GM):

Takes a second to actually like look at you fully.

Kenzie (Zion):

All right, well, good. I'm glad you didn't see that.

Atlas (JJ):

It was just so scary to be, you know, stuck. (Clears throat) But what… Jo!

April:

When Jo first comes to and finds Jack with her arms around her like supporting her, she kind of instinctually, not like pushes her away, but like, gets out of her grasp immediately.

Kenzie (GM):

As you do that, she like very easily, quickly lets you go and like takes a couple steps back herself.

April:

Jo isn't like actively crying, but it's definitely like right there, like thick in her throat.

April (Jo):

(clears throat) You don't have to comfort me. I'm not a child.

Kenzie (Jack): I'm- I need a moment.

April (Jo):

Yeah, why don't you take one?

Kenzie (GM):

Jack turns to go towards the doors that you guys entered from, and as you watch her walk away, you see that they're closed, and you see that there are people trying to open them, and they can't.

April:

Jo looks for JJ and Mama, and approaches them with a very quick stride.

April (Jo):

Are they keeping us here?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

The doors were locked as soon as the performance started, so something's going on.

April (Jo):

The performance… what sort of harp is that?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Pulled it aside so we can get a closer look at it. Figured it was really strange, or maybe the harpist itself might be strange.

April (Jo):

Strange is one word. Is everyone all right.

Atlas (JJ):

Yeah, are you?

April (Jo):

Oh, I’m fine. Yes.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: I’ve been better.

Kenzie (GM):

Yarrow says.

April (Jo):

Sorry to hear that. Whatever this is, they will not get away with it.

Atlas (JJ):

Maybe it wasn't... We don't even know if it was on... No, nevermind. It was on purpose.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: There are stories about music and sending people to places and all of that, but never heard it happening in real life.

April (Jo):

I don't like it. Something about this all just feels too planned.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

No, it is definitely planned. That's what I'm trying to figure out is who planned it and why.

April (Jo):

Can we look at it?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Yes.

Atlas (JJ):

Maybe it was just performance art. Maybe it was intentional, but they didn't think through all the ramifications.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

We can look at the harp. Maybe someone might want to talk to the harpist too.

April (Jo):

All right. is she here? Does anyone- has anyone seen her?

Kenzie (GM):

Mama Amoretta, you watched Andres like take her off the stage and over to where there's like a small curtained off area where the performers are waiting to go on and you didn't see her come out of there yet.

Atlas (JJ):

Someone should tell the performers that they'll be waiting a while.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I think performers might be aware of that.

Atlas (JJ):

I don't know, they're backstage maybe they didn't hear it or maybe they did and they're in the same.

Atlas:

What can I gather from the crowd around me?

Kenzie (GM):

People are in many different states of shock or grief. There are complete and utter breakdowns. There are more people like Zion, but there are not a lot of people here on the younger side outside of the people that you guys actually know. There's just a few others. So most of the people in the room saw it happen. And you see now that the doors have been shut. People are freaking out about that. There's a lot of chatter happening. Panic.

Atlas (JJ):

There has to be another way out of here. There has to be emergency exits in the back, at least with the performers. There has to- there's a lot of things that are happening.

April (Jo):

She's back there. Let's go. Let's just go talk to her before she gets swarmed by enforcers or whoever.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Sounds good.

Danielle:

Mama’s gonna reach out to her kids' hands and give them a gentle but strong squeeze. Just you know, because she can't necessarily hug them in this moment because now she has work to do, but she just wants to- she does want to hug them and basically tell them everything's gonna be okay, but she'll settle with squeezing their hands and giving them a look that portrays as much of that as it can.

Kenzie (GM):

Zion says,

Kenzie (Zion):

(Clears throat) Yeah, I um… I’m gonna go see if I can help with the door situation.

Kenzie (GM):

Yarrow says,

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: Actually, Arthur, I have a question for you.

Kenzie (GM):

And kind of pulls Arthur away.

Atlas:

Before Zion can walk away, JJ's gonna go,

Atlas (JJ):

Wait!

Atlas:

And then just like, like jump into a hug and just be like,

Atlas (JJ):

I'm glad that you're okay, even if you aren't fine.

Kenzie (GM):

He hugs you back. It's like his entire body envelops you in this hug.

Atlas (JJ):

You look nice.

Atlas:

And then JJ will like step out of the hug and be like,

Atlas (JJ):

Okay, work to do.

Kenzie (GM):

You leave Everly and Gwendolyn to their own devices, you head back along the side of the stage where you saw the performers coming up and you saw Andres go. You find that there's this little curtained off segment, so it's still in the same room. You're not in a separate room, but it's this curtained off segment. You hear the chatter of younger individuals. You also hear Andres' voice as you get closer. And then when you come up, you see that the harpist is now sitting in a chair. He’s on one knee, leaning on the other, talking, chatting with her as quietly as he can.

Danielle:

Amoretta will kind of approach her brother and the girl and just say,

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Hey, you feeling all right?

Danielle:

She’ll ask the harpist, because she has no clue if the harpist was even affected by this somehow.

Kenzie (GM):

When she was on stage, it looked like she continued to play as all of that happened. So you don't think that she was affected by it. She looks up at you as you approach and she says,

Kenzie (Harpist):

: What happened?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, I'm just asking if anything happened to you, because a of young people seemed affected by something.

Kenzie (Harpist):

: I don't... I don't know what... happened.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I have a question about that song, if you don't mind my asking. Did- did you compose that?

Kenzie (Harpist):

: No, It's just a piece I learned.

April:

Jo comes up behind Mama and kind of like lowers a little bit to the girls' level.

April (Jo):

And who taught it to you?

Kenzie (Harpist):

: Well, my- my... There was a lot of pieces that I thought about playing tonight. And I worked on with my teachers. I just chose this one.

April (Jo):

And this hasn't happened before?

Kenzie (Harpist):

: I don't really know what happened. There was noises and I stopped playing.

April:

Jo sort of softens when she sees that the little girl is scared.

April (Jo):

You’re not in trouble. Not with us. We're just trying to figure out what's going on.

Kenzie (Harpist):

: I'm sorry if I did anything I didn't mean to.

April (Jo):

We know. We know that.

Danielle:

Can I figure this person out?

Kenzie (GM):

Roll 2d6 plus your wit.

Danielle:

That’s a nine.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

How could I get you to possibly give me a copy of this composition?

Kenzie (Harpist):

: I had to memorize it, but I have it at my home. Wait, actually, hold on.

Kenzie (GM):

And she stands up and Andreas kind of backs up a little bit and also stands.

Kenzie (Harpist):

: My- my- my teacher's here and she might have a copy with her just in case for an emergency. I can go check.

April (Jo):

Actually, we'll come with you. I would love to meet your teacher.

Kenzie (Harpist):

: Oh, okay.

Kenzie (GM):

And as she starts to lead you around the curtain, you see this individual walking towards the curtain. She is an older woman, probably in her 70s. She has graying blonde hair up in this Edwardian bun and she looks concerned and she's walking at a fast pace and when the girl comes around the side of the curtain she like holds her arms out and the girl kind of runs into them. You just see her kind of pet the top of the girl's head.

Kenzie (Harpist):

: These people are wondering if we had a copy of the piece that I was playing. Did you bring one?

Kenzie (GM):

The woman has like a little purse hanging off of her arm and she says

Kenzie (Harp Teacher):

: Actually, I do. I can get it for you.

Kenzie (GM):

And she opens up the clasp on the purse reaches in and there's a folded up into four sheets of paper and she hands them over to you.

Danielle:

Amoretta will take them and say,

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Thank you so much ma'am and I'm real sorry about what's unfolding right now. It must be, well, everyone must be feeling in some type of way about what's going on, but thank you for your help. Hopefully it'll help us figure out what the heck happened.

Kenzie (Harp Teacher):

: Of course, I just wish that we could get the doors open. Not really sure what's happening.

April (Jo):

Really can't be holding everyone here like this. I- Excuse me, what is your name?

Kenzie (Theodosa):

: My name is Theodosa.

April (Jo):

Theodosa? Jo? Nice to meet you. Has this ever happened before with any of your other students?

Kenzie (Theodosa):

: Like I said, I don't really know what happened. I can't say that I have ever seen this before.

April (Jo):

Right.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Do you know how I could get a harp like yours?

Kenzie (Harpist):

: Oh, that's not my harp.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Whose is it?

Kenzie (Harpist):

: It was provided for the night. I couldn't really carry the one that I usually play on across the city.

Atlas (JJ):

Who provided it?

Kenzie (GM):

She looks up at Theodosa and she says,

Kenzie (Theodosa):

: I don't know specifically. I was just told by the event organizers that- There would be one here for her to play on.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Alright, well, thank y'all for the information. Let's get to work on opening up that door for folks. I have a feeling that might be the least of our problems.

April (Jo):

Right. Well?

Kenzie (GM):

You see that there are like three to four different people on both sides, like trying to rip the hinges back, but the door isn't moving at all. Like there's not even a little give.

April:

Jo definitely kicks the doors with her boot.

Kenzie (GM):

As you kick it Zion looks at you and says,

Kenzie (Zion):

It opens in. That's not really going to help the situation.

April:

Jo looks just slightly embarrassed because it's Zion.

April (Jo):

Well, I had to try.

Kenzie (Zion):

Of course.

Atlas:

JJ is going to try to slink away to look for a different exit. Like if there's somewhere, a window.

Kenzie (GM):

The windows specifically are the one very large circular one that's behind the stage. Otherwise, it's the skylights. There aren't windows on the other walls.

Atlas:

JJ will pick up something heavy and throw it at the big circle window.

Kenzie (GM):

What's something heavy?

Atlas:

A tuba.

Kenzie (GM):

You hear this clatter, this smash, and everybody turns to look at you as you're standing on the stage tossing this musical instrument against the window. You watch it hit, bounce off, and you see a circular little crack that has formed, but hasn't broken through the glass. Many individuals who are dressed in employee outfits begin to come towards the stage.

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

Excuse me, excuse me, please, please don't, you need to come down here. You need to come down off the stage right now.

Atlas:

JJ’s gonna panic and throw something else at it.

Kenzie (GM):

You pick the tuba up and you throw it again and it hits a different part of the window and it does the same thing. These people are now like,

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

Okay, okay, you really need to come down.

Kenzie (GM):

And they're starting to come up on the stage and trying to get you down off of the stage.

Atlas:

I think as someone reaches her, JJ was just like,

Atlas (JJ):

What, what, happened? I, my head.

Kenzie (GM):

You pretend that you are like just coming out of this state that everybody else had been in.

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

Oh, I’m so sorry. Come here, come here.

Kenzie (GM):

And he pulls over the bench that was behind the piano and pulls it up and goes,

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

Please sit down, sit down, take a rest. Let me get you some water.

Kenzie (GM):

And you find that the seat that you have been sat down on is right next to the harp.

Atlas:

Can I inspect the harp?

Kenzie (GM):

The harp looks like a harp. You get up close to it. It's very beautifully carved and engraved. You look through the strings. And that's when you notice all the strings look the same. They're, you know, a thin filament, except for one. And when your finger touches it, it's a lot stiffer. It doesn't really bend and move that well. And getting up close, you see that the other ones are like a white or off-white type of color. This is a yellowish crystal that is in the form of a string.

Atlas:

Is there any like name or anything on the harp anywhere like a brand or a-

Kenzie (GM):

There's a name at the very very bottom, Septimus. It is engraved like it is the name of the company that makes the instrument.

Atlas:

JJ will go back to being pretend sick on the bench.

Danielle:

If there's a balcony! possibly going up to a balcony, seeing if I can go outside and see if the door was barred in any possible way, because then that says people were waiting outside. And that says a lot. If someone's waiting for this performance to happen specifically.

Kenzie (GM):

You’re walking through the space. There are a couple doors and things, but they're not see-through so you don't know where they lead to, I should say. But as you make your way back into the part that is a gallery, not that you had come back here before, but something is wrong. Every single painting is ruined. Colors dripping down the canvas splattered on the wall and the floor below where they are hanging. Every single one except for this abstract garden scene. And in this part of the gallery there is a door that is glass paneled that looks like it leads out into the main foyer when you guys walked up the stairs.

Danielle:

Amoretta is going to immediately notify probably the host of the event because they're gonna need to know and whatever higher-ups in this building. She's gonna notify them but also she might say, take the time to block it up for just a little bit and see what I can find here before we let people pass through this exit because we're gonna lose whatever evidence is through as soon as we let people start passing through here.

Kenzie (GM):

As you notify Rosalind about this and she walks back into this gallery, she stifles a scream upon seeing the ruined pieces. Absolutely shocked by this new revelation.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

I've never seen anything like this. The night is ruined.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Makes me think that that performance and those doors being locked was just a distraction.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

I don't know what is happening this evening. I would like to find out. But, unfortunately, there are no phones inside of this room for us to call the outside and call the enforcers down here. So until we can get those doors open, we are stuck.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, lucky for you, I actually happen to be a private investigator. So I can take some time right now, see what evidence we got. Because people are looking for a way out, so we can try and gather up what evidence got now, and let people safely evacuate the building.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Well, that is the only plan that has been offered at this time, and I will so willingly take it.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Alright, well, let's focus on keeping folks calm, get them to sit down, get them some drinks, and then we'll let them know... Investigation is underway.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Do you mind? What is your name?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

You can just call me Mama Amoretta.

Kenzie (GM):

Okay. Nice to meet you, I guess. Thank you for being here.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Oh, I'm the sister of, uh, Andres.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Oh. He is just wonderful.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Right?

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Absolutely stunning performer.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

It's been certainly a gift growing up with him, although he didn’t always sound as pretty as does now.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Well, let me make an announcement about trying to get everyone calm. We can see what’s to do from there.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Offering a few drinks might help some folks, at least settle for a little bit.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

There'll be an open bar now, I suppose!

Kenzie (GM):

And she turns and walks back into the larger performance space. You hear rumbling from the mic and then you hear Rosalind be like,

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Okay, everyone, if you could just please, please try to stay calm. We are working on a fix to this situation currently, but we are going to open up the bar for you all do have a drink or two as we wait to get these doors open for everyone. And maybe,

Kenzie (GM):

And she looks over to the band that is been off the stage.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

We could get a little music to calm the nerves as well. Thank you. So please everyone, we'll have you out of here in no time.

April:

Jo is still at the door, has done various body parts hitting against the doors. She tries to peer between the doors.

Kenzie (GM):

You can see a faint bit of light from the outside hallway, but it's a very small crack.

April:

I think Jo looks to Zion and is like,

April (Jo):

Give me some space for a moment.

April:

And then she takes out her little rapier and slides it between the doors under where the handles are and then like slides it up to kind of test and see if there's like a bar or just to feel how it's locked.

Kenzie (GM):

You slide the rapier down towards the lock. You don't hit anything until you hit the lock.

April:

So it's not like barred with anything else. And she also doesn't hit anything on the other side so there isn't like a large object or anything in the way. It's just locked. Jo's pretty good at that. So she takes her sword out from between the doors, inspects it for a second to make sure it's unharmed, sheaths it, and then she unscrews an earring from the top of her ear that has a little like long spike sticking out of it, and she tries to pick the lock.

Kenzie (GM):

You feel the lock click, that you've succeeded. The handle turns. The door does not open.

April:

When that happens, Jo kind of like takes a step back and is very unnerved. And she looks to Zion.

April (Jo):

The door's unlocked. I unlocked it. There's nothing in the way. It won't open.

Kenzie (GM):

He looks up at it and walks back a few steps.

Kenzie (Zion):

Well, we couldn't break through it, couldn't unlock it. I don't have an answer. It's weird, feels like a word that's not really summing it up quite enough.

April (Jo):

Yeah, weird, freakish, unexplainable. These people are only going to be placated for so long. We could have a really dangerous situation on our hands if we can't get them out of here.

Kenzie (Zion):

And I assume,

Kenzie (GM):

And like looks over what you're wearing.

Kenzie (Zion):

you don't have some sort of fun gadget hidden anywhere that could help with the situation.

April (Jo):

I mean, I do have this.

April:

She twists one of her rings so that there's like a little opening on it.

April (Jo):

It sort of can bun through things, but only like two centimeters or so. Won't go through the door.

Kenzie (Zion):

Well, don’t touch me with that actually. Now that know it's on. Stay a few feet away from me.

April (Jo):

Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist.

Kenzie (GM):

And he kind of grabs the handle and rips one more time and nothing.

Kenzie (Zion):

(sighs) We’ve got to figure out a way to get through this thing. Maybe there's something in here. I'm gonna go look.

Kenzie (GM):

And he kind of like walks towards the bar area.

April:

Jo sees JJ heading her way and strides over to meet her.

April (Jo):

What is it? Did you find anything?

Atlas (JJ):

I found the harp.

April (Jo):

Oh, great. Good.

Atlas (JJ):

There's a crystal on it. It's yellow and it's one of the strings and it was made by... Septimus.

April (Jo):

Okay, well, Septimus is a very normal music company. I don't think they would have anything to do with making a crystal string. Are you sure?

Atlas (JJ):

Yeah. It's on stage. They're letting anyone up there right now.

Kenzie (GM):

You see that there are now security quote unquote standing around the stage to block anybody from doing the same thing that JJ did.

April (Jo):

Perfect. And I'm assuming that that's your fault now. Great.

Atlas (JJ):

Well, I don't see any of the doors open, so at least I was trying something and I found the harp!

April (Jo):

I picked the lock, okay? It's not my fault that there's something-

Atlas (JJ):

Oh, let me go open the door! We got as much done as each other.

April:

I wanna trip her.

Kenzie (Zion):

As JJ starts to walk away, Jo sticks her leg out. JJ starts to fall, reaches out, grabs onto, Jo's top.

April:

As JJ grabs onto my shirt and falls the ground. Since she is so much smaller than me, it doesn't actually completely throw me off balance. It just rips my shirt open to an indecent level.

Atlas:

I’m grabbing your leg and pulling you down. Can I then roll to Figure Out a Person during a physical conflict?

Kenzie (GM):

It’s 2d6 plus your wit.

Atlas:

I have several strings on Jo, but I got a seven.

Atlas (JJ):

What is your problem with me? What do you want me to be that won't piss you off right now?

April:

Jo, like, shakes her leg out of JJ's grasp and leans down with, like, true annoyance and says,

April (Jo):

A grown up.

April:

And straightens up and, like, tries to adjust her blouse.

Atlas (JJ):

How can I get you to stop hating me?

April:

Jo looks at her, lets out like a frustrated breath and says,

April (Jo):

I don't hate you. You are annoying me. Can we just figure this out, please and help people?

Atlas:

I think JJ will finally like stand up from the floor.

Atlas (JJ):

That's what I was trying to do. And someone tripped me.

April (Jo):

After you cause a huge commotion throwing instruments at the wall.

Atlas (JJ):

I’m going to go find Mama.

April (Jo):

Fine, go find her. We need her help, obviously.

[ad break begins]

Kenzie:

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

[train horn]

Narrator:

The Badlands. A truly god-forsaken place. You'd have to be crazy to leave the safety of Threed for its sands. Legend has it that beneath this blighted earth, something truly powerful lies dormant, calling out to any traveler brave... or desperate enough to listen. One day, aboard a doomed train into the waste, three strangers heed that call. A shape-shifting bounty hunter -

"Strangers gone by many names, friend."

Narrator:

- a runaway socialite -

"Alright, girl, well you just did your mascara so... no more crying for today."

Narrator:

- and a former thief turned family man.

"I promise I will be back and do my absolute best to write you."

Narrator:

Will our runaways find what they're looking for?

"I mean we're already here, let's have a little fun."

"You really went in there guns blazing."

"I thought that was the plan!"

"My potions are miraculous."

"I thought we were being quiet."

"Oh, Stuhmp only has one volume, sorry."

"Wild roses grow out of his mouth having filled his lungs."

"What's happening out there?"

“Violence!”

Narrator:

Find out on Mage Hand High Five, The Badlands. And just between you and me, they ain't got a chance in hell.

Kenzie:

You can find the links to this show in the description box below.

[ad break ends]

Danielle:

Imma be looking for some clues about what the heck happened. Check out the side entrance first to see any point of entry. You know what I have probably on hand is a little bit of blush, a little bit of powder blush and some makeup and then I'll start dusting for some prints using some blush.

Kenzie (GM):

You go over to the door and it isn't locked but it's also not open. Unfortunately when you put the powder dust on the door there are a lot of fingerprints all overlapping one another. Seems to be a fairly used entrance and exit way.

Danielle:

What about the pieces that are damaged like all around there like footprints too on the areas where someone would have had to get close enough to do the damages that were done?

Kenzie (GM):

You go up to them, you see that there's like a line on the floor where people are not supposed to walk. And as you're kind of sprinkling some powder to see if you can get any tracks, you see that there are what looks like maybe boot prints ever so often along that part of it. And also, I think you can tell that the ruination, the paint that's dripping down these canvases, wasn't poured all across them. It looks like the paint that settled into the canvas, started leaking out of it. But the weird thing is there's a lot more paint dripping than seams would have settled in that fabric.

Danielle:

She might try and get some like eyebrow tweezers and pluck at it with that.

Kenzie (GM):

As you do that, it's still newly wet. And also the eyebrow tweezers like pick up little grainy pieces within the paint.

Danielle:

Can I get a closer look at these grainy pieces perhaps and see if it's like that yellow crystal maybe?

Kenzie (GM):

Kind of spread them out a little bit and you like try to wipe as much of this dark paint off of a piece. It's hard because they're really small, but you see like finely powdered yellow crystal shards.

Danielle:

Well, I'm definitely gonna keep a little piece of these crystals. Either the crystals were mixed in with the paint, which is entirely possible, or it was mixed in with a varnish and someone had to have provided that paint to all those people. Is there any other things like beyond like the boot tracks that I saw like going past the line?

Kenzie (GM):

The floor is pretty clear on that part.

Danielle:

Knowing that, can I maybe check the door also for this yellow crystal and see if that's what's causing the lock?

Kenzie (GM):

You go over there and you inspect the door closer but you don't find any remnants of the yellow crystal in that. You hear as you're looking at the door you hear,

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: Oh, well that doesn't look good.

Kenzie (GM):

And you turn around and Yarrow is standing there with Arthur and with this other individual, this tall lanky person who seems to have more limb than body. They're wearing a light blue suit with pink ruffled shirt underneath and their hair is short and bleached and their eyes blink and you see that they're reminiscent of felines. As you kind of turn at the voice, Yarrow says,

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: Mama, I wanted to introduce you to somebody.

Kenzie (GM):

Arthur says,

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Yes, this is Professor Marlow. They were one of my professors at Arcadia. I took their class about the... Well, Professor Marlow, can you just explain to her what you were saying to me?

Kenzie (Professor Marlow):

Well… as I was saying, in order for crystals to affect us biologically and or chemically, they would have to be refined beyond what we've ever done to them before, and would have to be in a very condensed form. Most likely over time. There aren't any known psychological effects of crystals. They are used for energy, power, and fortification. They are tools.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, you might want to take a look at this from Professor Marlow.

Danielle:

And she'll hold up that tiny little crystal.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I found this in the paint. I think someone was trying to mix something in with this paint or varnish. I'm not quite sure I ain’t a painter. But you think this might affect some things?

Kenzie (GM):

They get up fairly close and bring out a little eyeglass from a pocket in their suit aand they hold it up and they look and they say,

Kenzie (Professor Marlow):

Well, that is quite small, but I don't know how that would have gotten into people's bodies if it was in the paint. And that is the only way I think - I have concluded that the crystals could have been the problem.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Is it possible that sound entered through someone's body is a way to affect it?

Kenzie (Professor Marlow):

To be honest, that is not something that I have ever given much thought to. I don't... know... necessarily how... that would even be possible... but... I can't rule it out either, as I said, I haven't had any experimentation of the sort.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I'm gonna need to find out who supplied the paint to these painters, ‘cause clearly they had access to this material and decided to distribute it in such a way. Which is interesting, and also this side door is not opening up neither, which tells me that there might be something, maybe a magnet?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Well, if it's tech, we can fix that problem.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, I ain't no techie, so I couldn't tell you whether or not it's tech or some other strange phenomena.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: I can look at it.

Kenzie (GM):

And Arthur goes over to start inspecting the door. And Yarrow says,

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: My original thought was some sort of mass hallucination, but I don't think that there would have been any way for... Well, again, Professor Marlow kind of concluded that my observation may not have been the case either. I'd assume that maybe there was something in the champagne, but as they pointed out it only affected certain people.

Kenzie (Professor Marlow):

Also, drugs cut with crystals have still not been proven to have any significant differing effects than the drugs without the crystals. The danger is more of the ingesting of the crystals in the first place.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: So I don't think my first observation, probably the way it goes. This is definitely more evidence than I had.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, I mean, I just happened to stumble across the scene and got lucky, I suppose, given the circumstances, but I think it might be onto something. It certainly affected people and, well, I don't know what people saw, because no one's really telling me what the heck they all saw, but I'm trying to see maybe if there was something common in those visions, perhaps. That might lead us a certain direction, but I’d need more stories.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: It was like a- it was... The easiest way to put it was it was like a dream that turned into a nightmare very swiftly. A memory. Playing out again. That's probably why people don't want to discuss it very much.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, I guess then maybe I can ask without pressing too many details, what happened when you knew the dream turned into a nightmare.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: Well, in what I saw, we were all at home. All of us were there. You, Zion. Your brothers. My cousin. Dad. And then, well, to say it succinctly, all of your faces melted. So, ruined a memory is kind of what happened, I think.

Danielle:

So she's making the connection, okay, memories are melted, paintings are melted, and there's only one painting standing, right? What's the title of the painting?

Kenzie (GM):

It actually just says number seven of garden scenes. Artist Ruth Ames.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I don't understand well I mean I can only guess this painting wasn't mixed in with whatever kind of paint this was.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: No that painting was not made for this event that painting hangs here all the time.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

So someone's trying to ruin the event.

Kenzie (Yarrow):

: They’ve succeeded I think.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Yeah well I'm trying to figure out what kind of folks we got that would want to ruin this type of thing? I also need to take a look at that harp real quick.

Kenzie (GM):

Arthur comes back over and kind of pats his hands off.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: I didn't see any tinkering that happened to the door. I didn't find any extra parts of what I could see. Nothing added, nothing taken away.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

So why keep us here after damaging this whole evening? I don't like that.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: This is… Does this happen to you a lot? The... being stuck in situations?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I mean, I've certainly gotten myself into unusual circumstances. I'm just... in a work mode right now. And if I was not in a work mode, I would be reacting appropriately to the situation before me.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Okay, I just wanted to check because... you all seem... I mean, I guess I know what you do, but you all just seem very on top of things. And I'm kind of freaking out, and the only way that I was avoiding freaking out was coming up with theories, so...

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

You'd be a great detective, that's how we usually deal with things.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: I don't know if this is the life for me. I miss my workshop right about now.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

You can take a look at this.

Danielle:

And she'll hand Arthur some of these tiny little bit of crystals so that he can maybe reverse engineer what it might have been for and why and she'll inform him, oh I found this in the paint. And then she might head off to go and check out that harp again. I'm trying to think, maybe I can try to ask the director if maybe there's like any mechanisms on the door that would force entry shut like this?

Kenzie (GM):

She is in the process of handing out drinks to a few people and she says,

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Well, we knew of the exits, the large entrance where everyone came in, the one in the gallery. There is an emergency stairwell through that door.

Kenzie (GM):

And she points behind the bar.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Those are the three exits that I'm aware of in this room. As for the paint, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you that. They painted these and brought them to us to showcase. It wasn't something we prepared for them.

Danielle:

Guess she'll try and follow up with one of the painters and ask where they got their paint from.

Kenzie (GM):

She can direct you to one of them who is this like 11 year old boy with his parents. They're all looking a little bit nervous and you go up to them and one of the parents kind of steps in front of them and says,

Kenzie (Painter’s Parent):

Hi.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Hi, I just have a few questions about what's going on. It's part of the procedure at the moment. We're trying to figure things out. May I ask what paint y'all used for your work?

Kenzie (GM):

The kid sniffles and wipes his nose on the back of his hand.

Kenzie (Painter):

Just the paints from the craft store. It's good paint though.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Do you know what company it's from, honey?

Kenzie (Painter):

I think it starts with a G. It's like a... Comes in like little tubes. It's the… it's the one on Lothan Street. If that helps.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

That helps a lot.

Danielle:

She’ll walk off to go and try and touch base with her associates, see what they found.

Atlas (JJ):

The harp has a crystal string on it.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Also the gallery is a little… Um, so someone mixed the paint with the same material on that string and its all melty. Much like what i heard happened to some folks and what they saw so.

Atlas (JJ):

Oh, you know what people saw! What did they see?

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, I got part of a description but the one thing that stood out to me the most was a pleasant memory slowly melting away in a horrific manner.

Atlas (JJ):

That sounds awful. I can’t even imagine

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I'm sure you cannot imagine at all, JJ. Yeah, I'm sure. You have no clue.

Atlas:

And JJ will like do like like narrow-eye like, hmm, have I been found out? If I have, I don't care to know. I'm gonna ignore it.

Kenzie (GM):

You guys see both of you walking past is Zion with an axe over his shoulders?

Atlas (JJ):

Finally! Someone gets it! Where are you going? It's back…You're walking-

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Just be sure to just not get too much trouble for potential property damage.

Atlas (JJ):

Where are you taking it?

Kenzie (Zion):

The door doesn't budge, so I thought that I would hack through it.

Atlas (JJ):

The window is actually very easy to damage.

Kenzie (Zion):

JJ, the problem with the window is you can't get people out that way.

Atlas (JJ):

There's a stage, do you know how much rope there is? And we only need one person to go down to like-

Kenzie (Zion):

I also do have a feeling that the door replacement might be less expensive than the massive glass window.

Atlas (JJ):

Well, they might already have to replace it.

Kenzie (Zion):

I just think that I'm gonna try it, alright?

Atlas (JJ):

I think in an emergency you can break the windows, but go ahead and try the door.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Maybe try one of the side doors first so you don't freak people out by knocking it down, that might end up causing a commotion and that can get dangerous.

Kenzie (Zion):

All right, Mama, I'll do that.

Atlas (JJ):

I'll come with. It might be dangerous!

Kenzie (GM):

You follow Zion back the way he kind of come around the bar where there is just a blank wooden door and he lifts it and brings it down and the axe pierces the wood.

Atlas:

JJ took a very like, the kid that's like, no, I'll supervise like kind of stance. JJ's like kind of smugly like, we're gonna like, okay, yeah, try to break down the door. And then as soon as it like goes through, JJ's mouth turns into like a flat line, like, okay, maybe you were right. Then he like pulls it back again and JJ's like, okay, I'm okay with being wrong. That's actually - that's okay.

Kenzie (GM):

He like flips it. So the head of the axe is downwards and like puts his foot on top of it to hold it and then slowly unbuttons his sleeve and rolls them up and then picks it up and goes forward again. You see a hole start to form where the axe is cutting through it.

Atlas (JJ):

I think of a few more swings and if you really... (clears throat) Yeah, just a couple more.

Kenzie (GM):

That anger that he had after seeing the memory starts to come out and he doesn't respond to you. You just hear these angry forceful grunts as he slams the axe into the door harder now with more force, more anger. He's just like,

Kenzie (Zion):

(grunting)

Kenzie (GM):

until it breaks through enough that he tries to fit a hand through and reach down to the lock on the, or the handle on the opposite side. He twists it and he can't pull the door open.

Atlas:

How big is the hole?

Kenzie (GM):

It was enough for him to like get his arm in there. You'd have to make it bigger if you were gonna try to get through it.

Atlas:

Would I need the axe to continue breaking the door or does it look like something I can start -

Kenzie (GM):

I mean, you could start trying to rip. It would be easier with the axe.

Atlas:

I’m gonna put my hand on his shoulder.

Kenzie (GM):

Kind of like jumps as you touch him.

Kenzie (Zion):

Sorry.

Atlas (JJ):

No, no, no. Thank you. You got it halfway. Could I try for a minute? I think I could be able to squeeze through if you just give me a minute to pull at it.

Kenzie (Zion):

Have at it.

Kenzie (GM):

And he hands you the axe.

Atlas:

I think JJ tries to like swing the axe and like goes off balance.

Kenzie (GM):

He doesn't come up and actually take your arm in to help you, but he does say,

Kenzie (Zion):

Try like raising your elbow a little higher and then the downswing will be easier.

Atlas:

JJ’s physical strength is not, not their like best stat.

Kenzie (Zion):

Do want me to finish it?

Atlas:

JJ is a very proud person. And so JJ will be like,

Atlas (JJ):

Could you just hold this?

Atlas:

And then I'm gonna try to just like pull.

April:

I think that there's no way that Jo hasn't noticed what the fuck is going on at this point and has come over to them and is like,

April (Jo):

I do think the axe is more effective.

Atlas:

JJ is going to ignore her and keep trying.

Kenzie (GM):

You notice that your hands are getting cut on splinters as you rip into this and you can pull away like a little bit and the top like cracks off.

Atlas:

In an exact replica of Jo's moment earlier, JJ takes a step back and kicks the door.

Kenzie (GM):

And wood goes splintering forward, bursting out. And you've definitely created another hole.

Atlas:

Can I try to kick the thing in between? Like the in between to make it big enough to slide through?

Kenzie (GM):

It takes you a couple tries, but you can kick some pieces out and it looks like you would be able to like squeeze through it. Your dress, your puffy dress though might get you caught a little bit. Jo's shirt is ripped open. Zion notices and says,

Kenzie (Zion):

You got a little hole there.

April (Jo):

Yes, I'm aware.

Kenzie (Zion):

Gonna do anything about it.

April:

She reaches for the axe and says,

April (Jo):

Nope.

April:

And takes it out of his hands and says,

April (Jo):

JJ, you don't want to be on the other side of this. I don't think.

Atlas (JJ):

If you swing, that's your problem.

Atlas:

And then JJ's gonna turn over her shoulder and go,

Atlas (JJ):

Axes are for pussies.

Kenzie (GM):

Your dress is snagging on the sides of the the broken wood. If you want to like rip through it you can try but it'll rip your dress.

Atlas:

JJ just needs to prove Jo wrong in this moment.

Kenzie (GM):

The puffiest part on your front and back rips sideways and across. And so you are left with like the sides hanging, but a very short like skirt in the front now.

Atlas:

Am I outside?

Kenzie (GM):

You passed through the door. You are at the top of a stairwell.

Atlas (JJ):

There's a stairwell.

April (Jo):

Thank you, JJ.

Atlas (JJ):

You're welcome, Jo.

April (Jo):

In order to make this more useful for the people that we are trying to help. We need to make this hole a little bigger, so.

Atlas (JJ):

I'm gonna go explore the stairs then.

April:

And in between like swings, she says,

April (Jo):

You do that.

Kenzie (GM):

Zion has crossed his arms over his chest and is leaning against the wall and watching you tear into this door, everybody getting their anger out through physical movement. And he says,

Kenzie (Zion):

So what's going on there?

April (Jo):

She's being particularly irritating.

Kenzie (Zion):

Seems rather normal to me.

April (Jo):

Perhaps I'm just not equipped to be patient tonight.

Kenzie (Zion):

I don't know what you saw, but not JJ's fault.

April:

Jo like yanks the axe out of the door after a particularly hard swing.

April (Jo):

I know. I know. She says she didn't see anything, but I know she did. And you did.

Kenzie (Zion):

I did.

April (Jo):

It really - that sort of power? It scares me. Never heard of anything like it.

Kenzie (Zion):

This... calm-ish demeanor is just for show. Everybody here is scared and panicked, me included. I just can't do anything about it if I'm freaking out. So, I'll deal with it later.

April (Jo):

Exactly. I would just prefer to deal with it by myself, in my apartment. Bottle perhaps? Not here.

Kenzie (Zion):

Then don't yell at the only people who are trying to get us out of here.

April (Jo):

You're a much better person than I am, Zion.

Kenzie (Zion):

I don't think I'm better. Different, though.

April (Jo):

More patient.

Kenzie (Zion):

That's not a virtue that everybody has.

April:

Jo, like half grins.

April (Jo):

You're not wrong about that.

April:

She swings the axe and hits it one more time against the door. Jo kind of like half sticks her body through to check considering that she's quite tall. And is like,

April (Jo):

All right, I think this could possibly be a way. We need to do this in an organized way. We can't have a stampede.

Kenzie (Zion):

Right. JJ, did you find anything?

Kenzie (GM):

Zion kind of calls down the stairs.

The stairwell is lit by a couple little lanterns on the wall and it looks kind of just like a back entrance like for employees to use for things to be brought up. So when you get to the bottom of the stairwell you find yourself in like a little storage room and you can see through another door that it looks to be like a kitchen beyond that.

You're in like a large kitchen here, so there's another door out of the kitchen, and you do see a couple people actively working. You see like plating food.

Atlas (JJ):

Oh my gosh. This was so much easier than I thought it would be. Everyone is currently trapped upstairs.

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

Pardon me?

Atlas (JJ):

All of the doors are like stuck closed, except for a door that we just busted through. Could you show me where the other doors are so we can figure out how to open them? Everyone's fine.

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

The door to the kitchen's right there. You can use that to get out.

Atlas (JJ):

That one? Yeah, but if we can get more doors open, it'll just be easier because there's a lot of people and if we're moving them all through one small exit. Also, we're trying to figure out who locked us all up there. And then some people, not me, but some other people got like hypnotized by a harp and then they saw like really-

Kenzie (Arclight Employee):

If you go through that door, you're gonna be in a hallway. And if you go all the way to the end of the hallway, there's gonna be a door on your right. And that'll get you out into the enclave next to the lobby. And then you'll be in the lobby.

Atlas (JJ):

Thank you so much. Can I just-

Atlas:

And then she's gonna grab one of little like orders and just be like,

Atlas (JJ):

These are so good. Like genuine, like thank you so much. If a really, really he’s really muscular, he's wearing like a black shirt, like, his hair's a little messed up but like, you know, in a good way. And then like, if he comes through, let him know where I went, there might be someone with him.

Kenzie (Zion):

All right well, that's not really great. I'm gonna go check it out too

April (Jo):

All right, should I keep people from finding this? Should I start to get them through the door? Should I -

Kenzie (Zion):

Maybe talk to, uh, what's-her-name, who was kind of in charge of everything?

April (Jo):

Right, yes. Um, right, Rosalind?

Kenzie (Zion):

Yeah, I think so, yeah.

April (Jo):

Rosalind, okay. Um, sure, great. Um, be safe, please, and… be safe.

Kenzie (GM):

He kind of pushes his way through the door and you watch him disappear down the steps.

April:

I sort of come around so that I can see like the whole room and I scan the room for Mama.

Kenzie (GM):

You see her finishing up a conversation with a young boy and his parents.

April:

I do a little whistle that she should know is me.

Danielle:

That’ll catch mom's attention. She'll catch Jo's gaze.

April:

Jo kind of like nods her head back towards the door.

Danielle:

She’ll start to walk over and check out to what Jo is gesturing to.

April (Jo):

So we did do this.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, I suppose it's better than nothing right now.

April (Jo):

It was Zion's idea. I want to make that clear.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I mean, I saw him carrying the axe yeah..

April (Jo):

And JJ went through it. I don't know where she went. Zion went to find her. I just don't... I just don't want anything to happen with the crowd. I think that there could be a panic, but we should start getting people out as soon as we can.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I'll let the director know, and I think the director will choose who gets to evacuate first.

Danielle:

Amoretta will go and find Rosalind.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Hi! So, sometimes desperate calls call for desperate measures. And so, one of your doors is gonna need to be repaired as we try and find a more appropriate exit, but right now this is the best we could have gotten. It is small.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

I am not concerned about replacing a door, thank you.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Right, well, it's small so you might want to do it slowly bit by bit. For now, up until we find other ways to open up doors. But I recommend probably getting kids and their families out first.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

That is what I was thinking. I shall begin organizing our little escape.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

I'm sorry for how everything turned out, but I really do appreciate you helping us.

Kenzie (Rosalind):

You're the ones doing all the work.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well, it's part of my job.

Danielle:

And she'll go and try and find Arthur and Professor Marlow so they can go and inspect the string on the heart themselves.

April:

Immediately, Jo goes to the harp and is there anything that Jo would recognize that the other two would not?

Kenzie (GM):

Doesn’t look like there any hacking has been done to this outside of the addition of this crystal.

JJ, you come out through the doors, find yourself back in the lobby and you see that there's like kind of a commotion out here too of employees who are trying to figure out a solution because they've realized that something is happening inside. You hear someone say that somebody has called the enforcers. You can go up the stairs and you see that from that side you can't pull the door open either and you see this one individual who is wearing like an all the way buttoned up polo shirt.

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

I already tried that, didn't work.

Atlas (JJ):

I, well, yeah, I helped bust down a door from inside. So if we cut them or like somehow bring like tools, I think it's like the edges that aren't moving. Cause we made a big hole right in the middle.

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

Wow, okay. I mean these doors are pretty big, seem pretty heavy.

Atlas (JJ):

There has to be a chainsaw in here, it's a theater.

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

I don't actually- I'm so sorry, I don't work here.

Atlas (JJ):

I thought with the whole-

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

No- What with the whole what?

Atlas (JJ):

The whole like how you came up to me and you had so much confidence about like knowing what things were. You have a very confident air.

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

Mm, thank you.

Atlas (JJ):

You’re welcome. Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed.

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

It's okay.

Kenzie (GM):

Back inside, Arthur says,

Kenzie (Arthur):

: I have an idea, but it could be bad.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Bad how?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Well, the idea is to pluck that string.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Should we perhaps warn everyone to cover their ears so we're not traumatizing folks again?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: That is a fair point.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

That might cause a bit of a stir admittedly, and we aren’t guaranteeing it'll open up the doors and we're just gonna look like a bunch of weirdos, plucking a string.

Kenzie (GM):

You do hear at this point through the microphone,

Kenzie (Rosalind):

Hello everyone here this evening. So we do have a plan now and we're going to do this in an organized manner. So I'm going to be coming around to you person by person and we're going to get out of this room, to put it quite frankly.

Kenzie (GM):

And so that begins and Arthur says,

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Yeah, that could be a good possibility of it happening again, so good point, yes. I don't like talking in front of people. Does somebody else want to do that? Tell them all to cover their ears?

April (Jo):

Sure, I'll do it.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Is there also - Maybe before we just start telling people to cover their ears and freaking them out for no reason, could we possibly just ask people to move this harp off stage and go to an area where we can pluck it again or is it being on stage necessary?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: In my theory it wasn't necessary but I don't even know if this is gonna work. But I think we- I think all of us can maybe move this and we can put it behind the curtain. That won't block the sound.

Danielle (Mama Amoretta):

Well I guess, Jo, you gotta warn folks.

April (Jo):

Alright.

April:

Jo leaps up onto the stage.

April (Jo):

Sure, sure, got it. Hello, everyone.

April:

And I would love to use my new move if I can.

Kenzie (GM):

Let’s make an entrance. Roll 2d6 plus grace.

April:

I have a seven. I'm gonna do all attention is focused on me for a moment.

Kenzie (GM):

Everybody in the room turns and looks at you.

April (Jo):

Thank you everyone. Esteemed patrons of the arts I know that tonight has gone quite awry and everyone is handling it quite well. I would say however, we would like to try an alternative method to everyone squeezing through a small crack in a door. It will unfortunately, potentially cause some of the earlier effects. So in order to keep that from happening, I need everyone to cover their ears. I know it seems juvenile, but I promise you it will be better if you do as I say. So, I'm going to wait until I see everyone covering their ears. And then I will give my colleague, the go ahead. So.

Kenzie (GM):

From around you, Arthur goes,

Kenzie (Arthur):

: I really do think that this is going to work.

April (Jo):

Yes, Arthur. Thank you. Most of them are covering their ears, so they cannot hear you.

April:

She like scans the room. Are people complying?

Kenzie (GM):

People are desperate in this situation and pretty much willing to go along with whoever has the solution to the problem. So everybody has covered their ears. You see some people like very tightly making sure all sound is blocked out.

April:

Jo like kind of like goes down to where Arthur is and she's like,

April (Jo):

Arthur, what what are you going to do? Are you going to -

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Maybe somebody that it didn't affect can cover my ears.

Danielle:

Amoretta will just cover Arthur’s ears.

April (Jo):

Alright I am going to go back onstage. I am going to make sure - I’m gonna give everyone the go ahead. So, on my three.

Kenzie (Arthur):

: I’m not going to be able to hear you.

April (Jo):

Right. Mama will sort of elbow you or something. Visual cue! I’ll wave. How about that?

Kenzie (Arthur):

: Okay.

April:

Jo like leaps back not the stage to make sure everyone is still covering their ears.

Kenzie (GM):

When you come back up, somebody uncovers it.

April (Jo):

Nope, nope, nope. Again, please… thank you!

April:

Jo covers her own ears and looks over and like does a big nod.

Kenzie (GM):

Plucks the string. The doors begin to open and Jo, you hear a,

Kenzie (Unidentified Voice):

No, no, you can't, you can’t!

Kenzie (GM):

And there's a yell from somewhere back in the room. And you see somebody that you think you maybe knew once. You see this woman with light red skin. She has short auburn hair and the longest bit in the back kind of hits her collars. She has two small, almost imperceivable horns and this dark beauty mark under her right eye. She's got this navy dress on that hugs her curves in all the right ways. You rack your brain for a moment for a name. A name of an ex of some sorts. And Annie pops up and you watch as this woman starts like tearing at people, like pushing them to the sides to like try to get up and get closer. You haven't seen her in a while, but something looks off. She seems to not be steady. She seems to be a little crazed, a little dazed. After the “no, you can’t,” the words out of her mouth start to not really make sense anymore. Like she's trying desperately to say something, but the connections are not clicking. Security kind of like comes up and like grabs her and there's a bit of a scuffle as they try to stop her from rushing at the stage. She just keeps on this rambling words. And then finally, the last thing that you hear clearly is

Kenzie (Annie):

You’ve let them in.

Kenzie (GM):

And then she falls unconscious in the arms of these security guards.

Kenzie:

This series stars Kenzie Tartaglione as the Game Master, Atlas Mathews as JJ August, Danielle Halen as Mama Amoretta, and April Consalo as Joanna Gilmore. With Michelle Kelly performing our episode recaps. You can help us out by listening and sharing, rating and reviewing, or coming over to our Discord. Also, you can join our Patreon to get access to our episode talkbacks and more. Thanks for listening!