S4 E13: Hurricane Hallie

Kenzie Tartaglione:

Last time on Roseville Beach…

Alexander Christopher (Auntie):

You can’t stay here locked up in your beach house all day long.

Dan Pyxel (Alyx Cho):

I can walk to the beach if I want to!

Alex (Auntie):

But did you do it? No! You didn’t.

Valiant Dorian (Arion):

Roseville Beach is having a fest soon.

Kenzie:

This series stars Alexander Christopher as the Game Master, Valiant Dorian as Arion, Dan Pyxel as Alyx Cho, and Kenzie Tartaglione as Lou Wells. This episode’s guest start was Cai K as Cayo.

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Alex (GM):

In beautiful filigree, spells out the words, The Garden of Dionysus.

And then you look up and you see Annie and you look over and you see Samira, and they’re both coming from opposite diretions, towards you.

Kenzie:

I think there’s a buzzing noise that starts in Lou’s head.

Cai K (Cayo):

You know there’s a dance, right? You can go and shake it.

Val (Arion):

Would you be interested in dancing later?

Alex (Oliver):

Yeah.

Alex (Shadow):

You can call me Asmodeus.

Cai (Cayo):

You can call me Epithatos

Alex (GM):

You take his hand?

Cai:

Oh yeah. He was caught up in the moment.

Kenzie (Lou Wells):

Alyx, Arion, we got a problem!

Val (Arion):

We certainly do.

Cai (Cayo):

Divine!

Alex (GM):

And what you see is a petrified Dryad.

[“queeRPG’s Moonlight on Roseville Beach Theme” plays]

Alex (GM):

We open back up on Roseville Beach, currently being devastated by groves of trees springing forth from the ground. You watch as, honestly, walking is probably not the ideal situation. You feel the need, the urgency of the situation as you watch the building in front of you be carried up into a tree. Luckily, this was the record studio that Lou and Luis had been building. Nobody was inside, but this could happen to anybody. You make your way across the village to the Sand Bank and find that it has been split in two by a massive tree that has grown in the center of it. Cracked, almost like you would have a small box that fell on the floor and brok in two with jagged edges. That's what the building looks like. The bank teller is nowhere to be seen, but Lou and Alyx and Arion, you see the telltale signs of man’o’war tentacles spread amongst the tree.

Dan:

Like, as a part of the tree?

Alex (GM):

Draping from its branches and trailing back into the building. And the tree grows and it's pulling up these tentacles.

Dan:

Oh, that’s bad.

Kenzie (Lou):

So I know I said I didn't want him to be our landlord, but I didn't mean for him to die.

Alex (GM):

Where is your attention being drawn, Alyx?

Dan:

I think first it would be to the split bank and then if I felt the eyes on me, I would look for them.

Alex (GM):

You turn around and you see, perched in a tree behind you, two glowing eyes of a very familiar coyote. The one who you met right before Estelle walked into your life. The coyote bears, at the time you wouldn't have known this, but you've grown as a human and as a witch, and you can now recognize that this coyote bears Estelle's magic.

Dan:

Just lights a cigarette immediately.

Kenzie (Lou):

Alyx, I know this is a question that I'm not really supposed to be asking due to the last time that I asked it and got shut down, but are you okay?

Dan (Alyx):

No.

Kenzie (Lou):

Yeah, okay, that's what I thought.

Val (Arion):

What’s wrong?

Dan (Alyx):

Hang on one second. I’ll be right back.

Dan:

And she like walks up to the tree and just looks up at this very comfortably perched animal.

Alex (GM):

It hops down from branch to branch and meets your every step. When you advance, the coyote advances. When you stop, the coyote stops.

Dan (Alyx):

Do you have something to say or what?

Alex (GM):

The coyote leaps from the bottom branch to the ground in a graceful landing that's elegant and otherworldly almost.

Cai:

Cayo is just standing and watching and I think takes another swig of the flask that they have found.

Alex (GM):

And as it brings itself back up, their fur turns to skin and clothing as Estelle stands before you.




Dan:

The cigarette just like drops out of Alex's fingers that are like, her hands are by like just falling at her sides.

Alex (GM):

She doesn't say anything, but the way she looks at you is expectant.

Dan:

She steps forward towards her.

Val (Arion):

Alyx…

Dan:

Gets right up close. It's her. At this distance, do I feel her breath? Do I feel…?

Alex (GM):

You feel the warmth of her breath on your skin, on your cheek. You can almost hear her heartbeat. You can feel a tension in the air as she actually reaches out to you. She hesitates and through her body asks permission.

Dan:

Alyx is breathing very shallowly. There's a thousand different things happening inside of her chest. It is - her heartbeat is going, it's hammering in her ears and she can't hear the other ones like calling for her at all. She's just locked in this moment. And it's like every single moment that they shared is flashing before her eyes all at once up until even the last one. Even that, it's just out of her mind instantly. And as soon as she sees the ask she puts her hands on either side of Estelle's face and just presses her face into hers. Just into her nose, into her forehead. And just breathes.

Alex (GM):

She in turn grasps the nape of your neck and sort of slides her hands down to your shoulders.

Alex (Estelle):

Alyx, why have you been running from me? We're out of time.

Dan (Alyx):

You know why.

Alex (Estelle):

I have always cherished my time with you.

Dan (Alyx):

Then please give me this moment. Please. Just don't say anything right now, please.

Alex (GM):

She looks down as her hands trail off of your shoulders past your elbows and for a moment hesitate at your hands but retreat as she clasps them, lost deep in thought. She finally breaks from the reverie and looks back at you.

Alex (Estelle):

Okay, but you cannot escape this and it has to be done, now, today.

Dan:

She’s there and she's listening, but she doesn't respond to that.

Alex (GM):

She actually like dives down to meet your gaze and lifts your chin up, following with her head.

Alex (Estelle):

We’ll forget about that for now. I believe there are other matters to attend to, we can deal with them together.

Dan (Alyx):

Yeah.

Alex (Estelle):

Who are your friends?

Dan:

She remembers that there are people that she came with at this moment and she like stiffens.

Dan (Alyx):

Oh, fuck.

Kenzie (Lou):

Hi. Hi.

Val:

Arion looks one part horrified and one part on edge because everything he had learned about who this person potentially is would signal to him danger. But what is happening before him is in fact not that. And is watching with thin slitted eyes watching this, seeing that it is warm and safe, very complicated in queer mortal ways and is just like eyeing Alyx for a single nod, a single look.

Dan:

Alyx is deliberately not looking at Arion because she knows that she's told him about this a little bit. So she just, she folds her hands behind her head and she's like,

Dan (Alyx):

Um…

Cai (Cayo):

Hello.

Dan (Alyx):

Hi, uh… Arion, Lou, Cayo.

Alex (GM):

Estelle, in turn, grabs each of your hands, and then Cayo, when Estelle grabs yours, even though you have been separated from most of your divine powers, you are still a demigod. You still possess your abilities, your innate powers that you've been born with, that are inherited by you. Estelle is long past the point of her death, but she is still alive.

Cai:

I think in a not subtle or polite way that a mortal would, but in the way that one inspects something in a store when they pick it up and just kind of look at it and set it back down again, he leans in uncomfortably close to Estelle and gives a kind of quick whip of that silver serpent tongue.

Cai (Cayo):

Interesting. Do you...

Cai:

And he does it again.

Cai (Cayo):

Where did you come from?

Val:

I think there's a moment in the glimpses between Cayo and Arion where Arion notices your like pushing forward and your tongue slithering forward and like catches one of your eyes and it's just like okay.

Cai:

I think when Arion sees Cayo, that eye that flashes should be gold like the sun. And there is a swirl of it looks like when you drop ink into water, but it's purple.

Alex (GM):

Make a roll for me for Goal and Clue.

Cai:

I’m interested in using a little bit of Magic to discern something about her.

Val:

And Arion will help you with a sorcery by trying to lean into the primal sense of being a Siren and sussing out what ancient fuckery in particular is happening here.

Cai:

For Goal is going to be a six. For Clue it is a five, for Magic it is a six, and for Scared it is a five.

The swirl that Arion saw begins to kind of pulse through almost like some of the scales on their face are translucent. And there's just the ever so slight pulse like a single [pulse sfx]. Cayo experiences something that they do often, but not recently here in Roseville Beach, which is they can carry the portents of ill omens. And that tongue whips out tasting the ill omen around Estelle, looking to drink it in.

Alex (GM):

The first thing, Cayo, that you sniff out, that you taste, is Estelle is not human. But Estelle is also not coyote. They are not a shifter. They taste of magic. Of living magic. Almost like a spirit would taste. And then once that sweetness resides, you're left with this bitter aftertaste of being in the world too long, being bound to a mortal body too long.

Cai (Cayo):

Uh, you should really- Wait a minute.

Cai:

And Cayo grabs that flask and holds it out.

Cai (Cayo):

Would you…? You seem like you might want to go somewhere else, or at least some part of you does.

Alex (GM):

She doesn't say anything, but she looks towards Alyx and she sighs.

Dan:

Dirt’s so interesting right now.

Alex (GM):

Your conversation is interrupted as a tree begins to grow out of the ground, separating the five of you around it.

Dan (Alyx):

This is Estelle. Estelle Queen. Right. You're all met. We have to, we have to - Tree. Plant.

Val (Arion):

Manny.

Val:

Arion like, sizes Estelle up and down, is at this point not fully convinced that everything is fine and safe and kosher because he was told otherwise. He's missing significant amounts of information. What I would like to do is find where most of Manny is, which is probably closer to where the bank side is, and try and augment the water that was in his aquarium and various pipes to form a little sphere around him so that he doesn't get dragged up into the sky and dry out.

Kenzie:

Lou would like to, if possible, not really knowing anything about Estelle outside of what has just occurred and be like, this isn't the craziest thing that's happened to me in the last month or two. And like walk over and hold out an arm and be like,

Kenzie (Lou):

Would you like some help? Let's walk over here.

Kenzie:

And be her annoying gallant self for a second.

Alex (GM):

Estelle politely declines with a gesture of her hand. She says,

Alex (Estelle):

Oh, thank you, Lou. Why don't you just show me the way instead?

Kenzie:

Is there some way in which Lou can decipher that this woman doesn't want to be touched for pride reasons versus doesn't want to be touched for supernatural reasons?

Alex (GM):

Go ahead and roll.

Val:

Goal six, five to Magic and the 3 shall go to Injury.

Kenzie:

I’m gonna put a five in Clue and a two in Goal. I think that’s all I was asked for. If I wasn’t, I fail anything else because I only had two dice to roll.

Alex (GM):

As you burst the pipes in the building, the glass shatters and you're unable to hold most of the water. I mean, you dredged up water from the ocean, from the depths. Manny required very particular circumstances to live on land. And in order to cast the spell, you had to get closer. You had to get inside of the building. You’ve succeeded in wrapping Manny in the water. In fact, you have even pulled most of their appendages off of the tree. Maybe one trailing and it's slowly sort of slipping down as the tree grows up. But you have been caught in part of the rapidly growing tree. Nothing too crazy, but we're gonna say the injury you sustain here is shock.

You've been around a lot of magic people, Lou. You've been around ghosts, you've been around living statues, you've met winged dog fucks, you've dealt with phoenixes and salamanders, radiation, so many things this summer, there's no way, you have no clue. They could not be wanting to be touched because if you touch them you could petrify, or you could be incinerated, or you could be zapped with lightning, or irradiated. That is unsure, and you might even not trust yourself to make that judgment. But you do see that they have a little knife hidden on their person. When they adjust their clothing so it's hidden even more.

Kenzie (Lou):

Of course I would be more than - I would be absolutely more than willing to show you around and just guide you if you need it. But I will say one thing. And that thing is that, except for Cayo because we simply recently met in this form, the rest of us aren't hiding anything that could harm each other. And so I think that if we're gonna go forward and be amicable, especially on a day in which I'm at my wit's end, I would like you to disclose to the rest of the group what's in your pocket.

Alex (GM):

Estelle meets you with a deadpan stare. She reaches down, she flips the knife out, and it like twirls around as she stabs it into a tree. And when she releases the handle, it is the exact knife that is illustrated on Alyx's arm.

Kenzie (Lou):

See that wasn't so hard, so we all know that she has a knife now!

Dan (Alyx):

Lou? Lou? Can we drop it? Please?

Kenzie (Lou):

Sure, she can carry the knife, I just wanted us all to know she had it.

Cai (Cayo):

Oh, we're worried about that. Right, humans. Puncturable.

Kenzie (Lou):

Yes.

Alex (Estelle):

I’ll leave it there.

Kenzie (Lou):

You don't have to, but okay.

Alex (Estelle):

I’m leaving my knife here.

Dan (Alyx):

Are you leaving it there for me?

Alex (GM):

And she walks forward.

Cai (Cayo):

Now, Alyx, between you and I… your... friend? Acquaintance. Ally. Co-conspirator.

Dan (Alyx):

Don’t play coy.

Cai (Cayo):

You know that they're haunting that body, Not in a fun, ooh, spirits way.

Dan (Alyx):

That’s a way of phrasing it, yeah.

Cai (Cayo):

And that they're souring. Like if you leave wine too long, it does become vinegar.

Dan:

You’ve known Alyx for all of what, like thirty minutes so far? She was very like mellow and chill when you were like, you should hate me, right? She is extremely on edge right now. Like it is - whatever calm she had up at the garden gone. It's completely gone and she's just like,

Dan (Alyx):

I don't need to hear that from you

Cai (Cayo):

I just wanted to make sure you were aware that you were throwing in with a corpse. Do with that as you will.

Dan:

Alyx is gonna slap you. Hard. [slap sfx]

Cai (Cayo):

Ugh!

Cai:

I don't think Cayo was expecting it and is a little drunk and I don't even think would try and deflect it.

Cai (Cayo):

You should be grateful that I'm done with my wrath for today.

Dan (Alyx):

I think you are already cognizant of this, but I spent ten years with someone who is beyond mortality in the way that humans know. If you think that a shriveled up, empty godling scares me, you've got another thing coming. You do well to remember.

Cai:

This towering serpent leans in, their brow furrowed. And those slitted eyes like sunbeams look back at you. And then a wicked smile pulls at the corner of their lips.

Cai (Cayo):

(laughs) Oh, I love mortals. There's the cool girl. Would you like something to drink?

Dan (Alyx):

Kiss my ass.

Dan:

And she walks past you.

Alex (GM):

We’re gonna cut scene two Arion who is inside of the building, strung up a little bit by the tree, but not in a way that really did any harm to you, just sort of spooked you. Manny, Mr. War is not doing well. You've staved off their death, but just for now. Without returning to the ocean, they will die. And you hear crackling of distant thunder as it starts to rain.

Val (Arion):

My friend, still in one piece.

Alex (GM):

For the first time you hear their voice, not their inscriptions on the wall. And it is unrecognizable. It is the bellowing of the ocean. It is the silence of the depths. It's a cry for help.

Val (Arion):

Don’t worry. I got you now. But I'm sorry that your holiday in Roseville Beach is being cut short.

Alex (GM):

A weak tentacle sort of grabs, it shuffles to the bookshelf and it climbs up step by step. And as it pulls a book out, the entire bookshelf falls. They pull themselves out from under it. Out from the water and you hear that unknowable sound again as they push this book to you.

Val (Arion):

What is this?

Alex (GM):

It is from Mr. War's private collection of things dredged up from the bottom of the ocean. It is a spell book written in ancient Greek detailing Mr. War, and many other creatures like them. There is a spell, an incantation, maybe a ritual in the front, but you can't decipher it away.

Val:

Arion ,as if he is holding like essentially a levitating leash with a puppy in it, and this book, quickly is like,

Val (Arion):

All right, herd, come.

Val:

And Arion's going to drag this levitating ball over with the book along to where the group are gathered. And it's just like,

Val (Arion):

Brother, brother, I need you. I need your eyes.

Cai:

Cayo comes running and looks at this water balloon that you're carrying.

Alex (GM):

It’s crammed inside and there's tentacles dragging on the floor as they're still like attached to the tree and sliding off of it.

Cai (Cayo):

Oh, hello.

Val (Arion):

They are my friend.

Cai:

His voice resonates very strangely as I would like to use a special ability. Drunk conversationalist, to speak to Mr. War.

Alex (GM):

This balloon, this man-o-war, this thing, it's very weak. It's gasping for air. It says,

Alex (Manny):

Trap (clear throat). You have to trap them.

Cai (Cayo):

We have to trap them?

Alex (Manny):

He cannot be contained. Normally.

Dan (Alyx):

What? What is he?

Alex (GM):

He looks over to Alyx.

Alex (Manny):

There are too many names and a true description would break your mind.

Cai (Cayo):

Ah, my friend Asmodeus.

Cai:

And Cayo raises that blackened paw hand.

Cai (Cayo):

A trap?

Alex (Manny):

Yes. Asmodeus. He is better known as Compulsion. That is what we call him. His brothers.





Dan (Alyx):

Compulsion?

Alex (Manny):

I do not know how he was contained the last time. But I did keep the one relic that could help.

Cai (Cayo):

Well, where?

Alex (GM):

And he gently moves your head with his weak tentacle towards the grimoire Arion holds.

Cai (Cayo):

This is useful looking.

Alex (GM):

And there's another crackle of thunder closer this time. And it's getting more consistent, quicker.

Val (Arion):

We’re running out of time. Manny, I have to put you back. Home, I mean. Are you ready?

Alex (GM):

He gifts you one final book, Arion. A guide to banking and the joys it brings.

Val:

Arion goes towards the closest beachfront and slowly lowers this sort of like levitating sphere of water into the ocean. And as soon as he's able to place Manny into the ocean once again, he smiles and says his final farewell by saying,

Val (Arion):

See you later, Mr. War. Tell my mother, Calypso, I said hi. And I miss her.

Alex (GM):

Manny slithers down to the ocean. And as you break eye line with them, something else slithers out. You see a fin prop out of the ocean. A shark, far too close to shore. And then another, another down the beach. The storm crackles again as the sky darkens, blocking out any of the moonlight. And Hallie’s coven steps on shore.

Kenzie:

Lou watches all of this happen, watches Mr. War go back to the ocean and she just goes,

Kenzie (Lou):

Um, so I know that he kind of freaked me out being my landlord or anything, but what does this mean for my rental agreement?

Alex (GM):

As you say that, there is a bolt of lightning that strikes right by your feet, as Hallie’s coven sort of thrusts throws a spear in your direction. And again, it lands right where that lightning did almost like a call to action.

Here's the situation: a hurricane is approaching Roseville Beach. You all can easily intuit that Hallie is responsible for this hurricane, using the leyline magic they pulled from Arion to accomplish it. Hurricane Hallie will destroy Roseville Beach, and it will kill anyone on the island. All of the citizens and residents are still here. You have to make a choice, if you're going to evacuate the citizens or if you're going to confront Hallie.

Val (Arion):

Hallie is my responsibility. She's able to do this because of the deal we struck. No, Alyx, I will not hear it.

Dan (Alyx):

You're not doing this alone.

Val (Arion):

What do you suggest?

Dan:

I would like to call the sword.

Alex (GM):

You don't even need to call on magic. As you look to the sky, and there is a single parting, as if somebody stretched their hand across the sky, pushing the clouds back, and you see the stars align in a pattern of a new hero. Atticus. And the sword falls from the sky and lands at your feet.

Dan (Alyx):

You might get some use out of that.

Cai (Cayo):

That was a wonderful trick. Do it again.

Dan:

Just shoots you the nastiest side eye.

Cai (Cayo):

Excuse me.

Val:

You see that Arion looks at the sword and just says,

Val (Arion):

I’ll have you know that I've never wielded a blade before. First time for anything, right?

Cai (Cayo):

Never!

Val (Arion):

Never.

Cai (Cayo):

It’s not even that hard.

Val (Arion):

Creature of the depths. The legs are a new feature.

Cai (Cayo):

Swords end up down there.

Val (Arion):

We don't use them.

Dan:

While the mythic siblings are having a whole thing over there, Alyx is going to go to Lou.

Dan (Alyx):

You don't have to stay for this.

Kenzie:

Lou is struggling right now, like figuring out where they need to be.

Dan (Alyx):

I know you want to help. How you do that is up to you and I promise you that I am not gonna let anything happen to you.

Val:

Arion peels himself away from Cayo, to his two beautiful, wonderful, and powerful lesbian roommates and grabs them both into a hug.

Val (Arion):

Alright, team, we are going to save Roseville Beach and we're going to return here in one piece because we still have a deposit that we need to pay for for the house. And you have things to say to your not girlfriend and you have something to do with your ex, whatever that is.

Cai (Cayo):

Dead ex.

Dan:

Just another filthy look.

Val (Arion):

We will deal with that later, but what matters right now is -

Val:

And Arion has one hand on your cheek, Lou, and one on Alex's cheek.

Val (Arion):

What matters is that you are both my favorite lesbians, and you will win.

Dan (Alyx):

You know other lesbians?

Val (Arion):

No other lesbians, just the two of you are my favorite.

Dan (Alyx):

I’ll take it.

Kenzie:

Lou is still like trying to figure out exactly what to do, but in this moment she sees both of you and she says,

Kenzie (Lou):

I have always felt a duty to take care of the people of Roseville Beach, the people on this island. And there are so many of them back there who need my help. But even if it's just for a summer…

Kenzie:

And she looks up at the both of you.

Kenzie (Lou):

You are also people of Roseville Beach in need of protection.

Kenzie:

And I think Lou wants to at that moment, in a less aggressive way than she has before, call for the shield. Not the hammer this time, the shield. And I feel like in the moment it comes to her, there is almost this pulse wave that kind of travels along the beach and like the sand ripples off to both sides as it goes the length of Roseville Beach. And not that it's actually magically creating a barrier of sorts, but more of a symbol of the fact that despite Lou not really having access to the arcane in any way, her dedication to this island is what has mattered the whole time.

Alex (GM):

In this act of love, you are gifted magic by September Brown. Please roll for magic as if you were a witch and had the sorcery skill.

Dan:

I’m helping, Boon.

Val:

It will also help with Command.

Dan:

While this is starting to build, Alyx turns back to Estelle and just walks up and just looks at her.

Dan (Alyx):

I don't have anything to say.

Dan:

And just grabs her and kisses her.

Alex (GM):

The camera pans around you in a circle. It's faded out, but we can see the events happening in Roseville Beach. We can see Lou, we see Cayo, we see Arion, we see Hurricane Hallie, we see Hallie’s coven. It turns to the trees which are growing out of the buildings and it turns again and it's the city. And the first time that you, Alyx, really ever showed this kind of vulnerability.

It's interrupted as lightning strikes again. A little bit too close to you, Alyx. In fact, I think Estelle pushes you out of the way and doesn't get hit herself, but it's as if she was trying to get hit.

Dan (Alyx):

We’re going to fight about this.

Alex (Estelle):

Okay, we'll save the beach first and then we'll fight.

Dan:

And she just takes out a cigarette and lights it.

Dan (Alyx):

Okay, I've got some good news for you. I've been practicing.

Kenzie:

So I had a lot of die to roll, thank you all very much. And I did roll three sixes.

Alex (GM):

Lou, this shield is summoned to your arm and just as you described, it releases this wave of energy and the sand to your right goes down for a mile. The other way down for another mile as this shimmering, luminescent barrier protects Roseville Beach. Enhanced with the power of a leyline, this will keep Roseville Beach safe for now, but it will not last forever. Hallie can break through it.

Hallie rises from the ocean as she walks on the water to the sea. Cayo, this is your first time encountering Hallie. She is a sea nymph, made from - her true form: a school of eels. And thisi s obviouls to you, even in human form, as the trail she leaves electrifies behind her as the storm, the hurricane, thunders with crackling lightning in her stead. She stands to the beach and she takes in the barrier. And then her shadow begins to grow long. As the entity, Asmodeus, Compulsion, whatever you want to call them, aids her and begins to channel Cayo's divine power into Hallie.

She flicks her claws and begins to strike at the barrier with lightning, cracking it slowly.

Val:

Arion pulls the necklace off of his neck, tosses it to Alyx.

Val (Arion):

You have pockets, right? Keep that safe.

Val:

You see he starts running, as soon as he tears off the necklace and tosses it to Alyx. With each footfall, we see scales beging to peel off of his skin, onto his body. And the second he jumps in in when the transformation fully takes and his legs turn back into the long black tail and he falls into the water. And as soon as he falls in, he moves and swerves around Hallie and behind her he says,

Val (Arion):

Good evening sister. I’m very, very sorry, but this is a party you are not invited to.

Val:

And pulls the waves from behind him as the high tide comes in and is using that momentum to pull from behind her towards him.

Alex (GM):

The two of get caught in the riptide as Hallie plunges and she actually hits her head against the sandbank. As she hits, she disperses into her eel forms. Alyx, on the other side of the barrier, you begin to hear Hallie’s cult. Cult, coven, Hallie’s coven. They are calling to you to join the ocean. To join them in the ocean.

Kenzie:

I reach out and I grasp to possibly bruising strength on Alyx's arm to not let her walk forward.

Alex (GM):

I need you to roll to resist the siren’s call. This will be Goal, Injury, Clue.

Dan:

Four in Goal, four in Clue, and I take an Injury.

Alex (GM):

You’re raptured by the song as you hear it's not like a song, so much as is a feeling of safety, of belonging that pulls you forward as you step into the ocean. Lou, you are, you go to reach out, but it's just a little bit too late. Alyx is waist deep in the water. And that's when you get a flash of a memory in your head, in your mind. You feel in your pocket a little tin of beeswax. Before you can apply it though, you're swept under the water. We're going to take an injury here for… we’re gonna go swept away.

Kenzie:

I don't think that there is anything that Lou can then physically do because she is going to keep that barrier up. Is there a way for her though to feel the magic and almost like extend it in a certain way in which to cover both Alyx and Arion in the ocean? Not necessarily just like push the whole wall forward, but to almost carve it around their bodies.

Alex (GM):

This is your very first actual real spell, Lou, and Estelle sees you struggling and takes it upon herself to aid you in this journey of learning magic. You feel a gentle hand against your shoulder and an arm wrap around as her head rests on your shoulder next to your head. Almost like a gentle whisper.

Alex (Estelle):

You have to focus, Lou.

Alex (GM):

She reaches her hand out and she holds it over your hand.

Kenzie:

To, Lou, this feels like when she has a plumbing problem that is just so hard to fix. And it is requiring a level of focus that she is used to while exercising a different muscle.

Cai:

Cayo is a little bit taken by it. There's storms, there's eels. There's a bunch of things going on and he walks up and he sees these people trying to help, ones who offered to at least not judge them, if not help them in their shared task. And despite the recklessness of his previous behavior, he does understand that they do need to live. He, instead of choosing sides, because that would be a lot of thinking that he's not up for at the moment to figure out why eels, what's happening here. No, you're trying to hurt my new siren friend. And is going to, I think, kind of extend out that buoyancy of levity to them in hopes that it will help buoy them and I would like to try and bless them with Divine Revelry.

Alex (GM):

As Estelle guides you through the magic. Just like you said, it's a clog in the pipes. You see it like plumbing. And it all just kind of makes sense. In fact, what you're seeing is leylines. That's the plumbing that you seeing and you are attempting to sort of readjust. And it works. You're able to divert this leyline magic of the shield just far enough to catch Alyx, to catch Arion. Alyx, as soon as this barrier passes you, the song is gone, and you can resurface. You can even take away that injury.

However, Lou, the magic is draining. The same way September gave her life to cast magic, this is requiring it from you. The Injury you're going to take here is exhausted, and the Scare you're going to take here is death.

Cai:

The idea here is that they are, because there's like this reaching shadow that he feels such guilt about. I think the idea here is to give them, without maybe the death part of his normal ability, that certainty and levity that he brought to offer to soldiers who were going to die, in hopes that they have their best final day. But hopefully this one's without the final, maybe.

Alex (GM):

Your magic has been touched by the entity. Choose two of the people here to gain the boon and two to be harmed.

Cai:

He sees Lou the clearest and can really understand what she's doing just because it's like pretty obvious. So I think that one is like right in front of him, easy to get right. And he is, I think a little fixated on Alyx right now and without intending, but also because she is the closest to the people that he is used to dealing with, that that one is familiar and easy. And unfortunately, Arion and Estelle are not the forefront of his very short memory.

Lou and Alyx, you feel - there’s nothing physical that changes about you. There is a brightness, like someone said, “You're gonna do well today,” and you believed them.

Arion and Estelle, you know when you get to that point in either lack of sleep or inebriation, any kind of alteration in the self, that it stops being fun? Like you might fall down, like maybe emotional vertigo is more than just emotion and maybe the ground is not quite right anymore? That's what it feels like. But the worst part is that with it comes this sickly feeling. As the darkness, the corruption, pulls at the places of Arion where people believe that the swamp thing was real. That the creature from the Black Lagoon is real. Estelle has that same creeping sensation of every story that anyone's ever told with a witch with a prolonged nose and a wart, as they are corrupted with not the same magic as Cayo at all. The Boon is the feeling of a good omen. And like many false luck stones and things like that, there is another side to it, which the others are experiencing. But some people think that black cats are lucky and some think that they are ill omens.

Alex (GM):

You can both remove one injury or scare.

Dan:

I have none right now and if I have perceived this and I see that something is affecting Estelle, I'm going to try and swap the effect with her.

Alex (GM):

Magic and Injury and Goal.

Kenzie:

I don't want to take away exhausted because Lou is actively doing this, but I will take away the scare of death because I think in this moment that just simply hasn't even crossed Lou's mind. That's not, that doesn't matter right now.

Dan:

Five goes to Magic. Four to Goal. For to Injured. Two in Trouble.

Alex (GM):

You reach out to direct this harm, this curse, really, towards yourself, and Estelle clocks it and she reaches out to redirect it back to herself. You both get hit with the harm, which is like, corrupted, think is the best way to describe that. And there is a rippling throughout the water. Anyone inside, so Arion, Alyx, you can hear the entity.

Alex (Shadow):

Hallie. That creature. That creature would be usefull to me. Retrive her.

Val:

Arion in this moment is trying to still subdue Hallie. And what he's going to do is, now that the wave has pushed Hallie downwards, he's going to unsheathe the sword and attempt to like have her at sword point.

Alex (GM):

As you pull out Atticus's sword, she, mimicking a humanoid form in this school of eels, pulls her hands apart to blast lightning at you, and it channels into Atticus's sword.

Val (Arion):

Oh, the boon of handsome men.

Val:

And like holds it poorly. But trained on Hallie regardless.

Alex (GM):

And Halle, it sees you. You hear,

Alex (Hallie):

I really should have dealt with you earlier, but now I have no time.

Alex (GM):

And she attempts to slither back to shore.

Val (Arion):

I gave you a chance again, sister, but you're not making it easy.

Val:

And he's going to like kick off his fins in a one swift motion to swoon towards her and try and grab her across the shoulder and hold the blade against her neck.

Dan:

I heard get that creature and I'm assuming that they're talking about my fucking wife and I think this is where he like screams,

Dan (Alyx):

The fuck you will!

Dan:

And is going to as she like is tracking this sort of fast moving collection of sentient eels underwater just hits that shit with a Bane

Alex (GM):

You pin Hallie against the floor of the ocean as the Bane from Alyx, it counters her spell that she attempts to cast to get away from you. She digs her nails into the sand as she reverts back to a humanoid form, and she calls out in that same siren voice.

Val (Arion):

That’s my voice!

Alex (GM):

Estelle steps through the barrier.

Kenzie:

I don't know Estelle. And I think that I know that if I were to try to move the barrier anymore, it would completely fail. I simply am sweating at this point, probably like on one knee in the sand, just with the effort of sustaining what I have so far. And while I don't know Estelle I do know that I saw Alyx put trust in her. And so if she is going out there, I assume she's going out there to help them. And if she's going out there to help them and she gets harmed, then all Lou can hope is that Alyx will forgive her.

Alex (GM):

Alyx, there’s a rippling in the water that only you can hear.

Alex (Shadow):

I have been paying close attention to you, witch. It seems... your friend crossed the line into my attention. You should know my intent is to do her harm. But it doesn't have to be this way, Alyx. We can leave your friend untouched, unscarred, alive. But in return, you must lead me to the leyline. That is all I ask. Know that I will find it regardless. And this is the only way to save her.

Alex (GM):

You watch as Estelle steps forward into the water.

Dan:

There are two voices in Alyx's head right now. The first one is her own, the one that would and has already done enormous sacrifice to keep Estelle alive. And then there is the other one from not too long ago that screamed at Arion about taking deals with this creature. And then that second one continues into the follow-up to that argument, which was if I had thought for a second that you were doing this for real love, I wouldn't have, I wouldn't be mad. And then both of those voices are drowned out by Estelle, saying, “You have to do it. Only you can do it.” And in almost a whisper under her breath. Alyx says,

Dan (Alyx):

I won’t because I know that you can't hurt her, you pathetic little worm.

Dan:

And I am going to magic sort of like reverse Call my way to the shore and I want to shoot like a rocket.

Alex (GM):

It’ll be magic and goal and harm.

Dan:

I will add another Trouble die. I have to maintain control of the magic, so I will have to use the six for that. Everything else is a four.

Alex (GM):

You jettison yourself out of the water, but it's not smooth, and it's not gentle. You plummet on top of Estelle as the two of you sink into the shore, almost like your hands dug into the sand, pinning her down. You can see that her magic has already begun to fade. It's not quick, but something is tapping into her and draining her.

Dan:

I’m gonna take out the little beeswax and I'm gonna kind of like swab it in both of her ears and like my own.

Dan (Alyx):

Honestly, this is not how I thought I was gonna be on top. Is this not the time? I thought humor might be a thing to do here.

Kenzie:

This series stars Alexander Christopher as the Game Master, Valiant Dorian as Arion, Dan Pyxel as Alyx Cho, and Kenzie Tartaglione as Lou Wells. This episode’s guest start was Cai K as Cayo.

If you liked it, share, rate, and review. You can join our Discord. And make sure to check out our Patreon for this season’s character advancements, after shows, bloopers, and so much more!

Alex (GM):

Her eyes kind of go back to normal, And she brushes your hair behind your ear. And you hear her voice in your head.

Alex (Estelle):

Alyx, it’s time. Don't think of it as sad. It's just change. And I would rather the change be on our terms.

Dan (Alyx):

No, no, I just... You’re here, I have you. You don't... We don't have to...

Alex (GM):

With her other hand, Estelle places it on your heart.

Alex (Estelle):

Love, that's the funny thing about it, Alyx. It never truly goes away. I will always be there with you. Every time you experience a moment of joy, I will too. This is what I can do to save you. Don't take that from me, Alyx.

Dan (Alyx):

It’s too much. You're still asking too much. I - All of my joy has always been yours.

Alex (GM):

She places her hand against the nape of your neck and brings your head to meet hers.

Dan (Alyx):

Please.

Alex (Estelle):

You've always been very special to me, Alyx. Out of all of the humans I've met, you made life worth living.

Dan (Alyx):

Estelle, I…

Dan:

Alyx thinks back to the first year that she knew Estelle and there's almost like a flashback of that moment where she first started picking up magic and she was good at it. But there were things that were difficult for her and she struggled and in that little subway haven for her coven of one, Estelle would correct her gesture, her form, light touches. Never too far, but there was something and they both knew it. And neither of them did anything for a year because it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't make sense.

And that Alyx first learned Call. Call requires you to name the thing. That's its secret. You have to know its true name. And she calls a flower from the fields, one that was out in the area just outside of town and she calls it and the light bent around her and crackled firework light with blue and fuchsia sparks and suddenly there was a like the bend snapped back and in her hand there it was, the flower. As she hands it over to Estelle like proudly there's that same little crackle of blue fireworks between their fingers.

And Estelle teps back and so does Alyx and there's a moment and Alyx gets this stupid grin on her face, like ones that you've seen when she gets cocky and when she thinks she's being smart and clever, and she Calls Estelle to her and crashes into her. And there's just a moment before they kiss that is the lightest laughter that you have ever heard from Alyx.

And there's another flash and it's the moment after ten years. The day that Estelle presented Alyx with the knife.

Alex (GM):

We see in the flashback, it's not perfect. You remember it through your own narrative, but with your head pressed against Estelle's, you get glimpses of hers. And the scene shifts behind, just over the shoulder of Estelle as she presents you the knife. And you can feel fear. Not of you, but of what she had done. Being in this world, being who she was, was never going to be good for you.

She would have never asked you to do it. She doesn't want to. She never did. She doesn't know any witch who can beside you. And we get a flash of your fight with Estelle. There is heat and anger and frustration, and Estelle charges you and with the knife slices at your neck. And that's when she drops it on the floor. And she steps back and she watches as you gasp for air. She grabs the knife and runs away.

And that was the last time you saw her before a couple weeks ago in the Kilnsdale coffee shop.

Dan:

In that final moment of the scene as Estelle is running away and Alyx has temporarily like sealed her throat, there's a jagged scar there, a deep one now left in the past. And the last thing she says is Estelle runs away from her.

Dan (Alyx):

Goodbye, love.

Dan:

And as we come back to the present, having rocketed out of the water, that choker that Alyx is always wearing, that thick velvet choker that's always around her neck is gone. And you can see the remnants of this jagged scar across the front of her throat underneath it. And she's just still staring at Estelle, begging for any other choice.

Alex (GM):

She reaches to your hand, and she opens it and places the back of your hand in her palm.

Alex (Estelle):

Dagger.

Alex (GM):

And flying from the tree, lands the dagger in your hand.

Dan (Alyx):

I love you. I love you, Estelle.

Alex (Estelle):

I love you, Alyx.

Dan (Alyx):

Bye, love.

Dan:

And she's gonna close her eyes and she sets the tip against Estelle's chest. And she breathes deep and she opens, and she looks Estelle in the eyes one last time and drives it home.

Alex (GM):

Instead of blood, magic seeps from her as it returns to the world. Not dissimilar to the way September returned to the leyline. Estelle's body begins to disappear too.

Cai:

Cayo stands on the beach and sees all of this and was looking at Lou, but then all of this began to transpire and he turns his head and he can feel something like an itch. That call to Thanatos and he turns to walk towards Alyx and Estelle and he holds out a flask. And the energy is going. He's not there to stop it. But he pours some of that flask into the beach sand and speaks very quietly, so quietly that only the sand and the spirit can hear, especially over the whipping of winds.

Cai (Cayo):

For one final joy.

Cai:

As the demigod of pallative ecstasy, the final drink for many soldiers and heroes is poured for Estelle.

Alex (GM):

The camera pushes back past the barrier and almost has this shimmering effect as it passes through the barrier. We pass Lou and we see Hurricane Hallie growing stronger and stronger.