Shades of the West – Episode 3 – Eye of the Storm

Kenzie Tartaglione:

This is a horror actual play. Viewer discretion is a devised. Content warnings for this episode include harm to animals, body horror, death, drowning, ghosts, and guns.

[transition music plays]

Ashley Westover (Games Master):

When night falls as suddenly as it does in Temple, it's hard for your eyes and mind to adjust to the sudden dark. Deep, primal instincts kick in, urging you to find shelter now. Quick, hide from the dark. Luckily, the sheriff pointed towards an abandoned home, saying you would be safe there for the night. Probably. Perhaps you would have tried to find separate lodgings, but with everything as run down as it was, it was just as likely you would walk into someone's residence as you would an abandoned husk. Plus, there was strength in numbers, and you had the sneaking suspicion you were already outnumbered by whatever was out there in the dark. The home was modest, but provided enough space for everyone to have a bit of privacy.

Bea, you fell asleep quickly, the mounting panic that had been crashing over you in waves the day before finally taking their toll. Travis, you weighed the pros and cons for a while of going back out to ensure everything in your cart was secured, but the memory of the sudden dark and the pale, dusty children kept you rooted firmly to your cot. Sleep found you eventually, for better or worse.

Jeb, you try to go to sleep. You really do. You lay there for what feels like hours, half expecting the sun to rise any second, but your thoughts and the half-whispers of the shadows outside plague you.

Not to mention, he is on the other side of a thin wall and all the complicated emotions he drags along with him. You're about to finally surrender to blessed oblivion when a ghost appears. That, in itself, is not not an odd occurrence. But your stomach sinks and your heart lurches as you recognize this ghost. Jeb, what did your love look like?

Linnie Schell:

Jeb's love, I think, was sort of a slight, a slight person. Someone whose quick wit was only belied by their quick laugh. You know, someone who, when you look into their eyes, you could tell that they had lived a life and that they had… they had deep compassion for the world, but they also didn't really have patience for Jeb's bullshit. And he loved that they weren't going to let his propensity to be cynical get in the way of living a life. And so he found himself working harder to make a life with them. Yeah, so I think they have long silver hair, and sort of a townsfolk outfit, sort of a tattered but well-mended and patched suit, and they're carrying in their hands a book and thin spectacles that sit upon their nose. Their name was Hiram. Hiram Luck Tilman. But to Jeb, we just called him Lucky.

Ashley (GM):

You raise to your feet, horror and hope gripping you in equal measure and follow Lucky as they hold their hand out and lead you forward, always just out of reach.

Linnie (Jedediah Monroe):

Luck?

Ashley (GM):

Abe, you didn't even try to sleep. You've perfected the art of running on fumes when surrounded by danger, and everything about Temple screams at those instincts to be on high alert. As you're resting, mulling over the coincidence of running into your old repairman and the priest, you hear footsteps in the house, and then someone say, Luck?

Brendan Hooker:

Slowly rise up from a sitting position. Definitely was not -wasn’t even laying down, just sitting up against a wall. Slowly rise up, weapon in hand, an old gun. Had it and been taking care of it for the last few decades. An old rival thing, but shaky in his hands. And just going to quietly go to investigate this noise.

Ashley (GM):

You look -you creak open your bedroom door, it was probably a dining room or something beforehand. You look to see Jeb, shoulders relaxed and eyes glazed, wandering down the hall. You're almost amused at catching him sleepwalking until you notice the shape that is beckoning him forward. It is dark and blurred around the edges and it's hard to keep your eyes on it, like one of those optical illusions that you can only see clearly if your eyes are a bit out of focus. It is solid and incorporeal in equal measure, and it shines with a sickly green as its form absorbs, practically eats the light around it. It is leading Jebediah into the night where your mind doesn't fully grasp the other dark shapes waiting hungrily, but your instincts lock onto the threat.

Brendan:

I think immediate first thought is to whistle loudly in an attempt to get Jeb's attention and failing that, very quickly unload the gun and fire it just to make an increasingly loud sound.

Ashley (GM):

Maybe Supernatural since you're sort of trying to shake Jeb out of this very unnatural trance that you see him in.

Brendan:

I think that makes a lot of sense. I believe Supernatural... Alright, that's my secondary, so that's going to be 4d6, correct?

Ashley (GM):

Yes!

Brendan:

And if I could, actually, because I'm looking at my character sheet now, would you say this could potentially work as provoking or sabotaging?

Ashley (GM):

I'll say provoking. It could be, it could be what you're doing, especially if you're gaining the attention away from Jeb and towards you.

Brendan:

So that would be six then for using that move.

Ashley (GM):

The tier is going to be, I would say this is like a tier three.

Brendan:

So six, 12, 15, 17, 20.

Ashley (GM):




The shadows in the corner of your eye - it’s not like you see the shadows leave the front door, but it's like all of a sudden the night is more natural right outside instead of there being multiple threats right there. But the shade that is in front of you and in front of Jeb, it turns towards you instead. And Jeb, suddenly you were so close to Lucky. Your fingertips were just about to graze when all of a sudden there is this obnoxious noise coming from somewhere and you are jerked to the present and it's as if your body was not on the same gravitational pull as where your mind was and so you sort of stumble a bit and have to put your hand out to catch yourself against the wall and you look and where Lucky was just standing there is now some... when I say unholy I mean the most unnatural sort of being that you've encountered.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Uh..

Brendan (Abner Slade):

Jebediah!

Linnie (Jebediah):




What?

Brendan (Abner):

Get the hell away from that thing!

Linnie (Jebediah):

No, no, I - Look, Luck, is that you? We can fix this, you just - What are you - What have you done to yourself?

Brendan:

If Jeb is still stuck in this kind of daze, I'm just gonna rush and grab him and start pulling him away.

Linnie (Jebediah):

No! What are you - What are you doing?

Brendan (Abner):

I don't know what you're doing.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Stop!

Brendan (Abner):

I’m getting you the hell out of here.

Linnie:

I think I'm going to try to break free of... I'm not trying to like touch the unholy thing, but... Is there any way for me to tell that it's not Luck? Like... Or, you know what I mean? Like, it could easily be a corrupted spirit. Like, do I think it is just... Luck has had something real bad happen to him, or...

Ashley (GM):

I will say that it depends on if you think Jeb, like how badly do you think Jeb wants this to be Lucky?

Linnie:

Oh, bad. Real bad.

Ashley (GM):

Okay. That's gonna be a Supernatural roll then for you as well. And I will say it is another tier three.

Linnie:

That is... 12.

Ashley (GM):

Okay. You... You know that this isn't your Luck, but you need it to be.

Linnie:




Yeah, I think I'm gonna try to break free of Abner then.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Stop, it's... You don't understand, I... I have to talk to him.

Brendan (Abner):

I don't know what you think you're looking at, but I promise you it's not whatever the hell you think it is. Outside is where it's trying to bring you and outside is where we know there's danger. Now, would whoever you think it is want you to go outside and risk your life?

Linnie (Jebediah):

I'm not gonna go outside, I just - I have to talk to him. Just don't, okay, I won't go outside. Just leave this alone. What are you even doing here?

Brendan (Abner):

I heard noises. This town's weird as hell. And I knew that something was going on. There's always something going on. You gotta be ready for anything. So I was ready for anything and I come out here and I see you talking to darkness. And I'm trying to help.

Linnie:

Jeb comes back to himself just a little. He says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Alright, just get your hands off me. I'm not gonna go gallivanting off into the night, but you know, I wouldn't expect you to understand, but sometimes you just gotta ignore things that might kill you, because I wouldn't expect you to understand.

Brendan (Abner):

No, I don't understand.

Linnie:

And then think Jeb - did Abner let Jeb go?

Brendan:

Yeah, Abner's gonna let him go. As soon as he lets him go, he's gonna reload his weapon. And the whole time he's been talking to Jeb, he's been just taking glances at the creature, if it's still there, and keeping an eye on it, even as he's trying to reason with Jeb.

Ashley (GM):




Every time you glance over to it, at first you're like, it's gone. But then your mind like, readjusts and slides off of something that isn't there but is and so you're like it's still probably fucking there.

Linnie:

I think Jeb’s gonna gonna walk up to it this time keeping you know a more cautious distance and say,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Hello? Are... Do you got a name? It's kind of mighty bold of yourself to be inviting yourself if you don't know anyone in this house.

Ashley (GM):

As you're speaking to it, it's, again, it's very hard to actually focus on where it is in the hall, your mind and eyes are sliding off of it, then refocusing and back and forth. It's kind of giving you a bit of a headache. When you do manage to like, like perceive it, it's still like beckoning in the same way that the vision of Lucky, the vision of Luck had been doing towards you. And you can see that most of it is incorporeal but like there are parts that look more solid but it's twisted. Normally when you're viewing a spirit or a ghost it has some sort of like flow to it like you can tell where the the soul of the person used to be and it's sort of like a like a river almost, or a stream, there's like a harmony, it's like a circulatory system it's going through, but it looks like all of the nerves are cauterized or knotted or corrupted in some way and if this ever was a person, it's certainly in the vague shape of one. Its existence now is knotted and pain and you don't know what it is trying to do. But you don't feel like it's going to be good for anyone involved.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Ugh, well, that's not good.

Linnie:

Jeb, I think, reaches into his pocket and grabs a handful of salt that's been mixed up with iron fillings and sort of like blows it into the direction of the spirit.

Ashley (GM):

The salted iron puffs up towards it like it does many other spirits. And usually this makes them fully dissipate. This one, it seems like it gets holes in it, so it's kind of Swiss cheesy almost, and it twitches slightly, and then you can see it resolve itself like, the ruse has been busted. It drops the facade of the beckoning hand. It had still been trying to keep up some sort of pretense of like, drawing you in, but as soon as that happens it just it goes almost rigid and then it just - it's like you don't see it leave but all of a sudden it's just not there anymore.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Ugh. Do you see anything?

Brendan:




Abner’s going to look around doors and corners, the room. And if he doesn’t see anything, just say,

Brendan (Abner):

I think it's...gone for now. Whatever the hell it was.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah. Well, I'm gonna go try to get some sleep. But, I'm gonna… I think I'm gonna go sleep.

Brendan (Abner):




You sure you're gonna be alright?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah, I'll be fine. No, we should go wake the others up though. It's not safe for us to sleep, you know, alone. Someone should keep watch.

Brendan (Abner):

I mean, I can keep watch. I wasn't gonna get any sleep anyways.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, all right. You do that then.

Linnie:

I think Jeb sort of gives Abner sort of a long fixed look. And - are Bea and Travis like in the same room?

Brendan:




I’ll say that, as previously mentioned, Abner settled in to the dining room because it had the best view of kind of all the other potential you know, doorways and walkways and things like that. Trying to be as central as possible to, and also like tucked himself in a corner where it's just, he's just, whatever's in front of him is all he has to worry about. So that's where he was.

Stevie Faye:

I think in contrast, Bea would pick something pretty far back and out of the way, like in just some kind of small corner, like a, you know, just kind of little spare room that's just very like tucked out of the way and kind of in the back away from everything.

Riley Maness:

Travis would have loved to stay with the people with the firearms and the and the spirit knowledge, but he also cares too much about his kid at this point. So he'd probably pick an adjacent room or the close by room to still give Bea some privacy, but sticking around them.

Linnie:

That Jeb is going to go and sort of open up the doors to both rooms. And if they seem to be sleeping quietly, sort of like, like sit down against the wall where he can see both of them. Sort of like tip his hat over his face. And I think as he turns to leave, he says to Abner,

Linnie (Jebediah):

And thanks.

Brendan:

Abner snickers and starts to say something, but then decides just to nod instead.

Ashley (GM):

Abner, as you are, you know, keeping watch, you're, you take a look outside the front door again, and you look outside one of the windows, and the night is oppressive and heavy in a way that it isn't normally in the desert. But there are two points of light that you can see sort of in the distance outside of the town limits of Temple. It's sort of like up on a hill. There's like one flickering light, almost like a fire or a candle. And then there's another embedded in the side of this basin. It's like glittering reflecting off of what little light the moon and stars are providing here. But other than that you do not see anything in this night.

Brendan:

He’ll make a note of those lights perhaps for future investigation when it's not incredibly dangerous to be out or at least not as incredibly dangerous to be out. And I think he will post up on the other side of the wall from Jeb.

Kenzie (Game Master):

I'm gonna give you guys one plot point for Abner using the action within the action earlier on.

Ashley (GM):

The rest of the night goes by unnervingly, but nothing else really jumps out of the dark. Those who did manage to sleep, you have unsettling dreams that slip away as soon as you gain consciousness, but they're still lingering. feelings of paranoia for you, Travis, especially. It's as if you're being watched even in your dreams. And Bea, you still, you woke up a little disoriented because you thought you were sleeping next to a stream. But then when you wake, you're still just in the dry, dusty house. But now you guys have the morning which came as suddenly as the night came, but it wasn't as jolting, I would say. When the sun was there, it was gray and bright, but it did not sort of give that immediate sense of dread that the night did when it fell.

Kenzie (GM):

I think with this waking up of thinking you had fallen asleep by a stream, Bea, you're gonna take one burden for mental burden of that memory.

[“Old Wild West Atmosphere Music” plays]

Riley:

Travis absolutely was awake not because like he couldn't sleep, but he woke to the sound of someone making the horrible decision to dry fire his revolver in doors, making a horrible clicking noise and ruining his firing hammer and get wearing down his pin and his in his chambers. But he did not get up. He definitely was like, all right, I'm just gonna sit here and he didn't shoot actual bullets So I'm just gonna wait

And then he definitely felt the presence of one and then two people more intimidating than him looming in the door. But I didn't wake up. But so yeah, I felt the presence of being watched both in my dreams and by the two people just standing.

Ashley (GM):

That might have had that might have fed into your nightmare a little bit literally being watched while you were sleeping. It's fine. It's fine.

Linnie:

I think Jeb falls asleep shortly before sunrise and absolutely is just like lying in the doorway when you guys wake up.

Brendan:

I think the first thing that Abner is going to do when he sees that people are starting to stir and wake up is he's going to bring his gun to Travis.

Riley (Travis Black):

You didn't do what I thought you were doing last night, did you?

Brendan (Abner):

Look, I've got the money to pay ya. So if you could just we could just skip this part of the conversation. You could just fix my gun. I know it's bad. I've been doing -

Riley (Travis):

The things we're dealing with. I'm gonna fix them for free because you watched me and my boy last night and I appreciate that. So I'll fix these up. No problem.

Brendan (Abner):

I appreciate that. I really want.

Riley (Travis):

God, why? Why did I hear a fire firing hammer going off with no gunshots?

Brendan (Abner):

Because I didn't want to waste the bullets. I just needed to make noise. I just needed to get someone's attention.

Riley (Travis):




Yell, god damn it!

Brendan (Abner):

My voice, my voice is a sacred instrument and I don't need to strain it. You can fix my gun. You can't fix my voice.

Riley (Travis):

Mr. Octogenarian, your vocal cords are going to be fine if you shout every once in a while, all right.

Brendan (Abner):




No, ain't no need to yell when you got something to make noise for you.

Riley (Travis):




Well, I'll take care of your gun. Don't worry. And, I got to head out to my cart to do, get my finer tools for this. Cause my, my general tools aren't, aren't as precise.

Brendan (Abner):

If you think the other two were safe in here, I'll come with you. There's a -

Riley (Travis):

Yeah, by all means.

Brendan (Abner):

Something I want to go take a look at.

Riley (Travis):

Yeah, by all means.

Stevie:

I think that with Bea's dream, during the bulk of the dream, it was almost a kind of nostalgic happiness, but as Bea kind of entered that stage of sleep where you’re slowly waking up, the sunlight's kind of filtering through the window. It kind of gave way to that sinking dread and guilt that sits in like the pit of your stomach. And kind of wakes up in a sweat and in a panic and takes some deep breaths but can't quite shake the feeling. And this has been happening for quite a long time now and she never seems to quite get used to it. But just like every day, it knows that she has to keep going and sort of gets up and gets changed and just tries to get ready for the day as best she's able to.

Linnie:

I think that unless anyone woke Jeb up or stepped on him, he might still be asleep. But I think the sort of Travis and Abner leaving probably woke him up. So he's sort of like, he's not a morning person. So he's sort of getting himself together, doing a lot of like,

Linnie (Jebediah):

(Grunting and groaning)

Linnie:

Stretching. I think he's gonna like kind of stagger his way out to the front and start looking for like tracks in the dirt, sort of doing his standard ghost investigation thing.

Kenzie (GM):




Roll me a Supernatural for that.

Linnie:




Fourteen.

Kenzie (GM):

The ground right outside the door of this abandoned house that you've stayed the night in. Outside of the footprints from Abe and Travis that you watched just walk through the front door and down towards the cart, the dirt is completely smoothed out. There is no sign that you entered this house last night.

Linnie:

Jeb’s gonna call over.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Hey, Mr. Travis, your horses still alive? Bound to the mortal coil? Plodding the road of the living.

Riley (Travis):

God willing. I didn't do anything to ‘em. I gave ‘em a little pet good night before we came in, but are they not by their tied posts?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Let’s hope that's enough.

Ashley (GM):




As you approach your cart, you're approaching it from behind and you see the shape of two large beasts in front of your cart. And so your first feeling is relief. Cause you're like, it would really suck if something happened to my horses. The smell hits you first. As you approach, there is something deeply wrong with whatever is now attached to your cart. It is still in the vague shape of a horse, but there are tendrils of fleshy green, like roots almost branching from the bottom of their hooves and digging into the ground itself, the one of their heads is rested on the post area, you know, that's like outside of like a fence post and it looks like it's melted into the wood almost. It is a combination of, the smell is a combination of rotted wood and pus and something that has been left out in the sun to fester and mold and turn rotten. And it looks like they started to waste away while standing here.

Riley:




Are they still in like any semblance of alive?

Ashley (GM):




Do you want to approach and find out?

Riley:

I very clearly see that something's wrong between the smell and the, you know, the newly grown tentacles that I've never seen on any model of horse before. But I think, I think I'll just call out their names. just cause I've had them for quite a long while. And of the few things that I've gotten to keep - while Travis is a very materialistic person - there’s a level of care and love for his horses that he has because of how much he depends on them and how much they've done for him mentally by being sometimes the only companions he has on the road. So he'll notice it and kind of he'll give a wide berth which is a thing he naturally does because you don't sneak up on horses from behind, especially when they have Cthulhu tentacles coming out of them now .But he'll sneak around and just kind of try and meet one of their eyes and call out.

Riley (Travis):




Raven? Midnight? Girls?

Riley:

Just to see if they respond.

Ashley (GM):




One called Raven is the one that has its head sort of rested on the post. Midnight, her ear twitches slowly. It could be a breeze. It could be some semblance of recognition. But Raven, she hears you and she lifts her head up to acknowledge you and as she does the muzzle that had fused with the wood sloughs off and the front of her face is now like skeletal and dripping with gore and black and green ooze as she slowly turns her head and you just see cataract white eyes with gray branching tendrils in them look at you.

Riley:

How do they look in terms of emotion that they're giving off to me?

Ashley (GM):




They look, for lack of a better word, hollow. Any movement that is happening is more out of a muscle reflex than it is any true recognition.

Riley (Travis):




Oh. Oh…

Riley:

Travis enters a very parental state, a very like guardian state. Seeing this, I'm gonna hold out my hand, one to each of them. He's very soft right now. He's very low toned, just worried about his girls right now. I'm holding my hand up to their snouts to let them see if they recognize me and if they'll let me pet them to try and reassure them at all.

Ashley (GM):

Raven does put her head in your muzzle or her, well there’s no muzzle left, but like the bony part of her teeth you know those horse teeth that are like very long and yellow and sort of chipped on the end you you put your hand to the bone and it's slimy. Midnight she sort of like moves forward but her movements are a little bit more jerky and she sort of like bumps into your hand and then back again and sways.

Riley (Travis):




Oh, you poor girls are sick.

Brendan:

Abner’s immediate reaction is to reach for his gun, which is in Travis's hand. So he reaches for his gun to quick fire and shoot both these horrifying creatures as soon as he's able, but he can't because he doesn't have his weapons on him. So he watches this, you know, watches Travis interact with the horses, sees the pain that he's going through, the state the horses are in. And he's going to come over to Travis, put a hand on his shoulder. He's gonna say.

Brendan (Abner):

I don't think they're sick. Not in any normal way.

Brendan:




As he's as he's talking, he's also gonna just reach his hand to Travis's hand to take the gun back.

Riley:

If he doesn't like for the first time really accept that like something clearly is wrong here and acknowledge - like he's going to refuse to like do anything with them. But yeah -

Ashley (GM):

I think when it comes to recognizing that this is something not natural, it's going to be a tier one because it is very clearly not natural. But if you're trying to figure out what exactly is going on, it's going to be higher. So what is just -

Riley:

Just acknowledging something's wrong. Very baseline.

Kenzie (GM):

I’d say too, with, the fact that Abe is there trying to walk you through it, this could be an assisted action. and I know we did this wrong, last session. So, for her assisted actions, the person assisting will roll the number of d6 appropriate for that action as well. And then Travis can substitute two of those for two of -

Brendan:

My highest two are a six and a four.

Riley:

I also rolled a six and a four.




Brendan:




Well.

Riley:

So I guess we'll, we'll, we'll take the 12 then.

Ashley (GM):




You have spent a long time going, not my business. Doesn't affect me. No, not gonna deal with that whenever it comes to anything weird or spooky. And it's taken - it's gonna take a second for you to fully acknowledge - or not acknowledge, but fully accept that the thing that broke the camel's back, the last straw, was what happened to Raven in Midnight. You know that there is nothing on this plane and in this world that could cause this. You've traveled a lot. You've seen a lot of diseases. You've seen a lot of things that make sense or things that can be explained away. This is not one of those things.

Kenzie (GM):




I think that's good enough for a plot point for everyone and a burden for Travis.

Riley:

Travis lets Abe have his gun back, but he's very, it's very slow. It's very clear he's not like gungho about you pulling it out right now. Which I mean, I'm not I can't stop you from doing because you're even in your age, you're still you're still a better gunfighter than I am by mile so…

Brendan:

I think Abe is gonna just real, real quiet say

Brendan (Abner):

Just close your eyes and cover your ears.

Riley (Travis):




No. No. No.

Brendan (Abner):

Come on.

Riley (Travis):

Look, I, I don't know what's going on, but I know that you and Bea and Mr. Wood appreciator is very, very keen to, to whatever's happening here. But this, if this is what they are now, I want to at least let them lie with it.

Riley:

And with that, instead of putting them down, I want to take off their leads. And if they choose to go their own way now, they can.

Ashley (GM):

As you are unhooking them from, you know, the cart and everything, a bit of their skin sort of like peels off with the harnesses and things. And they don't register any pain that we normally associate with that. And then as you sort of like fully disengage them. They just continue to stand there. Raven sort of like goes to put her head back down on the post, like sort of like squishing the bit of muzzle that's still attached there, like resting almost like a pillow of her own flesh. And Midnight just continues to sort of like sway, but her ear like twitches again, this time definitely in like...it's not the wind like she's like there's something happening but there's not recognition so much as just they're there.

Brendan (Abner):




I mean they’re your horses.

Riley (Travis):

You're not, you're not putting a single round in them. They're, if they choose to be here, they're staying here. I'm a little worried about, about what Bea might I think, but…

Brendan (Abner):




Do you really want her to see this?

Riley (Travis):

Is it better to see what, what they become, but at least they're still here or see a corpse on the ground also mess beyond belief.

Brendan (Abner):

All right well,

Riley (Travis):




At least with this they're kind of here. Raven reacted to me.

Brendan (Abner):

I don't think they're here.

Riley (Travis):




I don't care how bone bone laden and slimy they are. They're still my girls. You just be quiet. Let me fix your damn revolver.

Riley:

I'll kick it, kick myself a little bit and head on to the back of the cart and get my fine tools and start fixing this stupid gun.

Ashley (GM):

I think that will be a Technology role, a Tech role for that. I'll say the... It's nothing too difficult. You've worked with this specific gun a few times before as well, so I'll say it's only a tier two roll. You just gotta make sure that none of the springs or things are like worn down too much and maybe fine-tune a couple little things in there.

Riley:

You got it. my god.

Ashley (GM):

Buddy.

Riley:

I have 5d6, I rolled a ten.

Ashley (GM):




Look, a ten was the thing you needed to beat. I’ll say you might be a little distracted which is why this isn't like up to your normal standards but luckily the gun doesn't break or anything because lord knows what would happen if you had truly messed with his revolver but… Abe, yeah, your gun is back to its previous shape and all that.

Brendan:

I want to say that while Travis was inside fixing the gun, Abe was staring at the horses and genuinely trying to understand why someone - genuinely trying to understand why someone wouldn't put ‘em down. Like, what is it, what is, what's he missing in that equation? And not in like a thinking Travis is stupid kind of way, but in like, you know his problems are often solved with violence. So for someone to choose to not do anything is weird to him. So is there something that Abe can roll to understand empathy?

Ashley (GM):

I will say this is gonna be a little bit higher of a tier just because it's a rolling it.

Brendan:




That’s completely fair.

Ashley (GM):

I’m gonna say like, would you think it'd be a three or four level difficulty? Because you know the character better than I do. Like, how hard is this for him to grasp?

Brendan:

I don't think it's... If I could suggest... If I could negotiate something.

Ashley (GM):

Sure.

Brendan:

I don't think that it's... I don't think it's necessarily difficult for him to be able to feel empathy, but I think that if this role is successful, he will obtain a burden.

Ashley (GM):

Ah, okay.

Brendan:

That burden being empathy. If that is fair to you?

Ashley (GM):

That is fair to me. I'll say it's tier four then.

Brendan:




Okay, oh boy. That's three sixes, a five and a four, which is 18. 22, 27.




Ashley (GM):

I don't think, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Abner has ever really like had a pet that really, really, you know, was like his baby. And so the the maternal instincts that Travis feels - you can see it's like sort of like a trend, like with whatever living creature is on his cart, he tends to adopt. And so you can tell that he felt very strongly towards these horses. And then if he is going to grieve and move past them, it's going to have to be on his own time.

Brendan:

In that case, Abe will not be an asshole to him when he's done. And additionally, I think the synapses that make a connection in Abe's mind, as he's looking into the cold, you know, mangled face of this horse and for a moment sees the same kind of dead-eyed stare of the mangled face of his brother all those years ago.

Ashley (GM):

You see Raven sort of like sniff and then start eating her muzzle.

[ad begins]

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[TSS promo begins]

Zack Tuttle-Robb:

Fade back in on Harborvale, a coastal town striving to rebuild. It’s residence tread rarely on the unsteady ground that has eroded beneath their feet. Despite the community’s tenuous air of relief and recovery, there are still so many secrets to unveil.

Nicole Tuttle-Robb:

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[end of TSS promo]

Kenzie:

You can find the link to These Silent Secrets in the episode description.

If you want to support the podcast, or, if you’re not into monthly subscriptions but you're liking the episodes, you can go over to our Ko-Fi and leave us a tip! Enjoy the rest of the episode!

[end of ad break]

[“Old Wild West Atmosphere Music” plays]

Linnie:

Jeb is out front during when all this is happening. Is Bea coming out of the house at all?

Stevie:

Yeah, I think Bea will come kind of stand a bit awkwardly in the doorway and if Jeb's there will kind of, I don't know, maybe just observe a little bit, kind of try to soak up whatever's happening here. And I think there is maybe a brief moment where he's kind of like, they're taking an awful long while around the front of the cart. Like I've seen Travis fix things before, why aren't you going around? What's happening here?

Linnie:

I think Jeb is going to - if he sees Bea sort of looking at the cart, I'm gonna take a deep breath in, like he's smelling the wind, and sort of look a little lost for words, and then look at Bea and say,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Hey kid, did you wanna learn something about ghosts?

Stevie (Bea):

I mean (sighs) yes. Sure.

Linnie (Jebediah):

All right.

Linnie:




He sort of pats his pockets and pulls out a long length of silver wire, and then bends it into a sort of a gentle point. And he says,

Linnie (Jebediah):




All right, so familiar with the concept of a dowsing for water?

Stevie (Bea):




Yeah.

Linnie (Jebediah):




So you can sort of do the same thing for residual spiritual energy, especially when they haven't left any other traces. So sort of here, here, just hold on to the two ends like that

Linnie:

Sort of thrust this dowsing rod at Bea.

Linnie (Jebediah):




Yes, so hold on to the two ends like that. Yeah and… well, think about, well, sort of think about ghosts, but sort of in the way you're trying to hear something on the edge of your hearing. It's just like someone's about to call your name, but hasn't, and you're trying to turn in that direction.

Stevie (Bea):

That’s the opposite of what I'm trying to do. Did I not make my needs clear yesterday? I don't want to hear ghosts. I want to get rid of them.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Alright, well… The only thing I know what to do about ghosts is to find them and have them leave you alone I'm not really good at running away from my problems, so…

Stevie (Bea):

I’m running towards my problems, and I've been led to you

Linnie (Jebediah):

Right, so what do you want me to do with this then? I can take that back if you'd not like to answer that particular call.

Stevie:

It’s like almost like it's like hot or like, you know, like, like bad, like kind of like very easily like kind of gives it up.

Stevie (Bea):

Okay, so then how do you make them leave you alone?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, usually I ask nicely. And then if that doesn't work, I salt their bones and burn them to a crisp. Usually one of the two works.

Kenzie (GM):

Jeb, as you say this… you're being honest. This is the total truth of your work and what you do. But you also know that there's one exception that none of this worked for?

Linnie (Jebediah):

You know, most of the time it works. And, well, if it doesn't, you just sort of keep investigating and sometimes you just burn the town down and get everyone to leave. And that sort of will solve the problem one way or another. I don't recommend that though, because you've got to re-home all the people. So… I'm getting the sense this is not helpful to your current moment.

Stevie:

Bea has always kind of had these very like doe -like eyes, but is looking somehow even more aggressively like a deer in the headlights and is quickly running through like in her mind of, did you actually burn down a town? Are you just saying something, trying to like assess what the fuck is being said?

Linnie (Jebediah):




All right, all right. Why don't we sit down and you just start from the beginning and tell me what exactly is happening to you?

[“Alone with the Nature” plays]

Kenzie (GM):

The East is vastly different from the West. And East Haven, while maybe a bit of a newer city, was pretty much the same as the rest of the East Coast cities. Big in manufacturing, the constant struggle between old and new money and the rather strong beliefs against anything odd or weird or in our case, supernatural.

Bea what did it look like that last day there before you left. You knew you had to, you knew there was one person that might be able to help you. And that was across the continent.

Stevie:

I think by this point these things have been plaguing Bea for a little while. And at first she kind of brushed it off and hid it and ignored it because that was what she had been raised to do. And eventually it got so, so loud that it couldn't be pushed away anymore. And any meager attempts to seek help were shut down even faster than she tried to silence her own thoughts. And so, eventually, the decision was made that it had to take matters into its own hands and go somewhere else where maybe there would be answers. And it was this simultaneous feeling of running towards the problem, but hopefully running away from the guilt. And Bea packed up a small bag with just some essentials, clothing, soap and things, maybe one book. And left as silently as possible.

Kenzie (GM):

The stories that made it east from the west were almost like the tales parents told kids to keep them in line, to scare them just a little bit. But these were always a little too real for anyone's comfort level.

You and Jeb go back inside, take a seat at this dining table, these high back chairs, and it seems like for the first time, despite the fact that you had tried this once, Jeb is open and willing to listen.

Stevie:

And Bea kind of takes what was intended to be a steadying breath, but it ends up being incredibly shaky and draws it in and out and kind of folds her hands on a table in the way that she was always taught to do and at this point it's just muscle memory that will probably never leave her system. And kind of looks down a little bit.

Stevie (Bea):

It all - it started on the day my brother died. We were touring a factory that my parents owned and he was just trying to play with me in the way we always used to do. But he was too young to realize that playing in a stream and playing in a large piece of factory equipment isn't the same. And he got caught in the water mill. And that was that. And ever since then it's just gotten worse, and it's gotten louder, and it's gotten brighter and darker and...

I can't get away from it no matter how far I run, no matter how tightly I shut my eyes. They're always there and it's never him but it's always him and I can't go on like this. If you can't help me then… I don't know.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Now. Miss Bea, I, that's - that is one - I'm sorry to hear about that. That is a - a sorrowful tale, worthy of the West.

Stevie (Bea):

I don't need your sympathy. I just need your help.

Linnie (Jebediah):

When you say, it won't stop, what exactly are you referring to?

Stevie (Bea):

Sometimes I see what I guess are spirits, ghosts. Sometimes I just hear them or feel them around me, but it's like a constant pressure. Like when you can feel a storm is coming and there's that smell in the air and your head hurts a bit. And sometimes it's a little bit lighter and sometimes it's a little bit heavier, but it’s... it's always there.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Hmm. And, have these spirits ever spoken to you? Or, is it just sort of a persistent sense that they're there?

Stevie:

No, we haven't had any real interactions, but… maybe that's on me.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Now… I - I - As much as you may not think it, you know, my job is to help people and I - I will help you. I just can't promise I will give you the answers you're seeking. To be touched by the spirits like that, it's not always a gift, but it's also not always something you can give back. That does not mean there's not ways to make it better, but I would just suggest that it's not an all-or-nothing solution here. And I can only tell you according to the ways that have worked for me. But I mean, I've seen ghosts my whole life, so it's a little less of a shock. And then, you know, it's a little… It's not something that's exactly unusual around here. So, I will think about a solution to your problems, but for now, is anything you tried worked at all?

Stevie (Bea):

I haven't really tried much, I just push it away with whatever strength I have and… Maybe it's working, and that's why I haven't spoken, interacted, had anything meaningful with anything, but it's not helping in a significant way.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah. I mean, in my life, I have found avoidance never works and you've got to face all your problems head on. And, so I, well... I was to suggest the next time you meet a ghost, that you should try - You see, ghosts are, in general, you know, they're as human as we are. They're just more confused. So they don't often react well to violence unless it's of the extreme kind. So I find asking politely often has sort of a desired effect. So I suggest next time this happens as an intermediate solution, you just ask politely for them to go away, that you can't help them, and that they're hurting you. And, Now, that being said, this town's a little strange, and that might not be the most - the best advice for this present moment. So, I'm aware that sounds a little bit conflicting, but if you think the ghost is normal, talk to it. If not, just come get me or go to Travis. The aura of disbelief off of that man will protect you from most things.

Stevie (Bea):

Okay, I can try that.

Linnie (Jebediah):

There is hope out there. Just, you know, it's hard to find and it's often buried under six feet of dirt.

[“Old Wild West Atmosphere Music” fades]

Kenzie (GM):

Bea, you feel a prickle and the hairs on the back of your neck and then you feel just a whispers touch over the skin on the back of your hand that’s placed on the arm of this chair.

Stevie:

Bea kind of looks down and picks up her hand, kind of rotates it, looking at the palm and then flipping back and looking at her fingernails. Kind of just examines it and then sets it back in its practice position.

Kenzie (GM):

As you do, you watch the arm of the chair shift and coming out at an awkward angle from the side are these bony, splindery fingers that come over and try to latch on to you.

Stevie:

Bea immediately looks to Jeb, like a kind of, are you seeing this and also help me?

Linnie:

Jeb says,

Linnie (Jebediah):




Yeah, move. Get up right now. Do not let that touch you. Let's be clear, that is not a ghost. That is bad shit.

Linnie:

Jeb’s gonna take a handful of like nails out of his pocket and throw a couple at the armchair hand.

Kenzie (GM):

Bea starts up, gets up, turns around, looks. Jeb is throwing projectiles across the table. And you see where this high back chair sat, where Bea's head was against it. You see the wood creak and crack. And then you start to realize that the back of the chair resembles a smashed face with closed eyes and a mouth starting to come open. The nails hit into the wood and you hear an exhalation from it.

Linnie (Jebediah):




What do yo want? Are you trying to eat Bea or trying to say something? Speak now or forever hold your peace.

Stevie (Bea):

At this point, Bea has kind of like run away to stand behind yeah.

Linnie (Jebediah):




Please. Stay behind me. And don’t touch anything.

Kenzie (GM):

There aren't words to answer you. The exhale sounds like a set, like settling wood, like the creek of a chair. And then -

Linnie (Jebediah):

I warn you, I am this close to setting you on fire.

Kenzie (GM):

There’s no movement any longer. But you see now that that mouth sort of stays open. The fingers stay where they've curved up and over, but they've almost latched onto the arm of the chair itself and just held.

Linnie:

Does it look like B at all? And does it seem like the nails had the desired effect or was it just lack of proximity to human life that stopped the movement?

Kenzie (GM):




For the first part of that question, it does not look like B. For the second part of that question, you'll need to roll supernatural. All right, I would like to do that. Yes. And I think Jeb would also get closer to it if needed. Okay, that is a...

Linnie:

That is a twelve… fourteen.

Kenzie (GM):

You don't think that the nails stopped it. They didn't, they seem to, it seemed to have just been a coincidence of they hit it as Bea stood and moved away from it. So you can make the assumption or the hypothesis that without B, it doesn't have anything to grasp onto.

Linnie (Jebediah):

All right, I suggest that we, for the time being, leave this building made of wood, least it come to life and start eating us. I'm gonna go find either some whiskey or some petrol.

Linnie:

And I think Jeb starts walking into the house.

Stevie (Bea):




Oh, alright then.

Stevie:




And Bea kinda does like a full body like shake, like almost to brush off the talking through the trauma, this thing trying to grab my arm, all that, and just kind of like tries to physically brush it off before following Jeb outside.

Linnie:




Yeah, I think Jeb walks out, making sure that Bea is like following close behind him. and he says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

Miss Bea, are you, armed in any way? look around for like a - do you - do you disavow violence or are you in favor of?

Stevie (Bea):

I can't say I have enough experience to have an opinion.

Linnie (Jebediah):

All right, well, I declare this is a great time to learn.

Linnie:

I think if Jeb sees like any kind of rusty rod of any kind of iron like crowbar, what have you, he's gonna pick it up and toss it at Bea. And I think he's gonna kind of cautiously approach the wagon. But maybe like from, I'm assuming you guys are still in the back at this point. So not go around the wagon, but just go to the back so the horses are still not in view.

Stevie:

I think rather than trying to catch up Bea’s instinct is to dart out of the way like in dodgeball or some shit, just step to the side.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Alright, well, yeah, you know, dodging is perfectly acceptable.

Stevie (Bea):

Oh, did you want me to...

Stevie:




And then kind of like picks it up and like brushes off some of the dirt.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Right.

Stevie:

And also like in turn brushes off, you know, any like kind of dust that has picked up onto her skirt and then will follow behind.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Alright, so if it's a ghost and you've tried asking politely and being on its level and it still won't leave you alone, then and only then, can you attempt to use that here metal bar to dissuade it from your presence. So, pure iron will usually take care of ghosts, and if it's not a ghost, you know, kneecaps are also fragile. So, that's number one. But I recommend, yes, the kneecap. Fragile.

[“Old Wild West Atmosphere Music” plays]

Ashley (GM):

At this point in the day, it's hard to tell what time it is. There's like this gray sky, like, diffusing the sunlight, so it all sort of seems, you know, just sorta like tired and sleepy, lethargic almost. But you do see like occasionally people leaving houses, going into like the general store or the bar or whatnot. Not a lot of people. Like you see maybe - Travis, you've seen maybe two or three since you've been out here. But you all sort of congregate around the wagon.

The horses are not in view unless you go around to the front. So Bea and Jeb will only have to deal with that if they choose to.

Linnie (Jebediah):




So has your wagon tried to eat you yet?

Riley (Travis):

Not particularly.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, Bea and I have just had a... an encounter, and just maybe don't sit on any chairs, or really anything. Stand up at all times. That is my current advice.

Riley (Travis):

What? We - I don't understand you. You're more confusing than wherever the hell we are right now.

Linnie (Jebediah):

There’s a ghost and it's in the wood. And if you touch the wood, it will eat. It's a bad ghost. The wood's got bad ghosts.

Riley (Travis):




See, that’s what we call context, Jeb. We use that to explain situations to people instead of saying, don't sit down on the wood. Don't sit down on anything. What? Are you two okay at least? Which one of you got almost eaten?

Stevie (Bea):




That that would be me.

Stevie:




And Bea kind of raises it’s hand up a little bit.

Riley (Travis):




You’re not in trouble, you don't have to raise your hand. I'm just making sure y'all are all right. I mean, I care about you, definitely.

Stevie (Bea):

Oh, that’s nice.

Riley (Travis):




Jeb is resourceful and I appreciate their appearance here and their somewhat unneeded watchful eye during the night before they fell asleep in our doorframe.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, I'm sorry that you, didn't want to get eaten by a ghost zombie thing.

Riley (Travis):




I wasn't really on the belief train of ghost zombie thing last night.

Stevie (Bea):




I’m sorry. Was there a ghost zombie thing?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah. you remember the, the reason I was outside looking for the spirits? That's cause there were a whole host of them out there last night. One came into the house, tried to, you know, mind whammy me. Probably is not anyone we know, but didn't seem friendly. Also, somewhat immune to iron, so that's good. But, I'm sure if you hit him with that iron bar, the bits of them that were flesh, that weren't ghost, would be hurt. So, I think it's still a solid strategy.

Stevie (Bea):




Go for the kneecaps.

Riley (Travis):




I feel like -

Linnie (Jebediah):




Mr. Travis, I think you got to be proud of this young one here.

Riley (Travis):




I’ve been proud of them.

Linnie (Jebediah):

He’s adapting incredibly.

Riley (Travis):




I've been proud of them, but I feel like no information would be better than some information because all I'm getting is no context violence.

Linnie (Jebediah):




Exactly.

Riley (Travis):




Yes, exactly. That's what I just said. I cannot. Oh, my god! All right. Alright, what are we doing here? Because clearly we shouldn't be here anymore, right? Right?

Riley:

This is more at Bea because it's like, I don't know what you've gotten out of out of Jeb yet. And I'm not responsible for the two other adults.

Stevie (Bea):

Well, have you finished up everything you need to be doing here?

Stevie:

And that was kind of to Jeb.

Linnie (Jebediah):




Well, I sort of have a duty to the folks here. So I don't, I don't know if I can exactly leave. I would absolutely recommend that you two get out of here as quickly as possible if you can. And… I have given my word to help you with your ghost issue, and so if I live and if I survive, I will make myself available to do so. My only question is, if I do die, would you still want me to come back and assist you as a ghost?

Riley (Travis):

And now Bea as out there as that is and with the problems you've saying you've been having that as long as they ain't malicious, that is - I can admit that is a valid question.

Stevie (Bea):

I mean, I'd rather not live in the hypotheticals. But I suppose yes. Though... I'm... I'm not leaving. I think,

Linnie:




Jeb turns to Travis and says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

I -I really suggest that you get out of here. I don't - I don't know if you can tell, but, this town is not long for this world. Sort of like a, an animal that has crawled away in private to find some way to, you know, to die in peace.

Riley (Travis):

Well, as much as I agree with you, there are two issues at hand, both of which are out of my control. One, this is what Bea wants. And that was kind of the whole reason they've been riding with me and helping me out with my business. So I'm not going to rip them away from it to - I can't rip him away from it because I don't know if the scent has hit either of you yet. And Bea, this is a I figure we go ahead and get over this hump now while it's daylight before the nightmare nightmare comes out. Raven and Midnight are not well.

Stevie (Bea):




Oh, did they drink the water and get sick?

Riley (Travis):

In a sense of things that I have no understanding of?

Stevie (Bea):

Are they horse ghosts?

Riley (Travis):




Creatures, I feel, is better terminology.

Stevie (Bea):




Are horses not already creatures?

Riley (Travis):




In the more morbid sense. They're not... I really would prefer you not to look at them, but that is really the only way to truly grasp the situation. Jeb, I need you to look at them. I need...

Stevie (Bea):




Oh! Oh.

Brendan (Abner):

Something in between of life and death, currently.

Linnie:

Sort of tugs his hat on and I think he looks at Abner just as like a: how much bullshit is this gonna be like? Like how bad it this?

Brendan:




Abner just gives a sad nod, which means really bad.

Linnie:

Jeb says,

Linnie (Jebediah):

All right. Okay.

Linnie:




And walks around around the side of the wagon.

Ashley (GM):




You walk around to be greeted with the site that Abner probably removed himself away from as soon as it started happening. Both of the horses are very obviously corrupted in some way. One of them has like its front muzzle just completely gone. It's just like sort of like a skeletal face on its bottom half and it's like slowly chewing something and then you realize with like growing horror that the the bursting pus filled flesh in its mouth used to be the thing attached to its face.

Linnie:

Jeb look at it and goes,

Linnie (Jebediah):




I guess that gives a new meanin' to bite in your lip.

Riley (Travis):

Shut your goddamn mouth. This is - do not joke about them like this.

Brendan (Abner):

Even I knew not to make any jokes, Jebediah. That was really bad.

Linnie:

Jebediah says,

Linnie (Jebediah):




My apologies. I did not see you there. Would not have said something that insensitive.

Riley (Travis):




The man five feet from you you just walked from?

Linnie (Jebediah):

Well, I didn't say it that loudly.

Riley (Travis):

It ain't exactly a loud street in this damn ghost town. Knock on wood on the cart.

Brendan (Abner):




You can’t knock on wood.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah, don't knock on that.

Riley:

Cautious to not have my hand eaten. There's - this area is haunted horses. All right. There's haunted wood inside the mansion if you want to ride the ride. Apparently, after it took 10 goddamn minutes to get a single piece of damn context from you.

Ashley (GM):




Abner as they are sort of having this argument to settle whatever sort of debate is happening, you look over onto the horizon and the spot that had the firelight last night, you now see there is a house or a ranch of some kind just outside of the town limits that has a small stream of smoke coming out of the chimney. And that is, with a start, you realize the first smoke that you've seen when normally, especially during cold nights, people are lighting plenty of fires, but there weren't any lights on in the town, just in that house on the edge.

Brendan:

Okay. And what about the location of the second light? Is there anything in that direction?

Ashley (GM):

The second light a little bit towards the West. It is too far away to really see in clear detail, but it looks like there is something sparkling within the Basin. It's sort of like on this like gentle slope up and what little sunlight is filtering through is hitting this and there's some silver flecks sort of like reflecting off of that.

Brendan:

Yeah so after they bicker for a little bit, Abner's gonna say,

Brendan (Abner):

So yeah we're we're stuck here for the foreseeable future which means that this town's problems are now our problems. But last night when we had our little encounter, I gave a look-see around the premises and was able to find a couple of points of interest that I think we should be getting to.

Brendan:




He’s going to point at the hill up there, the hill with the house with the smoke.

Brendan (Abner):

There might be somebody up there who knows something, because that's the only sign of life I've seen, including last night, besides these people kinda walking around.

Brendan:

And he’s gonna point to the silver.

Brendan (Abner):




And that’s catching my attention. But I don't know enough about ore, you know, to know what significance that might have, but I think that's also worthy of investigation. So I think we gotta go one way or the other before nightfall comes, because at least right now things are not as dangerous as they could be.

Riley:

Less mentally vigorous question of our GM. What level of tech are we rocking on like electricity? Like is it lights? Is it a telegraph? Is there nothing that we have? What's like the standard for the area?

Kenzie (GM):

I don't think that… at this point in time, at least in a town this small, they would have access to, like the electric age.

Linnie (Jebediah):

All right. Mr. Travis. Yes. I apologize deeply and profusely. Would you still allow me to examine your lovely creatures for any remaining information on how I might help them or what has happened before we take what I have to admit is, you know, an excellent suggestion to get out of here -

Riley (Travis):

Yeah.

Linnie (Jebediah):

As much as we can.

Riley (Travis):

Yes, I didn't need to get so loud with you. I'm just… these…

Linnie (Jebediah):




No, I was out of line. And I apologize.

Linnie:




I think, yeah, Jeb's gonna briefly try to examine the animals. I think he's gonna throw a little salt on them, look at them with his lens glasses and sort of various like - sort of press different amulets up against them to see what the effect has.

Ashley (GM):




I’ll say the initial effect of like bthrowing salt at them and pressing things to them. The salt, the midnight, the one still who still has her face, the salt like hits her muzzle and her like tongue, which is now like green, like flops out and tries to like slap herself in the face. Like she's trying to lick at the salt. And the amulets, nothing is reacting the way it would to any of the deities that you're familiar with. It seems like something took hold of these horses. And they're hollow now, but you can do a Supernatural roll to see if you can find out anything else.

Linnie:

See, that is a... 13.

Ashley (GM):

A 13? The closest you can gather - this isn't quite enough to get everything you need, but with a 13 I will say that you can tell stasis seemed to be what got them. The stasis and the night. They were out here standing and they started melding with the ground and the post and whatever life was in them was just sort of seeped away.

Linnie:




Can I examine their hooves to see if their horseshoes had any protective effects? Like, did it grow through or around the horseshoes?

Ashley (GM):

You are going to have to do a Physical roll to actually lift one of their feet and detach it from the ground, if you want to observe that.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Mr. Travis, I -

Riley (Travis):




Whatever’s gotta happen.

Linnie (Jebediah):

They are no longer... This won't hurt him is what I'm saying.

Linnie:




Yeah, I think I'm gonna pull it try to pull a leg up. And then also try to dodge out of the way in case the horse falls over on me.

Ashley (GM):

Give me a physical roll real quick.

Linnie:

That is a nine.

Ashley (GM):

You’ve seen farriers work on horses before and you try to like pull one of its back legs up and you're a little too successful in the sense that, you don't get a look at where the horseshoe is or what might've happened to that because the bone within the like the keratin part of the hoof, it like cracks apart and the bottom of it is still sticking to the ground, but now you just have like half a hoof dripping this like green and oozing black liquid. And it almost was like pulling roots out of the ground. They're like a little bit of a little bit snapping as you pulled it up, but you don't see any iron.

Linnie (Jebediah):

I apologize, Mr. Travis, this is not exactly what I expected to happen. If I may be so bold, maybe my advice to stand in one place was also bad.

Riley (Travis):

Abe would you shoot Jeb?

Brendan (Abner):

I’d love to. No, that is unfortunate that we can't sit or stand or sleep or drink.

Riley (Travis):

What’s next? No walking. No -I mean, we can't drink water.

Brendan (Abner):

We already can’t drink water.

Linnie (Jebediah):




You know, again, I'm not, I'm not one to do this, but maybe we should depart now. How does everyone else feel?

Brendan (Abner):

I think we take our chances up that hill. See who’s home.

Stevie (Bea):

I'm content to leave.

Riley (Travis):

That's only if Jeb's leaving for you, but yeah.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Yeah, no, I am, in a rare moment of agreement with, Abner. It's not running away. It is a considered retreat for us to, figure out what's happened and return, you know, with more aid and, strength.

Riley (Travis):




I might have a few things that are useful on the cart lying around. Let me at least pick and scavenge what's not melted to the wood or corrupted by the sins of the others or whatever's happening.

Linnie (Jebediah):

Exactly. Excellent suggestion.

Brendan (Abner):




Yeah, do think everybody should get their hands on something.

Riley (Travis):

Yeah, everyone feel free to grab what there's plenty of small tools. I’m sure hammers or crowbar and a little things that might be somewhat helpful. I don't have any firearms at the moment, but...

Linnie (Jebediah):

Do you have any whiskey and or petrol?

Riley (Travis):

I have things that I say are whiskey and petrol that are just herbs and spices and a blend of water and recolored.

Linnie (Jebediah):

So they're not flammable?

Riley (Travis):




I’m sure I could make something flammable. I could take a look at what I have.

Kenzie (GM):

Yeah, roll a Tech roll for that. This will be a pretty, I think a pretty low tier because you know what's in your cart and you know how to make stuff.

Riley (Travis):

Okay, better roll this time. Eight, 10, 12, 13. Only a little bit better.

Kenzie (GM):

I think you make something along the lines of like a Molotov cocktail. And you can hand that over to Jeb.

Riley (Travis):

It’ll smell like sweet tea when it comes out, but I promise you it is very dangerous.

[“Old Wild West Atmosphere Music” fades]

[“Morri Tone” plays]

Kenzie (GM):

As Abner begins to lead you all - after you've gathered the supplies you would need or you would want - from the unfortunate scene, towards this hill upon which he saw light the night prior, now a small bit of smoke.

You're walking away from the gate through which you all entered this town. Past the saloon, past the abandoned house you stayed in the night before that is starting to feel not as abandoned. Towards the chapel that lines the back with the clock tower. An interesting fact comes across Travis's mind. Is that is the way you were supposed to enter when you came in the other day from this back portion. But there wasn't a gate there. And the gate you entered through was behind you. But as you continue on this path out to outside of town there is an opening in the fence and there seems to be a road kind of leading out of Temple.

And as you get closer to it, you all can hear this mournful keening sound, like someone crying out and looking probably about twenty-five, thirty feet past this fence, right off the side of the path, you see the tall, skinny, lanky visage, the back of the sheriff. You see a figure kneeling on the ground and you see a body laid out prone.

There is this faint green tinted fog hanging about this scene, a fog that hasn't been dissipated by the heat of the morning but also a fog that is only around this little vignette.

A body that as you near you see the skin is wrinkled and puckered almost like the blood was sucked out of it. You see hollows where eyes should be.

Someone died. Last night, this morning, just some time before you got here. And you remember the warning of the share of the previous night.

Don't leave Temple after dark.

[“Morri Tone” fades out]

[“queeRPG Theme” plays]

Kenzie:

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

If you liked the episode, we’d love to hear from you so please leave a rating or review! You can also join our Discord to hang out with the cast and other fans. Or your can join our Patreon and get access to man perks some of which include our monthly queer movies nights, BTS and bloopers, and our After Show talkback. Or, we have a Ko-Fi and if an episode is really to your liking, you can tip us for all the hard work this cast and crew has put in to bringing this episode to your ears. We appreciate you listening.

And a special thank you to Scriv the Bard, the writer of this wonderful system, Bard RPG.