005 - Bounty Hunters - Lights Out

Content Warnings
- Bone crunching
- Whispers
- Auditory hallucinations
- Pain
- Corpses
- Coercion
- Overwhelm/overstimulation
- Memory Loss

[Show intro plays]

ROVER

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Remains To Be Seen, the DnD show where one group's past could determine the other group's future. I am your host and dungeon master Rover Elliott, he/they pronouns. And today I am here with,

ANNIE

Annie Ruby, she/her.

ELIZABETH

Elizabeth Simpson, she/her.

Jo Mendacium, any pronouns.

MIRA

And Mirah Fae, she/her.

ROVER

And who are you guys playing?

ANNIE

Josie, leading the way.

ELIZABETH

Corwin, now a third of her hit points gone.

Viktor, I don't have a funny intro.

MIRA

And Una, I feel completely lost in the sauce.

[Laughter]

ROVER

So, um, I will specify this: I know that normally, I have my little circle to go around. However, I think it is currently very important that Elizabeth tells us what's happened in the past couple episodes.

[Laughter]

Can you give us a quick recap of the past episodes that we now have had?

ELIZABETH

Of course. Okay, so, we...if you've been listening along, we met the party, we got out assignments. We are heading to Oxford in order to investigate the disappearance of Jonny de Rolo, the crownsmith and also person of intense interest to the bounty hunters, which are what we are. We are currently on the train to Oxford.

The big thing of note that happened just before we got on the train is, Viktor found a missing poster for someone called Aleksander Aintsworth. And was really quite affected by that, though he declined to share that with the group.

We also had some snacks. Viktor loaned Una a book—of fairytales, in particular—that also had the name Aleksander Aintsworth written in the cover...which, dun dun dun.

After that, we had a bit of a chat with Viktor and Josie. They were a bit concerned about Safra and about how this mission is going to be going. Una and Corwin had a bit of a chat, just kind of getting to know each other, feeling out how they were together.

And then, things started to go a bit weird. We saw some interesting people in the hallways of the train carriage. Viktor in particular noticed dents—or noticed tapping on the roof of the carriage, and Una, I believe it was, noticed a dent in a train carriage that was a bit further down. Josie poked her head out and was looking at some shenanigans that was going on in the hallways. There were people, ah, Mr. Briefcase, I believe we designated him? The guy with the briefcase dressed in a suit, who looked vaguely sinister.

After that, we go into a tunnel, which is a bit dark, and then all of the lights go out. And then it is a (laughs), then it is a lot dark very, very quickly. Josie cast Darkvision on Una, so that Una can see, as our one Human member of this party. We love you Una.

Love you Una!

MIRA

Love you!

ELIZABETH

And then we started to, I believe, hear more tapping that was leading toward the front of the train. And the briefcase guy, Mr. Briefcase, was heading toward the back of the train. And so now, here we are, trapped in the dark. Corwin casts Divine Sense, and senses an Undead toward the front of the train, and a Fiend, or Fiend-adjacent character toward the back of the train. Collectively, with some discussion, we decide to go to the back of the train.

Corwin sees something that has been haunting her dreams, which is lovely and terrifying. Listen to the last episode for that description. And then we cross into the train carriage, where Mr. Briefcase disappears, we see an orange Tabaxi with a grim reaper mask, who is currently alighting in Corwin's Divine Sense as a Fiend.

Oh yes, and then, as Corwin recognized that the Tabaxi was a Fiend, she took 11 psychic damage, which is a third of her hitpoints.

ROVER

So, what we have is the final sentence that Corwin would hear in the back of her head, was,

[Resonant notes play, followed by the tinklings of bells]

ROVER [as ORANGE TABAXI]

Haunting us, I see. Levy will like that.

ROVER

And then we continue with, you take 11 psychic damage.

ELIZABETH

Oof. Oof.

ROVER

Next to that, because we're—if you think we were done, absolutely not.

ANNIE

Oh, god.

Oh!

ELIZABETH

Rude.

MIRA

It's nice to have hope!

Ah, bye-bye Corwin.

[Laughter]

MIRA

Okay, nice knowing ya.

ELIZABETH

Corwin dies in episode 5.

ROVER

I would like Una to roll me a d6.

MIRA

Oh, what the— (squeals)

Oh, well.

ANNIE

Oh, boy!

TPK.

MIRA

It's a 1.

ROVER

Wonderful. So, you can hear this specific laugh…

[A quiet chuckle]

…that you've heard so many times. So many times. And you know where it's coming from. You know exactly where it's coming from. There is a small item in your...actually, where do you keep it? Where do you keep this specific item, Corwin?

ELIZABETH

Ah.

ROVER

I'm talking to Corwin.

ELIZABETH

(Laughing nervously) I suspected as much.

Oh, no.

ELIZABETH

Corwin keeps this item tucked into, tucked into a breast pocket. Or, like, tucked into her breastplate—

ROVER

Mmhmm.

ELIZABETH

—close to her heart.

ROVER

Okay. Wonderful. Yes?

ANNIE

Quick clarifying question. Una rolled the...

MIRA

A 1.

ANNIE

Was rolling the d6. Is Una hearing the laugh? Or Corwin hears the laugh?

ROVER

No, Una was just rolling the 1 because I wanted someone to roll a d6 instead of me.

ANNIE

Got it, okay! I just wanted to clarify who was hearing it.

ROVER

You're all good, yeah yeah yeah. It was just a detail. However, Una...

MIRA

Oh, okay. Yeah? (Laughs)

ROVER

In the back of your head, whispers start.

[Low, unintelligible whispers]

You can't determine what they are saying, but there is a silent note of whispers. Alright, the orange Tabaxi stands up...slowly kind of raises itself before it vanishes—

[A brief, pulsing hum]

—in a sort of smoke kind of swirl, like, around. Passengers have not noticed anything.

ELIZABETH

One question. Does the laugh continue on, or is it, you know, it...

ROVER

It's just once and then it stops again.

ELIZABETH

Ooh. Corwin is going to kind of stumble back and grab her head a little bit. She might bump into Viktor, if Jo is okay with it, yeah. Stumble back, kind of bump into Viktor, and grab her head, and then her hand immediately goes to her breastplate, over where that little box is. And she's going to try and come out of it very quickly, but she's reeling a little bit. And she's,

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Ah, ah, my—ah. What?

As Corwin is stumbling back, Viktor has cat reflexes. I'm just going to rule that for now at least. Cat reflexes when it comes to his party (laughs). He's going to kind of stabilize her, and go,

JO [as VIKTOR]

You alright, princess?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I—mmm. I don't know. It was the—what—the orange Tabaxi, they're some sort of Fiend. I heard a voice in my head, and....ah, the, the laugh.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Well they're, they're kind of gone now. I kind of need people to stop doing that because it's terrifying, but I guess one...not part of a problem anymore.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I guess?

ELIZABETH

Ro, are there any other Fiends that are detected in this room—

ROVER

Nope.

ELIZABETH

—or has it gone away now that the orange Tabaxi's gone?

ROVER

It has gone completely away.

Goddamn.

ELIZABETH

Oooh.

ROVER

The passengers are now looking at you.

I feel like—are we walking?

ANNIE

I mean, yeah, we just strode into the carriage with weapons on us, moving with a purpose, while everyone else is just like, "Oh, we're stuck. Waah."

ROVER

Yeah. Everyone's whining.

(Laughing) Stuck in the dark, by the way, and nobody's bothered...this must have happened...UK trains, you know?

ANNIE

Well, unless we're into the sun...are we into the sun...into a car that's not in the tunnel yet?

ROVER

Mmhmm.

MIRA

Yeah.

ROVER

You are now, you can, you are now with, once you get to...

Ooooh.

ANNIE

So they're not even in the dark.

MIRA

Yeah.

ROVER

They're back in daylight, yeah.

MIRA

Yeah.

ANNIE

Yeah. So Josie is beelining for the door.

ROVER

Mmhmm.

ANNIE

She is, she is, just noticed the Tabaxi doing all that, and is just like, "Nope. We need to get to where we can get more information. Pushing through.

ROVER

Alright.

MIRA

Question.

ROVER

So, you go through—yes?

MIRA

You can finish that. I will pose my question before that.

ROVER

Okay. Yeah, you go through carriage 4. You go through carriage 5. You reach the end of the door. Do you want to immediately go outside?

ANNIE

Can I quickly ask—there's no side doors? You don't load into any of the carriages, they don't have doors off the train?

ROVER

You can load into...there are side doors. I thought you meant the back one.

ANNIE

No, I was headed straight for...as soon as we were out of the tunnel, I was headed for the first side door. Was where I was going.

MIRA

Yeah.

ROVER

Got it. So the side door is currently closed.

ANNIE

I mean, I'm gonna force it open.

ROVER

You're gonna force it open? Give me a Strength check.

ANNIE

(Singing) Aaaa don't look weak now baby.

[Dice clacks]

Eghhh 13.

ROVER

You're kind of, you're kind of trying to push it open. Doesn't budge. They are, like, slide doors in from the side, and even if you try to pull it open, it's not, it's not budging.

Can we just help?

ANNIE

Yeah, I was gonna say, turn back and say,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Little help guys.

ROVER

Yeah! Give me advantage. Give me advantage.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

(Strained) Little help guys.

ROVER

And then, after this roll, I will get to Mira.

MIRA

Mmhmm.

[Dice tower clacks!]

ANNIE

Ah, much better! 21.

Yeah, there we go.

ELIZABETH

Ayyy, good job.

ROVER

Oh yeah, there we go! Side doors, you push it open.

ANNIE

Whaaa!

MIRA

Woo!

[The sound of a door sliding open. Birdsong begins]

ROVER

Alright, Mira?

MIRA

So, my question was, cause you did say that the whispers started—

ROVER

Yes.

MIRA

—in Una's mind. That would have taken over her whole concentration.

ROVER

Fair.

MIRA

So, Corwin falling back—like, I'm kind of, if that's alright, kind of rolling it back to that happened, around when you said.

ROVER

(At the same time) Yeah. Yep!

[Faint whispers begin again]

MIRA

So she would have, like, frantically...you know when you're hearing something and you don't know where it's coming from, you're kind of moving your head around? So, do the whispers get louder or change anything when she's moving her head and kind of frantically looking around, or—?

ROVER

No.

MIRA

And do they just stop?

ROVER

It's like, at the very back of your head, you can kind of hear them very, very faintly.

MIRA

Okay.

ROVER

And it just stays there. It's not, it's not budging at anything.

MIRA

But it's still happening, right?

ROVER

Yes, it's still happening.

MIRA

It's still happening. Can...so like I said, Una is completely oblivious to Josie opening the door, getting all of that done...can Una actually force herself, like genuinely I do mean the words, "force herself," to focus on it?

ROVER

Oooh. Give me a...

ELIZABETH

Smart.

ROVER

Ooh, what can we do? Ah, give me…I would say another Constitution, like a normal Constitution check.

MIRA

For focus? Constitution? Okay.

ROVER

I think so.

[Dice being rubbed between hands]

What would you normally think? I'm genuinely thinking of...

Intelligence.

MIRA

Well, if it's like, Intelligence?

ANNIE

Int or Wis.

Yeah?

MIRA

Cause Constitution...

Int or Wis, yeah.

MIRA

I mean, up to you! Up to you.

ANNIE

But you've been doing Con for the other things that are happening in people's heads, so...

ROVER

Yeah, I'm doing Con for the mental stuff, yeah.

Okay!

MIRA

For the attack. Okay, that's fine.

That's fine.

[Dice thunks]

MIRA

That is a dirty 21.

ELIZABETH

Ayyy.

ROVER

Nice! You can focus on it, indeed. And as you start focusing in on it, you can just hear,

ROVER [as WHISPERS]

(Whispering) Una, Una, Una, Una, Una.

[Whispering continues, now with “Una” able to be heard]

ROVER

It just keeps going, keeps going. And then there's very much, beneath all those whispers, it's just the sound of,

ROVER [as WHISPERS]

(Whispering) Don't...open...the box…open…the box…open…the box.

MIRA

Okay, yeah no, glazed over look, anything happening at this time.

ROVER

You are not even noticing that they are opening the door.

MIRA

Yeah, no.

[Whispers stop, birdsong begins]

ANNIE

Yeah, from...from Josie's perspective, we made our way through the train, some spooky shit happened, one of the newbies fell back, clearly injured. The other one is completely lost in space. She's just going to shoot a look over to Viktor, like, "Fucking babysitting."

[Giggles from the group]

And then—

Oh, yeah!

ANNIE

—forcing the door open.

ROVER

So, from the point that the door opens, can I have Initiative—not for fighting, but for the idea of, like, doing things.

ANNIE

Of moving in turn order.

I do not trust you, Rover.

[Laughter]

ROVER

I know. That's okay.

ANNIE

Hey, you didn't need to clarify, Initiative is Initiative.

[Lots of good dice clicks and clacks]

ROVER

Anyone above 20?

ELIZABETH

Corwin.

MIRA

Oooh!

ROVER

Corwin? Yeah. What do you have?

ELIZABETH

Uhhh, I can do maths. 22.

ROVER

Got it. Anything between 19 and 15? Anything between 14 and 10?

13.

ROVER

13.

MIRA

Well, just like in previous session, the dice have spoken. True to her misconcentration, she rolled a 10. (Laughs)

Amazing.

ROVER

And then, what did you have...Annie?

MIRA

Josie!

ANNIE

A natural 1, for a total of 2.

MIRA

(The vocal equivalent of a asksjdfjf)

Ah.

ROVER

Ooooooh.

ELIZABETH

Ooh!

Josie was too busy rolling her eyes (laughs).

ANNIE

Yeah, exactly!

[Laughter]

I'm off guard at this point, cause I'm just like, "Agh, fucking newbies."

ROVER

So yeah. Josie opens the door, which makes sense because then we are immediately at the start of it. Corwin...

ANNIE

Oh yeah.

ROVER

...it is now your turn. Did you help with opening the door, or are you also still struggling to stand?

ELIZABETH

I think she would have gone toward helping to open the door because she would have been trying to search for something kind of physical to ground herself in?

ROVER

Mmhmm.

ELIZABETH

And, like, a physical holding-onto-the-door, opening-the-door is something that she would have gravitated toward.

ROVER

Okay.

ELIZABETH

Is the Initiative us opening the door? Or is this the order that we're going through the door?

[Birdsong continues]

ROVER

The door is now open. You can now do whatever you want with it. I will say your movement speed is just normal. It is more to make sure not everyone goes at the same time doing stuff.

ELIZABETH

That makes sense.

ROVER

Yeah, so, yeah. You can do that. You want to go through the door?

ELIZABETH

Yeah, I think Corwin will probably hop down off the train and start trying to kind of crane her neck and look up toward the tunnel.

ROVER

I was, in my mind, forgetting that the train stopped.

[Laughter]

So I was like, "You're gonna hop off the train...okay."

MIRA

I saw that terror in your eyes, like (gasp)!

ROVER

Yeah. You hop off the train. And you...where are you looking?

ELIZABETH

Forward, toward the front of the train, because she's still really worried about this Undead, so she's trying to see if she can see anything amiss toward the front of the train.

ROVER

The...your Divine Sense is still focused on that Undead, and that is indeed towards the front of the train. You cannot see the full front of the train because it's further into the tunnel. Nor can you see, nor can you see anything on top of it.

I will count that in for now. Viktor?

Viktor is going to follow, like, no hesitation. Gotta protect Bubblegum Princess.

[Annie laughs]

ROVER

Got it. So you follow Corwin. Anything else you're doing?

My Darkvision…

ROVER

Yes.

I'm sorry, it's called Devil's Sight, because he's a cool emo. It goes for 120 feet. Can I see further into the tunnel?

ROVER

You can see further into the tunnel. However, just like Corwin, you cannot see anything on top of the train. Give me a Perception check.

Yes, thank you Mr. DM.

[Dice thunks]

Oh, you hate me.

MIRA

Ooh!

ROVER

I know I do.

That is a natural 20.

MIRA

Wooo!

ANNIE

Yes!

ELIZABETH

Yeah!

[Birdsong continues]

ROVER

So...like I said, you can't see anything on top of the train, you think. However, the dents along the sides and those edges are from the very back of the train, all the way to the front. They're over the entire train. And through the tunnel, there is something on the train. There is something laying on the train. It's...you can't see...from where you're standing, you can't necessarily see what it exactly is. It seems to be...it could even be that someone is laying on the train. However, you do not see anything on those sides. You only see the dents in those trains. In those trains? In the side of the train.

Would the Perception be my entire turn, or do I have time to do more?

ROVER

I will allow you to do another thing more. A small thing.

Let me just...

ROVER

If it's not a small thing, I'm gonna go Una and then come back to you later.

No, then go Una. Thank you.

ROVER

Okay, Una.

MIRA

I would say Una would kind of come back to her senses, like, seeing that the party is now moving through an open door—when did that happen?

ROVER

Yeah. So the whispers are now very quiet again in the back of your head.

[Whispers begin again, very faintly]

MIRA

But they're still there? Okay.

ROVER

Yeah, they are still there.

MIRA

She steps out of the train and, noticing how everyone is looking at the tunnel, she...and to kind of ground herself a bit more, she would crouch down and would look at the tracks of the train, under the train itself. Kind of like, taking the moment of...she needs a moment to breathe. She doesn't want it to be known. So she kind of makes a clear action to follow to sell it, as well—

ROVER

Okay.

MIRA

—but she would try and pay attention, as well.

ROVER

So, if you look under the train, there is...and I can already say, even with a Perception check, you cannot determine anything under the train that isn't supposed to be there.

MIRA

That's fine. Can I see where the train is connected, between the compartments? Cause I did ask that earlier.

ROVER

Yes.

MIRA

Okay.

ROVER

Sorry, yes.

MIRA

That's fine. That's fine.

ROVER

I didn't hear that. There is a...I do not know enough about trains. Where they're connected, they're connected between 5 and 6, basically.

MIRA

Okay.

ROVER

Carriage 5, carriage 6. And there are kind of like these railings, these balcony railings, I would call them, on the sides of it, so that if you go through the back door, you don't immediately fall off as the train is, you know, going.

[Laughter]

MIRA

Right, right. Oh, we're thinking Western trains! I like it.

ROVER

There is a ladder on both sides of it, that you could go up.

MIRA

How many compartments was there? Cause we were in number 3.

ROVER

10.

MIRA

10. It was 10. Okay. Okay. Yeah, just do that—kind of taking a moment.

ROVER

Okay. Josie.

ANNIE

Alright, well...Josie is going to immediately follow them out, turn toward the front of the train and be looking, but is also going to say to Viktor, "See anything?" And I guess I can roll Perception? I don’t know.

ROVER

Feel free to have the conversation, even though we're in the Initiative.

ANNIE

Yeah, okay.

Oh, yeah, he's—I'm not going to roleplay.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

You see anything up there?

Oh, yeah, I can roleplay that. Viktor's going to be like...

[Dice clacks]

JO [as VIKTOR]

Yeah. Thing on the roof. Not quite sure what it is. Could potentially shoot it from here.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Is it moving?

Is it? Ro? Ro? Is it moving?

ROVER

It is not moving...

JO [as VIKTOR]

Nope.

ROVER

From what you can see, it is not moving in the way that it should. If it's moving, it is dragging itself.

ANNIE

Mmm.

MIRA

So there's a velocity behind it, okay.

(Retches) (Laughs)

[Laughter]

MIRA

(Softly) Wait...

ANNIE

Can I—by the way, dirty 20 Perception. Can I also perceive it, or...?

ROVER

Dirty 20 Perception. Yes, you can now also perceive it.

ANNIE

Okay.

ROVER

It seems to be...like, again, you can't really tell what it is. However, it seems to be lying face-first, and you can just see the back of a humanoid head.

ANNIE

Mmm!

ROVER

You can't really determine much more out of it from this angle.

ANNIE

Okay!

ELIZABETH

Is it clear from Divine Sense, is this—is that thing, I know Corwin hasn't seen it...

ROVER

Yes.

ELIZABETH

...but is that thing Undead or Fiend?

ROVER

Yes. That is exactly where your Divine Sense will be coming from. Speaking of your Divine Sense, Corwin, it's your turn.

[Birdsong continues]

I think, hold up—before, only if Josie still wants to do anything?

ANNIE

No. That's all I wanted to do.

ROVER

Got it.

ANNIE

I'm strategizing with Vik at this point.

ROVER

Got it. Yeah, Corwin.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

It's, it's Undead, I think. It's—I can feel it. It's wrong, but it's Undead.

ROVER

Want to do anything else?

ELIZABETH

I don't know...I know, I was trying to think if there's anything else that she can do with her turn. I think she will mostly look to Josie and Vik and Una, and just kind of ah, like, "Here's the information I have."

[Laughter]

"Marching orders?"

ROVER

Got it. Just gonna check—Viktor, you have an idea, I think?

It is within 120 feet range, right? Because I can see it.

ANNIE

Oooh.

ROVER

I will say so, yes.

ANNIE

Mmm. Right.

(In a high voice) Umm, Mr. DM, I think I might want to provoke that little monster you're throwing at us?

ROVER

Okay, yeah, sure. Yes, sure.

MIRA

(Softly) Oh no.

Viktor is going to ready an Agonizing Blast. This is the one that was described in, I don't know which episode. Session 1.

ROVER

Episode 2.

Yeah, where he…he says to the rest of the people, not really looking at them, but to the rest of the people, being like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Alright. Provocation incoming.

And he grabs behind him into the, like, there's nothing but air behind him, right?

ROVER

Mmhmm.

But as he pulls his arm up, there's an arrow made of shadows in his hands. And he stretches out his left arm, as if you were shooting a bow, nocks it in, and shoots at the thing. And I do believe I have to do a Ranged Spell Attack, and I'm not quite sure what I do now. (Laughs)

ROVER

Give me the attack roll.

Is it just d20 and then plus my thing?

ROVER

Yes, it is.

Okay. (Far away) I need my thing. Oh, I should say that in the mic. I need my thing. Have your character sheets with you all the time.

ELIZABETH

Even in real life, just in case.

ANNIE

Mmhmm.

What's that number? Math.

MIRA

The biggest enemy.

Okay, what's 18 plus 7? (Laughs)

ANNIE

25.

ELIZABETH

(Wrongly) 26.

ROVER

Oh, it's good enough, that's what it is!

[Laughter]

Oh nice!

MIRA

(Laughing) You had me at 18.

[Annie laughs]

ROVER

Give me the damage.

Oh, oh my god. Ah...

[Laughter]

ROVER

To explain outloud, this is Eldritch Blast that you're casting, right?

Yeah, it...no, no. Yeah, it's Eldritch Blast. With my invocation, it becomes Agonizing Blast, which means that you essentially, as a warlock, use one of your cantrips that does damage, and you add your Charisma modifier to it, plus the damage you roll. Which is nice because warlocks are high in Charisma.

That is not a d10. What does a d10 look like? Help. Help me.

MIRA

It looks like this. (Presumably holding up a d10)

ROVER

A little kind of diamond...

ELIZABETH

It looks like the percentile die.

MIRA

It has 5 sides (laughs) on each side.

Alright.

ROVER

Yeah.

[Soft dice thunks]

ELIZABETH

(Unhelpfully) It goes up to 10.

(Audibly smiling) Guess what I rolled?

ROVER

Did you roll a 10?

Give me a second. It is a 10, plus 5.

ELIZABETH

Nice!

So this is 15.

ROVER

15 damage.

It's force damage, but the way, not psychic. It goes in your head. It does not leave a wound, I decided, because I think it's cooler that the shadow arrow is just hitting this thing's back of the head, goes inside, does not come through on the other side. And is just in there.

[A low thrum builds, the ends in an explosion]

ROVER

Okay, cool.

ELIZABETH

That is cool.

ROVER

So that happens. I will say, before Una and Josie can do something, with that...we can kind of fall out of Initiative before anything happens.

Did I kill it? Oopsie.

MIRA

No, I don't think so.

ANNIE

Womp womp.

ROVER

Nothing happens...

Oh!

ROVER

...for a moment. It keeps laying there. Until you see kind of the head of it—

[Bones cracking]

—turns. And with agonizing, slow movement, it pushes itself back to the end of the carriage.

[A low hum builds, bones continue to crack]

or to where, like, under the tunnel through.

And once it's out of there, it stands.

[A stretching, creaking, cracking sound]

And with it, I mean this kind of humanoid body. Give me a Perception check, everyone.

[A low hum begins in the background]

Yeah. Amazing.

MIRA

Now?

Great. Thank you. This now is a horror podcast.

MIRA

You mean, now?

Welcome to Ro's mind. (Laughs)

ELIZABETH

This is excellent.

[Dice clacks]

MIRA

It’s an 11.

(Laughs) The horrors of getting to know each other? I don't know, dude.

ROVER

You guys wanted to investigate, hey.

MIRA

Investigate, that's—(laughs). It's like a shark investigates something in the water worth biting!

[Dice clacks]

ANNIE

(Laughing) 18.

ELIZABETH

That's a 14 from Corwin.

ROVER

11, 14, 18, and Viktor?

Ah, 17.

ROVER

17.

ANNIE

Right all in the pocket.

Yeah.

ROVER

Anyone above a 15, so that will be Viktor and Josie.

[Low hum and faint cracking sounds continue]

You guys—once this humanoid stands, it is not touching the floor.

(Gags)

MIRA

(Softly) Oh, holy shit.

ANNIE

Nice.

ROVER

It seems to kind of be just levitating above the roof of the train. And it has this, kind of, thievish, assassin clothes, like full black. And on the side of it is this patch of a specific chess piece. And it is a chess piece of a horse, like a horse in the game of chess. And it stands, it has its head kind of tilted down. Eyes seem to be closed. And…

[Metallic tapping]

…it moves. Like, the body doesn't move, something is moving it. Like levitating forward.

Oh!

ELIZABETH

Oooh.

Oh, I love it.

ROVER

Because of Viktor's natural 20s in the previous episode, to find the dents, so did Una, I think. Una, I think, also saw the dents in it, you can see that these dents are happening in the sides of the train, while it is going forward. You cannot see anything with it.

[Tapping continues. The stretching, creaking, cracking sound returns]

And then, it vanishes again—

[Humming and cracking crescendoes, then all sounds cease]

—like the same others. Like, there's this kind of shadow smoke whirl before it's just pfft, gone.

[Birdsong returns]

And from that point, you can also see that the lights in the train start flickering again, and then, the train lights go back on.

Aaaaaaah (laughs).

MIRA

As it was standing up, was it creating dents anywhere else around it? Cause obviously, you said, actually...

ROVER

Yes.

MIRA

...that the tunnel was not big enough for anything to be standing. So I'm wondering...

ROVER

You're giving me an idea. However, I want Josie to roll a Nature check, and I will explain why after this.

ANNIE

Ha ha ha! Okay, give me one second.

ELIZABETH

Ho oh!

ROVER

With Advantage, actually. With Advantage.

Oh!

ANNIE

Excellent.

[Wonderful dice tower clacks]

ELIZABETH

Oh, feeling generous.

ANNIE

That's good, I need it.

[Dice clickety clacks continue]

I...I don't trust any of this.

ANNIE

18.

ROVER

18.

ELIZABETH

Let's go!

ROVER

There is only one thing that could place itself in that certain way, and if you, at some point, with Viktor telling you that there's taps...in that speed, it would be a way a spider crawls.

MIRA

Yeah....

ROVER

Like, it's just, tap tap tap tap, dents, dents, dents. But it's gone.

Nope.

[Laughs]

I'm out (laughs). Viktor goes back to London.

ELIZABETH

Invisible spider with a shadow puppet? Oh my gosh.

This was genuinely what I had in my mind. It was the reason why I said, oh it's a horror podcast now. Because I had this puppeteer feeling, but like an eight-legged thing doing all the indentation.

ANNIE

Yeah, hi Annabelle.

MIRA

Was the face visible, of that thing?

ROVER

The face was visible, of this person. You...what did you roll, with your—you rolled an 11. So, with an 11, yeah, you saw the head tilted down, eyes are closed. It seems to be a human. Brown, short hair. Male. Kind of slight facial hair. And it seemed almost lifeless.

Quick question. Would it be a face that either Josie or Viktor recognize from Bounty Hunter posters?

ROVER

No.

Okay.

MIRA

I'm scared to ask if I recognize it, to be honest with you.

ROVER

Um...you don't recognize it either.

MIRA

(Laughing) Oh, thank fuck.

Yet.

[Laughter]

ELIZABETH

I'm also scared to ask! Does Corwin recognize it?

ROVER

No—aaaaaa?

Oh!

ANNIE

Oh, I don't like that!

MIRA

That's the sound that the puppet makes when it reels.

ROVER

I need to know. I need to know. I say, Corwin with a 14 (sharp inhale)...I will say, with Josie and Viktor rolling a 17 and an 18 on their Perception check, they could see what the actual chess piece was. You can kind of determine that it seems to be some form of a chess piece, since you rolled a 14. You know that…you have killed people with those things on their shirts before. However, they definitely did not look like this. They were running; they were alive. It was not this.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I...I can't see it really clearly, guys, but I could've sworn that was...it was like, there was this group that attacked a friend of mine, and it...they wore that symbol. But they were alive. They weren't like this!

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Alright.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

They weren't whatever was wrong with this guy. They weren't Undead, I would have known.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Back on board before they leave us behind, and then you gotta tell us everything you know about 'em. Okay?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Of course, yeah.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Alright. After you, princess.

ROVER

Do you guys head back on the train? Someone else want to do anything before that?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Oh, Corwin, you got a little hurt back there, didn't you? I saw you stumble.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I did. I...yeah. Something with my head? I don't know, but yeah.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Here.

[Excellent dice tower clacks]

ANNIE

And uh...sorry, hold on, let me get the actual rolls going here.

[Dice clacks continue]

But I cast Cure Wounds, and that is 2d8. Ah, I rolled the wrong dice, hold on.

[Dice ASMR continues]

2d8 plus my spellcasting ability, which is 4. So that was, that's 8 points back.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Oh, ah, thank you! I could've, oh—thanks. I really appreciate that. Thank you.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Ah, it's fine.

ROVER

Got back on the train? Yeah, you can hear that it's being called over,

ROVER [as CONDUCTOR]

(Over the intercom) Whatever was wrong with the train has been fixed. We will be moving again. We should arrive in Oxford in about half an hour.

Oh! Nice.

ROVER

Alright, are you guys gonna get back in the compartment that you were in? In carriage 3?

Yeah.

ANNIE

Yeah.

I feel like we also kind of left our stuff there, because we didn't specifically say that we take our backpacks or whatever.

MIRA

I didn't really have anything on me, so...(laughs)

ANNIE

Right, I only grabbed my weapons, not anything else, so yeah definitely going back for that.

Yeah. I would not put away my weapons.

ANNIE

Oh yeah! I'm now sitting back down with them. They are on my person. Yeah.

ROVER

(Suspiciously) Are they?

[Anxious silence]

[Ro laughs]

ELIZABETH

Are they???

ANNIE

Are they??

ROVER

(Audibly smiling) Yes they are. I was messing with you guys. I just love the feel, the look of...

[Laughter]

Everyone was just like, "What the fuck?"

ANNIE

"Huh??"

[Laughter]

ROVER

No, they are. Your stuff is there. Your stuff is there.

ELIZABETH

Una's like, it doesn't matter, I can create weapons.

Also, quick thing because English isn't everyone's first language, the horse in a chess game is a Knight.

ELIZABETH

Oh, thank you.

[Train begins to rattle as it moves]

MIRA

Am I still hearing voices, DM?

ROVER

Yes, you can still hear them in the back of your head, yep. They're still going.

[Whispers begin. Train whistle blows]

And once the train starts moving again, they become slightly louder.

[Whispers grow louder]

MIRA

Louder?

ROVER

Louder.

MIRA

Like...can...okay.

ROVER

How it starts at the beginning is...I don't know if this is gonna be on audio, but I'm gonna explain it for the game:

How it sounds is like, (low, unintelligible whispers) at the start.

MIRA

Yeah.

ROVER

And then after that, it's just, (louder, but still unintelligible, whispers).

MIRA

Are they saying anything, or is it just—?

ROVER

It's just noise. It's just noise.

MIRA

It's just like a room full of people, kind of noise. It's getting louder the further we go in, you say. Sorry, I'm panicked cause I need to decide what I do right now! Aaaaahhh.

These are canon noises from Una. (High-pitched squeal)

[Laughter]

MIRA

(High-pitched squeal)

ELIZABETH

This is the Una loading noise.

MIRA

Do-do-do-do. (Laughs) No, if they are getting louder the further we are traveling on the train, Una will start showing the signs of like...cause it's unpleasant. It's pain. But if anyone is talking to her...you know like when a very loud noise happens, and you just hear (high-pitched tone) from like the outside ear?

ROVER

Mmhmm.

MIRA

That's basically what she would be hearing. It's muffled, like too much focus going on on this, trying to discern it. Why. Maybe she...internal dialogue for the special effects, she would just start going.

MIRA [as UNA, in her head]

Stop. Stop. Stop. (Louder) Stop it!

MIRA

And just kind of doing that.

ROVER

Yeah. Out loud?

MIRA

No. In her mind.

ROVER

Inside.

MIRA

In her mind.

ROVER

Got it. Got it.

Motherfucking Insight check on Una.

ROVER

Okay.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, I was gonna say, can the rest of us...?

ROVER

Yeah, go for it.

ELIZABETH

I know that we don't like to do player rolls.

ROVER

I...with Insight, I think there's a difference in between Persuasion and Deception and stuff.

[Dice thunks]

Yeah.

ANNIE

Yeah.

[Dice clacks]

ROVER

If someone wants to lie to someone, like about a backstory thing or something, I will not do Deception rolls, because I feel like I do not want people to actively force things out of someone else.

MIRA

Yeah.

Yeah yeah.

ANNIE

Right.

ROVER

Same with Persuasion. And I think it can be really, actively very messy with assigning DCs on what to tell from your story.

ANNIE

Yeah, sure.

ROVER

I think Insight on if someone's actively doing okay is different.

MIRA

Mmhmm.

ROVER

But yeah, go for it.

ANNIE

Dirty 20.

ELIZABETH

Ah, an 11.

ROVER

Jo, I think you need new dice.

MIRA

What was it?

So, can I also say why? Because I think it's funny. If it is, Lizzie allows. So I rolled a natural 1.

ROVER

Oh, okay.

And I think what obscures Viktor's view, is just Corwin wanting to get the seat next to the window, because looking out is fun, or something like that? So completely view obscured by Corwin's body.

ELIZABETH

That is completely, yeah, and if Corwin is sitting next to Viktor, she’s probably kind of like, anxiously tapping a foot. And like, kind of like being...like she's just…

Ah! Yeah.

ELIZABETH

So I can see Viktor, maybe Viktor is a little preoccupied.

[Whispers return. Train ambience continues.]

ROVER

Una.

MIRA

Me.

ROVER

You...can you explain what Una looks like when she's actively trying to do that? Like, facial expressions. Or is she trying to hide it?

MIRA

No, I think at that point, there's too much focus on trying to stop it, if she can.

ROVER

Yeah.

MIRA

So, it will be definitely like, she basically looks like she has a massive headache. Cause she's holding her head, just not focusing. If you guys are talking about something in the background, and maybe even asking for her input or waiting for her input, she's not paying attention. She's completely, like, just in pain. She looks in pain, with like a headache.

Aww.

ANNIE

Can I take it that Josie's the only one who noticed, out of us?

ROVER

Yep. Yep.

ANNIE

Alright. That makes sense, cause we were the ones closer to the door, whereas the other two were closer to the window, so...

ROVER

Yeah.

MIRA

Yeah yeah yeah.

ANNIE

Josie's gonna kind of lean across to Una and softly be like,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Hey, newbie—

MIRA [as UNA]

Mmm.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

You good? Did it, did it get you with something?

MIRA [as UNA]

I...it's something...

ANNIE

Probably touches you on the wrist to get your attention.

MIRA [as UNA]

(Heavy breath) Something's wrong. Too much noise.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Migraine?

MIRA [as UNA]

No, no, I'm...I'm getting one. (In pain) Aaagh!

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Mmm.

MIRA [as UNA]

It's just...it's just loud. I don't know what they're saying. (Pained noise)

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

What they're saying? What who's saying? We need more information here. If that thing did something to you, then we need to figure out how we can stop it. So, try to push through. It's okay.

MIRA [as UNA]

It's just...(Deep, shaky breath) like I'm in a room full of people. I don't know what they're saying. I don't know if that thing's done something...I don't think so. Like, Viktor got it good, but...I don't know.

[Whispers grow louder]

ROVER

You can hear, in between those mumbling voices, you can just hear,

ROVER [as WHISPERS]

(Whispering) Una. Stay...quiet. (Overlapping) Stay…Una…quiet. Stay quiet. Do not open the box. Stay quiet. Una. Do not open the box.

ANNIE

Josie is looking over at Viktor, kind of going,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Whispers in the back of the head sounds kind of more like your field of expertise?

Oh, through Message, or out loud?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

As in, what is causing a bunch of people to be whispering in the back of newbie's head here, and giving her a migraine. Not my—

Oh, no no, sorry, above table, just for me as a player. Do you—

ANNIE

Oh oh oh! I'm sorry, sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry.

Do you say that...

ANNIE

I thought you were asking Josie.

Yeah yeah, do you say that via Message, or out loud?

ANNIE

No no, I say that out loud. I'm just saying it to you. I'm just being like, "You got anything?"

Oh, Josie has such bad beside manners. What the fuck (laughs).

ANNIE

Of course! Of course she does! What do you mean! (Laughs)

JO [as VIKTOR]

Pardon? I'm sorry, I'm, I'm not really following right now.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Um, newbie here says, getting a migraine, sounds like room full of people inside her head. Getting louder. Don't know if it's the thing we just saw, or what's causing it, or—not really my field of expertise. Seems more like your thing.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I'm not a therapist.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

You are a warlock! You do commune with something elsewhere!

JO [as VIKTOR]

Okay—

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Do you not?

JO [as VIKTOR]

I…Woah, woah, woah. (Laughs)

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Not really my thing.

[Laughter]

MIRA

Wait, is that still in the Message that you guys are talking like that, or—?

No, it's aloud.

MIRA

Oh, it's out loud.

ANNIE

No, no, we're out loud!

MIRA

Oh!

MIRA [as UNA]

I'll be fine.

ANNIE

Josie does not have tact.

MIRA

Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry! That escaped me.

MIRA [as UNA]

I'll be fine. It's, it's...I don't know, maybe a side effect of, well, being here.

MIRA

She just gestures to herself (laughs).

JO [as VIKTOR]

Alright. Let's, regardless, do the rundown. So, the thing on the roof did not attack any one of us, I assume? I didn't see anything apart from it vanishing. So, did you recently…make a pact with anything? Like a demon, a shadow, a god?

MIRA [as UNA]

Wha—?

JO [as VIKTOR]

That's usually how you get things stuck in your head, in my experience.

MIRA [as UNA]

Oh.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Apparently, it's my field of expertise now, so we're doing this.

He...he's going to kind of crouch down in front of Una, like, you know, a parent trying to figure out why your knee is hurting.

[Laughter]

Looking up at you, and very awkwardly trying to hold this conversation (laughs).

MIRA

Oh! In the meantime, Una would be like, cause obviously if she gets instruction, she would fire back, “I'll stay quiet if you shut up.”

MIRA

Like literally just,

MIRA [as UNA, silently in her head]

I'll stay quiet if you shut up.

MIRA

It's like, she shoots back that message to whatever is talking to her.

ROVER

It's purely...it's not getting louder and louder and louder and louder. It is gradually getting louder.

[Whispers continue]

MIRA

Mmhmm.

ROVER

And it...can't say anything.

MIRA

Okay.

ROVER

I can't. It's a reasoning that would be an explanation for absolutely nothing.

MIRA

Fair enough.

ANNIE

Yeah, of course.

ELIZABETH

Oh, fair. Can Corwin do...I don't know if this would make sense—can Corwin do a Medicine check? Like a mundane Medicine check? Cause Apollo, Temple of Apollo is medicine-related?

ROVER

Yes, you can.

I feel like, even if it doesn't help, it's what Corwin would do in that situation, right?

MIRA

(Laughs) That's cute.

ANNIE

Yeah, true.

ELIZABETH

Yeah. So she's gonna kind of join you on the floor...

[Laughter]

...in front of Una, cause she's like, "Okay, this is what we're doing now."

ROVER

Josie, there is now no space. You're like, having to, if you're sitting down, Josie, you're having to pull your legs up onto the couch, because everyone decided to sit on the floor, apparently.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

Yeah, no, Josie is standing and moving and, like, shuffling out of the way over by the door.

[Laughter]

Don't fucking crowd me. (Laughs)

ROVER

Lovely. Alright, continue Corwin.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Una, do you mind if I, if I look you over?

ELIZABETH

And she kind of, like, with your consent would put a hand on your temple.

MIRA

Very gently, actually very gently like, not swat you away, but just very gently like,

MIRA [as UNA]

I...I need a minute. I...

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Okay.

MIRA

She would get up and actually get out of the door, and just—not necessarily walk away, but just kind of stand in the corridor, just like...Cause obviously, too much. Too much in there. She's just like, "Okay. Crowding. Too much. Overruled. Let's go." Kind of.

MIRA [as UNA]

I'll be fine!

ANNIE

Josie will go back over and sit down, but be sitting facing the door, watching.

Right. Right right. Guard dog Josie.

ANNIE

Big time.

ELIZABETH

Corwin is gonna stay seated on the floor. (Laughs)

Yeah, Viktor, same.

ANNIE

Criss-cross!

Like, criss-cross applesauce.

ANNIE

Yes!

Like, looking at, I feel like this is now his, kind of, field-experiment kind of situation, right? We don't really know what's up with Una. Una doesn't know what's up with Una. And now, Una's suddenly hearing voices, and he's like, in his head, going through all the books he might have read. I might ask you if I can roll something, Ro, in a second. But like, looking at Corwin, like, in my head, they're like little children trying to figure out the big mystery, kind of. It's very adorable. I love them.

MIRA

Red string and everything.

ELIZABETH

I love them so much.

[Train noises continue faintly in the background]

He's going to be like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

So, anything from your field of expertise about, you know, suddenly hearing voices?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Well, ah—

ELIZABETH

Corwin's gonna kind of snap into a more business-y mode than you'll have seen.

Oh!

ELIZABETH

Cause this is something that she will have studied. But I mean, still, that's not saying like a lot.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Well, there are migraines, if I remember properly, that come with some sort of audio...an audio element? I don't know if maybe Una...maybe it's an effect from her being caught in the figurine? Maybe it's...that could be just a migraine symptom, but that thing was Undead, and that shouldn't exist, so it could be a symptom of that as well. Have you read anything about this? You read everything, from what I've heard.

Thank you, Lizzie, I love you.

[Laughter]

Ro, is there something I can roll to see if Viktor has read anything about, like, not—yes, the Zombie kind of thing, but also, just hearing voices in general? Any curses, any maybe medical things? You know, he reads about everything.

ROVER

I'm gonna...I'm gonna kind of retcon this specifically for Viktor. I will let you roll the skill that you have on that. However, purely for this, it is, when it's mentioned, it's just about what you've read. So if you would read—if you, for example, want to know something about the history from something that you've read, you roll a History check. For now, if you want to know something about medicine, I will allow you to roll a Medicine check purely to find out what you know about this, from a medical point of thing.

That's fine.

ROVER

If that makes sense for anyone.

I think that makes sense to roll the specific check you would roll if you had that skill, right?

ROVER

Yes. It's kind of more like a Knowledge Medicine, rather than a—

Yeah yeah.

ROVER

—a thing. I think for specifically about reading books, I will allow you to do that.

Okay. Because I think a little bit of, essentially, homebrewing stuff—Ro and I talked beforehand about Viktor reading books, because he just does that a lot, right? But you have to kind of make it work in the game. So we're like, yeah, you could do an Intelligence saving throw to see if he remembers shit, but I like this idea as well.

Yeah, I think he would go for what he knows about medicine, since we're talking about medicine. He wants to keep up with the new person in front of him.

[Dice thunks]

That's a natural 20!

MIRA

Wooooh!

ROVER

Okay, you have weighted dice. Jesus christ.

ELIZABETH

Yes!

ANNIE

Jesus christ.

MIRA

Well, it was a nat 1 before, so...(laughs)

ELIZABETH

Yeah, I was gonna say, they're fairly even.

They've been all over the place. With my Medicine skill, that would bring me to a natural 20. I have nothing in Medicine.

[Laughter]

MIRA

I love it.

ROVER

Can you roll me, because of the natural 20, can you roll me a Religion check?

Oh! I like when I get extra stuff.

[Dice thunks]

MIRA

Holy fuck.

See, this is not a natural 20.

MIRA

(Laughs) However...

ELIZABETH

However, it's a 19.

MIRA

(Laughing) However, it's a dirty 20.

ANNIE

Yeah, right?

No, it is—ah, they are really hard to read—it's a 16 plus 3, so a 19.

ANNIE

It is a 19! There you go!

MIRA

Lizzie was on the money!

[Transcriber's note: my powers are great, fear me]

Yeah.

ROVER

So, what you've read is that, for when it comes to medicine, you can determine all kinds of diagnoses, more from, like, therapy books. And if you're looking into headaches, you're kind of reaching more towards migraines and stuff like that from the knowledge that you have.

However, if you're looking...I'm gonna...in my head, I see a mind palace of Viktor, right? With all the books.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

A mind-brary.

MIRA

Beautiful.

I now will say it correctly, as opposed to the first time I said it. It's very much like Sherlock, not Doctor Who, Sherlock with Benedict Cumberwumble (laughs). Like, seeing all the words, and he has his little mind palace. But it's without the queerbaiting. Just saying.

ROVER

So, when you reach into the mind palace, you can kind of find this knowledge about, back when the Hades cult was still alive. You know that there has been parts of that where they are actively trying to invoke specific...magical effects? Either from their god or from the people in there.

Like, there are multiple sides of the Cult of Hades and the Church of Hades. This is not a Church of Hades effect. This is a Cult of Hades effect.

Right. So there is a specific difference. There is a difference between these two. Okay.

ROVER

Yes. If...you are unsure if it's about the people in the cult, or if it's the way that Hades would interact with that cult, basically.

Mmm.

ROVER

And with that knowledge, I would like everyone except for Una to deafen for a moment in this call.

ELIZABETH

Oh!

ANNIE

Ah, ok!

ROVER

So that no one will hear anything with Una.

MIRA

Okay.

ANNIE

(Singing) Goodbye!

ELIZABETH

(Singing) Bye!

ROVER

Hello Una.

MIRA

Hello.

[Whispers begin again]

ROVER

So, once you leave the compartment that you guys were in, where would you have gone to stand for a moment, to kind of calm down?

MIRA

So I probably would have just, not go too far. But kind of get out of the...you know how you leave the compartment? How I imagine it is, there is a door, there's windows, you know, like...

ROVER

Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. There's a small hallway to your left, to your right.

MIRA

Yeah, going either left or right, but kind of offshoot. Kind of standing in front of the, not in front of the door, but like, overlapping with the very next section, so to speak. So not far. Like really not far. Just step out, kind of be like out of view, per se, if she can help it. Cause she just really needs the stimuli to be like, "I just need to be alone." (Laughs)Kind of thing.

ROVER

Yeah. So, as you stand there, the voices actively become louder, for a moment, and louder.

[The whispers grow]

But it's not actively crowding the mind. It starts to become this echoing space that you're in.

MIRA

Mmhmm.

ROVER

And if you look around, you can see that there are also no passengers in the part where you are at.

MIRA

Mmhmm.

ROVER

It's like all the passengers are now either so quiet in every single carriage that they're not noticeable, or they are just not there.

[Low, thrumming hum begins. The whispers continue.]

And from your head, you can hear this kind of more...this kind of gravelly, deeper voice, almost in an echoing space, with a, sort of like a growl in it. Just goes,

ROVER [as THE VOICE]

I will quiet them down. Once you enter Oxford and leave again, don't return back here unless requested.

MIRA [as UNA]

But why me? I didn’t ask for any of this.

ROVER [as THE VOICE]

I'm sure you didn't. I'm sure others did. Now go sit down, and sit in the carriage. The whispers will go away, and you will not interact with this in a way that could harm the box.

MIRA [as UNA]

You keep your little puppets away from my mind, and you have a deal.

ROVER [as THE VOICE]

I will make sure they stay quiet for now. And you have a deal. You can't stop me, no matter how powerful you think you are. I will not be silenced by some mortal who decides to follow along for their own benefits.

MIRA [as UNA]

Then who are you? Do you know my family?

ROVER [as THE VOICE]

Do you?

MIRA [as UNA]

Um…I’m starting to think the less I know, the better.

ROVER [as THE VOICE]

That's what I thought. Have a nice trip.

[Una scoffs]

ROVER

And then the...echo that is that voice kind of…it fades out in a way, together with the voices, before it just turns immediately just quiet.

[The humming echo and the whispers fade away]

MIRA

Mmhmm.

ROVER

And it's not even just eerie quiet. It's just, you can think again, you can breathe again. And yeah.

[Quiet train ambience begins again]

Does Una go back to the compartment, or does she stay kind of outside of it?

MIRA

She would probably take like two more minutes, and then she can walk back in to when you think it's appropriate for the rest of the team? I don't want to interrupt.

ROVER

Okay. Understood.

MIRA

But you just say, she just walks back in. Yeah.

ROVER

Will do, alright. Don't mind us, you guys were in a conversation back in the compartment.

It's okay, you have your favorites. (Laughs)

ANNIE

Am I seeing anything happen?

ROVER

Nothing happened...

ANNIE

Remember I'm keeping an eye—my eyes are not leaving her. Okay.

ROVER

Yeah, yeah yeah yeah. But it was Josie, like, still wanting to keep your eyes on Una by…

ANNIE

Yes.

ROVER

Okay.

ANNIE

Yep. Newbie's not getting out of my sight. I am babysitting.

Awww.

ROVER

Yeah, so she at some point actively walked towards a part far enough from the compartment.

ANNIE

Could I still see her from the compartment?

MIRA

I mean—

ROVER

Give me a Per...yeah…what is your Passive Perception, actually?

ANNIE

I...14.

ROVER

Okay.

ANNIE

But I will say, if she's walking out of my sight, I'm standing up and popping the door open. I'm not gonna approach, I'm not following, but I am just keeping to where line of sight is now being broken, full stop.

ROVER

Okay, you can keep line of sight. I will let Mira decide if she has wanted to make sure that she's, that's Una's out of view fully.

MIRA

No. She would have walked out to like, literally just have some space to herself. But, essentially all you're going to be seeing is her just standing there. If there's a railing that she can lean over, just kind of like just...You know.

ANNIE

Yeah.

MIRA

She has a migraine, apparently. So she's just trying to wind down.

ANNIE

Yeah. Right.

MIRA

Breathing.

ANNIE

Hundred percent. And Josie is not, like I said, not following, not trying to interfere with it all. Just needs to make sure I can see you. But, hey yeah, migraine, you go deal with it. That's chill. I'm right here.

ROVER

Okay. Cool. So then, what Una then can see if she actively, if she wanted to go to the railing to kind of just lean and get a breather, you guys arrive in Oxford. The train enters the city. And Una, this...it feels familiar. Every single part of this feels familiar, however, you cannot determine anything out of it.

[Brakes squeal as the train comes to a stop]

Even as the train rolls into the station, nothing, nothing makes sense.

MIRA

Oh.

ROVER

It's just a feeling of familiarity that you have.

[Train intercom chimes, announcer speaks faintly in the background]

It isn't bringing anything to mind where you are like, "I know that place. I know that place." In your head, the things that I've told you until now, you know they exist. You know that they are there. But where? But the familiarity of...the exact locations of where they are in the city? Nothing.

MIRA

She would need to see it to then kind of put it together.

ROVER

Yeah.

MIRA

Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense.

ROVER

Yeah. So yeah, you guys finally arrive in Oxford. The doors on the side of the...my brain went Dutch for a moment, hold up. The...

May I, while you're trying to remember...

ROVER

Yes?

I think that what we would hear while Josie was trying to keep an eye on Una, and Una somewhere in the carriage tweaking...the background ambience noise would have been Viktor trying to make a pun work with Hades and headache, and it's just not working.

[Mira laughs]

Thank you. (Laughs)

ROVER

(Quietly) Oh my god.

ELIZABETH

Corwin would have been trying to go back and forth with you. Like, we would have been actively brainstorming this out loud.

ANNIE

Can I...can I ask, would you have, when you were doing your book rolls, when you were remembering that stuff, would you have mentioned what Ro was saying about Cult of Hades—

Yes. Yes.

ANNIE

—and about trying to invoke...you would have said that out loud?

Yes. That was the brainstorming session that was happening out loud, so Josie would have heard, yes.

ANNIE

Great.

ROVER

And as you guys roll into the train station, the doors open on the side.

[Station ambience begins]

Some of the passengers start walking out. I assume you guys don't stay in the train?

MIRA

I guess not?

ANNIE

No.

ROVER

I hear thinking. People are...oh, yeah? Go for it.

As we get up, Viktor would give the crowds leaving the train a once-over, just scanning whether the Tabaxi or the briefcase guy reappeared.

ANNIE

Mmm.

That's the only thing.

ROVER

They do not seem to be, at least not getting off of the train.

Okay.

ROVER

You don't know that they're still on the train, but they are not there. From what you've known, they vanished in front of your eyes in a kind of shadow smoke vision.

Oh! I'm so sorry. I just caught up. Jo's brain is not working today. Does the shadow magic look familiar to Viktor?

ROVER

No, it does not.

Okay. So it's not shadow daddy magic.

ROVER

No.

Okay. I see. Okay, fine. (Flippantly) Whatever. (Laughs)

[Laughter]

[Announcements over the loudspeaker begin in the background]

ROVER

And as you guys walk out, you can see on a kind of like this poster sign. You can see: "Come to Mechanics Incarnate for All of the Best Weapons and Attributes" with a sticker on the bottom saying, "Temporarily Closed."

ANNIE

Mmm.

MIRA

Mmm.

ROVER

And that's where we're going to end this episode.

ELIZABETH

Ooh!

ROVER

Thank you all so much for listening, and we will see you again next week, for more...maybe hopefully less drama that's been going on for a little bit.

ANNIE

Drama!

ELIZABETH

Drama!

MIRA

Drama!

ROVER

And you know what happens on the other side of this, remains to be seen. Buh bye.

ALL

Bye! Bye everybody! Buh bye!

[Show outro plays]

ROVER

Remains To Be Seen is an original podcast created by Dyaflame Studios and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license.

Today’s episode was produced by Anusia Battersby and edited by Rover Elliott and Jo Mendacium. It starred:

Elizabeth Simpson as Corwin Duvall
Jo Mendacium as Viktor Valthayne
Annie Ruby as Josie
Mirah Fae as Una
and Rover Elliott as the Dungeon Master

The intro and outro were composed by We Talk of Dreams, and the transcript was written by Elizabeth Simpson.

To get in touch with us and keep up to date with our antics, follow us on Instagram, BlueSky and TikTok @ DyaflameStudios or view our website at www.dyaflame.com

Check our show notes for additional credits, links and transcripts.