011 - Bounty Hunters - Fractured Trust

Content Warnings
- Missing people/disappearances
- Panic attack
- Violence against a restrained person

[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 DM, Rover Elliott, he/they pronouns, and today I am here with...

ANNIE

Annie Ruby, she/her.

ELIZABETH

Elizabeth Simpson, she/her.

Jo Mendacium, all the pronouns.

MIRA

And Mira G, she/her.

ROVER

And who are you guys playing?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Josie, really, really promises she's good at lying.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Corwin, ah, reportedly a paladin.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Viktor Valthayne, still drinking my coffee with an insane amount of sugar in it.

MIRA [as UNA]

And Una, who is very much intrigued by the whole telephone thing?

[Laughter]

ELIZABETH

Incredible.

ROVER

That is exactly what that is called!

[Laughter]

That is exactly what that is called. Hey, uh, hey Annie, you wanna tell us why, why Una's asking about a telephone?

ANNIE

Sure! So in the last episode, we woke up in the morning from our various heart-wrenching scenes and/or nightmares, and discovered a bottle of wine had materialized on the nightstand right as Corwin awoke. When we got up, we took a look at the wine, said "don't know much about this." Vik was downstairs, so we went down to check. He was scrubbing up blood unnecessarily because then it was soap-spelled away.

Went upstairs, made coffee, talked game plan. Decided we're gonna call Brian, have him come out and deal with the bodies, and try to take care of Merrick, who slept under the table the entire episode.

ROVER

Is he still asleep?

[Dice thunks]

No, he is not. That was a natural 20. But yeah.

Ooh!

ANNIE

And he finally wakes up at the start of this one.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Wakey wakey, Sunshine.

ANNIE

But, yeah, we decided we were gonna call Brian, and we were gonna wait around and clean the shop until he got there. While the other three cleaned the shop, Josie, as is her way, stood to the side and called Brian on the phone, and just kind of watched them. Brian let Josie know, just between the two of them, that the Six were going to vote on making bounty hunters illegal again very, very soon, and we were to go to ground back in London ASAP, but that I shouldn't tell the others just yet.

Josie promised up and down that that was exactly what was going to happen, and then told Vik to come upstairs and talk. And, oh yeah, Una doesn't know what a telephone is. That's what happened last episode.

[Laughter]

MIRA

I mean...it is like a sending stone!

ANNIE

It is like a sending stone! It's true!

MIRA

You know what, in Una's mind there's probably a sending stone within that weird contraption that you're holding to your ear. That's basically what it is.

ROVER

It is how you hold a sending stone between your pinky and your thumb, you know?

MIRA

Yeah.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

(Laughing) You complete the circuit. Now a serious conversation! (Clears throat)

Oh, fuck yeah! (Clears throat)

ROVER

Josie finishes the call with Brian, tells Vik to go upstairs. We're following them first.

[Apartment ambience begins: whirring and slow ticking of a clock]

ANNIE

Yeah. Alright so, we're gonna get up and go into the common area. I'm gonna shut the door behind and say—

ROVER

Are you gonna shut the door for the kitchen as well? Because currently Merrick is gonna be waking up.

ANNIE

I think, actually, you know what I think would happen—I think Josie would go up, close the door, and go,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Alright, so we're gonna have to let the others in on this—ah.

ANNIE

I go over and look at him. And if he's awake...?

ROVER [as MERRICK]

(Sleepily) Ah, yeah? What? Why am I...why am I stuck in...?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Our boss is on the way to pick you up. Hang on for two more hours.

ROVER [as MERRICK]

Wait, what?

ANNIE

And then we're gonna go in the bedroom. Before he answers, we're going in the bedroom and closing the door, so I can talk.

We go in the bedroom.

ANNIE

Exactly!

That's where we are now.

ANNIE

So I'm gonna go in and be like,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Alright. Safra and Brian are making the call that we gotta go to ground. Miguel popped in and said that it's likely gonna happen, that they're outlawing us again and we gotta, we gotta close up shop and get somewhere safer.

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Sighs) Right.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

I...he didn't want me telling you. He didn't want me telling anybody else.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Of course.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

But we already talked about this.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

I don't trust...if we go down there with Safra, we're never coming out again.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Yeah, I'm pro—okay, I mean...(sighs). It's been a weird day yesterday—

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Yeah.

JO [as VIKTOR]

—and it continues to be shit.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Agreed.

JO [as VIKTOR]

However, I do agree that we do not want to be near London when they decide to make us illegal again.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Exactly.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I'm not going into the lion's den and just sit there and wait for them to arrest us or...or whatever.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

I agree. I...(sighs) I wish we could get Brian out, but he's, he's too intent on managing Safra, and we can't let Safra in on what we're doing. So...you and I need to gameplan this out really, though, and we need to bring the others in on it once we know. But Brian thinks we're coming back to London with him after we talk to Krillis, so talking to Krillis is our time to get away.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Alright. Let's keep that in mind then. I mean...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Yeah.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I don't think he would leave Safra. But he's also a guy who seems to be able to take care of himself. So...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Yeah, that's my thought as well. And next time I can get ahold of my brother, I can send him in after Brian if we need to, so.

Is this the first time Viktor is hearing about the brother, or...?

ANNIE

I don't think so. I would have at least mentioned Isaiah, because...

Alright.

ANNIE

Isaiah, Isaiah's how I met Brian, and how I got into the bounty hunters.

Ahh, right right right. Okay, cool.

ANNIE

So you would have heard of Isaiah before. But you might not have met him. He lives in Germany, so.

JO [as VIKTOR]

You're good on that. And ah...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Well, alright—

JO [as VIKTOR]

I don't like this happening so fast. Like...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

No, it's happening way too fast, and I think, I think you were right the other day, when we were leaving London. Safra's too desperate.

JO [as VIKTOR]

She is.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

She's gonna be sloppy. She's gonna make mistakes. There's a part of me that wants to be there to try to help clean up those mistakes, but that's not our responsibility, and I'm not getting stuck.

JO [as VIKTOR]

And we are apparently stuck in a pretty big thing.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Exactly.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I mean...ah, okay.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

The further, the closer to the outside, the better. So.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Okay.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Do we want to bring the other two with us? Cause they have to come with us out of Oxford, at least. Are we taking them all the way?

JO [as VIKTOR]

Let's see how it goes with Krillis. I don't...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Okay. But I have to let them know before that. I won't get too specific, but I have to let them know, so they don't tip off Brian.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right. Okay. I guess we are trusting the newbies then. So...

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Alright, I'll talk to them, if you can make sure that shelf is well-hidden? The secret shelf.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I'm, I'm, yeah...I'm going to take care of the shelf, and you're going to take care of the kids, then.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

(Sighs) Just like old days. Alright.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right. Some times never change.

And heads out.

ANNIE

And then, yeah, we'll go back.

[Apartment ambience stops, shop ambience begins: fast ticking, whirring, and occasional dings]

ELIZABETH

I think, while you guys were talking, Una and Corwin probably would have been having a bit of a chat as we were just kind of cleaning up. We're putting shelves to rights, we're doing all of that.

MIRA

Does—okay, my question as a player to you about your character...is Corwin still kind of very much shaken up because of what happened and the wine and the conversation? Or is it very much like, Corwin is able to focus on the task and not really show anything, or...?

ELIZABETH

I think that she is mostly able to focus on the task at this point, because remember, she first discovered this at the beginning of her watch—

MIRA

Mmhmm.

ELIZABETH

—which would have been, like, two hours before the rest of you even woke up.

MIRA

Right.

ELIZABETH

And this has now been a little bit after that, so I think she's probably still a little bit distracted, but largely able to focus, and just kind of, "this is the info we have, and we're moving forward."

MIRA

Fair. Okay, so the moment's very much, like, focus-mode.

ELIZABETH

But yeah, so, as we're kind of cleaning up, Corwin will probably look at Una and be like,

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

So how's it feel, being back in Oxford? I mean, does it feel—I mean, you've been awake for what, barely a day now? Not even?

MIRA [as UNA]

(Scoffs) Yeah. I...I do hope, and Vik seemed to be very excited for the idea, I do hope that if we have a chance to have a bit more of a walk around, and potentially step into any library, that would jog my memory a little bit more? It's, it's one of those weird things. I don't know if you get that? It's not like I can remember what something looked like; it's more of a feeling that I get. For example, I, I didn't think before I've done it that I was capable of doing this...

MIRA

And kind of gestures towards the bodies.

MIRA [as UNA]

But it feels like my instinct took over, if anything?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Interesting. I mean, you were*,* you were very efficient. I feel like that's gotta say something about, you know, who you were before this, wherever you came from. But, we'll, we can, we'll definitely get to a library. I'll make sure of it. I feel like we don't have any reason not to.

MIRA [as UNA]

Right.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I do wonder...how are you feeling about this? About this team? It's all been so abrupt. And I know that they don't fully trust us yet, which makes sense, but...

MIRA [as UNA]

I, I feel like I find myself in a weirder situation than you? It seems like you, well you were already in the room, as far as I remember, so you might have had your reasons to join. For me, just feels a bit more like a convenience, to be absolutely honest.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, good a place as any while you figure it out, I guess. People around you, at least.

MIRA [as UNA]

That's true. What about you? Is there something that you want to see through, with this group?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Oh, you know, I mean...I needed a job, right? Needed to get out of London. It's as good a job as any. Helping people, doing things. Yeah. I just, I hope that we can find these people. I, I, honestly I don't know much about Josie or Vik, but I feel like they're our best chance at finding these missing people? And I'll stick with them as long as...as long as we're working toward that goal? That's all that matters.

MIRA [as UNA]

It sounds like—

ELIZABETH

And then kind of like, turns away and keeps putting things on shelves, pointedly.

MIRA

While standing next to you, putting things away.

[Laughter]

Letting the silence fall for a moment. And then,

MIRA [as UNA]

It sounds like there’s, there was your sister, right? That's gone missing?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Yeah. I...I know that there's teams of people looking for her in Paris, I'm sure of it. But I, I can't just sit around while she's missing. And I have, I have to be doing something. And I mean, working with the bounty hunters is, it's doing something. It's moving forward. I can't just sit here. I can't just wait for someone else to find her. I...I don't know what I'll do if we can't find her. So, I have to be part of it.

MIRA [as UNA]

If, well given that you seem to have a—

MIRA

She would say it pointedly.

MIRA [as UNA]

—secret admirer. Do you think he might know something? About your sister?

[Elizabeth laughs]

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Alloric? From the note? No, genuinely no. I don't. I don't know how that bottle of wine got here, and that is a whole other concerning bit of information, but I think right now, it can't matter. All that...I don't think getting distracted by little details like that is really going to help us right now.

I think...I mean, it's enough of a struggle to not get distracted by just wanting to go, and and be in Paris and look for Alea wherever she last was! But I know that's not useful, and investigating these little clues, this isn't useful either. All that matters is the next step. And the next step that we can control is finding Jonny. And trying to figure out what happened to the rest of the people after that.

But these, the little details, the wine, it's just a distraction. And distractions aren’t useful right now.

MIRA [as UNA]

I, I see what you're saying. However, I feel like details are always utmost importance. And putting them together is where you can potentially find out if they are just a simple distraction. But I would not just discard them.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I mean, speaking of details, it seems like there's...I mean, what kind of, what kind of, we keep running into details with you too? I feel like that...I don't know how long we're gonna be in Oxford. We've got Krillis, but then maybe we're going to Dover. Speaking of details, what kind of details do we need to be looking out for you? I know you want to go to libraries, but is there...

ELIZABETH

This is a very...Corwin is making the most clumsy attempt to change the subject in the history of the world.

MIRA

Change the subject! Una would definitely take her time to proper, like...how I imagine it, they're standing next to each other, potentially putting books back on the shelves or something. As you say that, she would probably like, look at you...you know when someone's looking at you as if they're proper studying your face?

MIRA [as UNA]

No, I...my guess is as good as yours. I guess the details are all I've got to put myself back together. So I guess, the more we find, the better the outcome might be for me? And maybe, we might find something out about your sister as well?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

We can only hope. I mean, it all depends on what we learn with Krillis, I guess.

ANNIE

Can Josie come back in right about there?

MIRA

Yeah.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, I feel like that, I was gonna try and steer it back toward y'all.

ANNIE

It's a nice little button. Cause I think that Josie's gonna come back down the stairs and go,

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Not to break up the therapy session, everybody, but I need the two of you upstairs as well. Come on.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, we'll go upstairs.

MIRA

Una would just literally go like,

MIRA [as UNA]

Why not here?

[Mira laughs]

ELIZABETH

Yeah, yeah, Corwin's gonna like, meet Una's eyes and kind of shrug, and be like,

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

(I dunno noise)

Viktor's like halfway down the stairs and like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

What? Why are we going back— (splutters)

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Josie what's, what's going on? What is this? Why—?

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

I—(sighs). Look, Brian let me know some things on the call that he told me not to share with you guys. But Vik and I already had our reasons to be on alert for any reason to...change course. I don't wanna share, I don't wanna bog you guys down with all the details right now, but Brian and Safra are requesting that we go back to London immediately, and I can tell you right now if we do that, there's every chance that we will never leave London again.

A lot of things are moving politically right now that I don't need to bog you down with. And I don't need to bog you down with our plan right now. But just know, when Brian comes here, as far as he's aware, our plan is to go talk to Krillis and then go back with him to London.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

(Splutters)

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Once we go—we are going to go and talk to Krillis, but after that...be ready for things to change at very short notice. We're on very, very uneven, unknown ground right now.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Josie, I don't want to go back to London. We, we've been in London; there's not information to be found in London!

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Well—I agree. That's why we're not going back there. So, but—

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Okay.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Brian doesn't, Brian doesn't get to know that, okay?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Okay.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

As far as Brian knows, we're following him later, and then...but I need to know if you guys are, are with us on that.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I'm with—as long as we're looking for these missing people, which...I'm with you. Of course I'm with you. Una?

MIRA [as UNA]

Like I said to Corwin earlier, I think sticking together might be the best for—well, from the sound of it now, for all of us.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Alright, fine. But yeah, we won't tell Brian.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Great. Okay. Just play it close to the vest, and we'll tell you more when we can.

ROVER

So what is, what is your guys' plan? Wait for Brian to get here, and then...?

ANNIE

Yeah, finish cleaning up, make sure we hide the back room as well as we can, and then go to Krillis.

ROVER

If anyone wants to do anything in these two hours, let me know now.

MIRA

Would it be possible for Una to try and disable the pressure plate?

ROVER

Give me a sleight of hand?

MIRA

(Singing) A sleight of hand!

[Dice clacks]

That will be a 21.

ROVER

I will say, yes you can. You can twist it in a way that it is just completely broken and that the locks, the wheels that are stuck together just stop working. So, if you turn it, then, you can even then take the figurine that was first stuck to it.

MIRA

Okay.

ROVER

And it will be closed.

MIRA

I mean, Una obviously would only do that if we do actually agree to do that. Because she wouldn't just be like, "Oh! I've got a way!" And then. If people want to do something in there, in the meantime, we can do that as a last bit. Just FYI. Like, if people want to go down to the back room. (Laughs) Sorry.

ELIZABETH

I don't think Corwin has any reason to go back down there. What are you thinking, Jo?

I mean, if we ever need to get back there, we can just break open the shit. So it's fine. No, Viktor would agree with breaking the mechanism to ensure that no one else finds the contraption sitting down there. And I think we got almost everything out of that room, because I do have two books, we have blueprints—

MIRA

Yeah, couple of books, blueprints, the tarot card unfinished drawing.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah yeah yeah. I feel like that's all the room...yeah, no, it's fine.

MIRA

Okay. I just wanted to say that she would, as the last thing, in case. But yeah. There you go.

ELIZABETH

No, that's smart.

ROVER

Okay—

ELIZABETH

Question for you, Ro. Is it logical that there might have been, like, a fire in the fireplace upstairs? Or no? I guess what I'm asking is, do we have central heating, or did we light a fire in the fireplace?

[Shop ambience fades. Apartment ambience begins: slow ticking and whirring of a clock.]

ROVER

That is a very good question. Let's say, for aesthetically pleasing, fire in the fireplace.

ELIZABETH

Okay lovely.

Love that.

ELIZABETH

So Corwin will have one thing that she'll do last thing before we go? But it's gonna, it's just gonna—yeah, before we leave, once Brian's there, if she can get a moment in that room, in the upstairs room by herself, and not suspiciously, like under the guise of like, "oh I'm just, you know, finishing putting stuff in my backpack," she will take a little card-sized box out of a pocket that I had mentioned was behind her leather breastplate?

ROVER

Mmhmm?

ELIZABETH

And she will put the note into the box and toss both of them into the fire. And that will be the last thing that she does in that room. But she's not, like I said, she's trying to do this kind of surreptitiously, just not making a big deal out of it. Unless, above the table, I'm being really, really silly and there's a reason we need to keep the note?

MIRA

No. No no, no no. No. You're fine. I'm just making a face because my brain is putting things together.

ELIZABETH

Okay, cool.

MIRA

Don't worry about it. (Laughs)

ELIZABETH

Okay, cool cool cool.

MIRA

(Close to the mic) I don't like when Ro smiles like that, that's all I'm going to say.

ELIZABETH

I also worry when Ro smiles like this!

Yeah, we all should. Viktor would have taken his time to get breakfast for everyone.

ROVER

Okay.

MIRA

Aww.

Because I think we got up at like 7am, and I assume something is open.

ROVER

Yeah, you guys get breakfast. What breakfast do you guys want, just for flavor? What are you gonna get, Vik?

MIRA

What are you getting us, Vik?

ELIZABETH

I like the idea of Vik just choosing for everyone. What are you getting?

ROVER

Vik gets snacks for the train, Vik gets breakfast.

Yes.

ELIZABETH

Mmhmm! Vik is the best.

MIRA

Vik is the feeder.

Vik is the mother goose, right? He's going to get something with meat, something vegetarian, something vegan, and an amount of waffles with so much syrup on them. It's actually almost too sweet to eat because apparently I've now established that he is a sweet tooth.

ROVER

Mmhmm.

But he would absolutely share with anyone who also wants waffles. (Gasps) I'm so sorry, Ro—

ROVER

You're all good!

Since I do have money, can I also, while getting breakfast, just get fucking healing potions for the party?

ELIZABETH

Oh my gosh, please do. I would love you forever.

ROVER

Yes you can! How many, how many do you want? We can do the math offscreen, however.

We can do the math offscreen. I would at least get one per person, if I have enough money for that.

ROVER

You're all good. Luckily, I know what a healing potion is. That is gonna be 200 gold if you want to get 4 healing potions, normal healing potions, because they're 50 gold each. Which is, in DnD terms, and I actually upped the price in this world, however I'm not gonna do that for healing potions because I think 50's already terrible.

ELIZABETH

That's, that's quite expensive.

I do believe I had like 250 gold or something like that?

ROVER

Something like that, yeah.

Yeah, I'm happy to keep 50 gold and get the four healing potions.

ROVER

Okay, got it. Perfect. So healing potions, when you drink them: it costs a bonus action if you do that in turn; they do 2d4 + 4, brings your healing back.

[Shop ambience begins: fast ticking, whirring, and occasional dings]

Other than that, once the two hours are over, Brian gets to the shop, his hair in a very loose ponytail. And he looks exhausted. He looks like this man has not had a long rest. And he kind of almost stumbles to the door, rubbing his face, rubbing his fingers through his eyes. And then...yeah, knocks on the door.

[Knocking]

ELIZABETH

Yeah, Corwin let's him in. (Laughs) Come on in! Yeah, Corwin lets him in, kind of gives him a once over.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

You okay?

ROVER [as BRIAN]

(Unconvincingly) Yes...? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah.

ROVER

And he continues walking into the shop. And he starts looking around, and he's like,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Um...bodies? Body? What were we, what were we on about again?

Viktor's going to point to behind the counter, and be like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Two cleanup jobs and living guy upstairs.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

(Yawns audibly)

JO [as VIKTOR]

Tied up. As a present.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

(Sighs) Fantastic.

MIRA

Snug like a bug. (Laughs)

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Yeah, leave the bodies—the, the dead ones—here. I'll figure that out. Uhm, living, living guy upstairs, you said?

JO [as VIKTOR]

Mmm, yeah. Their name is Merrick, and quite an idiot. But I'm sure you will find use for them.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Sure. Will do.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

He's in a lot of debt? That's why he said that, or that's why they said that they were robbing the shop? They said they didn't really know anything about Jonny, just that they owe like 700 gold to someone that they don't know.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Oh, god. Jesus. Okay.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Yep. Yep.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

So what are we looking at? Just gambling addict? Or is this just, one, I don't know—this young person making mistakes?

JO [as VIKTOR]

I would say probably, by the looks of it, maybe a thief getting up into shit that is a bit too big for them, and now in debt to a mysterious figure somewhere in Dover, I believe? So...

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Okay. Yeah. Sure.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Nothing, nothing out of the ordinary, to be honest.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Okay.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Are you alright?

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Yeah. There is a lot of stuff going on, back with Safra. There's...let's just say there's a lot of stuff happening, and I currently am...it's whatever.

ROVER

And he walks upstairs.

I'm going to share a look with the rest of the people, and be like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Alright.

MIRA [as UNA]

I guess that's his typical behavior?

JO [as VIKTOR]

I...(splutters). Okay, so as a ground rule, everyone, including me, even though I'm lovely, everyone in The Wanted Dead is a little bit weird. So...

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Great, we'll fit right in.

MIRA [as UNA]

I was about to say.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I was about to say.

[Laughter]

MIRA [as UNA]

Well, great minds think alike, apparently.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right, so I would assume...

Actually! Fuck it. Viktor is going to follow Brian upstairs.

ROVER

Okay. Are Una and Corwin downstairs or upstairs?

MIRA

You know what, I probably would, I probably would go upstairs eventually, because one thing I forgot to say, Una would have been asking—we can just play it off as if it happened earlier—Una would have been asking Merrick for the names of the people that he was with before.

ROVER

Mmhmm.

MIRA

I don't remember if they were mentioned or not, but...

ELIZABETH

Yeah, we could also go and just roleplay that now.

ROVER

Yeah.

MIRA

Okay.

ELIZABETH

Corwin will probably follow, kind of out of lack of, like, I think the shop downstairs is pretty put back together. So she'll probably follow, unless it looks like you guys are trying to have a one-on-one.

MIRA

I'm happy to follow everyone upstairs. Just checking if the door is locked? Doors are locked.

ELIZABETH

Smart.

MIRA

(Laughing) I am paranoid. Can you tell?

ROVER

Which doors?

MIRA

Both. All. Any. (Laughs)

ROVER

All of the doors. None of the doors are currently locked.

MIRA

From the outside in, so the back door and the front door, please. Thank you.

ROVER

None of them, none of them are locked, no.

MIRA

Can I please make sure that they are currently locked?

ROVER

You can absolutely lock them. Give me a Sleight of Hand with advantage, to see how well you lock them.

[Dice thunks]

MIRA

With advantage? Well that's a—

ROVER

With advantage because you're good at this.

MIRA

That's a good fucking thing. I just rolled a nat 1. (Laughs)

Oooh, advantage coming in clutch here.

MIRA

That's a 9, plus the Sleight of Hand—

ROVER

Ooh.

MIRA

So that would be 17.

ROVER

Okay, nevermind.

What??

ELIZABETH

Oh my gosh.

MIRA

My Sleight of Hand is an 8, a plus 8 on Sleight of Hand.

ELIZABETH

That is incredible.

Oh my god.

ELIZABETH

Wild.

MIRA

It's my highest plus.

ROVER

Yeah, we'll say you can, you can lock them all well enough that people can't come in unless they actually pry the door open for some reason or whatever.

[Apartment ambience begins: slow ticking and whirring of a clock]

So yeah, Brian goes upstairs, he opens the kitchen door, sees Merrick on the ground, and just has this braaaaghh long sigh. Runs a hand, tries to run a hand through his hair, reminds himself that it is in a pony tail, and is just like,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Oh for fuck's sake.

ROVER

Pulls the hair tie out, puts it on his wrist. And then he kneels down next to Merrick, and it is just a moment of,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

You need to stop gambling.

ROVER

And Merrick going,

ROVER [as MERRICK]

What the f—, what the, what the fuck? What are—who are you talking here?

ROVER

And he...hold up.

[Dice thunks]

Oh absolutely. He [Brian] balls his hand into a fist and he knocks him [Merrick] out.

[Meaty thud]

ELIZABETH

Oh!

Mm.

ROVER

And Merrick falls back onto the floor, knocked out.

[Heavy thump of body falling]

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Sighing) Alright.

MIRA [as UNA]

Still a better solution.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Alright, that's a different direction than I thought that was gonna go.

MIRA [as UNA]

No, I think it was warranted.

It's—are we just standing there at the door?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Was it?

[Laughter]

All three of us? That's so funny.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Was it warranted?

JO [as VIKTOR]

I mean, is he better when he talks? I don't think so. Brian, not to interrupt your little ah, whatever the fuck that is. Josie said you wanted to tell me something? I'm very curious about what the fuck that is.

ROVER

He stays kneeling for a moment and then sighs again, stands up, now actively runs a hand through his hair because he now can. And he's just, he just starts talking, being like,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Of course. Wish I sometimes could confide in someone without them immediately telling someone. But hey, bounty hunters, am I right?

JO [as VIKTOR]

Hmm.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

We saw Miguel yesterday, and he let us in on the knowledge that Tobias is probably bringing the Wanted-Dead-To-Stay-Legal-Or-Become-Illegal thing in their next meeting, or should be going about the Protectors. Oh, by the way, they have been assigned. Someone got arrested at the fucking grounds.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Ooh.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

It's been a mess.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Right. Well, I mean, between you and me, we always kind of knew that there was no chance we would stay legal. Not under this government. But, um—

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Yeah, no. You should see it.

ROVER

And then he grabs, from inside his jacket he pulls up the newspaper and hands it to you. And there is...

Before you describe it, I'm going to grab it, but not look at it yet because Viktor has other priorities.

ROVER

Okay.

He's going to gently touch Brian's arm. And lean in, and be like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Make sure that you have an exit, Brian.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

We have an exit.

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Heavy breath) Of course.

And then I look at the newspaper.

ROVER

Okay. So on the newspapers, there is...first of all, you're looking at the newspaper of today, of this morning, which says, "Midnight Attack at University of Manchester. Protectors Save the Day."

And you can see a picture of University of Manchester, and then there's a smaller picture of the Protectors before they, when they were at the grounds. And you can see a...you see a Dwarf. You can see what looks to be an Eladrin, with a really big axe. And there's some kind of keychain on it or something. And there is...there is the orange Tabaxi, who you guys have seen. And there is the person that you saw on the missing people's poster, Mr. Aleksander Aintsworth, standing. And all four of them don't look as if they've been posing for the camera. These are shots from outside. And then when you scan through the newspaper, you can also see a picture of when Aleks got arrested, and you can see that they are kind of dragging him towards Darlington Palace.

And...yeah, and then they have a picture taken of this Aarakocra, and they seem to have actual, like a gun at their hip. And they are also with the group. Once again, all these pictures were not taken for them to know about this.

It’s more like paparazzi pictures?

ROVER

Paparazzi, these are all paparazzi pictures. Let me know if you actually read the stuff that is written.

I don't think Viktor can. I think he keeps staring at the pictures.

ROVER

Okay.

And I don't think he's going to say anything. He's starting to very slightly shake.

MIRA [as UNA]

Are you okay?

No response.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Vik?

MIRA

Peeks over the picture. Like, what startled Vik so badly?

ELIZABETH

Corwin is probably going to, if Vik is amenable, probably lead Vik over to the couch. Just kind of like, this person looks like they might be about to pass out. Let's get them on a surface.

MIRA

In that case—

ROVER

You snatch the paper?

MIRA

Well, if Vik is being led away, and allows it, Una would probably, to help, take the paper out of—

He's not going to let go of the newspaper, but the moment Corwin touches him, he, it's like he was somewhere else, (snaps) and he snaps out of it. And puts the newspaper behind his breastplate, and is like,

JO [as VIKTOR]

Alright (clears throat). Well, seems like they've found some professionals. We should—

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Exactly, so I don't think we're necessary anymore, if this continues to be well, I'm unsure Tobias is gonna let us have this. I don't know, Vik.

JO [as VIKTOR]

Brian I, I know we...I don't know where we stand, actually, whether you consider us as friends or just as colleagues. I...I'm going to ask you a question I need you to answer as truthfully as possible, and I don't fucking care if that would mean that you're spilling Safra's secret. Is she going to go after the Protectors in any shape or form?

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Viktor, I don't think she's going after anyone. I genuinely think she, like, we've...(shaky breath)

ROVER

He takes a deep breath, and he kind of, kind of straightens himself up for a moment, and is like,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

I have known Safra for a very, very long time. I know when she gets to a point where she's going to get a desperate attack. I...I am trying to convince her to bring half of us back to where we started, which is in Greece, and half of us to Berlin. And if not possible, we'll go to Helsinki. We'll go to Madrid. We are figuring stuff out, to understand—

JO [as VIKTOR]

I understand—

ROVER [as BRIAN]

No, Viktor.

JO [as VIKTOR]

I'm sorry, I understand that there are escape—

ROVER [as BRIAN]

We are not going after it.

JO [as VIKTOR]

(Sighs) Okay.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

We are not going after the Protectors yet.

ANNIE

So, if I'm in the room and I hear Brian saying that he's gonna try to convince Safra to send us back to Greece and Berlin and all these places, anyone paying enough attention to Josie is immediately gonna notice a, a very well-masked, but not perfectly masked tension run over her face at the idea of anywhere, until he says Helsinki, and then immediately she is kind of composed again.

Everyone's fine in this party. We are so good.

ANNIE

Oh yeah, we're great! Yeah yeah yeah.

ELIZABETH

This is fine, everything's fine.

MIRA

We all have, each one of us has a place—(laughs).

ELIZABETH

I just wanna probably put it on record, I think I'm gonna rule that Corwin probably didn't see anything in the paper—

MIRA

Yeah.

ELIZABETH

—cause she was focused on the fact that Brian just knocked Merrick out.

No, you fucking didn't.

MIRA

Same.

ELIZABETH

So yeah, just gonna throw that out there, on record. Corwin didn't see the pictures.

ANNIE

Yeah, neither did Josie.

I hate you Ro. I love you, but I fucking hate you.

[Laughter]

ELIZABETH

I'm obsessed with this! Ooh!

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Brian.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Yes.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

You know me well enough by now to know that you and Safra are not deciding where I go next. However that happens is up to you. I can involve you or not. But you know, you know my decision on this. And you know that I have Isaiah to back me up.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

And I thought I could trust you.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Well, if you send me to Berlin, I can't trust you either, so. If you would have me set foot anywhere east of the UK, I can't trust you either, Brian. You know that.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Well, maybe you can't then.

[Annie chuckles]

ELIZABETH

(Vague concerned noises)

MIRA

Oooffft.

ANNIE

(Whispering) Fight, fight, fight.

ROVER

And he...

MIRA

If there are threats being thrown, Una gets tense. Aaaaa.

ROVER

He, he kind of waves you guys in a way off, and is like,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

I'll deal with the paperwork. You deal with—who were you gonna go to again? Krillis? Is that one of, some of the people that Jonny worked with probably? He worked with a lot of people.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

Yeah.

JO [as VIKTOR]

His assistant.

ANNIE [as JOSIE]

His assistant.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

Oh, great. Fantastic.

ROVER

And he just kind of sits down on the couch and kind of waits for you guys to leave him alone. He's looking at the ground, he's looking anywhere but you guys.

MIRA

How early is it in the day now? Is it like, what, 11, would you say? 10-ish?

ROVER

Yes, 10-ish, I think.

MIRA

Okay.

MIRA [as UNA]

I guess we just leave everything in your capable hands now? Should we leave? (Laughs)

MIRA

Like, I'm saying, Una would say that to everyone else.

ELIZABETH

Yeah.

ANNIE

Yeah. So Ro, one thing I'm gonna say is, Josie would, if Brian is just sitting there not speaking anymore, like waiting for us to leave, Josie's gonna hang back a little bit, and she's not going to say anything, but she is gonna handwrite a note that she's just gonna place in front of him as she leaves. And I will send you the text of that when we're done with this session.

Ooh.

ROVER

Okay. Perfect, thank you.

Yeah. There are not many words coming out of Viktor at this point. He's just nodding to Brian, turning around, because he has all his stuff already, and is also plated up again, he's just heading downstairs.

MIRA

I guess we would just leave. Una would unlock the door, by the way. Cause I'm a paranoid fuck. (Laughs)

[Laughter]

MIRA

I was paranoid and I locked it!

ELIZABETH

For the best. For the best. As they leave, Corwin will ask Brian,

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

What, what are you gonna do with Merrick?

ELIZABETH

But if Brian doesn't answer, that's okay.

ROVER

He, he kind of, he blinks a couple times to kind of get back to himself. And he, in a way that looks a little bit more nervously, he's like, rubbing on his, one of his legs. And he's kind of scratching at the fabric of his pants. And he says,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

I am unsure yet. (Sighs) We'll figure out if we can, we'll figure out if we can send him somewhere, or if that is to his grave, to anyone else. I am unsure, Corwin. But...

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

He made a mistake, Brian. He made a lot of them. But, I mean, he doesn't deserve to die for that. We've all made mistakes. I...he doesn't deserve to die for that.

ROVER

And he just doesn't really respond to that.

MIRA

(Laughs) Duly noted.

Meh. Thanks for your feedback.

[Laughter]

ELIZABETH

I'm really deeply considering whether Corwin casts Shield on Merrick. (Laughs)

MIRA

Don't waste it.

Viktor's out on the street, pacing.

ROVER

Before anyone leaves, he is going—like, when he notices that Corwin's about to leave, he just says,

ROVER [as BRIAN]

By the way, I am sorry for how Safra treated you at the start. I feel like I'm gonna have to come up for all of her deeds now.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

You're not...it's...you're not responsible for her, Brian. Thank you, but you're not responsible for her. And, frankly, she gave me the job. I could care less how she treats me outside of that.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

She did indeed give you the job, by the way. She...let's just say, you remind her of someone, and she...she might not show it, but I think she's quite impressed. And...

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

I'm glad to hear that.

ROVER [as BRIAN]

I don't necessarily know what is going to happen with, well, everything. If you, or any of you do need me, I am doing my best to stay neutral in this situation. And I will do what is best for the people. Not what is best for one person. Thank you Corwin.

MIRA

(Laughs) Thank you, Corwin.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

(Quietly) Thank you.

I feel like I should have been nicer to him.

ELIZABETH

Corwin is going to just nod and kind of smile, and take a little, the little wire cat that she was working on last night? And she's just gonna, like, set it on the table in front of Brian, and then leave.

Oh! My god.

ELIZABETH

And then just as she hits the door, she'll just be like,

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Take care of you, too, Brian.

ELIZABETH

And then she will leave.

[Birdsong and outdoor morning ambience begins]

MIRA

So cute.

Oh no! Fuck, I was too mean to him!

[Laughter]

MIRA

Well!

ELIZABETH

You were traumatized, it's okay!

MIRA

Thus the consequences! It's okay. He's dealing with Safra on a daily basis, I think he's fine. (Laughs)

ANNIE

Ay, true.

MIRA

Well, if she's still alive. So, are we outside now? We're all outside? Okay. Very first thing that Una is going to do, not like (chair squeaks), like obviously looking around. Is there any...a crier, any shop that has newspapers on the display? Cause she is getting a copy of the newspaper.

ROVER

Okay. Yeah.

[Laughter]

You can, you can absolutely get the newspaper. There are newspaper stands all over the place. It's the main piece of how the news gets passed around, next to radios, even though radios are quite relatively new-ish. Yeah, you can get a newspaper.

MIRA

Whichever way we go, it will be very nonchalant—grabbing it, paying for it, whatever the situation is.

ELIZABETH

I was gonna say, does she steal a newspaper?

MIRA

No no no, paying for it. Paying for it. Whatever the payment may be.

ROVER

Yeah, we'll do the payment after that, because we're gonna have to decide stuff. Do you read it or not?

MIRA

It will be more like, you grab something—if we are moving, moving, then she would glance at it, but just glance at it, and flick through it, rather than just reading the main page. Kind of just—

ROVER

Okay.

MIRA

Una's thinking is, "I want to figure the fuck out what's actually going on around me overall," kind of thing. Rather than what traumatized Vik. If Vik wants to talk about it, Vik's gonna talk about it.

Thanks Una.

ROVER

If you're flicking through it, you can't see any other news, other than, "House of Six Arrived in London; Decision on Meeting Later Today." Stuff like that.

MIRA

Mmhmm. Okay, that's fine. I'm guessing the picture is there and stuff like that, that you've described earlier?

ROVER

The picture's there, the pictures are still there.

MIRA

It's not like a different news outlet?

ROVER

Yeah.

MIRA

Okay. That's fine. Where are we heading, actually, group? I'm sorry, that's me asking as a player. (Laughs) Which way are we going?

I don't know who found the address? Might have been me.

ROVER

I think you. I think so.

I know that we have the address. Yeah, I guess—

MIRA

You lead the way. Perfect.

However you navigate a city you might have been in before, but without a map? I don't know. I'm happy to roll for it.

MIRA

I don't think Una will be very helpful with her knowledge of Oxford, anyways, so.

ROVER

Someone roll me just a d20, and we'll see what happens. And do it for the party.

ANNIE

I have, I have...if we wanna do, navigating is often Survival, and I have a huge bonus in Survival, so.

I have advantage on my next roll, because I didn't use it.

[Laughter]

ANNIE

You have advantage on this roll, I have a +6 on Survival. What do we think?

ELIZABETH

Oooh, I'm good either way.

You roll it.

ANNIE

Okay.

ROVER

Okay. Yeah, roll me a Survival check.

[Dice tower clacks]

Uh oh. Did you make a mistake, Annie?

ANNIE

Natural 1.

ELIZABETH

(Gasps) Oooh.

Amazing.

ELIZABETH

It's okay! Wait no, it works because Annie, Josie and Vik are traumatized right now.

ANNIE

Yeah, Josie's not paying any fucking attention. Josie is just like, if you guys talk to Josie, she doesn't hear you during this time.

ELIZABETH

Incredible nat 1. I love it.

ANNIE

So you probably think that you're following me to wherever we're going, and Josie's not actually going there, cause she just is in her own head.

[Laughter]

ROVER

Let's see how many 15 minutes it takes for you guys to realize that it's not going well.

ANNIE

What do you want me to roll?

[Dice clacks]

ROVER

Ah. That's a 2. I rolled two d4s and both had a 1. So...

ANNIE

Okay, so half an hour?

ROVER

Half an hour ish. It takes about half an hour before both, before all, before at least someone is going to realize..."we probably should have been there by now." This is...yeah. At like half an hour, you return back at Mechanics Incarnate, and it's like—

[Laughter]

"Oh, oh I should have probably taken a right turn somewhere." What is currently going on in Viktor's head, by the way? Now that they are outside?

I...his body needs to move. He was not paying attention where to go. Just straight ahead, straight ahead, straight ahead.

[Soft, melancholic piano music begins]

His mind...oh, his mind is circling back to three years in Manchester that were the happiest in his fucking life, with a guy he would consider to be his home.

And for the past 24 hours, he thought that Aleks might have died, frankly. Because seeing the missing person poster after not hearing from him for about two years was like a gut punch. And now he has to come to terms with the fact that he is either...either imprisoned or somehow forced to work with the government, for the Protectors, or voluntarily went there. And Vik, all he can think about right now, but he's not going to say that aloud, is how desperately he wants a hug.

[Piano music fades away. Birdsong and outdoor ambience continues]

ELIZABETH

Corwin is going to fall back, and just kind of walk—or, fall back or go forward, wherever Viktor is, just walk next to Viktor. Gah—I was planning on checking in, and player me doesn't want to, but Corwin doesn't know the monologue!

Yeah, so Corwin is going to just kind of...yeah, fall back next to Viktor.

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

What was that? You okay?

JO [as VIKTOR]

Um...I don't know. I don't really know what okay is supposed to feel like right now. I do not want to talk about it. Not yet. And we need to focus on the mission, and I really want to do that right now, before I lose my fucking mind. Okay? So do me a favor, don't...don't ask me, don't, just don't. Not you. Okay?

ELIZABETH [as CORWIN]

Oh. Of course. Whatever you need.

ELIZABETH

And Corwin is just going to kind of like, not bump her shoulder against Vik's, but just kind of close enough where their arms are brushing. If he steps away, she will not follow him, but she will have that contact if he accepts it.

Weirdly, despite his words of being "not you," he's very much leaning into this. But not addressing it in words, essentially.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, and she won't say anything about it either. She'll just kind of match her steps to his, which means that she's taking short steps cause he's so much shorter than she is.

Aw!

[Laughter]

MIRA

That's so funny!

ELIZABETH

And she will, she will, she'll do the thing like when you're walking with a couple, so that you match your steps so that your hips don't bump awkwardly? She's gonna do that.

ANNIE

Least repressed DnD party.

We are fine everybody. We are so fine. Everything is alright. Okay.

MIRA

Um, so...sorry cause I had to step away—we were walking. That was very cute, by the way, you guys. We're walking, and it's going to take us some time to get there, I'm guessing, cause we are getting a bit lost.

Yeah, I think we already—

ANNIE

Yeah, I rolled a nat 1.

ROVER

I will say eventually, you guys can make your way to Krillis'. And you're looking at this, like an apartment complex. Yeah, his address is on the third floor of this apartment building.

MIRA

Okay. Does the building look familiar to Una, by any chance? For anything?

ROVER

Give me a History check with disadvantage. Actually, you're in Oxford—give me a History check.

ELIZABETH

Yeah, or anything else that was on the...I don't know what we might have passed, but—

MIRA

Yeah, like—

Yeah. Yeah, no yeah.

ELIZABETH

Yeah. But I'd be curious, you know, walking past shops and stuff.

MIRA

I think like, that's why she wasn't just reading the newspaper.

ROVER

Yeah. No then, then actually give me a History check normally.

[Dice thunks]

MIRA

That is a nat 20.

Aw, fuck yeah Una! Let's go!

ELIZABETH

Let's freaking go!

ANNIE

Let's go! See, you took all of my luck success on that last one, to get it here. Let's go.

ROVER

Amazing.

ELIZABETH

Incredible.

MIRA

Give me my memories back, man!

[Laughter]

ROVER

And what Una learns is that...we continue in the next episode.

I knew it, you ass.

ELIZABETH

Ughhhh!

Fuuuuuck!

MIRA

(Distressed noises)

ROVER

Thank you all so much for listening, and if you want to know what Una learns, tune in next Sunday for maybe a little bit of Una lore. Who knows. And what happens next...remains to be seen. Buh-bye everyone.

ALL

Byeeeee!

[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 Rik den Breejen 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.