Note: Ain't Slayed Nobody is produced for the ear and includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page. Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors.

Y'ALL OF CTHULHU, EPISODE 11: DYING LIGHT

cuppycup (Keeper): Ain’t Slayed Nobody is a produced actual play podcast intended for adults and may contain material that some people find disturbing. Please see the episode notes for content warnings and listen with care.

('DEAD MAN WALKING' BY CODY FRY PLAYS)
♪ I AM A DEAD MAN WALKIN' 
♪ I SEE THE LIGHT COMIN' 
♪ AND IT FEELS WARM ON MY FACE
♪ BUT I CAN TELL IT'S GONNA BURN ME DOWN

cuppycup (Keeper): We pick up our adventure at the northeastern edge of Las Cruces. The blazing sun is at your back, sending long shadows across the endless red dirt ahead. You are all sitting high on your mounts, surrounded by officials and townsfolk. Father Flint is on Jehovah, Jeremiah on Mr. Wriggles, Lance, of course, on Eric the Red Camel, and Johnny and Ellie are on Sinead. You do not have any of your belongings.

Chuck (Johnny): Do I have my letter opener?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah. Johnny has the letter opener from the Department of the Interior, yes. Anything that you had inside the courthouse, you still have. 

Wes (Jeremiah): I have my integrity.

cuppycup (Keeper): Sheriff Higgins is now walking toward Johnny and Ellie with a piece of crumpled paper in his right hand. This is the man who was managing the bullets in the courtroom, and eventually he pulled the trigger of the gun pressed against Johnny's head. He hands this paper to you, Ellie, and says,

Sheriff: You all can find your possessions out here. It's a few hours ride north, you'll make it before sunset, I reckon. And remember, we never want to see you in Las Cruces again. Next time we skip straight to judgment.

Lance: But I don't want to be back in this town because I don't want to get hit over the head again.

Alex (Ellie): What does he mean when he says we can find our possessions out here? Like, just out in the open?

cuppycup (Keeper): You'd assume he's talking about your weapons and the other items that they took when they arrested you. And you're not sure if they're out in the open, but that's what you'd expect from this group. Maybe they're buried somewhere. 

Wes (Jeremiah): So we have to go find our shit.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, you do. With a banishment like this, it's not uncommon to hold the weapons or put them out of reach so that you have some time to cool off and you won't turn around and shoot them all right away. But they did draw you a map.

Wes (Jeremiah): Alright. 

Jay (Lance): I'm pretty sure Father Flint's the map guy.

Brandon (Flint): Yeah, I took some good notes.

cuppycup (Keeper): Flint does have a reputation from the caves, but the sheriff handed this map to Ellie.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny says to the sheriff,

Johnny: Sheriff, I assure you we will be seeing each other again.

Jeremiah: Yes, it's going to be a longer walk for me to come kill your ass.

Sheriff: You do whatever the hell you need to, old man, as long as it ain't in Las Cruces.

Jeremiah: Alright. 

Alex (Ellie): I'm just going to glare. I'm just going to squint my eyes at him.

cuppycup (Keeper): While you glare, Ellie, Hiram Hadley, the college president shoves forward and enters the conversation, trying to lighten the mood.

Hadley: I do apologize for the misunderstanding, my friends. I am delighted that the trial worked out in your favor. What an ordeal we've all been through. I will ask one small favor before you leave town. 

cuppycup (Keeper): And Hadley's face turns sullen, like he's just remembered something important. You haven't seen this look from him before, and he softly says in Johnny's direction,

Hadley: If you could just help me pinpoint the location of Professor Wilkinson's body, then the sheriff and his men can go retrieve it for a proper burial.

Johnny: Yeah, you definitely should just go. 

Chuck (Johnny): And Johnny delineates exactly where that cave is and says,

Johnny: You just go on in there unarmed and I assure you, you will find him and everything will be fine.

Jeremiah: Yeah. Why don't you just go find out, make camp for a couple of days down there, really take it in. 

Johnny: Make sure to yell and bang on some pans, too. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Hadley looks like he's working out those directions that you shared with him, Johnny.

Hadley: Well, Mr. Rhodes, that is mighty big of you. And I do appreciate this information. It will bring us some sense of peace to find John. We will send Sheriff Higgins, and I think Judge McPhee expressed some interest in these caves as well. 

cuppycup (Keeper): And the judge is standing behind Hadley, scribbling in his notebook.

Jay (Lance): So that's going to be a spin off, right?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, that's a whole series. That's season 2.

Hadley: Perhaps as a token of goodwill, you may all keep your honorariums for the expedition.

cuppycup (Keeper): He gave you all $5, except for Johnny, who got 50 for his son Bertrand. *chuckles* 

Chuck (Johnny): That's right.

cuppycup (Keeper): Sheriff Higgins and his men, along with Hiram Hadley, they step away and signal to the townsfolk to make way for the group. The crowd does part in front of you. You reckon it's about suppertime now and ahead of you, all you see is dirt.

Johnny: Alright, who wants to come with me back to Las Cruces and kill that judge?

Jeremiah: Yeah, man! 

cuppycup (Keeper): You say that in front of all them.

Chuck (Johnny): Yes, I do.

Jeremiah: Yeah, I mean, I'm helping.

cuppycup (Keeper): The judge looks up from his notebook, confused.

Lance: I'm just not sure that's the best idea at this time. Maybe we should get back on the trail.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny winks very obviously at Lance, who was not winking and says,

Johnny: Oh, yeah, you're right. Let's put a pin in that.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ellie, you have this map and it's drawn more crudely than you'd like, considering how important it is to you. It looks like you need to ride north and they drew in, it looks like a six year old drew in a picture of a big rock and it has an X next to it and a stick figure. Maybe it's just for scale or maybe there's a person there watching your stuff.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny grabs that map to take a look at it.

cuppycup (Keeper): Johnny, you're sitting in front of Ellie on Sinead, so you'll need to turn around if you want to snatch that out of her hand. Alex, you're free to oppose this action for Ellie.

Alex (Ellie): I mean, whatever. That's fine. *laughs*

Chuck (Johnny): I got some NAVIGATE skill.

cuppycup (Keeper): In that case, Ellie can hand Johnny the map, and if you'll give me a NAVIGATE roll, Chuck, we'll see if Johnny knows anything else.

Chuck (Johnny): 27. That's a SUCCESS. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Johnny, you look at this map and based on some other landmarks that are poorly drawn in, small lakes and mountains, you think this is about a 2-3 hour ride north? You don't remember any large rocks in this area, though, so that stands out. It's a little bit odd. But on the SUCCESS, you think you can find these weapons, Johnny. 

Chuck (Johnny): And so we do.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, we don't have to belabor the details. You all start riding the dusty trail out of Las Cruces, and it does strike you just how barren the landscape is here, even compared to some of your earlier rides through New Mexico. You see the occasional creosote bush or small rock formation, but you all realize at some point that the trail has disappeared and now you're solely relying on Johnny's navigational skill to find this stash. How much do you trust Johnny?

Jeremiah: Sheriff, you know anything about some secret federal mission that old Johnny over here was talking about in the courtroom?

Ellie: I don't know anything about it.

Flint: Yeah, neither did we. What's going on here?

Johnny: Well, alright, let me step back just a minute here. About the whole secret mission thing, I may have implied that you were recruited to my team, and while that is not exactly true, it is not untrue, if you understand my meaning. And it seemed like a good thing to say at the time.

Jeremiah: You know, it's just us here. You don't have to speak in code.

Johnny: No, I know. I'm just trying to think of how to explain myself properly. I am, or I was, with the Department of the Interior. You couldn't say that I was fired, as I took off before anybody could have told me one way or the other. Far as I know, I'm still doing my job, and that job has led me here. You folks have helped me on my way, so I thought I'd do you a solid and say you were part of my team, seeing as how we is working together.

Flint: Am I getting paid to be on this team? Is my question.

Johnny: Really none of us is getting paid, myself included, I imagine.

Jeremiah: You've got to learn how to negotiate salary a little bit harder next time. 

Johnny: Hey, which one of us got some money off of that president of the university?

Jeremiah: Alright, that's a fair point.

Johnny: When my partner went missing, I got a little spooked and I took off. They ain't fired me, although, well, they fired me to my face. I imagine they probably have by now.

Flint: OK. 

cuppycup (Keeper): After riding a little more than 2 hours uninterrupted through the open air, you all notice a lonely rock in the distance. This is on your left and the jagged shape roughly, very roughly matches what is drawn on your map, Ellie. Johnny, you studied that map most closely and you're confident that this is the place.

Chuck (Johnny): Can I look to see if this looks like a trap?

cuppycup (Keeper): Sure. Roll SPOT HIDDEN to see if you notice anything suspicious around the rock.

Chuck (Johnny): That's an 85, so no.

cuppycup (Keeper): Isn't your SPOT HIDDEN like 84? 

Chuck (Johnny): It is 83.

cuppycup (Keeper): You're almost out of LUCK. Do you want to spend some here? 

Chuck (Johnny): I'm going to stand on Sinead like a rodeo cowboy and PUSH my roll to see if I can see better.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, I like that.

Chuck (Johnny): With 4 HIT POINTS, I'm going to do this. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. *laughs*. 

Chuck (Johnny): Hey, 71! I just made it. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Man, that would have been, that would have been special. 

Chuck (Johnny): If I had fallen off and died after surviving the gunshot?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yes. And everything else. The ghouls, the grenade, the mist monsters.

cuppycup (Keeper): On the SUCCES, Johnny, as the party rides closer, you're first to spot the gear. You see what looks like rifles and maybe even Lance's sword handle sticking out of some blankets in the dirt near the rock. You also notice, Johnny, that this rock looks a little bit different than what you're used to seeing in this part of the country. It has some weird edges and it seems like a black crust across its surface. 

Jay (Lance): That's called a bark.

cuppycup (Keeper): It does make sense that they chose this as a landmark because it stands out. 

Johnny: Hey y'all, I don't want to alarm anyone but that it looks like they've been cooking that boulder low and slow for a while.

Chuck (Johnny): But it does not look like we are about to be ambushed by a bunch of folks hiding behind that thing?

cuppycup (Keeper): No, you don't see anything like that.

Wes (Jeremiah): It's not likely to, like, crumble into ten trillion little spiders?

cuppycup (Keeper): It's hard to tell just by looking at it.

Chuck (Johnny): It's a dragon's egg.

cuppycup (Keeper): That's a big dragon. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Because I'm starting to get the hang of, like, what happens in Cthulhu games now. 

Chuck (Johnny): Onward and upward, then.

cuppycup (Keeper): As you ride to the rock, Ellie maybe is the first one to recognize the barrel of her rifle sticking out from what might be a horse blanket. Lance, you do see that longsword that you picked up in the cave. Clearly, these are your items because there aren't many longswords in the New Mexico deserts.

Lance: Let's go. There's my longsword!

Jeremiah: Why don't y'all go get my shit for me?

cuppycup (Keeper): Johnny and Ellie you right up first on Sinead. 

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah, so we'll grab all the stuff and give it to everyone else. 

cuppycup (Keeper): I'll let you do that, but I do need some LUCK rolls first.

Brandon (Flint): *suspiscious* Why? 

cuppycup (Keeper): Let me get those from Johnny, Flint and Jeremiah. I'm looking for 2 SUCCESSES out of 3 here.

Chuck (Johnny): I failed mine.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. 

Wes (Jeremiah): I really need a good roll here. Oh, I failed like hell. I rolled an 89 against a 13.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. Flint, the group can't pass this now, but just tell us so we know how close we were. 

Brandon (Flint): Great. No, I got an 87, so it doesn't matter.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, so as you all receive your items, it seems like everything's there, but Johnny is probably first to notice that his painting of the two of you, Flint and Jeremiah, that's missing.

Chuck (Johnny): You piece of shit. 

cuppycup (Keeper): They left literally everything else, but they kept the painting. All of your mysterious items are there, including Jeremiah's rock, the belt buckle, the journal and all of that. 

Chuck (Johnny): Was the concern that I was too happy after the last episode?

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* I think so. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Do you go to the mall and tell kids about Santa Claus? 

cuppycup (Keeper): And Jeremiah, this is surprising. They must have had a pickax in their evidence locker and just assumed it was yours, because there's a pickax here. But it's certainly not your grandpappy's. It's not the one you lost. This one has far less character. It's almost brand new.

Wes (Jeremiah): Alright, fair enough. But I'm going to use that. I want to inspect it, so I'm going to ride on over to it.

Jay (Lance): *laughs* Oh, God.

Wes (Jeremiah): Take a chip at it with my pickax.

cuppycup (Keeper): Give me a NATURAL WORLD roll.

Wes (Jeremiah): No. I have 50, I got a 56. Goddamnit. You know what, cup? I have 13 LUCK.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh my God. I would PUSH it before I use that LUCK if I were you.

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah, don't do that.

Wes (Jeremiah): Alright, I'm going to PUSH the roll. What if we put a bullet in it?

cuppycup (Keeper): You're welcome to try that.

Chuck (Johnny): Yes! 

cuppycup (Keeper): How far away are you going to stand when you shoot at this thing?

Wes (Jeremiah): I am going to shoot this at point blank range. *laughs*

cuppycup (Keeper): You really are trying to die, huh?

Wes (Jeremiah): And then he pulls his gun out and sights it up real good, real close and fires.

cuppycup (Keeper): *amused* I am 100% going to let you PUSH the roll by shooting the rock.

Wes (Jeremiah): 44! Fuck yeah. This rock's gotta fucking die.

cuppycup (Keeper): That's good, because I definitely would have had to kill you there. I'm assuming you dismounted Mr. Wriggles and took a swing at the rock with this pickax and the handle just rung in your hands. Remember, this isn't your ax. I'm sure yours would have been effective, but this one didn't even take a chip out of the rock. OK, so Jeremiah, at point blank range, you fire your .45 into the rock and you're very, very, very lucky the bullet doesn't ricochet. Instead, it's embedded deep into the rock. The impact has blasted away a sizable chunk near the surface, maybe a foot across, and it's exposed some of the innards of the formation. The dust from the crusts on the rock blew in your now ash-mottled face, so as you wipe that ash away, you can evaluate this rock. This is a strange rock, Jeremiah, but it doesn't appear to be nefarious, a living creature or anything like that. The inside is shiny, though much shinier than you would have expected. But it's not anything that's striking you as valuable, it's not gold or anything. It's a much lighter color inside almost white. But there are also these interesting patterns. It's kind of marbleized.

Jeremiah: I reckon this rock is made of meat! 

Wes (Jeremiah): I say to the group. 

Jay (Lance): It's a meat rock! 

Chuck (Johnny): I took a drink right when you said that and I almost spit it all over myself. *laughs* 

cuppycup (Keeper): Jeremiah, you don't have any science skill. That's about all you can gather about the rock.

Jeremiah: Hey, I said this rock is made of meat! 

Brandon (Flint): Rock meat mama like a...well, no. 

Jay (Lance): Rock meat mama. *laughs*

Brandon (Flint): Cup is like "fuck, I should not have done this dumb rock thing."

Johnny: Alright, so hear me out here. What if we all shot at the same time? 

Jeremiah: This thing's made of impossible burger.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh my God. Someone's going to die from the dumbest thing. I can't wait.

Alex (Ellie): Yeah, my thing is, if we could just get our stuff and go, can't we just...we're just trying to do something. We're just trying to go away. 

Chuck (Johnny): Sure. 

Alex (Ellie): We're not here to investigate.

Johnny: Alright y'all, I think we're about a day's ride if we rock and roll.

Lance: Well, let's get to ridin'. 

Jeremiah: What is rock and roll?

Flint: Let's do it, let's go.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK then, you continue across the dusty, barren terrain. The sun is sinking toward the horizon now, casting impossibly long shadows ahead of you, and you don't see any people during the ride, but you do hear birdsong and insects and occasionally a warm breeze blowing across. Now, 2 more hours into the ride, the dying light is finally bouncing off of a surprisingly lush patch of land ahead. This fertile little spot you found has a few scattered cottonwood trees, some squat little spruce trees, grassy patches here and there. And you think you might even see a flower or two. What's also surprising is that you don't spot any water at all near this vegetation, it just seems to have sprung out of nowhere.

Chuck (Johnny): OK... *laughs* 

Brandon (Flint): So our two options are just ride through the night and see what happens or make camp right now and maybe die.

cuppycup (Keeper): Well, you might die either way, but those seem like valid options.

Chuck (Johnny): And if we sleep, I get another HIT POINT back?

cuppycup (Keeper): I'd give all of you a HIT POINT for a decent night's rest.

Chuck (Johnny): Y'all, I only have 4 HIT POINTS left, so I wouldn't fight a little bit of rest.

Brandon (Flint): Do we have stuff to make a fire?

cuppycup (Keeper): I think so. You have the blankets that your possessions were wrapped in, and those matches from before. 

Alex (Ellie): *laughs* Just light a blanket on fire.

Brandon (Flint): And definitely nothing bad will happen to us, right, cup?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, it looks fine. It looks safe.

Chuck (Johnny): I just...I really need that point, y'all. *laughs* Johnny has taken a blanket and he's draped it over Sinead's head and he and Sinead are inside their own little tent that is held up by Sinead.

cuppycup (Keeper): *chuckles* OK, that's fine. What are the rest of you doing?

Brandon (Flint): Shouldn't one of us be making a fire? 

cuppycup (Keeper): That seems like a good idea. And are you sharing that jerky with anybody?

Brandon (Flint): Do I have jerky?

Alex (Ellie): I was going to ask, did we get the jerky back?

cuppycup (Keeper): You did get the jerky back. The group had a tiny fraction of what you started with, but Father Flint has a private stash that he bought in Mesilla.

Brandon (Flint): Right. Do I have my other stash as well or is that gone?

cuppycup (Keeper): Based on what I know, you have a little bit left. Are you using it now?

Brandon (Flint): I mean, it would be nice to have. I wouldn't use it right now, but it's nice to know that I have it.

cuppycup (Keeper): I think Flint has a small amount of cocaine left, maybe a bump or two.

Brandon (Flint): OK, oK, cool. Good to know. Now I'm going to take a blanket and gat a little area, but I do want to make sure that we get a fire going before it's too dark.

Flint: If I can get some help, that'd be great. If one person wants to yeah, that'd be great. Shouldn't be that hard. 

Ellie: I will help you.

Jeremiah: I will help you! Now you have two.

Flint: Wow, so many people. That's so nice. Thank you.

cuppycup (Keeper): Flint, Ellie and Jeremiah, give me SURVIVAL rolls. And I only need one of you to pass to successfully build a fire.

Brandon (Flint): I got 71.

Wes (Jeremiah): I got a 24, but that's against a 10.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh no.

Chuck (Johnny): Alex, can you start this fire for us?

Alex (Ellie): I got a 5, so sure. *laughs*

Chuck (Johnny): Yes! 

Chuck (Johnny): Oh, wow!

Brandon (Flint): Big fire! Bonfire! 

Alex (Ellie): Huge.

cuppycup (Keeper): You're a 20, so that's really nice.

Chuck (Johnny): She snaps her fingers and a flame appears in her hand.

Brandon (Flint): She makes a three-tiered cake situation. 

cuppycup (Keeper): With the HARD SUCCESS for Ellie, this fire is going to kind of run itself. It will require occasional stoking, but it would be really hard to let this fire die during the night, because it's just fantastic.

Alex (Ellie): Yeah!

Jay (Lance): So a little fun fact: Ellie is actually a fire bender.

Alex (Ellie): Yeah. 

cuppycup (Keeper): That's true. Lance has the reputation, but Ellie has actual skills. You're all busy milling about, collecting kindling, dead branches that have fallen to the ground, dried leaves, whatever you can find really. And when you turn around, Ellie has a little bonfire burning.

Jay (Lance): Hey, we can tell ghost stories.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny's already asleep.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, we'll see how that goes.

Alex (Ellie): Yeah, I almost died a few days ago, so I'm definitely asleep.

Jay (Lance): Lance is asleep. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, Johnny, Ellie and Lance are out. All asleep.

Brandon (Flint): I can start first watch, if someone wants to watch with me and we can just alternate a little bit. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Jeremiah will watch if you give Jeremiah a bump of coke. 

Brandon (Flint): That's fine. We'll split a bump. How about that? I want to make sure that alert. We're alert, but we're not doing some weird Lovecraftian trip thing.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, good. A medicinal use of what you bought at the Apothecary.

Brandon (Flint): Yeah. What's it called? Microdosing. We're microdosing.

Alex (Ellie): It's like finals week.

cuppycup (Keeper): *amused* Oh, perfect. Flint and Jeremiah, you're sitting near the fire snorting cocaine. Are you keeping an eye out at all?

Brandon (Flint): No, we are. We're being recreational, but also helpful. 

Wes (Jeremiah): We're keeping an eye out, but we know how to have a good time.

cuppycup (Keeper): You're seeing scattered trees and brush. And after about an hour of your watch, a tumbleweed blows through. All is pretty quiet. The moonlit shadows from those trees are contorting in the wind. That's a little disconcerting. Maybe the cocaine is making you paranoid.

Chuck (Johnny): Hey, does anybody know if that's true?

Alex (Ellie): Have you ever seen Goodfellas?

cuppycup (Keeper): Why don't both of you give me a SPOT HIDDEN roll to make sure you don't see anything else in those shadows? Flint and Jeremiah.

Brandon (Flint): Do we get an extra dice because we're so alert because of the cocaine? 

cuppycup (Keeper): I was going to give you a penalty die. 

Brandon (Flint): That doesn't make any sense.

Wes (Jeremiah): It's cocaine! SPOT HIDDEN should work. Oh, fuck yeah, I rolled an 18.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. 

Brandon (Flint): I roll a 66, so it's fine.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, Father Flint is zeroed in on the cocaine right now and probably you're monitoring Jeremiah to make sure he doesn't take more than his fair share.

Brandon (Flint): That's definitely correct.

Jeremiah: *shouting* No, I'm feeling really good right now and I want to keep watch.

cuppycup (Keeper): Jeremiah, as you're looking around, you're feeling mentally alert and your eyesight is hypersensitive, even after just a small dose of cocaine. You notice one shadow off a bit in the distance beyond your animals, that are tied off to some trees, except for Sinead, who's being used as a tent pole, I believe.

Chuck (Johnny): Yep, but now that I've fallen asleep, she's actually the big spoon. She's getting a snooze, too. *laughs* No, it is adorable. We are adorable together.

Brandon (Flint): I'm painting a picture of it.

cuppycup (Keeper): Jeremiah, the shadow you see, you're now fixated on it, and it's massive, it's bigger than Eric. This is probably just a large tree you didn't notice before, but there's something about the way the wind is shaking its branches that. It isn't quite right to you, it's wrong. On the HARD SUCCESS, you think those branches, they're not just shaking in the wind, they're writhing. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Writhing?

Jeremiah: Hey, uh, hey, priest?

Flint: Yep, yeah, yep, yep. What? 

Jeremiah: Hey, hey.

Flint: Yep.

Jeremiah: Priest, hey?

Flint: Yes. Yeah?

Jeremiah: You ever look out in the distance and think you see something a little strange?

Flint:  All the time.

Jeremiah: I got this business idea that we can talk about later for like a pickax with a cup holder on it. But look out there, there's a...that tree right there. Do you see that? Can you look?

Flint: Let me see. Let me see. Let me see.

Brandon (Flint): Do I need to roll anything or can I just see it?

cuppycup (Keeper): You don't see it, Father Flint. And more importantly, he doesn't see it either. Jeremiah, as you point off toward the massive shadow, you're pointing at open air.

Jeremiah: OK, it was there a minute ago. It was there a minute ago. It was there a minute ago. 

Flint: Have you taken drugs before? 

Jeremiah: *yelling* Yeah, I've taken drugs before! I am old enough to be your grandpappy.

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* You're 9 years older than him.

Jeremiah: I will slap the collar off you. I ain't done cocaine in a minute, maybe, I don't know, maybe I made it up. 

cuppycup (Keeper): The rest of your shift is quiet. And Jeremiah, you don't notice any peculiar shadows. Maybe it's too quiet.

Brandon (Flint): Well, what if it's just nice and quiet? It's just a nice, quiet... 

Wes (Jeremiah): Pleasant evening.

Brandon (Flint): Yeah.

cuppycup (Keeper): And how long is your shift?

Brandon (Flint): I was thinking that we split it and then let who needed the hit point sleep all the way.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny did. 

Brandon (Flint): Each pair get four hours. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Yeah.

cuppycup (Keeper): In that case, I think Lance and Ellie are up next. Ellie, you're almost back to full health now, is that right?

Alex (Ellie): I don't know.

Brandon (Flint): I think Ellie has a full health bar. I think it's all...

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah, you picked up a heart container and it filled up your bar.

cuppycup (Keeper): You have 3 nights of sleep and regained 6 from treatment. So I think you're at 9, not quite full. So a night of sleep would get you closer. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Cup, am I still at 8, then? 

cuppycup (Keeper): Only Rina knows. 

Chuck (Johnny): *laughs* Please leave that in the recording.

cuppycup (Keeper): I will leave it in. She does a great job with that. OK, so Ellie are you helping Lance on the next watch?

Alex (Ellie): No, I think I'll just rest.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. *laughs* 

Alex (Ellie): Fine, I'll do it. Whatever.

Chuck (Johnny): No, I respect that.

cuppycup (Keeper): I do, too. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Sleep it off, dude.

cuppycup (Keeper): Maybe you try to wake up Ellie and she doesn't budge.

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah, she doesn't move except her middle finger.

Jay (Lance): I mean, I think I'm pretty watchful.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. Alright, Alex, final decision for Ellie. Do you want to join Lance for this watch?

Alex (Ellie): Yeah, let's do it.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, good. Ellie and Lance, you take over for Flint and Jeremiah. They look jittery to you, especially Jeremiah. Not that this strikes you as unusual. What are you planning to do for your watch? What are you doing here?

Jay (Lance): I'm just here so I won't get fined.

Alex (Ellie): I'm probably half-assing it. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Just half-assing it? 

Alex (Ellie): To be honest.

cuppycup (Keeper): Maybe the two of you are just gazing blankly through the trees, passing time in kind of a half daze. It is possible, though, that there are things you can't help but notice. Why don't both of you give me SPOT HIDDEN rolls? But with a penalty die since you're half-assing it. Give me your worst result from the two rolls.

Jay (Lance): 86.

Alex (Ellie): 74.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, that's 2 FAILURES.

Chuck (Johnny): Well, being alive was fun.

cuppycup (Keeper): Can I interest either of you in PUSHING that roll? If you care enough to PUSH, I won't give you a penalty die again.

Jay (Lance): I'll PUSH it. So instead of just kind of like looking, I'm actually going to take like a couple steps and then squint.

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* OK, that's good enough for me.

Jay (Lance): *laughs* I mean, it makes sense, right?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah.

Jay (Lance): And this time I rolled a 99.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh my God. Yeah... So, Lance on the FUMBLE...

Jay (Lance): Uh-oh.

cuppycup (Keeper): You're looking out through the trees, Lance, toward Eric and the horses, and you think you see something. It's a little more movement than there ought to be out there. You squint real hard and it's too busy, you think maybe the animals are agitated? Just then, there's a loud crack from the campfire and you instinctively turn your head to see what happened. You realize it was just a log settling down, cracking in the heat of Ellie's awesome fire, but then you hear another crack from the other direction. At the same time, Lance, you feel a sharp pain in your stomach. And as the blood seeps at first and then soaks through your shirt, you realize you've been shot in the abdomen.

Jay (Lance): Damn, cup just killed me. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Everyone who's asleep, give me a LISTEN roll. You're all going to hear this, but this will determine whether, you know this is a gunshot versus just another loud pop in the fire that can be ignored.

Chuck (Johnny): And Johnny goes,

Johnny: "Rock meat monster!"

Chuck (Johnny): OK, I passed.

Brandon (Flint): I got a 49, so I did not pass. I am a sound cocaine sleeper.

Wes (Jeremiah): Yeah, I failed. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, Johnny, you know what you heard and you know about where it came from on the SUCCESS. Flint and Jeremiah, you wake up and maybe you pull the covers tight and roll over to fall asleep again.

Chuck (Johnny): I'll kick them lightly as I walk over them to go assist Lance and Ellie.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, I like that enough to wake them up. Jeremiah and Flint, you're groggy. But you do realize Johnny just kicked you to wake you up for some reason. If you decide to follow him, you'll be just behind.

Chuck (Johnny): By the way, Sinead came with me. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. Are you guiding Sinead or riding her?

Chuck (Johnny): She does her own thing, man.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, Johnny, as you head over there, you weren't far away, you can see that Lance has been shot and Ellie is there with him. Jay, let's see how much damage Lance took from that gunshot wound. Ooh, yikes. Lance is going to lose 7 HIT POINTS. That takes you to 5, which is a MAJOR WOUND, unfortunately.

Jay (Lance): I had a good time. I'll see you later.

cuppycup (Keeper): Hold on. Hold on. Let's see if you stay conscious. Give me a CONSTITUTION roll. 

Jay (Lance): *laughs* I rolled an 84. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Lance, you are bleeding out and you are unconscious until you receive some kind of successful FIRST AID or medical care. Ellie and Johnny, you're the people closest to Lance.

cuppycup (Keeper): Johnny is not good at anything that's useful right now. I'm terrible at everything. Do I have my guns?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah. Let's say you grabbed that bolt action rifle when you woke up.

Chuck (Johnny): OK. I can't see who shot anything, right? I don't know where it came from?

cuppycup (Keeper): You know that this shot came from the direction of the animals. And Johnny, you do notice that some of the animals that had been tied off, it looks like they're walking away. Maybe they're being led away. Yeah, Eric definitely is being led away. You can barely make it out, but you see a man in front of Eric.

Chuck (Johnny): Ok, Johnny quick hops on the back of Sinead and he whispers in her ear:. 

Johnny: Alright Sinead, Omega Pattern.

Chuck (Johnny): And we take off after Eric.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. 

Alex (Ellie): I want to stay behind and protect things.

cuppycup (Keeper): Let's do that first before Johnny rides off into the darkness.

Brandon (Flint): To die. *laughs* 

cuppycup (Keeper): Would Ellie like to attempt FIRST AID, see if you can slow the bleeding?

Alex (Ellie): Um, yeah, let's go for it. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. You'll need to see how bad this wound is and then you can decide what to do.

Alex (Ellie): OK. I want to look at it.

cuppycup (Keeper): This is bad, Ellie. You think the bullet is probably lodged in Lance's stomach somewhere and you've seen some gunshot wounds, so you know.

Alex (Ellie): Do I wrap it with some cloth?

cuppycup (Keeper): I think that's a good idea. What would you like to wrap it with?

Alex (Ellie): The blanket that I didn't burn.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, I love the sacrifice. This is a good blanket you're giving up. 

Chuck (Johnny): *laughs* She uses her binky.

cuppycup (Keeper): Her woobie.

Brandon (Flint): Woobie?! *laughs* I like that.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ellie runs back to where she was keeping watch and grabs her blanket to wrap Lance's abdomen. Give me a FIRST AID roll to see if this brings Lance back into consciousness.

Alex (Ellie): OK. 43.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, that's a FAILURE. Would you like to use LUCK or PUSH the roll or do you prefer to wait for Lance to regain consciousness some other way?

Alex (Ellie): Waiting. *laughs*

Jay (Lance): Oh fuck. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Ellie, do you want to stay here with Lance to secure the area?

Alex (Ellie): Yes. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. Ellie might feel like her blanket did stabilize Lance to an extent, but it's just not waking him up. Let's check in on Johnny and Sinead, who are hot on the trail of the animals that are walking away from camp. As you ride, Johnny, you can't help but notice this area was sparsely populated with trees when your group rode up. It was a lot of vegetation for this part of New Mexico, but nothing like what you're experiencing now. It almost feels like you're riding through a forest in North Carolina and the trees are closing in around you. Maybe it's a trick of the adrenaline. Everything is silhouetted, Johnny. But you do clearly see Eric as the most prominent shadow, along with what you think are Mr. Wriggles and Jehovah. And now I'm going to ask for LUCK rolls from Lance, Jeremiah and Father Flint on behalf of your animals. I know Lance is unconscious, but I feel like LUCK is a passive skill, so you can do this.

Jay (Lance): I rolled 86, but I have an 89 LUCK. 

cuppycup (Keeper): That's fine. You passed.

Brandon (Flint): I rolled a 2!

Wes (Jeremiah): I failed, like, real bad. Yeah, I got a 67. 

cuppycup (Keeper): On the 2 for Father Flint, Jehovah violently and breaks away from the man holding her lead or his lead, I guess.

Brandon (Flint): He. I don't, I don't talk to women.

cuppycup (Keeper): *amused* OK, sorry. Jehovah does break free and runs back to you, Father. It feels like divine intervention.

Brandon (Flint): I do a sign of the cross and welcome my horse back into my arms. 

cuppycup (Keeper): And you hear a man's voice from over where Jehovah broke free.

Chuck (Johnny): Sure.

Jimbo: Hey, I think they're coming.

cuppycup (Keeper): That's off, Johnny, but more than that, you notice that Sinead's hooves are splashing through something. It's almost like sludgy water and it smells awful. It's like you're galloping across open graves. The scent of decay is hanging in the air even as you ride very fast.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny whispers to Sinead,

Johnny: That's alright, Sinead, that's just the smell of them shitting their pants seeing you coming. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Johnny does play it off to look cool for Sinead, but do give me a SANITY check, Chuck.

Chuck (Johnny): I passed.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. You won't take any SANITY loss from that. Maybe the dirt here, the mud has some kind of toxic clay that you haven't encountered before. No problem. There are more pressing matters. And a voice rings out.

Jimbo: These are our animals now. You leave it be and no one else gets hurt.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, yeah. It's definitely Jimbo from the Boot Jack Saloon. And what happens next, all of you witness. Well, everyone except Lance, who is bleeding out. It happen so fast. The first thing you notice is the sound of a thundering explosion with a huge wet thud. A torrent of dirt rains down on plants and dirt and rocks falling heavily from the sky. When the cloud of dirt clears, it almost looks at first as though one of those trees has burst from the ground, but this is massive and it's certainly not a tree. The giant creature before you is a black mass of writhing tentacles, 20 feet tall and covered in pustules, or maybe they're eyes. Its flesh rips and twists, revealing 3 infinite maws. No, 4. 5! The mouths spawn other mouths, with wet tearing sounds, and the rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth merely distract you from its giant hooves that crash down on the dirt. As the beast clamors out of the hole it just created. It stands directly in the path of your animals and those presumed rustlers ahead. One of its swirling tentacles sweeps down toward the ground and rips one of the men, well, it's Jimbo. It rips him away from Eric and lifts him into the sky like he's a paper doll. Another tentacle swoops over and with both tentacles, the creature effortlessly rips Jimbo in half in a spray of blood, shoving his lower body into one maw and his head and torso into another, as a remnant intestine dangles from its teeth like a length of twine.

Wes (Jeremiah): Good. Fuck him.

cuppycup (Keeper): Everyone give me a SANITY check.

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny PASSED. 

Wes (Jeremiah): I FAILED. 

Brandon (Flint): I PASSED.

Alex (Ellie): I PASSED. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, so maybe it hasn't hit home yet exactly what you're seeing here, but even if you passed, you lose d4 SANITY.

Chuck (Johnny): I got a 2. 

Brandon (Flint):  Alright, I rolled a 1.

Alex (Ellie): I rolled a 2.

cuppycup (Keeper): Not bad at all. The three of you are frozen for just a moment while your brain tries and fails to process this event and this creature. But then your survival instincts just kick in and maybe you're on autopilot now, Wes. Give me a d12 for Jeremiah's SANITY loss.

Wes (Jeremiah): Oh, good. It's a 6. 

cuppycup (Keeper): That's barely over the threshold for an INTELLIGENCE check, I'm afraid. 

Wes (Jeremiah): I roll a 13.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, wow. OK, so you'll be entering a BOUT OF MADNESS.

Wes (Jeremiah): *nervous* OK.

cuppycup (Keeper): Your BOUT OF MADNESS is complete disregard for the safety of Lance's unconscious body. Usually these bouts of madness are assigned a number of rounds. But I rolled 10 out of 10, and I've decided, Jeremiah, this is going to last until Lance regains consciousness. Johnny, you were charging toward this thing, are you halting?

Chuck (Johnny): Nope.  Eric has not been saved yet.

Wes (Jeremiah): Jeremiah's running toward it as well because he sees an opportunity for a fight and he's drawn his gun. His gun is out.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, Jesus Christ. OK. OK.

Wes (Jeremiah): What, did you think I wasn't going to do it?

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* OK, that's fine.

Alex (Ellie): Am I still trying to make sure Lance doesn't die?

cuppycup (Keeper): I'm picturing Ellie trying to hold it together while pressing the blanket down on Lance's stomach. Keep that pressure on.

Alex (Ellie): Yeah. 

cuppycup (Keeper): And Father Flint just got Jehovah back.

Brandon (Flint): Yeah,  I'm with the horse. I really, you know, me and conflict, I'd rather just not deal with this right now. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. Yeah, that's that's fine.

Chuck (Johnny): "I'd rather not deal with the tentacle monster right now" is everyone's default setting. 

Brandon (Flint): I'm not even worried about it. I'm a little too high.

Wes (Jeremiah): It's called self-care.

cuppycup (Keeper): The creature is still clearing that hole in the ground, just as it finished eating Jimbo, and one of its massive hooves crashes down on another rustler. And you hear a squish and see an oozing spatter of blood and guts, almost like a person had just stepped on a rotten tomato. And you feel tremors from this massive leg crashing to the ground.

Chuck (Johnny): Is the guy that was leading Eric away still alive? 

cuppycup (Keeper): No, he's dead now.

Chuck (Johnny): So Eric is now loose? 

cuppycup (Keeper): Eric is chilling. He's surprisingly calm standing there while the creature wreaks havoc on everything around it. 

Chuck (Johnny): OK. Johnny makes eye contact with Eric. OK, and just yells out,

Johnny: Eric, Lance is hurt. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Jay succeeded earlier on Lance's animal LUCK roll that I had, so I'm going to say that Eric looks up blankly at you, Johnny, but he does turn and very slowly walks toward the party. And more specifically, he walks over to Lance and Ellie and lies down. Meanwhile, the creature is preoccupied.

Chuck (Johnny): And at this point, I'm peeling off and heading back to the camp. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Sure, Johnny can pull the reins and ride back to camp. The creature now lets out this ghastly shriek that rings in your ears; you may have expected something more bellowing for a creature this size. And with that, the last rustler hops on Mr. Wriggles to make an escape.

Wes (Jeremiah): The fuck you are! 

Chuck (Johnny): Mother fucker. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Wes, you failed that animal LUCK roll for Jeremiah.

Wes (Jeremiah): Yeah, I know. I was there.

cuppycup (Keeper): The creature extends its tentacles to attempt to wrap up Mr. Wriggles and that final rustler. It's going to pluck the rider off of Mr. Wriggles.

Wes (Jeremiah): Oh, fuck you, dude! 

cuppycup (Keeper): So you're yelling at it? 

Wes (Jeremiah): I'm yelling at you right now! This is me, this is Wes saying "fuck you, man!" 

cuppycup (Keeper): I didn't feel like you and Mr. Wriggles were that tight. It's only been a few days.

Wes (Jeremiah): I named him, you son of a bitch!

cuppycup (Keeper): You could shoot Mr. Wriggles here, to put him out of his misery.

Wes (Jeremiah): Fuck! My god. What is this, "Saw"? Seriously?!

Chuck (Johnny):  Wes, call Wriggles. You called Wriggles, and she came to you. That's how you found each other. Call her again. 

Wes (Jeremiah): It's Mr. Wriggles!

cuppycup (Keeper): I'll let you do this. And I'm going to need the exact roll you made on the Canutillo railroad bridge, which was PERSUADE.

Wes (Jeremiah): Alright, I'm in.

cuppycup (Keeper): But if you fail... 

Wes (Jeremiah): No, no, no. I rolled a 22, which is a HARD SUCCESS.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, let that inspire your persuasive words.

Jeremiah: Mr. Wriggles, I stand before you a confused and broken old man. It has been a rough four days that have culminated with us here facing a tentacle monster which is about to grab you in its long and quite thick tentacle.

Jay (Lance):  Thicc tendy bois.

Jeremiah: I want you to come back to me so that we may ride away from this unscathed and ready to face life anew each day, living in the present. Come with me, Mr. Wriggles. God, I don't imagine my life without riding you into the next phase of it.

cuppycup (Keeper): This massive monster curls the end of the tentacle closest to Mr. Wriggles, with the tentacle coated in human blood and black pus. And the light from the moon and the light from Ellie's fire converge, Jeremiah and everything fades to a yellow glow for you. Maybe it's the cocaine. You see Mr. Wriggles in slow motion, he leaps over the thinnest part of the tentacle and begins a trot toward you, Jeremiah. The mood, it's very exaggerated, it's like you're being reunited after 20 years apart.

Chuck (Johnny): If this was a movie, this shot would have like a really low aperture, so there's like a blurry monster in the background and then crystal clear, Mr. Wriggles galloping towards you. 

cuppycup (Keeper): 100%. Like Tony seeing Maria in West Side Story.

Brandon (Flint): It starts raining.

cuppycup (Keeper): Mr. Wriggles darts past Johnny, and it's not a nuzzle this time, Jeremiah. Mr. Wriggles starts to lick your face. And Jeremiah, with the blurry aperture, all you see in the background is the last rustler being picked up and shredded by the monster like a dog shaking a rope toy. You had walked toward this creature quite a bit in trying to persuade Mr. Wriggles; you're out in front of everybody now, including Johnny, who started to retreat toward camp. I'm going to ask Jay to give me another LUCK roll for unconscious Lance. 

Jay (Lance): I rolled a 25.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, that's a strong roll for your LUCK.

Jay (Lance): Yeah.

cuppycup (Keeper): While Ellie is looking back toward this happening, Lance, very briefly, almost a second or two, maybe he lifts his head up and Lance, you see a green glow emanating from one of Jeremiah's pockets and then you immediately fall unconscious again. Lance, no one saw you pick up your head and you are the only one who saw this. The rest of you watch in awe as the creature hesitates and then turns north. It starts to run away from this little patch of forest you somehow found in southeastern New Mexico. You feel a heavy clip-clop from its hooves as they tear through the dirt. Maybe the thing was satiated by the meal of three rustlers. And now it's just the four of you standing there in front of Ellie's bonfire with Lance lying motionless on the ground.

Jeremiah: Y'all want some s'mores? 

Chuck (Johnny): Johnny and Sinead are standing by the campfire, like forehead to forehead, and he's just asking if she's OK.

cuppycup (Keeper): We've all bonded with our animals some more. That's good. Eric remains at Lance's side, of course. Jeremiah, give me an INTELLIGENCE roll, see if you remember anything interesting about what you just saw.

Wes (Jeremiah): I rolled 44 against 80.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, that's a SUCCESS. One thing you realize is that the monster with its tentacles and hooves, it was reminiscent of what you saw in the cave painting. They weren't the focal point, that was the goat man, I think you called it, but there were little tentacled creatures with hooves painted off to the side that almost feels now like it was a child's painting of what you just saw.

Jeremiah: I've seen that thing before. We were in the cave. It was one of the drawings. Y'all remember the cave?

Ellie: No, I do not. 

Jeremiah: Ellie, we were in this cave.

Chuck (Johnny): She remembers the beginning of that.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, I think no one quite feels that like you do, Jeremiah, because you had that Mythos connection to the painting.

cuppycup (Keeper): What are we going to do next?

Chuck (Johnny): Are we sleeping? Did we did we sleep?

cuppycup (Keeper): You didn't really, at least nothing restful. I think Johnny slept the most, maybe 4 or 5 hours.

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah, I was spooning with Sinead, if I'm remembering right.

cuppycup (Keeper): Are you trying to negotiate a HIT POINT?

Chuck (Johnny): Yes, that's exactly what I am doing. I have 5 of them and I want a 6th one.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, if you sleep until daybreak, I'll give everyone a hit point. Except for Lance. He's unconscious.

Alex (Ellie): He's already asleep. Yeah.

Brandon (Flint): And would he get more hurt if he stays unconscious?

cuppycup (Keeper): No, not by the rules, at least.

Brandon (Flint): OK, great. Well, then... 

cuppycup (Keeper): I'll let you attempt FIRST AID again once you get somewhere with better supplies. Ellie managed to control the bleeding, but just couldn't help him regain consciousness. Does that make any sense?

Chuck (Johnny): Yes, that makes sense. He's in a coma, is what you're saying. So Johnny just immediately grabs Sinead's horse blanket and the two of them snuggle back down. On the flip side, I can make an argument that we wouldn't want to sleep right next to where we were attacked.

cuppycup (Keeper): That's true. But I will let you sleep peacefully here until the pinks and oranges start to color the sky, and then a blood red sun breaks the horizon.

Chuck (Johnny): Assuming he got his HIT POINT, Johnny is an early riser.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK, so Johnny wakes up around sunrise and you all wake up shortly after. Everyone except for Lance can regain a HIT POINT.

Chuck (Johnny): Rock on. 

cuppycup (Keeper): You're out in the middle of nowhere. But Johnny does have a decent sense of where you are relative to Olvido.

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah, he sure does. Why does he? 

cuppycup (Keeper): Well, you had the successful NAVIGATE roll earlier. 

Chuck (Johnny): And I went there once, didn't I?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, you rode by it and you have a pretty good idea where it is.

Chuck (Johnny): Right.

cuppycup (Keeper): You can probably make it there in less than a day if you don't encounter any interesting rocks.

Johnny: Well, folks, y'all reckon we ought to push on to Olvido? We don't really know what we're getting into and we're got a hurt man. 

Flint: I say we go to Olvido and that's where we can get his medicine, because otherwise what's going to happen?

Johnny: Alright, then. Olvido it is.

cuppycup (Keeper): What are you doing with Eric, since Lance is unconscious?

Chuck (Johnny): I reckon we strap Lance to Eric's back because nobody can take better care than Eric.

Brandon (Flint): I mean, it's like we could also do that, what was it, the Jean-Claude Van Damme commercial, where he's straddling the two things. So if someone needs to do that, we could try to roll for it, probably.

Wes (Jeremiah): Is this how one of us dies?

cuppycup (Keeper): What? If you're really trying this, can you describe it in more detail?

Brandon (Flint): Father Flint is riding Jehovah like he would, but only one leg over him and the other leg is kind of splitting the difference between the humps of the camel. And so he's trying to do a split while reining in the camel as they ride. And really, he can only do this for probably forty five minutes at a time, which still, you know, that's a lot of strength that it takes. But they will need to make, every so often a couple of stops, just that he can reposition himself.

cuppycup (Keeper): In't Eric, like, 8 feet taller than your horse?

Chuck (Johnny): Alternatively, Ellie could just ride Eric.

Brandon (Flint): I think that's a good backup plan. That's a good, um, if these rules don't work. I could try. What do I need to roll to see? Because, I mean, we're still at the camp for a second, right? And it's me kind of figuring out if this is possible. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Experimenting.

Brandon (Flint): Right. 

cuppycup (Keeper): *amused* OK, I need a DEX role for the split and a STRENGTH roll for the endurance.

Brandon (Flint): Yeah,I hit under DEX but over STRENGTH.

cuppycup (Keeper): Incredibly, you're able to execute this impossible split, Father. But you can't maintain it for more than a few seconds. 

Chuck (Johnny): You do the splits on the two animals, but then you just start sinking lower and lower, and your feet are going higher and higher.

cuppycup (Keeper): You look like a V right now. The backup plan was Ellie riding the camel, right?

Brandon (Flint): Right.

Chuck (Johnny): Yeah.

cuppycup (Keeper): How do you feel about that, Alex?

Alex (Ellie): Because I'm not the tallest or whatever? 

Chuck (Johnny): I think so. 

Alex (Ellie): Yes, so that makes sense. Let's do it.

cuppycup (Keeper): So I think instead of having you fail an ANIMAL HANDLING roll, let's assume that Eric saw Ellie administering FIRST AID to Lance and he appreciates that. He's going to let you ride. Eric will kneel down to Ellie the way he does before Lance. And what are we doing with Lance's body? 

Chuck (Johnny): Strapping him to Eric. 

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Let him drag behind Eric.

cuppycup (Keeper): That's good, because you have the BOUT OF MADNESS with total disregard for Lance.

Chuck (Johnny): Now, we put him in front of Ellie and she does like a Weekend at Bernie's thing with him, so we can convince people on the road that we have more numbers.

cuppycup (Keeper): I like that. Ellie is riding behind, like a marionette version of Lance while he's slumped over unconscious, if that works for everybody.

Chuck (Johnny): And it does. Since we're on the long road, Johnny would like to start perusing that pamphlet.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, you can thumb through that book you traded for at Ida's Curio Stand. How long are you going to study? 

Chuck (Johnny): The whole trip, if that's what it takes. I mean, if I figure the whole thing out in 5 minutes, I don't imagine that I'll keep perusing it.

cuppycup (Keeper): You'll need a lot more time than that. But I'll let you log 4 hours of reading time. Let's say you're distracted by the ride at times and you're also leading the way. Give me a SANITY role for Johnny as he reads through the mysterious book.

Chuck (Johnny): That's a 91.

Wes (Jeremiah): Nice. 

cuppycup (Keeper): You FAILED, obviously. Give me a d4 for your SANITY loss.

Chuck (Johnny): 1. 

cuppycup (Keeper): You've lost just a point of sanity, and I am going to balance that out with a point of CTHULHU MYTHOS. 

Chuck (Johnny): Hey, that gives me 4 points of that.

cuppycup (Keeper): You haven't quite cracked the language or symbols of the book, Johnny, but looking through this binder of papers and figuring out the way it's organized and examining the illustrations, you see some depictions of transformation's and other interesting actions. You now believe that several of these pages contain spells.

Chuck (Johnny): I am taking Johnny into strange new directions.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yes, season 2 is a wizard fantasy game.

Brandon (Flint): We're at Hogwarts, baby! That'd be great.

cuppycup (Keeper): So you've all been riding this desolate terrain for hours now, and Johnny, you feel like Olvido is pretty close. Give me another NAVIGATE roll to see how close you got the gang directionally.

Chuck (Johnny): That's a 42, that'll pass. 

cuppycup (Keeper): With a REGULAR SUCCESS, you do see some small mountains that are now looming and getting closer, and this is how you remember Olvido. You remember the town being nestled between a river and some small mountains. And around this time, everyone also notices up ahead on the left, there's this little ranch, or maybe it's a farmhouse, and it has a barn. This is the first sign of civilization since you left Las Cruces.

Chuck (Johnny): Does it look occupied?

cuppycup (Keeper): It's hard to tell. The house looks to be in pretty good shape, but the barn roof does seem to be caving in or at least partially collapsed.

Johnny: It looks like we got ourselves a farmstead and these folks ain't taking care of their barn too good.

Brandon (Flint): What time is it, cup?

cuppycup (Keeper): It's been 6 or 7 hours since you left camp. It's about 1:00 in the afternoon.

Johnny: Should we look in there and see if anybody can tend to Lance? Or should we push on?

Jeremiah: Reckon it won't bother Lance none if we push on. 

Brandon (Flint): Ellie is moving his arms like "I'm fine, everyone!" Or *bad Irish accent* "I'm fine everyone!"

cuppycup (Keeper): You can also now make out what looks like a trailhead starting around the farmhouse, so whoever lives here might use this road to go to and from Olvido or a neighboring town, if there are any. 

Johnny: Y'all, looks like we finally found the trail to Olvido.

Alex (Ellie): It's been a year. 

Chuck (Johnny): It's been it's been 12 episodes and a year of someone's time, but only 5 days for us.

Alex (Ellie): We've gotten so close.

cuppycup (Keeper): Well, it's time to retire and tend to this farm.

Jeremiah: What if we all just, you know, broke free from convention and society and just maintained a barter system here on this commune?

Johnny: I could paint.

Ellie: Oh, wait, we have to avenge the death of my father, though, right?

Johnny: Right, your father. Right.

Jeremiah: Sorry, we forgot about your daddy.

Flint: No, we'll keep going. All good.

cuppycup (Keeper): The trail cuts between the farmhouse and this dilapidated barn. You also notice a privy up ahead beyond the farmhouse and it's quite large, so probably a toilet and a place to dispose of garbage, which was not uncommon. There's a penned in area with some animals past the house as well, some goats and cows and chickens. What would you like to do?

Chuck (Johnny): Ride our horses to Olvido.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. Is that what everyone wants to do?

Brandon (Flint): Yes, yes.

Wes (Jeremiah): Yeah, that feels right.

Alex (Ellie): We just keep moving.

cuppycup (Keeper): OK. You're riding through, and as you do this, everyone give me a LISTEN roll.

Chuck (Johnny): I have a 42, which is a SUCCESS.

Brandon (Flint): I got a 12, which is a hard...no, a REGULAR nice SUCCESS. What's the other one? Hard success?

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* Nice success is the technical term.

Wes (Jeremiah): I FAIL with a 43.

Alex (Ellie): I got an 85. Major FAIL.

cuppycup (Keeper): Johnny and Father Flint, as you ride past the barn, you're hearing something odd. And you're not 100% sure... 

Chuck (Johnny): Would you say I'm 42% sure?

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah, well, actually, it's 58 You're 58% sure you hear the muffled cries of a baby.

Chuck (Johnny): Hmm. 

Wes (Jeremiah): Nope.

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