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.

BLEEKER TRAILS, EPISODE 8: BONE WARS

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.

Bleeker: Wait! One moment. Ok, ok, I'm decent. Yes. Who is it?

Mr. Friend: *clears throat* Good morning, Professor. Well, those are very fetching pants. It would seem some mail of yours was delivered to the saloon, and I was coming this way, so, well, here we are.

Bleeker: I see this has been opened.

Mr. Friend: Ah, yes. Apologies. The envelope was on my breakfast tray, along with other correspondence. And well, you know what it's like with a letter opener in hand.

Bleeker: Thanks. Is there anything else I could do for you, Mr. Friend? You said you were coming to see me.

Mr. Friend: Yes. Young master Johnson has vanished into thin air. It seems a trifling matter, but I really do need to keep tabs on that boy.

Bleeker: Who? You mean Jimmy? The simple one. I thought it was too quiet around here.

Mr. Friend: Well, if you see him, let me know. Can't have people just vanishing on my watch, can we?

Bleeker: Well, good luck.

Mr. Friend: Right.

Bleeker: *mutters* He thinks I have time to keep tabs on Jimmy. *normal voice* So what have we here?

Dr. Hackett: Dearest Otis,  
The largest man you've ever sent me has now departed. I confess, he knocked me off my feet. Not literally, of course. Julius performed admirably under my instruction and is a worthy investment of your time. Keep him close. However, someone so wholesome is prone to do anything asked of him without question. I have seen this behavior among my students, cruel and nasty boys leading the naive into delinquency. To where he and his posse is going next remains unknown to me. I would suggest a bathhouse. Julius travels with the blessing of my patron, who would also like to thank you, for he is required in several places at once and must rely on us to help where we can. I have enclosed tea, a special blend to soothe that big brain of yours. Julius and his little companion would not drink it, which I found rude. You'd think I was trying to poison him.  
Yours sincerely,  
Jane.

Bleeker: Little companion? Wait, he didn't... Now where the fuck is my tea?

"Dead Man Walking" by Cody Fry:  (lyrics) 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): The days on the trail have been rough, but the whiskey flows freely at night during the rowdy acts of your medicine show. Barely a dent has been made in your own provisions, as the towns Professor Bleeker charted have treated your group like welcome friends. The boys at Fort Stockton were so fond of Moni, they rioted when you made to leave. Now, beneath circling buzzards and a tormenting midday sun, the medicine wagon grinds through the final stretch of bleak desert in the direction of a hazy outline of the Guadalupe Mountains, which never seem to get any closer.

Bridgett (Moni): Oof, ok.

cuppycup (Keeper): Which one of you is driving the wagon?

Moni: I'm more of a rider, darling, not a driver. Sorry.

Patience: Well, we'll just have to test that now, won't we?

Chester: I've driven a lot of things before. I can drive.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh boy.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, Chester is driving. The wagon is isolated out here, rolling through the mesquite brush over the desert sand. This bland vista offers little of interest, but buzzards keep drawing Chester's gaze. The large carrion eaters swooped down to picket something in the sands just ahead. It's a man face down. The vultures are peeling flesh from his back. And as your eye follows the birds scattering before your wagon. You'll see that there are more bodies.

Brandon (Chester): Hmm. Cool. What state are the bodies in? Like, are they skeletons?

cuppycup (Keeper): From up on the wagon, you see them sticking out of the sand like dried husks with most of their skin ripped away by birds and coyotes. But others are fresh in this desert heat. They couldn't have been out here for long. You'd have to get a better look, though.

Brandon (Chester): I scream.

Rina (Patience): I'm on Rascal, so I'm going to hold up a hand to Chester to get him to stop.

Chester: Woooooah.

Patience: Stay here with the wagon. Gonna see if there's some trouble up there.

cuppycup (Keeper): As Patience rides out, they notice more bodies. Some are partially buried. There are 9, 10, 11 strewn throughout the desert here. Best you can tell, they were running away from the direction you're headed. Not just this one either. All of the people in this vicinity left tracks coming from the mountains. The body you're nearing looks pretty fresh, like it hasn't been fed upon at all.

Patience: Oh. I'm going to drop down on one knee and try and do some FIRST AID, if this person appears to still be alive.

cuppycup (Keeper): Do you have MEDICINE skill?

Rina (Patience): No. Do I look like a sawbones?

cuppycup (Keeper): You can give me FIRST AID. It just won't tell you as much.

Rina (Patience): Well, it probably won't tell me anything because I've only got base in it. But I'm going to spend 2 points of LUCK. Why not?

cuppycup (Keeper): Now you can roll up the cuff and take a pulse. It's very slow. But this man is alive.

Rina (Patience): Well, if there's breathing, then I'm going to try and patch them up and see if I can also figure out what injured or killed these people.

cuppycup (Keeper): Now, you did pass FIRST AID, but nevertheless, your effort is futile. You can talk to him, try to give him water, even dress the wounds, turn them on his side. Whatever you try to do, this man is unresponsive to you.

Rina (Patience): But I don't see gunshot wounds, right?

cuppycup (Keeper): No. A couple of old scars, but no recent wounds.

Moni: Hmm. Chester, are you okay hanging out here with the wagon?

Bridgett (Moni):  And she's already slipping off of the wagon as she's asking this question.

Chester: I'm just fine. Leave me here, please.

Bridgett (Moni): Moni is more curious on who the individuals are and what type of change or valuables they have on them personally. But, yeah, no, she's, she is going to very cautiously just start walking towards Patience.

cuppycup (Keeper): The pair of you search the bodies, finding family photos, small coin purses, hunting knives and some more ID There are laborers. One is from El Paso, Lino Marin, and a professor, Victoriano Vidal. Two of these others are in a similar condition to the first one. The other eight are surely dead. Your best guess is heatstroke, maybe dehydration. But they do carry some water. Perhaps starvation?

Rina (Patience): And if they starved to death, they wouldn't all be in the same place.

Bridgett (Moni): Hmm. Yeah.

cuppycup (Keeper): Let's check in with Chester back at the wagon. Can you give me a LISTEN roll?

Brandon (Chester): That's a SUCCESS.

Bridgett (Moni): *sigh of relief*

cuppycup (Keeper): Chester does hear something. The sound is coming from the belly of the wagon.

Brandon (Chester): Oh, God. I don't like the term belly. I'm going to look.

cuppycup (Keeper): There's a door on rusty hinges to get inside. You know that the compartment is packed with supplies.

Brandon (Chester): Ok. I open the door to Chester's demise. What's it going to be in there?

cuppycup (Keeper): You push aside your performance gear and personal luggage and find crates of miracle elixir, blankets, extra clothing. And the snoring is louder and strangely familiar.

Brandon (Chester): So you want me to go into the wagon? That's what we're going to do.

Rina (Patience): Do you have your backup character prepared, Brandon?

Bridgett (Moni): Oh no.

Brandon (Chester): I am doing it stealthily because I do have 60 STEALTH, so I figure I might as well.

cuppycup (Keeper): Give me a roll.

Chester: EXTREME SUCCESS, EXTREME SUCCESS.

Bridgett (Moni): Wow.

cuppycup (Keeper): You carefully set the larger items on the sand and push the rest to the edges of the wagon until you find someone curled up in the corner. This is your good friend, Jimmy Johnson, sleeping like a babe.

Chester: Oh, goddamnit.

cuppycup (Keeper): Give me a GROUP LUCK roll. Whoever has the lowest LUCK.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh God.

Rina (Patience): That's probably me. I FAILED that, 80 over 37.

Brandon (Chester): Oh no.

cuppycup (Keeper): Letting enough light into the dark interior of the wagon's bowels, you see the floor covered in crumbs and discarded food. Jimmy sleeps slack-jawed with a half eaten apple in hand. Your supplies are all but gone.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh my gosh.

Chester: Jimmy, wake the, wake up! What are you doing here?

Jimmy: *sleepily* Oh, mom. Why is it so bright? Jeez, we're there already? Are we there? Chester?

Chester: Yes. What are you doing here? 

Jimmy: *yawns* You know, I came along for support. Figured that's what Bleeker wanted. Why else would he ask me to pack the wagon? I ain't good at that.

Chester: Did you eat all of our food?

Jimmy: Oh, well, I'm a bit of a stress eater, Chester. And the rides have been real rough. Do y'all even know how to drive a wagon?

Chester: Why didn't you say anything or do anything?

Jimmy: Well, I didn't want to ruin the surprise before we got there. It was nice and quiet in here, all snuggled in all them blankets while you all went off to the hotels and whatnot. I watched your performance through the gaps in the wagon. I watched real close, and I could help you with those moves, Chester.

Chester: What the fuck? Sure, man.

Jimmy: Gee, I didn't realize how much I'd eaten, but it sure is good to see you.

Chester: It's terrible to see you. I'm extraordinarily upset.

Jimmy: I brought my fire batons. Maybe I could join y'all for tonight's show.

Chester: Please do not. Please do not.

Brandon (Chester): I kind of step out of the wagon, and I'm like,

Chester: Hey, come take a look at who. Who's with us right now?

cuppycup (Keeper): Jimmy climbs out of the wagon, shielding his eyes from the harsh sun.

Jimmy: Howdy! Y'all mind if I ride up top now that Chester's rescued me?

Chester: I kind of mind just leaving you here. How do you feel about that?

Jimmy: Well, you know, I don't think that's in the spirit of the family. This medicine show's tight knit.

Chester: What family?

Patience: Well, now, Chester, there's no call for that kind of behavior. No need to be cruel to the young'un.

Chester: A little need. There's a tiny bit of a need to be cruel.

Patience: Extra set of hands is always useful. Just wish you told us you were coming.

Jimmy: We got our signals crossed, but we forgive each other. I thought it was assumed that since I packed the wagon, of course I would ride along.

Moni: No, no, no, not. Not at all. Not at all. And to be honest with you, sweetheart, that wasn't even a good try, but... Hi. Welcome aboard.

Jimmy: Say, what are y'all looking at over there, anyway? You made friends?

Patience: Yeah.

Rina (Patience): Patience is going to stand up, put their hat back on their head.

Patience:  Y'all, we got some kind of strange murderin' or something going on out here. Don't like it. Got a couple of them still alive, but they're not going to make it no matter what we do.

Jimmy: *sad* Oh, really?

Moni: It's also rather cruel to allow them to suffer, isn't it?

Patience: You want me to put an end to it?

Moni: If you're not comfortable, I can expedite this process. But they're suffering. If you're saying there's absolutely nothing that can be done.

Patience: If we're going to take care of it, I'm going to take care of it.

Rina (Patience): And so Patience is going to remove their hat, hand it to Moni and say,

Patience: Be obliged if you look away, ma'am.

Bridgett (Moni): And she's going to back away and turn away.

cuppycup (Keeper): At the first gun shot, Jimmy jumps up into Chester like he expects you to catch him.

Chester: Get off of me.

Jimmy: Shit, Chester! They really killed those people. Didn't you say they was breathing?

Rina (Patience): Moni will see this; I don't know if Chester will, depends on how close Chester is. But after Patience has taken care of it, they're going to roll up their left sleeve and they're going to light up a cigarette, take one puff and then Moni, you're going to see Patience burn their arm with the cigarette three times.

Bridgett (Moni): Is she able to get a glimpse on that arm just to see how fully it's marked?

Rina (Patience): Well, if you look a little bit closer, yeah, they're now up to 20 burns on that arm.

Bridgett (Moni): Interesting. She doesn't say anything.

Rina (Patience): They're going to take another puff of the cigarette and then stamp it out under their foot, roll down their sleeve, and bury the bodies. Without saying a word.

cuppycup (Keeper): Hmm. I would typically ask for a SANITY roll, but since Patience is hardened, I'm not going to. Patience makes quick work of the burial with the help of the others. It's a shallow grave, but should keep the buzzards off. Even so, they move in as you continue onward to the mountains. One starts to scratch at the loose earth.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, my God. Fuck that bird.

Rina (Patience): Patience will beat a bird to death with a shovel if they have to. Patience isn't going to really say anything. The rest of the ride, they're back on Rascal, and they're just quiet.

Jimmy: Wow. Chester, you ever seen the likes of that in all your days? Just blam, blam, blam. They didn't even blink.

Chester: I'd rather not talk about this right now.

Patience: Taking a human life ain't anything to be boasting about, son.

Jimmy: I won't tell nobody. You don't have to burn me.

Patience: That bit don't matter. It's the respect.

Jimmy: Well, I'm not dwelling on it. Best left buried, I say. Oh, I can drive for you, Chester. Would you like that? I'll sit up front.

Chester: Actually, yes.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, Jimmy eagerly hops up to the bench and he will guide the wagon the rest of the way.

Jimmy: Oh, it got tense. *singing off-key* She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes. Come on, y'all! She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes. She'll coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain. Harmonica solo! *plays harmonica badly*

cuppycup (Keeper): Jimmy drives the wagon with Patience riding alongside until you approach two camps nestled in the shadow of what must be El Capitan peak. There's a tent cluster on the north side and one large tent surrounded by a short wall to the south. Blustering winds whip the canvas with sand and debris, blanketing an ominous silence in the stretch of solemn desert between these camps. A long trench has been dug.

Jimmy: Will you listen to that wind? *howls like a wolf* Come on, Chester. It's fun!

cuppycup (Keeper):  As you make your way up to the camp site, you realize that large trench is surrounded by a series of smaller excavations, some of which hold unearthed bones.

Patience: Well, I think this is where they came from.

Rina (Patience): I'm going to take a handkerchief out of my pocket, tie it over my nose and mouth to keep the dust out like I'm used to doing on the trail. And then I'll jump down off Rascal and look and see if there's a place to let him rest out of the wind where he's not getting injured. A tent or an outbuilding or something that offers some shelter and hitch Rascal up behind it.

Jimmy: Say, Chester, Moni, how close you all want me to park?

Chester: Just stay there for a second. I mean, I don't think that we should deal with these people all at once.

Jimmy: I don't see nobody.

Chester: Nothing? There's nothing?

cuppycup (Keeper): Everybody give me SPOT HIDDEN rolls.

Chester: I FAILED.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh. Moni FAILED.

Rina (Patience): I PASSED, 60 on 60.

cuppycup (Keeper): Since Patience rode in first, that tracks. Before you pull the handkerchief over your mouth, you notice a peculiar taste on the air. It's salt. Now, you've spent a lot of time in the desert, and this is unusual.

Patience: Maybe they found some kind of under the desert water reservoir or something.

cuppycup (Keeper): Pondering on it as you lead Rascal to the tent, you notice drag marks which lead off through to burnt out shelters up toward the peak.

Bridgett (Moni): Interesting.

cuppycup (Keeper): Hitching up Rascal somewhere out of the wind will be difficult. The large tent to the south is fortified by a two-foot wall. It's constructed from crates and sieves filled with dirt. You could move these and tether him to the guy ropes near the back. All of you give me LISTEN rolls and take a BONUS DIE for Patience.

Rina (Patience): I SUCCEEDED with a 17 under 20.

Bridgett (Moni): Moni SUCCEEDED as well.

Brandon (Chester): I SUCCEEDED with a 34. Yeah!

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, Chester and Moni hear shouting from both camps. They're yelling back and forth. But you can't make out exactly what they're saying on account of the sand beating your wagon like rain.

Grist: *distant yelling*

Jimmy: Say they shoutin' at us? *shouts* Hello?

cuppycup (Keeper):  And Patience, someone is yelling at you from inside that nearby tent.

Church: Hey, hey. Don't dilly dally. They'll turn you! Now get inside. We are friends!

cuppycup (Keeper): Patience also hears faint yelling from the tent on the opposite side.

Grist: Don't trust them. No. Hurry. Over here.

Rina (Patience): Alright, so I've got my rifle out. I'm going to yell back at Chester and Moni and Jimmy.

Patience: Y'all stay put for a moment!

Rina (Patience):  And I'm going to move towards where the yelling was coming from with my rifle up and aimed. This ain't my first rodeo.

cuppycup (Keeper): How are you approaching the tent? I assume you mean the close one. The flap is closed, probably for the wind, but the tent looks like it could blow away at any moment.

Rina (Patience): So I'm going to go up to the tent flap, but I'm not going to go straight in. I'm just aiming at the entrance, going,

Patience: You all right? What's going on in there?

Church: Whose voice is that? Come inside, quickly.

Patience: What for?

Church: Outside is dangerous. Pray they don't kill us all.

Patience: What kind of danger?

cuppycup (Keeper): You notice bullet holes and black ink-like stains in the tent canvas.

Patience: Something ain't right.

Rina (Patience): So I'm going to slowly push the tent flap aside and poke my head in with my gun clearly in sight.

Grist: Don't go in there! Final warning!

cuppycup (Keeper): Inside the tent, you see crates of fossils and supplies stacked around the front. Professors and students are hunkered down behind these among empty food cans and scattered papers. Everyone looks haggard, but one man is obviously much older than the rest. This is a pencil of a man with thick, round glasses. He sports a small goatee and wears slicked back gray hair. It matches his gray suit and dirty gray shoes.

Church: Quickly now, come in or they will kill you.

Rina (Patience): So I'll step in.

Patience: Would you mind explaining what hell's going on around here?

cuppycup (Keeper): A gunshot rings out. Give me a GROUP LUCK roll.

Rina (Patience): *sheepish* 98.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh God. 

Rina (Patience): I'm not sure I want to know.

cuppycup (Keeper): Of course you FUMBLED Let me make a roll here.

Rina (Patience): Oh God.

cuppycup (Keeper): I'll include Jimmy in this.

Bridgett (Moni): Uh-oh. Oh no.

cuppycup (Keeper): Chester.

Brandon (Chester): *sarcastic* Oh yeah?

cuppycup (Keeper): Chester, you are sitting with Jimmy and Moni, straining to hear what the shouting is about through this baleful wind. Patience ducks into the flaps of the south tent and a sharp pain accompanied by the faint report of a rifle makes you jump, causing the horses to whinny and dance.

Jimmy: *terrified* Chester?! Holy shit.

Chester: Ow! What the...*growls* What happened?

cuppycup (Keeper): Now you were shot, but it's only 1 point of DAMAGE.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, wow.*laughs*

Brandon (Chester): Alright!

cuppycup (Keeper):  A bullet grazed Chester's ear. Your hair is wet with blood.

Chester: What did you say?

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* Oh, sure. Your ears are ringing.

Brandon (Chester): Yeah, it's fucked up.

Rina (Patience): But when I hear the gunshot, I'm going to back up. I'm going to look sternly at the people in the tent. 

Patience: You all stay put now.

Rina (Patience):  And I'm going to bolt outside to make sure my companions are okay.

Church: What are you doing? Get back here.

cuppycup (Keeper): You see Jimmy frantically tending to Chester, holding cloth to his ear.

Brandon (Chester): Yep. Trying not to bleed out.

Jimmy: Hush now, little buddy. I'm with you. Jimmy's got you.

Rina (Patience): I'm just shaking my head in the dust.

Patience: Chester, you all right?

Bridgett (Moni): Moni looks to you and gives you a face like "he's fine."

Chester: Jimmy, do you have any bandages back there?

Jimmy: He's dying, Patience! You should cauterize the wound. That's the only way.

Patience: Child, calm yourself. Give him a napkin. It'll be fine. Come along, y'all. We got to get out of the open.

Bleeker: Are you sure? Those napkins might not be the best thing. Blood don't come out easy, Chester. And, well, they're white napkins is all.

Chester: Jimmy, give me the goddamn napkin.

Rina (Patience): I'm going to pull Chester, Moni and Jimi towards the tent that I just left.

Bridgett (Moni): If Moni can, she'd like to do some recon. If that's just stealthily moving from tent to tent.

Patience: Mz. Moni, just careful there.

Bridgett (Moni): As she just slides away and throws you a playful wink.

cuppycup (Keeper): And another shot rings out from the north tent.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh my gosh.

cuppycup (Keeper): Chester flinches, but fortunately, this bullet doesn't hit anyone.

Rina (Patience): I'm going to shove them into the tent, and then I'm going to turn around and just yell back.

Patience: Somebody mind telling me what in tarnation is going on around here?!

cuppycup (Keeper): They quickly pull the flap shut behind you. And let's follow Moni first. Bridgett, give me a STEALTH roll.

Bridgett (Moni): HARD SUCCESS. 18 under 60 on the STEALTH.

cuppycup (Keeper): To the west, a long open trench winds between the camps for maybe 30 feet. You see several smaller dig sites. Some have been filled in again, others are surrounded by dirt piles. Moni is low to the ground, moving beside this trench. Inside lies the monstrous skeleton of a long, dead creature. I'd take an ARCHAEOLOGY or BIOLOGY roll for Moni.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, yeah. Because let me tell you, Moni is great at both of those. Uh huh. One of her favorite clients was an archeologist. She could get lucky. She didn't. She was close, though.

cuppycup (Keeper): To Moni, this looks like a whale skeleton.

Bridgett (Moni): Interesting. Ok. She's not going to think too hard about that. Looking at the boxes and the gear, especially these crates that are out here, is there any insignia on it? And am I seeing anything for, like, Texas University? Am I seeing anything for, like, the archeology party, anything like that?

cuppycup (Keeper): You do see markings for Texas AMC and Texas University.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh my God. If this whole thing is two universities arguing over a dig, I might let Chester kill 'em.

cuppycup (Keeper): Would you like to continue making your way to the northern camp?

Bridgett (Moni): Yes, please.

cuppycup (Keeper): Moni hears distressed voices coming from inside the tent, and the flap is blowing in the wind. This camp is tidy, with neatly-stacked crates near the largest of the tents.

Grist: I did what I had to do, Professor Randall. These people may know the whereabouts of Finch, Ore and Mills. We should ask them about Atlantis.

Schlatter: Maybe they're fish people, Dr. Grist.

Grist: Oh, shut up.

Randall: The important thing is to find out why they are here and whether they can contribute to the research. Let's ponder the situation over some nice tea.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, so they're having a good time.

cuppycup (Keeper): They seem to be taking things in stride.

Randall: I do think you shot one of them, Grist.

Grist: That was an accident. I fired a warning to protect the academy.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, she's going to roll her eyes with the deepest amount of internal annoyance, and she's going to walk directly into this tent and just, like, immediately look around and go,

Moni: Really?

cuppycup (Keeper): You've startled this potbellied man with whiskey-bloomed cheeks. He curls his lips over his yellowing teeth. He's dressed in short pants and a heavily-starched, short-sleeved button up. Everything's ridiculously oversize. And he's wearing sandals.

Grist: Are you with Church? Come on out with it.

Moni: I'm the friend of the individual that you just shot. Yes, you did hit one of them. No, we are not affiliated with whomever this other party is. So someone is going to explain what the hell is going on.

Bleeker: See, Schlatter, I told you they were regular people.

Bridgett (Moni): Hey, hey, hey, hey. Don't talk to him. Talk to me.

Grist:  Very well. He's a mere student anyway. My name is Professor Jonathan Grist, renowned historian and archeologist. If you're not with them, are you with them?

Moni: Oh, I really hate repeating myself. That and my friends getting shot in the face are two of the things that irk me. It's a long list. Don't work through it too fast.

Grist: We can't be too careful in dealing with those thieves. But the gunfire was a mistake. It was not my intent to shoot your dog.

Moni: Yeah. Ok. So, Professor Jonathan Grist.

Grist: Professor Grist will suffice.

Moni: Awesome. Jonathan, can I have that rifle, please? I'm going to need that now.

Grist: No, of course you may not!

Bridgett (Moni): And then she's going to attack him.

cuppycup (Keeper): *bemused* Ok, give me that FIGHTING BRAWL roll.

Bridgett (Moni): She's quickly realizing this is some bullshit situation at their end. They don't have time, and we're going to stop this bullshit now. So I FAILED.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, he FAILS as well, toppling backward over a chair. He lands with a thud as his gun goes off again, putting a hole in the fabric and deafening everyone inside.

Grist: I knew you were with them. Get me up! Someone do something. Damn it.

cuppycup (Keeper): The other professor brings a teacup to his lips as disinterested students look on.

Moni: Jonathan. I'll kill everyone in this tent. Give me that gun.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok. That professor puts down the teacup, muttering. Grist racks the rifle, and the rounds jump out. He reluctantly hands the gun to Moni.

Grist: Careful with that. The history department will want it back.

Bridgett (Moni): And then she's going to look.

Moni: Are there any other firearms in this tent, Jonathan?

Grist: No. Oh fine. Schlatter, make a pile. Label and catalog everything.

cuppycup (Keeper): Meanwhile, the other three investigators are inside the south tent. The professors and students are staring at Chester intently before the oldest speaks up.

Church: I am Dr. Milburn Church. If you've spent any time around Texas, my reputation as a professor of archeology may proceed me. Why are you here?

Patience: Well, we were heading in this direction, and we found some of y'all's associates, I'm assuming, out in the desert, a bunch of dead people.

Church: Oh, God. What are we going to do?

cuppycup (Keeper): He motions to the other professor.

Church: Would you mind asking him what we're going to do?

Patience: Why don't you ask him yourself?

Church: Well, I don't have the constitution to speak to Dr. Andino. Asshole thinks he knows everything.

Patience: Now, listen, I ain't got much time for y'all's petty bullshittery. Someone better be explainin' in what's going on around here before I go and ask the other ones.

cuppycup (Keeper): A man with olive skin and deep brown eyes leans forward from the rear of the tent.

Andino: You found them all dead?

Patience: That's what I said.

Andino: You're sure of that, are you?

Patience: They're dead.

Church: They're killing us. They're stealing from us. Texas University over there. A joint project is what they said. And we are going to win the Bone Wars for College Station.

Patience: The what now?

Chester: The Bone Wars?

Church: Holy shit. A talking dog.

cuppycup (Keeper): He reaches out to feel Chester's fur.

Chester: Do not touch me. Do not, do not touch me.

Jimmy: I'll protect you, Chester. Don't you worry about him.

Patience: You all killing each other over a bunch of old dead animals?

Church: Fascinating. Right. Right. The Bone Wars. Colleagues up north are finding bones everywhere, making their names, building huge fortunes from those bones. Now we have our own side bursting with Triassic sea life. And Professor Grist means to claim it all. Well, guess what? Bertha is mine.

Patience: When did this here start?

Church: Well, it must have been, uh... Can you ask him when it started?

Patience: Listen, if y'all aren't going to talk to each other, I'm not getting involved in the middle of this.

Church: You feel my frustration? Our college's reputation needs work, so I get riled up.

Patience: *sardonic* I had no idea.

Chester: What the fuck is going on?

cuppycup (Keeper): He reaches into a small crate beside him and removes a fossilized bone that he waves in front of Chester's face.

Church: Hey, boy. Oh, you like this? 

Chester: *growls* No, I really do not like this. Please.

cuppycup (Keeper): He throws the fossil across the tent and it lands amongst an awkward silence as everyone stares at Chester.

Chester: Can anyone else here just tell us something? Can anyone else just tell us what's going on without blathering?

Andino: Yeah. Enough of this nonsense. What are your intentions?

Chester: Finally. Jesus. Yes. Hello.

Patience: Well, depends on what exactly is going on around here. I heard something about a jellyfish.

Church: Jellyfish? Of course. It's a lot to process. This is a desert of nightmares. No place for people or dogs, really. But we can't leave. You're probably stuck here forever, too. Yeah. You saw the dead? No one dead so far.

Patience: Seems like I need to go have a conversation with your opposites. Stay put.

Church: If you're going over there, could you perhaps resolve a few things for us? Now, now that you're a part of our camp, you see?

Patience: Like what?

Church: Well, I need you, first and foremost, to retrieve my can of peaches. Professor Mills found a can of peaches, and I lost my can. I can presume the can of peaches that she has was stolen from me. She refused to give it to me, but I made sure everybody saw it. And I will not be made a fool.

Patience: Jesus fucking Christ, y'all. Sorry, Mama. All this here started over a can of peaches?!

Church: Oh, no, no, no. Hang on. That's just one of the things I need. Now, listen closely. Come on. And hey, you too, dogman.

Brandon (Chester): I really hate this fucking guy.

Church: Yeah, it was not peaches. Don't be a fool. Shh. Listen, I kept calling for a vote, and Professor Randall, who is barely tenured, apparently got bored and shouted at me, calling me a withered old bastard. I require a written apology from Professor Randall. And if there's time left, I am certain there's something going on with Professor Grist and his stupid search for Atlantis. Idiot. One of our professors is missing, a Monty Fanshaw. Did you happen to find him on your ride in?

Patience: I don't believe so.

Church: Well, that settles it. You'll help us find Monty. One, two, three. That's my third request. And Grist knows something. He's a history professor, but still worth something.

Chester: That's a lot of requests for people that aren't doing anything for us.

Patience: We ain't gonna be finding no peaches or gettin no letter of apology. Going to find out what's killing folks around here. But y'all need to stop shooting at each other.

cuppycup (Keeper): You'll all hear the clatter of confiscated guns as Moni enters the tent.

Jimmy: Hey, Moni.

Church: What brought you over? You stole their guns? Now we can raid their tents.

Patience: Miz Moni, mind keeping them here while I go speak to *them*? 

Rina (Patience): Pointing out back the tent.

Moni: Mx., you might want to brace yourself because they're just as insane as this crew here. And by the way, Chester, you were shot by a rival university.

Chester: Oh, great. I love that.

Church: I've written this down for you.

Rina (Patience): Patience does not take the list.

Patience: Now, listen, I need you to tell me what kind of thing could kill ten men out in the desert without shooting them. You got any ideas?

Jimmy: I think it was seven that weren't shot.

Church: What? Well, there is no peer reviewed explanation for what's happening. Unless you want to read Grists's Preabmle Edgewater Nonsense, though.

Patience: Try thinking outside the box.

Church: I quite like the box. Ever since Mills fled, things have been chaotic. There are things lurking in the desert. They float. And if you flee, you'll see for yourselves.

Rina (Patience): And they march out of the tent.

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughs* Ok.

Rina (Patience): I'm heading over to the other camp.

Brandon (Chester): I need a change of pace. I'm following along.

cuppycup (Keeper): And Jimmy's following Chester.

Bridgett (Moni): Of course he is.

Rina (Patience): You have a familiar!

Jimmy: *whispering* Chester, even compared to you, those were some odd folks, don't you think?

Chester: I really am not in the mood to talk to you right now.

Jimmy: Oh. Miss Moni, even compared to Chester, those were some odd folks, don't you think.

Bridgett (Moni): She's going to blink, turn around, away from the party and go back to the tent she just left.

cuppycup (Keeper): *amused* Ok, it's the Jimmy effect. Well, let's follow him to the north side with Chester and Patience. The northern tents seem to have fared better, sporting no bullet holes or ink black stains. Entering, you find it stuffed with supplies and crates, much like the first two professors, ringed by a nervous gaggle of students turned to greet you with concerned stares.

Rina (Patience): I've still got my gun out, by the way, just to prevent any shenanigans.

Grist: What is going on? Bursting in here like a raiding party. Why is your lot so aggressive?

Patience: Aggressive? Y'all's the ones who shot my friend.

Chester: Oh yeah.

Bleeker: Oh my God. From here it looked feral. I thought I hit a coyote.

Chester: That's rude.

Patience: Did you now? Do coyotes speak with human voices around here?

Bleeker: Seeing your friend, I'm starting to wonder that myself. Regardless, today is really quite windy, which has muted my usually keen senses. Apologies, my good man...thing. That was my error. Here, take this.

cuppycup (Keeper): He extends a $0.10 coin out to Chester.

Chester: Apology not accepted.

Brandon (Chester): He takes the ten cent piece.

Chester: Do you have peaches by any chance?

Grist: Not the fucking peaches. Are you joking?

Chester: I'm not kidding. You're the one that shot me in the fucking ear.

Grist: There are no peaches. I don't know what's wrong with that man. He belongs in an asylum, not a classroom.

Patience: Can you tell me where I might find someone named Mills? Alternatively, someone named Grist. Apparently, they go together. Grist Mill?

Grist: Oh, very clever. I am Professor Grist. I wish I could tell you where to find Dr. Mills. She found a rare piece indeed. We were all rather excited about the find until she vanished.

Patience: Into thin air?

Grist: Well, not quite. I think she stole something from me first. I never did like her.

Patience: And what kind of fruit did she take from you?

Grist: Listen, tell that idiot there are no peaches. I have many precious books concerning my research on Atlantis, but one of particular value has gone missing.

Patience: What is Atlantis?

Grist: The lost city under the sea.

Moni: Under the sea? Sir, we are in a desert.

Grist: Did you not see Bertha outside?

Patience: No.

Grist: Hmm. Well, she is out there. Can't miss her. She's the most impressive aquatic specimen we have ever seen. Now, I know you're asking yourself several questions. We can address each in turn. First: how did marine life at this caliber find itself in the Dust Bowl? The answer is quite simple: Atlantis.

Rina (Patience): Patience is just kind of rubbing their temples again. They're getting a massive headache at this point.

Grist: Secondly...

Patience:  Y'all stay put. Stop shooting people's ears off. My friends and I, we're going to go have a look at your artifacts. We're not going looking for peaches or any of that other bullshit, alright?

Grist: Yes, but I do have urgent demands for the Aggie camp. Hear me out.

Chester: Shut the fuck up.

Grist: If you want my cooperation, I need Professor Church to admit that I am the rightful owner of Bertha. Oh, and if you can find Mills or recover my missing tome, at a minimum. That would be wonderful.

Patience: I assume that's some kind of book.

Grist: Yes, the stolen book. An original copy. You seem like a delightful person. But I am afraid Atlantis may be beyond your comprehension.

Patience: Right. Chester, I think we got some investigating to do. Away from the sawdust brains.

Chester: Great.

Grist: My good man's best friend. Would you like me to apply first aid to that ear? It's rather off putting to look at.

Chester: No, I'd rather you never touch me again.

Grist: Just let me bandage it up. Whoever did this was rather sloppy.

Brandon (Chester): Does he have a bandage or something?

cuppycup (Keeper): With him from one of the packs, he removes a roll of gauze.

Brandon (Chester): Can I try to gag him with that?

cuppycup (Keeper): You could try a FIGHTING BRAWL roll if you really want to do it.

Chester: Yeah. It's a SUCCESS.

Grist: *gagged muttering* Remove this at once!

Randall: This is rather pleasant.

Chester: Great. Please shut up.

Patience: Really, there's no need for such tactics. My apologies, but perhaps you might want to try speakin' less.

Rina (Patience): And I'm going to leave the tent and I'm going to backhand Chester.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, shit!

cuppycup (Keeper): *laughing* He won't take any damage for that.

Chester: Ow! 

cuppycup (Keeper): *amused* Oh god.

Patience: Now, listen here, son. We don't go get an aggressive with folks. If they attack you, you fight back. That's mighty fine. But there's no call for such behavior.

Chester: They did attack me. I think we're forgetting about that.

Brandon (Chester): And I point to my ear.

Patience: They were offering to fix it up.

Chester: Yeah, they were offering, but they already did something. So can we just leave? Why are we staying?

cuppycup (Keeper): Let's check with Moni first, who stayed behind in the south camp with the College Station contingent.

Brandon (Chester): This is like the worst tailgate of all time.

Bridgett (Moni): Yeah. So she walks back in. She says,

Moni: Weapons. I need weapons from everyone, please, any firearms, shotguns, rifles. I need to confiscate all of those.

Church: What is this, a robbery? It's overly elaborate if you just wanted our rifles. We only have two. And they have lousy aim anyway.

cuppycup (Keeper): He gestures to the back of the tent where two rifles lean against crates behind the students.

Bridgett (Moni): Ok. She's going to make her way to the back and grab the rifles.

Church: Oh, you are sentencing us to death here. You might as well just put us down now and spare us the misery. You damn assassins. 

Bridgett (Moni): So she's going to wrap up the rifles. She is going to move as if she's leaving the tent. But she is going to stop right next to this individual, squat down where she's nose to nose with him. And she's going to say,

Moni: And in the future, when you're dealing with one of my compatriots, he has a name. It's not dogman. It's not coyote. It's not...well, I can call anyone I want puppy, but going forward, you would err on the side of caution to call my friends by their proper names.

Church: Yeah. Ok. What's his name? Napoleon?

Moni: You lost that right to get it from me. You'll have to ask him for it.

Bridgett (Moni): And she'll stand up and she'll leave with the rifles.

Church: Alright. Take this list. My demands.

Moni: Oh, my God.

Bridgett (Moni): She'll turn back around and snatch the list out of his hand and leave.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok. When you leave the tent, you'll see that Jimmy has pulled the medicine wagon closer, and he's building a makeshift stage. And I think Patience and Chester left the other tent as well. So you can all convene here next to Bertha, this giant fossilized creature in the trench.

Jimmy: These folks is way too stressed out. I've got a decent stage going here. It's got good bones. I'm going to do a little fire dance and maybe see if I can get these camps to play nice.

Patience: Well, now, Jimmy, that's a mighty fine idea. Why don't you go ahead and do that while we go talk to some folks?

Jimmy: Yeah, sure. You be good to Chester now. Say Moni, maybe we could do a dance together.

Patience: Now, Jimmy, you go get set up. Maybe you can get some elixir to these here fine folks. Maybe it'll get them to calm the fuck down.

Jimmy: See, that's a swell idea. I know flavor's real good. Hey. Alright, Chester, let's do this. You heard Patience. Let's get it going so they don't burn you.

Chester: No.

Jimmy: Hear me out, Chessie. I'll make a big loop of fire and you can jump right through it.

Chester: Oh, my God. No! What the fuck? Why? Why would we do that right now?

Jimmy: Oh, come on. Where is that family spirit? Well, I guess I could do it solo.

Patience: Now, Jimmy, when I come back from my investigating, you can make your ring of fire and I'll shoot through it. How about that?

Jimmy: All right, Patience, but don't do it out of pity just because Chester and I's growing apart.

Patience: Well, Chester's tired.

Jimmy: Chester, I got a nice spot set up in the wagon, if you need a little nappy. Might not want to pass out here in the open where Atience-pay might oot-shay ya.

Moni: Oh, my God, Jimmy. Just go away, Jimmy. Just go somewhere, please.

cuppycup (Keeper): Shoulders slumped and nodding slowly, he scuffs his feet and heads back to the wagon.

Jimmy: Don't you worry, Miss Moni. I'll find a chair for our act together.

Rina (Patience): It is funny how Patience is the most patient person in the group right now.

Patience: Miz Moni, did you happen to see anything when you was skulking about?

Moni: No. Other than Bertha here on the ground, which I think is some form of very large fish. Maybe a whale.

Patience: I ain't never seen a whale. So I'm going to poke around and see if I can find anything out of the ordinary that would tell me something about what's going on here, because none of those chucklefucks seem to know anything.

Rina (Patience): None of the other tents are occupied, right? It's just the two that have people in them.

cuppycup (Keeper): You're not sure, but you did visit the two main tents. The North camp for Texas University has two smaller tents you haven't entered.

Rina (Patience): Yeah, I'm going into any buildings, tents, anything.

cuppycup (Keeper): Are you doing this openly or stealthily?

Rina (Patience): Openly. I am not a stealthy person.

Bridgett (Moni): Moni wants to see what's in these vacant huts too. Maybe there's a body in them.

Brandon (Chester): I have nothing else going on; I don't want to deal with with my buddy.

cuppycup (Keeper): So the three of you enter the tent nearest the larger one. This is private sleeping quarters for somebody. Probably Professor Grist or Randall. The main tent was tidy, but this area is a mess. Dense books and scattered research papers decorate the room. A book titled "High and Dry" the Forgotten Sea", a single author manuscript by Professor Grist himself called "Atlantis Where Art Thou? The Balanced Approach to Mythology." These seem like nonsense on a cursory scan. There is something interesting lying in the open on top of a stack of books: a green dagger with a jagged blade. Maybe it's copper.

Brandon (Chester): Chester picks that up and inspects it.

cuppycup (Keeper): Give me an APPRAISE roll for Chester. Now Moni actually has APPRAISE, so, Bridgett, you can roll for this, too as Moni watches Chester hold the dagger up into the light.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, Moni FAILED.

Brandon (Chester): It's a FUMBLE. What is that going to do?

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, wow. Chester grabs the dagger, and it's fascinating. You're studying it, holding it up at different angles in the light, and you stumble backward over a bedroll, crashing into a bunch of crates.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh wow.

Brandon (Chester): That could have been worse.

cuppycup (Keeper): Fortunately, the dagger is sticking into the ground beside you.

Brandon (Chester): Thank you. Great.

Patience: Chester, what did you do?

Chester: I was just looking at a knife.

Grist: Hello? Who's in here? Announce yourself. This is private property.

cuppycup (Keeper): Grist enters the tent warily, and since you're nearest the flap, he reaches out to touch your face, Patience.

Brandon (Chester): Yikes.

Bleeker: You... You are... Are you really here?

Patience: Yes. I'm real. No, I'm not a night terror wandering in the desert. Yes, again, we are really here.

cuppycup (Keeper): He leaps back and cowers in the corner of the tent.

Grist: Was one here? Did it get you? Are you ok?

Chester: I'm ok. Should I not be?

Grist: Hey, that's my letter opener. If something happened with that, I didn't cause it. This place is cursed. We've lost control.

Chester: Lost control of what?

Grist: Nothing makes sense. Show me, how did the blade leap out of the sheath to attack you? That is how it happened, yes?

Chester: You could actually say that, yeah.

cuppycup (Keeper): Now, I know Chester FUMBLED, but I would let Moni PUSH the roll if you're interested.

Rina (Patience): *whispers* PUSH the roll.

Bridgett (Moni): Hey. Moni FAILED like a boss. She almost fumbled too, a 90 over 40.

cuppycup (Keeper): Moni pulls at the dagger in the dirt, but it's really stuck. And when you finally wrench it from the ground, you knick your finger. Time seems to slow down as you watch a droplet of blood fall to the floor and disappear into a trickle of black ooze leading outside under the tent flap.

Moni: Are you guys seeing this? Are you guys seeing this?

Chester: What is this?

Patience: Now what in tarnation?

cuppycup (Keeper): Moni, the sudden scent of flowers overwhelms you. And the sky outside the tent darkens as a shadow falls over you.

Rina (Patience): I'm taking a closer look.

cuppycup (Keeper): Are all of you going to take a look?

Bridgett (Moni): Moni definitely is. Curiosity is going to get her killed early on.

Brandon (Chester): I'm out there, but I'm not leading the charge.

Grist: Bring my dagger back here. It's one of a kind.

cuppycup (Keeper): Camp is still and the wind has stalled. And the source of that black ooze burbles suspended in the air. These spluttering inky bursts are materializing out of nothing and pooling on the ground in front of you. The pool seems to reach deep into the ground. It's the strangest thing. And a woman's body is suddenly slurped out and thrown a hard to the ground as the ooze evaporates to inky stains in the sand. Everyone give me SANITY checks.

Rina (Patience): I think that's warranted. EXTREME SUCCESS, 3 under 70.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, you won't take any loss on the EXTREME.

Brandon (Chester): I have failed my SANITY.

Bridgett (Moni): As has Moni. Moni FAILED.

cuppycup (Keeper): So Brandon and Bridgett, give me d6 rolls for your SANITY loss.

Brandon (Chester): I hit a 4.

Bridgett (Moni): Moni hit a 2.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, well, at least you're not at risk for a BOUT OF MADNESS.

Bridgett (Moni): Yeah. During this entire materialization of it, like she completely loses grip of her English, and she just starts saying something very quickly, very rapidly in Mandarin.

cuppycup (Keeper): Professor Grist pokes his head out of the tent flap to check on the commotion and he sees the unconscious woman on the ground.

Grist: Oh, my God, Mills! Don't touch her. She's cursed.

Brandon (Chester): Chester does not believe his own eyes and doesn't know if that's because of the head wound that he sustained.

Bridgett (Moni): The head wound?

cuppycup (Keeper): He's really milking that grazed ear.

Brandon (Chester): And if we want him to collapse, he can, at least momentarily.

cuppycup (Keeper): And Chester is on all fours next to this woman who appeared from nowhere, from the oozing puddle, which is now all but gone.

Rina (Patience): Does she look ok? Is she dead?

cuppycup (Keeper): She looks to be asleep. You know, her state is strikingly similar to the three people you shot in the desert. The professors and students pour out of their tents, and Jimmy is, urged on by the growing audience, attempting to twirl fire.

Jimmy: Hey, y'all, watch this! I learned how to spin between my legs.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, Jimmy.

Brandon (Chester): *laughs* Jimmy.

Rina (Patience): I'm going to kneel down next to her.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok.

Rina (Patience): Does she appear to be in the same physical condition, like really injured, starved, all that kind of thing?

cuppycup (Keeper): No, that is the difference. She's uninjured, but asleep. She did hit the ground pretty hard, though.

Rina (Patience): So I'm going to sling my rifle back over my shoulder and I'm going to pick her up and carry her into Grist's tent.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok. And the wind is picking up again, scattering dirt around you. Professor Randall now approaches with students in tow.

Randall: Oh, my word. Is she dead?

Rina (Patience): Appears to be in some kind of deep sleep or coma or something. Anyone got any medical training?

Randall: We're not that kind of doctor. The Aggies might have something from Professor Hackett, their famous botanist. She has a tea blend for just about everything, as I understand it, some of them even helpful. Grist is probably most qualified from our camp. So...good luck.

Bridgett (Moni): Moni is looking back and forth to Patience to like to the doctor on the floor, to Mills, to everyone, to Chester. And finally it's like,

Moni: Wait, are we not going to address the fact that she just appeared out of nowhere in black slime? Or are we just skipping over that fact, or was I the only one privy to that particular experience?

Patience: Hardly seems the most important bit of information at the moment, Miz Moni. Got an injured woman to take care of.

Moni: I don't know. I don't know. She appeared out of nothing. I think that's pretty significant information.

Bridgett (Moni): Just, you know what? Her and her 2 SANITY points, she's just going to step out of the tent and go get some fresh air for a minute, because how we're not discussing that is stressing her out.

cuppycup (Keeper): Give me a LISTEN roll for Moni.

Bridgett (Moni): Ok. With a HARD SUCCESS, I hear whatever it is I hear.

cuppycup (Keeper): As Moni is leaving the tent, you hear faintly a woman screaming. It's almost indistinct, but turning back, you could swear it's coming from the unconscious woman, but she isn't moving.

Brandon (Chester): *drily* Oh good.

Bridgett (Moni): Her eyes are going to glance over everyone to see if anybody else is hearing that.

cuppycup (Keeper): Everyone else is standing around Mills in a circle. They're dumbfounded, but they are not reacting to these screams. Now, give me a LUCK roll for Moni.

Bridgett (Moni): Ok, that's interesting. And Moni FAILED the shit out of that LUCK roll. 91 over 66.

cuppycup (Keeper): Moni, within the blink of an eye, you stand in a ghostly carpet of thigh deep blue green kelp. You think you feel the ethereal flora swaying cold and wet against your skin in water which isn't there. The kelp spills and grows through the tent flaps and stretches into the desert trench. And I must ask for another SANITY roll.

Bridgett (Moni): Yeah. Bridgett almost wants one too. Tune in next time when... She fumbles the SAN check!

Rina (Patience):  *gleeful* Yes!

cuppycup (Keeper): I'm going to give you the maximum 6 points of SANITY loss for that. Give me an INTELLIGENCE check.

Bridgett (Moni): Does she realize what's going on? She does.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ooh. Ok. With a growing anxiety, Moni is transfixed by the kelp and starts to follow it. Walking among the seaweed, the taste of salt stings at the air. And your steps become slow and deliberate.

Bridgett (Moni): Yeah. So she's looking at this kelp, that screaming that she was hearing coming from Doctor Mills sounds just like the screaming sound she used to hear from Addison when she was under attack.

cuppycup (Keeper): Oh, I love that you hear more screams, but these are coming from outside, from the mountain. Chester and Patience, you notice Moni's hair and tasseled skirt lift and dance around her as she leaves the tent, walking off into the desert.

Moni: Addy? Addy, just hold on. I'm coming.

Rina (Patience): Patience does not like that. So they're going to follow Moni out to make sure they don't get in any trouble.

Brandon (Chester): I'm following the group. I'm just making sure that I don't get shot again.

Jimmy: *yelling* Come on over, Moni. I got the chair all situated for you.

Brandon (Chester): Oh, Jesus.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah. Jimmy's waving you over, but the screaming is coming from up the mountain.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, shit. Where the trail went up, the tracks led up? Shit.

cuppycup (Keeper): Let's go see.

Rina (Patience): I really don't like it when you say that.

Bridgett (Moni): Right?

cuppycup (Keeper): You trudge up the mountainside as gouts of black roil ahead in the heavy air, bellowing out as if caught in currents. A motion reaches for you from the murk.

Rina (Patience): Oh my God.

cuppycup (Keeper): Not Addie, but slick string-like hooked tendrils. Thousands of them hang and drift in the burbling ink, then all at once they bunch together and dart forward to snatch up Moni.

Bridgett (Moni): Holy shit.

Brandon (Chester): Oh Jesus.

Bridgett (Moni): Listen, she just needs to stay a few feet ahead of this thing and close in on Addie before she dies on her again. So this is...

Moni:  Addie! I'm coming.

cuppycup (Keeper): Give me a SPOT HIDDEN for Patience, who was following Moni.

Rina (Patience): Shit, not a FUMBLE because I have over 50.

cuppycup (Keeper): But still you see Moni picking her way up the mountain trail in deep concentration on where she places her feet. Then all you see is terror on her face as she flinches back from the entangling creature.

Bridgett (Moni): She can't lose Addie again, so she's going to dodge and try to just bypass it and keep going the direction she's heading. Ooh, babe, she FAILED this DODGE.

cuppycup (Keeper): Well, I SUCCEEDED for the creature. It's 3 points of DAMAGE as Moni is wrapped up in this thick ooze.

Bridgett (Moni): This is a rough day. What the fuck did I do to deserve this? What did I... I failed one roll!

cuppycup (Keeper): Make a STRENGTH roll for Moni, and I'm going to make a POWER roll.

Bridgett (Moni): Holy shit. REGULAR SUCCESS, 32 under 50. 

cuppycup (Keeper): Ooh, with a 19, the creatures going to win that one, too.

Bridgett (Moni): It's a bad day, honey.

cuppycup (Keeper): Yeah. I'm sorry.

Bridgett (Moni): It's ok. Listen, we're here for it.

cuppycup (Keeper): Patience and Chester, you witness Moni's panic as she struggles to turn, reaching back for you. She's lifted into the air, thin glass appendages press into her skin, their surface dancing with rainbows in the glaring sun. And then Moni starts to flicker like a candle flame.

Brandon (Chester): Great. Great.

Rina (Patience): I was going to say, as soon as she started fading, Patience was going to leap forward and try to grab her.

cuppycup (Keeper): Well, I'd give you a chance to do that. Let's use DEXTERITY.

Bridgett (Moni): Please make it.

Rina (Patience): Let's see. Oh, my DEX is really good. I SUCCEEDED. I'm going to jump forward and I'm going to grab her arm because I'm going to try and pull her back.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, give me a STRENGTH roll for Patience.

Rina (Patience): Ok.

cuppycup (Keeper): Make it a good one because I rolled a HARD SUCCESS.

Bridgett (Moni): Oh, come on, Patience.

Rina (Patience): Oh.

Bridgett (Moni): Shit.

cuppycup (Keeper): Chester...

Rina (Patience): *laughs* He'll be alone with Jimmy.

Brandon (Chester): Just me and Jimmy.

cuppycup (Keeper): Chester, you watch in silence with the rest as Patience breaks into a sprint up the mountain path. They leap and grab onto Moni's outstretched hand as light catches on to a titanic wraith-like Medusa.

Grist: Church! Shoot it, you bastard. Smith, go get the guns.

Church: Damn it! She took them.

Andino: *speaks in foreign language*

cuppycup (Keeper): Cascades of prismatic color reveal its form as Patience is wrenched upward into the embrace of Moni and the thousands of strangling tendrils. The mass of them shimmers, and then they are all gone.

Brandon (Chester): What the fuck? Wow. Where's Jimmy?

cuppycup (Keeper): He's performing.

Brandon (Chester): So he is not seeing this. Jimmy has no idea.

cuppycup (Keeper): He's very focused. I'll take a SANITY check for Chester, though.

Brandon (Chester): Yeah. Fuck. Okay, great. Yeah. I have FAILED my SAN check.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, so give me a d8.

Bridgett (Moni): Wow.

Brandon (Chester): We're just making up nice rolls.

cuppycup (Keeper): We're making up numbers.

Brandon (Chester): It's a 2. It's a 2.

cuppycup (Keeper): How does Chester react?

Brandon (Chester): Yeah, not well, because I saw my two companions disappear out of thin air. I start kind of shrieking, half out of terror and half to get people's attention, specifically at this point, Jimmy's or the camps or something. At least have other people around me.

Jimmy: Chester, this ain't the first time I had a crowd react. But you might want to tone it down a smidge, little buddy.

Chester: I don't know how to explain it. They both flickered, disappeared. Something appeared above them and they are gone.

cuppycup (Keeper): Ok, settle down now, Chessie. We need to see about getting a couple's therapist back in Junction.

Chester: Oh, Jesus.

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