Em: Welcome to BlackwaterDnD, where good friends tell better stories. This series, Afterlight, is a miniseries using Blades in the Dark, and is proudly sponsored by Evil Hat Productions and Bookwyrm Games. As this game falls within a post-apocalyptic horror genre, it may contain themes and depictions that are triggering for some listeners. Please take care of yourself and access safe support as you see fit. Content warnings for this episode include: complex family dynamics & interpersonal conflict // apocalypse & societal collapse // darkness and shadow // guns as weapons // blood and gore // body horror // visions and mind control // substance use // violence // grief & loss // being chased // blackmail // death of family members & loved ones // unsafe water // bugs and insects // severe injury // needles So get comfortable, and keep the lights on. Welcome to Afterlight. Chapter 3: Mosaic Si: With a click of a flashlight, you illuminate the horror of the room you stand in. A body eviscerated from wounds so severe, they look like the result of some horrific industrial accident. The tearing of flesh, so destructive, it is hard to imagine it being caused by something other than machine. Where you stand, a pool of blood and black oil fills much of this room. And the sound of it splashing as you take your first steps inside makes you want to retch. You can hear the warped sounds of the city outside, but they are muffled through the thick library doors. Inside here, it is quiet and still. It is hard to take your eyes off the dead body on the floor, and hard not to imagine the manner in which they died, in gory detail. Luce. It is hard to shake from your mind the image of the monster bearing down on you like a freight train, its form morphing before your eyes. Within its dark shifting mass you saw rows of teeth like a hundred knives, spear-like legs with the sharpest edges, and relentless movement and focus. A perfect killing machine. You had one second to stop it from crashing down upon you, and you only need to look around you now to imagine what might have happened had you missed. In that moment, despite the furious movement, you found something to aim at and pulled the trigger. As you catch your breath and take stock of your surroundings, you feel something sticking to your skin and clothes, and look down to see a thick black substance splattered across you. Across the front of your jacket and jeans. On your hands, you can feel it sticking to your neck and on part of your cheek. And looking down you also see a shard of broken glass lodged deep in the back of your right hand, about two inches long. It must have happened when you smashed the mirror, and it hurts like hell. The trickle of blood running from the wound down between your fingers is mixed with the black oily substance and smeared across your skin, getting under your fingernails. You put yourself in incredible danger out there. Why? Em: There wasn't any other option. I had to make sure everyone could keep going. I had to keep going, Pen had to keep going. I had to get that gun. That was a no-brainer. And then I just took the shot. Simple as that. That's all it can be, because this is a job. I have a goal. There's no distracting from that. But this fucking hurts like hell. I look around, is there any fresh water anywhere? Amelia: As you start to look around, Evlan is gonna pause as they enter the room, once they realize there's no immediate threat, is already like, swiveling around the backpack and is digging in to see if there's like, any kind of first aid kit. Si: You find a couple of bandages rolled up, there’s a bottle of water as well. Gina: If I see Luce with this shard of glass sticking out of her hand and I… I'm gonna, I’m gonna pull my backpack out in front of me, and dig into it and grab the sewing kit that I brought. Em: Yeah, and as I see you doing that, Em (as Luce): “You got a, you got a needle and thread in there, Pen?” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, um, come here, come here.” Gina: And I think as I say that, I take a step forward towards you, but my foot catches on a, a body part, I don't know, I don’t know what part it is- Em: I catch your eyeline, Em (as Luce): “Don't look at it. Don't look at it. Just walk towards me and come sit at this table. Don't look at it.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Em (as Luce): “Don't look at it.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay, okay.” Gina: And I move, I step over whatever it is, whatever it is that's on the ground and I move to you and I take your hand. Gina (as Pen): “Are you okay?” Em (as Luce): “Ummm I want this out of my hand. So we're gonna sit down before I lose any more blood. You're not gonna touch any of the substance that's on my skin, okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Sean (as Danny): “Hey, girls, I was saving this for a different kind of emergency, but you might need this.” Sean: And Danny's just going to give you a flask of, uh, just whiskey. Not particularly fancy whiskey either. Sean (as Danny): “Before you go putting any needles in, figure it's best to-” Gina (as Pen): “Right, right.” Sean (as Danny): “-clean it off and such. That's for you.” Em (as Luce): “Thanks, Danny.“ Em: Luce would sit down at the table and kind of use the edge of my jacket. And I think there's a look up at Pen of a, like an apology, that I'm going to get the jacket dirty with whatever is on the table. I don't say anything out loud, but I wipe the edge of the table and, I take, put my hand kind of on the table and look at this shard of glass in my hand. And, would Evlan have brought over, would there have been water? Amelia: Yeah, Evlan walks over and kind of like, puts the water on the table, looks at your hand, and looks at Pen, Amelia (as Evlan): “Um… Do you need help? You're shaking.” Gina (as Pen): “Um, no, I'm, um…” Gina: And I look down at my hands and I notice that I'm shaking and I… Take a breath. Gina (as Pen): “I, I think I can stitch it up, and, and maybe you can, um, you've got bandaids in there, right?” Em (as Luce): “Yeah.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah.” Em: I think Luce grins at Evlan when they speak at the same time. Em (as Luce): “I'm gonna take it out, okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Em (as Luce): “And someone's gonna pour some water on and then some whiskey,” Gina (as Pen): “Mhmm.” Em (as Luce): “And you're gonna dip that needle in the whiskey and you're gonna sew it.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Em (as Luce): “And you're not gonna pay any attention to any of the noises, if I make any.” Gina (as Pen): “Mhmm.” Em (as Luce): “You just ignore it and you sew. You're good at sewing.” Gina (as Pen): “Mhm, yeah, I'm good at sewing. Okay, okay, okay.” Em (as Luce): “Yeah. Okay.” Em: I am going to, gently as possible, remove the piece of glass from my hand. Amelia: As you do, Evlan is going to take the shard and give their other hand for you to grab onto as the sewing begins. Em: Yeah. Yeah. I think Luce does. And I don't, I don't look away from it. I look entirely at Pen. And like, if there's any grimaces, I don't want her to see those. But if I can stomach it, I'm going to make sure she knows that I am okay. And I'm going to, this is not the first time I've had somebody sew me up. But it'll probably be the best time somebody will have ever sewed me up. And I grit it out as the water goes, whiskey goes, needle in the whiskey, thread. And she sews. Si: It hurts like hell, it hurts so much, and you are losing some of the feeling in your fingers a little. And Luce, I'm gonna need a resistance roll from you right now to resist this becoming a bigger problem, and this will be resisting with prowess, with it being a physical injury. Em: Okay. Si: And this is technically not a consequence of Luce's incredibly brave, but very reckless actions just outside the library door, but it is a consequence she's dealing with in the immediate aftermath. So, Em, I'm going to let you decide whether or not you think Luce would lose that d6 as a result of using her Loose Cannon ability just outside the door. Em: Fair's fair. So I think so, yeah. As the adrenaline starts to wear off, I think that's when this roll would happen. And the come down from that, and Luce telling themselves that everything's fine, this is totally okay, is so far from the truth. Normally I have three in prowess, but since I am taking 1d6 away, that's 2d6. [dice rolling] Okay, so, I rolled two twos. So if we take that away from six, that's four. Si: You take four points of stress, as all of these feelings converge at the same time. The adrenaline wearing off from the drama just outside the door. Regaining a bit of clarity and composure in this moment with your hand on this surface in the gloomy entrance of the library. The horrific gory detail just behind you, that you're all in this very moment ignoring, doing your best not to look at. And the hole left in your hand as you remove this shard of glass, and your sister starts trying to patch it up. Em (as Luce): “Fuuuuck.” Gina: And if I can add to that, I think part of the reason why Luce takes so much stress is because as I'm sewing, I can't stop myself and I'm just saying, Gina (as Pen): [through sobs] “I'm sorry, I, it's my fault. I shouldn't have looked. I should have believed you. I'm sorry. This is my fault.” Em: I let go of Evlan's hand as I'm gritting through each stitch, and I place my left hand underneath one of your elbows that is propped on the table. Em (as Luce): “Pen, it's fine. It's fine. Your only job right now is to be really good at sewing. It’s fine.” Gina (as Pen): “I'm really good at sewing.” Em (as Luce): “You're really good at sewing.” Gina (as Pen): “Look, it's almost done!” Em (as Luce): “You're doing a really good job. It doesn't even hurt.” Gina (as Pen): “I don't believe you.” Em (as Luce): “When have I ever lied to you?” Gina (as Pen): “All the time!” Sean: While this is going on in, an effort to, seeing the way Pen reacted to bumping into the body, um, I think Danny would have… Without drawing as much attention as he could, maybe pulled off a curtain against one of the windows, and lain it over the body to also sort of shy away from the light that he's gonna shine on it, to try to see if he can recognize a face or if it's got any sort of ID, or anything that he'd recognize from the four people who went out before us. Si: Yeah, absolutely. Actually, I think I'm going to, I'll give you the opportunity to get more information from this space if you'd like to. We’ll make an action roll for this. To represent the investigation, if you let me know which skill you'll be using, I think- Sean: I mean, I feel like this is a classic survey, is it not, if we're like, taking in the room? Si: I think that sounds right, yeah. Sean: [dice rolling] Two sixes, that's a four. Sorry, with two d6s, it's a four. Si: Partial success. As you cover the body, it is pale and cold. Rigor mortis fully set in. And given the state of them, it's almost certainly one of the group from the Safe Zone sent out here a week ago. And there's not much of a face, or even a head left, but you see dark skin, short dark hair, stubble. What's left of part of a square looking jaw, and I think Danny would know this to be Miles. Miles is one of Jacob's crew. He's a pretty tough guy, an athletic build, a little brash at times, like he's quite loud, and it's hard not to see him moving about the Safe Zone. But he also often made the effort to be kind and considerate to the people around him. Sean: Does he, does he have anything on him that might, uh, look like it has… Sentimental significance? Something that if we make it back, I could bring back to someone who was missing him? Si: You notice underneath the body, slightly squashed and sitting in the pool of blood, is their backpack. It is soaked through, but you can kind of pry it out from underneath. Sean: Yeah, I think I'll take that and then just reposition Miles as best I can. Sort of arms across the chest, as though he were gonna be in a casket, just to make as neat a situation of this as I can, and then put the curtain over top and sort of tuck just off to a table to inspect this backpack. Si: You pull the bag out from underneath his body, and you turn back to what's left of Miles to try to put him in some kind of respectable condition, and it's the first time, I think close up, you really look at him. You go to cross his arms over his chest, and realize he doesn't have both arms anymore. He is badly, badly wounded. The flesh at the site of the injuries seems to have hardened, almost crystallized, deep wounds and gashes. There are traces of black oil smeared across the skin, pooling in the wounds and mixed in with the blood around the body. And of what's left of his face you see in the one eye, you can see pools of black on his eyeball as he stares lifelessly up at the ceiling, like ink blots. But you cover him up. Pull out the backpack. And inside it are all the items you were given. Water, incredibly old snack bar. Bandages, now wet with blood. Plus a length of nylon rope. Miles also had with him a lighter and some lighter fluid in a small can. And there is a slip of paper folded up. It looks like it's been just torn out of a notebook and very neatly written in pencil. It just says, ‘I'm proud of you’, with a small heart doodled in the corner. Sean: Does this look like something a kid wrote? Si: Quite possibly, yeah. Sean: Did I know whether or not Miles had kids? Si: I'm not sure Danny knew for sure. I don't think he had a lot of direct interaction with Miles. But you also would know that there are a number of people in the Safe Zone who do their very best to shield their kids from the more stressful or bleak aspects of life, and for people who do jobs in the Safe Zone, they often left their kids with, in other people's care, and seeing this note now I think Danny would probably guess that maybe Miles was one of those people. Sean: I think looking at that note, that's tough. He wants to believe he was, Miles was just some kind of nanny. But there's a chance that he wasn't. And I think there's just this feeling of anger that comes over Danny looking at this crude little doodle. And he folds up the paper and he puts it in his pocket and he just sort of mutters to himself, ‘you goddamn fool’. And he'll just leave the backpack where it is and come back to the group. And see how everyone's doing. Sean (as Danny): “Is that hand holding up there Luce?” Em (as Luce): “Yeah, it's right as rain, Danny. It's right as rain.” Gina (as Pen): “I’m almost done!” Sean (as Danny): “It's looking good, Pen.” Gina (as Pen): “Thanks.” Em (as Luce): “Don't tie it up too tight, just give it a little bit of room to breathe. I'm going to still need to be able to use it.” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah.” Em (as Luce): “It's my firing hand.” Gina (as Pen): “Can you flex your hand for me just so I can see?” Em: Oh, I muster every ounce of energy I can to flex my hand in a way that shows I have lost no, no faculties. Gina (as Pen): “Okay, it should be good.” Gina: And I look around as if someone here happens to have scissors and I realize... Amelia: Evlan flips out their knife. Gina (as Pen): “Thanks!” Gina: And I reach out and I take it, and I very carefully slice the thread with enough room after tying it off. And I gently place, I go to place the knife down, and then I turn back to Evlan and I hand it back to you. Amelia (as Evlan): “That’s it.” Gina (as Pen): “Thank you.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Mhmm.” Si: In that moment, Evlan as the beam of the flashlight moves around the room, and Pen turns to look at you and hands it back, I think you notice Pen's face in the light for the first time, and you see black tear stains have run from her eyes all the way to her jawbone, and the hair around her ears, which is normally so red and vibrant, is tangled in a grey oily mess, matted and greasy. And her eyes have changed a little. They look different. A little darker, no longer blue, but more grey, and they're getting very bloodshot around the edges. Amelia: I think without thinking upon seeing that, Evlan is going to instinctively just reach out to your face, Pen, and rub the tears on your eyes and look to see if it's real. Si: It smears across her skin. And you feel it kind of cold and oily on your fingertips. Amelia (as Evlan): “How do you feel?” Gina (as Pen): “I don’t feel so good.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, okay.” Gina: And I open my mouth to say more and you see the look cross my face, and I turn as far away from you as I can and I vomit on the floor. Gina (as Pen): [vomiting] “Sorry.” Em: I push the flask of whiskey across. Em (as Luce): “Just take a small sip of it.” Gina: I reach out and I take it, and I take a big swig. Em (as Luce): “Atta girl.” Si: Pen, you were so focused on helping Luce, that you didn't give it much thought in the moment, but as you focused on the stitching and on the wound it was becoming harder and harder to, to focus. You had difficulty with your eyes adjusting in the light, the light of the flashlight feels particularly harsh, and you're really kind of squinting. You feel your eyes stinging, and you can feel that coldness on your cheek from the tears that seem to have involuntarily come. And, you realize that the edge of your vision is starting to get just a little bit blurry and distorted around the edges. Gina: I straighten back up, and I wipe at my mouth, with the back of my hand, and I rub my eyes- Em (as Luce): “Don't touch ‘em.” Gina (as Pen): “What? What's wrong? Why do my eyes hurt?” Em (as Luce): “Can we spare a bottle of water to clean her eyes out?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah.” Gina (as Pen): “No, no, it's okay, it's okay, I can just-” Amelia (as Evlan): “Hey, Pen.” Em (as Luce): “Stop. Stop. You just stitched up my hand. Let us help as much as we can with that. There is no not accepting help here. And that's a fuckton coming from me.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Amelia: I'm gonna hand Luce the bottle of water and say, Amelia (as Evlan): “I'm gonna take a lap while you're doing that. Make sure there's nothing else hiding around here.” Em: I raise my eyebrow at Evlan. Em (as Luce): “Like a lap?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Not like a lap, just a… Just making sure we have as much time as I hope we do to figure this shit out.” Sean (as Danny): “I’ll come with ya.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah.” Em (as Luce): “I'm giving you gears, go do what you need to do.” Sean (as Danny): “Hey, Luce, you planning on going two guns blazing now?” Em (as Luce): “Someone else should have one if they need one.” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, why don’t-” Em (as Luce): “I'm apparently pretty good with the one I've got, so.” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, I just think, you know, maybe two, you're overcompensating for something. Here, let me take that revolver you picked up there.” Em: I pass it to Danny, with a grin. Sean: And I'll head off with Evlan to look around. Em: I take the fresh bottle of water from my kit, and I pour a little bit of the whiskey on my hands to clean them off as much as possible, and then a bit of water, and I stand up walking over to Pen, and get her to tilt her head at an angle, so which I will pour water on her eyes, one at a time. And I'll move her head as needed, so that it doesn't pool, it runs straight off. Real, like, science class eye cleaning station shit. I look at her. Em (as Luce): “I don't know if this is gonna hurt or not. It probably will hurt like a motherfucker.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay. Okay.” Em: And I don't count her in, I just do it. Does it clear? Si: The water washes off the oil. You can clean the smear marks from Pen's cheeks, and that were pooling in the corners of her eyes. It cleans it up, and it doesn't look like anymore is coming for now. But her eyes still look sore, and her iris is just very slightly darker and more colourless, and it may just be the darkness and the gloom inside this building but… But you've looked into your sister's eyes a lot of times, and… This looks different. Em: Try not to let my face belie any concern. Em (as Luce): “Look, we all know how pretty you are, okay? So just don't look in mirrors anymore for a little bit until we get back in the Safe Zone, okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Do you remember when I, I think I was six, and I accidentally sprayed mom's perfume in my eyes?” Em (as Luce): “Yes, I do.” Gina (as Pen): “And you help me clean it out.” Em (as Luce): “We had just done the safety unit in science, so I had to show off in some way. Does it hurt like that or different?” Gina (as Pen): “It's kinda hard to remember, but… I don’t think it felt like this. It feels kind of different, I think.” Em (as Luce): “Can you tell me if it starts to get worse?” Gina: And you see Pen start to cry a little bit and she holds it back. Gina (as Pen): “Yeah, yeah.” Em (as Luce): “Crying is actually probably the best thing you can do right now. Crying is incredibly helpful at clearing your eyes of gunk. That's why it's there.” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah.” Em (as Luce): “It’s okay to cry.” Gina (as Pen): “What the hell was that thing? Is it gonna come back?” Em (as Luce): “Not the one I shot. I don't know what it was. But it wasn't mom. It wanted you to think it was mom.” Gina (as Pen): “I should have believed you. You tried to tell me and I didn't.” Em (as Luce): “No, no, no, there's none of that. No, no, Don't beat yourself up. I already berated you enough yesterday.” Gina (as Pen): “But hey, look, we are spending more time together.” Em (as Luce): “[laughs] Yeah. Yeah.” Gina (as Pen): “Thank you.” Em (as Luce): “Yeah. Of course. I'm your big sister. I should probably fucking act like it sometimes.” Si: Danny, your knees and your back are burning with the pain of running from that thing. You have never felt more old in your entire life. And you are suddenly struck with a profound mortal fear that you are not sure whether you can do that again. Whether your legs will carry you that fast. Whether your body can keep up. And you felt pretty good this morning, but you haven't had to really push yourself in a long long time, and now you can feel your joints seizing up and the pain of overstretched and torn muscles. And you feel it with every step as you follow Evlan into the library, and as you both turn to look further inside the building you can see great smears of blood move in arcs on the ground and on the walls away from here, further into the building. And deep scrape marks drag along the floor away from you. But you move further into the gloom, and there's a large entrance hall beyond the front door that leads through into a grand central library room with a high ceiling, rows of dozens and dozens of tall shelves of books in white metal frames on one side, and long pale wooden desks on the other, lined with chairs. There's some cubicles with computer monitors around the edge of the room, and a number of old looking oil paintings dotted around the walls showing historic sites in the city. Above you in the center of the ceiling there is a grand dome roof with a skylight window, panels sitting above the central atrium. But you see that half of it has collapsed. And you see jagged shards of glass still stuck in the frame. Beyond it, the sky swirls above with constant movement. Sean: So this building is open to the night. Si: It is. Amelia: As we look up, Evlan just says, Amelia (as Evlan): “Fuck.” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, this might not be quite the cozy spot we were hoping. Let's hustle back to the others. We should probably get moving.” Amelia (as Evlan): “You okay?” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, yeah, umm... Just, you ever hear the one about the two hikers and the bear?” Amelia (as Evlan): “No?” Sean (as Danny): “Alright, so I like this one. You got two hikers and they're hiking as you do and they spot a bear and the bear growls at them, gets real big and it's like, oh boy. The one hiker says to the other hiker, what are we going to do? And the other hiker starts tying his shoes. And he says, whoa, the first hiker says, what are doing tying your shoes? You think you can outrun the bear? And the second hiker says, no, all I have to do is outrun you. And, uh, I guess just, I think I'll be real easy to outrun on this one. Which, you know, I think, I think if, if any of us don't make it back, I had a pretty, you know, it should be you young folks.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, Danny?” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah?” Amelia (as Evlan): “This doesn't work if we're all just trying to fight each other to be able to sacrifice ourselves. Then no one gets back.” Sean (as Danny): “Well, trust me, I don't want to sacrifice anybody, I just... I just, I think, I'm gonna give all I got. And I'm just aware that I might not have that much to give.” Amelia (as Evlan): “I think you have more than you realize. Everything out here, it starts in there.” Amelia: And Evlan just like, points to your forehead. Amelia (as Evlan): “All of this shit, it plays with your mind and your memories and your feelings. So, if you think you're not going to make it, you're already fucking dead.” Sean (as Danny): “Ah, well, my mind's good. Look, I'm quick. I still play chess every now and then with the fellas, but, uh-” Amelia (as Evlan): “Buck up buttercup!” Sean (as Danny): “Well hey look, I'm just saying I'm not gonna win a foot race, alright? You wanted to play twenty questions? I'm, I-” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, that's why you have a fucking gun. We'll be fine.” Sean (as Danny): “I've known a lot of guys who thought that holding a gun made them a real badass. Just got them into more trouble.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah well, still looks cool.” Sean (as Danny): “Well, thank you very much. I'm quite dashing. I think I've aged quite well.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Hmmm.” Sean (as Danny): “Why... Why are you here? I mean, I know you're like, weird, like on purpose, and that's cool. [both laughing] But I feel like, of anybody in the safe zone, you're kinda making this whole end of the world thing work for you.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah... You know, I'm just gonna keep it real with you, Danny. This is not my first time out here. It's my first time going this far. And when the first crew didn't come back, I figured, I might as well keep it going.” Sean (as Danny): “So this is like, safari for you?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Okay, no-” Sean (as Danny): “It's okay if it is. I'm just-” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, but no, it's… I get... Ever since the first night when everything went wrong. When me and my brother were making a mad dash to the only source of light we could see in the distance. Ever since then, nothing's felt right. And when I am here, everything just feels wrong in a different way… I mean, none of this shit makes sense. And I know none of it makes sense, but, and I'm not a scientist, I don't have all of their radio wave transmitters and whatever fucking research they're doing on why things work, but there's just something about whatever it is out here, and… I just can't be pent up in that fucking box any longer. And I figured, the first go-round, I don't know, I'd never done anything like this, but when those people didn't come back… No one else seems to want to go outside except for me, so, I figured I might as well. And if there's anything I can do to help get people like Pen back home safe, it seemed worth it to try.” Sean (as Danny): “Hm. That's funny, the thing's feeling wrong but in a different kind of wrong out here. My daughter Sue, she had it tough coming up and I didn't quite understand it but, I looked into it in the last few years, and she'd have these episodes of, they call it derealization, that's the word that they got for it, where I didn't understand it at the time, she tried to tell me, it didn't make sense to me, where things just didn't feel real. And I was there and she was there and we were in the room, and things didn't feel real. And uh, I never knew what to do with that. And so, um… I guess I just want say if… If things are feeling wrong in the wrong kind of way, you can… I'm here, and I'll do what I can to bring you back to wrong in the right way, if that makes sense.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, no, it does. I wish, everything here just feels too fucking real.” Sean (as Danny): “Well hey, I got a lot of that whiskey left, you know, I was saving it but I figure you might as well.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, well, yeah, we'll see if how much of it's left by the time we get back there.” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, Pen took a real swig of that and she didn't grimace at all. I think, I think she lived a life before the end of the world here.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah. Yeah. I, I think it's a lot. Yeah.” Sean (as Danny): “We should get back, but that's what I was looking for, some light reading.” Sean: And I pick up off the shelves just like one of the biggest fucking, like, legal texts, like one of those books that you can like bludgeon someone to death with. And I'm just gonna sorta tuck that under my arm for later. And we make our way back to our dear friends. Amelia: Yeah. Si: The same heavy gloom from outside fills the library. The same dark, monochrome grey as it was outside, and it's almost as if there's a fog in the air. You see particles drifting in the grey, like dust, but not settling. And as you make your way back, you notice a couple of the heavy desks look like they've been thrown across the floor, smashed against some of the bookshelves in the back. You see evidence of more blood smeared on surfaces, it looks black here in the darkness. But it is quiet. The sounds of the city outside feel distant for now, as you make your way back towards the entrance. Amelia: How old does this blood look? Si: You didn't notice any other signs of blood stains or injury when you left the Safe Zone and started moving through the streets. When the event happened, everything was so chaotic and insane, and there were tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people in the chaos, running, moving all about the city. People were dying all over, but there was a strange emptiness to the streets as you moved through them, as if all of that chaos had somehow been reset, or as if evidence of that day had faded or disappeared somehow, so arriving here in the library and seeing evidence of severe injury, I think it would be very clear to Evlan and to all of you that this is new. This is within this last week. This is a week old. Em: I got a question about this blood. If we only see the one body here… Is this too much blood? Si: There is an almost incomprehensible amount in the library entrance. A large puddle that stretches across the floor. But you also see, as you inspect it, that the liquid that you had to step through, it doesn't look like it is purely blood. There some other substance mixed within it, whether it's this strange dark ooze, oil, whatever you'd call it, you've experienced already. There seems to be some part of it that is sticking around, that is tangible, and you can see some of it on and even in this body on the floor. And it’s glistening slightly. Em: Does it keep the blood from congealing and drying? Like the blood here appears wet and is still puddling and is sloshing. This blood should likely have been dry. Si: Yes. Em: Okay. As I'm sitting with Pen after cleaning her eyes out. I think I vaguely clock that Danny has put a curtain over the body that we walked through, and I take out my gun as I'm sitting at the table, and I make sure that none of this oil-like substance is in my gun. I don't want my gun to misfire. I take the clip out, especially if I'm going to be cleaning it, and make sure that nothing is going to misfire or prevent me from doing that again if I need to. Si: And you see Evlan and Danny return. Sean (as Danny): “Uh, hey everybody. We should probably get going. This isn't quite the safe haven we were hoping it is. We're not in immediate danger, but we're sort of open to the wild world.” Sean: And I'll just sort of sidle up to Luce and just sort of, just mutter in your ear, Sean (as Danny): “It was Miles. It's uh, it’s not Francis.” Em (as Luce): “Okay. If you, um… If you see any dog tags on them, that's what we're wanting to bring back. If any of them, if there's any of that left.” Sean (as Danny): “Nah, nothing, guess they must have… Took those with them. Which is kind of a good sign, I guess.” Em (as Luce): “Maybe... Maybe Miles was the first one. This is the first stop.” Gina: If I look around, do I see any footprints in the blood that aren't ours? Si: No, you don't see any footprints that aren't yours, other than the fresh ones that Danny and Evlan just tracked through. The only marks that you can see are… They're not footprints, they are smears. Marks that line the floor, and the walls and the ceiling, that go through deeper into the library. But no footprints.” Gina (as Pen): “I think he was here alone.” Em (as Luce): “No. Well… He either got separated and came in here as safe refuge, safe, or they all came through here and he just didn't make it going forward with them.” Sean (as Danny): “He wasn't alone, Someone got his dog tags. Someone took care of him. You ready to move?” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have to, right?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah.” Sean (as Danny): “Yes.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Em (as Luce): “Hey Pen, you remember, you remember when you were little and you used to get like, really, really overwhelmed when there were too many things to do at once? And Dad used to say, you only have to do one thing at a time and just be really good at that one thing?” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah. Yeah.” Em (as Luce): “Right now the only thing we have to do is keep moving. And that's all you gotta be good at doing right now. One thing at a time.” Gina (as Pen): “One thing at a time.” Em (as Luce): “Yeah.” Gina (as Pen): “One thing at a time… I miss Dad.” Em (as Luce): “I know you do. He would have had something to say about all of this.” Gina (as Pen): “Well, he wouldn't have liked you having that gun, that's for sure.” Em (as Luce): “He wouldn't have been able to stop me one way or the other. [Pen chuckles] But you're right.” Gina (as Pen): “He would have been wrong.” Em (as Luce): “He usually was. But not about the ‘one thing at a time’. He can have that one, I guess.” Gina (as Pen): “One thing at a time.” Em (as Luce): “Let's go.” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Si: You move through the building into the main room. Right in the center of the library is a beautiful circular tiled mosaic on the floor. An incredible design of geometry and symmetry that sits directly below the dome roof above, mirroring its size and shape, but splayed out in the middle of it, like some art display in a grotesque heap, is the body of a dead creature on the floor. Dark mass of limbs and strange slimy form. It looks like it's been dead sometime, collapsed in a pile, folded in on itself. It is surrounded by so much blood on the floor. It looks like human blood, but there are more of those oily black patches mixed in. Its body is covered in this kind of hard shell like a beetle, but glistening in patches where the slick black oil has oozed over it and then partly dried. And it has enormous legs splayed out, six of them that you can see. Probably about ten feet in length when fully extended, and all with small spines on them, running the whole way down and ending in frighteningly sharp points, each like the tip of a spear. Although even as you approach from a distance, you can see some of them are badly damaged. There's evidence that this thing was attacked. Sean: Do we see any shell casings on the ground? Or... Or, if this thing's all beetle-like with an exoskeleton, any like, puncture wounds in its... Carapace? That suggests it got either hit with something we could hold, or it got hit by something bigger than it. Si: You do see shell casings, many of them. You can see evidence of gunshot wounds to its body. And you also see what looks like potentially damage from fire as well. Sean (as Danny): “Nobody's thinking of touching that thing, right?” Em (as Luce): “I dare you.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Mm, no.” Em (as Luce): “Come on Evlan, I dare you.” Amelia (as Evlan): “No.” Sean (as Danny): “No, no, no, no, no-” Amelia (as Evlan): “You want me to? You want me to prove it?” Amelia: I like put my hand out like I'm gonna touch it. Sean (as Danny): “-no, no, when we touch things, demons come out of them. Let's... let's…” Amelia (as Evlan): “No, Luce wants me to touch it, so…” Em (as Luce): “No, don't touch it. Don't touch it.” Amelia: I don't touch it. Em (as Luce): “It seems like they shot at it and stabbed it, and burned it.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Astute observation.” Em (as Luce): “Thank you so much.” Amelia (as Evlan): “You got lighter fluid from that bag, yeah?” Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Amelia (as Evlan): “There's a lighter. Anyone bring hairspray? No? Yeah. Figures.” Em (as Luce): “Alcohol for a molotov cocktail as a last resort.” Sean (as Danny): “Well with the flask, I, just point of order, the flask I’ve got is real for personal use. He didn't bring a fucking Mickey with him- Amelia: Yeah, we got the lighter fluid. Hopefully we don't- Sean: Yeah, the nature of this lighter fluid, Si, it's... It's not an aerosol can, is it? Or is it? Si: No, it's not. Sean: Damn. Amelia: Yeah. Sean: So if we wanted to start a small fire quickly, we could. Amelia: A squeeze bottle. Em: Does it look like there's, on our way around, like any supply closets or janitorial closets or something where things would be kept? This is a library. They would have to keep it clean. Amelia: Some libraries have makerspaces, just saying. Em: Exactly. Or, if there was a toolkit or something that was here that we could potentially, you know, scrap for parts or take, or loot. Amelia: How tall are the shelves? Si: The shelves are pretty tall. They're about twelve feet high. So they stretch pretty high above you. Amelia: I'll climb up on one to get a better vantage point. Si: Okay. Em: I'll boost you up. With my non-busted hand. Si: With Evlan climbing above you, Luce, you kind of spin around to try to figure out what's here, what rooms might be useful, where there might be useful supplies, and you can see you're in this main open room, this high ceiling, the central atrium, but you can see beyond that, a corridor leads out of here and further away, and you can see a number of connecting doors, a number of side rooms that seem to lead off that corridor all the way down. All the way through to what looks like the exit on the far side, all the way at the other end of this quite long corridor, and you can see the door is open, and the outside just beyond it. Em: I would clock that as a reasonable way for us to go out onto our next checkpoint, and make sure that we definitely look in a couple of those closets before we leave, but I'd let Evlan do their thing here first before breaking off. Si: Pulling yourself up onto the top of the bookshelf, you get a good look at the room around you and you get this aerial vantage point looking down at that central mosaic in the center of the room, with this monster splayed out right in the middle. Limbs just stretching in strange angles, and its body glistening a sickly black, and reflecting whatever strange atmospheric light there is in here as the particles come through. It is lifeless and unmoving. From where you are you see footprints. Bloody footprints, leading away from the middle of the room where that scene is, and where all the blood is. You see three pairs of footprints leading away. Leading out into the corridor. Cutting through the library towards the exit. There's evidence of injury around the room, but it's mostly confined to this central space. It's like whatever happened, whatever this commotion and fight was, this is where it happened. And you look up at the dome above you and the gaping hole in the window. And up here you can see scrape marks on the wall, right by the dome, leading down from the ceiling. It looks like something climbed in. And at this height you can also hear the city a bit more, and I think if Evlan stands up, up at this height, I think they probably just close their eyes for a moment and listen. These are sounds Evlan is familiar with. Something that they've experienced multiple times over the last year. And there is that familiarity, and almost a comfort because of the, because this is what you would expect. It sounds just like you remember. And for all of its, all of it’s chaos and resonance, all of its sensory impact, to you, it’s a little predictable. To you it is safe somehow, compared to what you just experienced. Amelia: As I stand there, lost in that kind of feeling, just breathing… Can I try to attune to see if I can listen in that static like I did earlier, to see if there's another disruption, if there is anything near us. Si: Hell yeah. Let's give it a go. This is… What Evlan is trying right now is not… In human history up to this point, is not a human skill. Evlan is trying something right now that is superhuman, or paranormal or abnormal, or however you'd like to describe it. Because it is not just listening, it is feeling the sound waves and the energy. Go ahead and make an attune roll. Amelia: Okay, so that one, I roll all of the, a die for every check mark I have? Si: Yes. Amelia: I mean, just for the heck of it, what does pushing myself do? Si: You get to add a die, you get to add a d6, if you take two stress. And I think in this case, why don't you describe to us how Evlan approaches this and how they… How they feel about this, to think that it is worth pushing themselves in that way, to really make this connection. Amelia: I think that Evlan doesn't view this as channeling something supernatural. I mean, they're reaching into themselves, into like a font they didn't know that they had, but they only have the words that we all have to describe our feelings and the sensations that we know. So, as they stand there, they clock the footprints and they're about to say something when something in the distance, it's like going out on a summer night when you become aware of the fact that the cicadas are making noise, and it goes from a background cacophony, and you almost feel like you can follow the call of a single insect. But what's really happening is you're getting bits and pieces of different ones. They're all hitting the same notes sequentially, and you're finding a melody that doesn't quite actually exist. And Evlan is caught in that. And I think for a moment it does remind them of, you know, hot summer nights when you can feel the humidity in the air and that ozone, that pressure that was once so foreign, is now kind of pseudo normal. It's connected to that memory. And the ambient background roiling and swirling, it's connected to the sound of insects, and then once you get the cicadas down, you hear like a morning dove or an owl, and… I think they're, they’re not connecting it specifically to the memories, but the feeling of that memory when you're outside in the silence. And they… They hear it, and they almost hear something else. And they feel that they're so close to a memory, to a specific thing. And it's not like the false memories in their head where it feels close and wrong, but they're just almost there. Like when you, if you ever do like, monkey bars as a kid, when you're grabbing onto the next one and you feel your fingers slightly slipping and sliding off, and you're just trying to wrap all the way around the bar so you don't fall. And because they're pulling from something new, it is taxing their body in a way that they don't quite understand, like when you're stretching your neck out just a little bit farther to catch a glimpse of something right around the corner, and you're on the precipice of maybe pulling a muscle. [dice roll] Okay. Ah, it was not in the cards. The highest was four. Got three ones, if that counts for anything. Si: Luckily for you, it does not. Amelia: Yeah, okay, well that die is going away. I'm not good at rolling d6s and that's fine and I've accepted that. Si: Standing on the top of the bookshelf, listening out, feeling out, you start to hear things that you didn't hear before outside of the library and outside in the city. Some at distances you didn't think was possible to hear the sounds of, but you hear and feel movement. You hear the movement of creatures. Of monsters like the one that chased you. Some feel smaller from the sounds that they make, most of them feel bigger. They take up more space, they fill more room in the atmosphere. And you can feel the vibrations as they roam through the city, brushing against brick and steel and concrete. Not moving with the frenzy, like the one that chased you, but just existing. And strangely beyond that, you get the sensation of almost like a spectral creature or creatures that are moving through the city that feel closer, but… But like, they're not physically present. Like there's some other kind of alternate dimension ported onto this one. One that is connected by some atmospheric tissue that allows you to feel giant creatures, ones that tower above the tallest building in the city, roaming through the land. It's kind of warping and distorting the energy that you feel from the sky, and that dimensional rift, and the pulses that reverberate out from that are kind of interrupted and blocked by them as they move past them, like an eclipse as it blocks the sun. In this moment, Evlan feels in tune with the world around them. But you also feel something close. You feel a pull of sentiment, and of love and care and concern. The pull of fond memories. Of desperately comforting nostalgia. And this takes you the longest time to understand what it is that you're feeling, but when you figure it out, it seems to make all the sense in the world, because you realise what you are feeling is Deckard. You feel the presence of your brother close to you. Like he is in a room in this building, or one close to it. and all you have to do is open the door and you will be able to see him and talk to him and feel him. What do you do? Amelia: I'm standing on this shelf. At first, Evlan is surveying the room, sees a footprint, is about to say something when the sounds click, and they start focusing on that. I think closing their eyes, they're like, like you're trying to hear something, so you turn, you, you close your eyes to hear better. But instinctively, their head has turned up facing toward that hole in the ceiling and the roiling sky behind. And all of those feelings, the monsters, the spectral figures, the emotion, rush through in an instant that feels like an infinity, and as soon as they get that ping about Deckard, their eyes start to water, and they mumble and just say, Amelia (as Evlan): “It isn't real. It isn't real.” Amelia: And I think they're just kind of thinking that on repeat, self soothing, like a kind of stim, just trying to bring themselves back to this moment and back into their body. And then... Sean: Evlan just feels a hand squeezing their foot, as Danny's just taking notice of this little shift that's happening to them, this subtle little thing. And he's still just standing on the ground. He's not climbing any bookcases anytime soon. But he's just got a hand on your foot and just giving you a little squeeze, and he's just looking up at you. Sean (as Danny): “I'll just... We're here. You're here.” Sean: He's just, he's just there with you. Amelia: Evlan kind of goes down toward one knee, as preparing to dismount, they like, Amelia (as Evlan): “The footprints.” Amelia: And pointing toward the footprints and the blood that go toward the exit. Sean: He looks over his shoulder, Sean (as Danny): “Yeah, yeah. Good eyes.” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yep.” Sean (as Danny): “You wanna come down?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah.” Sean (as Danny): “Alright.” Em: I offer up my good hand to help Evlan down. Amelia: I take it. Em: I give it a little squeeze. Amelia: I squeeze back. Em (as Luce): “You okay?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah, I think it, um… Sounds quiet up there.” Em (as Luce): “Quiet like waiting?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Quiet like a window. Should probably move.” Sean (as Danny): “That's good enough for me. Let's mosey.” Em (as Luce): “Agreed. If we can spare a second to check if any of these closets have anything useful in them, that would be good. But if it's too loud or too long, let's just keep moving. That's the priority.” Si: You begin to move through the library, and as you move past the center of the floor, suddenly you hear a noise from beneath the creature's carcass. You hear laboured breathing and coughing. Gina (as Pen): “There’s someone in there!” Em: I start approaching the carcass. Amelia: The gun- My gun is out. Em: I speak in a tone that would be more directed as if there was something underneath there. Em (as Luce): “Cough twice if you can understand me.” Amelia: I sort of flank. Si: You hear the breathing pause, and then two weak coughs. Em (as Luce): “I'm already covered in this shit, let's get it off him. Let's get it off him.” Amelia (as Evlan): “I'll help.” Gina: I'm moving to help too. Em (as Luce): “I-” Amelia: I kind of push… Do we both push Pen back? Em: Yeah. Amelia: Yeah. Em: Not in a way that is aggressive or assertive as a… Gina (as Pen): “I can help.” Em (as Luce): “If you get any more of that in your eyes, you're not going to be able to see.” Gina (as Pen): “What if you get it in your hand?” Em (as Luce): “It's already in there.” Gina (as Pen): “It's already in my eyes, let me help!” Amelia (as Evlan): “Hey, Pen, you want to help?” Amelia: And I just hand the gun. Amelia (as Evlan): “Take it.” Gina: I take it. Amelia (as Evlan): “And you just pull that trigger. Just [clicks tongue].” Em (as Luce): “Preferably not at one of us.” Gina: I reluctantly take a step back, and I hold it out in front of me pointed at the carcass. Em: I look at Evlan, Em (as Luce): “On three?” Amelia (as Evlan): “Yeah.” Amelia: I nod. Em (as Luce): “One, two, three.” Em: And we go and we start to lift it. Si: You pull back parts of this creature with that thick, slimy substance getting on your hands and your clothes. And as it moves, you find the remains of a person underneath its body, torn to shreds from countless wounds. It is face down on the floor in a pool of blood, and you see amidst thick matted hair, they have a brutal head wound that is still oozing with a dark viscous substance, glistening black. You see they've got a dislocated arm bent outwards at an unnatural angle, and as you pull the creature fully off the body, you reveal the remains of their legs. One completely severed above the knee, and the other in pieces. Bone and muscle exposed, just about held together by the denim of dark jeans. Impossibly, inexplicably, they are breathing. Their breaths bubbling in their own blood as they lay face down. Em: I bend down, and I, with as much care as I can to not make their injuries worse… I gently start to turn them over. Si: And in doing so, revealing the full extent of their wounds. And, probably one of the most horrific sights you've ever seen. Like something from a battlefield. This body has been torn apart, with vital organs barely kept inside a torso with gaping wounds. Limbs barely hanging on, a deep gash across the face revealing skull and teeth. So much of the flesh is blackened, corrupted, partly decaying. They should be dead. And it is enough to make you want to throw up. And Danny, as you watch Evlan and Luce reveal this body, you knew who this was before you even got a look at what's left of their face. Henry was such a sweet kid. Enthusiastic, if a little awkward. Nervous, but always wanting to learn. He would always find you in the mornings, hoping to shadow you on whatever job you were doing that day. And having someone look up to you again gave you that little bit of extra purpose. Each day, you two became close over the months, and he got pretty good at wiring and soldering, and cutting timber to size, and became more competent and over time more confident. And he should never have volunteered for this. He's just a kid. I'd like everyone to make a resistance roll, please, against your resolve as all at once you process this horror and its implications. And Danny, I'm afraid I'd like you to subtract 1d6 from your resistance roll in the circumstances. Sean: I only have the one. Does that mean I roll disadvantage? Si: Yes it does. Sean: Copy that. [dice clattering] Amelia: I rolled with my 2d6 because I take one extra d6 to resistance rolls with resolve, a one and a six. Si: The dice gods are having fun with you today. Amelia: They always are. Em: I think that makes also a lot of sense, as Luce and Evlan are up close, because I also rolled a one and a six. Si: Wow. Em: It's like we used to date or something. Amelia: Yeah, they're so in sync. Sean: The lower of my two was a two. Gina: I rolled a three and two twos. Si: Okay. So three stress for Pen and four stress for Danny. Sean: Danny is not doing well, and I think in that moment… He is just gonna step up, and with that revolver in his hands that you gave him, he's just gonna step between the two of you and shoot Henry in the head. Si: The sound of the gun rings out, and I think startles the rest of you, in the quiet. And in that moment, Danny, before you pull the trigger, Henry's eyes opened and looked up at you. They are completely black. Almost lifeless. Alien and monstrous but… But his face was the same. And the impact of the bullet decimates an already damaged skull. As his head recoils back to the floor and the breathing stops. Em (as Luce): “Jesus, Danny.” Amelia (as Evlan): “We gotta move.” Em (as Luce): “Yeah. We gotta move now. We gotta move now. Jesus Christ.” Sean (as Danny): “He should never have volunteered. He… That was the best any of us could do for him, we gotta go.” Gina: Everyone else can hear this clanging and clacking of Pen's rings against the metal of this gun. She's still holding the gun, pointing it at where he was. Em: I would walk over to Pen, and I would come up alongside her. I would place my hand on the top of the gun, and I would place my hand gently, removing her hand from the trigger, and gently removing the gun from her hand. I would hold onto her hand and I would pass the gun back to Evlan. Amelia: I will take the gun, and I'm already scouting ahead toward the exit to see if there's, keeping an eye on the open dome above, and the next entry point. Em (as Luce): “Yeah. We got to move, Pen. Can you come? Can you go?” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah. Yeah…” Em (as Luce): “He was long gone. He was long gone. Danny did him a kindness.” Gina (as Pen): “One thing at a time.” Em (as Luce): “Yeah, just one thing at a time. We're gonna look, we're gonna look for some something flammable, very quickly okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Yeah…” Em (as Luce): “Very quickly, that's what we're gonna do, we're gonna find something flammable, okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Sometimes, sometimes libraries, they restore books, they have chemicals for that.” Em (as Luce): “Exactly. If we can find it while we're walking down this hallway, we're going to take it. Okay? And you're going to hold on to it. Okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Okay.” Em (as Luce): “You did good. You did good. Let's go.” Si: Pen, your eyes have been stinging non-stop, and the pain in your eyes seems to be getting worse. And you squeeze them shut to try and get some kind of relief, but all of a sudden you are hit with a flash of a vision, with your eyes closed, for a moment it's all you can see. You see hundreds of roots and vines, dead and grey, all leading in the same direction. You see broken concrete, a sinkhole, a smoking ruin. Above it all the sky is dark and swirling with energy. And there's a cyclical kind of pulse, low and bassy, that fills your senses. It's like a beacon, or source of something incredibly powerful. And for a moment you are standing somewhere high off the ground looking down with the city before you, and a great shadow moves towards you like a tidal wave about to crash. And then just as suddenly you're back in the library with the others, and your vision is becoming more cloudy. Distorted and warped at the edges, and everything is starting to look a little different, not just objects, but people here too, like new gradients of light are shining on them, highlighting them in the gloom. And Pen, I'd like you to take a skill point in Hunt. Gina: I'm sorry, what? Si: And I'd like a new resistance roll. With Prowess, to stop your eyes from getting worse. Gina: See, here's the thing, Si… Pen is... Pen. She doesn't have anything in Prowess. Si: Okay. Gina: Okay. Okay, here we go. [dice roll] Yeah that’s a one. Si: Pen, you take five stress points. Gina: It’s fine, everything’s going to be fine. Everything’s fine. I am the sky, and everything else is just the weather. Si: And the others kind of step ahead of you a little bit, leading the way, leaving you behind just for a moment. Leaving you behind just in that quiet… Not realizing exactly what it is you are going through right now. Gina: You said my eyesight is getting worse? Si: Did I say worse? Gina: And better? Si: Your eyesight is changing. It is becoming more warped at the edges, but more focused in your central vision. Gina: How do I feel? I've taken all of this stress. Do I still feel like me? Si: You tell me. Gina: I think as I stopped for just a moment and everyone else has walked ahead, as I come back from that, that flash and I open my eyes again and they are… They hurt a little bit less, but… Something is wrong. I can feel it. And I don't want to be the one. I don't want to be the one that Danny has to… That, that Luce has to… and I think about saying something and I... call out to Luce, Gina (as Pen): “Luce?” Em (as Luce): “Yeah?” Em: I would stop and look back after only getting a couple steps ahead of her. Si: Luce, as you look back at Pen and look into her eyes, you can see they are darkening, still. There is no colour left in her irises. They are almost completely black. Em: I would close the distance, and get really close to her face. Em (as Luce): “Can you see?” Gina (as Pen): “Yes? Why, what do I look like? Are my eyes too-” Em (as Luce): “Your eyes are a lot darker than they used to be. They're not black like Henry's were. They're just dark. You gotta tell me if things get worse, okay? Please promise me that you're gonna tell me if things get worse and not try and hide it because you're worried about being a burden. You're not a burden. You just need to tell me if it gets worse, okay?” Gina (as Pen): “Okay, I promise.” Em (as Luce): “Okay. Okay.” Si: Evlan, a door leads out the back of the main room and into a wide corridor. And at the end of it, beyond rooms on either side, you can see the back exit to the building, where the door is open. Down the corridor there are more smears of blood on the floor, and bloody footsteps leading away. But you see a hazy glow just lingering in the corridor. It's a soft light cast against the wall. It looks like it's coming from one of the side rooms, and there's a noise too. drifting in the air, and it quietens all the other sounds in the room. All the sounds around you, it’s capturing your focus, it's a hum, but when you really tune your ears to it you know it's more than that, and you feel the swelling of feeling and emotion and connection that you felt on top of the bookshelf when you opened yourself up to it, and you feel that so strongly again. As you tune your ears to it, and you can hear Deckard. You are getting closer and you can hear he is talking to you. His voice, kind of clear and unbroken, undistorted. He feels so close. Amelia: I have my gun ready. I don't have my finger on the trigger. It's pressing now just slightly above it on the barrel. I'm moving toward it. What is he saying? Si: He's talking to you as if you were just having a conversation, as if you were just catching up after some time apart. Like you had sat in the same room together, and you hear him say, Si (as Deckard): “Hey, you remember that big tree we used to climb? The one at the top of the hill by mom's house? It had the best views, you could see for miles. I think about it a lot. It was perfect. So easy to climb. There's huge branches you could just hang out on. I remember I used to look out at the city and dream of being successful. But I, I think what I was really dreaming about was not letting anyone down, you know? Not disappointing our parents. So much pressure to do things a certain way and I never felt comfortable with that, it was, I never did, even after I left home, it was like being chased by those expectations. Something about being up there in that tree. It was the most free I've ever felt. Until now. Evlan, I'm here. I'm here and I'm good. I'm so good. There's no pain here, no grief, no regret, no loneliness. There's no expectations or disappointment. I know things are different. And the world that we knew has gone, but I am here. And you can be here with me. I know it's hard to explain, but I also know things are not good there, are they? It's no kind of life that you're living. Please, Evlan, just let me show you. Please…” Amelia: As I heard him talking and I see the glow, I've been very cautiously approaching that room. When I get there, what do I see? Si: You move towards the glow and it feels warm as you get closer, and you are instantly feeling more relaxed. Everything becomes a little hazy. And you get to the doorway, and it looks like maybe it's like, one of the library bathrooms or something like that, but it's hard to see it once you get there, because this light and the glow kind of envelops you. It's difficult to tell exactly where you are, but you can feel where to go. It feels like being guided down a path. And as you move towards it, trying to get a better view, the light before you kind of softens a little, and clears, and new images take shape in front of you, and you see him. Right in front of you, just as you remember. What does Deckard look like? Amelia: Deckard looks similar to Evlan. Younger, definitely, a little bit like, bigger build, stronger. Just barely shorter still, though. He's got kind eyes, and he always has, even before whatever this is. Unlike Evlan who favours oversized, ill-fitting shirts, Deckard is wearing, you know, like, one of those short sleeve button-downs that has a fun little print on it. It would look tacky on anyone else, but he wears it with such like, sincerity, that it looks sweet. Just got some jeans. Amelia (as Evlan): “We both know, I'm not this lucky.” Si: And you feel all of the pain and stress just melt away in that moment. You feel the warmth and the comfort, and let yourself feel how nice it is to hear his voice again. And he's smiling at you, a kind of comforting, understanding smile. And Deckard says, Si (as Deckard): “It's gonna be hard for a moment, but it'll be worth it. I promise.” Si: And your breath suddenly catches in your throat, as you feel a searing pain in your chest and you look down to see a vine-like object has pierced your skin and is buried deep inside your chest, it is encased in a kind of hard shell, there is more of that inky black oil dripping off it onto the floor and running down your clothes, and you cough up a whole load of blood as you feel the sharp point of it inside your body hook into you, and you start to feel it dragging you. And you've been snapped out of whatever that was that you are seeing, and realize you are in the bathroom with broken glass at your feet and a huge mirror in front of you where all you can see when you look up is a window into the bleakest of hellscapes, scorched ground, burning sky, flashes of lightning above. A crumbling shell of a city. In the distance, the movement of huge, hulking shadows, and you cough up more blood and it runs down your chin and drips onto your clothes, and you are going to suffer a collapsed lung as a severe harm, unless you make a resistance roll now against your Prowess. Em: Do we see this happen? Can we go to her? Go to them? Si: What Evlan didn't hear, but what everyone else would have heard, in a split second after Evlan just disappeared out of view in a doorway, is the smashing of glass in the bathroom. And you rush to the room and see this unfolding nightmare in front of you as winding spindly legs reach out of the mirror, some gripping onto the tiles on the wall, some reaching down to the floor and one stabbed deep inside of Evlan's chest, and there is wild energy pulsing out. The whole space is filled with swirling shadows and flashes of lightning. What do you do? Sean: I would love, I've had something in my pocket when we left. I took all the tools, all my favorite tools, and I've never shown up to a job site without duct tape and WD-40. Sometimes you got to make things stick. Sometimes you got to make things move. During our session, I did Google whether or not WD-40 is flammable, Google told me it's extremely flammable! Amelia: Hahaha! Sean: So I would love seeing this fucked up little vine, I- I pull out as fast as I can, the lighter and the WD-40, and I wanna see if I can burn this vine, further along its body, in the hopes that it fucking removes itself from Evlan. Em: As Danny pulls out the WD-40 and the lighter, I am gonna take the same knife that I used to stab the mirror, my large kind of bowie knife, and I am going to, I see Danny start to do this, I say, Em (as Luce): “Light it up Danny, let's go!” Em: And I cut, I go to cut the vine, wrapping an arm around Evlan's waist, knowing that Pen is right behind me, and we're gonna cut and burn, and we are gonna run. Si: Let’s get Evlan's resistance roll, with Prowess. To resist the worst of this horrific injury. Amelia: So with my Prowess, I rolled a four and a six. Si: Okay, hell yeah. Amelia: So I'm actually, never been better. I have a whole other lung right next to it! Gina: It's in the bag! Em: That's why you have two! Amelia: That’s why you have two. Si: Now let’s resolve Danny and Lucy's actions here with a couple of action rolls. You tell me what skill you'd like to use as you charge in, and try to help Evlan and try to get this thing off them, and out of them. Sean: This here's a Tinker roll for sure, ’cause I'm jerry rigging a flamethrower, and I will absolutely push myself on this one. Danny is feeling a lot, and doesn't want anyone else to get hurt, but that will fill up all his stress. All the way to nine, baby. Danny killed a person five minutes ago, and he's never done that before. Danny is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that that doesn't happen again. And so yeah, he will absolutely send himself past his limits. Si: Okay, we will resolve Danny’s stress and the manifestation of his trauma, after. Sean: Here comes this tinker. [dice sounds] Oh no, they all went flying. Okay, okay, okay. Oh fuck, it went flying again. Three, three, five, and six. Si: Incredible. Em: Okay, I am going to take a Finesse roll, here. But I could also do Skirmish, depending on what you feel is better, Si, my dice in them are equal. Si: I think either makes sense to me. I think it really just comes down to how Luce is approaching this, and I think, either. Em: Okay, with one dice, is it just a flat roll or is it? Si: It is, it's just, yes, it's just a flat roll. Em: Just a flat roll. Now, Si… It seems very reasonable to me that Luce would be stressed in this situation, because Pen is losing her vision. Has black shit in her eyes. And I think she has seen what, if things get worse, Pen could turn into, with what happened to Henry. While her eyes aren't entirely black, they are darker, and that's not good. However, I am deeply curious about what accepting a devil's bargain would look like here. Si: I was hoping someone would ask. Em: I already have a cut on my hand that is open. In a room full of things grasping at people and viscera. I am curious. Si: In this moment, this scene in front of you, the insanity of it, the overwhelming violence of it… You can add an extra d6 to your dice roll, if Luce accepts that by jumping on these vines, these limbs, the creature that has grabbed Evlan, if Luce accepts that she will effectively be putting a target on her back instead. Em: The easiest yes I've ever said. Amelia: Oh, come on! Si: Okay. And that is regardless of the outcome of this roll. Em: Still the easiest yes I have ever said. No pressure. [dice rolling] That is a three and a six. Gina: That's my sister. Si: Hearing the almighty crash just up ahead of you in the corridor, you charge forward to the doorway and find Evlan in terrible danger, horribly wounded and being dragged towards the mirror on the wall by monstrous limbs hooked deep into their chest. And without a second's pause, Danny, you pull those items from your gear, already thinking about how you can use fire to your advantage, and you charge in, spraying the WD-40 over this tentacle that has its hooks into Evlan, and getting the lighter, flicking the lighter and the flame comes immediately, and you thrust your hand out. Flames rise up, spread all along the length of this tentacle. You can see that the flames at lap at Evlan's clothes, but that is the least they have to worry about. And in this moment, as you were doing this, Luce charges past you, knife in hand, and Luce, describe how you attack this thing with your blade. Em: Seeing that it already has its tentacle into Evlan's chest, the priority at this point is not to immediately try to yank it out and cause more damage to their lungs. I'm not a doctor, at this point I'm assuming it's hit something vital with the amount of blood that's coming out of their mouth. It's too sever the appendage, and stabilize. So I go in, without thinking, I put the hand with the open cut on it, right on the tentacle, and I come in and I slice. I slice the tentacle clean through one cut. And I immediately try and step back with Evlan, to get with Pen to stabilize them, so that we can get them out of this room to let Danny do his work. Si: You charge in and with all the speed and the power you could muster, slice through the tentacle, one quick clean cut, and it severs. Cuts straight through and it releases Evlan and their legs buckle. And all at once, all of the other appendages, these tentacles that had gripped into the tiles and on the wall and on the floor, they kind of rear up as you cause this thing damage and flail around. And as you turn and pull Evlan away, you feel searing pain on your back as one of them slices all the way down across your back from shoulder to waist. And you just feel the tearing of flesh and the burning and the instant dripping of blood down your back. And with the force of that, the tiles begin to crumble off the walls, and you can feel the ground rumble underneath you as forces beyond this mirror and beyond this portal begin converging. But the force of it is shaking the foundations of this side of the library, and parts of the ceiling begin to fall down. The roof tiles begin to collapse in and crash around you as you, as you drag Evlan out of here and into the corridor, stepping over footprints and smears of blood from the first group that were here a week ago, retracing their steps in your own blood as you drag Evlan towards the door and to the outside as the roof of the library caves in, collapses around you, the walls are crumbling, bookshelves falling over in the main room and you charge out the door before it collapses on your heads. Em: Afterlight is performed by Amelia Som as Evlan, Em Carlson as Luce, Gina Susanna as Pen, Sean Depner as Danny, and Si Rutherford as our Game Master. Special thanks to our campaign artists. Hannah Harder, who did our cover design, and Lesly Oh, who did our character portraits. Editing, sound design and original music by Si Rutherford. For more stories, come follow us everywhere at @blackwaterdnd, and make sure you check out our Main Campaign on Monday nights at 8pm PST at twitch.tv/blackwaterdnd, as well as our library of campaigns on both youtube and your favourite podcast platform. This show is made possible by our sponsors, who really should have reminded us to bring a torch for this journey out into the endless dark. We are grateful to be sponsored by Evil Hat Productions, publishers of Blades in the Dark, along with other incredible titles such as Monster of the Week, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Scum & Villainy, Girl by Moonlight, and so many more. With compelling mechanics, stunning art, and rich lore for whatever world you choose to bring towards the apocalypse, head on over to evilhat.com to shed some light on new games to bring to your table. This show is also sponsored by Bookwyrm Games, a Canadian tabletop company bringing you the finest in gaming essentials and accessories. Activate your senses with candles, tea, and coffee to help set the scene in your campaign, ensure your party is rolling with stellar dice at a custom table, or leave the adventure to them with their series of Quest Chests and Quest Coins. Whatever you need to bring your table to the next level, Chester the Dragon and the folks at Bookwrym have you covered. Check them out over at bookwyrmgames.com and let them know Blackwater sent you. Finally, we’re thankful for our Patrons for joining us on this journey outside the Safe Zone. You too can come join us on Patreon, where you can check out behind the scenes info, our talkbacks, exclusive Afterlight content and so much more. Head on over to patreon.com/blackwaterdnd for all the info. See you next time, and keep the lights on!