dollhouse ep07 : Orpheus

07/2015
dollhouse

Episode Seven
"The Living"

Orpheus

Weeks pass with Sophie still in the hospital, under medical observation.  The Arms of Light publicly calls for "Justice" claiming the events at the studio have endangered their fans and crew.  Fiona has learned to tap into a new power which she calls, Contaminate, as it insidiously allows her to reach "inside" and "command the body parts" rather than the person. Shepherd learns to tap into Pandemonium and boosts the chances of Natalie to save her daughter.  He has also noticed how his wife seems to know more about the Arms of Light than expected.  He has been secretly visiting and attempting to uncover more information without letting her know that he's around her.  He is beginning to think the attack on Orpheus was intentional; a coordinated attack to take out the competition. He learns she has discovered there were at least twelves small ghostly companies that have been attempting to join the spook bandwagon.  Shepherd finally makes a breakthrough when he discovers information on a company called Nextworld. The company has actual knowledge and technology similar to Orpheus. And even his wife marks this company and a second one called Lazarus Redux as companies that have best profited since the loss of Orpheus.  He copies the info he can, emails it to himself using his wife's computer, then deletes any history of doing so. He even goes as far as visiting old recycling centers to find the newspaper needed which has the advertisement on Lazarus Redux.  He also finds a headline showing their photos on the cover as the "Manhattan Monsters" and that the Feds are asking everyone to share information of any sightings of them.

The doctors treating Sophie are confused, given some times she seems to be very responsive but other times she is very weak. They do not realize Fiona has been staying with her and boosting her whenever things get too hairy. She has not been leaving the hospital room. Natalie Kureya has been visiting the hospital as well whenever possible. She visits the lodge a few times every now and then to recharge.  She projects often, taking the time to travel the distance and visit her daughter without letting any of the most likely plainsclothed agents notice her presence, then try to make her way back before she drains herself completely of Vitality. She also finds time to spend with Marina, the other daughter, after realizing she needs to show more attention to them more than others. Natalie also tries telling Fiona about her dream about Chet hanging in a pod from the ceiling and how this may be related to Fiona's body being missing. Fiona, however, does not open up to her. She acts more dismissive of any attempts Natalie tries to connect.  Natalie does not realize she is beginning to learn to use Forebode.

Wendell Pruce notes that there are growing numbers of reports of deaths related to Pigment suggesting the contaminated pigment they heard about might have spread out further than the rave than expected. He has also been attempting to learn how to skim, realizing going under via a cradle just takes too long. He has also been trying to reconnect with Radio Free Death, who admits things are getting scary and is inclined to meet up again, given the "others are moving." Wendell is not sure who these "others" are but understands RFD fears they are aware RFD is alive. Wendell is given a location to meet RFD alone, so long as he does not inform the others. Wendell is annoyed at all the cloak and dagger needed but is willing to do it using the last remaining dose of pigment he has. He doesn't know if he should go using the cradle.  He does not know if being projected is safe or not anymore.   Enroute, a guy on the bus asks if he is Wendell and claims he has a phone call for him. Wendell takes the phone, wondering if it's some kind of hidden camera show, but learns it is RFD on the phone and confirms they're willing to meet. RFD assures Wendell the stranger asking for his name will be the last thing that man will think about.  At a public park, Wendell sees people and children there and wonders which one with a gadget would be the next one to talk to him as RFD. He sees instead a black guy who is tired and made of gauze. The spirit tells Wendell he is here to try to answer questions he may have, but Wendell just wants to know what they should do now. RFD admits he wasn't sure if there's anything to do since he came into this thinking it was just a means to get out of being on Death Row. RFD admits this isn't the first time something this big happened. He insists the last time something this big happened - his voice trails away and they both see Bishop standing among the running kids. Wendell, having not met him yet, notices RFD is worried and admits, "We should be worried depending if he is him - Bishop himself - or his Shadow."  Wendell realizes now that anyone without a body has a Shadow.  He wonders if Fiona has one as well and if they have been harboring her shadow all this time. As RFD goes to talk to Bishop, Wendell fingers the pigment does and wonders if he should use it.

Misha Rusanov, on the other hand, decides to check on Natalie, his girlfriend, and try to learn what she is going through and if she wants out of their relationship. He ends up calling her cellular phone and finds out she feels like she betrayed him and his friends and hates the fact she feels she made things complicated for them.  She's decided to stay with a friend for now. Deciding she needs space, Misha he asks if she needs anything else. She insists she will be fine and that she just needs to work on the possibility she was instrumental to the hundreds that died in Orpheus. Misha yearns to reach out and help her, but he can tell she is being evasive. He throws an invite for dinner anyway, but she still turns it down.  Misha then tries contacting Osorio to learn on how the case has progressed. He remembers the footage of the shooter transforming from the image of one of them into the shooter. Osorio admits he is troubled as most are focusing on the fear than the facts. Arms of Light are stressing the group to be the Manhattan Monsters and that the deaths caused by the spread of pigment and pigment tattoos are the Monsters showing they mean business. Osorio does not know whom to trust either and does not know how to make sense of the things the group can do given the powers they have. "How do I know you guys didn't change the footage to point fingers at someone else? There is talk that the rave deaths are to point fingers at other people." The assistant director has prepped a task force after viewing the records. Osorio can get into trouble for talking to them.  Arms of Light has been the most vocal proponent in pushing for the Manhattan Monsters to be found. Misha thanks him for choosing to help.  Misha also attempts to reach out to some of the spooks they helped before, but of the ones he approaches, the new spooks are too scared to be reached. Many of the attempts lead to people now talking about ghost sightings in the areas where he tries to reach out to them which also leads to them considering contacting the Arms of Light.

Fiona and Natalie discuss the weird dreams she has been having. Natalie shares the feeling of seeing the visions and both talk about how the symbolic imagery and dreams might be more than just dreams. They might be glimpses of possibilities. Fiona, on the other hand, talks about how she is worried that her use of her Skinriding to keep Natalie's body alive might be doing more harm than good since she's forcing the body to keep functioning. She would only stop when she had run out of Vitality. Natalie tries using her powers to Forebode on whether her daughter will survive if Fiona stops helping her. It is a hard question to ask but one that needed to be asked. Fiona notices a man a suit watching them. The man has a pin on his lapel showing T/S.

Bishop transforms, showing signs of his Stains having gotten worse. Sparks explode from a nearby cable as Radio Free Death escapes Bishop's attempt to swallow RFD with his black oily new morphic body! Wendell tries to act nonchalant as if he did not witness anything and remembers his lessons on how spooks and spectres would see a projector as one of the living if his Vitality is high enough.  Wendell hopes it is high enough as he walks away, ignoring people talking about having a bad day. One of the Orpheus seniors suddenly comes to view. Resting on a bench, the woman opens her hand and allows a bee to emerge and merge back into her skin. Wendell realizes Anne Harper must have found a way to burst into a swarm and escape death.  He warns her that they might best not be talking here, but when he looks around, there is no longer any sign of Uriah Bishop. Harper asks how many escaped and after learning very few did escape, she shares that Kate Dennison isn't doing too well. She broke her spine and has not recovered.  She also shares they lost Tom Hayes. They started a new office.  They talk about the new spectral enemies they've faced, and the tragedy of Greek Row.  Harper explained they survived by tailing the attackers and quietly let them do what they wanted until they found an opportunity to slip away and escape via a partly broken elevator. They headed to the roof of the building and something caused it to breach the roof deck and it fell free fall once more down. Kate had pushed everyone else out before plummeting down below.  They found Kate three days later still in the rubble and Kate admits she found the will to survive knowing in three days the others would come back for her.

The building Harper leads Wendell to turns out to be Lazarus Redux.  It was the last thing those hunting them would think that survivors would do. In front of the building, Annie argues with Hoyt, who is currently in the form of a car and refuses to revert back to human.  It was trauma from the attack, given he could not possess anything during the assault. Harper's swarm form triggered during the attack and she was able to pretend to be the dark cloud during the assault. They talk about something called the Grand Mother and how from what they learned, it is coming to destroy the world.

Misha visits the church one last time, despite the people now thinking ghosts have been making their presence felt. He sees the woman he tried to communicate with and tries to keep her calm as he approaches her. He gives his name to help calm her down. She starts talking to him, realizing he's not some spectre but a ghost like herself. He realizes she is a poltergeist and tries to approach her.  Misha notices two visitors arrive at the church, claiming to be from Arms of Light. Misha warns the girl that they need to go. The girl mutters she remembers Misha to be part of the terrorist group. Misha attempts to explain they were set up, and that they didn't have anything to do with the pigment. In her agitation, the pews begin to rattle once more.  The woman from Arms of Light starts to notice the movement as well. Misha insists they tried to save them all, but the ghost shrieks and another pew spins in mid air and crashes into the wall. The woman from Arms of Light draws out a device that she affixes to her face. Using Helter Skelter, Misha whips tries to whip the glasses off her face. During the time it takes for Misha to convince the woman that they should leave, the people from Arms of Light have handed more headsets to other people. Realizing there isn't much time left, Misha shoves the ghost through the wall to escape the cultists. The two start running despite the damage to their gauze. A man trains a device at them and it begins to charge with a dangerous sounding hum. The blast surges into Misha's immaterial form, somehow calibrated to still hit him! Misha is shoved back into his body and knocked unconscious.  The ghost girl screams, running alone, and her surrounding rips apart into a tornado of debris as she attempts to defend herself as any poltergeist would.

Shepherd visits Terrel and Squib and from outside sees no signs of it having been attacked. He considers trying to eavesdrop on employees when they head home - hoping to uncover any information of worth. From what he gathers, they were almost attacked but supposedly certain people were able to stop it. Supposedly a van with armed men were on their way but it got into an accident before getting to them. Shepherd then heads to the address listed for Lazarus Redux. He manifests and pretends to be a man interested in working for the company but learns there is only a local mailbox at the said address.  After using his knowledge of law against the person at the company, he succeeds in getting the address to Lazarus Redux.

Wendell tells Lazarus Redux he has to head back, knowing the others will worry about him. Annie tells him that they need to stay in touch. Orpheus fell apart because of all the secrets.  As Wendell leaves, he does not see Shepherd see him exit the building.  Shepherd follows him, then intercepts him before he hails down a cab. He asks Wendell to explain when he planned to admit he joined another company. Wendell finds the accusation incredulous and hates the fact Shepherd is spying on him. Wendell explains it is Orpheus and Shepherd is pretty shocked to realize the company is still active.  Survivors!   At a nearby television set on display, both are drawn to a news report. A man has a press conference. Terrel and Squibb announces they are dedicating their support to the FBI to locate the Manhattan Monsters. They even confirm that the Manhattan Monsters are behind the poisoned Pigment that killed hundreds at the Greek Row events. But as the man turns away, there's a brief moment the projectors notice his image superimposed and lagging.  "He's possessed," Shepherd realizes.  The people around them start talking about the reward money. Shepherd hurries back to Lazarus Redux and Wendell decides to stick with him.

Back at the hospital, Fiona stares at the man in the suit. Natalie sees the visions and sees her daughter survive.  Fiona grabs hold of Natalie and pulls her through the wall, explaining that the man in the suit can see them.  She explains to Natalie the man is from Terrel and Squibb and in the opposite room, with the door partly open, they can see a leather shoe on the floor. Not certain why there is one, Natalie tells Fiona not to worry about her daughter, for now, certain that she will be okay.  As they peer through the doorway, they see another shoe on the floor, then a man, who is beaten up pretty bad on the ground.  The man is also Terrel and Squibb! Something is definitely up.

The man in the suit back in the room grunts and the nurse turns to look at him. They notice the man is barefoot.

Fiona leaps through the wall to head back and stop the man, sensing he's not really what they thought he was. Natalie rushes through the wall, aiming to flank their target. Emerges at the other side, Natalie sees Fiona in full manifestation, crazed and wild eyes, but standing still. The man has one hand clamped over Natalie's daughter's face. His other hand holds a scalpel.  The nurse is bleeding out of a sliced open throat. The man tries to bargain, asking Fiona to surrender in exchange for the child. Fiona telepathically suggests Natalie to act now. Natalie channels Vitality into her own body and with her enhanced speed, she manifests fully and tries to grab the man from behind. But as she manifests, the man hears her weight against the tiles and swings the blade towards her! Natalie responds quickly, attempting to block the knife with her forearm as she had trained some time ago.

Shepherd pushes the door to Lazarus Redux open, demanding a chance to talk to Kate. Wendell catches up, admitting Shepherd insisted. They try to reach out to Kate, with Wendell admitting maybe their cover isn't that good. Shepherd explains Terrel and Squibb is working with the FBI, but he saw Lionel Squibb is possessed. No one else but projectors noticed it. Shepherd now suspects they were behind the attack. Annie admits they suspected Nextworld was. Kate possesses Annie for a moment to explain that if they investigate they have to be quick given both are skilled in dealing with projectors.

The people back at the house turn Misha over and see the injuries he has sustained. They try to wake him up and treat the injury.

Kate admits through Annie their focus is on the Grandmother, who they suspect is some kind of leader or position among the dead. Annie recovers, but worries over Kate who has seemingly stopped breathing and requires medical assistance once more. Shepherd uses Pandemonium to help shift the odds in their favor. Using the first aid he can think of, he tilts her head up and searching for any blockage to clear it. Wendell backs away, afraid to interfere. Anne hurries off and while Shepherd tries to do first aid, Anne returns with an old man in her arms. She tosses Chet Mason onto Kate, and vanishes upon contact.  Kate sits up, coughing and clears her throat. Mason has used Contaminate like how Fiona has done for Natalie's child. John is overseas tracking a trail they have of where the pigment has come from. Wendell wants to know why they are being singled out and painted as monsters. Kate suggests maybe they can find an ally, someone who will speak of them positively somehow. Wendell does not know of anyone with that much credibility. Kate wonders if they can get those they helped to break their confidentiality agreements to speak out on how Orpheus helped them.

Natalie twists the blade out of the man's hands and reverses the threat. Focused on keeping her daughter safe, Natalie tries to force the man to back away from her child. This gives Fiona the opening to try and posses the man but she suddenly is thrown out and tumbles to the ground. The man, it seems, has a Shield preventing possession. Natalie pulls the man away from her daughter, then slams him to the ground. as she diverts some of her energy into increasing her strength. The man, however, grins and reveals metallic teeth. He is able to fight against her strength! But Natalie grabs the organic pistol from Bishop out and trains it at him. "Don't force me to use this! I've seen a friend take out a Spectre in one shot!" The man lets go of the child. Fiona admits she's recovered and stands up, ready. Natalie feels the urge to fire. She feels the deep desire to waste the bastard for threatening her child, but she knows she needs to know why he is here. "Talk! The Grandma.. talk!"

"Grand fucking what?" the man gasps and Natalie realizes he honestly does not know what she is talking about. Fiona clamps her hands on the man and causes him to feel his heart seizing up in a heart attack. The man struggles to maintain his composure but the pain is getting too strong. He falters and promises to talk if they make the pain stop. Fiona eases down for now. The man admits he is Herbert Mol and he is here to take one of them back. He does not work for Terrel and Squibb and confesses he's a mercenary. He communicated only via email and blind drops. When they sense he is lying, Fiona causes him to start bleeding in the wrong places as she inflicts on him the worst STD she can think of.  Herbert Mol gives all the information he can but admits he doesn't know more than the meeting place and that the daughter was just the lure.

Fiona has Natalie ask the important question: Do they leave the daughter or do they take her with them. Natalie remembers her vision of her husband coming to care for her and decides to leave.  The two head back for the safe house.

Shepherd asks for the important numbers to be able to contact Lazarus in the future. He wishes he can share Vitality with Mason, but not being part of a crucible, there's no way to share.  Shepherd and Wendell then are shown their findings: rocks of different types. The rocks are all gauze, spirit material, and have been retrieved from places with earthquakes, or booming sounds that seemed to have no real world counterpart. The source remains uncertain. The rocks are chalky white - almost like porcelain or marble - but made of gauze. They have pieced together parts, a tedious process, but it does suggest that they're all parts of something larger.

The two step inside and see that the rock that is being cleaned is that of a giant statue of a baby's head. The gauze parts are taped together as the people working on it are trying to make sense of what it is. Or where it came from. Wendell wonders if it's some kind of trojan horse. Shepherd asks for the files they have on T&S, if it is anything that can help them infiltrate it.  Wendell wants to head back to update everyone else. They find Carter frantic for reasons that have yet to be explained. They realize Carter panicking over whatever happened to Misha.  And Ellie remains missing  The group is in dire straights. Carter thinks the injury Misha has is from ghost ammo. Wendell asks him about Ellie, but Carter claims she just left. He downplays the truth that he sent her away. Wendell admits as much as Alex things he's good at lies, he can't lie for shit.

"Damn it,  I think he knows!"

Both of them look at each other, realizing Alex Carter has now become part of the Crucible. His thoughts blare out, "He will know I traded her off!" and that "Fiona needed it." Wendell tries to pry more information from Carter but Carter tells him he has no right to be in his head. Maria begins yelling at them to stop.  She runs way in frustration and runs into another room to ask for help. To make Carter and Wendell stop.  At the door, listening to Maria asking for help, we see Fiona.

"Leave it to me," she mutters.

More Kids : Schauermarchen - Act Two

9/17/2016

More Kids
Schauermarchen

This is part two of the Finer Gamer Things Club RPG session of Schauermarchen.

Piper and Joey are together, watching the burning kettle. Billy is moving down the road.  M is at the Glassblower's house with Josh. Kim peers through the cracks of the cottage with the wood cutter.  Old music plays from inside the cottage. The bag is shoved into the cottage and the Woodcutter walks away, leaving the burlap sack inside with the woman. Kim sees a cast iron bed frame inside, a cabinet, a cupboard, but she cannot see the woman claiming to be hungry. The only source of light is a single lantern lit atop the cupboard. Kim drops to all fours and crawls in via the dog door. She squeezes past the burlap sack as a woman calls out, "Is that you, Jacob?" Kim realizes the voice is coming from the bedframe and thinks it might be the woman. Kim finds an axe-head embedded against the wooden floor. She crawls to it and tries to pry it free from the ground. "Rachel? Is that you Rachel?" the woman asks again.  Kim yanks on the axe head, pulling it free from the floor. It is heavier than expected, however, and Kim falls flat on her back. With the axe head, Kim gets back on her feet. She realizes the axe head is heavily stained and what she thought was the brown of rust turned out to be... something else. Kim looks around and grabs the lantern. With it in her hand, she sees the woman under the cast-iron bed frame, lying on her belly with her hair ripped away in bloody clumps. She has no fingernails, with bleeding wounds where they used to be. She has no eyes and no teeth. She begins to motion at Kim, "Come closer.. please... I can hear you there.."

Kim steps back, asking as she moves, "How do I escape this place?" The woman, however, does not see why there's a need to leave. She tells Kim she's in the Village, just like from oh so long ago. Kim realizes the woman used to be a kid just like her. The woman stresses she's very hungry. Kim stresses she does not want to eat human meat! The woman begins to crawl out of the bed to go after Kim, revealing her legs bent at wrong angles. Kim does not move but instead waits for the woman to get closer.  Closer. "The Blue Room," the woman gasps, "The Blue Room will only help you if she likes you. We talked about this before, don't you remember?  She didn't like me, Rachel."  Kim finally admits she isn't Rachel and that her name is Kim. The woman begins to scream, screaming as if she were the one in danger. Kim rushes forward, clamping her hands over the woman's mouth to shut her up.

Piper and Joey watch the burning building. Other children begin to emerge from the houses to watch. Another child, however, yells at them it is not over. That the Grinning Man always comes back. One says they have only until the bell tolls. Many of the gathered kids begin moving, hurrying back to the Orphanage, or towards the Cemetery. Piper wonders if the answers are in the orphanage. Joey wonders if they should go up the hill instead as they came from the Orphanage already.  They reach the dead boy on the street and continue down the road and see the building with the lantern and another building with a shoe sign. Then the hill further down. Piper suggests they go to the lantern first and Joey agrees. M and Josh see the broken glass scattered around and the steel tube against the wall. M uses her jacket as a padding over the glass and tries to go on top, but worries her bare feet might hurt her. Josh sees the shoe sign and realizes there might be shoes they can use.  He hurries there with M. They see Piper and Joey and share their plan. Joey admits she's wearing sneakers and can try going in first. With each step, Joey hears the glass cracking under her weight.  She carefully tries to sweep glass back with the jacket. Joey sweeps the glass off, clearing areas to stand in. Some glass cuts into her still skin. Joey finds a thick glove and retrieves it. She also finds the body of an unlucky kid already buried in the glass shards. Joey snags the steel tube and continues searching for anything useful. She finds an old photograph on the wall with a broken frame showing an old man smiling, a woman in a blue dress beside him and between them, a third figure had been scratched out. Joey finds a box and upon opening it, she finds a compass inside. The compass still seems to work and on its opposite side, it has a mirrored surface. Joey finds another portrait against another wall, a woman in a blue dress holding a baby, but the baby is scratched out.  Finally, she finds markings on the wall, as if someone had been tracking they days. The markings go on and on across the walls. Definitely over a hundred of them.  Joey steps out, realizing whoever was trapped may have been trapped for years. Piper asks if she is okay.

Ashes. Dust. A white hand emerges from the ashes.

Piper searches around as well and finds a first aid kit in the debris of the room. Pulling it open, it has been ransacked already save for a small stash of cotton. Piper treats Joey's small cuts to bring down the bleeding. A bell tolls. Piper grabs the photo and the portraits, thinking maybe they can be used to make the Grinning Man stop. Piper breaks it from the wall but realizes it is very heavy, dropping it and injuring her foot. Piper tears part of her pajama to bandage her foot and make it better. Piper drops the heavy thing and grabs the photograph instead of the woman with the baby. Joey sees the compass spin, and it points out of the building, then adjust, to point at the Grinning Man.  Piper yanks Joey to head to the back with her.

At the shoemaker's shop, M and Josh get to it and notice the door is barred. The window beside it is broken open and they can see something that looks like an inverted umbrella. M tells Josh she is heading for the back to check for a back door. Josh studies the jagged glass and studies if he can get through it safely. He grabs a rock and tries chipping away at the glass to make it safer. At the back, M finds a fence and decides it's better to head back to Josh. M informs him there's a fence at the back but there's a door too. Josh decides they try the back door for now. They walk along the fenced area, and Josh holds onto the rock to use as a weapon. At the end of the fence, they see someone unmoving and sitting on the floor in the darkness. Josh and M say hello, asking who he is but the figure gives no reply. Josh tries to move closer with M behind him. The figure does not respond to their approach. Josh taps the figure's shoulder even as M motions him to stop. The figure collapses to the ground, and a skull rolls out as bones spill out.  Ashes spill out like dust. They hurry to the back door and turn the doorknob. They step into the room and here in the backroom there is no light whatsoever. Josh returns to the door and decides to try the front again, not wanting to risk the darkness. M agrees. They stop when they realize the skeleton kid is seated once more. Josh says hello again while M runs for the front. Josh hurries to follow M. As they get to the front of the building, they see the Grinning Man emerging from the candle maker's place.

The candle maker's building is standing again. And the Grinning Man is standing before it. The whole place has "reset" it seems. They all look at each other, and they consider burning the photo of the Grinning Man because Piper thinks it might be trapping the Grinning Man's soul. Josh insists they run. Piper agrees. They make their way to the hill. Piper heads back to grab the heavy painting, thinking it would be best to use it. The Grinning Man gets distracted by another child in a nearby house, giving the four time to hurry off.

At the road leading to the hill, Billy looks up at the house. He sees the path leading up to the house and starts heading up, moving as quickly as he can safely in the darkness. Billy reaches out with the candlestick, using it as a makeshift cane as he continues upwards towards the house. He reaches a spot with a terrible rotten smell in the air. He grits his teeth to ignore the smell and keeps moving, ignoring the squish squish that he is stepping on.  He tries moving to the side to avoid stepping on the squishy things. He realizes they are somewhat furry and now the stench clings on to him as he walks. He realizes he can hear faint music and laughter in the distance. The toast of glasses and of piano playing. He hears crickets. He hears cicadas making their mating sounds. He hears waves crashing against rocks and the smell of salt in the air. Billy sees a break in the treeline and moonlight illuminates a mailbox with a number 8 hanging lopsided on its side. An iron fence stands blocking the path. Inside the mailbox, Billy opens the door and finds a parcel. Billy does not want to trigger anything else and closes it, then continues following the path following the road to the top of the hill.  Below him, Billy can see the house and further, the woods with signs of light. Beyond it, the vast cemetery, and fog that surrounds everywhere else. Billy considers heading back down to the house when a voice asks, "Do you want to join us?" Billy turns around in panic, raising the candlestick defensively. There are three kids seated on the cliff edge, with one of them looking at Billy. The two others are just looking out into the fog. They explain they are thinking of just jumping as there is no way out. Billy refuses to accept that. One of the kids even claims he's been trapped here for almost a year. The kids ask Billy to join them. Billy insists he won't. He claims he is not scared. Billy makes his way to the house.

Back at the cottage, the blind woman tells Kim it would be better if she just takes her place. That there's no way out of here. Kim hears the blind woman mutter about the Blue Room enough times that she realizes it must be the place to head for. It must have answers. Kim lifts the axe head and smashes it at the blind woman. She hits the ground, and starts screaming, "One of them is here!" Kim rushes for the door and finds it locked!  She drops to the ground and squeezes through the dog door but finds legs already in the way, blocking it!  Kim scampers to hide in one of the cabinets. As the door opens, Kim hears the woodcutter arrive and the blind woman explains one of the children was here. The woodcutter just tells the blind woman to eat her food and to quiet down. The blind woman mutters about how the child could have taken her place, and how she could go to the cliff and end it all. Kim hears the turning of gears, and the sound of chopping. Wet splatters and heavy thuds. Kim peeks through the cabinet and sees the sack on the ground earlier now on the table, and freshly ground meat begins to pile on a plate. The woodcutter tells the blind woman her food will be ready soon enough. The woman weeps, asking why they didn't just leave when they had a chance. The woodcutter explains their friends are no longer here. And that is good.

The four of them continue up the road.  They soon reach the last cottage and its sign reads The Grocer. They soon can smell the terrible rotten smell coming from it. It looks like the biggest structure among the shops. Josh and M opt to check it out, leaving Joey and Piper behind.  Joey and Piper reach the entrance to the path, ignoring the horrible stink. They grab hands and walk through, feeling a hint of hope rising in their hearts.   Inside the grocer's, Josh and M hold their breath as they step into the dark place. They can barely see inside the place, although they can tell there are a lot of shelves and the ground is sticky and wet with the marks of a hundred footprints. Josh walk deeper into the place, struggling against the sticky floor that clamps on his bare feet. They find more items rotting in the place despite the lack of vermin in the area. Josh finds himself staring at rows and rows of glass bottles with white fluid. Josh attempts to open one of the bottles and pries the cork free.

Kim hurries through the woods and sees Piper and Joey vanish into the darkness of the path.   M  sees the cemetery at the opposite end and sees a bell tower at it.  She considers running there.

The stench increases as Josh uncorks the bottle. The gloop inside is like paste. Josh walks further down the room, past the shelves, and finds something useful: a meathook. The tip, however, seems to be twisted in the wrong way. Josh begins to feel nauseated from the terrible smell. His eyes catch sight of a bathtub between two shelves. He approaches it and finds three young kids curled and hugging each other. When Josh tries to say hello, one of them opens his eyes to look at him.The child asks Josh if the man in black is gone and Josh explains they tried to burn him. The child admits he found a hook, stabbed it behind the Grinning Man's head and killed him, but he came back. Since then, the other kids have been too scared to move. The children do not even remember where they are from anymore. The child admits he's gone to the cemetery and tried talking to the man who stays there. The man works for the Grinning Man and gives him a bag that he has to bury. The bag sometimes has small voices.  Josh tries asking what's in the house and the child admits he has been there a few times in the past. The child shares he's seen the cellar. How there were these items that shone like stars. Cutting things. The child's voice trails away. Josh tries to convince them to go with them, but the child no longer responds to him. The child seems to be muttering something over and over.

"Shone like stars.  Six tools.  The cellar."

The stench is strongest now. Josh realizes in terror that the source of the stench is the bathtub.  The two children with the speaker have long been dead.

Piper and Joey continue heading up the path, despite the growing stench of something rotten. They begin to feel the wet sticky smell on the ground. The smell seems to follow them as they continue up the path. The two can hear the faint piano and laughter in the distance. They continue higher where there are breaks in the darkness. By the time they reach the mailbox and the iron gate, another figure emerges and approaches the gate. Piper pulls Joey to duck beside her in the darkness, with the painting raised slightly up to cover them. They see the figure to be Billy as the young boy approaches the gate. Both girls try making sounds to lead Billy to them. Reunited, Billy warns them that they do not want to go up there where there is nothing but hopelessness.  He opens the mailbox and they gather to look at what Billy pulls out: an old parcel wrapped with twine. Billy pockets the twine and they see handwritten letters and postcards. The letter speaks regretfully about something that happened to children. Piper and Joey quietly slide the gate open and approach the house on the hill. Joey asks Piper to keep watch as she approaches the entrance to the house.  

Kim peeks and sees the woodcutter feeding the blind woman sausages, explaining they are not allowed to use fire and cook the food. Kim takes this opportunity to sneak out and escape. "About time you stepped out," the woodcutter speaks up as Kim slides out the cabinet. She brandishes the axe head, but he easily swats her back with his arm. The axe flies from her hands. He stomps his boot against her face, causing her to black out.

Josh backs away from the bathtub, but then turns to discover the Grinning Man is behind him! Josh charges forward, running successfully out of the store, but not before the Grinning Man grabs him by the hair briefly to tear part of his hair off his scalp. The pain forces Josh to drop the items he had collected and he smashes headlong into someone else outside... M and Josh tumble to the floor in pain. The Grinning Man closes in on them, reaching for their legs. M wiggles free and tries to back away. Josh pulls free from the Grinning Man but stumbles atop of Josh. Josh gets back to his feet and he stands still, not breathing. M begins to scream as the Grinning Man seems confused and stares only at M.  It begins to grab and pull both of her ankles. M tries to bite the Grinning Man's hand to force him to drop her. Ashes flutter away from where she bites him, but it is enough to make him drop her.  She limps away as quickly as possible in the opposite direction, towards the cemetery. Josh feels his lungs burning as the Grinning Man begins to dig through his pockets for something. Josh realizes the thing cannot see him so long as he holds his breath. It finds the coin it wanted to find, and it begins to walk towards the house on the hill.  Josh finally exhales, and just lies on the ground, watching the man walk away.

The front door of the house on the hill is not even locked. Joey tells the others to watch either side of her while she leads the way with her steel tube. Billy brandishes the broken candlestick while Piper lugs around the heavy portrait. The entrance hallways show the chessboard-like tiled floor. They see the other doors and the staircase leading up. Joey steps in and stops on a white tile. Somewhere in the house, a piano key sounds. Joey looks at them, wondering if this is some kind of musical steps. Billy steps on a black tile beside Joey's. Nothing happens. Piper steps on two tiles, one black and one white on each foot. Then a piano key sounds again.  The kids slowly progress, carefully stepping forward but the piano key sounds suddenly stop. The three stare at each other, uncertain what to do. Piper mutters, "Run!" and the three rush for the staircase.  The wooden stairs creak as they stand on the first wooden landing. A flash of movement. Joey holds the steel rod at that direction and they see the sound of a scream, a wedding dress, then the sound of something snapping.  But they blink and see only a lone rope hanging on the wooden landing.  The piano keys sound once more below.

Kim slowly comes to consciousness and finds herself pressed against the wall. The woodcutter is bringing in large blocks of wood. Kim tries to talk to him about how he told her how to get away, how he could help her get away. The woodcutter admits she is the one helping them. He asks her if she knows any of the other kids and asks her to try to lure one of them to come here. He asks if she knows of the one on the tree. Kim admits she can try but asks why. The woodcutter promises if Kim can get another kid to come to the cottage, she would not have to worry about them anymore. But as Kim tries to move, she realizes she's tied up. The woodcutter refuses to let her lose and tells her to lure them over by calling for them. She admits that's not going to happen. The woodcutter tells Kim he's really sorry and that "she's had enough. It is time for her to move on." Kim, however, growls that he cannot make her do it. He insists she has to be willing.  He admits none of them knows why they are pulled here, or how to escape, but they know "they" want them to do certain things and that this is their place.  Kim asks if he tried escaping. He confesses he was nine when he first got here, and the blind woman was someone he only met ten years ago. She was with her siblings, Jacob and Rachel. He lied to the blind woman, claiming her siblings escaped. "But the Grinning Man needs a woman in the cottage." Kim, however, feels there are still things to try to escape. He backhands her and tells her she needs to choose.  "Are you food or will you keep living? There's nothing to eat in this blasted place! Are you food or keep living?" Kim growls she will keep living. The woodcutter smiles and explains that's the same choice the old woman made... the decision to live as the blind woman rather than to become food as the children.   As Kim looks away, she sees the crack on the wall showing the boy with scars watching her. The boy realizes Kim needs help and he sneaks in through the dog door to untie her. The Woodcutter begins hitting the old woman to knock her unconscious. Untied, Kim sneaks out with the boy to get away from the cottage before the woodcutter notices.  "There has to be a woman!  Noo!  Come back!" the woodcutter begins screaming. The boy climbs up the tree and Kim clambers up after him.  But as the woodcutter keeps screaming, the Grinning Man arrives and enters the cottage.  They hear the woodcutter begging for time, claiming that a replacement is coming. But the Grinning Man is not content and the woodcutter goes silent.

Josh sits up and finds there is no one around anymore. This glimmer of hope fuels him to activity and he decides to make his way up to the house on the hill.  On the opposite side of the area, M reaches the cemetery and finds there are no gravestones, but lots of small graves. The shed in the area with its blackened windows stands by the belltower. Beside its door, an iron shovel. M limps towards the shed, avoiding stepping on anything as she approaches it. The shed door opens and an old man steps out. The man walks out in his ruined clothes and reaches for the rope to ring the bell. M grabs the shovel and smacks it against the man's head to knock him out. The man yanks at the rope to make the bell toll, but then drops to the ground unconscious. A voice yells out, "No!" as a younger boy emerges with a bucket in his hand. The boy swings the bucket at M, hitting her hands to drop the shovel. The boy claims the old man has been helping them and M admits she just wanted him to stop ringing the bell. Another girl emerges from the shed and tries to wake the man. M asks for their names, but the boy just insists the old man has been giving them food and has been the only one helping them. The girl states her name is Theresa and that they've been lost here for more than 24 hours. M asks if they found a way to get out but Theresa admits they don't know either. The boy is frantic about how the old man was the only one who helped them. The old man is known as the Gravedigger and if he fails to ring the bell every few hours, the Grinning Man gets angry. Theresa explains time runs differently here and that when the sun rises, something odd happens. The sun should rise come the third time the bell rings. M helps them carry the Gravedigger into the house and when asked again about his name, he admits he does not know.  Inside the shed, there are apples, a lump of cheese, and drinking water. The boy locks the door behind them. Theresa soaks a rag in water and tries to treat the Gravedigger. They have M say sorry to the Gravedigger, who accepts it and admits he knows what they are going through.  He admits the Grinning Man and the Blue Woman own this Village any may be brother and sister, or husband and wife. The Gravedigger has no idea why they were chosen but knows they are useful to them in some way.

The three enter a room with soft blue colors all around them. The furniture looks to be in perfect condition, especially the mirror on the dressing table. There are a hairbrush and a few other baubles on the dressing table. There are small flickering lit candles in the room. There is no adjoining room. Billy fishes the letter out, seeing there's enough light to see here. Piper walks towards the dresser, walking past the bed. Joey fishes out the compass and sees the arrow moving then stopping in a certain direction. Joey turns the compass to look at the mirror and sees nothing but her reflection... but then fingers that brush her hair. Joey nearly drops the mirror. She asks if anyone saw that, but no one responds. Piper holds up the portrait and realizes it aligns with the dresser. Piper holds it up to see the complete image of the dresser with the woman in the portrait, but as she puts the painting down, the woman remains in the chair at the dresser.  Piper feels the fear grow.

Joey moves towards the window and sees the compass adjusting in that direction. Joey places the compass down on the floor and uses the steel rod to break the mirror on the compass. She doesn't want to see the woman in the reflection anymore. But as the glass is falling, there's a hit of color at the direction of the dresser.   Piper begins talking to the woman at the dresser and she asks if Piper is "her all grown up." Piper says yes. The woman at the dresser smiles.  Joey holds up a glass shard and points it at the dresser, to see there is someone there.

Billy reads the letters about how the seven children have died. The ship they were on had sunken and none of the seven children survived the incident. The governess survived the incident and is being kept in bed until she is fit to travel to see them. Billy is starting to see droplets of water falling from the paper.

Joey sees the woman Piper is talking to, and worse, she has a baby in her arms. Piper hears the woman state, "Come look at your sister, all grown up!" Piper stops in front of the woman and is told she can touch the baby. Piper shakes her head, snapping out of the daze, and backs away from the dresser.  The woman looks concerned. Piper admits something does not feel right. The woman insists everything is alright. They all got home safely. They all are home. Billy continues reading that none of the bodies were recovered and that the most they can do is offer prayers. Billy starts reading them aloud more, and that each time they hear the bell toll, the prayers to the seven children are sent to heaven.  Billy realizes the water dripping from the papers are salty.  Piper asks the woman if she is bringing all the children home. Piper insists this is not home. The woman growls that Piper is not "one of them."  Piper tries to change tactics, stating they are like their children. "If you bring us home, our parents will be happy to see us just like you will be." A soft bell rings. The woman tells them that their Father is home. The three realize she most likely means the Grinning Man.

Josh stares at the entrance of the trail to the house and he sees the Grinning Man already heading up the trail to the house. He decides to carefully follow him quietly and not make any sounds. He dorps to the ground at one point, too scared to continue forward, and weeps quietly.

Kim looks at the tree boy and considers staying with them to stay safe. Kim, however. feels determined to find a way home. She thanks the boy at the tree for helping her and she insists she has to at least keep trying.

M sits down and hears from the others that there is no way out. She looks around for anything that might prove useful if she were to still head out. She grabs an apple and asks the Gravedigger where else one can hide.  He admits there isn't really any safe place, although the boy admits he overheard some friends who may have started creating hiding places under the ground. Or in the trees. M looks outside and finds no one else currently out. She decides to grab the shovel but feels a strange sensation as she touches the wood. The Gravedigger smiles.  "If you want a place where you don't have to keep running, you can just come back here. It is not a hard task ringing the bell when he wants you to and burying the bodies when he arrives."  M walks away with the shovel. It makes her skin tingle.

The Grinning Man silently moves up the stairs.  Joey sees the compass arrow moving again, and isn't sure what it is following. A bell tolls in the distance. Joey asks Billy about the prayers, about how there should be prayers when the bell rings. Piper looks at them, not sure if it would work, but if the prayers were supposed to send the children home... Billy admits it's pointless how everything always looks the same. Everything probably resets. But Joey thinks they should at least try. Piper hears the woman at the dresser say, "Darling."  Piper turns to look the other way and they see the Grinning Man at the door. "Remember my love," the woman at the dresser says, "We cannot show them our grief.  Smile."

Joey draws out the candle and the match. Piper tells Billy to give him the letter to let him know what happened to their children. Joey admits maybe he never opened the mailbox! Billy looks at the letter and realizes it isn't even wet, despite dripping water earlier. He darts forward to slip the letter into his outstretched hand.  Joey slips on the glove holds the candle in the gloved hand and prepares to light it. Piper pulls out the photo she found earlier and hands it to the Grinning Man's other hand. Joey lights the candle. The Grinning Man stares at the two, and the growing flame of the candle begins to illuminate the place more. Billy growls at them stating that they're sorry but their kids are dead.  Piper admits they will be praying for them, but they have to let everyone else go. The Grinning Man is reading.  Joey utters "May they rest in peace," and she brings the candle to burn the Grinning Man's sleeve.  The Grinning Man does not respond and continues to read even as the fire spreads up his arm.

Kim feels hopeful. She believes there is a way out. She walks back to the main area. She hears the bell in the distance. She sees how everything has reset. She looks back at the woods and wonders if even the two have reset. She wonders if it's like a new day. She walks towards the hill, hoping to find the path to the house.  She realizes the boy on the road is gone. She hears screams at the orphanage and sees the doors slam open as some kids start running. One runs out and it is the boy Kim saw dead. The boy runs past her, telling her the man might be here. Kim runs alongside him, confused how he could be alive again. They duck towards the cottages and Kim realizes that even if she dies today, she can still be alive tomorrow. The boy runs for the lantern cottage and attempts to slam the door open, but the door swings open and he falls into the broken glass.

Josh looks up and sees smoke beginning to rise from the house above.  He wonders what has happened up there.

M sees the orphanage and the kids running. She sees the Grinning Man emerging out of the Orphanage. She sees him dragging a boy by the leg out of the doors.  She looks up and sees a window crack open, and there she sees a woman peeking out.  M gasps.

The Grinning Man burns now. Piper grabs Joey and Billy and tells them it is time to run out. They hurry out and rush into the courtyard as the fire spreads more and more around the house. As they reach the landing, the three see two bodies slam onto the ground from somewhere above. Billy realizes it was the suicide pact he had witnessed?  But wasn't that so long ago?

Kim can see herself suddenly running from the orphanage, rushing for the glass blowers cottage.  M can see herself peering out from the window.  Joey and Piper stare at the bodies on the ground and see it is their own bodies on the ground, hugging each other. Billy realizes the kid he saw at the cliff at the top.. he was the kid who was asking him to jump.

They make their way up to the top of the cliff. Billy, Piper, and Joey feel now pointless about trying to run. They reach the cliff at the top and stare at the fog in the distance.  Billy hears a voice and he turns around to see himself staring from the darkness. Billy reaches out to him, asking him to stay with him instead.  But Billy sees himself make the decision he just made earlier.  Piper and Joey decide to jump, giving up.

Kim sees Josh and the two knowing understand what is happening.  Josh feels the futility of it all.  He wanders away from the path and walks to the cottage.  He grabs a blanket and he sits down, covering himself. He realizes it's all pointless.  Kim shakes her head, determined to still find a way to escape. Somehow. She just has no idea what she should do.

M hears the voices crying. Screaming. Weeping.  M realizes there's no escape.  But M looks down and sees the shovel in her hands and realizes someone has to prepare the graves. Someone has to dig.

And ring the bell.

One Shot : Pocket Odyssey

04/09/2016
One Shot

Pocket Odyssey

Pocket Odyssey was one of the Kickstarter projects that I really wanted to support. The game is a tiny box filled with maps, tokens, and cards which allow you to create on the fly a group of characters, story arcs and challenges for your group.

The game sort of plays like old school Japanese computer role-playing games, which is pretty awesome, with factors like range, timing and items being cool elements that can affect your battles.  The game primarily is about the fight scenes, which is cute when you just want to try something with RPG elements.

The group created characters by merely choosing from the cards and forming their heroes.
Three story arcs were set, and with that we were playing!

Scene 1: Escort
The four are traveling through the woods to escort Borgan Freeman with them, the spiritual leader of his tribe of Odun.
Zophia the Wise, played by Josh.   Who knows everything.
Zilla the Zealous, played by Flip.
Kotar also known as Q, played by James.
Unnamed played by Koko. With two magic arms.

It was at the bridge that they noticed trouble: Hobgoblins hiding in the wilds! Zophia notices the hiding group before anyone else, and quickly casts a spell to prepare for the battle. Oil spreads in an area where Zophia sets his trap.  As the hobgoblins emerge from their hiding place, Zophia declares a warning.  Zilla wonders if they should have at least talked to them first, but Zophia clarifies, "They are ugly goblins. They're the bad kind!" Even as Zophia is casting his spell, however, Kotar charges forward since he is Impatient.  Being tiny, Kotar finds the bridge he is crossing to be much larger and safer than most do.  He throws his weapon at the closest hobgoblin, causing it to scream.  The others mobilize to close in. The group begins to move, striking in coordinated strikes to try to bring the hobgoblins down. When one of the hobgoblins begins to seemingly cast a spell, the group realizes the attackers may be more deadly than expected.  Unnamed leaps onto the closest rocks, maneuvering into position.  Zilla strikes at a nearby hobgoblin. When a second one begins chanting, the group realizes they have to dispatch the enemies faster.  Zophia leaps across the bridge with his hunter's axe to stirke. Blood spurts all over Zophia's face as his second weapon connects.  Another hobgoblin closes in to strike at Kotar, but it misses. Another hobgoblin steps backwards, and vanishes.  Kotar uses his special powers to create doubles of himself.  Then he creates the illusion of a web covering the face of the closest hobgoblin. A few hobgoblins struggle to keep their footing on the oily bridge. Seeing one of the heroes alone, another hobgoblin takes the opportunity to strike at him. Blood lust surges through them all, raising the danger of the scene.  But Zophia's calming presence affects the flow of combat and dispels the blood lust instead into a heroic surge that encourages him to knock the dreaded hobgoblin down. Unnamed finds the opportunity to use all his extra arms into a whirlwind of destruction to cut through the enemies. Kotar's illusions flank the remaining enemies, distracting them from seeing the others close in.  Seeing one attempt to rush the bridge again, Zilla strikes it down as it runs past him. With their successful strikes, the flow of battle allows them to recoup. One of the hobgoblin's spell is unleashed, and roots rise from the group to capture them! They dodge out of the way before any of them get snared. Zophia unleashed back fear upon them through magic, and while tormented, the hobgoblins need to recoup their courage before they can act. The bridge begins to warp, as some kind of magic distorts the structure. Kotar stabs into another hobgoblin, and he feels his blade scrape against the bone.  A berserker hobgoblin charges forward, and with a mighty swing, strikes the bridge to cause it to collapse.

As the heroes leap out of the way, they realize these things mean business!  The others cheer as Zilla launches a barrage of strikes, although it hits nothing but air. Zophia searches for vines that can be used to swing across the shattered bridge. As he reaches for Borban's hand, they swing across and land across the gap safely. Unnamed ends up killing the last hobgoblin despite all the other yelling at him to keep him alive. They realize they could have gained more information on their attackers had they left someone alive, but now it is too late. Zilla, however, is the sole one to find a treasure from the corpses. He finds a Bag of Keeping.

The group ends up voting Kotar as the MVP of the fight, and it grants him a bit of an advantage for the later scenes.

Scene 2: The Tavern
At the Tavern, Borgan Freeman talks to the gathered, telling them of the ill acts of the dark lord and the need for them to unite to defeat him. The heroes feel boredom swarming around them as they wish something more interesting would happen.  Thankfully, the dark lord learns of their presence at the tavern and sends agents to silence Borgan.

From the crowd, the agents of the dark lord reveal themselves. Hobgoblins march into the place, screaming in their strange language. Seeing them closing in, Zilla senses the incoming battle thanks to his Animal Instincts. Battleflux triggers and the group moves to face the threat as one.  Zilla rushes down the stairs to close in on the hobgoblin he sees.   Zilla's strike easily slices down the first one, giving an opening for a second strike.  Zilla fires his slingshot at the next villain he sees. Another one of the hobgoblins vanishes. Angered that danger once more threatens Freeman, the man Zophia has begun to fall in love with, Zophia begins to close in on the enemies within range to strike at them with another oil slick. A berserker leaps over the oil to close in on Zophia, and his strike misses Zophia... but then afterwards, the berserker vanishes as well!  Kotar jumps to the wall, to push back and leap at the next closest villain still visible. As Kotar's strike kills the berserker, however, even in its dying throes it strikes to strike at Kotar!  Kotar thankfully parries the strike before it finds its mark. Unnamed leaps down to land between a group of hobgoblins and Sunders them with a single move. Borgan gasps, fearful that they've found him once more. With Zilla's animal like senses, he smells the other invisible berserker and tries to intercept the monster. He slips, however, and hits the oil slick on the ground!

When the invisible hobgoblin attempts to strike Zilla down, however, the berserker also loses balance and slips!  Kotar makes doubles of himself again, and has them stand guard of the others.  He leaps across to the other side and attempts to strike the other hobgoblin before it closes in on Borgan too close. The strike kills the monster as Kotar lands on its dead body to land atop the oil. Zophia cannot find the other. One of the enemies chances upon the real Kotar, however, but thankfully the Unnamed one slides in within the brief window of time to call out no and strike! Kotar leaps backwards, to land onto Zophia's shoulders. Kotar's strike misses again but the enemy vanishes once more.

They start trying to detect the invisible villain, searching for him while he's hidden. But the villain successfully reaches Borgan and pulls him to one side. "There shall be no more..." the villain raises the blade, but before he could slash Borgan's throat, the heroes see their opportunity to stop him. Zophia, realizing she is in love with Borgan, casts Torment upon the Goblin to stop him. Fear strikes the goblin, giving the next hero an opening to strike at the assailant. Zophia's Battle Sense shifts the flow of battle to their favor as all the heroes recover a power point. Zilla suddenly remembers where the goblin is, and spots the hiding figure.  He calls out where the enemy is to guide the others! Heroes' Fortune blesses the Unnamed four armed hero who grabs hold of the villain despite his invisibility and gives them a chance to learn more now about their enemies.  "Great teamwork, guys!"   The villains yells, demanding to be let go.  Unnamed slaps him with one of his arms.  Zophia demands he explain, "Why are you after the Priest who is so pretty and beautiful."  Kotar warns if he tells them where the dark lord is, they will be merciful.  They learn that the dark lord is the Vampire Dark Lord, who cannot be harmed until he initiates a battle. They easily learn the whereabouts of the dark lord.

"Wait," Zilla suddenly screams, "Why are you trying to kill him!?!"  All the others turn to look at Zilla, realizing once more he's a tad behind everyone else.  Unnamed squeezes the goblin a bit more bit by bit to see if he can get any more info out of him. But goblin gives nothing more. Kotar asks him to be merciful and let him go.

Scene 3: The Tavern
With the spiritual leader Borgan finally safely escorted, the group considers a direct confrontation with the dark lord to annoy him to the point of forcing him to engage into a battle.  Once again, the group chooses their MVP and Flip wins it, granting a bonus for his character in the game. The heroes look at their loot and consider sharing them around. The group arrives and sees the front gates and shoves them open to step inside to the courtyard where a lone tower stands. The Vampire Lord waits for them, flying above the battlefield as he is laughing. A single henchman, a gigantic goblin stands close by. The henchman stares at them, ready to fight.  The group then senses one last villain in the area, a woman who lands close by from a leap and smiles at them. They all realize she is extremely beautiful and has wings.   Zophia mutters, "A Succubus!"

As Zilla cries out, "What are we fighting for," Kotar and Zophia are charging forward, ready and anxious to fight.  Kotar summons his doubles. Zophia casts Oil upon the gigantic goblin. With the goblin as the center of the oil spell, Kotar then closes in on the Succubus with his doubles running alongside him. He swings at the air, straight for the Succubus, with his sharpened steal... but the Succubus leaps backwards as his blade bites against her flesh.  She changes form in response, transforming into the splitting image of Kotar's mother.  "You hurt me!" she hisses.  Kotar snarls, "I hate my mother."

The Vamprie Lord questions if they really think it is wise to fight him at his own place. Zilla mutters they know it is not!  Zophia's mind races for any weaknesses a Vampire might have. Unnamed closes in towards the goblin, without stepping on the oil slick.  The Goblin raises its arms and its parts seem to move about, as if it were re-configuring in some way.  The Succubus leaps at Kotar but lands on a double instead.  The kiss consumes the double and the Succubus snarls in frustration.  Kotar thanks the gods he had that double.  The doors begin to slam shut to separate the others from the outside.  Zilla uses Battleflux to encourage all the others to move that moment.

Kotar continues his swings at the Succubus, his blade nipping at her but she twists over and over with her wings to avoid any strikes. Zophia runs back to the door and tries to unlock it. Staying close to the Giant Goblin, Unnamed fortifies his position to be prepared to defend himself.  He hurls the flashbang at the Goblin, positioning the throw to catch the Succubus as well. He hopes he does not hit Kotar in the process.  But before it erupts, the Succubus sweeps in and catches it, to keep it from banging. The group begins to fight in earnest. The Goblins strikes slam those hit backwards from its immense strength. The Succubus sees the flash bang suddenly erupt and she recoils from the light, unaware that the bang was merely Kotar's illusions forcing her to retreat.

"Now," the Vampire Dark Lord whispers, and burst of darkness erupts in an area where a Shadowblood Warrior emerges!  Everyone else is blinded in that area.  Zilla tries to work on the locked door that separates them from the others, but they can't get through.  Zophia's mind races on how the vampire can be attacked... she recalls that any wounded hero becomes vulnerable to later strikes. The Vampire is vulnerable to light and to fire. Unnamed charges forward to try to strike at the Goblin despite being blind.  He smashes into the Goblin and it explodes upon impact, and now there are two where one stood!  The Succubus realizes the flash bang was a trick, and she closes in to try to grab Kotar, but she lucks out and grabs a non-image. Kotar twists out of the way from letting her touch him. He moves back, away from the Succubus,  he launches a weapon at Succubus and it strikes squarely.  The shadows pull away, revealing the Shadowblood Warrior. It closes in on Zophia, who is working on door.  She feels her eyes go dark as blindness strikes her.  The Vampire Dark Lord is impressed at their resourcefulness, but she is more impressed with their capacity to feed him.

Unnamed avoids the swings from the two Goblins, but waiting for the perfect moment they're close enough, he uses Sunder to strike at the two by grabbing one, then the other, to chuck them at the door to open it. One Goblin tears the door open.  The second one, however, upon impact, splits into two more goblins!  "Whaaat!?" Unnamed gasps.  Zophia cannot see anyone. She uses her Vast Knowledge to unblind herself... but sadly she fails to undo it. He feels a slam from the goblin hitting her to the ground, and instinctively dodges the next two.  "You won't hurt me," the Succubus smiles at Kotar as she wears the form of a Princess.  Kotar sneers, "I hate princesses," and strikes her with his chained weapon.   She screams as she dissipates into mist as the last hit rips her connection to this plane. Unnamed dodges the blades of the Shadowblood Warrior.  The Vampire Dark Lord moves closer as he sees the Succubus as been banished, "You will pay for that!" he hisses, and closes in on Kotar.

"I just remembered something!" Zilla screams, as he runs for the oil slick.  He transforms his body into living fire and ignites the oil in the ground.  Everyone is forced to back away from the sudden surge of golden fire. The others back up around the flames.  Unnamed tries to strike at the Shadowblooded Warrior during the distraction of the flames. He then follows up with a swing at the remaining goblins, cutting them down before they can split again. Zophia attempts another unblind move, using secret knowledge.  She regains her sight and finds herself staring at the fall of fire.  Kotar creates a MAJOR ILLUSION, the appearance of a gigantic sun dragon with three heads that is on fire! But the Vampire senses the dragon is an illusion and laughs at it instead of getting terrified.  The Vampire closes in to engage.

Still in flames, Zilla screams, "I am burning!" and he starts running around, leaving a burning trail behind him. The flames cease to dance on Zilla's body, but they've created a bunch of fire in the area.  Unname ignites some of his arrows on the fire trail, then launches the burning arrows at the Vampire Dark Lord.  The Vampire turns into mist, allowing the other arrows to fly through, then resolidifies as he snarls how that hurt!  Zophia uses her hidden power that moment, erasing from the Vampire's memory the last sixty seconds of memory he has of the dragon illusion! With that, the Vampire totally forgets he saw it as an illusion already, and when he turns he sees the sun dragon and this time believes it is real!  He howls!

Zilla slashes at the Shadowblooded Warrior, killing it, while the Vampire is far too busy staring at the moving illusion.  Kotar directs the dragon to move closer, forcing the Vampire Lord to back away towards them and their weapons. The Vampire stares into the dragon's eyes, attempting to charm it.  Unnamed leaps towards the Vampire, hoping his blow downs the vampire. Unnamed misses, falls into a fiery trail and rolls out of it before it burns him.  Zophia then torments the Vampire about being scared of the dragon and distracts him with taunts. Zilla gasps, "There's a dragon you guys!" And fires his slingshot at the Vampire.  Then as the dragon moves like it will breathe fire, Kotar yells at everyone to shield their eyes as he hurls the flash bang as if it were the dragon breath!  The flash blinds the Vampire, and stuns him, leaving him vulnerable for the time being! Some parts of the Vampire crumble to ashes... but he begins to recover quicker. The illusionary dragon continues to stomp forward at the vampire.

Zophia cannot think of another plan.  Unnamed sets his magical arms ablaze with the fire, and closes in on the Vampire with his flaming arms!   The Vampire screams from the touch of the flames, but in its mind, it thinks the dragon grabbed him.  Kotar then moves forward and hurls his chain at the Vampire, and rips apart his shoulder.  The Vampire tries to grab Unnamed to drain some of his life force. Unnamed screams as the Vampire bites into his throat and starts drinking. While still in his arms, Unnamed grapples the Vampire and drags him to the fire.  Kotar realizes with his chains, he can help do the same thing.  Zophia realizes two rounds of sustained powerful light should be enough to destroy him.  "Bring him to the fire!"  Kotar pulls the Vampire closer and closer to the flames, but he realizes he needs to drag Unnamed inside as well.  Unnamed feels the flames biting him.  The Vampire tries to bite as well, wanting to survive the flames. Unnamed consumes a Health Potion to recover what he can as he headbutts the Vampire to let him go.  Unnamed smashes his magical arms at the Vampire to force it down.  Zophia runs into the flames, ignoring the flames, and tries to pin the Vampire to the flames.  Zilla influences the Flow of Battle and prevents the Vampire from healing more. Kotar creates illusions of blinding lights to stun the vampire from moving!  Zilla then hugs the Vampire tight. And in fear, the Vampire Dark Lord burns away in the flames.

With its destruction, they all see the castle grow empty and quiet. Having survived, each one smiles at the victory they have embraced.

Secret goals:
Each player drew a secret goal card to try to sneak into the game. Turns out, they all were able to hit it one way or another!

Unnamed is thankful to have protected a party member.
Zophia is proud to have done something rash.
Kotar remembers he showed mercy towards an enemy.
Zilla just happy that he tried to hug the enemy.

JAMS ep03 : Inspectres

8/18/2016
Javier's Armed Men Squad

Episode Three
"Faerie"

Inspectres
As the last episode of our Inspectres game, the format of this session was to be slightly different than the usual sessions.  But it felt necessary to give the game an appropriate ending to the story.

Opening Scene
All four are standing in a room.  Javier is wearing an armored suit and asks the others to double check if the suit is working well.  Pylons have been set up on the ground, and within the metal rods, an open doorway of light beckons.  The Spirit of Sherlock Holmes hovers nearby, watching as the group prepares. Stepping through, they see the almost perpetual night encompasses the area.   Holmes mutters about how this place is also known as, "The Upside Down."

Getting the Call, A Flashback #1
An old phone rings.   A ghostly hand reaches for it and answers.  The Ghost of Sherlock Holmes receives a call from Javier, who reminds the great detective that his parents once rescued the ghost from an inescapable trap.  Javier is now calling to "collect" on the favor.  Holmes admits he is a man of his word.

Javier tells the others that Holmes is willing to help them but admits he isn't sure if Holmes is lying as, "He is a ghost. Not a man. So he could be lying since he is no longer a man of his word." Gary shakes his head and reminds Javier, "He can hear you. He is still on the other side."  Javier corrects Gary, though, explaining Holmes is still on, "This side. Not the other side."  Gary rolls his eyes.  Holmes turns to the volleyball with a face painted on it and tells him, "Watson.  Finally I have something to do."

Research/Investigation
Gary preps Jessie, his Bazooka, as Javier wheels nearby in his wheelchair. Javier apologizes to Gary for the news of his friend having been abducted and for the weapon as it had never been perfected.  Gary admits he is aware of the leak, which erupts as a mooing sound.  The leak, however, is from the coolant system, so it has been expelling radiated gas which means Gary will never have children.  Gary stares at the weapon and sighs realizing its probably too late to stop using it.  Gary looks for Jalfredo and finds him prepping sandwiches for the long trip.  He asks Jalfredo to include some donuts. Jalfredo slaps Gary's hand when he realizes for it, reminding him that the food is only for the journey as they should never accept any food or drink from the other side.  Their discussion digresses towards movies and television shows, with Jalfredo claiming he was in Bad Boys and not realizing there was more than one black person in the movie.  Gary ignores his ignorant racism and presses about the rules of not accepting things from the faerie world or you will give them ownership over oneself.  He explains that Javier's parents, which the group has always only seen the lower half of their body, remains partly trapped in the other side. "The less obvious is the more important thing in the other side."

Jalfredo has prepared also dried tobacco leaves, and a stick of wax used for surfboards. Not having time to prepare more things, Gary realizes the team will have to rely on what he's prepared. Jalfredo even informs him that of everything, one of them is a poisoned one - a contingency in case the faerie folk attempted to trick them. When asked how to know which one is which, however, Jalfredo is unable to answer as he rushes off to answer a call from Javier. He begins to notice the differences in the items, like how one donut has a square hole instead of a round one.

Aiden visits Jato at the garage, who seems frustrated with the fact there are no new vehicles to use. Instead there are the pylons that Javier has instructed him to prep for the Mission. Jato harshly tells Aiden off, reminding him they are not friends as they didn't speak up against Javier when he got first fired.  Aiden asks about the Faerie folk and Jato shares how some mythologies think the Fair folk were the fallen angels.. the angels who did not support heaven nor hell. Aiden wonders if the crucifix will work against them, but Jato doesn't think the fair folk go to Church.  He does share that the Europeans believe in a different kind of fair folk (who are beautiful and artful and musical) while other countries believe in black dwarfs that curse people and live in mounds of earth and curse people who piss on them.  Jato however is a religious man and does not believe in such a thing.  Aiden wonders if there's a way to distract them.  Jato suggests beauty or riddles for European fae.  Non-European ones like food.  Milk, for instance.  Jato doesn't understand though why the milk is given in a saucer instead of a glass or a cup, "Who drinks from a saucer? And why not just drink from the cows?"  Aiden muses maybe its cause the cows never gave it willingly?  They wonder now if that's the root of it: It has to be willingly given.

Sherlock taps old friends long dead and from Mister William Shakespeare and asks him about the time he wrote Midsummer Night's Dream and encountered the fair folk. Shakespeare visits Sherlock and shows him his new fascination, a game where one dances and moves to match the images on the screen.   Sherlock and Shakespeare play Let's Dance as they talk about the faerie world of dreams and deception. He asks about how to find their way around the lands and William admits he thought he was visiting the lands but later he learned it was just a dream.  Visiting is a matter of invitation, calling for them because one has a present for them.  He talks of the beautiful guests who shined like the stars as they performed before them.  The trick of visiting through key places is to be there at the right time.  Another way is to create a new work of beauty so inspiring that the work itself draws them.  "A once in a generation work of masterful artwork.  The last one to invoke it was this young man... his name was two syllables. A man of color who went on stage to upset some blonde woman who was accepting an award."  Sherlock admits he does not know who that is either.  The last was to invoke the Lord of the Lesser Beings who can be invoked if one offers him a child. William waves to stop the game, and admits he is astonished at how despite not having physical bodies, their devices can detect them.  He offers to send Sherlock an e-mail, which he explains is the modern way people send each other letters now.  William sends the incantation to make to summon the Lord of the Lesser Beings and then offers Sherlock to join him for one more dance before he leaves.  They dance off to These Boots Are Made For Walking.

Suiting UpJavier explains the pylons are to hold the gate open as long as they can.  They will go inside to find their missing friend, Lucius. Javier admits they are going in for a second mission - the very reason Javier's Armed Men Squad was first created in the first place.  His parents were the original founders of the Inspectres, and they used to deal with all these supernatural things while he was left at home. Gary passes some popcorn to the others as they listen.  Javier shares how his parents eventually faced against creatures craftier than them and now remain imprisoned there.  Javier explains to rescue them is the only way to get them... completely. Javier shows them a small piece of string with a metal thing spinning on its end, "They told me if I was near them, this would begin to point in their direction." Aiden asks how they gave it to him if they were imprisoned. Javier admits it was on his 13th birthday that they made a deal to be allowed to be half here and half there. In exchanged, they would never actively find a way to escape. Javier introduces them to Sherlock, and is aghast none of them has seen the movie yet.   Aiden preps a milk-charged rifle for the mission, thinking it may be useful. Sherlock, of course, has his magnifying glass. Sherlock shares with them his conversation with Shakespeare and the group is decided they will not try offering a baby.  Gary wonders if Sherlock can write something smart and cool.  But he watches as Aiden starts scribbling on the walls with a pen, wondering if he can create a work of art.  Aiden calls out, "Guys, what about this?"

They all turn, then gasp, as they see something they have never seen before.  Even Jato, who just arrives, freezes upon seeing the wall.  They all gasp in unison, "Keep drawing."   Aiden grabs colors and continues to keep drawing.  Javier begins to weep profusely.  Jalferdo, who just arrives, gets weak-kneed as he calls it a modern Mona Lisa.  Sherlock claims to have seen better, but cannot look away. A glow erupts from one of the walls, erupting into a cross-like shape that opens into a door.  A woman emerges. Her skin is golden and white. Her body moves as if underwater. Her hair is like a forest, with things leering and gasping from within.  The whole room smells of freshly cut grass and wildflowers.  She moves past them soundlessly and stops behind Aiden.   When she speaks, that is only the time they realize she had arrived.  She calls Aiden a master of this era, and Javier motions at the others to hold the door open with the pylons! Aiden claims to be adding finishing touches now that her muse is here.  They all feel the whole room go warm when she blushes.  One figure emerges from her hair and informs them they are before the Queen Tatianna.  Somethings in her hair grow at Javier who has not bowed (being on a wheelchair). Aiden explains he cannot bow because... Gary slips in and explains, "of your beauty."  They explain he has "Cancer of the Back," and cannot move properly. A figure in the Queen's hair whispers to him and he asks them to show her this "knight," this "Sir Oftabak of the land of Can." Aiden successfully defuses the situation, however, explaining he has an ailment.  The Queen mutters about not having any ailment disrupt her honor and she waves at Javier, who leaps to his feet as the wheelchair shoves him off.  Javier is cured!  Aiden is offered a gift for his masterpiece, and the Queen asks what he wants.  Gary whispers to Aiden to ask for their missing friend. But Aiden doesn't get their whispers and asks for her friendship and for one of their companions who is in their world.  The Queen misunderstands and asks which one of his friends to send to her world.  When Aiden tries to explain that the Queen misunderstood, she flares up claiming to never misunderstand things!  Aiden explains he mispoke and explains that a friend of theirs accidentally slipped into her world.  She agrees that friend must be punished.  But Aiden explains the best punishment is to send him back into this world.  

Gary steps in, asking if they should be given access to her world instead. The Queen asks who the speaker is, and when he gives his name, she smiles and tells him, "Therefore, you are mine."  Gary disappears.  Aiden looks at Javier and Sherlock, shocked to see him just vanish. Sherlock however realizes his ghost nature might help in the situation and he attempts to walk to the door without the others noticing.  Sherlock slips inside and vanishes.

Aiden asks if he can present to the Queen a gift, but only in her realm for inspiration. She agrees and pulls out a flower from her hair. She offers it to him, but he remembers Jato's warnings and does not take it claiming his hands would soil it. She offers instead her hand to walk with him into her realm.  Javier, at the background, opens his hands to show a guy and a girl drawn in his palms to remind him to find his parents.  Aiden and the Queen walk through the door.  Javier and Jato then ignite the pylons to keep it open - hopefully long enough for the others to return.

Fieldwork

Gary realizes he is in a long corridor.  Both directions seem endless. Gary trains the bazooka at the wall, hearing the mooing rise as it charges.  But before he can fire it, he sees a face staring at him.  He pulls away from the targeting scope and sees the purple and yellow worm on the wall talking to him. The worm asks what he wants given he is standing in front of their door. Gary is told he is at the entrance of the Labyrinth.  Mister Worm however admits he doesn't know the way out, although there are always ways into the labyrinth. There are lots of dangers and scary things in the Labyrinth although he does not know if it would be wrong to go atop the wall. He offers him to step inside to have a cup of tea.  "Usually a woman does. A Sarah. It is always a different sort. Always a Sarah looking for a Toby." Gary claims he probably won't fit inside, but the worm instructs him to walk straight forward with his hands stretched forward.  Gary shuts down the mooing bazooka and tries stepping forward.  To his amazement, he steps forward and now he sees the previously invisible passageways to the left and right.  Mister Worm invites him for some tea, but when asked, denies he is one of the fae folk. Gary claims to be a regular of the Labyrinth and he follows the Worm. To his surprise he reaches a room with a chair and table and now he's the same size as the worm.  Or are they now all big.  Another worm arrives and offers them tea.  Gary sits down, pulls out a thermos filled with coffee, and sits down to join them.  The worms admit it is so nice to see a whole new face, since they're so tired of all the Sarahs they keep receiving.  They have never seen the Tobys though.

Sherlock  sees the snow all around, the trees, pathways, and a sole standing lamp post. Footfalls nearby alert Sherlock to a figure who has arrived: half-human, half... something. Bare-chested with cloven feet. The thing addresses Sherlock, claiming he does not look like the children. Sherlock asks if the goatman has seen an older man, and asks if a Lucius has been here.  He suggests asking the Lion for information.  The goatman, however, cannot take him to the Lion as he is at odds with the former ruler of this place.  Sherlock realizes the goatman is speaking through his thoughts and not through actual words.  He is given the route to the Lion, however is warned to stick to the northern path to avoid the strange wheel like things that move about there. The goatman is shocked that Sherlock leaves no marks as he moves across the snow.  Sherlock admits he has been long dead.  

The room Aiden finds himself is a great white chamber - a domed greenhouse with statues of dancers who are all dressed in finery and masks - who come to life the moment Queen Tatianna comes to the base of the tree at the center of the room.  Aiden realizes the statues were not statues and most likely were people from different eras that had been abducted before. Wisely, Aiden turns down any gifts she offers time and time again, claiming to have strange diets and the need to maintain his low body fat average.  He asks her to dance, but she claims she cannot for the King cannot approve.  When asked where the King is, she explains he is busy "With another Sarah."  When asked who Sarah is, Tatianna merely mutters, "There is always a Sarah."

Back with Mister Worm, Gary hears the music playing in the background and asks where it is coming from.  The Worms explain it is the Queen with guests and that they are never invited to the dance.  They do share whoever dances gets entranced and never wishes to leave again. Gary offers to take the worms with him to visit the Queen.  They worms warn him the lands are dangerous, especially to those who don't know where they are going. Gary admits he is looking for a friend but the worms admit here in the King's domain it is mostly just the Sarahs.  Gary wonders why the Queen sent him here to the land of Sarahs. The Worms claims that means the Queen sent him here to be punished. Had it been one of the Dwarfs he would have been sent to the Oubliette. "You'll never find your way out." Gary insists he would like to visit the Queen, but they explains there's no way to leave this place without the Lord Jareth's position.  They offer to show him the path straight to the castle, despite the Goblin King preferring people take the path through the Labyrinth.  In the distance, Gary can hear a frustrated woman complaining and kicking the walls about them going on and on and how they are not fair.  "Oh, that would be a Sarah. Best you do not get involved," Mister Worm mutters. Gary realizes he needs to leave and he takes the path that leads straight to the castle.  He does not see the Worm head to the wall to say hello to the woman.

Sherlock has been walking for quite sometime, that the landscape seems to have begun changing. What was once a frozen river, is now a bubbling stream with the remains of a melting ice castle.  A melting carriage can be found as well, but a man still partly frozen in the ice is visible.  Taking his magnifying glass, Sherlock holds it against the ice and the sun thankfully does magnify and begin to heat the ice up.  One of the bushes shakes nearby, and Sherlock turns to call out, "Who is there!"  But no one answers.  He focuses on melting the ice near the man's face.  The animal that emerges however from the bushes is a great moose, with antlers that spread far and wide.  With enough ice melted, the man's face is now visible and he thanks Sherlock for his help. Sherlock just asks for how to get to the Lion, but the man doesn't know anything of the Lion.  "That's not until the other ridge." Sherlock claims to just be a passerby. The man asks how long he has been frozen and wonders where his friends are.  Sherlock immediately deduces that the man has been frozen a few years, and suggests his friends probably had left long since then.  He suggests this magical place could be why he's still alive. Unable to grab the branches, Sherlock realizes he cannot rig the branches to hold the magnifying glass up.  Sherlock turns and sees the moose nearby, and tries to have it come closer.  The man asks if it is "his moose" which turns out it is.   With the man's help, Sherlock gets Sven - the moose - to start helping break the man free.  "I have an idea, but it might hurt," Sherlock grins.  "Just trust me... maybe." Sherlock leads Sven far away and directs him to charge towards the man to break him free.  Sven charges, and shatters his companion, Kristoff, free from the ice prison. Sherlock admits he couldn't have broken the ice himself, but asks for a ride to the Lion.  Kristoff admits its all the way at the other country, but Sherlock reminds him he saved his life.  They let Sherlock hop on and ride to the next country - talking about the sisters whom Kristoff is friends with, and of the friend Sherlock had lost in this land as well - covering a lot of ground very quickly thanks to Sven. "It's always magic that makes things weird... like those trolls in the mountain.  Encased in ice right?  Guess she was mad at me."  Sherlock sighs, "Good thing the cold never bothered you anyway." When he asks for Kristoff's name, however, they cross the border before Kristoff can ask and Sherlock finds himself in another land with a castle.

Aiden asks for more information about the King. Tatianna explains how once there was a young woman who caught his eye - a woman named Sarah. They danced and fell in love.  He invited her to stay forever and she agreed.  The King and Queen were married, but as the years and years passed, she missed her son.  So he spread to all his Goblins the words that would be said to call him, and had them whisper it to all the women in the world with her name.  In hopes of finding Sarah again.  Aiden asks why she'd never confront him about it, but she reminds him she is Tatianna and such matters are beneath her. As they talk, Aiden realizes he can see Lucius as part of the tree behind her.  As he studies the tree, he can see more people entombed within it.  Hoping to distract her, Aiden asks more questions about Sarah and why she didn't do anything given she is being treated as an afterthought by the King.  Tatianna claims she does not believe she is on the side. Aiden however implies she shouldn't be okay with him having someone on the side.  Tatianna claims they all have someone that entertains them.  The servants come in, bringing in paints for him to use, as Tatianna asks Aiden to paint her image on the tree.  Aiden asks her to get comfortable, while he takes some time to visualize how to portray her beauty upon the tree. Tatianna nods, stands, and drops her clothing, "As you wish to see my beauty..." Aiden feels his Cool fading upon seeing her naked body.  He tries to stay calm but is failing.   Asking if he needs conditions different to work, she causes the dancers to disappear into woodland animals that run away and even dismisses the cold winter to let sunlight shine down. Aidan moves up to the tree.

Gary emerges and finds himself in a small town, with every house far smaller than expected. He looks back and finds he had emerged from a jar on its side.  Chickens occasionally hurry past him as he walks towards the castle up ahead. He catches sigh of what looks like a dwarf on a fountain.  The dwarf has a bunch of things hanging on his belt and holds a fruit between his fingers.  The dwarf mutters to himself about having to stop doing "this", whatever this means, but catches sight of Gary and asks who he is. Gary introduces himself and the dwarf says he looks lost, especially since he does not look like a Sarah. The dwarf wonders if "she" changed the rules this time and brought a friend. Gary admits he finds the dwarf rude and shows off his bazooka, "Jessie."  The dwarf admits he doesn't think Jareth will like seeing someone like him here.  The dwarf grabs the fish, and the trap door hidden on the ground swivels open beneath Gary! Gary leaps, landing away from the trap, and he smells a whiff of some horrible stench coming from down below.  "We're you trying to throw me into the Yubeleeh?" The dwarf reaches for the other fish, but Gary takes aim and shoots the dwarf on the shoulder.  The dwarf hits the floor, clutching his shoulder, admitting he tried to send Gary into the Bog. Gary demands to know the fastest way to King Jareth, but Gary warns him he's using modern man's technology.  The sound of a coin rattling nearby catches their attention.  A flamboyantly dressed figure emerges with a long beaklike nose.  A massive hat covers his head.  The figure walks with a wooden box held in one hand.  "Now you're going to get it," the dwarf hisses.

Gary calls out to the figure, demanding the hat wearing man bring him to King Jareth. "You look like a guard.. can you bring me to the castle?" The long nosed man shakes the box in front of Gary, as if asking for a gift. Gary drops one of the bullets inside and the nose man tells him he can ask. Gary asks to head for the castle, and the long nose man admits, "Well, if that's what really what you want.."

Sherlock realizes he's walking through a massive field now with all these tall standing flowers.  He finds so many other people sleeping in the fields.   Sherlock bends down and shouts to try to wake the closest one.  But stops when he realizes the figure looks like some kind of scarecrow on the floor.  The next figure is a metal statue on the floor.  Sherlock raises an eyebrow, and again calls out to try to wake anyone who will.  The metal figure looks up at Sherlock and asks what he is.  Sherlock dismisses the question as unimportant and realizes the metal man is very sleepy. Fluttering sounds fill the sky. Sherlock looks up and sees the dark flying shapes.  He rushes forward to head for the castle before the fliers get to him.  He ends up running past the massive lion sleeping beside the girl with the red slippers.  As he reaches the castle, however, the border shifts once more the terrain and now he's in a place with green pools of water.  The castle is barely standing, with statues surrounding it. All the statues are broken in some way.  Sherlock makes his way into the castle, hearing the voice of Aiden as he talks to a woman about her beauty. Peering through the glass window, Sherlock sees Tatianna drop her clothes and hold a pose.  She moves to beside the window.  Aiden tries to draw her, but as he tries to touch the tree, Tatianna warns him NOT to touch the tree. The Queen offers the palette of colors and Aiden, unthinkingly reaches for it.  Sherlock realizes Aiden is about to receive a gift from the Queen and forces himself through the Castle's glass walls.  He feels his ghostly form tear slightly from the effort, and he calls out, "No!" before Aiden grabs hold of it. Terror tears through them all as the Queen shows her displeasure.  Sherlock loses his cool and he begins to turn into a statue despite being a ghost! Aiden drops to his knees, as he tries to distract Tatianna with flattery, calling the intruder's interruption an unfortunate event.  He tries to have her turn around to paint her back, and thankfully, she agrees to.

The Goblin King reveals himself before Gary, as he pulls away his hat and massive nose. The Goblin King throws the disguise, which has now become a goblin, at Gary. He demands Gary explain his presence here given he's not a "Sarah."  With his horse crop, he whips Gary, and demands an answer. Gary explains he is here because of "some woman."

Confessional #1
It was around this moment that Jareth realized why Gary looked familiar.  Gary, for some odd coincidence, looked like the Queen Tatianna's former lover!

"Auberon," Jareth mutters, surprised to see him still around despite having been dealt with in the past.  He stalks around Gary like a shark, demanding an explanation how he survived the murder. Gary decides to ride along and claims he is the all powerful Auberon.  Jareth admits he does not know how Auberon broke free from the tree, but his being here proves he is sly and capable.  A crash alerts them both to the new arrivals, a woman, a thing riding a dog, and a hulking horned figure.  Jareth realizes he has no time and so with his magics, he sends Gary into a glass bubble and into some tiered chamber filled with goblins.  The goblins mutter and gasp as Jareth confronts Gary in here.  "Explain yourself! How did you escape the White Tree? How did you get a virgin to touch you?"  When Gary struggles to keep a straight face, Jareth sees through the lie and begins whipping him with the crop, "You are not Auberon!"

Back by the tree, Sherlock realizes the curse fails and he remains solid but of flesh instead of stone!  Aiden motions to the tree, pointing at the face of Lucius.  Sherlock approaches the tree, and studies it - hoping to discern something useful. He realizes that if someone who is a virgin touches the tree, it will collapse and free all the people trapped within. Sherlock turns to Aiden, wondering if he's "ever been touched down there." Aiden grumbles that he has already been touched down there... by himself... every night!  When Tatianna wonders if Aiden is asking to someone, Aiden claims he is merely thinking the thought process of the artistic pursuit.  Aiden then reaches to touch the tree.

Confessional #2
Sherlock remembers that day well.  He remembers how when Aiden touched the White Tree, despite claiming to have been touched "down there" many time before, the tree did collapse and the bodies all emerged from within, falling on top of them!

With the bodies scattered all around the area, with many atop Aiden and Sherlock, the only person who remains standing is a single man who.. looks like an Ivory-Skinned Gary?

Because Gary looks like Auberon.

Javier's parents are nearby, as well, their upper body torsos the only visible part on their body.  Lucius rises from the pile as well.  Auberon mutters that somehow, "That man.. his Purity has some how freed me..."  Sherlock explains that self-pleasure does not cause the loss of virginity, especially in the world of symbols that the faerie folk thrive in.

Jareth commands his goblins to delay Tatianna and anything she is up to.  He snarls at Gary that only babies are allowed in his castle, and that on the thirteenth hour the babies become his forever. He tells Gary, however, to offer him a gift and he will send Jareth off his way.  Gary digs into his pocket and pulls out a flashlight, claiming it to be a "Weird magical torch."  But Jareth rolls his eyes, claiming to know what it is, but anxious to be rid of him, sends him to his companions.  "Turn to the right and stick your lips out," he mutters, telling Gary he reminds him of a certain international male model, "Fine, turn to the left if you can't turn that way either." Gary does so, and he vanishes.  Jareth shakes his head, "About time.  I was afraid I was going to tell him to have a walk off.."

Gary appears in the other room and sees the commotion inside, as well as his lookalike who speaks to Tatianna about the bet being over.  Freed from the tree, Auberon can take Tatianna back with her to be the queen of the elves once again.  Gary calls out to them, and admits he looks like the man. Auberon and Tatianna look at Gary realizing there is truth in that statement. "Why is it your face resembles mine," Auberon wonders. Gary claims he cannot tell him. He explains to them however that the Goblin King hates him. Auberon asks for who freed him and Aiden admits it was him. Auberon explains it is common among their kind to make bets to amuse themselves, and asks about his presence in the area. Aiden tries throwing them a bet that he cannot be beaten in a dance off. Tatianna smiles at the idea and admits he has the Artist's Soul.  Auberon offers them a parting gift. "Name it."

Sherlock asks if everyone is free to leave with them. Auberon admits he sees no reason not to let them go. Tatianna admits she took them only because she missed him.   Aiden asks that they all leave safely, and Tatianna grants it.  The whole group then walks the path they are shown, which leads to a doorway, and through the doorway, they find the pylons and Javier in his power armor.  They all finally step through and return home.

Javier sees his parents.  He exclaims they've all done it... and brought so many other people back. Javier embraces Lucius, and after asking if he is well, admits he's docking two weeks of pay from his salary for being absent.  Lucius finally utters his first word, "Whaaat!?!?"   The doorway begins to pulse and close.  Jalfredo and Jato screams at everyone to run for it before it collapses.  Aiden and Gary leap forward, trusting in their gym training to get out.  They leap. The pylons explode.  Sherlock alone fails to get across in time.

Javier asks if they're all complete. Hearing an all clear, Javier then tells Jalfredo to approach each one who has been rescued and tells them to hand them the bill for "A Rescue".  Javier thanks Gary and Aiden and Lucius for the rescue of his parents.  Javier admits he is now closing J.A.M.S. as there is no reason now for the group to exist given his family is now complete. Gary, however, claims it has to remain open since there are still so many monsters out there.  Gary is bequeathed the remnants of Javier's workshop to take and use as he will see fit.  This includes the vehicles and armory.  To Aiden, he bequeaths the rights to the Inspectres license as the sole owner of the company. He is even to claim all the money from today's rescue.  Finally, Lucius is handed a bill.  For being rescued.

"WHAAAT?!" Lucius screams again.

Javier joins his parents and asks what happens now.  Javier's parents recommend they go watch The Mask of Zorro this time.  Javier even recommends his mother wear the pearl necklace he got her before.   The three leave.

Gary watches them leave, suspecting something may happen to them.  But decides all is right in the world for now.

Watch the whole episode here:
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