The Glass Cannon Podcast - Time For Chaos S2 | E10 – Lupus In Fabula

Episode Date: June 20, 2025

The dark mysteries surrounding the village of Lesser Edale deepen. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/rP17zTGbWQA⁠⁠ For a limited time, use code "TFC" to save 15% on Cthulhu products at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠chaosium.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Access exclusive podcasts, ad-free episodes, and livestreams with a 30-day free trial with code "GCN30" at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠jointhenaish.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Troy Lavallee, Joe O'Brien, Skid Maher, Matthew Capodicasa, Sydney Amanuel, and Kate Stamas as they tour the country. Get your tickets today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hubs.li/Q03cn8wr0⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more podcasts and livestreams, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://hubs.li/Q03cmY380⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Watch new episodes when they premiere every Friday at 8PM ET on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/theglasscannon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, starting July 11th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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when you check out to save 20% on your first order. No Frills delivers. Get groceries delivered to your door from No Frills with PC Express. Shop online and get $15 in PC Optimum points on your first five orders. Shop now at NoFrills.ca. You are listening to the Glass Cannon Network, the premier source for role-playing game entertainment. I'm gonna be a man, I'm gonna be a man Welcome back folks, it's Friday night and it's time for Chaos. It's also time for the Season 2 Mid-Season Finale. Episode 10!

This is it. Halfway through the season, I like to call it the midseason finale Rocks week Yep sweeps week. We're pulling out all the stops. We're gonna have several guest stars pop in throughout today's session And then we're taking a three-month break before we come back with episode 11 No, I'm kidding. That part is not happening. But wouldn't that be fun? We could all Breathe I would have nothing left to do. So I am No, I'm kidding. That part is not happening. But wouldn't that be fun? We could all breathe. I would have nothing left to do. So I am against this.

We keep recording. We just make them wait. Oh, that's fine. I'm okay with that. Yeah. Just give me a reason to wake up. Take a break. I realize that this is a game to you, Troy. but for the rest of us, this is the only thing tethering us to life and sanity.

This is so much better than the real world. I can't believe it's been 10 episodes, well, it hasn't yet, but it will be in just under two hours. Thoughts so far on London. The London chapter, however you want to call it. Having a ball. Is it what you expected? What did you expect? After the events of New York and the juju house?

I mean, to be honest, I got a little nervous when we started hearing about shopkeepers. And I know that thread still hasn't been fully explored. But it was just like, is this just going to be the same thing again? Like, obviously, just, you know, that's not on that dog and you Troy or whatever. But it's like, oh, we have another suspicious thing. There's a cult. I'm guessing that's just going to be evergreen. But, but especially, but it was still like, I've still been having a blast obviously and I

Feel like we kind of got into a groove way sooner than we did in season one Which is understandable because we've been playing together for now for a while. But Yeah, it's it's great. I'm I'm I'm enamored with us Yeah, do you guys feel like you know what's going on here in in this section of the story? I have sort of in cover. Yeah, some people yeah But nothing is coalesced. Yeah, but there's enough tantalizing threads that Want tugging on and weaving together a couple of key a couple of key locations, some threads that still need looking

at. Yeah. So, what do you think Lesser Edale fits into all of this? That's what's blowing my mind. Yeah. At first, I thought this was total like a side quest territory, but now my imagination is running wild. It's like It's all connected, man. I still think it might be a bit of a side quest.

Yeah. It could be a bait and switch. I'm not seeing the largest connection yet. Yeah, it could be a bait and switch with this werewolf thing. It might not be a werewolf. Maybe it's a lizard or something. Maybe it's the red herring in the story. I don't know. My brain goes, I've been doing a rewatch of Twin Peaks since Twin Peaks Day on the 24th. So now my brain's all going to like, what if somebody comes back? We see another character, but it's not them. It's their identically looking cousin. Did you start back with like season one of Twin Peaks?

This is the second time Twin Peaks has been mentioned in recordings this week. God, what a great show. Even season two is a disaster, but it's still worth watching. Oh man. It loses the plot. I still love it. It's still like, it gets so weird. Disagree.

I love season two. But I love weird. Yeah, it definitely gets much weirder because Lynch left and I think they just brought in a bunch of people to like try and Lynch it up and it's just a lot more craziness, a lot more dreams. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant season three. Yes. I heard season three was fucking insane and awesome. Yeah, I love season three. See, season two gets like, but introduces a whole bunch of new characters that I'm like, why are you even, why are you here? But, no.

But that's what I'm trying to like, think like if this was, because Troy, you tell stories so cinematically and I'm like, what's next? What's the new, what's the thing that's gonna pop up and almost- It does kind of feel like you're in a little twin peaksy town trying to solve a murder.

It definitely has that vibe, this little- It's a Wicker Man situation. Instead of a mountain town, it's like this weird valley town and everybody knows everybody. What it kind of was the constable or the reverend last week was like, we are a town that deals with small problems. Nothing like this ever happens here.

Well, I- It's also hard for me to not go and think about like, like I try to like do the math on it. Cause like this entire, I feel like I read this a long time ago that this entire campaign was written by like a screenwriter, right? Who during like a writer's strike.

Yeah, Larry DiTillo. Yeah, and it was like in the mid eighties. So in my mind, I'm like thinking about like, all right, what were the tropes during the 80s of horror movies? And this whole thing obviously has a lot of American Werewolf in London, this storyline. I was like, that came out early. I think that's an 82 joint or something.

That's an early 80s. So that had already come out, so maybe he's cribbing on that. But then obviously, other people have contributed to the story since then. So I'm sitting there trying to do the Rubik's Cube of like what cinematic tropes are we falling into? Several of you will be excited to know this because I don't know if you know this. Larry DiTillo, who is like the Uber creator of this, there were several other writers involved, but it was kind of like his brainchild also is known for creating She-Ra.

From the He-Man universe. He is the co-creator of She-Ra. Yes. From the He-Man universe. Whoa, yeah. He is the co-creator of She-Ra. Amazing. Which was wonderful back in the day. Remember the old He-Man movie? That was a weird one. Don't get me started, Troy. I am ready to go.

I've got a God Skeletor figure right there. Let this be our final battle. Frank Langella, the performance of a lifetime. Do you ever tell you about the time I was in a tiny little bathroom with Frank Langella after he won the Tony and I heard him straining to pee? Was he doing it as Nixon or whatever the fuck we won that Tony for? I don't know if I've told this on a podcast before or if I just have this story because I used to work for Getty Images and one of the gigs I have is like I'd go to events and like just edit EPKs, electronic press kits of events.

So one time I did the Tonys and it was on, I think it was at the Beacon Theater. So I was in a hotel across the street and I'd run to the Beacon, producer would come out, give me footage, go back to this hotel and the hotel is also where all the winners and nominees were coming over to being interviewed. So at one point I'm waiting for some footage. I'm kind of hanging out in my, I got to use the restroom. So I go into this tiny little one stall, two urinal situation and there's an envelope sitting on the sink.

I apologize if I've told this before in the Glass Cannon podcast. There's an envelope sitting on the sink and I kind of just glance over and it's Frank Langella and I look down and I realize the envelope is the envelope with his name that he had just won. They hand it to the winners afterwards. Now I don't, in my mind he had the Tony sitting on the top of the urinal, but I don't think that was true. But the envelope was sure there.

So I'm like, I go in to the stall. I'm a stall man. A story for another time. I like a stall. I'm like, I go in to the stall. I'm a stall man. A story from another time. I like a stall. I like a... I called the executive. I go in there. I like to really enjoy myself. I'm just listening.

So that when someone has to come in and actually take a crap, you are there just casually peeing. I just... I have a nervous bladder. So I'm just listening to him, old man, pee it up. I'm like, all right, sounds like he's going to be a while. I'm just going to him old man pee it up and I'm like, all right, sounds like he's going to be a while. I'm just going to get out of here. So I go and I go to wash my hands and I splash water all over his Tony envelope. I basically turn on the sink as one of those things you're like, let me just turn on the

tiniest amount everywhere. And I'm like, and I just leave. That was my Frank Langella story. So do you think he framed that Troy and that there's like a tiny little quantity of Troila Valley DNA? Oh, I imagine. Wait a minute. Is that a water spot? He probably has a story about you being like this guy who went into the stall. He didn't even go poop. And then he came out and he splashed my envelope. Splashed my envelope, that son of a gun.

I acted like I had trouble with my prostate. Just to make him leave. Well, today's episode is dedicated both to Frank Langella and the cinematic classic, He-Man, starring Dolph Lundren. Let's all make a luck roll because you might need it. You might need it in an episode like this. It's not the middle of the show. I don't feel right doing it.

I know, right? I know, right? What are we doing here? We're not hastily doing it after remembering it halfway through. I thought. Do I want to fail? Yes, you want to fail.

Oh, okay, good. There are two roles you want to fail in this game. Luck improvement roles. That's right, yeah. And sanity, like to understand the intelligence role to fully understand the complexity of your, what you see. You guys haven't rolled a sanity role in a while too. Yeah, yeah.

I feel good about that. Fresh country air is keeping you regular. I'm so excited. I have a little extra time to prep this one and I just has him doing them like oh And I also like thought you might have got to some of this stuff before so I feel like I've double and triple prepped It and I also feel like I might forget everything But I'm just really excited to play and explore with you guys and see what we come up with for the midseason finale Last week, your investigation continued into the mysterious deaths that took place

three months ago in the little country village of Lesser Edale. Whether Jackson came out here himself to investigate or not, you don't know. You know this story was a story of note for him and you are in the thick of it now. A young girl was torn to shreds on one night, leaving only her grieving father behind. A husband and father of two young girls was also torn apart, leaving a widow and the young

daughters behind. Then on the third night, a man was attacked but somehow managed to live, a man by the name of Harold Short. On that same night, the constable, the only policeman in this one-horse town, Constable Tumwell, went out, tracked a large dog to the edge of the woods, and put three bullets in its hide. The body of the animal was never found, but there have been no further attacks, so the case is considered closed.

Even though the townsfolk still all hear this mysterious howling through the valley almost every night, increasingly so as of late. The father of the girl who was killed says a neighbor of his saw the son of the ruler of the area. Rule of the area is Lord Arthur Vane saw the son Lawrence Vane wandering around on the night of her murder looking distraught. He thinks that the veins know something that they're not telling us. They live up in Plum Castle. You got Lord Arthur Vane.

He's a member of the House of Lords in London. He's returned home in the wake of all this awfulness here in Lesser Edale. Joining his young son, Lawrence, and his daughter, who keep house while he's away, you speak to the vicar, Reverend Stratton. After attending one of his services, seems troubled, perhaps by the nagging feeling that whatever Constable Stumwell shot didn't end the problem, or perhaps by the fact that he saw the creature himself, a creature he describes as a huge, dark shape shrouded by the mist with burning red eyes.

You inquire about the veins, and theend gives you a history lesson on their reign. Carter notices strange letterhead on his desk that reads the Durant Order of the Golden Druid as well as a paper with the word vein on it and a curious Latin translation guide. You go and speak with the constable and he is steadfast in his conviction that the matter is closed, even though with a psychology check you detect this hint that maybe even he isn't so sure. You use his phone, the one phone in this town, to follow up on a phone number you found after breaking into Harold Short's house, where you reach his brother in the seaside town of Skegness where

Harold is recuperating ever since the attack. You convince the brother to speak with Harold, who is clearly still haunted by the memory of the attack, and he describes the creature just as the Reverend did, mentioning the burning red eyes. You leave the constable and head back through the rain to the Laughing Horse Inn where you're staying. You see a boisterous crowd surrounding a beautiful young man holding court in the bar in the midst of all this revelry.

Ferruz and Margot get into a heated private discussion as they finally openly discuss the fact that they belong to the same secret order. Carter notices that they are embroiled in this discussion, and while he's watching them, he also sees a man at a table nearby who seems to just be staring at both Margot and Farrouz. Meanwhile Vaughn slowly approaches the man at the center of everyone's attention Young Lawrence Vane the heir to Plum Castle Where do we even begin I Say we just push this off. Let's just stop the session. That's just

Finale slash recap is over. Flashback. Little banter, little recap, and we'll see you in a month. Peru! Flashback to Peru. That'd be a good like... That actually would be pretty sweet. If this was a TV show, we'd start with Peru and you'd see some... That'd be cool.

I'll try to work that in more. So Carter sees the guy staring at Margot in favorites. Or, staring at Margot in favorites. Yeah, let's pick up there, Carter. You see this. All right Well, we finished with Vaughn approaching Lawrence Vane dashing blonde hair all of like 23 24 25 everyone just looking at him like

What a man of the people the future ruler of lesser edel and And Vane, that's the same person who was found decidedly not cool looking the night of that murder, right? Like he was distraught in quotes. Yeah. Lydia Parkins' father said his neighbor, Tom Cordy, saw Lawrence Vane wandering around that night nearby looking distraught So yeah harder will focus in on you Carter you see this guy and he's just kind of looking Okay, I'm gonna walk over to him as you start to walk over

he Gets up from his chair He gets up from his chair, oddly at like the exact same time you begin walking in that direction and starts to head towards the door, you continue to pursue. Yeah, I'm going to start walking towards them, but I'm going to have a little like swaggy, drunk, like I'm acting drunk. Acting drunk, okay. I could have just said that. I don't know why I was fucking. Well, say as you're walking, a large guy like crosses in front of you with two mugs of ale

And you like almost run into him and he spills them. He's like oh slow down there old Chapa you'll be buying the next round I apologize I'm American Well, what are you off to in such a hurry, and he's got the beers and he's kind of like blocking your way. I think I see someone I recognize when I try to get around him. And he's like, oh no, no, what's the matter? Why don't you come have a drink with my friend and I? And I had two-

And he just reeks of alcohol. Oh no. Two shakes of a lamb's tail, I promise. Hey, hey. Oh no. Let me ask you something. Hey, I don't mean to be rude, but I saw you on the other side of the bar and you see the guy is now out the door.

What's wrong with your face? God. It needs some air, excuse me! And I run, I'm gonna run. If you want me to roll, I'll fucking roll. Ah, come on! So you just leave him? You run outside. It needs some air excuse me and I run I'm gonna run if you want me to roll a fucking roll AHHHHH COME ON So you just leave him? You run outside. Yeah

You get outside You don't see the guy give me a spot hidden. No no Okay fair enough Fair enough. I'll roll some dice. No yeah No, I failed it. I don't see okay Want to use some luck you want to do something like I don't have a new tactic Oh push the spot. Yeah, you can push Yeah, okay so

Carter like covers both eyes. He covers the other eye So he does this to try like maybe this will attune me to the evening Lining it's raining still yeah, and then open and really my eyeball open This isn't great guys my spot hidden is like a 20 like a high 20s. It's a 20 Nope 32 my eyeball falls out all right now, here's what I'm gonna say. Remember sometimes you can fail forward, okay?

And this is what happens is you look around and you see this guy has made considerable distance between the distance between the entrance to the laughing horse in and where he is, which seems to be like towards the southern end of lesser ideal, like walking off into like off the beaten path. So he must have like took off. He just ran he got outside like there's no way he could have caused like created that much distance between you and him. Do you want to pursue? I'll go if he's going off the trail I want to see where off where exactly he's going

off the road or whatever okay so yes all right so he sees on the road for a little bit and you see him goes off the road and he goes like I would say into the woods but he's not on like the normal path he doesn't seem to be going near any houses or anything are you following stealthily or just trying to keep pace? I can roll a stealthy thing. Okay. Which is a little better than my spot hidden. 22 under 61.

Okay, I love this. In the rain, in the night, you stealthily follow this man. You kind of catch up to where you initially saw him and go into this, again, I don't want to call it woods, but it's off the beaten path. You go off the beaten path and you hear rustling up ahead. And then you hear the opening of a car door.

All these fuckers with this car. Okay. Okay. You hear the opening of a car door. Oh, these fuckers with this car. Okay. Okay. You hear the opening of a car door, you come to a clearing and you see this guy getting, like getting ready to get into a car. Okay. Is there a shrub that I could throw myself into? Yeah, go ahead and go ahead and give me another stealth. Roll for foliage.

We're rolling 21 under 61. All right, you hide in a bush. And you feel like he doesn't see you or ever he stops for a moment And looks around And then he goes to get in the car he shuts the door Does the car does the car look like the car we spotted It's hard to see in the night, hard to see in the rain, maybe, maybe not. It's unclear.

And you don't see anybody else in the car. You don't think. And he starts the engine and he begins driving off. Okay. I unfold my own car that I've kept in my pocket. There's that like, wasn't there some show in the 80s where a guy could turn into a car? I do that. No. Okay, I just kind of watch you go. There's some way to, there's some way to view a license plate or some identifying feature would be cool.

Yeah, go ahead and give me a roll. Spot, I'm assuming that's a spot. We know I'm awesome at that. Five under 28. Ooh. Yeah. I was gonna say we need at least a heart if not an extreme. That's extreme.

Yeah, an extreme is definitely gonna give you the license plate It is different than the one that Margo has All right, it doesn't ring a bell or anything and You commit it to memory Right and the car takes off keeping its headlights off for a while just driving like in the darkness And eventually you no longer hear the sound of it. We come back to Vaughn staring at this gentleman.

As you approach an older man slaps Lawrence Vane on the back and he puts on a long overcoat and a knit cap and he says, I must to work Mr. Vane, always a pleasure speaking with you. Stick around, once I relieve the boys at the mines, they're going to come here and they're going to want to say hello to you. It's always a pleasure speaking to you, always a pleasure." And he picks up his things and walks out. And the young man kind of follows him out. And as his eyes are following the older man out, they catch you, Vaughn. And he smiles. And he says,

Well, hello there, old sport. What corner of God's green earth did you emerge from? I hope you don't terribly mind if I if I join you? Oh not at all please. Detect from your accent you're a fellow countryman but yet I've never seen you around lesser Adael. Where are you from? Um well it's bred in Eagles Grange, not terribly far from here. But I've been rather peripatetic since then. I've spent some time in Asia, South America, America. I'm only lately returned, old man.

I've never made my way to Lesser Edale before. It's a pleasure to meet the laird of the Manor, so to speak. I must say a man about the world, such as yourself, and yet you chose Lesser Edale as a destination for your holiday. I'm flattered, but as someone who has traveled all of the continents, why Lesser Adel? Well, when one's been so long away from the bosom of Albion, one is drawn to its little hamlets, where the hearth fire still burns, or Britannia. But also, a friend of mine, I think, was curious about this particular locale as well. And I'm sort of following his footsteps as it were. Oh, I see. And are you traveling alone or with anyone?

Oh, no, I have a rather eclectic assortment of companions. Ah, I see. He lights up a cigarette. Do you smoke? Oh, may I? Oh, yes, I will. I reach over to light his. Oh, very Oh, may I? Yes, I will. I reach over to Lightiz. Oh, very kind. And I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Villiers, old man.

Vaughn Villiers. He, like, shakes your hand with a cigarette hand. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Villiers. My name is Lawrence Vane. That would mean something to everyone else in this bar, but probably nothing to you. My father is the lord of the manor, as it were. If you've seen the city during the daytime, you've no doubt seen the castle at the top of the hill. I call that place my home.

Well, you're being frightfully modest, Mr. Vane. Yes, your reputation indeed precedes you. It seems as though you're on everyone's tongue that we've spoken to here in Edale. Well, I, you know, I try to be a man about town, as it were. I have a lot of free time, especially now that my father is here ruling from his seat. And I like to I like to be out here amongst the common folk, as it were. You know, ultimately, when I when I take over one day, I hope to still be able to do these things, although my father says things will change then. I'm happy to enjoy the fruits of my freedom, as it were. Yes, and it's then how delightful it is

to meet one so well-bred and so gilded by gentility who still has the common touch. You're quite away with words, Mr. Villiers. Are you a poet or perhaps a writer of some sort? No, I've had friends who were. But I'm an amateur of letters only. I'm curious though, being not local, if I and my friends might, only because we've heard so much about its ancient beauty from the local vicar, if we might see Plum Castle with our own eyes, do you accept visitors?

Not in the conventional sense, but I would be very happy to extend an invitation, perhaps dinner for your friends and yourself tomorrow evening. I should be delighted. I would be much obliged. Yes, I imagine someone as well-traveled as you would have many a story that would delight my father and sister and I to hear of such things. Perhaps 4.30 tomorrow evening, come to Plum Castle, I'll let the servants know to expect you

and we'll have a fine dinner. You may count on it, Mr. Vane. I should never miss the opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of your company. I am curious though, there are, speaking of stories, and my friends and I have a great many, there are a great many stories sort of circulating here in Lesser Edale that one finds rather shock-making. I'll stop you right there, Mr. Villiers. I imagine I know what it is you are driving at.

You wouldn't be the first coming here as a, I hope't take this the wrong way a bit of a sensation seeker though I'm not saying that is what you are doing here. We have had some troubles as of late I'm sure the London tabloids are flush with stories of certain things that have occurred here But I don't begrudge your interests as it. I'm sure it's very titillating to hear of such things, but it was a terrible bit of business that happened, and now I'm pleased to say the strength of our community is in how close-knit we are, and we are working to heal together, as it were. Yes.

Yes. as it were. Yes, yes. So, I shouldn't be surprised if you don't believe in the rather colorful local folklore surrounding the unfortunate incidents that have plagued your community of late? Regale me with such folklore. Maybe I'm not familiar. No, well, not to speak the local tales to the Lord of the Valley, but it seems though every tongue in Lesser Edale is rather obsessed with tales

of the local legend of the Black Dog, and that it wasn't accident or mischance that led to the unfortunate deaths of the three citizens of your small hamlet, but a rather monstrous beast right out of the medieval imagination. I never met my mother, Mr. Villiers. She passed away. In giving birth to my sister, as it were. I mean, I imagine I met her, but I have no memory of it.

I was raised by my father, but he was very busy, and I had several... We called them nurses that would take care of us. And one of my earliest memories are the fairy tales they would tell me to go to bed at night. And I do remember such a tale. You are a curious fellow, Mr. Villiers, however I would suggest don't think that those sort of tales are true, have any verity whatsoever. Whatever happened here is thankfully over with, so we hope, and we would like to keep it that way. Listen, it was a pleasure meeting you. The dinner invitation is still on the table. I would love to see you and your friends tomorrow evening, 4.30pm. Perhaps we can continue this conversation

and I can learn more about you, your travels, and your friend, as it were, that put you on to this place in the first place. But I'm so sorry, I must leave, and I feel terrible. I told that night watchman that I would wait around for the workers. But please, a round of drinks for everyone here." And he throws like a couple pound bills on the bar, and everybody's like, cheer! Bill Whitlock grabs the money, he's like, oh, they're all cheering him. He's like, take care, everyone, have a wonderful night. Don't get up on my occasion. And he walks out the door.

Yes, delighted, delighted. And yes, Von's gaze lingers a little too long as he walks out the door. And a wet Carter walks in just as he leaves. Where? I just bump right into him. Oh God, I'm so sorry. Oh, that's my fault, my good man. I didn't see you there. Oh

Handsome devil and then I move past them And I go right up to Vaughn. Yes. Hey, hey What why you look like that? What's your face your face? Oh, what's that? Like a daydream or something. Anyway, listen some yes, dude was eyeballing the ladies at first I was like well this guy's probably gonna try to work some magic on the ladies, but he did he was watching like Really like steely eyed right and I drew up all my courage and I walked in his direction but he got up and he ran out so I followed him and And I walked in his direction, but he got up and he ran out so I followed him and

He got into some car that he parked off the road and drove away I of course was in a bush, but I saw the license plate. I've got it So something's up someone's keeping tabs on us just like that car in London My god dealing asked you you were there in hot pursuit this bargain Yeah, I couldn't see well it to start with but then stealth the shit out of it and again Jumped in a bush. Yes your quick thinking and good luck that better Nicely concealing shrub was so near by yeah. Yeah. I got this is the second auto that's been Working around. Yeah. We got the full plate, the full license plate, though.

It's all up here, steel trap. Tink, tink, tink, tink. Margo and Faeruz, you see Vaughn and Carter chatting, Carter soaking wet. And you also, by now, would have noticed that who Vaughn went to speak with, who you assumed was Laurence Vane, has left. Well, don't make any plans for tomorrow, man.

I'm afraid I've just, um, gotten us an invitation to dinner. Oh, where? Well up at Plum Castle, oh boy. Oh, fuck. Well, Mark, you and I... Yeah, you and I have a longer discussion to have. Right now it seems as though two people have pissed off and I, by the looks of their faces,

it's somebody notable, shall we? She looks over and she goes, oh my God, why is he vet? Yeah, she'll walk over. Yeah, he's like really gesticulating. He's like, ah. You have like a twig in your hair. Why the devil are you covered in wet leaves? He's just peeling them off of him.

Well, I'll tell you. And I tell her everything I just said to him. Mm. Someone was watching us? Yeah, some dude. And he got in his car. More lurkers and skulkers seem to have followed us here. Well, what made you believe that it was,

I mean, people look, we're obviously not from around here. What was, was there something that? Call it an intuition, call it instinct, call it expertise, if you will. But I knew something was up with this dude, and sure enough, when I started to make my way towards him, he got up and he took off. It's just like what happened in London

when that car took off and I tried walking up to that. And he ran off. He ran off. Nobody parks a car off the road in the dark. That's crazy. He did that, got in, took off, got the plate though. Tink, tink. Interesting.

Yeah, so I don't know. Is anybody, would anybody be here looking for any of us? Why are we being followed? That is the question, old man. Who indeed? Like, nobody knows that we're here, right? Nobody knows we're in England. We didn't tell anybody.

And we didn't make any calls across the ocean to anybody to tell them. No, we so clearly blend in. Yeah. I'll tell you what, if someone did tell us, no, I don't know why I would be upset about that. Well, we have been asking rather a lot of questions around the Blue Pyramid Club,

around the Pennyu Foundation. If indeed these are a cover for some sort of black sect, then we must be forever vigilant and on our guard. As I always say, the eyes of the opposition are ever on us. But, but perhaps we're drawing our snare closer around whatever it is that's causing the disturbances around here. I at least have got us an interview up at the manor house tomorrow at four.

We couldn't make that like a brunch. We couldn't make that like a brunch. We couldn't make that like a daytime. Maybe just some finger sandwiches during the day when there's no creatures lurking. Oh, come, come. Four o'clock. I suppose we'll be leaving around sunset, but we'll just swing around for tea. I bet it gets dark here at like 1230 in the afternoon. Yes, there's a couple hours of sunlight round about noon or night.

I think they'll send us a car back and yeah. Okay. Well, how fortunate that you were able to set up such a lovely, convenient meeting. Yes, I found. I can't wait to learn what he has to say and what we could learn from him because it seems like people are full of surprises around here.

She looks over at cargo. Okay. Rather loaded. But I found young Mr. Vane terribly accommodating, although when I brought up the legends of the Black Dog, he cut short our interview and headed back to the hills. It seemed as though he was rather loath to discuss it, rather quick to sweep it under the rug. Okay. Well, we're gonna have time tomorrow. I'm wondering if, let's say, just for shits and giggles, we're about to go to an evil castle tomorrow night. What if we hit up that

vicar about this order of the Golden Druid... Ding...Drewich... Whatever the fuck, someone's gotta written down... I have to confess, I'm with you, Tillinghouse. The Derwent Valley Order of the Golden Druid must... Yep. ...is plaguing my imagination as well. Um, I think perhaps the time for shrub lurking stealth is past and we should just ask the the churchmen outright Yeah, let's bring it up because who knows maybe he's got some kind of cool like holy relics that we can use as like weapons

You know Against whatever creatures were gonna fake it could be awesome We can get all kinds of cool shit that would end maybe we sell later, but we'll see what happens while you're talking Margo mix eyes at Faerûs being like, see? Just asking people about orders. I don't say that out loud, but like, you know, that's what my eyes say to her.

He could have just asked like that, or okay. If someone's a member of an order, they just can't keep it secret forever. They wanna talk about it. Orders will out. Yes. And who knows? At worst, we get some more information about exactly what the hell is going on here.

And at best, perhaps he gives us a sword made out of a piece of the True Cross. I think we're all getting a little bit ahead of ourselves, but I will say that should anybody have any extra, I will also check if there's any extra silver jewelry lying about to distribute it amongst ourselves before heading out. Wanna pickpocket everybody in the bar for their silver? Well actually, I was gonna bring it up. Grab silver earrings. What does that mean? That's light of hand right? Wait a second. Yeah. Yeah we'll keep it out. This would be the place to do it. Do you want to, so you want to pay a nighttime

visit to the Reverend? Go back there? That's what I was thinking. Do the old Colombo? Just one more question. It's not like he sleeps. Since Myra was telling us he burns the midnight oil, I think it might be time to wrap, wrap, wrap on that chamber door. Yeah. Yep. All right. So the four of you, after meeting Vayne, Carter having this interesting sort of, what do you want to call it?

Encounter? It wasn't really an encounter because you didn't speak, but you followed this guy into the rain. Marguerite Ferouse. Discovery. Discovery. the rain. Marguerite Ferruz. Discovery. Thank you. Marguerite Ferruz finding a little bit more about each other. You leave the bar.

It's still raining out, but it's certainly not what it was like when the skies opened up shortly after the church service. You stroll over to the Vickers house and just as his house woman said, his housekeeper, Myra, the lights are on. It's like a flickering candlelight. Who does what? Yes. Let's hope that Myra is getting out in this moisture.

The lady is just simply a humanoid lump of dust. She's gained 30 pounds in the last five minutes. She sleeps in a tub. Myra the Arid. Is there like a window to look into? Yeah. Yeah, you can kind of peer in and you can see the reverend is just like at his desk and he's rubbing his temples and he's looking at one book, looking at another, just like at his desk and he's rubbing his temples and he's looking at one book looking at another just like scribbling and he takes his glasses off, rubs at his

temples some more. Is it anything, any of the books that were already laid out open that Tillinghast has seen or is this like something else? Yeah, if you pointed out to Carter, Carter looks in like maybe that's the one of those books on Latin translation that he saw. It's kind of unclear. The desk was a mess of papers and it's still there's no order to it whatsoever. And he's just he's pouring over these papers doing something. All right, who's going to take point and lube this guy up, so to speak, verbally, of course?

Of course. Yes. Let's lubricate the vicar. Episode title. I've been known to be persuasive. Yeah. Plus maybe you guys can talk about... Forget. Forget it. Forget it. Forget it.

What? Talk about what? Nothing. I'm not talking about any orders. Knock, knock, knock! Just a really knock on the door. Okay. Yes, Saur, you can play the heavy and I'll provide the charm. Okay. Sounds good. You knock on the door and if you're still peering in, you see him get up and kind of

walk over curious, opens the door. Oh, good evening. Walk over curious opens the door. Oh Good evening. Is everything all right? That's rather what we'd like to know old man Won't you won't you let us in out of the rain I Hope you don't mind I'm just curious what this is about for you to return here at this hour of the evening. The Order of the Golden Druid.

The German Order of the Golden? That part too, yes. Druid, all right. What would you know? It's better if we talk inside, sir. All right, um yes fine, please please come in Closes his bathrobe Oh

I didn't know you guys actually ever change clothes. That's funny. Yes, no, I was going to be going to bed soon. I'm just finishing up some work. What would you know of the Order? What is this about? I did my job. We were rather hoping you'd tell us.

We seem to find orders wherever it is we go, Stratton. More often than not, their intentions are maligned. While some see this as no more myth and folklore and... ...hocum. I...I...we've seen that it's all too real. What is this order, man? Are you a member? Out with it. I...I...I am a member, but how do you even have that information? I don't... I mean, I guess that's neither here nor there. I'm more than just a member. I'm a secretary, as it were. I help to

create the organization. It is a... I don't know what you'd call it, it's an order devoted to historical research of pre-Roman Britain. It's really nothing of great interest. I mean, it's of great interest to me. It was a hobby of mine and something I was very interested in. I found that others were as well, both here locally and in neighboring villages and we just we set up a college in order I guess we maybe too much time reading the Bible I thought it had a nice ring to it but wait this isn't some fucking agent society where you guys fight monsters? No, quite the contrary.

It's just a- Can I try psychology? Probably call it the full name for a group of history boffins? God damn it! Yeah, do a psychology. Yeah, it's just that I, that does sound more exciting. Oh, it's a big failure. I'll try two while I'm quiet.

It's a regular success. Regular success? He seems pretty genuine. Fuck. Megal's success? He seems pretty genuine. I apologize if this seems rude, but why bother me at nightfall to ask me about this order? And also, how would you even know that I was a member of this if you weren't out there snooping and asking questions? I mean I've I have nothing Nothing to hide as it were but And it's not a secret. Yes it no no I just

Seemed rather strange to come barging into my home to Give me the third degree here about Historical it wasn't strange when we thought you were a monster killer. Fuck! And Carter just goes off into the corner, like really mad. Forgive my American friends' rather colorful language. Sauer?

Listen, we want to help with what is happening in the town. I'm not going to be around the bush. I feel like everyone we talk to is not giving us truly what they know or what they think. You are obviously still troubled. You stay awake at night. You are stressed, poring over all these documents. We thought maybe the order had something to do with it. I guess it doesn't. But we're just looking for anything here. What is going on? What might have happened to our friend? How does it relate? What doesn't it? You say that this order is committed to pre-Roman British times,

gathering artifacts and whatnot, locals are members as well. What sort of artifacts are you on the hunt for, old man? And as this conversation is beginning, Faeheroz walks over with a handkerchief over towards Tillinghast as though she was like going to clean up all the residual leaves and shit. But I would like to take a closer look at what's on his desk. Okay. So he, you walk over there and you see he has like a book, looks like a handwritten journal maybe, open and it's in a language I don't believe you know.

And then next to it is, it kind of looks like he's trying to Suss out what one thing says Now keep in mind if he was a Catholic priest he like you guys had mentioned last week He would know Latin at this time, but this is a vicar which is almost like a And sometime in some places it's more of an honorable title than anything else, but they do call him the Reverend, but it's a Protestant so it's not so strange that he wouldn't know Latin You see that without kind of arousing his suspicion. That's all you really see if you were to start rifling through be like I'm not I'm not certain what it is that you are asking of me. There are things that I do as a man of the Lord that are private between the Lord and

I. And if that were to change, then I'm rambling. I don't understand what it is you want of me. Well, two things spring rather hastily to mind, Stratton. Is this order of yours as innocent as they may be on the trail of some specific artifact? Is your order funded by a wealthy benefactor, an organization? No. No, it is a simple historical society. I admit that we make it sound much fancier than it is, but we don't even have enough money for pastries at our local meetups. So you have no pastries at your mixers? No. How do you get people to attend? If they all know.

People that have a passion for learning, their passion for learning outweighs their passion for powdered donuts. Ugh, barf. Okay, in part two, other question. And Chilling has told us that there was a, an Aladdin to English dictionary. We've seen him from the window,

looking from one book to another. Yeah, and he had something with the word vein on it too. Yeah. What is it that you're translating, Stratton? Is it something for your sermonizing? Yes. Yes, for the most part. Oh, no, no. And he walks over to his desk and starts covering

up. You know, it's all it's a jumble. It's a it's a longer project of mine. It's something I'd rather not discuss. Oh, please. The dawns of my school gave me a cursory knowledge of Latin, which I've tried to bone up on and in recent years As I've become more and more a devotee of the Roman right and I will try to Push the papers back out of the way to get a look Please I I'm gonna grab whatever that Latin text. Yeah fucking get it. Yeah, you're home And he just kind of like,

resigns to let you take it. And you do speak Latin. And now's the time where I roll Latin. Yes. Yes! Latin. What do you have in Latin? A 40%? 40. I have a 40.

I have a schoolboy's knowledge. Let's see what I can glean. Here we go. Oh My god, I Ross couldn't I couldn't be happier about this. I rolled a two under 40 an extreme Latin success X folks this is why we play a call of Cthulhu and that midseason You slay dragons in some games you translate dusty old Latin tones and they both rule. Equally satisfying.

Latin slayer. All right, so this is amazing. You pick it up and you see him like no no, but he doesn't fight you He's an old man It doesn't even attempt to fight you and the rest of you notice not only does he not fight But he almost is looking imploringly towards Vaughn ever since he mentioned that he has some sort of understanding of Latin hmm, and you start looking at this journal and you see what he's translated thus far.

It starts off sort of foretelling about a local legend that speaks of a large hound-like creature said to walk the land around Edale. The legend recalls that the beast was once the working dog of the last squire of the village, which howled for three days and nights at the passing of its master. An Edale folk in this legend believed that if the howling should ever start again, it means someone will die. Among the further pages that the reverend seems to be translating, you see a passage relating to the trial of the witches of Bakewell in the year 1608. It mentions a lady, Evangeline Vane, who was a witness for the prosecution.

It appears that in 1608, a Lady Evangeline Vane gave testimony at the trial of two women accused of witchcraft, known as the Witches of Bakewell, and the evidence given led to the sentencing of the young women to be hanged until dead. The legend says that one of the witches, a young girl by the name of Annie Stafford, put the mark of the beast on all the daughters of the veins. Amazing. Okay. And there's more there, but at that point, Reverend Staten is like, you must understand, I'm trying to help, Lord Arthur, I'm trying to help the entire family.

Something is wrong, and I just, I'm very close, I'm very close, and I... Lord Arthur commissioned this? The veins commissioned this translation, did they? Essentially, essentially they don't have the means. They are nobles by birth. They don't have the same education as I do. They don't speak languages. I mean, I don't even speak Latin, but I'm an educated man.

I'm trying to help them. There is something wrong. There is something wrong, and I am attempting to help. I've gotten as far as the legends, but there's something much deeper here. And that is what I'm trying to uncover. But what could be wrong? Like everyone only says good things about them.

The veins are above board. Perhaps you should sit. Oh, okay. Sounds cool. I have been working on this ever since. Oh, probably two and a half months ever since the first murders took place. Probably two and a half months ever since the first murders took place. I'm not sure where to begin.

There's something wrong with the daughter. Oh. Eloise. Eloise. Eloise. Hmm. I do not know the full extent of it but they came to me asking for help

to try and figure out what is going on. Lawrence discovered these legends and pointed me in the direction of the trials but both Lord Arthur his son, and I all believe there is something deeper going on here, and that is what I am struggling to find out.

He goes and he's like moving these papers around. There's text here that even the most, there's an older Latin than I can understand. It doesn't make sense. Perhaps you could help me translate. Well, you know who's a bookworm? Any like points of favorites? I would be happy to take a look at it. Do you speak Latin? Or can you read it? Can you understand it?

Well, I could read it, but understanding it will take some a little bit of time. I do study cryptography and so it is my It is my area of expertise to take things that are unknown to me and and translate them regardless of the language Does take some time though? have to between maybe between myself Mr. Villiers who a renowned Latin scholar, and yourself,

I'm sure that we could make some breakthroughs in this. Yes, perhaps the three of us could get to the bottom of what is happening here. Can you guys do it by 4.30 tomorrow? Cause we're gonna have dinner with the Veins. Can you guys do it by 4.30 tomorrow? Because we're going to have dinner with the veins. I mean, I've been at work at this for some time. Maybe it would be best to sleep on this start first thing in the morning and with a clear

head as opposed to working straight into the night. If the three of us or the five of us put our heads together we could we could perhaps crack what is going on here I've just been working myself, and I am at a loss While I also feel so close to understanding what really happened here. I don't think that someone cursed their bloodline because of a Conviction there's something else here something dark conviction. There's something else here. Something dark. Yes.

Stratton, are you working off of a... Are you working off of a document of 1608 that is referencing older materials? Yes. Do you have... Yes, yes, yes. There are older materials, something from before this that I think is the heart of the matter. The veins you must know have entrusted me with this secret. I feel as if I'm not only betraying them but betraying the Lord as well by telling you

this. But I deem from the moment I met you that your hearts are true and your aims are just here So just please keep this between us until the time is right And I'm sure if we're able to figure this out the veins would be Would be most grateful for anything you can do to help them And I'll tell you whatever it is you search for in the world Having Lord Arthur Vane and the House of Lords as your allies would be a very good thing to have. Yeah they're loaded right? Yes they are they are quite well off but

they have connections all over these are good friends to have but they are also bad enemies so. Question being do we are we forthright with them and tell them our intentions of everything that we are working with you on now or do we try to gain whatever information we can without gaining an enemy as you. I think it depends on what we find out tomorrow morning. I guess if we're not going to research now. That's what I think as well, yes. Perhaps the fruits of our research will dictate what to do next. Is there a place in the morning where we make more curing pastries?

On our way over to you. Yes, we could have our own Dover daughter of the Golden Druid meeting right here. Yeah, about that. Here's a little just food for thought, sir. Maybe rename your little club, like the order of the

crusty old nerdy bozos or something because what you're doing right now it's thrown off. It's throwing everything off, you know? There's no fun in that, Mr. Tillinghouse. Like something like, you know, classy like a mystery squad, right? Like something like, you know, you hear that, you're like, I know exactly what they do. That just sounds silly. There's no ambiguity there.

What are you talking about? There's an innate dignity in the name mystery squad. Exactly. You're... I like mine better. The Order of the Golden Druid conjures up an image of people in long flowing white robes and wands made of mistletoe.

Yeah, fucking swords and shit. Are you telling me you don't go in for any of that sort of thing, Stratton? Do you guys LARP at all when we meet? I don't understand what that is. We do have robes, but it's really just, it's like team shirts that we wear. We spent all the money on that, which is why we don't have pastries.

Anyhow, I'm very tired, and I can, as excited as I am to dive into this, I must, I will pray on this. Yes, I will pray for our success tomorrow. Come first thing in the morning, and we will get after after it and we will try to uncover as much as we can before your dinner meeting. Just please keep a low profile. Yes, we are masters of disguise and shall stealthily blend into this quiet town. We'll be back here tomorrow with some meat pies or some shit Wonderful and and you must know that I I never intended to Lie to you in any way. I just was trying to protect the

The the sort of truths that were entrusted unto me from the Veins. But I feel as if in a way that you were sent to me from God, and in his name we will get to the heart of the matter. Yes, too right, too right, Stratton. Now you're beginning to get the picture. I too will keep you in my prayers.

We'll see you in the morning, get some rest. Alright. We'll be your study buddies in the morning. What do you think? And he shows you out, closes the door, and we'll be right back after this break. Ah! Alright!

Alright. Welcome to the realms of peril and glory. Explore the mechanically magical vistas of Vale, the paranormal mysteries of liminal London, and the cyberpunk chaos of Cyborg. You'll be immersed into unforgettable campaigns and heart-pounding one-shots. Search realms of peril and glory to find out more. Welcome to the ultimate social deduction game, Blood on the Clock Tower. The evil team must stalk the streets at night, hunting down members of the good team one by one.

Meanwhile, the good team must outmaneuver the evil team using their unique abilities. I'd like to kick things off by telling you all that I'm possibly the demon. Our players can mislead and manipulate others with absolute freedom. I didn't like hearing my name in the same sentence as demon. That was very upsetting for me. players can mislead and manipulate others with absolute freedom. With guests from No Rolls Barred, the Pandemonium Institute, and Oxventure, you won't be able to stop listening. Go to realmspod.com slash clock tower to find out more. Hey folks, we're the hosts of Comic Sans, the podcast about comics for those who are

Sans knowledge. I'm Yen. And I'm Nat. Comic Sans is a show for people who are new to comics, like me. And people who love them, like me. I make Nat read some of my favorite works in the medium, including Saga, Daredevil, and The Flintstones. And Yen talks about what makes that comic special.

We've just launched Season 3 of Comic Sans, with new episodes every two weeks. And you can binge the first two seasons wherever you get your podcasts. new episodes every two weeks. And you can binge the first two seasons wherever you get your podcasts. All right, we're back. Now listen, you just terrorized this poor old vicar. You grabbed his books, you messed up his shit. Going back to the Laughing Inn or you're going to explore something else in the night?

Do we go back to the graveyard? We did tell him we would be low key tonight. Let's just go. Let's just go to bed. Yeah, but we just said. What time is it? You are the mystery squad. It's probably like 930.

Oh, we can't go to bed now. It's late. I guess it's too late. I was at a silversmithing jewelry shop. I was like, I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going to go to bed. I'm going't go to bed now. It's late. I guess there is no like, I guess it's too late. I was like a silver smithing jewelry shop, like anything around.

A new place just opened this morning. Break into the church. Maybe the church has, I mean, there are silver necklaces. Turn your gold into silver. The new Zales just opened. there is an alchemist Maybe tomorrow when we meet with him we can be like hey, can we just take those necklaces on the craze? Yeah, yeah, I mean the crucifixes the crucifixes They were necklaces. I don't know why

Yeah, they probably were alright, so You guys want to do any sort of exploring or you want to just like we go into bedtime straight to coming back to the vicar? I mean, I don't know where else. Did the church have like an office situation? No, it was a pretty small church. It looked like there was maybe not even a bathroom there. It was like just the gathering hall for those of you that were in the service. And then the vicarage is close by on the other side of the graveyard. That's his,

where all of his stuff is. I mean, this mysterious car that you said that you saw, maybe we can try to trace the tire marks, but that involves walking around at night. What was the make of the car? Was it a common vehicle or is it an unusual one? What color was it? It shouldn't be hard to spot. These are all great questions that I obviously know given my role. I'm looking at classic British cars from the 1920s. You pretty sure it was a Goodwood Revival? No, I don't know. Anyway, yes, I think it was normal. I think I would have.

A LeMonster, a classic LeMonster. It's a Jaguar. Did you get a good look at Zuman or? I did, I think. Oh, what did they look like? Well, Troy will tell you. He was young, maybe like mid 30s and Maybe mid to late 30s dressed like everybody else in the bar

And also he had a little cap not no striking features nothing jumped out You got it there it is You got it there it is Right then striking well well just keep our eyes open for any other interlopers snooping around Yeah, I say we go back have a pint listen to some twiddle fiddle whatever music. They're listening to in there Chill out we got a big day tomorrow big day tomorrow So you go to bed. Maybe go back, have a drink. Yeah, let's not, we're not dorks. Have a couple, stay till last call. You never got your free drink from Lawrence

Payne. So you go back, you awkwardly say, hey, that free drink that he offered, I know we left and came back. Remember, it's still good. Hey guys. We were here, we were here in the room And he's like surely that beer is still warm as it was Typical mystery squad fashion, maybe guys overdo it a little bit in the middle of a mystery You wake up the next day and you show up at the Vickers house, you knock on the door and he opens the door wide-eyed.

His eyes bloodshot. He's wearing normal clothing. He's not wearing his bathrobe anymore, but he's like all disheveled and he's like, please come in, come in. I say, Strachanus, doesn't look like you took your own advice. I guess, no. I know, Strachan, it doesn't look like you took your own advice. Yes, no, I... I know pride is a deadly sin. Maybe I was too proud trying to just figure this out myself.

I ended up... I feel as if I didn't sleep. I was up all night. Did you bring meat pies and pastries? Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. Reaching in my breast pocket. I'm starving. Please, come in. I've uncovered a few things, but there's still so much more. Basically, the thing that I have been most drawn to since the Veins came to me and said

that there was a problem with the daughter was the journal of an older vicar, a previous man of the cloth, as it were, who seemed to mention things similar to what past veins had gone through. And so I became drawn to that, and then that led me to the legends and back again, but it all ties to something that happens to a Vane girl on their 21st birthday. And this is what I cross-referenced all throughout the night, and it seems to be tied to this. And young Eloise had just turned 21 before that full moon that happened and these attacks. Now, you should know, even though I'm close with the veins They haven't given me quite all the details, but it appears that that that she's an

undergoing some sort of illness that is either tied to the moon or tied to her Turning 21 I'm gonna have another meat pie and just take a breath Well, it's not very common for girls to get Sick when they turn 21 Is it 21 when everything starts to change the moon thing also isn't I'm I've never married I don't Carter's also kind of like leaning in like yeah, yes There's none of that. There's no such thing as p cycles.

There's a total it's all it's all for it's a lack of male concern for the female anatomy in general. I see. I see. Well, that was I still I'm still not 100% sure. But I'm glad you're here. Let's let's dig into this and see what we can see. You have until when? 4.30? You'll need to leave here by 4.15, 4 o'clock. All right, we should be able to make some headway.

If not, you'll need to just pretend that you know nothing when you go there until we can present him with actual helpful information. Yes? Of course. Of course. Practice the utmost discretion, Stratton. Now what is the piece of this puzzle that's bedeviling you? Let's dig in. Montage.

This is, yes, montage, the study montage. And this is going to take some time. And the time it takes is going to be pretty much determined by the roles. I'm going to have another Latin role here just to see sort of the breadth of how the speed with which you're able to help and then let's do a cryptology role, Feyrouz, just to see how much you're able to take what Vaughn is saying and kind of understand it in a possibly deeper context or to realize that like you're of no help whatsoever That this is just a straight translation and there's really nothing Cryptic about it. Okay, here comes that Latin roll. Come on favor me again. Oh

No Sometimes lightning don't strike twice. Yeah, you could still Sometimes lightning don't strike twice. You can still. You can do a push-a-roo. In 87 over 40. I would love to push a Latin roll. What's the worst that could happen? If what you're actually doing is looking and helping, how do you do something different?

If you're looking and helping. How do I do something different? Stand on your head. I think, yeah, if I'm silently reading, maybe I'm just, I, I like I'm standing up like in my shirt sleeves and I begin kind of intoning and speaking of the words more so, um, in order to, uh, get, get them into my head and like remind myself of like being a schoolboy and having all this stuff bashed in my head by rote. I like this and it's very unsettling especially because you're not 100% sure what you're saying. You could be invoking some old curse. Right, I'm just speaking a bunch of Latin out loud in a small

little room. That always works out well. I feel like Margot and Carter sitting in the corner being like... Yeah, just like, okay, I failed again. 15 out of 40, okay. This is time. You can tell me, I pushed a Latin roll, so you tell me how this blows up in my face. Okay, I'm gonna put a pin in that. Let's see if Faeruz is able to help. Okay.

Success. Holy smokes. Like I built right on it. 70 on 70. I could spend luck to make that a... No, actually, if it was a hard success, how would I need? 35. 30.

Fuck it, I'll spend it. I'll do a hard success. Okay. All right, so you spend luck to turn that regular success into a hard success. Meanwhile, Vaughn fails a push role, a pushed role after having extreme success the night before. So in the sort of meta of the game here, it's not like all of a sudden you can't read Latin. It's just it's taking a long time and the results of the fumble will be clear soon.

Ferrues' cryptology, hard success, actually does reveal some interesting tidbits. So imagine this is happening over the entire day. What are Margaret Carter doing while the eggheads are busy cracking codes and translating? I was going to ask, I know everything it's about journals and translating words, is there any art that I could help to look at? Any sort of illustrations or something? There is a symbol that you find in one of the older tomes

is a symbol that you find in a, one of the older tomes that the previous vicar had mentioned. Say it's artistic so much as just like disturbing. So yeah, you could give me some sort of a role on that. I have a fine art role I can make. That's why I ask. Okay. Give me a fine art role I can make. That's why I asked. Okay. Give me a fine art role. We do have amongst us some jotted down symbols from stuff we've seen before. Oh, yeah.

You guys have taken many etchings of bar reliefs from pyramids. So it's a 66. I'm going to spend six points of luck to make it a regular success. Okay. What I'll say is, you're looking at the artistic connection to this. You wouldn't know, oh, this is like a this so much. It's like, what does this mean? And you immediately start thinking of Miles Shipley. And this symbol that you see, this very disturbing symbol, you distinctly remember seeing on

the altar of the painting that was in the closet. Oh my god. So after I stared at it for a while and I realized what it is, I like maybe interrupted Vicar. I'm like, have you seen this symbol before? What does this mean to you? Me? I'm sorry. I was talking to Vaughn.

Were you talking to me? I was reading my notes. Yes, this is your book. Oh, yes, that symbol. Yes, that's one of the things I can. There's a passage here that connects to it, but I can't seem to discover it. I know that this symbol is important to what's happening here, but I'm, I'm not quite sure you said you've seen. I've seen this before. Where did you see it? investigating another strange happening and- Why you get around?

And I saw this symbol depicted on an altar in a painting. An altar? The altar of the Black Pharaoh, maybe? Does this sound? No, that does not ring a bell, but perhaps some sort of pagan deity. This would make sense because I do feel as if this is deeper than some, you know, witch trial curse.

Good, good work, Ms. Sauer. This may come in handy. And you continue to dig. This is what you discover. It seems that for centuries when a blood daughter of the veins reaches the age of 21, a transformation begins. This is something that past centuries of the veins knew about and tried to keep secret. It is like a family secret that they hide from everyone. For four generations, no vein daughters were born and none of these transformations took place.

So whatever this curse was, was lost to time until Eloise was born. Now her mother died in childbirth, giving birth to her. Maybe that was something connected and Reverend Stratton mentions that maybe something in the mother's passing was passed on to the daughter, but it wasn't in turn she turned 21, the first vain daughter that had been born in hundreds of years or was it four generations. So it was 80 years that this happened and the secret had not passed forward enough to the current veins. But as you dig deeper and Feyrouz uses her cryptology to try to understand this, you take this symbol, you realize what really is going on here.

This is more than just these witches saying, your line is cursed. In centuries past, the forebears of the veins enacted rights to a charnel god known as Mordigian. Mordigian is the god's name. Mordigian is the god's name. And the dead were offered in supplication to the deity during rites of cannibalism and debauchery. The older, older-like original OG veins, their blasphemous proclivities sowed a seed in their bloodline of this taint that runs deep in the blood of the veins. So in the acts that these unspeakable acts that they did in celebration of their deity Mordigian caused a taint in their bloodline and for unknown reasons the blood taint is stronger in the females of the line.

Every generation or so it seems like the curse like skips a generation these female veins begin to Manifest the family's dark heritage occasionally a vain male has undergone this transformation, but in the main it's the female veins who bear the brunt of this curse and As you uncover this it's like And as you uncover this it's like eye-opening you guys spent all day trying to figure this out like what is going on here and and and streveness like yes yes this makes so much sense see and he's pulling out like family histories of the veins and tracing it like they didn't know they didn't know Lord Vane didn't know this they they were they were innocent they just had no idea because

the the the translations have not been passed down and the information wasn't shared. The Vanes, I know Lord Arthur Vane. He isn't some sort of cannibal leading in debaucherous rites. I've supped with him at Plum Castle. I've never seen anything untoward. It's just, it's innate. It's innate in her.

And look here. It says that the transformations will- will happen at the phase of the moon, but eventually they become more frequent until they are permanent. There is no cure. The young girl is- is- is- is doomed. If these These if these Journals are correct There is nothing to be done. Oh Look at the time. Oh And the results of the fumble is now at 6 p.m. Oh

No, you're late for your dinner Sorry guys Lost track of time. I was so into watching other people read You're late for your dinner. Sorry, guys. Oh no. What? We've lost track of time. I was so into watching other people read that I never once thought to look at the clock. God, you guys are just so attractive. That's what it really is, I think.

We were just trying to speak up and they were like, quiet, God, I won't continue. But guys, it's time to, okay. Well, we must be going. Damnation, yes. Wait, wait, before we go, I just wanna double check something, sir. Did you say it was the Lord who came

and asked you to figure this out, or was it one of the kids? Lord Vane and his son came to me. They both came. In secrecy, yes. Yes, they, I haven't, I've seen Eloise and she seems perfectly fine. I don't think she has any knowledge of what's going on.

They've been doing things to ensure that she doesn't remember. I'm not 100% sure. What do you say? What do you say that she has recently turned 21 and that the son has seemed to be quite disturbed that one night he must have seen something? They must know something.

I imagine that they have not been completely forthcoming with me, but they at least entrusted me into trying to find a solution. And I will continue to study. Maybe the power of prayer could right this blight. But if this goes back to rights that were done in some dark god's name centuries upon centuries ago, this isn't something that can be cured overnight. I'm not trained in exorcism. My curiosity now leads me to believe that possibly somewhere in this castle resides some remnants of these rituals and these some artifacts that would lead us to to more knowledge about this this God that they once worshiped.

Yes but but but but there's no cure no cure Stratton the only then the poor girl is surely doomed if what we to do go to the veins and and and reveal to them that if they don't wish their only female scion of their line to turn into a monstrous beast, that they must have the blood of their own child on their hands. It seems that they've discovered some way to keep it at bay. She goes to church. She walks among us during the day.

It's at night when this is a problem. Maybe in their mind, whatever they've done to sort of keep her safe in the evening is enough. That is no life. But if they believe that there is a solution, at least here it seems for centuries they've been unable to find one. I just hope they haven't uncovered their old worshiping ways. Could we roll a Cthulhu mythos just to see if we can like know how to solve it? Yes. Off chance.

Yeah, yeah. I mean you guys, some of you have been, you know, digging into the knowledge that one should not have. I have five. I mean, for Cthulhu Mythos, I have actually quite a lot. Yeah. Oh yeah, you're getting there now. But that still is, you know, a lot of Cthulhu Mythos is still like under 10. Right.

Yeah. I failed, but I think I could I'll spend 10 to make it a success. All right, so I have zero it's not happening. You in listening to Vaughn and listening to Reverend Stratton trying to figure out what is really going on here, believe this to be the taint of the ghoul.

A ghoul taint. Which, what you believe in, legends, ghost stories, or in, you know, what you've seen and experienced firsthand as the horror of the other side of the tapestry has been revealed to you, it is irreversible. There is no, the only solution is a second death. Hi. And Faeruz just slowly looks up at Margo when asking asking like, isn't there anything at the group, like, isn't there anything that we can do? And she just very solemnly and slowly shakes her head. that with such a blight as this on their family bloodline, I'm afraid that there is nothing

we can do for Eloise. But hopefully there is a way to stop others from being harmed as a result of this. So wait, I just want to get this straight. We're going to go have dinner with these people, but for dessert we're going to kill their daughter? Is that what we're talking about right now? Or we're just going to convey the information and be like, peace? I'm afraid I don't have a solution to this, chilling house.

I don't know what it is that we should be doing, but I can't help but think that there's some other information to gain, whether from their direct mouths or whether it's from their family's records that they might keep in their household. As far as, I'm sorry. Well, I was going to ask the Vicar if he can make us like a letter so that we can bring this up in a non awkward way when we're there.

I could, I could travel with you. I could make the trip. It may be the best way to do this. I can imagine Lord Vane being upset with me for sharing this information, but I can explain to him what happened. And I'm sure he'll understand it is all in the service of trying to help his young daughter.

Obviously the news will not be what he wants to hear, but we have not made any decisions. We don't know what it is that can be done besides the obvious, which is not something I can do or can condone in anyone. Yes, there must be a way. There must be a way. Even if it's nightly confinement, as horrid as that sounds, at least her soul will be at liberty. Uh, here's just a thought that has probably no bearing on anything other than the Shipley

symbol connection made me think of it. I have this vial of stuff that we took from Shipley's place. Does anyone remember why he was taking that other than to like hallucinate time traveling lizards? He had mentioned that he had taken it to aid in his visions, I believe. It wasn't to hold something off or hold something back or something? No? I rather thought it was to induce the sort of temporal warping of his mind that gave him the visions that he so wordily depicted. That's probably not... But where did it come from?

What is it exactly? Is what we don't know. Alright, alright. Well I'm not gonna put it in a drink then. Keep in mind that the creature, the lizard creature, Svassa, had like a laboratory, a weird laboratory downstairs and was dosing Shipley with that. It's like forcing him to take that so he could see things. Right, okay. That was like his, the gift. Oh, you want to be a famous painter? Takes him with this. Okay. I think it could take the ride. So, uh... Shall we then to, uh, Plum Castle? Yes, we're already late. I-I mean, but...

While dinner may not be in the equation, we'll need to share this information. I-I will do my best to keep up. I'm not as young as I once was, and I have not slept, but I feel invigorated by meat pie and sugar Yes, I Terribly sorry for our tardiness. I blame my meager Latin skill

Should I go get my shotgun? Yes, okay. What's your what? Don't worry about it. I What we call our handbag the shot? Ladies and gentlemen We thou shall not kill okay, just nope yeah Get your guns and let's go Does the vicar have a guy I know we talked about this for you got a extra silver doodads around We could kind of just have on us just you know for luck Holy water, whatever

This is not a Lecanthropy situation silver won't help you if it truly is gul taint I'm sorry I'm sorry You find something humorous about the phrase gul taint It's just that I've heard the word now for seven, like seven times and I've been keeping it from the first time. We've done your best.

I've been doing it and it's finally here. Taint of the ghoul, okay. Ghoul taint, ghoul taint. Ghoul taint. We don't know. Maybe ghouls aren't into silver either. It could be a whole monster thing. Yeah, I have three silver knives.

Oh, great. Those steak knives. Putting them in my bandolero. Yes. Or bandolier, whatever it's called. The five of you. The five of you head to Plum Castle. I mean it is, it's, it's far away. It stands on a stone bluff about 200 feet above Lesser Edale so it really looks down on the valley with Montour on the other side So you've got two hills with Lesser Edale sitting in the middle There's a winding road that leads directly from the village right up to the castle's entrance

As you're heading there, there's a second road that splits off Sort of a longer road that passes near the castle from there you could walk but you know reverend is leading near there. He takes you up the main road. You can tell as you approach that the castle has been rebuilt over the centuries. Its stone shell has been repaired and restructured, perhaps to conform to the architectural tastes of the times. Oh, we heard all about this when the vicar went on and on about it last right?

He gave you the whole history lesson at present. It looks more like a Victorian mansion than like a classic castle although its crenellations an aspect harken back to its original past you come up to the door and you you knock and an old servant opens and he's like, welcome to Glum Castle. I take it you were supposed to be here for dinner with the veins at 430 I'm not sure if that invitation is still available, but you are guests here, so please come in Sorry, we're terribly sorry that was I'm so sorry. She looks behind her traffic Then nothing this Please come in looks behind her traffic. Nothing this time.

Yes, please come in. I can bring you into the Great Hall and see if the veins will still receive you, but I can tell you that the dinner has run cold. Follow me. And he brings you, there's a main door, and then there's two side doors in this long Sort of greeting area and you see paintings of former veins like probably chronologically along the wall some antiques Overall though you can tell the castle has seen better days This guy stops in front of a set of double doors, which looks like the way into the next room. He's like, oh, a bit of interesting history here.

This main door has been immobile since the day that Charles I was beheaded. No one can use it anymore, so I'll be taking you through one of the side entrances. It's a little bit of history they like me to share with guests, but not sure exactly as to What its significance is, you know, perhaps the vain ruler at the time heard that the Charles had been beheaded and said oh What are they beheading rulers left and right lock seal the doors shut forever? I'm not sure but it is an interesting

Interesting bit of history right this way and he brings you to a side door and takes you into the Great Hall. And there are wood paneled walls, tapestries, chandeliers, ornaments hanging everywhere. There's an ornate fireplace large enough to roast a pig, huge. And then these long tapestries hanging along the walls featuring different medieval scenes. Stag said antlers, other curios, and the servant is like, yes, welcome, this is the Great Hall. The fine wood paneling you see here was cleaned and refinished just before the Great War. Several new windows were cut in, providing a lighter, more airy atmosphere.

And then a voice pipes up from the back, one which you have not heard. Oh, that'll be all, Giles. I will call you presently should we need you. Reverend Stratton, I wasn't expecting you. Are you the reason our visitors are tardy for dinner and Lawrence is coming down and he doesn't really say anything? And Reverend Stratton is like, Lord Vane, I do apologize. I am the reason, in fact, that your dinner guests are late, but we need to speak

any kind of motions to the servant and Lord Vane is like This dude is polished. He's been trained in how to act. He doesn't give off like a hint that anything is wrong That will be all Giles. I will fetch you if needed and The man walks out and Lord Vane comes down What seems to be the problem? Yeah, and Reverend Stratton says First of all you should know Lord Vane I in no way betrayed your trust. These good people have come because they wish to help, and they did help me in understanding

what is going on with Eloise? Vane just kind of bristles and says, I entrusted you with that information, Reverend Stratton. That was between you and I. Who are you people? And what are you doing in Lesser Adel? I can assure you we came here with no intention of disrupting anything in this town or to be in any way disrespectful to your family or the situation.

But truth be told, we've had some very tragic events happen surrounding a very dear friend of ours and I can assure you we are only here to seek the truth and to find any sort of peaceful resolution to the situation. And if there is a way that we can help you in any way. Believe me, we are only here to help with the best of intentions. And what do the tragic events that befell your friend have to do with the Veins or with my town? Only that he was a man given to the research of certain, how shall I put it, Lord Vane, what people might call supernatural, uncanny, transmundane occurrences, and some of which we have ourselves borne witness to. He, I

believe, was on the cusp of unraveling exactly what was going on here. We, not knowing exactly how it touched upon your family, came following in his footsteps, only to interview the good reverend here, and it is only by merest chance that we were able to lend our incredible cryptological acumen, indicating my fiancé, to the... Wazaring. To the issue. The issue, it seems, is the issue, your issue. And Lord Vane perhaps softens a little bit and looks at the Reverend. So can you help?

Can they help in any way? And Reverend Stratten's. I don't know, Lord Fane. But I think it's time we all know what is happening. And, um, perhaps we... We all visit Eloise. And he says, um, she's got a headache and can't come to dinner. And Lawrence puts his hand on his father's arm and says, it's alright father, it's alright. Let me explain.

And Lawrence says it all started the night of the full moon three months ago. I was out with dogs in the morning light the next day when I saw her lying outside the castle, covered in blood. At first I thought she was hurt or perhaps was attacked, so I carried her in. The servants bathed her and put her to bed, and she had no memory of leaving the castle or anything strange that could have fell her when she awoke. And then we heard of the first murder. It couldn't have been Eloise. And then we heard of the first murder. It couldn't have been Eloise. We were certain of it, but we also knew that something wasn't right, so we locked her away

in her room until we could figure out what to do. And the next night I was out at the Laughing Horse, actually, and when I came home my father came running to me to say that she had escaped. Her bedroom door had been torn from its hinges. You have to understand my sister is a slight young woman. It would be impossible for her to do such a thing. I went looking throughout town for her. This was the night that Lydia Parkins was found torn to shreds. I looked all over town for her and could not find her. Yet again she came home with no memory. The third night we took greater precautions, still unaware of what was happening and she escaped again.

We were not as practiced as we are now in confining her. That was when Harold Short was attacked and I at that point saw her and saw what she had become Maybe a part of her still knew who I was and she ran I know not but God smiled upon me that night while he cursed her Every night that this happened she would wander back home as the Sun came up on the fourth night We left nothing to chance. We drugged her and took her down to the family dungeon We listened and we checked in on her and nothing happened We did the next night again nothing again

We kept doing it and then we'd start to think maybe it was the drugs. Maybe the drugs were stopping this Transformation from happening so one night we we locked her in the dungeon without the drugs and still nothing. So it was around this time that we thought that maybe it had something to do with the moon, the phases of the moon. So we waited and when the moon came, sure enough, the transformation began. But she was drugged. She lay asleep in her cell. The next morning she changed back. We let her out. We did that for three nights, and then on the fourth night, no problem.

But then the pattern changed. The transformations began happening more regularly. Now out of step with the phases of the moon. One night last month she broke out. We weren't expecting her to transform. It had nothing to do with the full moon. She broke out and luckily only ravaged a cow in town. And now it's been happening more frequently. So every night we dose her and lock her away and If we didn't know better we fear that Eventually she may change for good unless we find out how to stop it And that is why we enlisted the help of the reverend to try and find a cure Her howls echo through the land on the nights that she changes. Soon the townsfolk will get wise.

I go out and try to make it seem like everything is normal, as my father wishes. But everything is anything but. What have you learned? My dear boy. What have you learned? My dear boy. I... You and your family, it seems, have been through a great and terrible ordeal. I wish that we had better news to give you.

Everything that we've discerned from the materials that you've provided to us seems to indicate that the changes that your sister is undergoing are doomed to become permanent. And there is nothing in the records that have come down to us for centuries that tell us any way to reverse the taint that seems attached to her blood. Is there some knowledge in your family of why she carries this bestial curse? You still curse. All we know is the stories of the witch trial. The Mark of the Beast.

We just assumed that there was some verity to that. They say that witches did walk amongst us. Perhaps this woman out of spite for being convicted did curse our bloodline. And so the Reverend has been looking into that. Isn't that right, Reverend? The Reverend is silent. They're like, well, I have no doubt that the agents of the evil one did and do walk abroad.

It is only a part of the story. I'm going to, I... Might your family have- The deep history of your family. Yes. Might your family have any personal records, heirlooms, anything of that sort? Possibly you may not,

it may not be something that's legible to you now, but is there anything that the family has held on to? Perhaps something that looks like this? And, you know, hold on to the symbol. The symbol, maybe? Yeah. Yes, anything from the original veins that's confused you.

I know that symbol. In our library there is a book where that symbol appears frequently, but I cannot read it. This is somehow connected to what has happened to Eloise. Yeah, are you aware of your family's religious history? No, no, I know they say those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it, but I am not really interested in such things. So, Troy, I'd love to do a psychology off of that. Yeah. Off of asking him about the religious stuff. Yeah. Oh yeah, see if they're lying.

Wise. I got a 37 under 50. Nice. 37 under 50. He seems to not know. He seems really genuine to not, to be surprised that there could be any religious connection. And this is the son I'm talking to, right?

Yeah. Okay. What's the dad? Yeah. Okay. What does the dad look like while the son's telling the story? Does he look shifty at all? Hiding something? He's just kinda like slowly sunk to sitting on the stairs that they came down.

And he's got his head in his hands. He says, father, I'm going to bring them to the library and then I can bring you to her. You just have to promise me you will not harm her in any way. To glance at sour. If there is no direct harm at us, I could assure you that no harm will come to her. And you do say- She will be asleep and she will be in her cage.

I just want to also go back. And she just kind of like, at that cage, just kind of- The family dungeon, I guess I'm not used to European customs. But to have a family dungeon is very impressive. Yes, it has been used in a long time. I hope not. It's perfect for this occasion. Of course, I'm sure it's finally decorated.

What a lovely room of death. And you say that she has no recollection of these occurrences when she breaks free. Bless her soul, she has no memory and she would never in her right mind commit such unspeakable acts. You have to understand she wouldn't hurt a flower. If she were to know, we've never told her. Every night we just say, here's your tea. And she drinks it and then we carry her downstairs and chain her to the wall.

Yes, I'm sure that there would be no way of making her remember such things as she looks at Tillinghast, and then her eyes dart down to his side pocket and back up to his eyes. My cologne? Oh, right, yeah, though, yeah. Mm-hmm.

Just... alone oh right yeah though yeah mm-hmm just all right as long as we're all on the same page here to the library father I will I will take care of this Reverend would you stay with my father and Reverend Strandesheik of course Lawrence um Lord Vane and he and he just just sits beside him and as you're walking away you can hear him like praying. And Lawrence takes you through the house and over to the library. And there are high-backed leather chairs, tables all over the place Laura white large potted plants Beautiful windows that you imagine during the daytime the light must filter in Wonderfully must be a great place to just sit and read their world maps encyclopedias

You're looking around yeah favors is heaven you You you start looking around and he's like that the book with that symbol the book with that symbol yes here it is and he pulls out a book and it is like it's like a slim Octavo volume and he says I you know the Reverend was the one that was helping us try to uncover what's going on here But I I was trying to do my best to see if I could support him in his research And I wasn't very helpful however when you showed me that symbol I remember seeing it in this book here, and he he opens up this dusty tome and says ah see and you see like a this dusty tome and says, ah, see? And you see like a, it's like a handwritten,

an archaic script in English of something with that symbol. Very fascinating. And you read it and it talks about a form, this is like hundreds of years ago, a, one of the Lords, his name was Lord Edgar Vane, and it's like his personal journal, for only his eyes, and he's written that symbol, and as you look at it closely,

it must have went straight over Lawrence's head. It's written in, it looks like what you would think is brown ink, it's dried blood. And it is describing the early religious beliefs What you would think is brown ink, it's dried blood. And... It is describing the early religious beliefs of the Veins, and how they practiced devil worship, and were dedicated to a blasphemous idol, that he calls Mordigani.

You realize it must be like what he called Mordigani. And you realize it must be like what he called Mordigian. It goes on to say that the family called upon this god to satiate their foul desires and talks about cannibalism and horrible unspeakable acts that they did with corpses and these rites that they would do in Mordigian's name and so it just corroborates everything you read and the other thing like the early veins were indulging in horrible acts for this God who in turn tainted their DNA with this curse Whoo hence the dungeon apparently yeah, so like it's in English so like we kind of write It's in English. Yeah, so like we kind of point that out to him saying see this is what we learned earlier today, and it's it's Confirmed right here. This is

What's actually happened and why this is happening to your family. Curses can be lifted though. Curses are lifted all the time and they are fanciful. We can figure this out. I will take you to her and we will examine her together. But just remember remember curses curses can be lifted I've read that there is such a thing as curses that can be removed

Yeah, so, Feyruz puts her like a hand on Margo's forearm yes yes of course of course all all curses can be lifted that's why we are here we are here to help Find a way to lift this curse. Yes Precious celebrities you roll the psychology on you guys Do we want to since we're in this library does one of the nerds want to do a quick check to see Yeah, just to check it like are there any other books in here that might help us. If we pull like swing open. Like what do we do library use? Carter really wants to find a way around killing this woman mostly because of having the connection to this family. Sounds awesome. Yeah yeah spot hidden

maybe because I'm looking for something that's maybe like maybe they're not telling us yeah and it's I failed my spot-hitting success oh man I keep rolling right on it right on that it's regular you do notice that there aren't any books of the occult this seems to be like a true library of knowledge it's just that there is this journal tucked away in here talking about the charnel god of the ghouls, Mordigian. But you don't see anything else like without hours of staying in here to really dig and see if there's anything else that could also reveal information about the greater mysteries at hand. Nothing like in a quick glance you notice like, oh, if I pull on that candlestick Quick in a in a hushed

Perhaps if there is anything else That would give us any knowledge on this matter. Perhaps. It's not here And hidden somewhere else in this house. Yeah, my point is maybe we don't have to resolve this right now Do. Do you know what I mean? Like, what if, if she's locked up and she's safe and she's not getting out, maybe we go back to London at some point and we check out those books in that creepy basement Margo and I found or something. Maybe we can, you know, sort of tuck this away as it's on our to-do list. Do you know what I mean? I'd love to see her. Or, yes, we can see her. We should check her out. I mean, we should love to see her. Or, yes, we can see her. We should check her out.

Maybe we should check the situation out. Yes, indeed. I will approach Lawrence and put my hand on his shoulder. Ah! Apologies. Sorry. I'm jumpy. Yes, I dare say, I think we all are, after what we've learned. I'm curious, I've noticed of course that you've got this sort of fashionable

gothic exterior, but is there any part of Plum Castle that dates back to its 12th century roots if my memory of what Stratn was going on about? Yes, any of the original foundation perhaps? Um... The... The dungeon is obviously a part of the old tradition, but the only other edifice or structure that's really connected to the past

is the mausoleum. Yes. It lies on the grounds, outside. Uh-huh. I've been there, there's really nothing to see. lies on the grounds outside. I've been there, there's really nothing to see. Would it be at all inconvenient to you if we should have just a look? At the mausoleum? Sure, I suppose. I suppose you could.

Would you like to go there before seeing Eloise? Let's see Eloise. Tension is building. I very much want to see her. Don't worry, Lawrence, if I may be so bold to talk to that. One isn't responsible for the crimes of one's... one's family's past. All of us bear some burden of original sin with which we suffer, but through grace, one can lift any curse that...

that may... that may plague us. Yes. Yes, yes good. But I think we think we all understand each other. Come now I against what you may see. Right this way. And he leads you through the library into a long hallway, into a like wine cellar, a wine room. At the back of the wine cellar is a door. There's a little rock on the wall that has a key attached to it. He takes it off the wall, unlocks the door, hangs the key back on the hook, and then opens it and there's a staircase

that leads down. At first it looks completely dark but then you see flickering torchlight, like bouncing off the walls of whatever's under Plum Castle. He's like, just watch your step. We keep the sconces lit for obvious reasons. But sometimes the condensation down here, it can be a little slippery. Right this way. And you go down this long Flight of steps you go deep deep underground Carter's like you got you go ahead you go ahead you go ahead I'll just take up the stick up the rear here

God telling us It's like right this way and you go down the steps It's getting colder and colder the further you go down and eventually it opens into this It's getting colder and colder the further you go down and eventually it opens into this Dark stone chamber that is like freezing cold you see ancient chains like hanging from the walls and then cells Sort of in the back around the corner He says we We started with just the chains But she quickly

We started with just the chains, but she quickly found a way out of those, so now we do the cell and the chains, and we try to keep her further away so that on the nights that she howls, it doesn't alert the staff, who most likely already know something horrible is happening with our family right this way and we follow Lawrence Vane as he goes and walks down all of these empty cells. They stink. You hear rats squeaking about and you get to the last cell and Lawrence's face like drops Eloise Eloise Eloise and you look in and the chains have been ripped from the walls and there is no one in the cell And we'll see you next week. Yeah, fucking yes. That's fucked. We're stuck in the dungeon with this beast.

Oh my god. Awake on him. Awake on him. Oh man. I'm glad I have my shotgun. Good thing you stopped your shotgun. Thou shall not kill. It's time to make your membership official. Start your 30-day free trial today

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Tell your friends, come join yourself, and see what everybody's talking about when you join the nation today. I'm gonna be a good boy. Alright girls, this is the place. We'll get everything loaded over to the boat and we'll lock up the truck. Don't leave anything behind. Wait, is that it? That's where we're going? Yeah, that's it. Sealskin Rock.

Whoa. Return to the mysteries in Don't Mind, Sealskin Rock. Subscribe now to catch the premiere, and we'll see you on the rock. captivate audiences decades or even hundreds of years after they happened. On the Infamous America podcast, you'll hear the true stories of the Salem witch trials and the escape attempts from Alcatraz, of bank robbers like John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, of killers like Lizzie Borden and Charles Starkweather, of mysteries like the Black Dahlia and D.B. Cooper, and of events that inspired movies like Goodfellas, Killers of the Flower Moon, Zodiac, 8 Men Out, and many more. I'm Chris Wimmer.

Join me as we crisscross the country from the Miami drug wars and Dixie Mafia in the South, to mobsters in Chicago and New York, to arsonists, kidnappers, and killers in California, to unsolved mysteries in the heartland and in remote corners of Alaska. Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there were hundreds of California.