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Another Man's Gold
75 Plays1 year ago
The Fixer's TARDIS lands in the Old West! Strange work is afoot, and it starts with the Forty-Niners digging for... briefcases!? What the devil's going on in the boomtown of Sweet Fortune? And can the Fixer really fit a horse in his lap?? FIND OUT TODAY.
Enjoy thrills, chills, and laughs galore with Brand Osorio, Cate MacCoyne, and Pandora Beatrix, along with GM Casey Jones. Stick around for interviews with the players! Your ears are in for a treat!
Come say hi on our Discord! Be sure to subscribe and leave a question or comment! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and BlueSky for more updates!
Send your questions and fan art to AnywhereButNowPodcast@gmail.com!
And if you'd like to run a game of Doctor Who of your very own, find Casey on StartPlaying!
Music by Tabletop Audio
Theme by RJ Pirchinello
With tabletop gaming as a storytelling tool, the show features the Doctor Who roleplaying game from Cubicle 7, powered by the Vortex System, designed by David F. Chapman.
Game Originally Created by David F. Chapman
Addl. Game Writing by Will Brooks, Zak Dale-Clutterbuck, Eleanor Hingley, Andrew Peregrine, John Sewell, Chris Spivey
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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnywhereButNow
Learn more about Cubicle7!
Website: https://cubicle7games.com/doctor-who-the-roleplaying-game-second-edition
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cubicle7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cubicle7Entertainment
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Anywhere But Now'
00:00:05
Speaker
Time travel, sci-fi adventures, and risky rolls of the dice lie ahead. Hello and welcome to Anywhere But Now, a Doctor Who actual play podcast. I'm your host and GM, Casey Jones. The next hour and a half or so holds a thrilling adventure in time and space, so let's dive in.
Meet the Crew
00:00:24
Speaker
With me is the daring crew of our time-traveling machine. Playing the Fixer is the charming and resourceful, Bran DeSorio. Hello, Bran.
00:00:33
Speaker
Hello. And joining him is Maeve Sullivan played by the ebullient Kate McCoy. Welcome back, Kate. Hey there. And finishing the TARDIS team is Pandora Beatrix as the delightfully chaotic Calamity Hap. Bonjour. Good day.
00:00:52
Speaker
G'day, knowledge to have you. Are you all excited?
Story Points & Listener Engagement
00:00:55
Speaker
Do you feel that energy? I hope so, because we are recording and breaking new ground! We play with the second edition of Cubicle 7's Doctor Who rulebooks. House rules mean our players begin the game with five. Count them five story points each.
00:01:12
Speaker
However, due to the amazingness of their teamwork at the end of our last game, Gallery of Fear, they are starting today with seven lovely points apiece. Get ready for a collaborative, immersive, storytelling experience! Stick around after the game for interviews with the players.
00:01:33
Speaker
A bigger on the inside thank you to our listeners. Time is truly a gift, or it wouldn't be the present. We thank you for spending yours with
Episode Title Reveal
00:01:42
Speaker
us. If you like what you hear, leave a review, rate the show, and follow us on Twitter at anywhere but now, underscore at the end. Share the show with your friends. We're also on Blue Sky, because remember, word of mouth is a huge help.
00:01:57
Speaker
Have any questions or lovely fan art to share? Send them our way at anywherebutnowpodcastatgmail.com. And if you'd like me to run a game for you, find me on startplaying.games. Links to everything in the doobly-doo. This fine TARDIS crew have no idea what they're heading into. For today's adventure, they have not been told so much as the title of the mod.
00:02:22
Speaker
Until now, that is. Welcome to another man's gold. Brought to you wherever you're listening in time and space.
Internal Struggles of Calamity and Maeve
00:02:31
Speaker
This is anywhere but now.
00:03:10
Speaker
We begin with Calamity. You're in your room with your happy chance, Ball. Something in your reflection, that ribbon of silver. You are now older than Mother Maxedent, the wise, most grown-up person you ever met in the Shrine of Serendipity.
00:03:28
Speaker
Calamity, what's that feel like? I mean, it's super weird, right? Because just it's the whole just people. I mean, things happen, right? Things happen all the time. That's the whole point of things. And I guess time. The changing part, that is just bizarre. And really, it's kind of unsettling. And it's a it's a process. We're working through it. It's
News from the Pocket Reporter
00:03:51
Speaker
a process. That's entirely fair. Maeve, you've been having bad dreams.
00:03:56
Speaker
Not flat-out nightmares, just bad, awful dreams. You're down in the sewers in your 1890s clothes. Moisture is dripping from the roof overhead. It's muddled. The images don't
00:04:11
Speaker
make any sense and worst of all it's too tight for you to breathe down here you hate it you hate that the walls are too close you're not on the TARDIS where everything's bigger on the inside and you can breathe it's just choked off down here it is cold and wet and smells of death and worse and you just want to get out there is a noise behind you
00:04:37
Speaker
And you wake with a start. You are in the auditor's chair in the TARDIS console room. You fell asleep. There is a open TARDIS console manual in your lap. You fell asleep out of sheer boredom trying to read this thing. How are you feeling?
00:04:54
Speaker
very tired. These dreams are just keeping me from sleeping and getting any true rest and it's no wonder I fell asleep and frustrated because I can't learn how the TARDIS works. I should be able to figure this out. I've always been smart. I just toss the book on the ground. It slides across the floor and from your pocket you get a
00:05:15
Speaker
Press updates from your pocket reporter. The Helperbot Union cemented a lucrative service contract with Snackems following their invaluable assistance securing the Sigourney's mining station.
TARDIS Team Dynamics
00:05:28
Speaker
Well done. In the society world, Kitsy Fansington has acquired an art collection whose value quintupled after the death of reclusive artist Artemis McCobek.
00:05:39
Speaker
Her financial portfolio is now second only to Morgo, the sentient venture capital fund. In other news, a science vessel was the latest victim of the rusty buzzard, a pirate ship in deep space. Pilots are advised to be on your guard. Fixer. Yes. After several adventures, you and Maeve
00:06:02
Speaker
and Calamity have finally wrapped up Artemisima's tour of time with Alia. You're not sure in relative time if it's been months for you or possibly even longer, but you don't care. I feel really empowered and in a great place with the companions. In all ways, I feel like we are doing the best we could possibly be.
Adventure Setback: TARDIS Malfunction
00:06:25
Speaker
The TARDIS gives a little of agreement. Fixer, you are in the TARDIS when Calamity comes in as Maeve wakes with a start from the auditor's chair up by the espresso machine. Is something not right? Are we just throwing things on the ground? You know what? Yeah, we're just throwing things on the ground. Nice! She'll pull out her snack on the gold card and be like,
00:06:55
Speaker
The TARDIS will give it back eventually. I mean, if the TARDIS wants to buy some snacks, that's also fine. Maeve retrieves the book and just puts it back on the shelf, but it's a very frustrated push back onto the shelf. The auditor finishes pulling a double from the espresso machine and pans it over without a word of just like encouragement. There you go. And starts making other espresso drinks.
00:07:20
Speaker
Calamity, generally speaking, just asks to press random buttons on the machine and then she will drink whatever comes out. Fair.
00:07:29
Speaker
Obviously, that's what she was meant to have. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's a new sensation. The auditor covers his eyes, does one of these little spinny, circularly things, and pokes a button on the espresso mat and chuffs out an upside down latte with a dollop of brown sugar on top, a calamity special. Thank you.
00:07:56
Speaker
Let's do a red eye of five shots of espresso with the only sweetener being honey. Yeah, the Gallifrey and hearts attack is coming your way in a very tall mug. Ooh, that does taste good. The auditor raises an eyebrow to Maeve. Everything all right. Just a bad dream.
00:08:20
Speaker
Pat on the back. They happened at the base. Fixer. There is a familiar rattling in the pipes as a canister comes down one of the countless glass pipes holding the TARDIS together and boops out of the dispatch with your next assignment.
00:08:40
Speaker
Ooh, something new. Pop that open, look at it. Your next assignment is to collect soil samples from the Gold Rush. Your destination is 1887 on the western edge
Arrival in Sweet Fortune
00:08:53
Speaker
of the continent of the United States. Ooh, we might get to see horses today. Have you guys seen horses before? They're just so sweet and nice.
00:09:01
Speaker
I've seen more of them than I like. I prefer the car things. Sweet, sweet like brown sugar. Sweet like they love pets and scritches and giving them carrots. And everything. I understand they're quite fond of Granny Smith's. All right, that seems interesting. Oh yes, and if you're very polite around them, they like to sit in your lap. Are you thinking of horses?
00:09:30
Speaker
Oh yes, you definitely don't want the kicking end pointed at you. Definitely make sure you do not have the kicking end pointed at you.
00:09:41
Speaker
Oh, well, you know, you sit, sort of cross-legged, and as you're feeding the carrot or the apple, you sort of gesture them down and they sort of place their forward hooves slightly backwards in your lap and the danger end is pointed away. So you should have to make sure the danger end isn't pointed towards somebody because obviously if they get too excited or, you know, you tickle them the wrong way and they kick out in the wrong direction, that could be very unpleasant for someone standing on the danger end. Hmm. I'll take one of those, like, creatures that's
00:10:09
Speaker
like all of their bones are hollow or they're like filled with helium or something. No, they're very heavy and they have iron shoes on their hooves. They're quite large. Yes. Pixar. Yes. Why don't you make your way to the console for us? This is going to be a navigation role involving ingenuity and transportation plus two for Time Lord with a difficulty of 16 to land in the Old West. And we can introduce you to some horses and
00:10:39
Speaker
You can show us this fascinating lap sitting demonstration. I am also very excited. Obviously, I'm way too distracted by the idea of hanging out with horses again, because I got a one in a one on the dice for a total of 12. Oh, no. Fixer.
00:10:57
Speaker
You are explaining exactly how the horse is supposed to sit in the lap when you push the red stabilizer instead of the blue destabilizer and there is a heavy kerchunk and a whine as your TARDIS is pulled off course. There is a hard screech. Imagine when you're trying to parallel poke.
00:11:22
Speaker
and you manage to bump into both the car in front of you, the car behind you, and scrape the tires against the curb. It's like that, but in four dimensions. Ooh! I hope anything we hit on the way in is okay. Sorry about that, guys. Calamity. Maeve. Fixer. Please give me coordination rolls to stay on your feet after a difficult landing. This is going to be versus a difficulty of 13.
00:11:50
Speaker
Yeah, no. Auditor goes flying and you hear a crunch. And he's like, oh, my nuts! And reaches into a pocket and pulls out a shattered fistful of walnuts, shakes them into the nearest bin. Down to my last three in that pocket. I got a one and a six for a 10. Maven Calamity are twinsies. I also got a one and a six for a 10. I got a five and a six for a total of 16.
00:12:18
Speaker
The Fixer is doing just fine. Calamity and Maeve are both going to be at a minus one to coordination for the next half hour. Yeah, you're just going to be walking a little funny for the next half hour. Nobody's seriously injured. Maeve and Calamity try to hang on to each other, but they both fall. Yeah, so the TARDIS
Investigation of the Mine
00:12:37
Speaker
is a little rattled. The noises from its central console are holding on noticed. That terrible, terrible landing.
00:12:48
Speaker
I place my hand on the console very carefully, very careingly, and say, oh, don't worry, dear. We're not going to replace you with horses. Horses are better for conversation. The console shuts down out of embarrassment. Aw. The backup support lights are on inside the TARDIS, but the brightest light is now just coming through the windows of the watch shop outside. Does that mean that we don't get to put on appropriate clothing?
00:13:14
Speaker
You guys know the weight of the wardrobe by now. Give us awareness and intuition versus difficulty of nine to find a Western appropriate outfit. Maeve is not. She spent enough time in the 1890s. Thank you. Pants, thank you.
00:13:33
Speaker
I'd like to pull out some era-specific currency, specifically some coins, a couple of dollars, and a couple of gold dollars, and make sure that both Maeve and Calamity have a nice little handful of money on them. At the same time that I'm pulling out the money, I'd like to also pull out four carrots and place them in my pocket. The carrots I'll give you for free. For the useful money in town, I will need an awareness and intuition roll versus not. Rifling the drawers in the half dark.
00:14:02
Speaker
Eh, not the best. Got a 4 and a 2 for a total of 11. You find decent garb for an Old West cosplayer, you do find some money. Here you go, here you go. Now make sure that we treat the locals well. From what I understand during this time period, a lot of people are suffering.
00:14:18
Speaker
You push out of the doors. You are outside of a boom town in the Old West. People are brightly smiling and cheerful going about their business in a town in the Old West. Because of the roles that we have done, the TARDIS is actually outside of the city limits
00:14:40
Speaker
20 feet, call it. The watch shop, maybe a little scratch in the paint, is now parked outside of the town limits. So Calamity got a double threes for a 12. Very average. The average is average. Basically reaching for the most colorful things. So I imagine that she's dressed as a saloon girl currently. Very nice. Very good. I like that. So Fixer, these people are suffering? From what?
00:15:09
Speaker
From what I understand, there's a bunch of industries that don't do a lot of care for their employees during this era. Eh, you know, it's a... it's a... transtemple problem sometimes. Hopefully no one dies of dysentery on our watch. Can we help them? Oh, be encouraged to, absolutely. Uh, I gotta admit, fixing things is a lot... something I'm a lot better at. I don't... I'm not quite so good with the biologicals.
00:15:29
Speaker
Well, I can take a look if anyone's, you know, hurt. Diseases are a little weird, but whatever. How hard can it be? The team, the foursome heads for town. This is going to be a perception roll and awareness plus intuition versus 15. Fixer, throw on Time Lord's senses as well for an extra two. I have a two and a six for a 15. I have a one and a six for a total of 14.
00:15:53
Speaker
I also have a 6 and a 3 for a total of 15. Maeve and Calamity noticed it first and stopped short just before the auditor and the fixer both take one step too far and dip.
00:16:09
Speaker
It's practically like we have taken a step down a staircase, not knowing that we are going down a staircase, so there's that immediate wha-ha of the disorientation. Maeve, calamity. Just because the sun bounces off the ground at just the right height, you're like, wait a minute, hang on, and stop just before you step down off the curb. The dirt is softer outside of town limits.
00:16:35
Speaker
That is what you perceive as you step down onto the depressed layer. Oh, excellent. We're supposed to collect dirt, right? Yeah, we found some. Stop scanning the horizon for horses and look down, notice the dirt. Oh, we should take some soil samples. What exactly are they looking for in the soil? Why do we need to collect soil?
00:16:56
Speaker
Well, soil can actually hold a lot of different information about the species and beings who are living near that soil, as well as any naturally occurring radiological or chemical things that may be affecting people locally. Soil can be so helpful. Interesting. Has there been anything going on that they're looking for in the soil?
00:17:14
Speaker
The auditor whips out a handkerchief and starts dabbing their forehead, and he says, well, precious metal deposits in the ground brought people across the nation in search of gold. The gold rush, as it was called at the time, whole towns would pop up overnight. Of course, they were also quite bloodthirsty in defending their claims, so we should indeed be on our
Advanced Technology Discovery
00:17:41
Speaker
alert.
00:17:41
Speaker
turn to the auditor and say, I still don't understand why they're so obsessed with gold these days. It's not even like they're using it for wiring like it should be. Well, they haven't discovered its uses as non-corrosive metal yet in the circuitry and wires, but this is only 1887. Oh, Maeve, we're in your neck of the woods chronologically speaking. How exciting. Oh, Maeve, is it just the shiny that attracts them to the gold?
00:18:05
Speaker
Uh, I think it's the shiny, it's a status thing, you know, the more gold you have, the more people like you. Because, I don't know, maybe you'll give some to them. Ah. And the more they can exchange it for goods and services, they're just mad about their goods and services.
00:18:20
Speaker
We do love our goods and services. You just dig it up out of the ground. Yeah. As Calamity's excited about the dirt, pull out the Sonic stylus, give a quick scan of the soil here, see if there's anything worth worrying about. Give us awareness and intuition, plus two for your Sonic. We're trying to beat a difficulty of 15.
00:18:40
Speaker
Okay, I would like to use two story points. So this is one of those happy accidents. If you hadn't bifted on your landing, you would have parked in town. Having parked outside of town by accident, you are able to walk into town
00:18:55
Speaker
step down a step of about 20 centimeters and notice immediately that the ground inside this depression is firmer underfoot. It is solid and is about as fixed to the ground as earth would be in the dead of winter. Turn to the otter insight.
00:19:16
Speaker
Now this is odd. Try to kick one of the clods of dirt to show how hard it is and say, this seems like this would be normal consistency for winter, but it is way too hot out here for this to be this hard. A large man makes his way from the boardwalk lining the buildings that you guys are facing. You are now on a glorified strip of dirt connecting everything to everything.
00:19:43
Speaker
wooden buildings mounted in a hurry line both sides of the street there are stables at this end of the town a small bank there is a dry goods store that is not far off the air is rich in horses good honest perspiration and opportunity the place is bustling with humans going about their day it's a nice day warm
00:20:08
Speaker
Town limits are marked by large wood archways at both ends of the street to give the place an official touch that it is a town and not just a glorified camp. All the buildings appear to be new. They have not been weathered yet by a serious sandstorm or a great deal of sun. If you had to guess, you'd say these buildings are a year old at most.
00:20:31
Speaker
and up walks a pink-faced man with round cheeks and a thick neck of beard scruff. He waddles up in a suit and vest that has seen better days under a wide-brimmed hat, wiping his hands on his patchy vest and offering it he is sweating profusely on a cool day. Well, howdy, dude. Welcome to Sweet Fortune, Bob, Mayor Brown. Nice to meet y'all.
00:21:00
Speaker
Immediately shake that hand. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. What a gorgeous town you have here, and so many wonderful horses. Why, thank you, we pride ourselves on looking after our four hoofed friends. What ring yonder, sweet fortune? Jet! Well, you came to the right town. Flip out the psychic paper and say, yes, we're inspecting the soil here for contaminants. We want to make sure that both you and your beautiful horses are safe.
00:21:31
Speaker
Fixer, Maeve, Calamity, give me a presence and convince role. Fixer, you have the plus two for the psychic paper. This is going to be your presence and convince versus the mayor's resolve and intuition. Does, does charm apply? Yes. Oh my yes. I only got a one and a five for a total of 13. I got a six and a four for a total of 16.
00:22:00
Speaker
Calamity has two sixes for a total of 23. Oh yeah. So in order of convincing this, he looks at the Fixer's paper and says, okay, sport, and slaps you on the arm. He's like, we got plenty to look around at. You go ahead and feast your eyes. Tips his hat to Maeve, who is standing with the confidence of someone who absolutely does not have time for anyone's patronizing bull.
00:22:27
Speaker
calamity and your choice of attire today. Mayor Brown sizes you up, toes to the top of your head. I definitely think you'll find work at the Silver Spur Saloon. I hope to get more equated with you in the future. Oh nice, I like having jobs. You won't be sure to find one in this town.
00:22:49
Speaker
Calamity, give us an awareness and intuition rule, please. Maeve, you're close by. Also, give us, please, the awareness and intuition rule with plus two for having stayed in a pub, trying to beat a difficulty of 12. Not quite. 11 with nothing special. I have a five and a two for a 16. The mayor smells kind of sweet, like sugary. Maeve, you recognize the smell of whiskey sweats.
00:23:18
Speaker
Coming off of his breath, it is probably not quite if noon. The mayor is sweating urban through his pores. The mayor opens up and shows you the town. The stables are in the southeast corner of town. The mayor pointed broadly across the street and up the way towards the Silver Spur Saloon and the arms that are near it.
00:23:44
Speaker
Well, you're not gonna get much dirt studying done empty-handed. Why don't you go to the general store and get yourself hooked up before you start digging around? Tips his hat ladies and turns on his heel of Waddles back towards Town Hall. Well, if we need him, I'm sure he'll be at the bar. Okay, how much dirt do we need to get? Did the did the note say should we have brought like a bag?
00:24:12
Speaker
When we were reading through, was there any distinction as to how many samples need to be taken, specific locations of samples, et cetera? You were charged with collecting a couple of grams worth of soil samples. Call it maybe a cup here, a cup there for analysis. Because in addition to the possible gold content, the West has been
00:24:38
Speaker
occasionally buffeted by earthquakes, so they want to get readings of how that is also impacted, literally, of the soil. With your role earlier and getting situated with the coins and everything on your way out, you also got a small kit the size of a thermos or a lunchbox with everything you would need to scoop samples and
00:24:58
Speaker
Well, well, we seem to have permission from the mayor to do all of our serial sampling without any interference. Immediately lean down and start sampling right in the center of town, right on the street. Make it overt as possible so everybody on the street sees I'm doing something very weird in the center of town. While the fixer is fixated, setting up this sample just smack dab in the middle of the road.
00:25:21
Speaker
Maeve, calamity, please give me awareness and intuition rolls versus a difficulty of 12. Maeve, you can throw on 2 for your reporter senses. 13 with nothing special. A 17 with a 6 on the dice.
00:25:38
Speaker
Starting with Calamity's 13. So Calamity, you have never been to the Old West before. The Shrine of Serendipity might have occasionally, once in a blue moon, had a movie night. You might have caught the ill-conceived musical How the West Was Wonderful.
00:25:58
Speaker
Like, if you have any experience with the Old West at all, it's going to be very sparse. What you haven't noticed before in your experience with the Old West is men coming out of mines with briefcases. You've never seen that in an Old Western before.
00:26:15
Speaker
mainf as the fixer is getting more and more into his ground samples. I'm just trying to chip away with a little rock hammer and a little tiny pick on the ground to try and free up some soil for sampling. You actually track
00:26:30
Speaker
The line of activities, big burly, dirt caked men who have been sweating and working all day are standing in a rough line, each carrying a large suitcase in one hand that the line goes from the mine entrance to the second to last building on the right from your perspective.
00:26:53
Speaker
facing that side of the street and like you just follow the line of people waiting up and there's a big guy standing guarding at the door and behind him another person just left the building clutching something in their hand and smiling like they've hit the jackpot and making a beeline for this one. I am going to kneel down next to Fixer
00:27:17
Speaker
Do they normally take briefcases into mines? I mean, I've heard of them. One of my father's friends was an investor in them, but I didn't know they used briefcases. Wait, briefcases in mines? Are they mining for paperwork? I don't know. They're taking them all there? See, they all have briefcases and they're lining up. Is that a normal mine person thing? Lean very closely while pulling the sample out of the ground and go, no, that's deeply, deeply concerning.
00:27:44
Speaker
That's what I thought. They don't have like an office down there to write down the mine things. I mean, I thought it was mainly just a lot of people digging around in the dirt and the rocks and they might need like buckets and shovels. I wasn't thinking briefcases. That all makes more sense.
00:28:02
Speaker
Calamity, as you're asking about that, you turn your eye south past the fences and the men with guns to what looks like the entrance to a mine out the south side of town. Sure enough, you see two men dragging out a long support beam and just chucking it to an open space off to the side so that it is out of the way. The other men grab their suitcases that they pulled out of, that they brought out of the mine with them and head for that office. Fixer.
00:28:31
Speaker
Since we don't love using strength, give us a coordination roll with your diggy-diggy tools to get a soil sample, please. This is going to be a difficulty of 13. You got it. Nice. We ended up with a 16 with a 6 and a 5 on the dice.
00:28:45
Speaker
Nice, it takes you a couple minutes of chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, get it out of the ground and finally get a whole clump into the analyzer. This dirt that has been super compacted, the analysis that you're able to read, the ground under your feet is picking up the absolute faintest scintilla of some kind of radiation.
00:29:13
Speaker
like some sort of energy is responsible for the ground being as firmly packed down as it is. Pull out my book, pull out Sonic Stylus, make it look like I'm writing in the book notes about the sample we just took, and start scanning to see if we can figure out what type of radiation it is.
00:29:29
Speaker
Ingenuity and technology, plus two for Sonic and plus two for Time Lord. While you're doing that, Calamity and Maeve, give us a deception roll. Give us some presence and some convince. If you're inclined to give a vibe of, everything's fine, we're not hurting anything, we're not doing anything wrong, because at this point, having stared at the men with suitcases, they are now starting to stare back, especially at the Fixer who is just kneeling or sitting in the middle of the road.
00:29:59
Speaker
Considering it is the Old West, I am not going to sit in the middle of the road, but I will kneel in the middle of the road. Everything is fine, and we're not doing anything wrong, is Calamity's sort of default. Yes, that's true. So this is not a stretch.
Suspicious Town Activities
00:30:16
Speaker
The men in line rolled a three, all told, and one of those dice was a one, so you did not have to roll particularly high.
00:30:23
Speaker
I got an 11, nothing special. I got a 16 with nothing special. They trade looks with each other and none of them are going to break rank and file to investigate mind of their own business. I think Maeve is like exuding the same expression during her time in the Quicks of like, I'm doing my job. Do you want to talk about it? Nice.
00:30:44
Speaker
To ascertain what type of radiation we're dealing with, I got a 2 and a 4 on the dice for a total of 18. There is interference. The things that are generating energy is very localized. It is making identifying the type of it difficult from this distance. Would you like to spend a story point? I would like to spend a story point.
00:31:07
Speaker
What you're able to determine is that something advanced, something non-terrestrial, is super stabilizing the local terrain. You are 100% convinced that that tech is under the ground. Auditor, I'm getting the strangest readings here. It's a little concerning. Could you look at this? Absolutely.
00:31:30
Speaker
10 with a six on the dice. There doesn't appear to be any physical harm to these people from this energy. And he looks at the men leaving the mine. They're all sweating from exertion, but they don't appear to be injured in any way. Maeve, Calamity, give us an awareness roll with intuition, please. Versus 12.
00:31:55
Speaker
That is a one and a three for an 11. Can I spend a story point on it? You can. I have a 16 with a six. Maeve is looking around. Calamity, though, immediately notices the small boy peeking out from between the town hall and the dry goods store looking at you guys, because you're new people. Meanwhile, Fixer, if we have confirmed that there is something under the ground, then perhaps we should
00:32:24
Speaker
Speak to someone in charge. Ooh, that's a very good idea, Auditor. Maybe one of us could go down there.
00:32:32
Speaker
Yes, let's do that. Let's get right to the source of the problem. Okay, the four of us led by Maeve and the Fixer just stalking right for the fenced entrance. It was one thing that you guys were standing or kneeling in the middle of the road and doing your dirt samples and everything, and the men walking, heading for the office building were willing to mind their own business.
00:32:57
Speaker
But when you start pushing towards the entrance to the mine, that's when the looks get dirty. And when you get within about five, call it ten feet of the actual entrance, that is when the men on either side of the entrance with a shotgun apiece stand taller and say, what do you want?
00:33:17
Speaker
Flip the psychic paper open and repeat. Well, you see, we're doing soil samples. We have the mayor's permission. He said we can do it anywhere in town. Present and convinced. Plus two for your psychic paper. You are at disadvantage. But aren't I literally referencing what the mayor did say we could do? These men may not answer to the mayor. Oh, that's completely fair.
00:33:36
Speaker
Okay, got a five and a five in the dice for a total of 17. The men trade looks, you wanna go inside the mine, you need permission from the actual person in charge. Oh, my apologies, I thought the mayor was in charge. Who should we speak to? He points past you at the line of people heading into the office. Why, thank you, and who should we ask for when we go inside? You'll ask for the appraiser. The appraiser? Yeah, don't worry, he's always hiring.
00:34:06
Speaker
Hiring for what? For work. Nobody stays here for free. What kind of work? What do you think? Digging. Another man passes between them giving you all weird looks because you're standing kind of in the way and they just files past you with another dirt-clotted briefcase.
00:34:23
Speaker
Ooh, how close did he come to us? Close enough that I could give a quick flick of the Sonic stylus to give a scan into the briefcase? Oh, absolutely. You can try. I would like to try. Give us ingenuity and technology, plus two for your Sonic, please.
00:34:39
Speaker
Okay, we got a five and a two for the total of 17. There is technology inside that suitcase that does not belong in 1887. It is apparently some kind of containment as in to safely contain what is inside, but it is also blocking your scan from detecting what is inside. Come along, team. Oh wait, just a second. If we're going to get a job here, do we need to bring our own case thing or do they supply that?
00:35:06
Speaker
Well, the containment cases you'll get from the boss, but your picks and your canaries and your lanterns, you'll want to imply yourself from the drag group store. Canaries? Another man with a briefcase in one hand and a small canary cage in the other passes the other way heading into the mines and the little canary gives it as it passes you guys.
00:35:32
Speaker
turn to the canary and say, are you okay? Do you have speak everything on your- Not at all. Not at all. I'm literally just, I'm looking for an emotive reaction. Present said convince for the canary, trying to read the canary's emotional state. Present's an intuition, we'll say. Present intuition. Got a six and a six for a total of 17, so the dice want me to do it. This canary is thrilled to see you guys.
00:36:01
Speaker
Oh, really? In there? The visual image I have here is of an absolutely gobsmacked, stunned workman holding the briefcase in one hand and the canary cage just like, do I even need to be here? What's going on? As the fixer loudly, are you okay? How are you feeling? Are you being treated respectfully? As the canary just chirps happily to be close to you guys.
00:36:29
Speaker
Seems like a very pleasant work environment. Right? He seems very happy. Well, we'll see if he's excited at the end of his shift. You know, some shifts can be very grueling. Can I ask, how long has this town been here? Number one, you are a woman. Number two, you are a stranger to them. Number three, these men have been advised not to answer questions unless it's where can I get a job. Please give us a presence and convince role. That's a three and a six for a 17.
00:36:57
Speaker
Fixer, please give me an ingenuity and intuition roll. Calamity, please give me the same ingenuity and intuition roll. The men with guns, Trey looks. Well, uh, sweet fortune ain't been here that terribly long. The, uh, the appraiser struck pay dirt not that long ago. And then, uh, before you know it, the whole town started up, got ourselves a mayor, got ourselves a saloon. That's, you know, the real important thing around here. Got ourselves a bank and a dry goods shop. And we've been digging ever since.
00:37:26
Speaker
By pay dirt, do you mean gold, or is there some other precious metal that you're digging for? Let's just say it's worth its weight in gold.
00:37:34
Speaker
Ah, so it's not gold. You look around and it's sunny as hell. And the men leaving one by one, the appraiser's office going directly to the saloon, like a lot of them are clutching it, but one or two, you can see them tossing something shiny into the air and catching it, being happy and confident as they're making their way to the bar. Calamity, Fixer, what did you guys get on your ingenuity rolls? Calamity got an 18 with two sixes.
00:38:03
Speaker
I got a 5 and a 3 for a total of 15. Fixer, this conversation's going really well. Calamity, you immediately cotton that we are not the strangest men and women that these guards have had to deal with. We are not the first eccentric people they have encountered and had to be patient with. Do the people coming out of the mines look dirty, like they've been mining, or do they look
00:38:29
Speaker
Oh my yes, they are caked in sweat and dirt, and they are sweating proof uses. Okay, I'm eager to meet the appraiser of yours. Yes, we should go see what he looks like. I'm excited to meet him. Or her. Or them. You guys take up a spot in line behind the men with briefcases and or canaries heading for the appraiser's
Meeting the Appraiser: Victor's Hidden Agenda
00:38:54
Speaker
office.
00:38:54
Speaker
and one by one they are let in and one by one another gentleman leaves with a gratified look as the line shortens and shortens and there is definitely a little toe-headed boy peeking out from behind the support beams of one of the porch buildings the porches of town hall looking at you because you're new people
00:39:18
Speaker
As we wait, I want to say, so it's something, not gold, that needs to be put in a briefcase, either because it shouldn't be seen or it can't be outside. Well, they're calling them containment cases. Like, they actually use that word, so... Well, it could need to be contained. Like, everything that you carry something is, is a container, so that's not really that specific, but the way they said it made it sound like it was important.
00:39:43
Speaker
whisper to the two of them, uh yes and the technology in those cases to contain whatever they're containing is definitely not from this time period. And that's that's a problem right? That's bad? I ask because everywhere we go we're not that either and it's okay so I just wanted to check. The auditor says it's nothing good. I know that much. Can we all see the little boy now or is it just calamity?
00:40:07
Speaker
He's not being that subtle. I mean Calamity has been waving to him every time she notices him looking at them. Oh, nice.
00:40:14
Speaker
Sorry, I did that visually earlier. I didn't say anything out loud. Maybe you missed it. We do have a little eavesdropper to point to the little boy. Oh, he does seem very interesting. Interested in us, that's for sure. Well, it seems like the mind people have met new people before, but it seems like the child is maybe, you know, sort of has an eye for new people. So he might have, you know, he might know who other new people have been around here.
00:40:43
Speaker
Brilliant Calamity. I will hold our place in line. Would you and Maeve mind going over and seeing what the young man knows? Not at all. We'll go have a chat with the little boy. As the tight-lipped men stand watching, saying nothing in the punishing sun, Maeve and Calamity cross the way towards between the Town Hall and the Waltons Dry Goods.
00:41:08
Speaker
where there is a boy, he's just planted, beaming at you guys as you come closer. Calamity tips the hatch he does not have. Hello. Hello there. Howdy. Do you live here? Uh-huh, uh-huh. With my mama. And points behind him to Walton dry goods painted in humble black lettering across the storefront window.
00:41:31
Speaker
How long have you lived here? Oh, less than a year or so. I only had the one birthday since we come. How long has the mind in here? That long or longer? I think it was just getting started up when we got here. Mama said that wherever they were going to be digging, they need stuff to do the digging. And so we set up a shop with... You guys want some birds? We got birds and pickaxes. And we got lanterns. We got lanterns because it gets pretty dark down there.
00:42:00
Speaker
Why don't you give us a tour of the store? Ogi! Go, go, go, go, go, go, go! Onto the porch, pushes open the door. Mama, we got new customers, we got people! You enter a clean, tidy, general store full of dry goods and mining equipment.
00:42:20
Speaker
picks, lanterns, rope, even canaries tweeting in cages, line the wall. The sun through the storefront window lights up the room, filling it with a wholesome glow. And behind the counter stands Calpurnia Walton, a plain shopkeep, bland and wholesome as wheat toast. Plucky, earnest young family moved out to the west to prosper. You can guess that she lives on the second floor above the actual shop.
00:42:48
Speaker
This store is scrubbed within an inch of its life. It is not fancy, it is clean. You've got rope, you've got lanterns, shovels, picks, all that stuff. From behind the counter, Calpurnia says, Samuel, don't bother these people. Hello. Thank you. Welcome. Oh, it's no bother at all. Howdy. Howdy.
00:43:10
Speaker
We're just new and so we're just, you know, getting to meet new people and learn how things work about here. So it's totally fine. Nice. Present to convince at disadvantage because you are dressed as a woman of negotiable affection. Can I give Calamity a story point to help? Absolutely. I will help by just looking around the story and going, this is lovely. What a nice story you have here.
00:43:32
Speaker
I've got a 17 with two threes. Oh, beautiful. The average is average. That works just fine. Well, thank you. Thank you. We do try to keep a clean shop here. Y'all aren't going to be mining yourselves, of course. We don't know yet. There's a very long line. But maybe I like getting jobs, although the mayor said something about the saloon. So I need to see, I guess, what the different benefits are. We are looking for work.
00:43:57
Speaker
So far, the only ladies we've seen working in this town have found employment over at the saloon or cleaning out the arms. But if y'all got jobs, I mean, we'll sell you the pickaxes, we'll sell you the canaries. Just sort of a quality of life thing, bringing the canaries down because it's pleasant with the singing and all that. Maeve, calamity, give us ingenuity and intuition. Roll, please. As you wander through the store,
00:44:26
Speaker
I have a four and a three for a 14. I have a 13 with nothing special. You aren't able to suss exactly why, but for whatever reason, the Canaries chirp louder when you guys get closer in answer to Calamity's question. Well, they've been useful down in the mines, of course. You know, there's a reason Canaries go down there and make sure it's safe.
00:44:51
Speaker
for people but they sure seem to like you goodness gracious what is it about some people these canaries have the most curious taste it was it's you and oh yeah the appraiser they just go they just tweet tweet tweet tweet went out of there around him
00:45:05
Speaker
And we cut to the fixer and the auditor standing in line.
Victor's Exploitative Plan
00:45:10
Speaker
And there's only like two or three guys ahead of you in line, not including the very tall, very wide gentleman occupying at least a third of the stairs with his own personal bulk. Fixer, we are the last ones in line at this point. I would love to ask the person ahead of us in line. How's your work day been today? You're gonna get tired of hearing this, presence and convince.
00:45:35
Speaker
6 and a 5 for a total of 16. How do you think it's been, partner? It's been hotter in Hades down there. Mops, that is brow. It sounds pretty brutal down there. I'm surprised the appraiser hasn't installed any element of cooling systems or venting to keep you guys a little more comfortable.
00:45:52
Speaker
Brutal is the word for it, pal. The person in front of him in line turns over his shoulder and looks disapprovingly at this guy for talking to you so openly. Oh yeah, sure. This ain't our first manning work, but can't complain about the pay. The pay sure, okay. And another person leaves the building clutching. What you can see now is a small felt bag clumped in his fist and there's just little flecks of gold dust at the top of the bag.
00:46:20
Speaker
Ooh, lean into the auditor and say, what would have such a value that somebody would be handing out handfuls of gold? Whatever it is, it's a closely guided secret. Stay on the toes. Meanwhile, in the dry goods shop, the appraiser, we have heard a lot about him, is he, I mean, I assume that someone who owns a store such as this supplies probably everyone in town, must know a lot about its residents.
00:46:49
Speaker
Miss Walton Calpurnia says, well, my family's been at this for a certain amount of time. There's a reason we ain't never unpacked all the way. We got the feeling this could all go barrel up tomorrow. That's generally the spirit because these boys are
00:47:06
Speaker
practically killing themselves down there to find whatever this thing the appraiser is looking for. What I've overheard as they come in, buying fresh supplies, is if they find what they're looking for, this jackpot of theirs, then the job's over. Do you know, what exactly are they looking for? I know it's not gold. No, they pay in gold though, for sure. She looks around and sees that it's you and it's calamity.
00:47:29
Speaker
I mean, you know why they're not gonna tell us. They're gonna keep us out of the loop as long as they can. And of course, like Pearl and Goldie, they come by for things from time to time, and they sure do like to chat, but it's all hearsay. It's all rumors. Calamity nods knowingly. It's because it's a surprise, right? Sure. Calamity has not really encountered sexism, so...
00:47:56
Speaker
I'm going to lean across the counter and say, I know exactly what you're talking about. And it's not right. They need to tell us what's going on so that we can plan. I mean, to have to pack all this up and move in a split second. Thank you. You just, you get it. Don't tell anyone on the street, but if you can get the friends and neighbors discount while you're in here.
00:48:18
Speaker
Thank you. I appreciate that. If you hear anything about what's going on here, we're looking into the overall safety of the town right now. You know, it's a bit of an undercover job. You could just keep it quiet, but keep an eye out. And if you hear anything. Oh, sure. Well, if you change your mind and want to buy something, come on back. We'll be open until sunset. I'm sure that we will be back. I did want to ask, is all the canaries like
00:48:44
Speaker
Trained to detect danger? I don't know what they're trained to detect, but the Praiser supplied the canaries and we've been breeding them ever since to keep stock. Oh well, I would definitely like to buy one, Justin. Yeah, how much is a canary? I think we need one. One gold piece. Maeve will pay for it. You leave the shop with a bird. You bought a bird.
00:49:09
Speaker
Calamity would like wants to carry the bird and is like Staring at it fixedly like the whole time. They're walking around like in case it senses danger and There's it's not because she wants to then not go there Just to be clear
00:49:30
Speaker
Maeve and Calamity, you exit the shop with your happy little cheep cheep cheep cheep canary. The fixer and the auditor are now only a person away from the front of a very short line at this point to the appraiser's office. We purchased a small animal that possibly detects danger. That is very exciting. What a cute little guy! Yeah, I thought he could go on the TARDIS. Absolutely. Has he shared his name with you yet?
00:49:59
Speaker
I don't know how to talk to them, actually. Do you know their language? Well, I mean, they're talking at it all the time. Completely deadpan, the auditor. It's Terrence. Hello, Terrence. Welcome to the team, Terrence. Yeah, the bird is just happy as can be in its cage in proximity to the four of us.
00:50:27
Speaker
Are birds sapient? Is it alright for me to own one? She actually seems quite concerned. So Calamity, one thing you're going to learn over the course of your travels is that there are a lot of species that own a lot of species and it's usually not ethical. Do with that what you may. Well I'll just open the door and then Terrence can leave if he wants to and if he doesn't then he can stay. She says. And then opens the door to the cage.
00:50:54
Speaker
You open the cage. Terrence hops around, looks outside the cage, returns to its perch. Apparently quite happy to be exactly where it is. We don't, I mean, once he's in the TARDIS, he doesn't need a cage, right? We can just open the door and let him fly around. We do have a number of oboritums. I'm sure he'd find room in one of them. Oh. Would you like an oboritum, Terrence? Knees.
00:51:20
Speaker
The last man ahead of us disappears inside of the building. I'm sure he thinks we're completely normal. He's given you some looks similar to the looks that Calamity has gotten earlier today. It's also that like you're not the weirdest weirdo I've had to deal with and disappears inside the building.
00:51:40
Speaker
Isn't it always the way when you get in a really long line and then, like, it's going slowly and you're getting up there, but nobody gets in the line behind you, right? So it's just you, really, who had to wait the longest time. Mm-hmm. You are now standing in front of the nicest building in town, even nicer than Town Hall. It is a two-story affair, the windows are shut and the curtains are drawn.
00:52:04
Speaker
Men from the mine with suitcases have formed a line to the door. A large man stands at the base of the stairs taking names and letting them in one at a time. Almost as brawny as he is tall, this is not a gentleman hired for his conversation. One by one, the men have returned out the way they came, fists wrapped tightly around something and making a beeline for the saloon. You reach the front of the stairs and the tall, disapproving man.
00:52:34
Speaker
Howdy! Help you. A pleasure to meet you, sir. Jaw one. We want to meet the appraiser. And a job. Maybe. If it's losing better. I'm checking. Every single one of you, presence and convenience. Fixer, if you're using the psychic paper, now would be the time to bring that out.
00:52:55
Speaker
From the way it seems like this place is operating, if I break out the psychic paper in this moment to say that we are soil inspectors, does that seem like that will stop calamity from getting a job here?
00:53:06
Speaker
Do you want to spend a story point reading the situation? Yes, please. You get the understanding that telling this man you are any kind of official soil sampler is not going to be something he wants to hear. Like a lot of towns in the Old West, this is not part of some larger government. It is its own place out in the middle of nowhere. And however they run things here is as close to the quote unquote law as they're going to get.
00:53:35
Speaker
The mayor did not look like he had been elected in democratically sanctioned.
00:53:42
Speaker
procedure, he was picked. Trying to flash paperwork at this person is probably not the right approach. So that's a story point well spent. Thank you for that. That gives me an idea of what to say instead. Lean in and say, I know there might be certain concerns you have about these two, and point to maven calamity, amazing employees. But be aware, they can accomplish anything that any of the people you sent down into that mine have accomplished so far.
00:54:10
Speaker
with even more skill and panache. Presence and convince, all three of you, please. It's not good, though. I did great. I got snake eyes. Oh, wow. Grab eight. Yes, Calamity got a 16, but with a one on the dice. And I got a two and a four with a total of 11.
00:54:33
Speaker
The gentleman rolled a six with a one and a five on those dice. So he does not believe you at all because she is a smallish kind of person and Braun is what is called for down there. He is willing to give you personally like the, okay, I'll give you a chance to show us what you can do. And he looks at Calamity dressed the way she is dressed and says, oh yes, I'm certain she can find work as well.
00:55:01
Speaker
The door behind him opens. The last person before you heads out with a fistful of gold. You're able to walk past him, but he puts a hand on Maeve's shoulder. There ain't no need for you to go in there, small fry. The auditor stiffens, stands in solidarity.
00:55:22
Speaker
I raise myself to my full height of five feet to say, take your hand off of me. Can I go through anyways, or is he stopping me? You can try, but he is attempting to stop you. I'm just gonna try to duck under his hand and keep walking. Okay. Give us a coordination rule.
00:55:48
Speaker
It's been an hour, so I don't still have a minus one, right? And then I have a specialization in intrusion. Can I use that here? You absolutely can. That adds two points to your roll. Okay. And you know what? Since you are a reporter and used somewhat to pushing your way in, yes, go ahead and roll at advantage, three dice, and keep the best two. Okay, so that's double fives for 18.
00:56:14
Speaker
That is better than Braum rolled. He rolled a six on the dice. That's a two and a four, nothing special. You know what? He can be his problem. Let the four of us hop the stairs.
00:56:26
Speaker
I think that was Maeve and her full proper lady. She can't put it on when she wants to. Inside you find a tastefully appointed anteroom with carpeted stairs leading up to a second floor.
00:56:44
Speaker
There is a vase of flowers halfway up the hallway so that the interior does not smell exclusively of sweaty workmen. A door on the right is a jar with an office inside and through to the back is a door as well. It is shut. The office is mid-sized, comfortably furnished with taste.
00:57:04
Speaker
from the local time zone.
Mine Exploration & Ethical Dilemmas
00:57:07
Speaker
A fireplace crackles away and over your shoulder the suitcases have been stacked for the day. In the corner sits the mahogany desk that you have seen before. Sitting behind the desk is a man you have seen before. Not in person,
00:57:27
Speaker
but in a portrait on the wall and from a screen looking back at you wishing they could be there in person. Fixer behind the desk with a grandfather clock ticking over his shoulder sits the victor. Okay, this is what I'd like to do and I'll use a story point if needed. I want to walk directly behind the desk and give them the most uncomfortable hug they can, like one that they're not getting out of that's clearly very genuine and is full of love.
00:57:56
Speaker
Give us a coordination roll because this will be contested. That's fair.
00:58:06
Speaker
Should I use one story point or two? You can spend two story points to just hold him in the most uncomfortable bear hug. He's still sitting in the chair. He has not risen. Oh, yes. Get off of, get off. Oh, come on. It's been so long. You look so good. Everything's going so well. Been so long looks so good. I have you to thank for this. Wait a minute. And he looks at you and Calamity and me.
00:58:35
Speaker
Where are you in your timeline, exactly? How can we possibly answer that question? Taken up knitting yet, Fixer? Uh, not yet, no. Well, you appear to have plenty of time for hobbies. What are you doing here? Dirt. Exactly. Dirt.
00:58:56
Speaker
He gets up from the table and looms over it. Fixer, give me an ingenuity and intuition roll, and throw two on for time now. Maeve, you're an investigative reporter. Give me ingenuity and intuition.
00:59:11
Speaker
Calamity is mostly just sort of trying to figure out, like, because she vaguely recalls that this person may have tried to kill everybody, but the Fixer is hugging them. Um, so maybe she's remembering wrong. So she's just sort of like... Yeah, I think Maeve is also doing it. Like, I got a one and a six for a 14, but I'm willing to spend story points on this one.
00:59:36
Speaker
And I got a four and a three for a total of 16. Between the two of you, his beard is darker than the one in the portrait. The desk does not have no collateral damage etched into it from the last time. You have not met that version of him yet, apparently, going by the color of his hair and the undefaced nature of the desk.
00:59:59
Speaker
Well, then I'm especially happy I gave him a big hug. He hasn't tried to kill us yet. Please comport yourself with some dignity, Fixer. Mine checks himself when the reflection... When the victor says that about dignity, the Fixer steps back from the desk, looks very pouty. I know I don't live up to the way you want me to live, but it is still really nice to see you. Presence and convince. And you are at disadvantage, I'm afraid.
01:00:30
Speaker
Oh no! That's too bad too, because I am being genuine.
01:00:35
Speaker
Okay, we got a four and a two for a total of 11. I rolled an eight plus his resolve. He may not be genuinely warmed by your enthusiasm, but he breaks into a smile anyway. Well, if you're here to help, then I'm happy to see you. The auditor at the back of the room tuts and takes a step closer and is like, what exactly have you been unveiling the locals in?
01:01:03
Speaker
And the victor gives him a dirty look and says, don't you have papers to grade? The auditor is like in character. Nice bird. But that shuts the auditor up entirely. Like that is just a bullseye of a psychological button for him.
01:01:22
Speaker
Why don't I show you what I've been up to in your absence, hm? A tour! Oh, a grand tour, I hope. Do you have snacks? My friends have not eaten yet today. He puts his feet up on the desk, snaps his fingers. Braum, refreshments. Braum, the large man, enters with a silver tray with coffee and small refreshments.
01:01:46
Speaker
I've been arranging a project, old boy, that's taken up rather a good commitment of my time since I've left the program. You've always had such creative projects. I'm really happy to hear that even though, you know, the schooling wasn't working out, that you found something that's really fulfilling. That makes me really happy. Working out?
01:02:08
Speaker
I graduated. Where? You're still in the program. That's why he's here. You're in class. Well, yeah, of course. The program sent you here for an assignment. I see.
01:02:24
Speaker
They don't think I can get the job done. That's rather... discouraging. Well, maybe it's not that they didn't think you could get the job done. Maybe they just knew you needed some, you know, cheerleaders on your side. People that were making you feel good. Oh, Fixer, if I wanted to feel good about myself, the last person I turned to would be you. But I thank you for the encouragement all the same.
01:02:50
Speaker
Oh, that's harsh. The Fixer's usually pretty good at that, but also, have you tried a bird? Oh, no, the birds have been instrumental. You noticed that, have you? And the bird... Jeeps! Tably! Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee! Fixer, give me an ingenuity and intuition roll, plus two for being a Time Lord. The fireplace in the middle of the summer is currently crackling away with bits of dirt-caked, broken furniture as the kindling.
01:03:18
Speaker
We're looking at a six and a six on the dice for a total of 21. The second you walked in, you smelt the hearths of home. There is a particular scent you cannot find anywhere else, that twinge of nostalgia. You can smell artron crackling from the fireplace. Amidst the red and glowing sparks is the occasional fleck of gold.
01:03:46
Speaker
Do I have any worries about Calamity and Maeve being exposed to this much Artran energy? Oh, no, not at all. Okay, good. The energy that you're picking up is the lightest scent of Artran. Aw, I love the what you've done with the place. I mean, don't get me wrong, the town outside, a little questionable, but this room, there's just something about it that reminds me of home. Yes, I'm not surprised.
01:04:09
Speaker
he cries open the briefcase and inside it has been cut into. Picture the briefcase of an assassin who has broken up their sniper's rifle into pieces that will fit inside of a briefcase and there are foam cutouts for those pieces. Instead, in here is one long indentation
01:04:31
Speaker
surrounded by plates of circuitry keeping it stable. In this cutout, a worthless scrap of broken chair. He picks it up, sniffs it, and tosses it into the fireplace where it crackles and joins the fire.
01:04:48
Speaker
I've had to make some arrangements to motivate the mouth breathers to work on my behalf, especially since my latest project is so particular about who can find it.
01:05:02
Speaker
Be honest, has it been for their benefit or has it been hurting them? You can ask them if you'd like. We could take in the saloon and you can ask them for yourselves. I'm not up to my old tricks. Have no fear, they're being paid perfectly well for their services. They do seem to like the gold. Oh, yes, they absolutely do. He opens up a drawer in his desk, pulls out a couple of nuggets and just rolls them around in his fingers. Easy enough to find if you know which planet to pit stop on.
01:05:32
Speaker
Tunk, tunk, tunk, drops them back into the drawer. And there are no side effects to whatever you've been exposing them to? Only the occasional casualty. I see. Victor, we talked about that. You and I have talked about a great many things. I just don't know for certain which ones we've talked about yet. You haven't taken up knitting yet.
01:05:54
Speaker
That's fair. So, in case we haven't had this conversation before, I want to make sure I emphasize we're supposed to do this without the casualties. You know that. I've set them up for success, Fix. I've given them the tools to advance themselves and set themselves up nicely financially in the short term.
01:06:17
Speaker
Not enough to upset the flow of time, certainly, but they're getting paid more than enough. They know what they're getting themselves into. I have needed their assistance procuring a bit of Gallifreyan tech. Unfortunately, like so many of their wonderful devices,
01:06:35
Speaker
It's camouflaged. I know what I'm looking for, so I can't find it. So I've been paying these mouth breathers to bring up everything they can find for me to appraise. What is Gallifreyan Tech doing here?
01:06:51
Speaker
He looks at you. Oh, don't you know yet? The Time Lords and the Endless Wisdom have used back corners of this planet as a dumping grounds for devices, specifically because they're out of the way. Your junk yards, your bottomless pits. Someplace no one is ever, ever going to look again. Unless they've been motivated with lots of gold.
01:07:14
Speaker
An almost perfect plan, Victor. I'm impressed. But knowing the way you plan, I worry for all of the people who have been working here after you're done. Do you have an exit scheme that doesn't involve exiting all of them from this planet? I'm hurt that you would think I would ever do something that would injure so many people at once. I'm not some monster, no.
01:07:37
Speaker
They're being paid for their labor. Once we locate the I know what, they'll be paid for their services and given severance to float them along to the next wherever. But like any other ghost town, I'm going to leave this place behind as soon as we've found what we're looking for. Reach up gently with my hand towards their cheek, if they allow me to, and gently brush their cheek and say, that is a really, really good plan.
01:08:05
Speaker
And that is when the alarm bell rings from outside very faintly, murmurs of surprise and shock over your shoulder. Peeking through over your shoulder, the auditor prides back the curtain, and people are gathering in the street outside as a commotion is happening up the street. How is Terrence reacting? Ooh, good question. I think Terrence is right. We should go check that out. That might mean danger.
01:08:33
Speaker
The auditor doesn't relay it, but in truth, the Terrence is just concerned about other canaries. Is there a window I can have a look out of? You peek out the appraiser's office. People are starting to pour out of the saloon as across the street a fire appears to have broken out or something is on fire. You can't really make it out through the window up here. Something emerges on fire from the mine and collapses into a pile.
01:09:01
Speaker
Fixer, there's a fire out there. Something, somebody is on fire. We should go. And I'm gonna make a break for the stairs. Running right after Maeve. Yeah, me too. Everybody give us coordination rolls just to make sure you don't fall on your faces as you race out the door. I might fall on my face. I got a four and a one. Or an eight. Okay, that's barely fine. When you say coordination, do you mean coordination in athletics or just coordination?
01:09:29
Speaker
Athletics, you can throw it on for leaving a building in a hurry. With coordination and athletics, I rolled a five and a two in the dice for a total of 12. Calamity as a 13 with a six on one of the dice. Calamity adroitly. Oh, tiptoes. Oh, a disaster. Let's go see what's going on. There's a crowd of miners looking around concerned and murmuring as men that were guarding the gates go up and start throwing buckets of dirt over the Burning Man.
01:09:57
Speaker
As we're approaching, flip out Masonic Silas, take a scan to see if there's anything else we need to worry about other than just flame. You're gonna need to get closer, approaching the actual mouth of the mine to get more, but the open street is safe. Is the victor with us? He's stepped out behind you, feet planted at the top of the stairs of his building. Calamity has not stopped. She knows from personal experience, fires are very exciting and also you have to deal with them if you want to do more exciting things later.
01:10:27
Speaker
Hm? Yeah, it has also not stopped. I'm moving closer with calamity. Calamity and Maeve race as fast as you care to towards the mine entrance. The men with shotguns don't bother to stop you. They've got their hands full. They've slung their arms over their shoulder and have finished throwing tightly-tamped dirt onto the ashy skeletal remains of someone that was scorched. But I don't think I can fix that. How did he catch on fire?
01:10:57
Speaker
It's incredibly dangerous work down there. The machine from back home has made it difficult to approach. You need to empty your mind of any desire. I realize it is a bit of a contradiction, but it is the only way. And at that point, the victor reaches into a pocket, pulls out one of those felt bags. Gentlemen, this has obviously been a great shock to you all.
01:11:26
Speaker
I want to assure you that every precaution is being taken to preserve your safety in the mind, but that of course requires you to pay attention. However, we understand that these are difficult times, which is why hazard pay, clink clink, will be available
01:11:48
Speaker
For any of you still willing to go down there and the people watch and turn to the newest people, the three of you. No takers? Well, you can always drink up some courage and try again in the morning. Victor, rather than risk any more people, I think my team might be the perfect solution to the problem you're facing.
01:12:09
Speaker
We're going to meet again out of order, aren't we? That means you survived this. Jolly good. He sees that you've got the canary, snaps his fingers. Braum! Pickaxes. Braum disappears into the appraiser's office and comes back with pickaxes and a pair of briefcases. The victor walks you closer to the mine entrance. Obviously what you're looking for is less than
01:12:34
Speaker
three feet long, it will have masqueraded itself as a ruined, completely worthless stick of furniture. We understand it is currently in The Pearl. The Pearl. First, we need some more of those containment cases. He nods. He gets them for you. Is two not enough? There's only one thing there, right? Yes, but there's more than one of you. What is this, Pearl? A hotel.
01:13:00
Speaker
It's a hotel in a mine. Fixer, give me an intuition and ingenuity rule, the plus two for the timelord sensors, and I'd say you are at an advantage. Okay, we're looking at a four and a three on the base for a total of 16. Your TARDIS landed outside of town. Coming into town, the ground dropped 20 centimeters. With the reveal, there is an entire building somewhere underground. You realize you are in a crater that is about 20 centimeters deep.
01:13:30
Speaker
I'm going to turn to the victor and say, we're gonna go down there and we're gonna fix this problem. In case things go sideways and we aren't able to meet back up on the way out, pull out one of the little phones, hand it to him. I know everything in your heart is gonna tell you not to call. Looking completely untouched. He tucks it away, an object that might be useful later. Do be careful. I'd hate to lose a Time Lord.
01:13:59
Speaker
What's the worst that happens? We open a temporal rift? You cannot say, what's the worst that can happen? Because that is just inviting disaster. Earlier he said everything was going fine and Calamity was very excited because... Yep. Mm-hmm.
01:14:14
Speaker
The stunned people lining one half of the street, they've basically come out to slightly mob because they are too scared to press forward and they have taken too much money to complain. They are all in a boat of we agreed to this. This is not as cool as we thought it was going to be.
01:14:37
Speaker
you approach outside the mine is a gated fence a man stands guard with a gun belt a crate with equipment sits to either side of the entrance to the below ground if you still need a pickaxe or a briefcase containment object
01:14:52
Speaker
or even a lantern, you can pick one up here. As you approach, you see pairs of thick leather work gloves. The victor shouts after you, do use the gloves, you'll need them for special handling. Maeve, as you approach the mine entrance, your heart starts to pound.
01:15:11
Speaker
You have not had difficulty with tunnels in spaceships and corridors in the TARDIS because they are always bigger on the inside. But the claustrophobia that has fueled your bad dreams is making your heart pound a little bit in your ribs because you are going underground and you do not know where it leads down there. I would like please a resolve roll plus two for being a companion.
01:15:41
Speaker
This is going to be a difficulty of 15 to enter the mine. That is double twos for a 10.
01:15:50
Speaker
Your heart is pounding. You are already sweating with concern. It has been a warm day and seeing all these people sweat is something that can get a person perspiring. But the fear, low grade radiating from these people about going down there and coming back out again, like relief is on some of these faces when they leave the mine in one piece. You are going to be at a minus two to any resolved roles while you are down in the mines.
01:16:19
Speaker
As we enter, I just grab the fixer stand like really, really tightly and my palms are very sweaty. Maeve, it's going to be okay. If at any point it becomes too much, you just tell us and we can walk right out of here. I don't know what you're talking about. I am fine. I'm fine. Just don't leave, okay? It's going to be okay.
01:16:39
Speaker
In the mine is a dark, cramped tunnel that is barely wide enough for three. Maeve, Calamity, and the Fixer step in with the auditor immediately behind them. The bird is quietly... It smells bad down here.
01:17:00
Speaker
Something has been burnt to ashes. It is completely carbonized. It is warm down here, like standing in the kitchen with an open oven. Some kind of debris juts from the walls and occasionally the ground.
01:17:16
Speaker
piece of a wagon wheel, a sign that has been crushed under a great weight. Wooden debris has made the terrain down here particularly difficult. We enter from the southmost piece of the map. You can turn to the left. You can turn to the right. I'm actually going to turn towards calamity and say, calamity, this is the moment you lead us.
01:17:40
Speaker
Alright, I have a lot of questions though. Is the thing... I wasn't really following a lot of the conversation you were having with the Victor person. Is it like, the people who tell you to do things, did they also tell him to do this? What is it that we're getting and is that a good thing? In that moment, Sir, I'm going to turn to the auditor and say,
01:18:05
Speaker
Or is there any reason why the doctoral program wouldn't have told us that there was already a Time Lord on scene?
01:18:12
Speaker
Calamity and Fixer both add a story point, not for the question, but actually for putting Calamity in charge because Calamity is at an advantage down here. Calamity, you are at a plus two for awareness and orientation roles down here because of the way your mind works with air quotes. Yes, but you are at an advantage. The auditor considers the question,
01:18:39
Speaker
This would not be the first time they have sent one Time Lord to check on another's work room to give them additional push. He did seem quite annoyed at her presence here. If they gave him some kind of objective and sent us along, then it certainly would suggest they doubt his sincerity, if not his efficacy. How can you doubt the victor's sincerity? There are a lot of things you can doubt about them.
01:19:09
Speaker
But when they say they're going to do something, they're going to put all of their effort, they're going to move mountains, move worlds to make that happen. Yes, but there are such things as collateral damage that I think we might be here to minimize. Well, yes, like the person who got really, really burned a lot to death, but also the thing that we're getting, like, is he just putting them in a fireplace?
01:19:59
Speaker
I believe he's putting the ones that aren't it into
01:20:06
Speaker
But somewhere down here, disguised as a worthless scrap of wood, is a Gallifrey and Time Lord instrument of some kind. Fixer. He's working for the same people you knew it sounds like. But last time we saw him, or maybe next time we saw him, I'm a little confused on the whole time thing. He didn't seem to be quite so much. Or at least, was he doing that? Because he was supposed to.
01:20:33
Speaker
I honestly don't know, Maeve. One of the challenges of having not graduated yet is they could have all sorts of operations running they simply don't tell the students about. We may have stumbled upon one when really simply all we're supposed to do is take samples back and make sure he's causing any extreme collateral damage. After seeing that poor person get immolated like that, I can't help but feel like we have to step in and try to do this better. I see.
Underground Discoveries & Dangers
01:20:59
Speaker
It does seem reasonable. Last question for the moment. Why is there a hotel underground?
01:21:03
Speaker
Oh, well the hotel was probably part of this town before the town got struck by whatever came down and created that crater field. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more buildings down here, but this is probably the only one they've excavated because this is the one Victor wants access to. Even just in the entrance way, you can see that like an excavation has been happening. There might be walls made of wood just under an inch or two of dirt. Given the oppressive
01:21:33
Speaker
heat. The auditor reaches into a pocket, pulls out a walnut still in shell. Stand still for a moment. And hurls it. And bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce. And the walnut pops with a burst of flame. Let us do watch where we stand and how we proceed. How are we supposed to do that if a walnut's going to get destroyed? The parakeet cheats.
01:22:01
Speaker
I think Terrence is going to save us. All right, Terrence, you save us. You can have the Arboretum and as much birdseed as you want. It's a deal. Calamity, please give us a coordination and intuition role to safely move through. You are at an advantage plus two for the bird.
01:22:23
Speaker
okay she's slightly torn because her first impulse was to you know when they asked her which way to go was to just use the happy chance fun ball because that's how you decide to do things uh and then the walnut caught on fire and that sort of raises the stakes a little bit but
01:22:40
Speaker
But technically she still wants to. So she's gonna. And I don't know if that's still a coordination role, but yeah. She is also, I think, including Terrence in the Happy Chance Fun Ball process, because Terrence is into danger, she's decided. So yeah, like listen to Terrence and then use the Happy Chance Fun Ball to decide what Terrence actually means, and then do that.
01:23:07
Speaker
Okay. You hand off the canary for a second to someone with a hand. It's like, here, hold this. You take out the happy chance ball, shuka shuka, and you're using this to determine which direction you're going in. It's basically, yes, sort of. She's using it to take in everything, including Terence, and just be like, interpret what it says. Like, oh, this is what this means. Okay, we'll do that.
01:23:28
Speaker
Okay, roll for me. Coordination, intuition, you can call on the will of whoops for this, and the happy chance ball can be your totem. Okay, high is good. That's not high. Everything's going fine, really. We are trying to beat a difficulty of 18. That's possible. Not in this particular case.
01:23:53
Speaker
So yeah, I got a 5 and a 3 for a 12. I'm happy to spend story points. I have a bunch. Like, yes, bud is fine. You spend two story points. A waft of steam emerges from your liquid-filled, happy chance ball as the little readout comes up tread carefully. And the bird, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, saves you from going down a way that would have sent the ball in your hand boiling and setting you a flame. The bird tweets like, oh, no, oh, not that way. OK.
01:24:23
Speaker
Gotcha. All right. Shua. Can I please have with advantage since you are following coordination and intuition versus a difficulty of 18, you can spend story points down here because this is where things are getting dangerous. Five and a five for a total of 15. Six and a five for 18.
01:24:43
Speaker
Maeve is doing just fine. Fixer, do you want to spend a story point because currently your clothes catch fire as you follow. You can spend a story point and put it out before it inflicts any damage. I would happily spend a story point with that.
01:25:00
Speaker
Yeah, you're walking along and there's a thing-ness in the air. The air down here is sharp somehow, almost.
Buried Town Mysteries
01:25:10
Speaker
The heat mirage that you would get on tarmac on a hot day of the heat lines waving in the air
01:25:16
Speaker
you would swear you're getting those same distorted lines down here now that you're seeing like the shape of it the gaps are starting to fill shapes in between them you are making out like big enough to be buildings down here
01:25:31
Speaker
Based on the way that we're seeing the heat move through this area, would it be possible to take either a lantern or a torch or something and like move it in the direction of various things so we can see the areas through the light where we can see where those heat waves are trapped? You can. It's going to be a bit tricky to make out what is actually dangerous by sight alone just because of how low the light is. The canary is the best indicator of which way might be quote unquote safe or unsafe to go.
01:25:59
Speaker
How old does this town look? Give me an ingenuity and intuition.
01:26:06
Speaker
That's not great, that's a two and a three for 12. That's enough to determine something that is not a secret. Can I add a story point to find a secret? You absolutely can, yeah, no. You reach out and touch a post, a support post, part of a porch to something, and it crumbles just from your touch. The wood appears to be several years old. Several, so this didn't happen that long ago. Or at least to buildings that were older than a year.
01:26:36
Speaker
I mean, have I heard anything about a town that got buried in the colonies? Three years before, yeah, no, it would not have been something that would have reached you in New Quay, I'm afraid. Huh, okay. It seems weird, like, it should have been big news, right? A town gets completely buried, and it's just here and nobody knows about it, except for these people.
01:27:01
Speaker
You know, I found something very interesting about news reporting. If something happens in a place that's too remote for anybody to report on it, then usually the rest of the universe doesn't find out about it until it's far too late. You say that as you pass the remnants of a skeleton, there is a charred-out hip bone sticking out of the ground. The auditor remarks, All there was no one alive left to tell the tale.
01:27:26
Speaker
Let's get another coordination and intuition roll, folks. Starting with Calamity and that bird of yours with plus two for the Canary and at advantage. Well, this time we got a 15 with a six. Do you want to spend a story point to stay ahead of catching on fire? The six isn't handling that. The six helps. Sure.
01:27:49
Speaker
You keep pushing along and start to turn right. And just the very tips of your shoulders start to smoke and you're like, oh no, not that way. And stop short of catching on fire. Can we get coordination and intuition rolls from Maeve and Fixer, please? That is a six and a four for a 16. We are trying to beat 18 here. But it does have a six on the dice.
01:28:19
Speaker
It does have a six, which is why you would only take two points of damage from setting on fire instead of worse. Would you like to spend one of your story points to avoid catching on fire as you are walking down here? I would like to not be on fire, please. You spent that story point like, what the heck is going on down here? Great. It's cramped and it's dark and we are catching on fire. Wonderful. This is great. Fixer, what did you get with your role of coordination and intuition?
01:28:47
Speaker
A one and a two for a total of eight. How many story points do you have right now? I currently only have two story points remaining. If you do
Gallifreyan Technology Speculation
01:28:54
Speaker
nothing, you catch fire and take four points of damage as your clothes catch. You can spend one story point and cut that damage in half to two points, or you can use your last two remaining story points. Put yourself out.
01:29:11
Speaker
I would like to use those last two story points to put myself out. You full-on catch fire for like just the briefest of seconds of like it doesn't make sense what is going on down here and you step right where they stepped and for the briefest of hearts beats it looks like you might have actually gone up and you cat yourself
01:29:33
Speaker
all over, you drop the lantern, you... Your clothes are lightly scorched. The lantern I dropped. What type of fuel does it use? Oil. Okay, reach into my toolkit, pull out a little applique that you'd use to pull oil up from one location to grease wheels and stuff inside clocks. Remove some of the oil from the lantern and try to spray it gently ahead of us.
01:29:58
Speaker
to see where it ignites. Nice. That is going to be a coordination role to attempt that. You are at disadvantage because you are traveling in mines in the dark with a number of other factors affecting things at the second. But you are welcome to attempt to draw oil from the lantern to ahead of you. You said coordination. Can I use technology with coordination? Yeah. Or is there a difference together? We'll say coordination and technology. Cutting edge, 1887 lantern technology.
01:30:26
Speaker
Okay, so we got a 4 and a 6 on the dice for a total of 16. I'll say this for the Fixer, they do have their skills in certain areas. In the matter of half a minute, after you've like put yourself out, you just start jiggery-pokering through the things in your pockets and put together a little spritzer of lantern oil that will give you a plus 2 advantage to pushing your way through down here and well done at a story point.
01:30:50
Speaker
for ingenuity in the face of crisis. Do you turn left? Do you go ahead to what appears to be kind of a dead end or possibly turning to the right? Do we see what that whatever is over on the top left? You see what appears to be the entrance to some kind of large building big enough to warrant a porch and what could be double doors. Those double doors are clapped in on themselves with cracks. There are charred remains immediately in front of the doors.
01:31:18
Speaker
Give me ingenuity, Pearl, please, with intuition calamity. I'm at the 3 and a 5 for a 15. You are able to make out in the dim lighting down here a sign that has broken off and collapsed by one side of the door reads, The Pearl.
01:31:34
Speaker
So we're not going the same way, right? But you still caught on fire. So whatever it is that's making us catch on fire isn't just, it isn't just specific directions, right? It changes. Wait a second. What was it that the appraiser said? Like emptying your mind of desire or something like that? It does not make a lot of sense.
01:31:56
Speaker
That's a six and a three on the dice for an information role. The auditor says, if we truly are looking for a piece of Gallifreyan technology, it's entirely possible the controls are psychic. If people came down here with greed in their minds and acquisition on their hearts, and he looks down at the ribcage of soot. What kind of device would be hidden on Earth? What is it? As security measures go, there's this thing, you know, kind of harsh.
01:32:25
Speaker
Fixer, give me an ingenuity and knowledge roll. Plus two for Timelord training, please. Looking at a five and three on the dice for a total of 17. You know the Timelord council has hidden away weapons of mass destruction before and a ghost town would make a perfect spot.
01:32:46
Speaker
I have some concerning information, team. The people I work for may have actually purposely left this weapon item here in hopes that it would not be found. And the part that concerns me the most about that is if that's the case and they didn't warn us that it was here, I'm starting to worry that the victor may not actually be answering directly to the same people I do.
01:33:11
Speaker
At a story point, you were legit sent here by the doctoral program council, but they are not the only council on Gallifrey. There is also the high council as well as other departments and organizations, and if the victor is telling the truth when he says he's graduated already, then he might be here on a project that has nothing to do with the doctoral program. The fact that you were not warned in advance could actually be to your advantage.
01:33:37
Speaker
from everything you've heard about this thing, knowing what it is and what it looks like are actual hindrances to finding it because of the chameleon circuit that is involved here. Just the same way that the TARDIS is usually, oh don't mind me, I'm just here in the background. That, but something the size of a rifle that could do Rassilon knows what.
01:34:00
Speaker
quite a bit concerning I was going to say as in that moment where my mind starting to go down that path then I have a realization the victor is sacrificing these beings for his own benefit clearly because he's at least telling them enough that would trigger the device whereas he could have
Approaching 'The Pearl'
01:34:18
Speaker
not told them enough to trigger the device
01:34:20
Speaker
He's been fairly vague with them, clear your mind, do this, don't do that, and they've gotten this far. As you approach the pearl, a glow within lights up your faces.
01:34:55
Speaker
and conclude our episode today of part one of Another Man's Gold. I would love
Mission Reflections
01:35:02
Speaker
to award some experience points to our delightful crew. Congratulations on getting through part one of a Western mod. So yeah, that was part one of Another Man's Gold.
01:35:15
Speaker
Before we get any further, please add two story points, not experience points, story points to your collection for the back half of this episode, and add one experience point. Kate, how would Maeve report on today's events so far?
01:35:32
Speaker
I don't know if Maeve knows that at this moment. Maeve's pretty freaked out. This whole thing is really scary. A Time Lord is taking advantage of people and probably killing them with this thing. I don't know if Maeve has any words to talk about this yet, but she's very suspicious of this Victor guy and she kind of feels about him the same way she does about Snackums. That's entirely understandable.
01:35:59
Speaker
Dora, what do you think of today's bizarre turns of fate so far? Clooney is very torn right now because she's extremely excited because a lot of very interesting and terrible things are happening. But also, she's extremely confused because, well, a lot of things are happening that she hasn't quite been able to pick up on. And other people seem to know what's happening, but then
01:36:26
Speaker
when she asks them they don't, which is not how other people usually are. This is new for her and she's like, oh, okay, well now just everyone's doing what I do. Gosh, maybe I need to reflect on that. Maybe? Because that's troubling.
Episode Conclusion & Listener Engagement
01:36:49
Speaker
That is troubling.
01:36:51
Speaker
Uh, but, but yes, Dora is, you know, Dora has theories, but, uh, but I'm rolling with it. Beautiful. I can't wait to hear about that theory once we've finished this mod. Brand, what surprised you about today's mod?
01:37:05
Speaker
I was really surprised at how the Victor responded to us, honestly. You know, I was actually expecting a further along the line Victor isn't possibly one post the events we've already dealt with him for. I'm super happy you put in that commentary about him not having the markings on his desk, which means that this is an earlier portion, definitely. He's not just playing a scam on us.
01:37:26
Speaker
That then leaves me with this sort of like existential dread that something we will mess up over the course of this mission sends him spiraling out. So the only sad thing is I would have loved it if we would have gotten the time with the Victor to go and see the shows and the saloon before coming down because I feel like that would have been a great like making some great memories with someone who's then going to be really problematic.
01:37:54
Speaker
The ladies at the Silver Spur, they do occasionally lead a sing-along if it's been too long a day or someone was fricka-seed. This mod is a fun one, especially for putting characters
01:38:10
Speaker
into a situation where they have to figure it out as they go along, and your survival is also a factor here, which has been really fun. And also, Kate, thank you so much for agreeing to play someone with claustrophobia.
01:38:27
Speaker
because it is about time for that to be a factor, especially in a claustrophobic environment. Yay! To our listeners, another great big thank you for sharing your precious time with us. If you feel it's been well spent, please do share anywhere but now with your friends who are looking to enjoy themselves.
01:38:48
Speaker
If you like what you hear, leave a review, rate the show, follow us on Blue Sky, follow us on Twitter if you're still on the Bluebird of Doom, and wherever you get your podcasts, send us your questions, your fan art, your theories, if you've got them, to anywhere but now, podcast at gmail.com. Don't forget, if you'd like us to run a game for you, you can find me on startplaying.games. Links to everything.
01:39:18
Speaker
in the doobly-doo. From all of us, I'm Casey Jones. There are exciting things to come, my friends. I am so glad you're along for the ride. Thanks so much, and have a great day.