City of Glass features a number of topics which
may disturb some listeners. This includes graphic
violence, body horror, unreality, extreme mental
illness, and suicide. We don't believe anything
depicted will be gratuitous for a horror series,
but this has been your warning. It will be the
only one. Enjoy the show! This shall be my final
letter. My once palatial estate, its sturdy walls,
and trusted staff have changed, corrupted by
the unhindered spread of this unfathomable city.
I have told you of my failures, both here and
in other worlds, of my weaknesses, my triumphs,
and the sparse wisdom which I have gleaned from
my fractured time in... This body. Nobody comes
into the City of Glass without the promise of
a miracle. The temptation is guaranteed, made
so enticing by the power behind those assurances.
There are those who have accomplished their most
impossible dreams in this place. Some have even
emerged unscathed. But can we say for sure that
they did emerge? Or does a being of glass splinters
and bending mirrors lurk behind those vacant
eyes? I have wasted years probing this refractive,
cancerous place. These futile errands, this pointless
hope, has paid only in tainted knowledge. These
foul revelations have incurred unpayable debts,
their interest taken in my twisted and malformed
body, my broken mind and corrupted soul. The
task I set out to accomplish was impossible.
It is finally clear. This place will not be destroyed.
You cannot break a mirror and claim you have
erased what it showed you. I am left with one
path. I head for the door. I forsake salvation
and resolution. Oblivion is the only route that
remains. Do not return. Do not look to the horizon
and wonder if something yet remains here. Everything
is gone. This city of glass has consumed all
that you know. Okay, let's keep going. Let's
keep going. Let's fucking go. Hello. Welcome
back to All That You Know. This is the first
episode of our second season of the show titled
City of Glass. For this season, we'll be playing
Heart, The City Beneath by Grant Howitt and Christopher
Taylor. As you may very well know, my name is
Colin and I will be the game master. Joining
me today are Adam. Hi, I'm Adam. I'm playing
Bailey Cormac, the Junk Mage. Brian? Hi, I'm
Brian. I'll be playing Booker Page, the Incarnadine.
Ewan? Hi, I'm Ewan. I'm going to be playing Halo,
the Witch. And Zach? I'm Zach, and I'm going
to be playing Ledger Grey, the Deathwalker. Okay.
We're just going to go kind of raw into this.
If you've ever read Dune, it's just going to
be like that. We're just not going to tell you
anything and you have to figure it out. Including
the players who admittedly I haven't told very
much, but we're going to figure it out. The four
of you, Booker, Bailey, Ledger, and Halo are
on a train heading east. You have been on this
train for a little less than a day. How you came
together is a matter of coincidence and convenience,
with only loose relations connecting the four
of you. What binds you together, truly, is that
each of you, for your own reasons, seek the City
of Glass, an impossible zone of miracles and
doom in equal parts. Your expedition, like many
seekers of the city, has been partially funded
by a benefactor with their own goals, a figure
by the name of Albright, a f - famous eccentric
who lives in the town of Calamity on the western
edge of the City of Glass, and where this train
is now heading. Albright has promised not only
to help you navigate the City of Glass, but also
implied he could assist you each directly in
your personal goals, which is odd because you've
never spoken to this man. When you arrive in
Calamity, in 12 or so hours, you will meet with
this benefactor and find your way forward. Of
course, there are those of you that have more
to think about than just your own personal goals.
But for now, you find yourself in the lush, first
-class cabin of this train. The four of you,
each strain in your own right, might stand out
in this luxurious accommodation. Outside of the
windows, a cold morning fog sits over the landscape,
obscuring the normally beautiful view of the
Boreal landscape that you'd find this far north.
At this moment, only one of you is actually in
your seat. Which one of you is it? I'll be sitting.
What do you look like, Bailey? What are you doing?
Bailey has a huge, massive coat on. Underneath
is college robes, which kind of look like pajamas.
The sleeves are adorned with like a bunch of
little emblems and stuff to show like where he's
from. But he also has a giant hat. um on atop
his head but it's kind of like anyone here has
played dark souls it's like big hat logan's hat
i love that guy going on yeah um but otherwise
he has tape on his nose on the bridge of his
nose he's got like an eye patch device but it
doesn't do anything it's just all there for show
uh and he has like messy blonde hair peeking
out from underneath his hat and a shitty stubble
And I think he is kind of pouring over his own
notes and occasionally glancing out the window,
not looking at anyone else in the car, directing
his attention away from everyone inside. Awesome.
An attendant comes up to you, dressed in the
purple and silver uniform worn by all members
of the military of Cathar. Unlike the handful
of soldiers on this train, she is unarmed and
serves purely to assist you, the passenger. She
gives a very warm smile to you and looks at you
with an envelope clutched in her hand, and she
says, Uh, hello there. I'm looking for, uh, Mr.
Ledger Gray. Our, uh, scion received a transmission
for him, and I have the transcript here. Ah,
that's me. Thank you. I pull out my hand. She
hands you, uh, the letter. You motherfucker.
Also, I rip it open. I'm going to open this up.
The letter inside, even though it's not addressed
to you, details how excited Ledger's granddaughter
is that he's going to visit her in Calamity.
It lists a number of boring familial details
and family goings -ons. Is Ledger nearby? Can
I have overheard this exchange? That's up to
you. Where are you, Ledger? I think... Ledger
is maybe he got out of his seat and he was looking
out a window, maybe, and assuming nobody has
intervened to stop him smoking a poorly rolled
cigarette. I don't think so. Cool. And it's just
being very, I'm sure, much to the chagrin of
whoever. is seated nearby, because it doesn't
smell of it. It smells like... It's almost like
a heady incense smell coming from whatever it
is that he's smoking. It's that sticky icky.
Yeah. Fucking weed. What do you look like, Ledger?
Sure. Ledger is tall and kind of slender. He's
kind of dressed like a classic old -timey hobo
sort of look. He's got a short... top hat that's
like kind of dark gray felt material and a a
duster coat that goes maybe halfway down the
back of his legs to match but it's very very
shabby like it's patched there's like little
holes in it he's got holes in the knees of his
pants and like worn old boots and um little stubble
on his face his hair is kind of curly and a little
wild um he's got all kinds of belts and pouches
all over the front including like five or six
necklaces that all seem to have different like
religious pendants on them And a big revolver
that looks... It looks like it's kind of... I
don't want to say homemade, but it definitely
looks like it was not made by a master gunsmith.
But it does have... It doesn't look like a piece
of thrown -together junk either, but it looks
kind of irregular. And that's kind of just dangling
in a shoulder. Just kind of like one of the belts
or pouches has a front holster in it. But I think...
As soon as he hears his name, he turns and walks
over and he tries to snatch the paper out of
Bailey's hand. Halo follows Ledger as he does
this. I think he lets you have it and kind of
throws up his arms. Don't you know it's impolite
to read other people's mail? He peers, he narrows
his eyes, but then he looks at it. Just trying
to keep everything careful here. Halo looks at
it, too, over Ledger's shoulder. It contains
boring familial details and family goings -ons
of this granddaughter that Ledger apparently
has in Calamity. Ledger, however, looking over
the letter, you instantly recognize that this
is a coded transmission from the Institute, your
masters. After a moment of decoding it... you
identify its true contents, which is a simple
instruction that you must steal one of three
control rods from the conductor of the train
while the train is still moving as it will be
locked otherwise. And you can drop that off at
a courier in Calamity once the mission is complete.
Oh, fuck, okay. Your previous orders of retrieving
the Maw Apparatus in the City of Glass still
stand, and you should be going along with your
group as long as it continues to be... Convenient
for enabling that mission. Okay. Halo has skulked
up beside you and is now looking at your letter,
the third person to do so in a matter of minutes.
Halo, what do you look like? Halo is average
height. He's a lanky figure. His body is completely
dark, like he's wearing a black morph suit, except
for his face. It's smooth, shaped like a motorcycle
helmet, and has... It's very shiny. It's got
a mirror sheen to it. In some light, his skin
has a faint, like, iridescence, almost. Like
an oil slick on a parking lot. But this color
also seems to shift and disappear randomly. Doesn't
have much sense to it. Doesn't appear often,
but only sometimes. He carries a basic supply
pack on his back. But the thing that stands out
the most about it is that he has an ornate, broken
lantern hanging off one hip. And he's basically
naked. Right. Yep. This is all black all the
way down. You get some strange looks from people
in the first class cabin. Almost everyone, which
is human. There aren't any other demons, which
is what you are on this train. They're typically
not really well liked by most people, especially
by people who travel in first class. No one's
doing anything about it, but you definitely get
some looks. Whether you're aware of them or not.
Will is not aware of this at all. Cutting away
for a moment. We'll go to Booker. Booker, where
are you? What do you look like? What are you
doing? Booker is standing not too far away from
this commotion. He's not as interested in reading
someone else's letters, but he is watching at
a glance since he's standing. likely looking
out the window of the train car. He's a wiry
figure with a very gaunt face and very pale skin.
He has very dark, slick back hair tied in a bun
at the back. His eyes look really weary, and
he has a slightly crooked nose and thin lips.
He wears a really dark jacket with a lot of metallic
buckles going down the sides. And on the... side
of his sleeve, there's a distinct patch with
the insignia of his master, which I think we'll
get more into in a bit. His forearm's also wrapped
in bandages, and if you look more towards his
torso of his jacket, it does look like he's concealing
something, and he's doing a poor job of it. Concealed
carry. He has a license. He has a license. Booker,
you feel something fuzzy and warm slip surreptitiously
into your pant leg. The ever -familiar feeling
of one of your master, Parkelion's rats, who
has come bearing a message. It waits there for
you to duck into the lavatory, and when you do,
it crawls up to your ear, opens its small mouth,
and speaks a message in an uncanny voice, which
says, Your debt has been rented to the Institute
for usage. Please work with Ledger Grey on the
Institute's goals. Do not allow yourself to be
disabled in service of them. Your primary goal
is of finding the string that consumes. Regards,
Visco Small, Asset Communications. And with that,
the rat jumps into the lavatory toilet and is
gone. Is Visco Small also a rat? I mean, so you're
telling me this thing traveled in the toilet
right after crawling up my pants and Booker's...
It's not clear. Ew. Well, he goes back to the
train car, then sounds like he's going to try
to weasel his way into this conversation with
the gang. Bailey is probably also giving Halo
a weird look as he watches him read the note.
And then Bailey kind of speaks up. He's like,
hey, statue, can you even read? Halo doesn't
know what the word statue means, so he doesn't
notice unless... Bailey rolls his eyes, takes
up a piece of paper, crumbles it, and throws
it at your head. So it bounces off. Bounces off
harmlessly. Halo turns his head in the direction
of Bailey. Oh, hello. My name's Halo. Now Bailey
turns, he shifts over to Ledger and says, should
he really be here? Ledger, I think, shrugs, and
he's like, What do you mean? A job's a job. What
do you want from me? People are looking around.
We're getting noticed. Yeah, have you ever considered
maybe it's your gigantic fucking hat? Halo points
at the paper, if Ledger's still holding it, and
says, What is that on that? I guess that answers
your question, Bailey. These are words. Hmm.
Interesting. I think at this point, especially
when Ledger sees Bailey coming up, he stuffs
it, he stuffs the letter into one of the pockets
of his coat. You mean Booker, right? Yeah, sorry,
Booker, not Bailey, because Bailey's already
read it. Names will take a bit. We got two Bs.
For me, it's the two book names. It's fucking
with me. At least they're different sounding
words. Look, I... I need to get some fresh air.
I'm gonna go take a walk. Whatever you need.
Ledger, mind if I join you? Uh, if you must.
I think it makes sense. Alright, let's, uh...
I was just going to go out for a smoke, maybe
still. I assume that there's like a place to
stand in between the train cars. Yeah, absolutely.
Could be wherever you want here. Cool. How close
are we to the front of the train? You're in first
class, so pretty close. We're probably, are we
like adjacent to the locomotive or maybe like
a car away? Sure, sure. Cool, perfect. Yeah,
I'm going to, Ledger's going to go walk towards
like the door that leads to the... direction
where the locomotive is and step out and take
a deep, deep breath of that sweet boreal... I
imagine it's pretty cold outside, eh? Yeah, it's
frigid. Frigid and moist. Maybe it hurts. I love
it. By the way, Bailey rushes out of his seat
when he sees Booker show up and he says, I'm
gonna go too. And he joins with you guys. No!
Halo follows. We're just going for a smoke. Right.
And I can be there too. You don't smoke. I just
want to hang out. We should all be together for
this, shouldn't we? Why would we split up? Jeez,
I can tell it's going to be one of those jobs,
ain't it? It is. Now let's go. Have we got a
description for Bailey yet? Big coat guy. He
went first. He was sitting. Do we have a description
for what Booker looks like? Yeah. Yeah, we did
that too. We were also focused on our own descriptions.
That's right. It's the classroom. It's like you're
just focusing on the thing you have to read.
You don't hear whatever else is saying. Alright,
popcorn. Don't take me back there. I feel like
I can conceptualize these characters in my head
best on what kind of coats they have. And hats.
Big, stuffy, annoying. Yeah, my code is probably
hitting chairs, too, as he's walking. Just for
my reference, the rat didn't tell me what we
were doing, just that I'm partnering with Ledger,
right? Yeah, help Ledger on his goals, because
your debt has been rented by the Institute. But
Ledger doesn't know that. No, no, no, yeah. I'm
just making sure Booker doesn't know, though.
Yeah, Booker does not know. Okay. Yeah, so I
think Ledger's plan was that he was going to
try and like slip away and maybe like con Halo
into helping him do this. But now he's got the
whole gang with him. So he's going to step outside
and in the interest of maintaining his cover,
he's going to roll another. One of his nasty
cigarettes. And look around. I want to see what
kind of security there is leading into the main
car of the locomotive, if there's any soldiers
or anything. Yeah, there's the attendant, the
nice lady who gave the letter to Bailey. She's
kind of making her way around the cabin. In front
of the engine car, as you kind of go out to smoke,
you see a bored -looking Qatari officer who is
armed with a stout cudgel, which is kind of laid
over his waist. And he's sat in a uncomfortable
looking chair, kind of exposed to the cold elements
with that engine room door shut behind him. How
you doing, man? You smoke? Do I smoke? Yeah,
I smoke. Ledger offers him the cigarette he just
rolled. He takes it and he lights it up. He looks
you over and says, Now, I couldn't help but notice
your accent. Oh, yeah? What does that mean to
you? You sound like a Cathari. I am, and he puts
his arms out to the side, a citizen of the world.
I've been everywhere. What's your name? Name's
Ledger Gray, and he offers him one hand. Clad
in a very frayed black fingerless glove. He shakes
your hand and he says, My name's Doorman Vicious.
I can guess how they gave you that one. He nods.
You ever go inside the locomotive? We try not
to do that, but sometimes it is necessary. The
conductor tends to have things in hand, though.
You know, I've always wanted to see inside one
of those things. It really is a miracle of modern
Cathari engineering. You want to see what's inside?
Yeah. You got me. I'm a sucker for that kind
of thing. If you had seen what's inside there,
buddy, you wouldn't feel that way. Sorry, I'm
not supposed to let anyone in. What do you mean
I wouldn't feel that way? I mean, I assume you've
seen it. He looks you over and he says, Yeah,
I've seen him. Well, what is it? You gotta tell
me now. I can't be talking about this to a non
-enlisted officer. I'm sorry. Come on, man. I
just want to know what's inside. I'm not asking
you to give me the damn blueprints. Just, what's
it like? It sounds like it's a roll. I think
we have arrived at our first role. Oh, my goodness.
Well, good news. No matter what skills or domains
are involved, I can almost guarantee that I have
zero aptitude. Yes. So in the heart, the city
beneath the game we're playing, most roles are
comprised of two factors, which is the skill,
which, like most RPGs, is things like, you know,
persuading people, killing people. And then more
uniquely is the domain, which is usually the
thing you are dealing with or the place you are.
In this case, the role that you seem to be angling
for is a compel, which is convincing people,
and then technology, which is what the train's
domain is. And I don't believe you have either
of those, but you can be aided. Does anybody
have compel, or does that even matter for getting
aid? Booker does. Yes, the person aiding needs
to have it. Okay, perfect. I think that Ledger
would be like... Come on, man. My pal Booker
here, and he puts one long, slender arm around
him and kind of slaps him on the back of the
shoulder. I mean, he's just crazy about this
stuff, too. Maybe crazier than I am. Ain't ya?
Ledger turns and looks at him. Always wanted
to see one. We're not always in first class.
Come on. Okay, so are you going to take an aid
from Booker in this case? Yes, I am. Okay, so
what you're going to do is you're going to, I
think there's a macro on your sheet for rolling.
You're going to roll a compel technology with
plus one die because of the aid. Yes. Is this
standard? This is standard. Okay. Which determines.
how many die you get taken away, which is zero
in this case. That's good. Let's see. Here we
go. Wow. Critical success. That is a critical
success. Puppy eyes work. A five and a ten. Let
me take the highest. The guy kind of, you know,
he smiles and he says, there's almost a, I don't
want to say sadistic. It's like when you see
someone who's like really enthusiastic about
a bad experience. You're like, okay, go ahead.
Jump into that cold pond. And he looks around
to make sure no one's watching him. He unlocks
the door to the engine room, and he kind of leads
you inside. I guess Booker, I guess anyone really
can come with him. You did critically succeed.
Okay, I'm going to ask this. Right now, because
I feel like, well, I don't know, maybe... Would
it be reasonable to assume that Ledger knows
anything about the aptitude of his comrades?
Yeah, you've been traveling together. We can
hand wave that stuff. Okay, does anybody have
sneak? Not me. I'm going to assume probably not
based on people's classes, but I thought I'd
check. No sneak here, sir. No sneaking. Colton
technology. Oh, you do have technology, though.
I do. I have kill. We could kill this guy. No,
throw him over. I also have kill. Blow his head
off. Thanks, buddy. I'm trying to think, because
I feel like Ledger might... This is hard. I'm
trying to think if Ledger would ask Bailey to
steal the control rod for him while he distracts
the guy, or if... He would not do that. I don't
know if they know each other well enough for
him to make that kind of ask. And Bailey seems
quite suspicious of everybody else. Are you asking
me or are you just trying to figure this out?
I'm thinking aloud. I think, well, let's see.
Let's just see what's inside the train car. What
do we see when we walk in there? In the locomotive?
Yeah, this could be fucked up. What if it's a
person? Inside the engine room, it is hot and
it smells of acrid metal. It is dimly lit by
the glowing fire of the engine, and in this dim
light you make out the shape of a man who is
hanging upside down from the ceiling with his
back contorted unnaturally. As you draw closer,
he comes into full view. A tangle of machinery
at the top of the engine room connects to the
man's body, crawling up him as if subsuming him
into the train. His body from the waist down
has been completely integrated into the machine.
The rest of his body which is hanging down, is
plugged into all sorts of wires and tubes which
string around the room like a web. His arms are
limp and bony, but occasionally twitch with activity
and run gently along one of the wires sprouting
from his body. The largest of these thick, bony
conduits rises from the back of his skull and
occasionally pulses with a thick, watery swish.
From his mouth and from each of his eyes jut
three sharp metal rods, terminating in a crowned
spike which occasionally recedes into his skull
with a wet and then emerges later wet and glistening.
That's fucked up. And those are the control rods?
It's not clear. Thanks, The Institute. Oh, man.
This is nasty. This is kind of gross. Disgusting.
I'm actually, as a player, I'm curious if...
Bailey thinks it's disgusting because it seems
like he's like our magic and technology guy.
But I feel like Ledger's just like, he kind of
wrinkles his nose a little bit and he'll be like,
I'll be a son of a bitch, baby. You ever seen
anything like this? I think he definitely thinks
it's disgusting. Yeah, how normal is this, Colin?
This is absolutely abnormal. The door guard was
like, I told you. You did. It's fascinating,
though, ain't it? What are those things popping
out of his mouth and eyes? I'm not an engineer.
Real wet. Does he talk? Does he talk? You ain't
got no mouth without a pod in it. Hey, buddy,
can you hear us? Hey, hey, hey, keep it down,
buddy. Don't yell at the conductor. He's busy.
Now you've seen it. Can I get you out of here?
I don't want to get in trouble. I think at this
point, Ledger is going to turn around abruptly
and quickly, and he's going to bump into Bailey,
who's behind him, and he's going to whisper softly
in his ear, and he should steal one of those
robots. And then he steps back. He stumbles back,
and he's like, oh, I'm sorry. He'll cease confined
spaces. Make me a little panicky. Tell me, man,
what do you think of my cigarettes? It's a personal
blend I made myself, imported from far and away
down south. Well, it stinks like shit, but it
gives me the tingles. Yeah, don't it just? So
they really make you sit out in this little...
Ledger's just trying to talk to him. He's trying
to see if... I mean, it's up to Bailey if he
actually does this errand that he was tasked
with. I think, yeah. I think Bailey figures out
what's going on. He throws his arm around Halo
and he brings him close and he says, look, Ledger
wants you to steal the rods. All right. I can
walk you through it, but we got to do this together.
We got to be quick. He's distracting. Okay. Halo
is in the corner touching stuff. He's like, stop
touching this. Okay. We got to touch this. He
points to the thing. Ledger's plan is to, so
he's going to like. kind of try and, like, get
close to this guy, throw an arm around him, and
start talking his ear off about how these part
of, like, the different things that are in his
cigarettes, and it's all bullshit, none of it's
true, but he's talking about how it's, like,
um, spices made from, uh, you know, like, um,
like, ground -up plants extruded from the dead
tree, um, and, like, how they use them in funeral
rites to, like, bury their greatest ancestors
ever. He's basically just, like, using a subject
that he knows, about and just kind of like spinning
a bullshit yarn off of that just to kind of like
just to keep the guy talking and try and keep
his attention okay who's who's making the roll
for stealing the thing i'm gonna let your critical
just keep this distraction rolling sure well
halo's got it halo being the innocent little
boy that he is says oh okay and then he reaches
out to grab the rod, but I want, as he does this,
to roll a compel to connect with the conductor
and see how the conductor feels about being cracked.
Damn. History really do be repeating itself.
I have a type I'm finding in my characters. Okay,
so how do I roll compel? We all do. Do you have
compel? I guess is the first question. Do you
have technology? No, I have a cult. Okay. How
are you trying to connect with him? Let me hear
that first. Just a touch. So you're trying to
pet him like a horse. Yeah, basically. There,
girl. That's alright. And then you understand.
Okay. Is anyone helping you or are you just raw
-dogging it? Uh... I don't know how I would help.
I have my hands on his back, I think, but I don't
know what I'm doing. So in your case, how you
can help is you can lend the technology domain,
which would look like you actually having to
get in there and be like, hey, here's how you
should try to disconnect this. Yeah, I think
Bailey should be pointing at what Halo should
be grabbing. I think that's what he's doing.
Okay. So how aid works is that you are opened
up to any consequences, basically. If something
breaks bad, you will both be affected. Okay,
so Halo, you're going to roll, compel technology,
and you're going to get one extra dice. Okay.
Plus one standard. You got this. I'm going to
call this risky because of the circumstances
of what you're doing. So that means it's a three.
I mean... Why do you only have... You only have
two dice. Did you add the plus one die? I did.
You should have... Do you have compel? I do.
I had the box checked. I don't know. Roll 1d10
for me, because it didn't... Roll 20 did not
roll the correct amount. Okay. Well, that's a
two, so you did fail. So what happens... Unfortunately,
is that the the conductor, as you try to kind
of soothe him and reach for one of his his rods
suddenly whips around and grabs you by the arm.
His like hands are oddly strong. His little like.
The control rods from his his eyes and mouth
are like flickering in and out rapidly in a very
disconcerting way. And I think he says, what's
really bad to hear? What don't you and Bailey
want to hear right now? I don't want to hear
something scary about not going into the city.
I don't want to hear advice telling me to stay
away. And I don't want to hear why. Okay. Bailey,
does that also sound reasonably disconcerting
to you? Yeah. Any interruption does not sound
good. I think the conductor... Grabbing your
arm, but looking at Bailey, says, You pause at
the doorway and do not realize you have already
passed through and are merely looking back. It
is too late for you. The lock falls into place.
And then the creature kind of shoves you back
and kind of makes a little bit of a disturbance,
which causes the... the guard to look back but
you're first since you failed the roll you have
to take some stress you are both halo and bailey
are going to take uh so you're going to share
this result you're going to take one mind stress
oh my mind which is one of six of your health
bars um so if you have any mind protection uh
it would block this but i don't know that either
of you do nope i don't think so And now you each
have to click that fallout test button, which
will determine if something worse happens. Oh,
holy shit. Halo got fallout. So how fallout works
is that you have to roll above how much stress
you have. So the more stress you get, the harder
it is. But Halo somehow managed to roll a one
versus one. Very statistically unlikely. So,
first, you're going to clear your mind stress
because you got this fallout. It clears the appropriate
thing. And now I'm going to give you one of these
fallouts. Oh, my God. Why is it always you? Why
is it always you? I'm susceptible. I think this
is a good one. It's an immediate mind fallout,
and it is creepy. You react in a strange way
that weirds out your friends. Tell us how. Ooh.
Okay. Okay. Halo gets shoved back, and probably
in the process of getting ushered out of this
train car by the guard, whispers to Bailey, Oh,
I'm sorry, he doesn't want his rod taken, and
he knows about it. You shouldn't tell anyone.
That's okay. It's a good work. Okay. He knows.
He knows. I know. I know. Let's go. Okay. So
the guy turns around to look, I assume. I'm going
to say that all of you hear this. I think Halo's
speaking a little too loudly. More loudly than
he probably thinks he is in this circumstance.
Okay, buddy, it's okay. So the good thing about
you all being here is that you all suffer this.
You all... Take 1d4 mind stress. Let's see if
we can get a fucking waterfall here. Three! Oh,
don't worry, Jack. I rolled it. Oh, oh, fuck.
Can we take Zach's? No, you take mine. You all
take four mind stress. And we all roll fallout?
Yeah, so all of you take mind stress, increase
your mind stress by four, and then all of you
just roll another fallout test. This is gonna
be... Okay, I passed. No fallout. Easy. Except
for Halo. Halo doesn't have to. He knows about
us instead of he knows about it. Um... Wait.
You take... You definitely take... No, you forgot
to increase your mind first. It's at five right
now. I think... Maybe the macro's broken. I was
listening to another podcast. I think they were
using the same character sheet. After you increase
something, try clicking off of it. After you
increase it. Okay, let me try. I'll roll it again.
Yeah, we're going to keep your last result, but
just roll it again to see. Okay, you get minor
anyways. There you go. Okay, Bailey, you're going
to get a Fallout now too. Isn't that exciting?
When you take Fallout, don't you clear stress?
Yes, you're going to all clear your... If you
got a Fallout, you clear all the stress in the
appropriate column. So you're at zero mind stress
now, Bailey. Yay. Uh -huh. Where's your head
at right now, Bailey? I'm nervous, one, because
the guy fucked up, but I'm almost nervous that
Ledger's gonna know that I forced the little
baby boy to do the thing that he asked me to
do, and I'm worried he's gonna freak out about
that. You... You become... As you kind of step
back, Bailey, you get this feeling that... You
get a sudden intuition that this thing broke
something of yours. And going forward, you're
going to have the minor fortune fallout, and
you do have to add this. Broken, which is that
your shotgun, your blunderbuss, has been broken
somehow. Something about your interaction with
this thing has caused your blunderbuss to break.
You're not sure what, but you're convinced of
it. So where do I add this? Under fallout. Below
your skills. Just write broken gun. Broken gun,
ongoing, and then put two question marks next
to it for me. It says blood and minor next to
it. This is a, yes, this is blood minor. Okay.
Wouldn't it be a fortune minor? Oh, sorry. Right,
fortune minor is this. Yeah, I think you just
got to change the name. The gun organ. Thank
you. The gun organ. I was thinking. Okay, this
has gone about as bad as it could. The guard,
seeing all this shit happening, and he also took
mind fallout. I mean, mind stress. He's very
unsettled. He's like, what the hell was I thinking,
letting a fucking demon in here? Get out. Get
out, all. You're messing it up. I think as soon
as this happens and he turns around and starts
talking, Ledger is going to... walk over to halo
and be like i told you not to touch nothing and
he's gonna basically try and start like a fake
slap fight with him and basically the idea is
to have the guard contend with ledger and halo
fighting here and he's gonna maybe shoot a pointed
look at um bailey before he does this but it's
just like this is his last possible distraction
And Ledger's going to start basically wrestling
with Halo and like kind of making a show of like
trying to wrestle him out the door back into
the first class cabin. I'm basically like, what?
Such weird shit. Don't you ever ruin everything,
get us kicked out of the first class. This is
your last shot, Bailey. We're going to have to
fucking kill this guy and dump him off the side
of the train. He really wants that rod. Is Booker
still there? Yeah, Booker is observing. He's
kind of reaching to his side now that it's getting
a little hot. Okay, Bailey's going to fall on
the ground and pretend to trip. And he, like,
drops open his coat and drops papers. And he's
like, oh, God, Booker, I need help. Help me pick
all this up. And he asks him to pick it up. I'm
sorry, we won't leave this stuff in here. And
he's like, I sure need you to come inside and
help him. Booker does that. Booker goes inside.
And when he gets close, he's like, Ledger wants
to control rods. He wants to control rods now.
Booker immediately understands what to do. So
is it obvious what on the body to rip off for
the control rods? It's not only obvious, but
the most rod -like thing on the body you can
see is what's coming out of its eyes and mouth.
Are you sure? He only asked for one also. Do
you know what the rod is? Me? Yes. Listen, he
just wants the rod. I'm pretty sure it's a thing
going in and out, right? I get it. This is sort
of like three stooges. Maybe put on a glove?
You probably should have a glove. He pulls out
a glove and hands it to you from his coat. He
puts it on and... He's going to try. He's going
to try pulling it. Just be careful. Be careful.
Okay. What do we want to call this? I don't know.
He's pulling it out, right? It should be removable.
This is kill. Is this kill? I fucking hope not.
This is most likely mend, if I had to guess.
Hey, that's my skill. You have both mend and
technology, Bailey. I totally can convince Bailey
to do something. He's such a scared boy. It's
not his fault. Can I use men and technology for
this? Yes. Yeah, that's the role. That is the
role. Are you sure? Are you sure, Bailey? I think
you can do this. I shove you to the side. Okay,
just watch my back, and then I go, and I'm gonna
do this. I just imagine, like, behind you, like,
the guards coming to try and, like, intercede
in this conflict, and then, like, Ledger, like,
accidentally, like, elbows him in the eye and
turns around, and he's like, oh, shit, I'm sorry,
and they just make, like, this really insane
tangle in this confined space. Just look big,
Booker, look big, okay? Okay, I gotta do this.
Alright, Booker's watching your back. Alright,
uh, roll it. Which one? Mend or technology? It's
both. Mend, technology. Every roll you make uses
a skill and a domain. You always have to pair
two. Oh, there's two columns. I see. So you having
both the skill and the domain is like the best
case scenario for this roll. Okay. I thought
this was like a strength thing. Let's do this.
Mend, technology, just standard, right? Mm -hmm.
Eight. Success. Take no stress. Okay. You pull
the control rod out. Were you taking it out of
the eyes or the mouth? I'm taking it out of the
mouth. And as I do, I say, why don't you just
shut your fucking mouth? Never say this to me
again. You don't know shit about me. You pull
the control rod out. It comes out with a sickening
crunch and out from the hole where it once was
pours a... thick, clear liquid which spatters
on the ground, and the cabin fills with a very
strong, rusty metal smell. The conductor spasms,
lets out a deep guttural moan like a dying animal,
and then he is still, and the train's engines
begin to falter and slow. Oh, shit. Uh -oh. After
a few seconds, with the guard kind of shoving
Bailey and Halo apart, and looking over to you
as he feels the train stop moving, The conductor
twitches back to life, and the engines resume,
and the guard puts on a very stern scowl and
says, I said get out. Don't make me get the guards.
Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Put it underneath my coat,
the control rod. I'm sorry. I can't take this
one anywhere. I should have known better. You're
right. No demons in the locomotive was a bad
idea, fellas. Pick up your damn papers. Clown
shorts, get out of here. I'm so sorry, sir. We
have imposed on your hospitality for far too
long. You're lucky you're in first class, otherwise
I'd be throwing you off the train. And you would
be, of course, justified to do so, sir. Please,
let's get the hell... Throw me off the train!
What the hell are you... He probably shoved him
away. Ledger grabs the back of his long coat
and just kind of starts to pull him out the door.
Why, I oughta... You have gained the control
rod. Alright, I'm gonna kind of unzip my coat
a little bit and then kind of like dangle it
and shove it into Ledger's torso. I'm like, oh,
you owe me. You owe me for this. Of course, we
always pay our debts, don't we, baby? Let's go
sit down, enjoy the ride. Ledger grins. He gives
off this unflappable air of confidence like this
was his plan the whole time. I think Bailey can't
help but grin back. He's a little charmed by
that. Shakes his head and goes to his seat. Bad
damn smile. As we walk back, I feel like Ledger,
he puts an arm around Halo's shoulder, and he's
like, look, I know you don't understand a lot
of things about a lot of things, so I need you
to know that was just, you know, it was an act.
We were just, you know, it's just a little trick,
and I appreciate you helping me out, but you
cannot go around saying shit like that all the
time. Freak people out. Okay. Hale looks back
at the engine. We didn't hurt him, did we? Uh,
what, that thing? Is he okay? I don't know if
he's okay, but I suspect that you don't get to
become a man plugged into a train unless you
have made some particular choices in your life.
Oh, don't worry. That's not a man anymore. Hey,
train's still moving. And I pat Halo on the back
as I walk past him. Booker laughs at that one.
Now that we've gotten past this little section,
I will remind you all and the viewers that Heart
has a thing called Beats. Beats are little experience
triggers that you choose at the beginning of
a session or as we chose during our character
creation. And as soon as you accomplish... What
that beat says, you get to check it off. And
when we are done with the episode or the mission,
you'll get new moves based off of them. And I
think a few of your beats have been triggered.
I think mine just did, right? I think I was thinking
of yours, Adam. I think my plan worked. I succeeded
at a task that someone else has recently failed
to achieve. So I got Halo to fail his task and
then I completed it. That was smart. Was that
your plan the whole time? Halfway through. You
sly dog. Failed successfully. And then you both
received, I mean, Booker, you received orders
from your master and you put yourself in danger
to follow those orders, Ledger. So you get that.
You are left with a amount of time. A good amount
of time. Free to yourselves as the train moves
forward. No one comes to arrest you, thank God.
What do you what do you do? Imagining that the
conductor like grew a new rod out of his mouth
after like 30 minutes. Anyways, what do we do?
That's gross. Halo takes out his sketchbook and
he starts drawing the conductor. I think Bailey's
just pouring over all his notes that he has splayed
out on the table. He also checks to see if anyone
did the notes look disturbed when he came back.
He left them out on the table. No, I don't think
so. I don't think anyone messed with your notes.
You might want to look at your shotgun. It's
broken or you believe it's broken. I don't know
if it's really broken. It's true. Yeah, yeah.
Then Bailey probably puts away his decoy notes
he left on the table and then starts inspecting
his shotgun and wonders what the hell happened.
It's absolutely broken. It's fucked. You can
just tell by the way it feels in your hands.
It's all wrong. Okay. He wants to go complain
to Halo, but he'll do that later. Booker's just
looking at the shotgun. It looks fine to him.
Something's clearly broken. It's not working.
Look! He's probably shoving it in your face.
Oh god! Booker guides the barrel away from him.
It looks fine. No, I'm not going to. Look, look,
see. You can see all the mechanism. He's probably
pointing everything out. What's going on over
there? I think an attendant comes over and says,
sir, you can't do that. Don't worry, we're almost
done. He waves her away. We are done. Fine. He
puts it away. Ledger's just sitting. Oh, yeah,
he's just he's sitting with his like. feet up
on the chair in front of him. He's, like, a very
annoying and not very considerate passenger,
but he's kind of just, like, humming to himself,
and sometimes he, like, kind of looks over his
left shoulder and, like, says, like, mutters
something quietly, and then, like, maybe sometimes
he, like, laughs afterwards or shakes his head.
You guys have probably spent some time around
him. You know that he does this regularly. Hmm.
Maybe I kind of... get closer to Booker, and
I point at him, and he's like, what's up with
the tour guide? Why does he always talk to no
one? I think we all have a few screws loose.
You notice that, though, right? He's just been
muttering to himself all the time. And we're
traveling with a walk -in oil slick. I didn't
pay much mind. All right, just remember, me and
you gotta stick together, okay? Sure thing. He
gives him a little thumbs up. After a few hours
of relative calm, the train very suddenly strains
as the brakes engage without warning. A few people
standing in the aisle topple over as you come
to a very unexpected stop. One of the attendants
stands up, smooths down her uniform before saying,
Just a quick stop, folks. Please stay in your
seats while we handle this. And as she speaks,
a squad of Cathari soldiers armed with sabers
and a couple stout pistols push past her and
exit the train out of the front side door. I
think Ledger immediately stands up despite what
she said, and he's kind of trying to peer out
the window to see if he can see what's going
on. You can't see much. It's still very foggy
out. You see some of these soldiers. kind of
pointing forward, like towards the front of the
train, farther down the track, into the fog,
and kind of like talking amongst themselves.
I think, is Halo seated near Ledger? Yeah. I
think he kind of leans over and he's like, what
do you think all that's about? Halo kind of blearily,
sleepily looks out the window. Which is just
like, he does it slowly. You couldn't tell he
was asleep because he doesn't have eyes. Aayla
says, I don't know. Hey, how are we stopped?
I think Bailey rushes over to your guys' chair
and sits next to you guys. What's going on? Booker
reluctantly follows. I don't know. Train stop,
bunch of soldiers running in. You don't think
anyone, you think someone, You know, he points
back kind of to the conductor area. Someone else
is getting one? Ledger thinks about it and he's
like, I mean, I don't think so. Before she didn't
stop, just slowed down a touch. How far are we
from calamity? I think maybe Ledger's like, excuse
me, ma 'am, how far are we from calamity now?
She kind of like looks a little, she's kind of
looking out the window, also kind of looking
nervous. She says, Well, it shouldn't be very
long. Just a few hours from here. Bailey kind
of like gets close. She's like, she's nervous.
Something's up. I'm inclined to agree. After
a brief break, one of the officers kind of comes
back into the train and whispers something to
the attendant. There's like a little back and
forth. And then the soldier shrugs and goes back
out into the mist. She, the attendant, grimaces
and then kind of addresses the first class captain
and says, okay, y 'all, there's an unexpected
ocean in the way of the train right now. An unexpected
ocean? It's not supposed to be here right now,
but the good news is that it's moving, so it
should eventually be out of the way and we'll
probably hopefully get the tracks back when it
does. So if not, we'll just turn the train around
and head back to Clover and get you pulled into
a caravan, free of charge, of course. So in the
meantime, just hold tight. We'll be starting
our mere service soon for those in first class
here with me. Hmm. This is weird, by the way,
an ocean appearing like this is extremely weird.
I mean, would we have ever heard about this before?
Like, is this a phenomenon? Yeah. Ledger might
have. Ledger, you know, I'll tell you this. I'll
tell you this much, Ledger. There is a thing.
There's a thing called the Wandering Sea in the
City of Glass. I don't know that you've ever
seen it, but you've heard of it. It's like a
common anomaly, if you would want to call it
that. The issue is that you are not in the City
of Glass. Yeah. It's kind of strange that it
would be this far out. Halo says, Ledger, what
is an ocean? Oh, well, it's a whole bunch of
water in one place. Yeah, and they're normally
not here. What's going on? Yeah, normally, well...
Now... I have heard of something similar to this,
but in the city. It's abnormal for it to be this
far away. Possibly troubling. Is it known that
there's some idea that the city is expanding
or that its influence is getting bigger? Is that
something that's in the public consciousness
that people are aware of? For you and perhaps
Bailey, yes. That is something you'd be aware
of, that you've heard tell of. But three hours
by train from Calamity, which is supposed to
be at the very edge, that would be like... That'd
be a very big jump. That'd be a huge jump. That...
How far would that be on foot? Oh, man. Do I
have to look up how fast does a train go? Steam
train speed. You can just bullshit it and I will
totally believe you. Edit this in later. Is it
like days or weeks or hours? Let's call it 150
miles. I'm Canadian, sir. That means nothing
to me. Let's call it 300 kilometers. Yeah, so
that's probably a couple days. And how long did
it... How long away from where we departed from
are we by train? It's been a bit, right? Yeah,
you got on a little over a day ago. So you've
had an overnight here. Okay. I'm trying to wonder
if it would be worth trying to walk rather than
go back. It would be an extremely long walk.
Okay. Well... I say meal service is about to
start. Let's all grab a bite of what's paid for
by our generous benefactor and reassess. Maybe
it'll have moved on by then and the tracks will
be back. Here's hoping. The meal service starts.
It's pretty good. It's Qatari food. It's spicy.
Now we're going to have to get into it. We're
going to have to get into the... The cuisine,
it's important. Yeah, because you're supposed
to make these in real life. It's kind of... They're
very big on fruity, savory combinations. Yummy.
It's like pork chops and applesauce. Yeah, pork
chops and applesauce. Maybe there's some pineapple
in there. It's good, but it might take a... If
you're a picky eater, it's weird. Is it different?
Is what we're seeing in first class different
than what is a normal meal? Oh, yeah. They're
not getting any food in the other classes. Oh,
wow. You're supposed to bring your own food if
you're getting a non -first class ticket. Sorry,
folks. No pretzels. No peanuts, though, because
Bailey has an allergy. Sorry, guys. As you kind
of tuck into your meal, There's like a slam as
the train doors kind of shut near the front of
the train, and the train starts moving forward
again. Did the soldiers come back in? No. Huh.
The attendant kind of looks back towards the
front of the train, then out the windows, and
following her gaze, you see the faces of the
soldiers as well as some members of the train
crew slip by as the train picks up speed. There's
a loud sloshing noise as the train makes contact
with the sea in front of it. Pungent black water,
as thick as cream, pours through the gaps in
the train's frame. Within seconds, it's up to
your knees, and then suddenly, you feel the train
pitch downwards, and then you feel it leave the
tracks entirely as it begins to enter a sickening
freefall. Oh, fuck.