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. No, this is impossible.
I did everything right. I made every preparation.
This... This isn't right. Even this small mercy
is denied me. Very well. You want more from me.
My suffering is not enough. You will not let
me go until I've fulfilled... every last facet
of this story. Fine. I will be the bait. I will
be the engine. I will be the antagonist. I will
be whatever you need. Just let it end. Let it
all end. Welcome back to All That You Know, and
to our City of Glass campaign. My name is Colin,
and I'm going to be fulfilling the role of Game
Master today. Joining me today are Brian. Hi,
I'm Brian. I'll be playing Booker Page. Zach.
I'm Zach. I'll be playing Ledger Gray, the Deathwalker.
And Adam. Hi, I'm Adam. I'm playing Bailey, the
Junk Mage. Bailey's lost his last name. Tragic,
but these things happen. It happens. Today, we're
going to be playing a game called The Digested.
I've just put a link in our chat, which is going
to take you to your new game. That wasn't a joke
before. It wasn't a joke. It was foreshadowing.
You may want to keep your Roll20 link open, the
old one, to reference old materials. In fact,
I would even recommend it. If someone wants to
just open up that link and just look around and
once just tell what everyone what you're looking
at just explore What's a password? You don't
have a password. None count. None. Just hit enter,
bro. I'm seeing a familiar, it's a familiar picture.
It's a triangle with an eye in the middle. The
pupil of the eye is surrounded with a rainbow
corona of pastel colors. There's what looks like
a corroded green blade, I believe it is. It looks
like it's behind the eye or perhaps going through
it. On the left, there is, obscured by deep scratches
in the picture, something that looks like it's
on fire. And on the right, there is something
that looks like a white oval with red little
lizard hands grasping around from behind it and
a symbol in the middle that's covered with black
scratches. And it's all very peculiar. Yes, that's
true. This is true. He's not lying. This is all
true. He's not lying. It kind of looks like a...
Well, I'm not going to say it. I must. Never
mind. Don't say it. Don't say it. I mean, just
look at the lines a little bit. I don't know.
Whatever. You got to upload this picture for
our viewers. Have you ever seen Goatsy? No. You
can just say it. We're going to put it in the
show notes for you. You should really click it.
So your characters have been ported over into
the system. You go to the little actors tab in
the top right. It looks like a person's head.
I have done my darndest to transfer everything
from Heart of the City Beneath into what we will
call Blades in the Dark. It's not that, but we
can pretend. This is so familiar. So it's going
to be kind of like Beam Saber, which we played
in our last season. You don't have to worry about
knowing all the rules, so don't freak out. I
will help you. It's been a bit. Freaking out.
Except for Zach. I expect him to just kind of
know what's going on. Sorry. Sorry, buddy. I
didn't expect this from you, Zach. You of all
people. You're going to college. So, yeah, we're
doing this now. Welcome to hell. Epic. No, it
says digested. Welcome to the digested. That's
different. This is all of my abilities are here.
This seems like it took a lot of work. Yeah.
How long did it take you to transfer? I don't
keep track. Was this a lot of copy pasting? No.
No, these have all been tweaked to fit the new
system. Oh, you're serious? These were lovingly
and custom ported, each and every one. Colin,
if I could do a clap sound, I would. This is
actually really cute. I like make do. I'm a sick
boy. I'm a very sick boy. I'm so ready. I'm so
fucking ready. I'm so ready. Yeah, I'm fucking
ready. Okay. Ready. Well, let's get into it.
The three of you, Booker Bailey. Ledger and nobody
else are on a train heading east. You have been
on this train for an unspecified amount of time.
How you came together is a matter of confusion
and coincidence. The railway behind you gives
no answers. 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
manipulated by a doomed man with his own goals.
A figure by the name of Albright, a famous eccentric
who lived in the town of Calamity, on the western
edge of the City of Glass, and where this very
train is not headed. No, something is very wrong
with this train indeed. How didn't you notice
that before? There are chunks of it missing.
Just off to the side of you, there should be
chairs and passengers, but instead... It's just
a deep purple window into the infinite stars,
and written across those stars are typeset words,
a simple description that reads, A number of
nondescript, unimportant passengers sit ahead
of the group. They look out the window as if
nothing is wrong. They know nothing of value
and should be discouraged to interact with. It
should be no surprise that you may feel that
something is wrong, that everything is wrong,
that you shouldn't be here, and that this place
is not where you're meant to be. Outside the
windows of the train, across an expanse of black
water, you see the train, again, an uninterrupted
chain of partially destroyed cabins, but no engine.
The rail is formed in a circle going nowhere
at all, and in the middle of this circle is the
wandering sea. Its black tides no longer wander,
it is instead trapped here, in the middle of
this endlessly looping train. You need to get
out of here, or something very bad is going to
happen. Someone has tied the Hungry God's ribbon
around Ledger's neck, but it's not clear who
or when it was taken from Booker's hands. What
do you do? Are we conscious of the fact that
this is happening right after the other thing
happened? Sure. The last session. So it's like
we're waking up right after those events. Yes.
And we remember all that? Sure. Is my death here?
Is she still with me? She's still with you. Does
she look a little bit more distinct than she
did down in the Endless Hell battlefield? Yeah,
let's say she does. She looks normal, TM. That's
really good news. Well, actually, her hair part's
in a different direction now. Oh my god, that's
horrible news. What have you done to my ghost
wife? You have a fucking left part for a wife,
bro. Good luck. No. It's so fucking over, you
guys. It's over. It just bangs. No! What's your
ability you want to use, Booker? I want to use...
Where is it? Lost it all. Where's the nearest
source of wealth? It's going to be my neck, I
think. I'm going to ignore you. I think it is.
Yes. It feels cheap to say. Yes, it is around.
Dear... Dear Virgil... Sorry, that's not your
name, is it? Virgil. What the fuck? Dear Ledger's
neck. Fuck. Okay. Does it feel like I can take
it off? Sure. I'm not going to, but I just like
maybe. Why would you? No, I never, never would.
We got it. Do I? I noticed that all of my items
are here on my sheet, including the melted bolt
action rifle that I got from the battlefield.
That's right. Of metaphysical interest. Yeah,
I put all your guys' gear in the notes section
of your notes. I think Ledger's going to stand
up. He's going to look around. So this train
is on an infinite loop, but it still looks like
a normal train, right? Yes, there's no engine
car, though. Oh, okay. The cabins are self -propelled,
it seems. Okay. Or unable to stop. And there's
big holes in the side, you said, right? There
are. There are vast windows into the infinite
stars with little text written over the top of
them which describes what you presume is supposed
to be there. They're placeholder assets. Yes.
What happens when I look down? I mean, you see
the floor. I mean, sorry, out the window and
down, if I can stick my head out. Oh. towards
the rest of the train, like in the loop or outwards,
away from it. Both. Both sides. Inwards, there's
a big black body of water that's just beyond
the edge of the railway track. Yes, so the wandering
sea is in the middle of the train. Trapped. Ensorcelled
by it. Encircled, not ensorcelled. Although,
who can say? And outside it is just foggy, but
you do think you see distant lights. It's foggy
enough that I can't see. Can I see the rails
that the train is on or like the ground that
might be holding said rails? Oh, yeah. So if
you looked across the sea or just like you stick
your head out the window. Yeah, there are rails.
There are rails underneath the train. Basically,
what I'm trying to intuit is if I jump out the
outside edge of the train, am I going to break
my bones on ground? Am I going to fall into the
infinite no -clip void? Or am I going to land
in the ocean? You'd probably be okay. You'd be
on, like, the shore of the ocean. Okay. It's
not a horrible jump. It's not going so fast that,
like, you're going to be hurt very badly. Okay,
well, we have a very intense sense of needing
to be off of this train, right? Yes, how that
manifests is up to you. But obviously this is
a weird, this is a weird situation. Is there,
there's like connectors to the cars in front
and behind? Yes, sir. I think Ledger's going
to stand up and he's not going to look at or
say anything to his friends. He's just going
to walk to the door that leads to the next car,
if there even is a door, and open it just to
try and look inside. Okay, Booker and Bailey,
what are you doing? Look to Booker. What's going
on? I was about to do the same. Slow turn. Where
the hell are we? You're still Booker, right?
You're still Bailey. I'm Bailey. I'm definitely
Bailey. Yes, don't worry. It's definitely me.
I mean, I got all my stuff. You got your stuff,
right? Yeah, he checks himself. Yeah. Yeah, he
didn't accept the ribbon. Do you know where we
are? Is Ledger already walking out? I'm not walking
out of the car. I'm just walking to the front
to look into the next one. But I think he turns
around and says, It's a train. It's the train.
The one that we rode down to unseal the friendly
man. I know what it is, but it can't be the same.
He gestures to the stars. Maybe it looked like
this the whole time. We just didn't notice. That's
a sobering thought. So what do you think we should
do? Crazy. We gotta get off. Yeah, my thoughts
exactly. Does the next car look exactly the same
as this one? Not exactly the same, but the details
are different enough that it wouldn't really
matter. Okay. I'm gonna go over to the outside
side of the train car and look down and then
look back at my companions and be like, I think
I'm gonna jump. It's gonna jump off the train.
That's what you're gonna do? You got a better
idea. Well, maybe we can explore a bit more?
Are they looking at us? The passengers? They
aren't here. There aren't any passengers. Is
there nothing? Okay, okay. There's placeholder
text describing passengers that would be here,
but we can't actually see any people. I'm stupid.
I did not make that connection. Listen, last
time we were on this train, we dealt with some
stuff with the conductor. You remember that?
We had that whole big adventure. There's no engine
this time. Look out the window. I look out the
window. What do I see, Colin? What I described
earlier, which is that it's all train cabins
in a circle. Why don't I post this? Oh, so it's
like a continuous circle of train cars. It is
an unbroken train. Ouroborian, even. The train
training itself. All right, go for it, Ledger.
You want to jump? Be my guest. I think, yeah.
Wait, wait, wait. I'm going to stop him. There
must be a fork or something around here we can
throw onto the ground first. I mean, let's not
just use a human body. We have a rope? Is there
a fork nearby, Colin, on one of the tables or
something? Can I flick a coin out of my pocket?
Any of you can have junk. I'm not going to withhold
you from having throwable junk at any time. Yeah,
Ledger's coat is like full of pockets full of
throwable junk. He basically has like the infinite
bolt from Stalker. Actually, that's Bailey's
coat. Bailey has more junk than you. That is
true. She's like, oh, you're looking for this?
A better coin. Ledger pockets it because it's
nicer than the coin he has and then he throws
his shitty coin. It is a New Hampshire state
coin bearing the state bird made in 1984. That
has its own interesting implications. No, New
Hampshire exists here. That was already... It's
in the domain of the worm, yeah. It's covered
in another season. Like all realities. The supplemental
material, you should have been reading up. Yeah,
it goes... Where are you flicking the coin? To
the outside edge, where I'm considering jumping
to the shore of the sea. Okay, when you say outside
edge, you mean inside edge. I thought that inside
was the sea encircled by the rail. Yes, that
is the... So you said towards the sea. I said
the shore, which I thought was on the other side
of the train tracks. Oh, I see. I see what you're
saying. Yes, okay. The outside edge, yeah, it
lands on the ground. Ding! It doesn't make that
noise because it's probably dirt, so it wouldn't
ding. Maybe it hits a rock. It hits a rock, so
it can ding. Sure. So it's safe. And just for
one more point of clarity, this does not seem
like a suicidal speed to leap from. I will not
be reduced to dust when I hit the ground, assuming
anything resembling conventional physics apply
here, which I'm not convinced they do. That's
correct. In normal reality, you would not be
reduced to dust from doing this. But who knows
what is going on here? So, you know, no promises.
Well, I don't have any. We don't have any rope
or anything anymore. And there doesn't seem to
be anything else here. So I think Ledger is just
going to look back and be like. I don't think
there's anything here we can use. I don't know
how much cause and effect are things with which
we must concern ourselves. I think it might be
worth jumping. Okay, you go first. I thought
Bailey was crazy. No, I just want to live. I
think when he says that, Ledger affix a curious
stare just for a second, and then he jumps off
the side of the train. Okay. You jump off the
side of the train. You land, probably not so
gracefully, on the ground, because there was
some momentum. You tumble a little bit, but nothing
besides some scratches and bruises. Nothing that's
going to go on your lovely new character sheet
as damage. And then, since the train is spinning,
Ledger, you lose sight of Booker and Bailey,
and Booker and Bailey, you lose sight of Ledger
pretty quickly as you start going around the
bend. But we see he's okay. Yeah, yeah. I mean,
you see him probably jump, roll a little bit,
and then you stick your head out the window and
you see that he's kind of just watching you guys
drift away. Okay. Hey. You look okay. You think
what I'm thinking? Oh, arm and arm, right? We're
done with Ledger. All right, let's do it before
we're too far. All right, hold my hand, though.
I'm scared. Let's do this. No. Booker jumps.
So fucking mean. Damn you. What a rude guy. You're
a big boy. Says that mid -jump. You're a big
boy. You jump, I assume, Bailey. Mm -hmm. Okay,
great. You both do the same thing. You probably
land less gracefully than Ledger did, because
Ledger is, you know, kind of a hard -traveled
man. So sexy. But, you know, you don't get hurt
horribly or anything. And I assume you reconnoiter.
Is that the word for joining up? I haven't heard
that word before. Reconnoiter? Reconvene. Reconvene,
you mean? Yes. I think Ledger's muttering something
to his death as you guys approach, and then he
looks back at you. You're not so crazy after
all. Maybe we all are. What do you do? So that
gut feeling or whatever, that instinct that we
all had saying we had to get off the train or
something bad would happen, is that telling us
anything new now that we're off of it? Or has
it kind of just gone away? Um, sure. Let's say
that it has subsided somewhat now that you are
off the train. Okay. You're now free to have
your own emotions. That's so nice. What do we
see around us? Is it just darkness? There are
some distant lights. Like multiple sets of distant
lights out in the fog. And then obviously the
train is behind you still spinning around. Unless
any of you have a better idea, I say we pick
a set of lights and move towards it. Yeah, it's
gonna suck if we have to get back on that thing,
so let's head to the lights. Do it. Lovely. You
head out into the mist towards the lights as
you draw closer to whichever one you picked.
You quickly realize that the lights are moving
because the lights that you see are a train going
in a circle. Oh. This is the other side of the
circle. We're just seeing the train again. Or
is it a different train circle? No, because if
you turn behind you, you see some distant lights
that also look like the lights you walk towards.
Oh. Let's inspect this train, then. Yeah, let's
look at this one. I'll save you some time. Same
train. Can we see? I want to look at the train
cars just for a second. Do I see a Ledger, a
Bailey, and a Booker? No. In any of them? Luckily,
no duplicates here. That is lucky. We have any
abilities? Let's see. So we've got lights on
either side of us, right? Yes. Let's move perpendicular
and go towards where there are no lights. Sure.
You walk towards where there are no lights. Eventually,
in the distance, you see a light slowly come
into view. The regularity at which these lights
appear seems to be very regular. Consistent with
cars of a train, perhaps? Who could say? Is it
almost like a grid? You would strongly suspect
it is something like a grid. Well, the way I
see it, we have one direction that we have not
yet attempted to go, and that is into the Wandering
Sea. I think we have to get back on that train.
We just got off it. I don't know. How do you
propose we do that? Let's walk up to a train.
If Ledger doesn't answer, he just starts heading
towards one of the sets of lights. Oh, I have
an enamel rope. Yeah. Never mind. Sorry. Go ahead.
You're next to the train. Booker was saying that
he had his enamel rope still. Okay. How about
it? Booker pulls out the rope. Are you going
to lasso the train? That's exactly what I was
thinking. Whoa there, girl. Easy. I mean, Booker
doesn't know how to do that, but Ledger. He's
a cowboy. No, he's not. He just has a southern
accent. Booker's not perfect. Maybe he profiles,
all right? I'm not going to have my abilities.
I don't think there's anything. Yeah, so what
are we going to do? Just jump really high and
grab on? I can touch a machine to try and destroy
it, but that would require an uninterrupted touch
to the train, so I'd need to probably be on it
as well. Just roll under the wheels, guys. How
fast is it going? Is it like it would be a roll
to reasonably try and grab onto the side? Yeah,
roll a group action, or if you give me a really
good pitch as to why you wouldn't need to roll.
I'm always open to a good pitch. Can I use my
ebony horn move ability? You have to touch it,
right? Yeah, I know. Is it moving too fast to
touch kind of thing? Well, I mean, like, you
would touch it, and then, you know, it'd be like
spinning. Yeah. You wouldn't be able to touch
a sustained part of it. I see, I see. It's got
to be sitting there. Yeah, it's like trying to
touch a spinning blade. Gotcha. So what is your
plan with lassoing the train? Like, the train...
I mean, obviously this is a fantastical setting,
but the train has a lot of mass and energy behind
it, and you are, I believe, a slender little
man. I assumed that the intent with lassoing
it was to give us a rope to, like, climb and
not to actually, like, hold the train and stop
it. Yeah, it's that. We would lasso it and we,
like, hold onto it and climb it as we're being
dragged. It's not pretty. I feel like that would
actually be worse than just jumping on it. Like,
if I was trying to jump on a moving train, you'd
get dragged behind it and then maybe pulled under
the wheels. Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
Maybe. We don't know for sure. We don't know
for sure. Booker hasn't done this before, okay?
We'll have to find out what happens, right? Does
anybody have any dots in finesse? I have one.
Booker has one. Okay, I have zero. I think that
we can group action finesse to get on, and you'll
just take... It's one stress per fail, right?
Would this not be Prowl? I mean, you get to choose.
I could take either one. Sure, I just assumed
Finesse was better. Prowl is better for me because
I can... I mean, I need to look at... I have
one in Prowl. Me too. I have zero in Prowl. Let
me look at Blades in the Dark Special Edition
PDF. Which I digested is roughly based on, as
you may have guessed by the big words saying
Blades in the Dark at the top of your character
sheet. Okay, Prowling is traverse skillfully
and quietly. And then Finesse is employ dexterous
manipulation or subtle misdirection. So it would
be. Yeah, yeah. That's fine for me. So actually,
who's leading the group action? I think Ledger
will do it. He'll be like, all right, here's
what we're going to do. Everybody get close together.
Try and grab onto the railing. If anybody starts
to fall, reach back and grab him. If you've got
a secure grip, what do you say? Let's try it.
Better than my plan. Okay. Roll a prowl. So then
everyone's going to roll a prowl, and then Ledger
is going to take extra stress for every failure
anyone else gets. Is it risky standard? I also
failed. That's great. And we take the highest.
Bailey Cormick coming in with a partial success.
Everyone else failed. I'm taking two stress.
Yes, Ledger's going to take two stress. You guys
all get up. It looks a little dicey there for
a second. Bailey manages to pull everyone together.
On to the train. You're now inside the train,
and you're inside the train. Welcome. Are the
words outside exactly the same? Yes, they are
exactly the same. Well, I mean, you were probably
in a different train car if we just rolled dice
randomly, but the vibes are all still there.
I'm sure you could go find the exact train car
you were in. It is the same train. I'm not going
to bury the lead on that. I think Ledger's going
to go to now the inside edge of the train. He's
going to put his foot up on one of the windowsills
and his coat is kind of flapping in the breeze
if there is one. And I think he's going to look
back. Your hat's gone. That's true. My hat is
gone. Is my hat gone? No, you have your hat.
Oh, thank God. Ledger specifically lost his hat.
It's fucked up. I think he's going to look back
and he'll be like... I think we gotta go swimming.
Well, let's just use one more coin, huh? Before
we do that, we're gonna flick a coin into the
waters. That's what happens. Plop. Well, it didn't
blow up. That's good. Always a worry. In case
you're made of sodium, you know. You never know.
Ledger's gonna jump. Into the water? Yep. Ledger
disappears beneath the water. Is he coming up?
Do we see anything? Yeah, what do we see? He
does not. Well, actually, how far did you jump,
Ledger? I don't know. Perhaps a yard. Okay. You
splash down. You get your footing. It's kind
of sandy down there. Maybe you slipped. You're
back above water. It's kind of a weird water.
Not normal water, but it's watery. Okay. I think
he's not even going to look back. He's going
to kind of start paddling out into the middle
of the... the lake. Great. Booker and Bailey.
Alright, Booker, we'll do the same. Yeah, we're
jumping. Fantastic. Beach episode! You go into
the water. You wade into it. And then, like,
almost as soon... Who jumped last, Bailey? Probably.
Yeah, as soon as your feet touch the water, Bailey,
you feel it grab you. Great. And you see Ledger
and Booker are already gone. And then you are
pulled underwater. All of you have been pulled
underwater. Your body is thrown about and dragged
deep, deep down. And it seems for a moment...
Probably after a few minutes, because you probably
can't keep your breath that long. None of you
are professional swimmers. I don't even know
if you guys can swim. Your lungs burn and threaten
to give out, and then all of a sudden that feeling
stops. A sense of buoyancy returns, and above
you, some starlight filters down from the surface,
and it calls you up towards it. You could choose
to swim up, or you can choose to drown. Totally
up to you. I will swim up. Yeah, I'll do that.
Yeah, Booker will give it a shot. There goes
all my prep, guys. Thanks a lot. You burst out
of the water, presumably gasping for breath,
and you pull yourself up over the side of the
well and gain your bearings. Your companions
are not far behind. You, whatever order you come
out in, falling onto the ground with a wet slap.
Ahead of you is a man holding his daughter in
his arms who yells as you all appear. The girl
drops her baby tooth she was holding in her hand
in shock and it drops in front of you on the
ground. What do you do? I think I stand up and
look around, probably not registering any sense
of this being unusual. I don't think... I think
something inside Ledger has broken slightly.
He's kind of lost all grip on reality, which
is, I think, a good thing because it doesn't
seem like there's much reality to go around anymore.
Are we in the town now? Is this by the well?
You're in Calamity, in the center of Calamity
at the Tooth Well. Well, the well is full of
black water now. Did we climb out of it? You
did. You burst out of it. Oh, my God. Your lust
for oxygen. Do the people look normal? Yes, the
guy and his daughter look normal. He says, What
the hell were you doing in the well? I scream
at him. I say, the teeth have risen! He starts
running! He runs. He runs away. Then his daughter
starts crying. Oh, I'm just kidding. He leaves
her behind? No, he brought his... He's a good
father. He's a good father, okay? Ah, sure. Jesus.
Not that you care. But yeah, he runs towards
Old Town. I'm gonna pick up the tooth that she
dropped on the ground. Mmm, yummy. Looks pretty
good. Hey, is there a coin here? Did my coin
make it through? I'm going to eat the tooth.
I'm sorry to say, your coin did not make it.
Fuck. You're tossing the coin down the well.
Whatever. Dude, the coin goes down the well.
No, no, no, no. I'm going to find that coin.
Go swim in the well. Get us some scuba gear.
We can get that coin back. It's going to be a
fun arc. Is there does the rest of the town look
normal or does it have those same like weird
descriptor text? Define where there should be
things. So you're in the center of the town.
You're kind of far as you probably remember.
I don't have the map in front of me. The well
is kind of in no man's land with new town off
one direction, old town and another. Things look
mostly normal from here. I think. You one thing
you would definitely notice is that Albright
Manor, which was on that big hill, is not here.
That hill is not here. Oh, shit. That was my
idea for where we should go. Me too. Yeah. I'm
all out of ideas. Yeah. Maybe I point at the
where the hill used to be. So that's gone. That's
not good. Maybe we should have asked them where
it went before we scared them off. I was just
joking around. I don't know anything. I think
we're just going to start walking into Old Town.
Great. Great. You're in Old Town. Let me pull
up this old landmarks thing. Old Town. Old Town.
Old Town. You are in Old Town. There are some
houses here. There is an inn. I don't know if
you are going to try to see people, or if you
were just kind of trying to walk to see where
the boundary is. Yeah. I'm looking for other
anomalies, really, but if none present themselves,
I might go to the post office. That would be
the other direction. Okay, I'll turn around.
Just a question. How long would you walk in Old
Town before you turned around? Maybe just close
enough that I could get a little bit closer to
where Albright Manor used to be. Okay. There's
a crater. The ground drops off into a crater
at the edge of town, and at the bottom of the
crater is Albright Manor. Like pieces of it?
No. It's whole. Are there any people around?
If you want there to be, there can always be
people around. Sure. I'm going to wave down a
passerby and be like, well, Bratman are always
at the bottom of that pit there that used to
be up on a hill. Uh, no. No, it's always in the
pit, friend. Was the well always full of water?
Are you okay? You look a little out of sorts.
I think he draws his gun. Oh! If any of this
is real, I have ashes. Don't mind my friend.
The most mystifying number of days. Would you
shut the hell up? What do you think this is?
What do you think any of this is? I think this
is probably a new plane of existence. I don't
know. And how long do you think it'll stay? How
long do you think we'll be here? How long till
we switch to the next one? How do you know if
we're not already dead, huh? What if this is
purgatory? I think he thoughtfully aims his gun
at Bailey and thumbs the hammer. And he's like,
that is an interesting question. Now, isn't it?
What do you think would happen if I pulled the
trigger? Okay. Now, friends, I know you told
me to shut up, but it seems to me that maybe
you just got out of the city of glass. And it's
left you a little unmoored. That's fine. That's
normal. We see this all the time. Trust me. You
seen any friendly men around here? I consider
myself to be a friendly man. I think I can take
that as a no. What's your name? My name is John
Dis. John Dis. John Dis. That's an odd name.
Beautiful name. That's my father's name. When
was the last time you saw Mr. Allbrat outside
of his manor? Oh, he's a hermit. Yeah. I've seen
his surroundings around every now and then. I
think Ledger just walks away from this guy without
saying anything else. All right, the Soul Ward's
the other direction if you need help with anything.
Thanks for your help, buddy. Yeah. Keep it real.
Hell yeah. Stay curious. Stay bi -curious, brother.
Find your fist. Looking for some friendly men.
Looking for some friendly men. You know where
I can find some friendly men in town? Capital
F. Just got out of the city. The leader of the
bisexuals guild can help you find what you need.
Now this is a real D &D podcast. Hell yeah. This
is how we get the real fans. Let's go have sex
with strangers. Albright, where ya at? Come on.
That feels oddly incestuous. I don't know if
I want to have sex with Albright. Oh, come on.
Just once. Isn't he a beetle? No, that's downfall.
That's his servant. Well, Bailey had a theory
that the beetle was Albright. That is true. I
believe Bailey. You know, Bailey was right about
everything. That's true. Bailey was right about
everything. I'm with you. I'm going to start
going down the pit. I'm going to go down too.
The edges of the pit are exceptionally steep.
Nearly treacherous to scramble down, but not
quite. Not beyond your abilities, but it's tough.
If one of you were wounded, a broken leg, you
would definitely need help getting down this.
But luckily, that's not the case right now. I'm
so glad. You approach the manor. It's longer
than you think going down, because you kind of
have to watch your steps on all the scree. You
have no idea how anyone gets supplies into this
manor. It's very inconvenient. And you find that
the door is already ajar to the manor in an ominous
fashion. I'm gonna... I'm gonna walk up. I'm
just gonna walk right in like I own the place.
You're not gonna knock on it a little bit before
you walk in? You're just gonna... Virgil. Well,
look, you did it this time. I did. That's a bad
sign. Uh -oh. Inside, the foyer looks as kind
of weird and creepy as it did before. Just kind
of old wood. A lot of paint peeling off. Vaguely
pinkish. Smells kind of bad. And in the middle
of the foyer is Downfall, still in his pink robes
that obscure the kind of writhing mass beneath
it. He has collapsed onto his knees, and around
him are a number of dead servants and a thick
trail of black slime, which leads further back
into the manor. Ledger's gonna saunter up unhurriedly
to Downfall, and I think he's gonna prod the
beetle man with his boot and be like, anything
still alive in there? He turns quite suddenly
to you. His helper appears. Oh, no. No, he turns
very suddenly to you. And he says, you shouldn't
be here. You're telling me. What happened to
the expedition? I don't know. It's your expedition.
Forces beyond my control have conspired to show
me that reality is a thin veneer behind which
lies only madness, I think. I have this ribbon
now. The friendly man has been killed. I think
I'm here to see Virgil, really see him this time.
He went in after you, I think. And what killed
all these fine people? There was a gunshot, and
we rushed up to the master's room, to Virgil's
room, and by the time we arrived, the door was
already open, and he wasn't well. He was confused.
He lashed out. He didn't know what he was doing.
He ran, and they tried to stop him, and they
couldn't, and I couldn't. I never could. Not
for a long time. He ran out. He ran out upwards,
out into the city. He was looking for you. And
I kind of worry that something greater than this
city has swallowed us. Something even greater
than the hungry god. And Downfall kind of pauses
after saying that. And he says, hungry god. And
his head snaps up and looks at you. And he kind
of gets closer and he says, what did you do?
I tried to stop it. I couldn't. I don't know
if it's even possible for me to stop it. This
isn't how it was supposed to go. What if it's
the only way it could have gone? What if this
is all there is? I can't believe that. And what's
the point? Ain't that the question? What's the
point? You have the ribbon. You have the ribbon.
That's good. That's something. He gave you the
ribbon before whatever happened happened? I don't
know exactly what it was that transpired, but
yes, we have the ribbon now. And Halo? Halo's
gone. I see. He was involved somehow. He orchestrated
these... things. Whatever... Look, I don't even
see any point to explain any of this to you.
I don't see the point in much of anything anymore.
I'm gonna go look in Albright's room to see if
there's anything that could be of use, and then
I think we're going to go back to the City of
Glass, and I don't think that there's anything
that you or I can do to alter these events in
any way. Does that make any sense? Yes. Ledger,
before you go up, I just want to say I'm sorry
for everything. Really. And why would you be
apologizing to me? I'm apologizing for me. It
won't make sense to you. I don't think it ever
will, really. But I let Virgil down, I think.
We all did. I feel like you know something you're
not telling me. I do. But you'll see it soon.
Was this all a fix from the jump? All of it?
That's what Virgil thought. We tried to change
something, and it just got us into more trouble.
Hmm. There should be a... Well, there's going
to be a lot of letters for you, but there should
be... There's going to be a lot of letters up
there, but only one of them is for you, really.
There's no way back for me, is there? Not in
the way you want, no. I think his death puts
her hand on his shoulder. No one can see it,
but he can feel it. And I think he goes to walk
up the stairs. And Bailey Booker. I'm sorry you
got caught up on this. This wasn't your problem.
You're just... Bad luck. It's just bad luck.
But I still think, I still believe you two can
get something out of this. Bad luck, huh? Bad
luck. Booker's wondering where the hell Barkelly
is. Great question. You have the ribbon. I mean...
We could kill him. I have the ribbon. Ledger
has the ribbon. I think that means that we can
kill Parkelion if we want to. I'm not certain
we should, but I think that's what the ribbon
does. Who can say? I don't know. I think Booker's
in a weird headspace right now where... Dude,
why? This is totally normal. This is weirder
than his employment. So strange. Hey, do you
need any help? Right now? Yeah. Um, with what?
I don't know, you're just kind of weeping on
the ground. This is probably the best thing for
me right now, friend. Okay. Yeah, it's been a
long time coming, I guess, just waiting for the
other shoe to drop, and it's dropped, so now
I guess I'm just here with the shoe. Hey, I have
a question. Yeah. Was Albright the bug? No, I
was the bug. Sensitive. I was the bug. It was
always me. I turned to Booker. Still kind of
right. It was pretty close. I guess you're not
right about everything. I'm sort of right. Whatever.
Well. Booker wordlessly just follows Ledger.
I mean, he's curious where he's going with this.
Yeah, I better go stop him before they take all
the good stuff. I see in you, downfall. I need
that ribbon for later. Okay. You follow a trail
of slime into the uppermost part of the manor
where you come to the door of the office. A couple
of eviscerated, blackened corpses lay on either
side of the door. The door itself has been partly
knocked off of its hinges. A heavy chain lock
still tethers the door to its frame. It looks
as if some force forced itself out wetly between
the door, not bothering or not able to unlock
it. A strong smell wafts out of the room. Gunpowder,
burnt rotten meat, oil, acrid ink, and mildewy
paper. And it is easy for you to get in to the
office, which I assume you all do. It's not a
trap. Yes. Ignoring certain anomalies, it is
a nice office, a beautiful hardwood desk, tall
bookshelf filled with all manner of books ranging
from history to theater to magic texts, a small
daybed in the corner, a stately portrait of Virgil
Albright, and even a private restroom with some
manner of plumbing in it, which is quite impressive.
All of this is in a state of disorder. Books
have been tossed around the room. The desk's
chair lays in splinters. The floor and everything
else is covered in a thick layer of black residue
and discolored blood. On the desk is a fine antique
pistol and a large pile of black stained leathers.
Not leathers. It's not like that. Letters. One
other thing catches your eye here, of course,
which is that large stately painting I messaged
before. And Booker and Bailey, it is probably
most clear to you, though, Ledger, I'm sure you
have your own suspicions, that the figure portrayed
in this painting is familiar. This is what Ledger
looked like when he passed through the oil painting
back in the esophageum. The same outfit and everything.
Same face. I've seen this guy before. Hey! Went
to the painting. What does this painting character
look like? That's Virgil Albright. What does
Virgil look like, Zach? I guess it depends on
what point in his life the portrait was taken.
Your choice. Your character. He has gray hair,
graying hair swept back. Actually, I think it's
probably it's all the way gray. Sweat back almost
shoulder length. He's got a gray beard that's
a little straggly. One of his eyes is missing
and the socket is covered with a black eye patch.
Was he missing a hand as well? I think it was
replaced with some kind of like silvery prosthetic,
wasn't it? Like a magical one? It's been so long.
Technically speaking, This is going to make no
sense to the listeners. And that's okay. It's
not supposed to. Don't worry. Just go with the
vibe. But this isn't really that exact same Virgil
either. Okay. But let's say he's missing his
left hand. It just ends in a stump. But he has
a very nice blade in his hand. And he's wearing
kind of just like buckled leather armor. With,
like, belts and pouches. Very practical. It's
in pretty good condition. And he has a shimmering,
very shiny, like, arming sword in his remaining
hand. And he looks sad. Just slightly mournful.
Not like he's, like, crying or anything. But
it's kind of a weird picture. Yeah, that's the
spitting image of you in the painting world,
by the way. Yeah, I don't know if you knew that.
Not a lot of mirrors there. I'm just gonna go
look at the pistol. I think Ledger's just stuck
still staring at this painting. Were you always
so handsome? The pistol is... It is a fine Crylock
pistol. It seems to be in... Do you pick it up?
Question number one. He picks it up. And he's
checking if it's loaded. No, it has actually
been somewhat recently discharged. You can probably
tell from the smell. And the barrel is actually
warped. There are like purple lines of just like
splintering almost coming from the barrel as
if something very weird was shot out of it. It
kind of gives a bad vibe. Kind of reminiscent
of that void dagger you had at one point. Similar
vibe. Yeah. Okay, you can add it to your inventory
as Void Touched Pistol. That's a cool name. I
think Virgil is me. Yeah. Okay. That... So when...
The Changeling thing... Down in Camp Rascal told
me my real body was coming. It was because Virgil
had already left to come see us. Parkeleon told
you that. Oh, yes, Parkeleon. It wasn't that
Changeling guy. And now we're here. Just missed
him. I'm going to look around for that letter
that I know to be mine. There is a big pile of
black stained letters. There's a lot of them.
I'm going to start sheafing through trying to
find it. No, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, guys.
They're not addressed to anyone. The first one
you open is completely illegible. A mess of black
ink that seems more random scribbling than anything
approaching language. The next dozen are the
same story. Rarely a word will be properly written
in these letters. You see, like, the words dead,
thirsty, grass, travel, animus, flee, hate, forget,
forget, forget. Just, like, randomly. And then
suddenly you get deep enough down, or maybe you
get impatient and you go right to the bottom
of the pile, and you see the first or perhaps
the last letter. The only one that seems to be
clean. Somehow, none of this black slime got
on it. Short, succinct, and written with a shaking
but determined hand. And it just says, My name
is Virgil Albright. I have made a grave mistake.
I failed in a doomed world, and in trying to
escape this error, I have provided an even worse
fate to countless more, including yours. Our
only option, our only purpose, can be to find
another page before it is written. Either the
script will allow us, or it won't, but we must
try. Bring me the Hungry Gods ribbon, find me
beyond the end of your stories, and we will try
to set this right. Only Ledger's reading this,
right? Sure, I mean, you can look over his shoulder.
I'm looking over his shoulder. He'll turn and
hand it to whoever unless you finish reading
it at the same time that he does. Well, we got
the ribbon. End of our stories? I think we have
to follow him. I think we have to go back. I
was afraid you were going to say that. What happens
if we don't? If we live a perfect life and nothing
happens. That would be nice. I mean, Bailey,
you got what you wanted, right? Did I? No. Did
you? No. I mean, you have an idea of where Checker
Graham is at the cathedral town. One of those.
But it's true. Yeah. You also perhaps get a pretty
good feeling of where that town might be. Is
it in the City of Glass? I'm not going to tell
you it is, but if it was anywhere. Boy, do you
have a feeling about it. Boy, do you have a feeling.
I think that our stories all ended when we failed
to stop Halo. When I failed to stop Halo, that
was the end, and that's why we wound up back
at the beginning of sorts, but it's all wrong.
So is this a restart? Okay. No, it can't be.
He knows that we were here. So what's the plan
when we get to him? I don't know. Maybe he'll
have answers. Maybe he won't. Just one nice conversation.
Everything gets cleared up. I don't expect you
to know. All right? It's all right. I think that
you are clinging to a sense of rationality that
no longer applies, Bailey. You know, you might
be right for once. I feel like everything's gone
topsy -turvy. And I truly don't know what's going
on anymore. What else do we have if not that,
Ledger? Nothing. I think he leaves. I look to
Booker. I hate that this is like the only option,
but I don't see any other way around finding
this guy again. Fine. I think Ledger maybe looks
over his shoulder and he says, you know, you
could possibly try to leave. Catch a train out
of here if this is indeed a real place and you
don't get slapped right back to my side. Live
a normal life, forget your ambitions, and die
with all this nothing more than a bad memory.
Not the ribbon at the end of this, but I'll stay
with you. Yeah. Why not? Alright. Where do you
go? Let's go. I think we gotta go back to the
city. I assume that this trail that Virgil has
left does not extend beyond the house. Oh, it
does. Goes out the back door. Downfall probably,
uh, would probably look at you when you come
downstairs, though. Give a little shy, shy glance
at you. Hey, hey. How's it going? Oh, it's, um,
hasn't been long. Yeah. looking for. I think
we're gonna keep looking to find your master,
if you know what I mean. Yeah. Did we just follow
the slime trail? He shrugs. You wanna come with?
Have a couple of beetles perch on my shoulder?
I don't really give a damn either way. No, I,
um, I've had enough. I've lost enough. I don't
want any more of this. It's not my... I don't
think I have a part in this story anymore. What's
your plan, Downfall? I don't have a plan. My
plan was to let Virgil pay the price and sort
it out. Hopefully make things go back to normal.
But honestly, I think he lost... Somewhere along
the way, he lost something of his that he couldn't
get back. So what, you're just going to pouch
on the floor then? The rest of eternity. Wow,
that's boring. Eternity can be a very short time,
Bailey. Well, if it's pretty short, you can come
with us. Not going to take too much time off
you. What would you get out of me going with
you? Well, a little help. Having a beetle guy
around, you know, it couldn't hurt. You're useful.
He kept you around. It's true. No, I kept him
around. Because you're useful. It's not so simple.
It's really not. He shows the gun. Oh, God. You
should be careful with that. It's tainted. Why?
It's tainted. He loaded a bullet made of void
stuff in it, presumably to try to take his own
life. But it'll still work. If the gunpowder,
the crystal... Spark to life, yes. If there's
a bullet in it, yes. If everything conspires
for it to work, it will work. Just like anything
else. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
But it might also crack apart. Shrapnel could
go in your eye. It's all up to whatever's planned.
I'm gonna keep it. Goodbye, Downfall. Goodbye.
I'm gonna walk up to Downfall. I'm gonna say,
look. This story is way too important to continue
without you. I think we need you there. Just
in case anything happens, you would know. Can
I try to use a skill to sway him possibly to
join us? Sure. Oh, wait. I have those. Yes, you
can roll. Look at me try something after you.
You can roll things. Can I get an assist on this
possibly from my friend? Well, no. Booker has
a different. strategy after you so just okay
okay i was just gonna i have no skills in sway
but i thought i'd give it a shot uh yeah um so
if you recall from when we played beam saber
you can take two stress to if you would like
uh increase your the amount of die you roll by
one so you're rolling zero die right now because
you have no sway um we should bring up to one
die And if you get help from someone, they can
spend one stress to help you. I believe is how
it works. Can I still roll even if I help after?
If I want to do an ability? No, you cannot retry
to roll. I mean, you can. You're on your own
here, buddy. You're going to get consequences
if you fail. That will change the scenario. Can
I possibly attune to downfall? I have a point
in that. You have to tell me what you do, not
the skill you want to roll. But what you're doing
right now is you're swaying him. I know. I don't
even know what a toon is. It's magic stuff. I'm
going to magic him. I'm going to magically will
him to make his go. You've done that before.
You know what? Games are fun when they're wacky.
I'm going to use two stress, and then I'm going
to use sway plus one modifier, risky standard.
Here we go. Yeah. That's it? Probably risky limited,
but yeah. Do you want me to do limited? It won't
matter. The roll will be the same. But just know
that you're a six. Oh, jeez. Success. Success.
Okay. Well, he's coming with us. There's a reason
it's limited effect. He really does not want
to go with you. What would he give you? Talk
no jutsu. A one beetle. A single beetle. A single
one of my fingers. I guess he could give you
beetles. He turns really small. You get a mini
downfall doll, which you can use to get fun tips
if you ever feel stuck. Yes! This is what I need.
Oh my god. I'll an ace this. I'm sorry I got
a success. I love it. I do love it. I can't give
you downfall. He really does not want to go.
Okay, well, what if Brian uses his skill? Yeah,
I was going to brainwash him and make him come
with us. You guys are too much. Okay, so here's
what downfall will say. He says, I can't leave
here. I still have to deal with the town. I have
to deal with all this mess that Virgil left behind,
but I can part with some of my beetles. You could,
assuming you don't slip between the cracks, we
could talk, and they're quite helpful themselves.
They're very obedient, and they can't speak your
language, but they can be very communicative
when they want to be, because they are me. Technically.
Well, as long as we got a wire to you, I think
that'll give us a leg up. Thank you. Yes, I mean,
the Beatles are me. It's like it's all me. Really,
it's complicated. He produces a... I guess he
reaches into his robe and he pulls out a handful
of... There's a wet noise and he pulls out a
big handful of beetles. He puts them in a leather
sack, wetly. They're kind of dripping. He ties
it up and he gives it to you and he says, Yeah,
you can do whatever you want with these, really.
I'm not gonna... They like eating meat, so you
might need to feed them every now and then. Right.
They're going in my coat. Just don't, you know,
squiggle around too much. I'll try not to. But
just so you know, they have their own thoughts,
really. So once they're separate from me, they
kind of develop on their own. So just treat them
like a friend, I would say. They might be confused
at first. Okay. I can do that. Add sack of downfall
to your inventory, I suppose. Sack of downfall.
I'm going to try to remember that you have a
sack of downfall with you wherever you go. This
is going to be the best grenade. It's like a
knowledge grenade I can throw at someone. Here's
a tool tip. Go, downfall, go. Hey, Booker. Yeah?
There's a rat in here. Kill it! Is it looking
at him funny? It's chewing on one of these corpses
and it's looking at you. It's clearly eyeballing
you. Booker follows it. Okay, Booker is wandering
off. Hey, where are you going? I have to pee.
He's heading to the exit. Following a rat. He's
lying. The toilet's over there, Booker. Where
are you actually going? I think Ledger's leaving.
Yeah, Ledger left, I thought. Yeah, Ledger already
left. That's right. Yeah, he did. He did. I'm
just staying alone with Downfall. Bailey, you
can come with me if you want, but I have things
to attend to as well. All right, Downfall. I'm
going to go help this man piss. Thanks for all
the help. Okay. I see. Ledger, you're not waiting
for your companions, I take it. No, no. Ledger's
sort of in a fugue state. Yeah. I mean, couldn't
be me. I would be fine in this scenario. But,
you know, I get it. Right. So, you follow the
rats, both of you. Rat, one. Eventually some
more show up. They kind of lead you across town.
You're just following a little procession of
rats. It's kind of cool. They seem kind of jolly.
They seem like, honestly, they're having a little
bit of fun. Where are we going? You are going
to the library. I was going to ask how the library
was. Okay, perfect. It is a large, unburned brick
building that seems totally fine. I don't like
this. Inspecuously not on fire. And the rats
lead you through the stacks of books. down the
stairs into a musty basement and there amidst
the mossy stone lit by candlelight you see a
troop of rats performing in front of a shapeless
mass of vermin inside of a theater cathedral
made of scraps of cloth bone books and various
small shiny things the rats seem to be enacting
some play you recognize crude versions of your
own outfits Um, a bailey, a booker, a ledger,
standing in front of a cluster of feathers which
has been adorned with pieces of lost jewelry
which you assume to be a respectable idol representing
your master Parkelion. The rat representing you,
booker, holds up a piece of red cloth to Parkelion.
There is a pause, it squeaks, then nods its head.
The scrap of cloth falls to the ground, then
the rat grabs its head and winds in pain. It
writhes on the ground, and then the idol of Parkelion
seems to touch the rat with a feather, and it
returns to normal. The rat bows to Parkelion,
the rats of Bailey and Ledger seem to comfort
the rat, and then they move on, and a rag curtain
falls over the scene, and the candles go out.
Parkelion is waiting for you in the cathedral
town. Bailey starts clapping. Wow! That was incredible!
How do they do all that? Do they always do that
for you? He never could just send a letter. He
never could. Yeah, it's pretty extra. I don't
know why you'd use that name. But there you go.
It's hip. It's pretty what? I'm just trying something
new. I don't know. Parkeleon is doing too much.
You know? He's such a messy bitch. Literally.
I think we know we need the ribbon. Yeah, I like
it. Booker is going to just talk to their heads.
Let them know Ledger has it. We'll get it to
him as soon as we can. They just bow. All right,
let's go find Ledger. And how familiar are you
with Parkalian's rats, Booker? Tell me. Probably
pretty familiar, right? Painfully familiar. So
he'll know the one that maybe scarred his left
toe, trying to get his attention. The one that
is behind the rat tail. I'll tell you this, Booker.
These aren't his rats. Not anymore. Not anymore.
Then that changes Booker's reaction a bit. He's
gonna say that still, but from his stance, they're
a little too jolly. They were always meaner.
Yeah, these ones literally want nothing of you.
So they're just friendly rats. They're just in
it for love of the game. He's my type of rat.
Okay, then once... Can we leave without consequence?
Yes, you can leave whenever you want. The show's
over, man. Show's over. Then when we're gone
and out of rat earshot, or at least what Booker
thinks he is, he just whispers to Bailey, Park
Kelly was never that nice. Really? He always
took something. Those weren't his rats? This
is different. I don't know. Let's go find Ledger.
He might be right. This might not be real. Bailey
kind of shifts his eyes. It's kind of wary of
rats now. He's a little worried. Yeah, the demon
rats before were fine. Yeah. But these funny
performers are not cool. The rats are always
honest. The rats are the ones you don't. Yeah,
we know that. You're right. You can trust a demon
rat to screw you over, but a theater rat. Man,
they're performers. They like to lie. True. Kill
all actors now. That's what I'm saying. You go
fund me. You're always saying that. I know. Ledger,
you wander out. Follow a path of slime going
up the opposite end of the crater. Up. Up, up,
up, up, up. And somehow, when you're at the end
of the crater, It keeps going up, a gentle slope
up into loose black branches, the kind of familiar
border of the Deadwood on the edge of Calamity.
And much sooner than any of you probably think
you would, Bailey and Booker catch up to you.
They, from your perspective, they must have been
running pretty fast, but Booker and Bailey, you
probably know that you weren't exactly sprinting
to catch up with him. You just arrived here at
the same time. There you are. I'm surprised the
slime kind of went all the way over here. It
wasn't there before we went in the house. Well,
guess we're moving forward, huh? Would Ledger
have seen those rats? Is it at all feasible that
he would have seen them as he was leaving? Sure.
Because I think he might just be like... What
did Parkeleon have to say to his favorite little
slave? Booker didn't like that, and it shows.
Well, I don't think that was Parkeleon. Huh.
This is different. I think you're right. What
if we could kill him? Booker stops himself from
talking and looks around. Where are we going?
To the center of things, I think. This ribbon,
it's something mighty powerful. I think there's
a reason he wanted it. There's a reason the Academy
wanted it. I don't know if anybody knows what
it really is. I certainly don't. I see a way
out. What do you need it for? I don't know. I
have to give it to myself, I think. Would you
give it to Parkelion? Do you think he would honor
your agreement if he possessed whatever power
it is that it holds? I don't know. But I know
that this is the only lead I have. Fair enough.
I think we just gotta get trudging. I don't think
there's anything for it but to head towards the
middle and... Come with me. Let's trudge along.
You trudge along. The black slimy trail seems
to, just over time, naturally integrate with
the surroundings, the trees, the wood, the knotted
roots on the ground until eventually it is so
diffuse that you can't even really tell where
it's pointing you, but you just get a feeling.
I don't want to tell you what you feel. There
is a sense that you should go forward. Perhaps.
I mean, where else would you go? You kind of...
It seems walking in a straight line will always
take you where you need to go at this point,
just based on recent developments. The trees
become farther apart, more blocky, and then larger,
and then within just a day's hike, you find yourself
among humongous towers of wood, gigantic windowed
trees which would scrape the sky if there was
any sky above you at all. Above these towers,
there is only a net of twisted branches through
which the too bright starlight leaks. And then
eventually you come across one tower higher than
all of the others. The many windows in this massive
building lit up, each room inhabited by someone
or something. And it calls to you, it whispers
to you, and it says, climb me, climb me and rise
closer to the cathedral, closer to the end. And
in the distance behind you, The howls and the
hunger begin. And that is where we'll end.