Hello and welcome to this special episode of
the Roll Bravely podcast. We thought it might
be fun, and in keeping with the holiday season,
to do something a little different. So tonight
only, we'll be playing a heavily modified version
of Magpie Games' Blue Beards Bride. A wonderful
and twisted feminine horror game with heavy gothic
horror elements. To the extent we get it right,
credit to the team of wonderful creatives who
put it together. And to the extent we get it
wrong, mea culpa. We hope we can freak you out
just a little bit, elevate the blood pressure
just a few points. And most of all, we hope we
can provide an enjoyably frightening experience
for those of you listening. This game intentionally
explores antiquated and outdated tropes and themes
surrounding women and womanhood, their place
in society, their roles and responsibilities.
and how they are viewed by the men and other
women in their lives. This is meant, at least
in our interpretation, to ask us how we still,
perhaps unintentionally, see those things present
in our own lives. How those expectations and
restrictions still create terror and uncertainty
in the people who surround us every day. That
said, we hope to handle it with a delicate hand
and ask for grace and understanding. where you
feel we do not. Subject matter may not be appropriate
for all individuals, and we advise listeners
to use their discretion in engaging with or continuing
to engage with the content provided. Hello. Welcome.
Come in. Stay a while, why don't you? Take a
seat by the fire. Relax. Would you like to hear
a story? We've got a good one for you. The story
of the bride of Marquis Renaud Bluin, the mysterious
lord of Chateau d 'Argenterie, who the locals
refer to only as Bluebeard. Rumors insist he
is part fae, or a vampire lord, or a devil from
the Nine Hells. Others, that he is an angel,
trapped here by antagonists on all sides. That
he has sailed to the Summer Vale, to the Smouldering
Isles. and all the world between them. That he
collects jewels, artifacts of dead religions,
ancient sculptures, powerful talismans, and perhaps
women themselves. One week ago, the Marquis arrived
at your family farm, alone, and looking for shelter
for the night. He regaled your family with stories
of his travels and exploits, of the fantastic
beasts he'd bested and slayed, of the wise men
he'd outsmarted. All the while, the two of you
could hardly take your eyes from one another.
Though you consider yourself a fair and chaste
maiden, you were discovered compromised when
your father blew into a fury. Bluebeard intervened,
offering gems, servants, horses, and land as
recompense for the perceived indiscretion, actual
or otherwise. Your father, however, would have
none of it and insisted you be sent from the
home to retire from society among the nuns of
the South or the monks among the dragon's teeth.
At last, almost sadly, Bluebeard relented. and
stated that he would take you for his wife, a
fate at which you did not immediately bristle,
but which you did not either ask for. And so
this die was cast, the thread woven in your fate
sealed. But to what end? On the day of your wedding,
your bridegroom waited on a dais of white marble
ordained by pale oleanders, frail pink hibiscus,
and orchids black and purple. The rites were
administered in accordance with Korab, god of
the seas and open oceans, and you were adorned
with the black rose of Chernobog, as is the custom
of your family and people. As part of this ritual,
You were made to give each other certain gifts.
Now I would ask, Virgin, what gift did you bring
for your husband on your wedding day? My body.
Okay. That's a good one. That's what virgins
do. I like it. upon the marriage altar you place
a wedding gown a nightgown of silk and lace presented
as your own chastity to your husband for all
future now who else do we have here the witch
what did you bring for your husband on your wedding
day um I don't know uh say like a little pouch
that's like all wrapped up and inside of it is
something fleshy. It's like it's all wrapped
in twine. A token of the secret knowledge possessed
by all women. What did you bring for your husband
on your wedding day? A book of rules. A book
of rules? Love it. And last but not least, Kenny,
I believe you settled on the animus, but let
me know if I'm mistaken. And tell us what you
brought for your husband on your wedding day.
I bring to my husband a tie that is made out
of a certain fabric that doesn't loosen as easily
as you might think. A little bit of a noose,
yeah. Take from them what you will. Enjoy what
you can. All keys, save this one. And he turns
the keys to a plain key made of white bone with
just a hole in the center where it loops into
the key ring and is otherwise entirely plain.
This key is the key to my parlor. It is my own
private space, my own private room. You shall
have rooms of your own as well, but this is mine.
I ask that you do not enter. And he places the
keys upon the wedding altar. No sooner has he
done this than the doors to the chapel are thrown
open and a thin, tall man in a tattered suit
emerges from the blinding light beyond. He has
thin, leathery skin that seems almost stretched
skeletal tight across his body. His few long
strands of hair blow in seemingly unnatural directions,
moving as if sensing unseen forces in the world
akin to the whiskers on a cat. The room hushes
instinctively. All eyes begin to track the man
as he approaches your husband. An envelope appears
in his hand. Was it there before? Did you see
him reach into the pocket of his coat to fetch
it? There's a sense like vertigo as reality seems
to shift in some small way under you. Even as
you dismiss the importance of such a minor observation,
on your wedding day, it's so easy to overlook
so much. So understandable to be the least bit
self -involved. Still, you can't shake that something
did... Happened just now, which should have.
Your husband takes the letter from the man. The
servant turns his face toward you, smiling. You
see the glassy, sea -glass blue irises of his
eyes and the yellowed sclera, which seem to both
see you and look through you. He bows his head
and exits behind the wedding. The remainder of
the ceremony continues. And once you are done
and at the reception, your husband takes a seat
next to you. He turns to you and tells you, I
am sorry, darling, but I must be away. I have
business elsewhere that requires my immediate
attention. I shall return in a few days' time.
In the meantime, I hope that you take You will
leave of the grounds and explore as you see fit.
And he pats your hand. Without waiting for response,
he stands and marches from the reception hall.
The reception is beautiful. All of the most powerful
people in Taranatala are present. Vampire lords,
liches, merchants, those you've grown up under
the watchful, fearful eye of. And they are...
Lovely to you. Light. Kind. Caring. The night
ends and you retire to your bedchamber. A full
-length mirror greets you as you begin to undress
from your wedding gown into more reasonable clothing.
I'd like each of you to describe some physical
trait or characteristic of the bride. We can
begin with... Second verse, same as the first.
Why don't we begin with the virgin? Can we go
with somebody else first? Yeah. Because I don't
know. Let's go. Thank you. Let's go with the
witch. Huh? Yeah, some physical characteristic.
Could be scar, height, hair color, eye color,
anything. She got really dirty fingernails. So
even here, as best she's done to clean herself.
to be presented to sort of high society. She
has kind of the indices and remnants of her rural
agrarian life still attached to her fingers and
toes. Yeah. A little black, a little brown. Animus.
She has faint now, but like scratch marks that
are scars running from like behind her hair.
the hair behind her ears like down past behind
her jaw it looks like maybe she got from someone
fighting back fighting back okay um freaky the
mother um she has real dark circles under her
eyes like she just is always tired even when
she's really well rested Tired. That is a very
mother characteristic you've come up with. So
imaginative. I don't know where I got it, it
just came to me. Yeah, just... Nothing like that
in your life or anything. Last but not least,
the virgin. Yeah, very... young innocent looking
very young soft features right despite some hardships
in her prior life she is still a young woman
still finding her place you change into clothing
more appropriate for the time of night which
is approaching midnight and before the bell rings
A handmaiden, elderly, probably in her late 50s,
slips into the room, and she's just kind of looking
at the floor, shuffling sideways, just going
to say, Ma 'am, is there anything I can do for
you, ma 'am, before you turn in for the evening?
Sorry. Can any of us speak? Yeah, here's the
thing, actually. We should figure that out. So
the way the game operates, and I should have
explained this already. We should figure out
how to end the game. Each of you are a characteristic
of the same person. So you, at any given time,
only one person is in control of the bride. And
that changes with regularity. Now... Whoever
is not in control can make suggestions or offer
advice. But ultimately, when the decision is
made, that decision is made and voiced by the
person who is currently in control of the bride.
We'll decide initial control. Although the book
does have a separate system that we've kind of
eschewed for time's sake. But it is good. We're
not skipping it for no reason. But we're not
skipping it. I know, I might have missed it,
but... Okay, so the mother has the ring first
and is currently piloting the bride. In terms
of, and this is one of the things I kind of like
about Powered by the Apocalypse games, to answer
your question about how the day went, I provided
some information. If you'd like a recap of it
somewhat, I can give that, but also it encourages
you as the players to fill in some of that with
me as well. I would ask the mother, how do you
feel about the afternoon? You've just gotten
married, and yet moments following your wedding
day, your husband went away on business, which
is something that you knew could happen, although
you probably didn't expect it this quickly. He's
wealthy and a known traveler. And you were kind
of left in this high society bubble after that.
The food was excellent. There was dancing, if
you care for that. But there are reasons to believe
you may have had a good or bad time. How do you
feel like the evening went? I think it's unbelievable
that he would leave me so soon after our wedding.
I felt like he was ignoring me most of the wedding
day. I know he has to speak to his parents. You
know, family that came, but felt neglected. So,
feeling irritated, annoyed. You expected today
to be what dreams are made of, and yet you can't
help but feel like an afterthought at your own
wedding. You sit here now in your large bedchamber
with your four -post bed. What do they call those
things? Why am I blanking on it? Those, like...
Four -post bed. No, those dressers where ladies
used to, like, do their hair and shit. Vanity.
Vanity! Yeah, vanity. A finely ordained vanity.
More clothes than you've had in your entire life
than your family has had in their entire life.
There are multiple doors attached to your room,
whereas in your prior life, you probably shared
space with your parents and siblings, maybe separated
by... cloth or bays of hay. The woman once more
is going to say, Pardon ma 'am, but you seem
tense. I understand weddings can be stressful.
Tell her to mind your business. Would you like
me to draw a bath? Do you have milk of the poppy?
You just want some heroin? Yeah, we can get you
heroin. What time, like what year is this? I
was going like Game of Thrones. Sorry, and also
like for making suggestions, do we just pop in
and like say something like that or should I?
Yeah, so once we start exploring the manor, basically
what I'll do is I'll go around the table and
just be like, hey, if you've got an action you
want to take, you know, like. I believe you can
do things like examine an item in the room or
whatever. I'll let the people not in control
take those actions first, and then the person
in control can kind of listen to whatever they've
said and then ultimately decide how they interact
with the room beyond that initial. Okay, so just
shut up until you ask. Yeah, or... Or do you,
whatever. You can just say yes. You can just
say yes. So, for instance, there are maiden moves.
Every player can take one in turn, aside from
the mother, who is currently in control. You
can investigate a mysterious object. You can
care for someone. Or you can take stock in the
room. You also may have additional maiden actions
identified on your card. Yeah, so like, for instance,
when you look at the Animus, they have three
independent actions. So when they investigate
a mysterious object, which is a maiden movement,
they can break it and ask follow -up questions.
Basically, like, obtaining additional information
by destroying or dismantling whatever object
they have possession of. Yeah, yeah. So... We're
kind of in that zone right now. You are in your
room. This servant has asked whether you require
anything more, whether she can draw you a bath.
We'll start with the animus and then go around
until we land at the mother who can ultimately
decide how to take the next move. Yell at her
and tell her how dare she asks you about your
feelings, but to draw your bath quietly. I don't
know how fucking furiously I'm supposed to be
playing this character. I think that's up to
you. She sounds like she's going to be a bitch.
She sounds like a real cunt. She just got married,
right? That's all we know? Yeah. That's all you
know. Who the fuck are you to ask me? I know
as much as you. So the description I got. when
the character was given to me was... Just play
yourself. Wrath and fury, innately violent and
aggressive. Oh, all right. I got, don't be fucking
nice. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is, it's, she
is the, you know, you represent the anger and
the hurt and the, like, lack of vulnerability
in the character. You're almost sort of... I
mean, they're all inversions of each other, right?
Whereas like the virgin is like she believes
in people. She is romantically inclined, not
just in terms of like partnership with her husband,
just in the way she views the world, right? How
about you don't treat me like I don't understand
what I just read? God damn it. Nailed it. You
gave me this character, OK? Just fucking nailed
it. We'll move on to the virgin. You're in this
room. Is there anything you would like to investigate
or any advice you have for the mother before
moving forward? I would just have the maid get
the bed ready. Okay. And the witch. I'll tell...
You said the mother? Yeah, yeah. Michelle? I'll
tell the mother to... uh to let me uh how am
i trying to say this like to let me ask her questions
about the man and um the the witch's like personality
is like trying to grab whatever something sharp
so so i can cut myself like the palm of my hand
to draw some blood wait i'm confused what is
the witch asking To get information about my
husband. I'm asking I'm asking you to let me
talk to the woman so and but like you there's
a urge for me for For our body to like cut my
palm Yeah You can also feed her questions if
you want to She doesn't have to ask them, but
you're you know, you're free to feed them as
well. So absent that What do you do? Boy, I just
can't deal with the psychological weirdness of
calling you mother. So what are you going to
do, Michelle? You got to call me mother. I'm
not going to answer until you call me by my name.
Ah, shit. All right. What is the mother going
to do? First, she's going to, I'm going to scold.
What's the maid's name? She hasn't given it to
you. Lisa. I'm just going to call you Lisa. I
don't know why my clothes aren't in order by
color, first of all. Second of all, while I'm
doing that, while I touch something sharp, I
cut my hand and then the witch comes out. Witch
personality. Oh. Okay, nice. So you pass the
ring to the witch after scolding servant Lisa
for not having your clothes color coordinated.
Witch, what you doing? Oh, so I will use my thing
called the medium. So I will spill some of my
own blood to commune with the whores in the room.
And it says I can mark one trauma and the groundskeeper
will share whisperings about... I'm assuming...
Is she the groundskeeper? I'm the groundskeeper,
actually. Oh, okay. Well, yeah, there you go.
You're the groundskeeper. DM. And I'm going to
ask her, but maybe through... You know, a little
witchiness. She could tell me who the thin man
was. Yeah. You take a trauma. When you get to
five trauma, your personality shatters. So you're
asking her and she's just like, oh, he's a good
man. He runs the estate well. He treats us right.
Better than I've been treated in my whole life.
And you hear these whispers coming from all corners
of the room. She lies. When I hear she lies,
I'll slap her and I'll tell her the truth. But
it does seem as though terrible things do happen
to those who stay here for any amount of time.
Myself and my husband, the head waiter, being
the notable exceptions. And then from the vanity,
you just hear the... Like whispering that's just
gonna tell you What is seen What is seen is what
not what is reflected At that yeah, I'll pass
it on to the mother No. Anyone else want to crack
at it? Ma 'am, if you have no further questions,
I would... Oh, I would appreciate your leave
to either draw you a bath or let you be on your
night. I'm the one answering, right? Yep. Um...
Sorry, we got off on the wrong foot. Is your
name Lisa? You can be, yes. My name is Lisa.
Okay, hi Lisa. Yes, drop me a bath. Hello. Thanks.
I will. As she's like leaving, she opens a large
wooden door just like off to the east of the
room. She passes through muttering like, I do
miss being Margaret. And she closes the door
behind her. You hear the sound of water being
like poured from pails and then the sound of
like a dumbwaiter. being, like, dragged up through
the wall as more pails of water go in. This continues
for several minutes. Is it warm water or cold
water? You are still in your bedroom. You can
go to the bathroom and find out. Yes, I'll go
to the bathroom. Naked. Okay. Oh. You just stride
in in all your, uh, wedding night glory. Oh!
Oh! Okay! The gardener walks in with big hedge
clippers. Yeah, you see the old woman. She's
dragging these like heavy pails from across the
floor. Water like splashing over the edges. The
floor itself is a dark marble. The walls seem
to be wallpapered in a color somewhere reminiscent
between sand and blood. The pool or the. Tub
itself is just this giant, clawed, like, four
-leg tub in just kind of the center of the room.
It's about half full of water. Steam is rising
from it. It appears to be quite warm. Beautiful.
That's audible. Oh, yes. I'll finish filling
it, but feel free to get in whenever you prefer.
Let me know when you have enough water. Okay.
When I lay down or get into the tub, I'm just
examining Lisa, Margaret. Just kind of looking
up and down, kind of judging her. So we'll call
that investigate a mysterious object. No, you
don't actually have to for this one. So you kind
of like are eyeing her. And as you eye her, you
see there's a discomfort as she takes the pails
from the dumbwaiter and seems to lift them almost
with ease before setting them on the floor and
dragging them with great difficulty to where
the tub is. Interesting. Are you going to get
in the bath at this point? I'm already laying
in it. Oh, okay. You get in the bath and lay
at... At some point, you notice that the sound
has stopped. She is no longer bringing water.
And when you sit up, eyes open, you see... What
color hair does the bride have? Red. You see
blonde. I like red. You see a red hair. Long.
Floating in the water. Is it one of yours? Looks
like it. You go to pick it up and connected to
it is another blonde hair. Like are they tied?
Devil knot? Sailor knot? They are tied together,
and before you can examine it too awful closely,
you see more hair begin to rise from the tub.
All different colors, lengths, thicknesses, appearing
like textures you've never seen in your life,
but hundreds and hundreds of different types
until the tub itself is full of them, and they
begin to wrap themselves around your limbs, attempting
to pull you to the bottom of the bath. Ugh, I
throw up. That's so gross. All right. We'll say
that this is a good opportunity to integrate
a ring move called Shiver from Fear. So when
you shiver from fear, seeing this as these hairs
emerge, wrapping themselves around you, name
the thing that you are most afraid of in this
moment. Being suffocated. Swallowing the hair.
And as you do, the hair seems to crawl across
you like tendrils. You ever watch Invasion of
the Body Snatchers? It's kind of like that growing
vine as it begins to infect your mouth, your
ears, entering the corners of your eyeballs even.
What are you going to do in this moment? The
bitch needs to come out. You can... So you can
either accept part of it into yourself. You can
take a trauma and free yourself from it. And
that's really it, yeah. So it's either accept
part of it to come inside of me or accept the
trauma? Sort of. You can accept part of it. So
basically the trauma of the event. Like you rationalize.
I'll do that. In a way that it, yeah, you do
that. And as you do, you pull yourself from the
tub and you now have a bracelet made from what
appear to be hundreds of different colored hair
strands that is kind of woven and sits lightly
upon your wrist. As you look at it, it becomes
dear to you. You recognize the sacrifice of the
women who have come before you in this house
in making home that you now reside in. The group
gains a token of loyalty to Bluebeard. Somewhere...
Looks like you don't have it here, but... The
idea is as we move through this, you will collect
either three tokens of loyalty or three tokens
of distrust. Once you have three, you'll be faced
with the ultimate decision of the game. So for
now, you have one token of loyalty. Out of the
bath. Who do you pass the ring to? Kenny's. Who
is he? He's in. The animus, you fool. You sound
like, um, the Venom? Who am I thinking of? The
one with Tom Hardy? Yeah, yeah. It did, both
in spirit and in voice, it did very much sound
like Venom. I'll take it. Cool. Yeah. Okay, you...
Climb from the bath as your personality begins
to take control. You see this bracelet on your
wrist and you feel connected to it. You scramble
for your robe. You grab your robe, pull it across
your back, and in the pocket are the ring of
keys. You remove it hastily, pressing on the
door handle to your own bedroom, which now is
locked. You flip through the key rings. Which
one comes up? i grab a key that it seems to be
bonded together the handle is made of laced bone
and the part that you insert to the lock is spiky
and sharp like obsidian shards yeah put that
into the keyhole okay p -hole the keyhole you
jam the key into the keyhole turning it forcing
the door open, and what appears before you is
not your bedroom, but a long hall. The walls
are lined with hunting trophies. As you look
in, elk, deer, bear, all sorts of animals, each
in a pose of terror and horror as its head hangs
on sort of a wooden plaque. Down the way, maybe
20 pieces. On the other side of the hall is a
man with small spectacles kind of working on
another piece. You can't quite see what he is
doing. However, it appears to be taxidermy of
some kind. I'm going to look at the doorway and
make note of it, but just kind of like think
it's weird. And then I'm just going to walk down
the hallway. And in a stern voice, not like totally
as bitchy as I usually am, just like, what are
you doing here? But not like here in this location,
but like, what are you doing here at the moment?
Like, what's at your hands? Like, interested
in what he's doing, but approaching like violently
almost. yeah as you storm toward him you see
he's like got that like old man with the sewing
kit kind of look moving the needle back and forth
he looks up startled by the sound of your voice
while this is happening we'll go around the table
and see if anybody wants to investigate an item
in the room or do any of the other maiden actions
that are listed on the action page and we will
start with i guess our former host the uh mother
yeah so to to search the room how do i do that
yeah so again it's a brand new game for us so
um i definitely could be clear as well part again
of power by the apocalypse is this idea that
like you can look around the room and ask like
do you see anything that looks like mysterious
or out of place you can also since we're in a
room of taxidermy and these like trophies just
tell me like Oh, I see an animal I don't recognize.
I want to investigate that piece. We kind of
create the world together. You have a lot more
agency in this system than you do in a typical,
maybe a TTRPG that we're more used to playing.
Do all the taxidermy animals look like actual
animals, or did he sew other things together?
Yeah, so as you're moving through the room, you
begin to see weird indiscretions. You look up
at a bear, and you notice that the eyes within
the face, they're not bear eyes. They look like
the eyes of a human person. Again, you look across
directly behind you, a large, Like the teeth.
Of women. Some eyeless. Some without tongues.
Some with faces twisted in horror and others
twisted in delight or ecstasy, but all women.
You reach the taxidermist and you can see he
is working on a human head. Oh. Oh. Yes. Well,
you're not supposed to be in here. I don't think,
anyway. The master didn't tell me you'd be around,
but... How delightful. Are you here just admiring
the work? Yeah, I tried to not let him know that
I'm bothered. So, I'm just like, uh... Is it
me answering, or is it someone else? So it is
the Animus, but you can kind of like push that
towards the Animus in terms of like I don't think
we should let him know that we're bothered by
this. I don't think we should let him know we're
bothered by this. And the witch? I want to slice
my hand again. I want to use my thingy. So I'll
just be like, let me cut my finger. What are
you going to do, Animus? I'm gonna be irritated
that he even asked me that. The master doesn't
have to tell you where I'll be ever. I have run
of the house. I'll go where I please. I asked
you a question. What is it that you're doing
here? What is it that I'm doing? Well, I'm doing
the work of my master who has tasked me with
holding all his dearest memories. encased here
forever both the good and the bad this particular
maiden and he sort of like kind of drops it and
then grabs the hair on top of the head and turns
it towards you as it happens I'm gonna kind of
like get pissed that he moved towards me like
that but I'm also gonna lose control of the body
and give it over to the virgin Okay. So, Virgin,
you are now looking at a dead woman's hair, sort
of a, or dead woman's head, sort of dark brown
hair. The eyes are sewn shut. And he's just going
to continue what he was saying, which is just
like, she made the mistake of becoming overly
familiar with Bluebeard's brother. Nothing happened,
of course, but the master was not pleased with
how often he caught her eyeing him, as it were.
So we've taken her eyes and collected a trophy
so that he can remember not to trust so easily.
Anyway, I'm about done here. Can I help you with
something? I jump back, like, when he, like,
drops the head, but, um, and, like, try to keep
my cool. I just tell him, like, oh, she's very
beautiful. Like, I try to... Look, I've just
finished here, and, well, I think he's going
to reach up and just pass, like, a few strands
of your hair through his, like, forefinger and
middle finger. As he's kind of like examining
your face, not with like any sort of lust or
desire, but as a butcher might view a cut of
beef or as a farmer might view a healthy crop.
And he's just going to say, perhaps we should
just get started already. I would hate for you
to lose any of your luster. And at this point,
sorry, actions that you could take as the virgin
or in general. So you can choose to either sort
of embrace the whore by leaning into it and hoping
that you can like get him on your side or you
can sort of care, try to like, you know, present
yourself as like this innocent that like needs
to be taken care of and maybe get him. On your
side, where is the rest of Liz? You say whore
or whore? Whore or whore. Why are you screaming?
I feel like I want to present myself to him like,
yeah, like that damsel in distress or like, no,
not damsel in distress, like just ditzy and like
he needs to help me. And that I don't want to
appear like I'm on to anything or aware of what's
going on. Yeah. Okay. Go ahead and roll a D8
and add resilience if you have it. I'll be right
back. Oh, you do. So roll a D8, whatever you
get, add a, no, sorry, roll a D12 and then add
one to whatever your result is. I ran. A six
or a nine? A six. A six total. You see that your
innocence for a moment seems to distract him
as he views you in that moment as a person. You're
able to pull away, and yet you see his eyes clarify
as he reaches for you, attempting to grab hold
of you again, and he's just going to say, No,
I will have my trophy. uh he's going to attempt
to grab you you can either uh resort to violence
or attempt to flee um in order to kind of keep
the or trying to keep the peace i just like call
him out on it and say that the master wouldn't
like it and then like leave and then i don't
know if it makes a difference but it was six
plus one for resilience right for seven okay
so that's seven okay So you do take one trauma,
and yet he allows you to leave. Now, as part
of exiting this room, you are allowed to propose
a truth, which means you can either decide what
you learned in this room indicates your husband
is a good man, worthy of faithfulness, or that
your husband is some kind of monster who is worthy
of this loyalty. But what do I do? Yeah. I can
choose either of those? Either of them. However,
if you take a token of disloyalty, you gain an
additional trauma. If you take a token of faithfulness,
you heal one trauma. I take faithfulness. So
you take no trauma as you flee from the room,
insisting that your husband, had he known, would
have had this man fired and gone. from the building
after all he promised you the run of his manner
he told you it was your home to be in as you
see fit and when he returns you will ensure this
man is punished for the liberty he has taken
here as you approach the door let me know who
you hand the ring off to The mother. The mother.
I don't know why I always play evil. You reach
once more into the pocket of your nightgown.
Pull free the key ring. What does the key that
you kind of grab look like? Ah, my keys. My key
of keys. It is... My key of keys. It is... Burnt
wood. Smells of mildew. Has a crack in it. Doesn't
look like it could open much. Does it stick?
Screams at you? No. Yeah. You jam the key into
the keyhole, turn it, open the door, and where
last time you had fled the bathroom, you now
see yourself. in a great atrium, a menagerie.
I don't know what either of those are. It's like
a big bubble filled... It's like a big bubble
filled with plants and birds and shit. Love it.
Love it. Yeah. Basically, yeah. Though some trees,
some... You take a few steps. So as the Animus,
is there anything in this room that you see immediately
that you want to take a closer look at? Whether
it's one of the things I mentioned or something
you think belongs in this space? Is there any...
Are there any plants that I know to be poisonous
or deadly or anything like that? Or suspect heavily,
at least? Yeah. You, uh... look around and as
you're kind of moving through you see a specific
type of Orchid which you know to be of moderately
poisonous the tea from the orchid has a tendency
to cause those who ingest it to in small doses
miscarry pregnancies, become ill, flu -like symptoms
in larger doses may cause death in human beings.
I want to pick some of it and put it in my pocket.
Sure. As you reach for it, you pluck a flower
from the stem, and an audible scream enters your
mind. The sound of terror that ends in that weird
low rattle that men make when they die. You're
distracted for a moment by this, and as you stare
at the flower, You hear a voice around the corner.
Have you come to learn the vintages? It's a tall,
older woman. She's speaking to the mother. Oh,
I thought she was talking to Kenny's character.
Nah, nah, nah. He just did something. And then
we'll move to other people. What? The vintages
yes, we grow our own or we produce our own wine
here Very much so very much so please Would you
come to the cellar with me I can explain the
details your husband would love for you to know
he is quite the enthusiast and he takes Throw
everybody's fucking sus here. Whole fucking place
is sus. Where's sus? You, uh... So again, one
of the actions you can take is to investigate
a mysterious object, which could include her.
So you take that action. This is a maiden move,
doesn't require a roll necessarily. But she's
kind of a stone sort of face. You think it's
going to take some kind of connection to perhaps
lower her guard one way or the other. Is there
anything you think you could do to attempt to
endear yourself to her or to anger? And then
Virgin and Witch, if you've got ideas, feel free
to chime in. Again, to stay on everybody's best
side, just politely decline. Just a question
in general. What does care for a servant mean?
It's something that's a part of one of my things.
Yeah, so it just means you do something that
shows your earnestness or your willingness. So
if, for instance, this person who, you know,
for all intents and purposes, seems ready to
help you, or at least doesn't seem actively trying
to harm you, but you're trying to sort of get
in with them. Maybe you can, like, offer them
something, a day off, a meal, something like
that, you know? And that is, like, a type of
care, and they may or may not become cooperative
with you at that point, depending on what you
do to care for them. Okay. I'll offer just like
some kind of exotic ingredient for wine. Okay.
You take the perhaps orchid, which is already
in your hand from when the animus plucked it
from its root and hold it towards the woman.
Views it, looks back at you, and says, I see
you do have a discerning taste in wine. The flower
from this orchid imparts a beautiful rich flavor
into the vintages. However, it takes significant
time for the toxins to dissipate and mutate in
the alcohol. Sort of a chemical reaction that
occurs over years. Come with me. I have something
for you. Okay, you walk in front of me. She walks
for some time. You enter into a low -ceilinged
building, and as soon as she opens the door,
you see just a staircase going down into what
is a basement. No. At the bottom of the stairs,
you see casks. lining walls all surrounded. The
floor beneath you is just like kind of loose
dirt. She's going to walk to a cast kind of in
the center of the room. Take a glass from the
kind of shelving underneath it and begin to pour
a cup as she holds it out to you. And she'll
say, this is one of our finest vintages. It's
just come into its own. I can teach you about
it. Knowledge of it would greatly impress our
lord. I want to say under my breath, like, why
am I trying to impress this guy? It's your whole
point of being, apparently. Slightly decline.
I want her to try it first. How are you supposed
to drink? What is this, vintages? Wine, though,
right? Yeah, like, because I've heard that you're
supposed to, like, swirl in your mouth. That's
the proper way. Can you show me? Yes, of course.
You see, she's going to take the cup, and she's
just going to, like, throw it back, and she's
going to kind of, like, To say, I've always found
the best way to drink wine is to drink it. A
woman after my own heart. But, I understand the
apprehension. The home has a reputation, and
to be fair, it can be confusing. I hope you've
found your way around with little trouble. Still,
please, share a cup with me. And she will grab
a second cup and pour it. and hand it to her.
As she refills the first. I take her cup. Okay.
To the bride. That's me. I'm already drunk. She's
just going to say long live Maria and drink it
down again. Who's Maria? I'm not Maria. Your
name is not Maria. Oh, fuck that. You better
not drink that shit. I know it's in my mouth
and I spit it out. But like a spit take. As you
spit it out, it is the color of coagulated old
blood. You see the lore of the cellar sort of
weep droplets of blood from underneath it. You
look back up. The woman now has transformed,
her bones cracking as she grows into some sort
of hideous hag. She's going to just say, You've
wasted it! You've wasted it! She's going to reach
for you with one long clawed hand. You have an
opportunity to react in this situation. I mean
feel free to do whatever you want. However Dirty
yourself with violence is a possible option You
could also Cry out for help Or embrace the horror
i have to choose one of those or i can do like
my own pretty much or let's see or you can attempt
to escape what was the first one you can either
resort to violence that one oh okay go ahead
and roll a d12 add your i'm assuming i don't
know that the mother has any carnality But if
you do, that's just like kind of kind of being
a hoe. That's kind of. No, she. She likes the
harlot. Everyone else is a harlot. She's not.
She does. She's got a plus one carnality. Oh,
I do. Hey. What a whore. Lady of the night. OK.
Mom knows her way around it. She was on vacation.
I got six. Six total. Yeah. As you beat back
at the monster, smashing your cup into its head
as it approaches you, it drags a claw across
your face. You're left with four large wounds.
But when you smash it, it... balls kind of into
the barrels, knocking them from the shelves as
they collapse on top of her. You hear the creature
just like squeaking this high pitch like as it
attempts to pull itself from the wreckage, but
cannot. The bride turns and attempts to flee
from the room, but you must reveal a truth. The
cup in your hand. Is it a sign that you trust
your husband? Oh, you also take one trauma from
being attacked. The cup in your hand. Is it a
sign of your husband's devotion to your lifestyle
and the operation of the home? Or is it an indication
that he... is a monster among monsters. Not looking
real good for him. He doesn't seem like a good
guy. This is his house, right? But he's not doing
anything. These are his people. They work for
him. But you thought it was wine also until after.
Yeah, he's gone. What if they are awesome in
front of him and shitty behind his back? Which
is why he's on to his... All of them? Yeah, bro.
To his whole staff? You've only met two. Calm
your tits. Yeah. And they are both women. Maybe
they're just obsessed with him. My husband's
innocent. The one old lady drew you a very nice
bath even after you slapped the shit out of her
and bled all over her. The bath turned into...
hair. Yeah, well, that's the Baz fault. Okay,
so you're taking it as a token of devotion? Yeah,
I guess. Does it have to be devotion? Or just,
we'll see. Yeah, it's either devotion or sorry,
token of faithfulness or disloyalty. So. Faithfulness.
Okay. You believe. As you flee from the cellar
back into the atrium, you see the same old man
who interrupted your wedding. He's standing in
the doorway. He looks at you. with those same
glassy yellow eyes, and says, Ma 'am, I'm glad
to inform you your husband is returning early.
He bade me tell you, wait for him in his parlor.
Please, proceed. And he will wave his hand towards
the door. which had previously led from the Hall
of Trophies. There is one key in your hand. You
insert it into the lock. Open the door. What
the hell? I got a peanut in my throat. A what?
He's been eating peanuts. It's not a metaphor.
He's been eating peanuts and it's got it stuck
in his throat. Oh, it's literally a peanut. They
make sprays for that. Oh, it's just a nut? It
gets stuck in your throat? Did I just... Did
they work? Asking for a friend. Okay. Why did
I eat another one? I'm a monster. Because you're
a... Why'd you swallow without chewing? The real
horror story is just... Living my life. You approach
the door, insert the key, and it leads you to
a small hallway, a foyer. At the end of it, another
door. You know instinctively that this door leads
to your husband's parlor. The room which had
previously asked you to stay out. Now, each of
you gets to vote. Do you enter the parlor or
peer through the keyhole? Just kick that shit
down. Those are our only options? I feel like
just look through the keyhole. Okay, you look
through the keyhole into the parlor What or animus
What do you see? When you look into the keyhole,
what do you lose? I don't know. I'm going to
say that what I see immediately goes from my
mind as my eyes shake and roll in the back of
my head, but I immediately lose some of the anger
that I held onto so tightly. So whatever you
see within the keyhole, whatever horror or blessing
it might be, you feel the anger drain from you.
Is it a gift, an alleviation from the anguish?
under which you've suffered for so long? Or is
it the inability to clutch at the outer edges
of your own emotions, of your own heart? You
can't decide, and to be frank, you no longer
care. Now, mother, what impulse kept you From
entering that room, what in your mind made you
decide to merely peer through the keyhole? Pee
in the keyhole? My childhood. I was told to stay
out of rooms. I didn't listen once. Now I do.
Nice. The witch. How does the bride cope with
what she saw through the keyhole? She's like,
I knew it. Fucking knew it. A sense of relief
of agency in being affirmed. A sense of complete
knowledge. And in that moment, you feel the hand
of your husband land on your shoulder. I scream.
Need peace. That's his voice? Yeah. Oh, shit.
He definitely touched children. He's an old priest.
Oh, shit. Can't change it now. Cough. Cough and
say that again. What's that kid doing in your
office, man? There's no kid in my office, first
of all. What was that noise? My office has no
children. It might be the only one without children
right now. We can't see what's happening in your
room, Sammy. Hey, we just got cartoons and shit
in the background. A clear sign. That's the child's
room, right? That little girl? Nope. I'm just
kidding. That's... I like how it went from Bluebeard
to Charles' room real fast. Yeah, what the hell,
guys? This is gay. This is make -believe, guys.
God damn it. Ten seconds ago, the villain was
a pedophile. And he embraces you and he says,
This... was a test. And you hear chirping of
songbirds in the background coming maybe from
the atrium that you were just in. It grows louder
and louder and swells in the distance. I am glad
I can trust you. I'm glad you know to put your
faith in me. And he puts his other hand on your
shoulder and begins to sort of lead you from
the room, standing behind you. moving you forward.
For the rest of your days, you shall have whatever
rain you care to hear. And that sound of songbirds
grows and grows until it seems to be fighting
with him for your own attention. Your room will
be ordained and whatever your heart desires,
and you will be freed. From the ridiculous maze
and torture that is this place. You put yourself
in my hand, little bird. And now, the sound begins
to drown him out. Begins to drown you out. So
that all you have is the sound of the songbird.
And I shall keep you in a pretty... Guilty Cage.
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