12-sided stories is for mature audiences and often deals with topics that may be difficult
for some listeners.
Discretion is advised.
Welcome to A Ravenous Hunger, a second edition Trail of Cthulhu actual play performed by
the 12-sided stories radio theater.
Now your keeper, Wes Otis.
Hello, I'm Wes Otis.
Welcome to A Ravenous Hunger, a Trail of Cthulhu second edition actual play sponsored by Pelgrane
Press.
I'm super excited because as longtime listeners know, we love gumshoe.
We've done a lot of gumshoe games on this podcast.
And right now, Pelgrane Press is running a backer kit for their newest edition of Trail
of Cthulhu.
And they've asked us to run it for this particular show.
So of course, we're going to say yes to that because we love gumshoe.
We have some amazing players with us today.
Let us start with Lev.
Hello, I'm Lev.
I use they, them pronouns and I am playing Matilda Mendoza also using they, them pronouns.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Candice, also known as Candice Magnificent.
My pronouns are they, she and I am playing LaShawn Roberts, a journalism student, also
they, she.
Hey, I'm Michelle.
And today I am playing Dorothy Dot Trujillo and she is a history major and we are both
she, her.
Hi, I'm Jen slash Youngles.
I use she, they pronouns.
I'm playing Mac, who's probably going to be a problem.
Who uses they, she pronouns?
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Head to 12 Sided Stories Patreon today.
OK, let's jump straight into it.
Miskatonic University, 1934.
Not too long after the expedition to Antarctica went terribly wrong and cast a dark shadow
over the school, the depression is on and the Dust Bowl is causing havoc throughout
the Midwest and can even be seen sometimes all the way to New York.
There's also unrest in Europe.
There's a power struggle that's going to affect the entire world in just a few years.
It is a dark time.
But before we get to the present day, we should go to the past.
We're going to do flashback scenes for each of the players to find out how they got to
Miskatonic U.
Let us start with the problem.
Who's already said they're the problem, Jen.
Because we might as well see where the problem is going to lead.
Jen, let's flashback to when you're in the kitchen with your dad at home before leaving
for Miskatonic.
You're about to tell him that you're going to be an art student.
So he turns to you and says, look, you keep saying you don't want to do private investigation.
You keep saying this, we've done work before.
You're really good at it.
You can make some money.
You know, you seem interested.
That's all I'm saying.
Just because I'm good at something does not mean I'm interested in it.
We've been over this.
I want to learn how to make pretty pictures.
OK.
I want to be able to express something outside of just using words.
I want to make a mark on the world that has absolutely nothing to do with any death, any
dying, any anything.
I am so tired of being the weirdo that just, oh, there she is over there doing weirdo private
investigation.
Like no one my age does what I do, dad.
Like come on.
I just want to have fun.
Fun is overrated.
There's so much there's so much more to the world than fun.
And let's talk about art.
You have never been an artist.
I mean, sure, you've taken your time and tried to draw, you know, stick figures and stuff,
but you haven't ever been interested in it before.
Why now?
Well, haven't you always said I have to try everything, say yes to all opportunities,
broaden my horizons on the great frontier or whatever?
That's what I'm doing.
Right.
Broaden your horizons.
Yes.
But I was talking about hobbies, not jobs.
There's a big difference between putting all your eggs in one basket that you've never
actually weaved.
OK, technically they need art for tons of things.
OK, like people make buildings.
People also draw in the courtroom or draw pictures for the newspaper.
You know, it doesn't have to be painting or anything.
Obviously, I'm really bad at that.
But maybe I could do one of those new impressionists or something.
I don't know.
Don't people need photographers or technically artists?
They are they're at crime scenes.
You know, who knows?
And then I think Max stops and realizes that they're not getting anywhere in this conversation.
And they're just like giving their father more fuel to use against them later.
So they just go, you know what, dad, you're right.
You're totally right.
What was I thinking?
But you know what?
I think art can be a new creative way to lead to investigations.
You know what I'm saying?
Like maybe an artist gets murdered.
And how would I know if I don't know anything about art?
You know, they learn about history and stuff, too.
Are you?
OK.
Well, look, there is one thing you could do.
That would be helpful if you want to go to art school, which, by the way, I don't know
any art school that's going to accept you at your current level of skill.
I'm just being honest with you, not trying to to make things hard.
But we need to be realistic here.
I could get you in to Miss Katonic U.
Are you serious?
Yes.
There is a case that I'd like you to look into.
Of course there is.
I knew it was going to be.
I'll pay for the whole goddamn thing.
All right.
And I can still do art.
You'll be an art student, but you'll also be undercover for me.
Besides, where are you going to get seventeen hundred dollars to go to college with?
You know, that is a valid point.
I can't see me working for seventeen hundred dollars either.
And Mac clenches their fists and gets that look on their face when they have been defeated
in these many arguments that we've had over and over again about various things ever since
I was a child.
And I think her dad knows that look.
And so she doesn't really have to say anything, but she huffs and then just walks to her room
to start packing.
OK, cool.
All right.
Let's jump over to Candice real quick.
So the background is my parents died when I was a kid, like very young.
I don't really have very many memories of them.
My mother's sister took me in.
So I live with my two aunts.
Their names are Lena and Maya and they are married.
Well, married.
It's the 30s, you know, and I have a rabbit named Hopscotch that I imagine probably lives
with them unless they allow me to take the rabbit with me to school when I leave.
But I think the reason that I wanted to get a journalism degree is because every morning
I would start the day with like the newspaper.
We would all kind of sit and do like a round robin of reading the newspaper.
So like once you're done with a section, you fold it back up and you hand it to the next
person and then you take the other one from the person on your left.
You start reading that.
I think LaShawn was always just like, this is genius.
Like you're making something that everybody touches, that everybody reads, that everybody
has to have.
It's a long term investment and a long term return on investment, right, with people buying
into what you're making.
And surely there have to be other ways.
I mean, the radio is a thing.
Like what if radio and newspaper work together to like make something different, right?
So I think they're very passionate about telling the story itself and like trying to win a
Pulitzer or get out, get their name out there, right, be well known.
But I also think that a big part of their interest lies in making something new as well
out of multimedia.
Awesome.
OK, so real quick, I got Hopscotch.
What was, is it, what was the ants again?
Nia, Lena, Lena and Maya.
Here's my stance on gay marriage in the past.
If there can be magic and monsters and everything else in your game, there can also be a past
where people weren't homophobic.
Into it.
Yeah, that's how I look at it.
It is late Sunday afternoon, like around three o'clock.
You have just woken up.
You spent all night playing upright bass and smoking that jazz grass.
And you come outside, Hopscotch is in your arms as you sit at the table and your ants,
Maya and Lena, are cooking together.
That's something they've always enjoyed doing since they got married.
It's something that you've always enjoyed watching them do in the newspapers there.
And it is opened to a large advert for Miss Katonic U and it has a big circle around one
of the new classes they're giving, which is a multimedia class, though they probably wouldn't
have called it that back then.
But since it's the 1930s, the World's Fair recently came out with a new invention called
television.
It's way away from being used widely, but it is something that people in journalism
and people who read the paper a lot are interested in.
And your aunt seemed to be putting a very specific clue in front of you.
And Lena turns to you and says, so how was the gig last night?
It was great.
It was real cool.
I had a good time.
I noticed that you took some of my jazz grass and I hope that you'll...
What?
How do you know it wasn't on Maya?
Because we smoked together.
Oh.
Yeah.
That's a lot of information.
It is, but you know what kind of household you're in.
No, I do.
But anyway, I'm sorry I took some.
How much do you want me to pay?
Do you want me to pay you back?
I'll pay you back.
No, I don't want you to pay me back.
Just take some, give some.
Whenever you get yours, just put some back.
That's all we're saying.
Okay.
I'll replace what I took.
I'm sorry.
Madeline wasn't around.
There was nothing I could do.
Yeah.
No, I get it.
I get it.
So the show went well?
Yeah.
Yeah, it was good.
I mean, Darius thinks he's such hot shit.
You should have seen him up there.
Like really going to town.
Like we had a whole breakdown in the middle and I got to solo and it was awesome.
But like he thinks he is the next big thing in scatting and I just...
You should see the face he makes.
It's really stupid.
Like it's really, it's really stupid.
You can tell he thinks he's going on a good tear.
He sounded beautiful, but you know, he's a lead singer.
You don't have to take up all the spotlight, you know?
They really think they do though, don't they?
I mean, like won't let it go.
Well yeah.
But if you're really into jazz, you're listening to the bass and drums.
That's it.
Yeah.
I wait, I wait seven minutes for my solo.
I get my solo and he's scatting through half of it.
Like it feels, it feels like a prank almost.
If it didn't sound so good, I just got to leave it alone.
I get it.
So I was reading the paper and she puts the paper in front of you and she goes, have you
heard of this?
It's called television.
It was in the world's fair recently and it's, it's supposed to be where you can watch pictures
on a screen in your own home.
Oh, wow.
So I heard about something like this.
There wasn't any pictures or anything, but I heard about this in, what was it?
I think it's Modern Electronics.
I don't know.
I was reading a magazine at the library and I saw something like that.
It looked really cool and I don't know, I, it feels like it's like the future.
You know what I mean?
Like the future.
You always said that you were interested in maybe going to school for journalism or something.
Yeah.
I want to, I want to do something with that.
I feel like there's like a whole new horizon.
Like as they're having this conversation, they start rolling a little joint.
Okay.
And Maya comes up behind Lena and kind of gives her a bit of a hug and then looks down
at you because you're sitting with hopscotch in your lap while you roll a joint.
She goes, well, we were thinking that this would be a good opportunity and we know, you
know, Miss Katonic's not that far from here.
It's within a few hours drive.
So if you went there, you could always come home for the weekend or whatever and do your
gigs and we could help you out if you needed some extra scratch.
I think Lashawn, like their face lights up at first, right?
Their eyes get really big.
They start kind of pouring over this ad, running their fingers over the ink as though it's
raised and they can feel it.
Like they're just really into it.
But then it starts to click in their mind what they're saying.
Yeah.
But you know, I mean, this school got a telephone because I'm going to need to call y'all and
let you know that I'm coming home.
I don't want any of this lovey-dovey stuff in front of me.
I don't need to walk in here and you guys are having some kind of, I don't know, tableau
of libertine France or something.
I don't need it.
I know you guys have your friends and you all are bohemians, but I don't want to see
it.
I mean, unless it's like your friend Daisy, but otherwise I don't want to see it.
Well, I understand.
We're family.
I get it.
You don't want to walk in on anything.
You guys are doing your whole empty nester thing.
I might be back.
No, no.
Don't change my room around or anything.
Don't like what we do with it.
That's where hopscotch lives.
Anyway, we we understand we're we're we're hip.
We're cool.
Lashon like nods their head and it is clear that they do not agree.
Yeah, no, not at all.
And then my is like, and I'd like to point out that even though you think we're bohemian,
but here you are at three o'clock in the afternoon about to smoke reefer at a breakfast table
after playing jazz all night and doing God knows what with who.
My point is maybe you shouldn't be throwing stones, young lady.
Lashon like takes like a really deep inhale.
One of the ones that's like an exhale and an inhale of that like little plume of smoke
that you just exhaled.
And I kind of looks at her with like this half smile.
And as she just looks at Maya, just holds her arm out and hands the joint like to whoever
will get it, knowing that Lena is going to take it.
Yeah, Lena takes it.
She goes, this will go towards what you owe us.
And then she takes the puff.
So I think that's a good place to actually end the scene.
Let us I'm leaving left for the end.
Let us go over to let us go over to Michelle.
Michelle home life.
I know you had said you were a bit naive.
Where did you grow up?
Arizona.
Yeah, I grew up in Arizona and religious family.
The good girl, you know, lives on on the ranch with her parents and probably her grandparents.
And.
OK, so it is an early Friday morning.
You are milking a cow and your father comes up behind you and says, leave that for a second.
I'll call one of your brothers over to deal with that.
I wanted to talk to you for a moment.
You guys start walking near where all the horses are.
And it's one of those actual working farms, as in you guys have cows and you have horses
and you have chickens and the whole nine yards.
You have a lot of different animals and a lot of space like you've got acres of land.
And he goes, you know, I've been watching you do chores and work around here.
And we moved up here to get more opportunity, not only for us, which I mean, we've done
decent, but also for you all.
Plus, if I'm being honest, your brothers, they're not as smart as you.
So I was thinking that it might be time now that school is done, that you went somewhere
that wasn't here and got some experience out in the world, went to college.
I know you like history a lot.
What do you think?
I mean, I have always wanted to kind of explore, but can we afford it?
Yeah, we can afford it.
You might have to take on a part time job, but mom and I talked and your grandfather
has some money.
We can figure it out.
Ranch has been doing good.
You know, even with this financial slump, the world's in, people still need to eat.
And so we're still selling decent, maybe not as the prices we were, but we'll figure it
out.
OK, yeah, I think I'd like to.
I mean, where though?
I haven't even looked at any colleges.
There's a lot of different places that you can go.
Your mother was talking about possibly going to a college in Boston or there's a small
college that's actually a little bit more affordable for us in the city called Arkham.
I have to warn you, though, you've never seen snow before.
Neither have I.
But I've heard it's very cold.
And so you would need to at least buy a coat or something, I'm thinking.
I don't know.
I've never had to deal with it.
So we'll have to look into that.
OK, I mean, wow, I've never even been to the East Coast.
I think I think this will this will be an adventure.
That's what I was hoping how I was hoping you would see it.
Can I take Jiffy with me?
Yeah, you can take Jiffy with you.
Jiffy's my cat, by the way, he says.
I'll start making the arrangements.
And I mean, I'm not sure what you can do with the history degree.
You can be a teacher or I don't know.
And there are schools near enough to the ranch that you can visit us and all of that.
But it's time that you start your own life.
And, you know, you're not going to be able to see the world milk and the cows here.
I understand.
And I just give him a big hug and say thank you so much for this opportunity.
Of course, honey.
All right.
So let's jump over to Lev real quick.
Holda, you are deep underwater.
You see the surface of the water above you, but you can't quite get to it because something's
holding on to your leg and you are trying desperately to hold in the breath that you
have.
You can feel the burn in your throat to want to let out water and breathe in.
Can I get a stability check?
And what this is?
First of all, let's go.
What this is, is you're rolling a D6.
All right.
Just as a quick review for everybody on what rolling means in gumshoe for investigation
skills, you don't have to roll.
If you have the right skill that is connected to the clue, you automatically get that clue
and you can spend your investigation points to get bonuses within the scene, extra information
and things like that.
General skills are separate.
They have pools of points, stability being one of them.
So in this instance, Lev, you can spend those points to add to your die roll.
You want to try to get a four or better in this situation.
Most of the time that's going to be the roll.
So it's up to you.
How many points from your stability pool would you like to spend?
I'll, given how I roll, I will spend two stability, which will take me down to eight.
Okay.
But again, you don't have to worry about that because this is a flashback.
So you'll have them all back.
Okay.
And then I add that to, to whatever my die roll is.
Die roll is, and that's it.
All right.
Let's see.
I did roll a five, so now it's a seven.
All right.
You are able to control your fear.
What do you want to do?
You see the top end, but something's holding onto your leg.
This is something that Matilda has experienced regularly their whole life.
It never gets any easier, but it does come with familiarity.
They've tried kind of every permutation of what to do.
They've breathed in, they've tried to swim up, they've tried to move the whatever it
is off their leg.
But I think they realized they've never been brave enough to look down at what's on their
leg.
And there's that inclination to like, okay, I'm just going to do it.
I'm just going to do it.
I'm going to do it fast.
I'm going to look and I will know what it is.
And their chin never like drops.
They kind of like push their eyes down and they're trying to look, but it's, you know,
like the rest of their body's in the way and they can't, they can't see it and they can't
quite make themselves like duck their chin.
So I think they do what they've always done and just kind of feel down their own pant
leg and try to just grip whatever it is and pull.
Usually this works for you, but this time when you grab, you feel a wrist and a hand
comes up and pulls you deeper into the water.
Do you open your eyes or do you keep them closed?
I think I'm going to open my eyes.
I'm going to twist around and try and open my eyes because the extra hand is more rare
than the single hand.
So I think at that point they'll, they'll kind of like twist around and try and see
what it is.
You come face to face with your aunt.
You've never met her before, but she looks exactly like your mother being her twin.
It seems that she's drowned a long time ago.
Her skin is starting to come off and is floating in the water.
Her eyes are white, drained of all color and her face is badly decayed.
She looks at you and she yells and you wake up suddenly and sit straight up in your bed
covered in sweat.
They sit up and scrub at their eyes, trying to just like push the image out of their head,
even though it's the only thing they see every time they close their eyes.
They've got this mane of, in our time would be very easily salon achieved, like silver
gray hair that is long and full.
But in this time, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense how someone would do that and
not just burn all the hair off the top of their head.
And they try and tame their hair back down because having extra things like touching
their face is too much at this point.
So they kind of like train it back into these two little buns on top of their head.
It's become rote, like a mechanism for calming down of like, if my hair is put up, I can
see and I can breathe and there's nothing touching me and I can move forward.
Cool.
Right then, your mother opens the door to your room.
She goes, I heard you scream.
Did you have another nightmare, honey?
When don't I?
You know, when don't I?
She sits on the bed next to you.
I'm sorry.
I know it's been hard.
The doctors say that you just need to breathe and try to calm down, you know, hysteria runs
in our family.
It's not hysteria, mom.
I used to deal with it all the time until I got depressed.
Well, I can't wait for that chapter of my life.
Thank you so much for the reminder.
Sorry, honey.
Sorry.
It's, yes, yes, it's the hysteria.
Sure.
Yes, it's the hysteria.
Does that make you feel better?
If I say it's the hysteria, will that make you feel better?
No, what makes me feel better is if you're not going through this, what can we do to
help you?
I don't know.
Well, we've tried everything, haven't we?
They gesture over at this extra shelf in their room that just has like bottles and tinctures
and liquids and pills and all kinds of things that Matilda has tried and absolutely not
taken to any of them and has stopped them or hidden that they've stopped them from their
family.
Above Game real quick, how much have you told your mother?
I think there was like one conversation about the dream when they were much younger and
kind of gave in detail before their hair started changing, before they were being sent to the
doctor regularly.
I think it was like one conversation where I described the woman and my mom freaked out
because it was absolutely my aunt and I never met her.
And so that's kind of what sent her down this rabbit hole of, we'll go to the doctors and
they'll figure it out.
I think Matilda doesn't talk about it much in detail with their mother.
I think I have hidden that I applied to Miscatonic and I'm going to go probably with only leaving
a note.
Well, honey, if you have another one of those dreams, maybe it's time for us to look into
one of those health wellness places.
The doctor said that it might help you to go to some sort of institution where you could
work on calming your nerves down.
I mean, your dad isn't working right now, so we don't have a lot of money for it.
But we just, we want to help you any way that we can.
And we love you, honey.
We don't want any of this for you.
I think at the mention of another doctor, Matilda kind of like locks down and tenses
up.
But at the very like gentle motherly words and the reminder that their dad is still out
of work, they kind of intentionally loosen up and nod.
I love you too.
Is Harriet up yet?
Yes, she's eating breakfast.
I'm going to go talk to her.
I'm going to talk to her.
You know, with the...
And I don't like say it.
I leave the trail off enough for her to make her own assumptions.
She looks at you with sad eyes and says, I understand.
I used to have that bond with my sister too.
I think all twins do.
I kind of really slowly stand up and kiss the side of her head because now I feel guilty
for being short and pissy with her.
And I leave the room.
You walk into the kitchen, Harriet's eating breakfast.
And before you say anything, she goes, you had another nightmare, didn't you?
Yes, yes, yes.
It's very predictable.
We all know I'm very predictable.
Thank you so much.
And you're always angry after you wake up.
I hate that you know me this well.
What the fuck?
I'm your twin.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, me too.
It's kind of weird.
I'm not having the same dream.
I'm glad I'm not.
Yeah, lucky you, firstborn.
It has its privileges.
And I think like they pull out of their night shirt, they kind of pull the acceptance letter
and just really subtly try to slide it under the table.
She takes it and reads it and then hands it back to you underneath the table.
She goes, I understand.
It makes sense.
You are going to have to deal with them.
Is that OK?
I think that's also part of the benefits of being the firstborn, isn't it?
I mean, yeah, actually.
OK, OK.
I want you to be able to figure out what's going on.
And they're talking about putting you in an institution, you know.
That's the big thing that's making me want to move with haste because I don't need that.
I don't need that.
I don't know what this is, but I don't need that because I think it'll just get worse
if I'm there.
Absolutely.
Just, you know, phone and write and send carrier pensions, whatever.
When you move into your place in New York, you better you better come visit me.
OK?
Of course.
I love you.
I love you, too.
I'm going to take my worms so you don't have to worry about the farm.
Yeah, thanks for that.
I appreciate that.
It's cold up there, so make sure you're there not too close to the heater, but near the
heater.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
OK, good.
All right.
So now we fast forward.
It is 1934.
It is early December and you're in your junior year of your college education.
Your dorm is older.
It's been remodeled, but it's been there for a very long time.
And there are four other buildings that are near you that were built at the same time
and have been renovated into classrooms.
You have the journalism building, which has a smaller library in it.
It also houses the history department.
You have the medical building with labs and classrooms.
There is also the art building, which has several large studios, including a dance studio
on the top floor that is used as a rehearsal space.
Finally, there's the pool building, which has been shuttered since 1914.
No one's allowed in.
They actually have a guard that checks it twice a day and it's been boarded up pretty
well.
Does the guard go inside?
The guard does not go inside.
Stays outside the entire time.
Do they just shine a flashlight in there?
They just make sure that the locks are on.
They boarded up all of the windows.
They boarded up the entryway and the back way.
And then they put a large fence around the whole thing that's also locked.
So they don't want anybody near this place.
And I will also say, Matilda, after two years of digging, you have not found a lot.
Matilda has a tree that they sit under and just look at the building.
Okay, cool.
It's their study spot, but they really are just like, how the hell am I going to get
in there?
Let's start there then.
Even though it's early December, it's an incredibly warm day.
There has been some snow, but it hasn't really stuck.
And right now outside of Miskatonic is nice and sunny and warm.
The perfect time to eat outside before the first big snow later in the month.
Matilda, you're sitting in your normal spot looking at the pool building under a large
oak tree and a few feet away is a picnic table where Dot and Lashawn are studying.
You all know Matilda is just a few feet away, but they seem to always want to sit right
there and stare as opposed to just joining you all at the table.
But you haven't really pushed them on that.
Why don't we start there?
We're just studying and I look over at Matilda and I look at Lashawn.
I'm like, why does Matilda always stare at that building?
You know, I don't know.
I've noticed that too.
It's a puzzle I can't quite solve.
Matilda!
Oh, hi.
Yes.
Hi.
Yes.
Hi.
How are you doing today?
Where do you go, man?
I go to the medical building.
I go to my dorm.
I...
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
You do this thing.
You see them turn.
They're a black androgynous person.
Slightly feminine features.
They're pretty, but also dressed very masculine.
And they mimic you.
They have like a little cigarette behind their ear and they mimic you by like just staring.
It's like really exaggerated.
Like their eyes are kind of dull and half-lidded and their mouth is like a jar and they just
look like they're about to fall asleep.
That's you.
That I just did.
I'll do it again.
That's you right now looking at that building.
You're going to catch flies.
You're going to swallow flies.
I'm just saying that that's what you look like.
You're over here trying to be responsible to do the dutiful thing to our education and
studies and you're over there fantasizing about a building.
Is it sexy in there?
I wouldn't know.
No one's been in there, but I mean, I wouldn't be against finding out.
You are a journalism major, aren't you?
You're always looking for a story.
Always, obviously.
Well, why haven't you gone in there then?
It's the only boarded up building on campus.
Well, not the only boarded up building, but the only boarded up building that is patrolled
on campus.
Why haven't you gone in then?
Yeah, I'm trying to find a crack team.
My guys won't get down here.
Oh, your guys?
Who are your guys?
Well, it's Darius and Lunella and it's my band, man.
Your bandmates.
Yes, your bandmates.
I mean, you know, they're my guys.
They come in and we investigate things.
You play music at it.
Do you think it'll shimmy its boards off if you get a hot enough scat going?
I mean, sometimes music is the language that everyone can understand.
So you know what?
I don't need to explain this to you.
What I need to know is why haven't you gone in the building that obviously calls to you?
Dot, do you see them reflecting?
You see them deflecting, right, Dot?
Like you see it.
I do.
I just wonder, Matilda, why are you always staring at it?
And I don't know, something else popped in my head.
If it's been boarded up for 20 years and she like pushes her glasses up on her nose.
That's so cute.
And she goes, why hasn't the university just demolished it?
I mean, you're the history major.
You're the history expert.
You have all the books and the knowledge.
Why don't you know?
Why are you asking me?
Well, because history tells you why people did things.
It doesn't tell you why they didn't.
Oh man, this is that's that's good.
That's solid.
Yeah, actually.
Wow.
I was going to try and question around that, but that's pretty airtight.
Wow.
LaShawn writing furiously like scribbles from like a mile away.
Yeah, I'm glad you're writing that one down.
That one's like definitely worth keeping track of.
I mean, wow.
Like, you know, a multimedia empire, right?
And multimedia is I mean, I'm just kind of throwing that around right now.
But a multimedia empire is what I want to do.
And I feel like, you know, you've got to combine with a written word, but with like a radio
or something or like this new television thing and like get multiple perspectives.
So it's not just like old white guys.
You know what I'm saying?
Old white guys are always telling us what to do.
But like this time we can ask the old white guys and the young people, right.
And people from all different backgrounds and walks of life.
That way you get like a more three hundred and sixty degree approach to what you're talking
about on any given day.
Maybe we start with that building.
Are you guys on scholarship?
Yes, almost exclusively.
No, I work part time.
Where do you work?
The library.
I should have seen that coming.
Yeah, that's that makes a lot of sense.
I tried to get a job at the library.
They they said they were full up.
I'm going to keep trying anything because you're not boring.
Oh, shit.
Hey, Mac walks up.
What's up, Mac?
I see him until the staring at the building again.
OK, yeah, yeah, they they won't tell us why.
They said that they just they deflected and said that we should be looking into it or
I should be looking into it.
I'm just saying you're the journalism major.
Figure it out.
No journalist works alone.
Well, what are we all doing here then?
I mean, I'll go in there.
Yeah, see, I told you I had a guy.
Thank you, Matt.
You said your bandmates for your guy.
Mac is not your guy.
Mac, you are a newly appointed guy and I would very much like you to whether Mac likes it
or not.
I know you want to look into stuff.
I want to look into stuff.
Excuse me.
You don't want to look into stuff.
You know, have a looking into stuff compulsion.
I'm just saying I'm bored.
So if you want to break into the building, I'm down.
Yeah, I mean, those guards are a joke.
I will say I do catch myself looking at that building sometimes.
Thank you.
Only to watch the security guards fail to actually do their job.
Can you imagine if there was a fire in there?
No one would know until the building was half burned down.
Oh, that's interesting.
You know what I learned?
The guards take a break.
Do they now?
It's not a long one.
More scribbling.
They're a little bit on a pattern.
Well, I mean, you know, I'm not I'm not one to normally break the rules, but I am also
very curious.
So I'm thinking if we are going to go in there, we should do it at night and we should prepare
like with flashlights and maybe a bolt cutter.
Look at the brain on Dot.
I mean, for somebody who who doesn't do this, you sure are doing a good job.
I don't know.
I don't have these glasses for nothing.
I like when you decide to be a bad girl.
This is fun.
And Dot just kind of flushes and giggles.
Just to her, this is really, really bad.
It's so much better, Dot, that you pay your way through school because they're going to
be that much less likely to kick you out.
Scholarship.
You're here for free.
So make sure you're on high alert, Matilda.
Yeah, no, for sure.
I don't have to be worried about kicked out.
Yeah.
What are what are you doing here?
How you you just kind of float around campus like a well, like a ghost and you kind of
haunt the art building and no one ever seems happier there.
No offense.
You're using a lot of confrontational language.
LaShawn starts writing it down.
I go to school here like like like all of you normal people, right?
Oh, yes.
A normal person calls someone else normal.
Absolutely.
Look, do you want to get in the building or not?
I can get us some bolt cutters.
They use them in the wire part of the art, the art space building thing.
So you know, I don't know what's kind of interesting, Mac, is that you've been here as long as
we have, but we've never seen any of your art.
It's a that's true.
I would love to.
It's because it's secret.
Yeah, but see, OK, so the thing about art, right, is that like it's got to make you feel
something.
And so I want to make sure when it's revealed that people actually feel something than the
rage I feel deep down inside.
But that's not about today.
That's cool, beans, man.
How will you know if someone's going to feel it?
If you haven't let them try to feel it, though, is the thing says the person that stares at
the building instead of going inside.
Yikes.
OK, just saying.
So I will get the bolt cutters library.
What you're going to get.
I feel like it's a potluck situation, right?
We all bring a criminal item.
I mean, I've got reefer.
What else do we need?
That counts and count that.
Does a flashlight count?
Yes.
OK.
I'll get some flashlights.
I've got bolt cutters, too.
I can bring the bolt cutters.
I sometimes like you got to break in to get a gig, you know.
Yeah, but I think it'll be better for using the school's bolt cutters instead of yours.
Oh, science lab.
Easy.
Oh, OK.
All right.
If you want to bring it, why don't we bring two and then that way we'll have an extra pair
in case we need to stab a guy.
Stab?
Not that I plan on that happening.
I'm just saying, you know.
Listen, I've got to have plausible deniability to keep my scholarship, man.
Yeah, same.
You can turn around.
You worked in the historical duels, right?
Doctors would just turn around.
You can just turn around.
There you go.
Plausible, plausible, whatever you said.
Yeah, OK.
You see why Mac is my guy?
You see how they're pulling their weight?
You see it?
You see?
Yeah, plausible deniability really makes a lot of sense.
This is the level of involvement that I need.
I don't think we're going to be murdering people.
Speak for yourself, library.
Ideally, no, but...
We're just going into a building.
Why are you so keen to kill someone?
I mean, I'm not against checking it out after, but...
I'm just saying if one of us has to do it, I will probably be fine.
That's all I'm saying.
So I volunteer.
I'm going to let you do that.
Plan B, Plan C. You know what I mean?
You don't want to get caught with your pants down, unless you want to get caught with your
pants down, which I don't.
So...
I think at that moment, Lashawn realizes that they're in a public place and starts looking
around to make sure that nobody else is listening to them.
Well, there is a squirrel and it is very judgy, but...
Damn it.
You know, that's about it.
Judgy squirrels.
Matilda, what are you going to bring?
I'm bringing flashlights.
Right.
And Mac and Lashawn are bringing bolt cutters and some illegal stuff.
And what are you going to bring?
Well, you know, I...
They look like uncomfortable kind of for the first time.
They've got on some high-waisted pants and suspenders over one of those tops that have
the really big floppy collars.
And they start kind of fidgeting with the collar and pulling it away from their neck.
I'll bring a flashlight too.
We should have multiples.
And I don't know, I've got some smooth rocks that I can put in a slingshot so we don't
have to necessarily stab someone.
And they look kind of over a Mac.
What do you need me to bring?
What do you want me to bring?
I don't know.
I think snacks would be nice.
Snacks would be pretty sick.
Yeah.
I can...
I think my roommate made some biscuits a couple days ago.
I can bring some of those.
You're going to bring the crumbliest snack in the world to a high level...
Like we are going on a high level exploratory mission.
This is not Hansel and Gretel.
Is there anything else that you might have that doesn't leave evidence behind?
Like a key lime pie or...
I don't know.
I could use some biscuits.
I thought the biscuits was a good idea.
Thank you, Matt.
Listen, you know what?
If I'm outvoted for biscuits, feel free to bring them.
We're going to need bread stuff.
What do we need bread stuff for?
For energy.
Oh, for energy.
Isn't the bread stuff do the energy?
I should know this.
I've been taking medical classes here for two years and yet I don't know.
I don't know.
Maybe bread, maybe sugar.
I know sugar is in short supply, but...
I think the biscuits are fine.
Okay, great.
Biscuits it is.
And they kind of look over at Lashawn like, ha.
Lashawn throws their hands up and tucks their field notes back into their front pocket.
Just shakes their head.
Okay, good.
Biscuits.
I love it.
I'll bring honey or something.
It's so sticky.
We're going to be so sticky.
You're talking about leaving behind residue.
Honey leaves behind residue worse than biscuits.
Biscuits, at least you can assume that they're dust on the ground if they get ground up enough.
Oh my god.
I'm not having this conversation.
I'm going back to my dorm for a nap.
What time?
Eight?
I mean, Mac's the one who knows what the guards do.
Mac's the one who knows the...
All right.
Ten.
I think ten, yeah.
One of them goes to ship for a half hour around 1030.
The other one stands guard in the completely wrong direction.
We can sneak in the back.
Also, it's wild to be that regular that someone can track you by it.
I didn't say he was doing it on purpose.
I have a guy at the cafeteria.
I think Matilda just stares at Mac.
Well, Shawn looks at Matilda and is like, like I said, got a guy.
You've got a guy.
Okay.
I think this is a good place to end that particular scene.
It's the worst plan in the universe.
It's almost like 20 year olds came up with it.
All right.
Wild.
This is definitely going to work.
So all of you disperse and you're all in your individual dorm rooms.
It's about two o'clock.
Without warning, it gets really dark outside.
It was completely sunny just a moment ago and very cold.
And you hear the wind whipping through the trees not far away.
Do you hear the sound of glass breaking and screams?
What do you guys want to do?
Let's start with Michelle.
What do you want to do?
Okay.
Was it the dorm room windows like that broke or?
It does sound like dorm room windows breaking because there's a shattering sound, not like
a cop.
And is it dark in my dorm room right now?
Yep.
Your curtains were open so the sun was coming in and now there's no sun.
I go first thing and try the lights.
The lights are working fine.
They click on.
Okay.
I'm probably going to throw on a coat because it's probably gotten very cold all of a sudden.
And I probably have at least one flashlight.
So I'm going to grab that and then I'm going to go and find Lashawn's door and knock on
it.
Okay.
So let's jump over to Lashawn.
All of this has happened suddenly.
You hear the same thing going on.
What's the first thing you'd like to do?
I think Lashawn immediately kind of sits down at their typewriter and starts to write
like how they're feeling, what they're hearing, what's going on around them.
Like it's very much like a snapshot of the moment.
They woke up from a nap.
They smoked themselves into a nap.
So they're waking up and they're still a little foggy.
So they kind of like shake that off of themselves as they're writing.
And it's just a flurry of key taps as you knock on the door.
Like all you can hear is like, like these are really loud click clacks.
Yeah.
Who is it?
It's, it's God.
Oh, uh, give me a minute to finish this please.
One, two, maybe.
Okay.
And then they like get up and come and get the door for you.
When they open the door, you can see their kinky curly hair.
Shoulder length cropped hairstyle, like where their hair is kind of just growing as it does.
But it is kind of blunted at the end so that it kind of has like this really nice shape
to it.
They're a little sweaty.
Their shirt is like unbuttoned and undone and kind of out, not tucked in.
They're wearing kind of like a close binder on their chest.
It's like an A shirt over top of that.
And their suspenders are kind of hanging down off their shoulders.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Am I late?
I'm not late.
Am I?
And they like take out a pocket watch.
No, all the lights went out.
It's dark, but it's still daytime.
Yeah, I mean, that's weird.
That's weird.
Yeah.
Right.
Okay, yeah.
I mean, I was really focused on the story.
Let me show you what I wrote.
And they like go over to the typewriter and hand you like a flashlight so you can read
it.
Look at this.
This is what I did.
What do you think?
That's very nice, LaShawn.
You're using that same voice my aunt uses, man.
I think something's going on.
And I just...
All right.
So the lights went out.
It's the middle of the day.
There were screams and windows breaking and you're typing?
Listen, you know what?
You're right.
I'm going to take the mini version and they look on a shelf that has like all these like
rows of notebooks of different sizes and shapes and they pick one that's all black
and they go, see, it's a pro pro for the mood and like pop a pencil behind their ear.
Let's go find Matilda.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
They'll they'll not know what to do, but we should find Matilda.
Okay, well, let's jump to Matilda then.
Matilda is very similarly dressed to LaShawn in the sense of like a really tight binder
under their button down shirt, suspenders.
They've kind of shucked off their shoulders.
They still got their boots on because as soon as they got back to their dorm room, they
started writing a letter to Harriet.
Not necessarily as a goodbye, but more of a I'm going to do this really stupid thing
and if something happens, I need you to know what happened.
They're starting to jot that down, kind of propped against the window and then as it
grows darker, they like they I don't think they notice right away.
They're just like, why is it getting harder to write?
Why can't I see fucking anything?
And they're like, oh, and I think they'll shove the letter kind of in their pocket half
done and stick a pencil in one of their two little buns in their hair and just and like
call out for their roommate and say, Kennedy, you're seeing the dark outside too, right?
You don't hear a reply from Kennedy.
Shit, she have class right now.
Fuck, I can't remember.
Oh, I'll kind of like peek out the window and just start trying to see what I can see
outside even without the lights on.
When you look outside, you can only see a few feet.
You're on the second floor of the building and there is all of this wind whipping around
and a lot of snow has built up.
An unnatural amount of snow has built up.
And I think as they're like getting ready, pulling on a jacket and grabbing like the
things that they said that they would bring with them, folding up some biscuit and a handkerchief
and tying it off and tucking it in one of their pockets.
I think they're they're keeping an eye on the window on silhouettes and just checking
to make sure all the silhouettes are as humanoid as they would expect.
So you're looking for silhouettes outside?
Yeah, not necessarily like watching, but like as they're getting ready and like glancing
outside, just being like that person looks normal.
Yeah, that person looks normal.
Does that person look normal?
Yeah, it looks normal.
You don't see anybody outside.
That's the thing.
There's no one out there.
The snow is really quickly accumulating outside.
No footsteps or anything in the snow either?
It's too deep for even footsteps.
Okay, then I'm going to bust out the door and go look for any of the other three that
I can find quickly because we had a plan.
When you bust out the door, you run straight into Lashawn and Dot.
Oh, hi.
Yes.
Does anyone else see the freak storm?
Of course we do.
That's why we were on our way.
Right.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Max, your guy, do you know where they they hang out Lashawn?
There's one of like six places that they could be, honestly.
Six.
Okay.
Yeah, I mean, they have a very colorful life.
Are any of them in this building?
Messall?
Let's go check.
So let's talk with Mac then.
Mac, where are you and what are you doing now that all the lights have gone out and
people are screaming?
Mac is in the mess hall, but harder to find because she likes to go to the mess hall incognito.
So she's wearing like a frilly nightgown that you would never picture her to be in.
And it's like pink and flowery and definitely something her dad bought her before she left
for college.
It's torn up on the bottom and dirty because they've worn it for excursions like this so
that it's their one way to not be recognized.
I imagine Mac is in the mess hall, scarfing down some pancakes out of the fridge because
they do not pay attention to rules and is just hungry.
And the lights go out and they start here screaming.
And like, I guess if there was a camera, it would see like the slight smile on Mac's face
that chaos has ensued and there is something to go investigate slash save.
But they don't want to come off too eager.
So they just sit there calmly eating cold pancakes out of the mess hall fridge.
Awesome.
So as you're being cool and you're in your incognito outfit that everybody knows about,
the other three burst through the door looking for you and they come over to around where
you're sitting and go ahead.
Hey, uh, Mac?
What's up?
Wow.
Uh, I'm going to ask about what you're wearing later.
There is a storm outside.
We don't know what the fuck.
I know we were going to meet tonight.
We're going to try to go over that building.
But this is, uh, this is weird.
Everybody's gone.
They're gone.
I mean, they're gone.
Yeah.
Didn't even notice.
Just been sitting here eating my pancakes.
Yeah.
Matilda, did you see anything different?
I mean, like I was asleep.
Then I woke up.
It got weird and I just started to write.
I didn't really look around.
It didn't really take a lot of time.
It's really deep snow.
So there are no footprints.
I didn't see any people.
I just heard screams in the glass shattering.
Have we seen any shattered glasses?
We came down here.
Have you seen anything?
No, I didn't see anything.
Shattered glass.
I did hear it though.
Glass breaking.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Do you want to go outside?
I mean, it's, it's really cold, but I don't know if we should try to leave.
Can we leave?
If we do, we should definitely, you know, dress warmer.
I mean, I've got a whole bunch of stuff.
Yeah.
And I'll kind of look over it.
Mac, what?
Do you have snow boots?
Do you have anything, not a nightgown?
I mean, yeah, but why would I wear that to go sneak into a building?
Because it's cold outside.
Because there is like four feet of snow outside.
Yeah.
I'll go back to my dorm, change and meet you guys.
Are we still going to the building or are we going to go look for this broken glass?
I mean, I'm still down to go to the building if you guys are.
I'm not saying we have to, but we had a plan.
I say we look for the broken glass first.
Isn't it weird that we're not hearing anybody else around here?
Yeah, I think that's weird.
Have we seen anyone in the mess hall, Wes?
I know nobody's there at this moment.
What month is it, Wes?
It's early December.
Also, just real quick, there are less people because a lot of people have ended their semester
and have left.
So there are not as many people on campus as usual.
So that is part of it.
Got it.
Okay, cool.
I think Lashawn's like, yeah, I don't know, man.
Like I hate being one of the last ones left.
But at the same time, my aunts are having a big party this weekend.
I'm not sure I see that.
So I don't know.
I mean, I'm wearing my boots.
I think they go over to the door and try to like pull on it to see if they can just go
outside into the snow.
In their mind, they're thinking if they leave the building they're in, right?
If they leave the dorm they're in, they can look around and see which windows are broken
in this building.
All right.
So they file out into the main hallway where the main doors are.
And Lashawn, you open the door and there is literally from the ground to the top of the
doorframe snow.
Well then.
Yeah.
So about going to see that building.
Um, yeah, I guess we're snowed in.
Can I, I don't know if I have to rule for this.
Can I look in the lost and found and see if there's any like winter stuff right there
so I don't have to go back to my room?
You don't have to roll for that.
We'll say that you find a bunch of different pieces of winter clothing that does not match
at all.
Perfect.
I'm putting it all on.
Okay, cool.
We could dig our way through the snow.
Do you have a shovel?
I'm sure there's one around here somewhere.
They have those cool spatula thingies in the kitchen.
Is it unnaturally cold or is it just like a normal amount of cold?
It's a little unnaturally cold.
The building is covered in snow at this point.
It's pretty bad.
And like I said, they have the broken windows somewhere.
So listen, I have no reason to know how to get to this.
And we're going to overlook that.
We're not going to ask a bunch of fucking questions.
Follow me.
LeSean starts kicking up the stairs and takes the back entrance that they found their first
few nights in college to the place where they smoke and write at night, which is the rooftop.
They want to get to the top of the building so that they can at least look around and
see what's happening around them as well.
They're going to try and like take everybody like up the back steps to get to the rooftop
access.
Okay, cool.
As you're heading towards there, you run straight into Professor Wilkes.
She's an art teacher and she's like, oh, students, so good.
Are you all all right?
I heard glass break.
Oh, it wasn't us, Wilkes.
Well, I figured it wasn't you.
The storm, it came out of nowhere.
Where are you all headed?
Why are you going to coming back from there?
I live on campus during the year.
I haven't left yet.
I think I might have eaten your pancakes in the kitchen.
Sorry.
You're the one.
Anyway, it's we have too much going on to worry about cold pancakes.
Where are you all headed?
Oh, we're just going to take a look around the other floors.
Like there's nothing to do.
Lights are out.
We figure, you know, are you sure that's a that's are you sure that's a good idea?
I mean, maybe we should just stay here and wait for help or something.
You know what?
Why don't we meet you downstairs in the mess hall?
Yeah, that's a good centralized location for us all to be nice and warm with the stoves
too.
We also need food.
I mean, we had pancakes.
Well, I eat them.
So one of us had pancakes.
Yeah, I know that.
That was the way I was.
Yeah.
That was the point I was getting to.
OK, I'll go downstairs and you be careful.
Don't do anything silly.
And she walks away and starts walking down the stairs.
Oh, no, nothing silly in a sudden snowstorm.
Snows us all in.
Nothing silly about that.
No, perfectly normal stuff.
Yes.
You make it up to the top floor.
It's a three story tall building with a basement and the ladder that goes up to the ceiling
is down.
And you know from the past that more than likely Edward, who is always up on the roof
smoking as well, is probably up there because he never pulls up the ladder after him, which
is why he's been caught so many times.
Do you want to follow him up?
Yes, in my opinion.
I don't know, but I don't want to speak for everybody.
Everybody good with that?
All right.
Yep.
So you all climb up.
It's super cold outside.
The wind is blowing really badly.
And you look around and a few feet away, you see Edward lying on the ground and he just
looks beat up like chunks of him have been bit off of him and there's blood everywhere.
And he turns his head towards you.
And that's when you notice half of his throat is missing.
And that's where we're going to end this episode.
No.
Oh my god, Wes.
Listen, there's so many questions.
Casually mentioning, by the way, half his throat is missing.
Have a good time.
Oh, I hate it.
Quick question.
Yeah?
The art teacher was coming down from the roof?
Down from third floor, not the roof.
Okay.
But it could have been the roof, Michelle.
It could have been.
Suspicious.
That's what I'm thinking.
And we sent her to a cafeteria where she's definitely going to eat us.
This is all a lot of questions for after the game's been ended.
All right.
Thank you all so much.
That was a lot of fun and I hope you all enjoyed it.
Let's find out where these wonderful people are and what other things that they are doing.
Let's start with Candice.
Hello everyone.
I have been Candice the Magnificent.
You can find me on Twitter and Blue Sky at the Candice Marie and everywhere else at Candice
the Magnificent.
You can hear more of me on our Patreon exclusive or Ko-fi exclusive Beyond the Outer, which
is a mothership campaign.
If you are interested in creepy, disgusting horror and sci-fi, which of course you are,
that's why you're here, definitely consider backing us and getting access to Beyond the
Outer, which is super creepy and awesome.
You can also hear more of me on the Cosmic Horror Meets Fargo pod, Partial Veil, the upcoming
City of the Black Rose, Herald of Shadows with Three Black Halflings, as well as Frequencies,
a new podcast with the Atomless crew.
Coming up on Mayday Roleplay, you can see Eli, their resident ghost, doing a performance
of their game Ghostfy with both Lev and the other members of Mayday Roleplay and myself.
I am a special guest on Ghostfy and if you are a long time 12-sided stories listener
and you love Otherworld Hollywood, definitely don't miss that one because Evany Belafonte
makes an appearance.
Hello, I've been Lev and I've also been Matilda.
You can find me on Twitter at lego m2rs, the number two, or on Instagram at lev.rs23.
I don't really use it.
It's there though.
As for places you can hear me say words, check me out and all the other fine folks at Mayday
Roleplay.
We are playing a Vampire the Maxxarade Chronicle right now in Vegas by night.
We've also just finished the third season of our Delta Green game, Doom to Repeat, and
next year we're heading into the final season of it.
Get ready for more really sad horror stories that are really fun.
I'm just going to plug Ghostfy right now.
If you've played a game that you had a character that you loved and they died, go play Ghostfy.
It's good.
Okay, I'm going to stop talking now.
Hi, I'm here.
Also you can find me on God Complex, which is airing every other Thursday right now,
I think still by the time this comes out.
And I also have a few projects coming up for 2025 that I can't fully talk about yet, but
look out for those.
And also if you haven't watched Itaewon by night and you love all the goofy little guys
I play, that is probably something you should listen to as the first streamed all Asian
Vampire the Masquerade game, which even Jason Karl loved.
So you are award nominated for that game.
Oh, and I was award nominated two years in a row this year and the show has been nominated
two years in a row.
So yes, yes, kick ass, dude.
Hey, I'm Michelle and you can find me on the socials at Michoulu.
That's M-I-C-H-U-L-H-U.
You can find my music and Wes's amazing sound effect if you go to drive through RPG and
look for Plate Mail Games.
And I am Wes Otis.
You can find me at Plate Mail Games on all the different socials.
You can also find the show 12 Sided Stories, the number 12 and then Sided Stories on all
the different socials or on our website at 12sidedstories.com.
It's all written out one word and you can find a bunch of links and our back catalog
and the whole nine yards there.
If you want to talk to us, join us over on Discord and tell us what's up with your gaming
life right now and what's going on.
If you want to help the podcast, definitely go over to Patreon and become a Patreon member
or give us a shout out on your favorite platform or review.
Those things are always very helpful.
And again, we were sponsored by Pelgrane Press this time, which is pretty awesome.
Check out their Baccar kit project for the Trail of Cthulhu second edition, which should
be running right now unless this is in the far future.
And then you can just buy it from their website.
Thank you so much for being here and we will talk to you next time on A Ravenous Hunger.
Thanks everybody.
See you next time.