Pete/GM: Now you can begin to perceive
the curse placed upon me by the door.

Many other gate walkers I've talked
to have been able to remember what

it was that lured them into their
door and whatever lay beyond.

I was not so lucky.

I don't remember approaching the
door at all, only stumbling out of it

naked and howling into a nearby ditch,
thrashing like a senseless beast.

All I could think about was
the taste that filled my mouth.

My stomach bulged against my skin and
my bones creaked against each other as

if all the hidden space within me had
been rearranged by what I had eaten.

As my senses returned, I saw my hands
covered with the drying remains.

Of something that smelled delicious.

I don't, I

Aubrey/Freya: don't, I
hope we never have to

Archedas/Varren: meet this man.

I'm just gonna say it.

That man out here eating people.

Yeah.

You don't talk that
creepy about a good meal.

No, you're eating people.

Pete/GM: It's on site with this man.

We'll have to find out.

There's no telling what people
have been brought back with.

So, last time on Ash and Snow, you all had
begun your search for Kniep'oh the Slim,

taking various routes throughout Seven
Arches to try to uncover whether this

is just a myth or indeed something more.

We return to Vine Hall, where you all
have gathered around near the end of

the day of the first day of this search.

So, Vin

Chris/Vin: Arrives in, in Vinehall,
Mia is probably either next, next to

him, in front of him, or behind him.

Uh, who knows where.

And they wreak a Fadeleaf.

As they come in, I'm certain people
are noticing Fadeleaf, and I don't

know how, the legality of it.

But, it's very, very apparent that
they're still under the effects

of, or at least Vin is probably
under the effects of Fadeleaf.

Because it lasts quite a bit, right?

Misfit/Mia: Mia has has trailed off behind
you, just like stopping to talk to people,

like very casual, like, hi, how you doing?

Are you doing good?

Yeah?

Okay, I'm gonna go now, bye!

Like, just putting

Aubrey/Freya: along.

Yeah, you see, um, Freya has been
here for a while after the library.

She came back here and mostly has been
working on her sword form and Sort

of her gymnastics and stretching and
wiping the sweat off with a cloth and

Looking for something to drink and
sees all of this and just goes well,

it looks like someone had fun today.

Archedas/Varren: Didn't

Chris/Vin: you?

I have to correct myself
before I get com commented on.

It's fla leaf, not fade leaf.

Apparently.

Archedas/Varren: My man out here bringing
back World Warcraft knowledge . Yeah, that

Pete/GM: probably happened.

Chris/Vin: So if we ever hit stage
four fla leaf, we are fatigued.

Frightened too.

And stupid fight too.

I'm going to choose to fail on my saves.

Misfit/Mia: Yeah.

You know what I, I feel like that
is totally fair because Mia has

not like you're enabling her.

She doesn't know any better.

And now she likes it, so
she's just like, well,

Aubrey/Freya: fuck.

Chris/Vin: So, as Vin sees Freya,
probably in this common area at

Vine Hall, he goes, Ugh, buddy!

She talks so loud!

Aubrey/Freya: Hey, um, well,
have either of you been able

to find anything out today?

Misfit/Mia: Before anything, Mia,
like, turns into a human and grabs your

face, and she's like, I saw him again!

It was so creepy, we saw him again, he was
in the bushes, and he left a little fox,

and she like, digs into a pouch and like,
shoves another little fox in your face.

Look, I got a second one!

See?

There's two of them now!

It was out by the, the, where were we?

I forgot.

We went

Pete/GM: somewhere?

Misfit/Mia: We, we, it was really
far, I think it was a farm?

Yeah, it was a farm.

Aubrey/Freya: Okay, um Sort
of take it and look at it.

Um.

That's, um, I can't tell if that's
going to be useful that he seems to

be obsessed with you, um, or not.

Don't

Misfit/Mia: say that.

Can we use another word, please?

Anything but obsessed.

We're infatuated.

He's taking a liking

Pete/GM: to you?

Misfit/Mia: He's smitten with you?

And we just like, her ears just
keep going down the more, like, the

more these words continue to happen.

She's just like

Archedas/Varren: Just a call
from, like, the next room over.

Targeted would be the word I'd go with.

Targeted?

Misfit/Mia: Laying.

She's just laying face down
on the ground like, Why?

Why me?

My eyes don't work very well.

And now this.

This is stupid.

Can I have more of that stuff?

She just like, waves a hand to Vin.

Like, eh,

Chris/Vin: eh.

She's like, sitting there like,
Cedarite wrappers starting

Pete/GM: to roll him.

Um.

Let's, let's not

Aubrey/Freya: do this in the
middle of the card barracks, okay?

Let's go back into the
rooms before we do any

Archedas/Varren: of that.

Well, the barracks are
the other side of town.

Where the

Aubrey/Freya: Or, whatever this place
is, Fine Hall, where the druids are.

Let's not do this in front
of the people who are in

charge

Archedas/Varren: of the town.

Guess that makes sense.

Seems right up the alley, if you ask me.

Why are you

Pete/GM: yelling?

Why don't you come out here?

I'm in the next room over.

I'm Just

Archedas/Varren: a ruffling of

Pete/GM: papers.

Jessica

Misfit/Mia: Mia, like, goes in.

And she, she now has both of the, the
little straw foxes again, and she just

like barges in, and she's like, See?

Got another one!

Archedas/Varren: Just a hand comes up
quick to stop her from moving too far

forward about three feet into the room.

It's just a scattering of paper.

Hold on!

Checking notes, organizing things.

Kind of looking around for a moment.

Looks up.

Oh good, another one.

That's perfect.

Uh, gives more context.

Context, trying.

Jesse in a moment.

Her face is all twisted

Misfit/Mia: up.

She's just like, why is that good?

And she like, hands you the other

Aubrey/Freya: one.

Archedas/Varren: Takes it.

Chris/Vin: Baron, what,
what exactly do, do we see?

How, how massive is this now?

Archedas/Varren: The one in
this room isn't that huge.

It's, it's centered between
the beds at the moment.

It's probably a spread of like a good
five, ten feet of just random pages that

have been torn out of notebooks and like
set in places with varying relating notes

sort of labeled on top of each other.

Just sort of spread across the floor
here, not even like an ink quill pen or

anything, just a raw stick of charcoal
being used to write across here.

And as he gets this new little doll
from Mia, he just kind of looks

around a moment, leans over, sets it
onto one page, that will go there.

Uh, you went to Finland, yes?

Um, just scrawls quickly,
Finland farm on there.

You,

Misfit/Mia: look at that, dude.

She's like, uh uh, I'm
not, I'm not doing this.

You're the

Archedas/Varren: first!

Do you still have the first with you?

Uh, that page over there,
just points at one of them.

So

Misfit/Mia: like, okay, and like, tries
to like, carefully wiggle and go through

all of these paper and string and whatnot.

And like, gingerly places it and
then, and then almost in a perfect

reverse does like, just backs out.

Archedas/Varren: And just kind
of stands up, pulls himself up as

hard, as high as he can and just
sort of backs away a little bit.

Alright, we're starting to get
somewhat of a picture here.

Not quite enough details yet.

Aren't

Pete/GM: Freya

Misfit/Mia: and Ben there

Aubrey/Freya: too?

Yeah, I mean Freya is like leaning
against like the door frame, but like,

you know, arms crossed and just looks at
you and just goes, Yeah, he's been at this

Archedas/Varren: all afternoon.

Uh, only two and a half hours, thank you.

Pete/GM: It's most of the afternoon.

Is this your I don't

Archedas/Varren: know, I didn't
even know the guy beforehand.

Look, we're here
investigating something, huh?

We, it's perfectly normal to take notes.

I can just connect the

Pete/GM: pieces.

I think I've heard of this

Chris/Vin: before.

I, I think they called us a murder board?

I think he's planning to murder

Aubrey/Freya: someone.

I think we're murdering Kanipo.

Archedas/Varren: That is the plan, yes.

If he doesn't hand over the
key, we'll have to kill him.

That's the only solution here.

Uh, besides, with his targeting of
Mia, if we don't kill him eventually,

he'll likely come for her and
end up like the farmer's donkey.

I don't want to die.

Aubrey/Freya: We're not
going to let Kanipo kill you.

Misfit/Mia: That sounds terrible.

How will I spend

Aubrey/Freya: four hours if I'm dead?

We're not going to let

Pete/GM: it get to that.

Here you go, Mia.

Take this.

Just,

Misfit/Mia: just like take, like, opens
her mouth and just like, just put it in.

Archedas/Varren: Is that
some of the flayleaf?

No.

I'm genuinely asking here.

It will actually be quite useful.

Yes.

Perfect.

Grabs it, just two fingers grabs it
out of her mouth before she can even

like, take it off and just full tack,
sets it on a page and tacks it off.

All right, from there, that was retrieved
from that druid fellow in the woods.

Part of his ritual.

Aubrey/Freya: He just turns back
into a fox and like, looks so sad.

Varen has apparently never
heard of Puff Puff Pass.

Archedas/Varren: Yeah!

Vin, you've been partaking in this, yes?

Uh, any hallucinogenic sorts?

Who's

Pete/GM: asking?

Me,

Archedas/Varren: Varen.

Pete/GM: Yes.

Archedas/Varren: Uh, descriptions,
variety, what, what happens?

Just grabs another page and start, like,
gets ready to start writing stuff down.

Chris/Vin: Uh, I, I am
hearing voices in my head.

That's about it.

Misfit/Mia: Without, like, thinking
about the ramifications of what is

about to come out of Mia's face.

She's just like, You tried to kill me!

I mean, not really, but really.

Archedas/Varren: It's a brief pause.

How serious was the attempt?

Hands or weaponry?

They

Pete/GM: say that I am a weapon.

Archedas/Varren: Well, you are on
fire, but that's outside the question.

Misfit/Mia: I mean, it didn't, it
didn't seem like it was purposeful.

Is that a word?

Archedas/Varren: That's a word.

It could be tied to the
effects still, however.

The gentleman that we got this from was
Quite deep into the pile, it would seem.

His attempt to murder us was
quite obvious, was it not?

Including everything else around him.

Uh, Vin, I would heavily suggest you
lay off the stuff for the time being.

It's

Pete/GM: just what libraries do to you.

Chris/Vin: They take away your fun.

Archedas/Varren: I wasn't at the library.

I haven't been there yet.

That's tomorrow's call.

I don't want to go.

Well, there's plenty of other
places to investigate, uh.

You should go.

Aubrey/Freya: You, you two, you said
you saw something at the farms, correct?

I did.

Yes.

Archedas/Varren: I was there.

You saw him there,

Pete/GM: you said?

Misfit/Mia: Yeah, creepy face and all.

Can't miss it.

Just staring with the big mouth
and the creepy smile and the hair.

It just like stretches

Archedas/Varren: through my mouth again.

Anyone besides you and Vin see this?

Or was it just you, Vin?

Did

Pete/GM: you as well?

Chris/Vin: Uh, no, I didn't, I
didn't, I didn't really see anything.

We left.

Misfit/Mia: I, I, I said nope.

I noped right

Archedas/Varren: out of that.

There's been something, I
need to look further into it.

There's something, a name, that he's
been going by that's stuck with me.

And he just kind of shuffles
through a couple of pages.

Ah, here.

Pulls one up.

A list of names we had gotten from Bolin
and the legends that he was spouting.

Kanepo's name, so.

Kanepo the Slim, the Skull
Face, Smile in the Fog.

He points one in particular
and just circles it three

times with the charcoal stick.

The stick thin bogeyman.

There's something about this
one that's It sticks out.

There's something more here.

Aubrey/Freya: The library
has a lot of information.

Um, I unfortunately were having trouble
parsing some of it when I went today,

so maybe you'll have better luck

Archedas/Varren: tomorrow.

So, Faye, uh, did they have
anything on much for, uh, Faye?

Um,

Aubrey/Freya: yet again, it was, I,
my question wasn't specific enough.

It was gonna take them
far too long to look.

They said to come back later.

Mia, if you're up for it.

Maybe I can go with you to the farms
tomorrow, and I have some, some

experience with tracking and scouting.

Maybe if you show me where you saw him,
we can try and track him back somewhere.

Misfit/Mia: No, she just has her
little paws over her snout, and she's

just like, Guys, I guess we could go.

It's not my favorite idea,
I'm gonna be honest, but.

Aubrey/Freya: I'll be
there to protect you.

Archedas/Varren: Go during the day.

Aubrey/Freya: Yeah,
we'll go during the day.

Misfit/Mia: Then she like perks up
and she's like, teach me fighting.

Aubrey/Freya: We can also spend
part of the day doing that.

I can teach you something.

Yeah,

Misfit/Mia: I figure if things are trying
to kill me, it should probably know that.

Seems

Aubrey/Freya: smart.

It's

Chris/Vin: rather helpful.

So, what do I do?

Archedas/Varren: Well, that depends
on where you might want to go.

There is the site of the last
attack, but we still have to stop by.

Uh, I got a good description
of what had happened from the

individual that was attacked.

Unfortunately, I don't think we're going
to get much more than I already did out

of him, uh, I've gotten permission from
myself and my associates, Jezrus to the

rest of the group, to go to his farm,
just, if you're going to be going there

to take a look around, knock on the
door, tell the gentleman there that Varan

had requested access earlier and that
they're just here to assist in finding

the one that slayed his dear donkey.

Sight of the last attack, donkey.

Uh, that is the, the Finland font.

And he just kinda shifts
a couple of pages.

That is said to be where
Kadeepa was first sighted.

The origin point of his story.

Oh no, he's definitely there.

Now that's good.

Of course, keep an eye out, uh, Freya,
you're more than capable of handling any

more of those dark patches that appear.

Uh, but keep an eye out for them.

If you see even the smallest one,
that could be sign of a direction

that we can start looking in.

Pete/GM: I, I,

Chris/Vin: I gotta be honest,
if Mia Saw them there.

We should all probably

Archedas/Varren: go.

There's, there's more
information to gather.

Things like this, they're too
big to handle without knowing

what we're getting into.

Especially a storybook legend like this
Kanepo fellow, the more information we can

gather before facing him in the middle.

Chris/Vin: I'm not saying you
want to face him, I'm saying that

if there's a possibility there's
danger, we should not split

Archedas/Varren: the party.

Well there was a woman
there, was there not?

You spent your soul with someone.

Yes,

Chris/Vin: but, that's, we should
not split the party when we go there.

Archedas/Varren: It's simple enough.

If you're not wanting to go, I can more
than happily go speak to her and see

what information I can gather about the
stories, but there's things that need

Aubrey/Freya: gathered.

I mean, if we, yeah, if we want to head to
the farmland, you can talk with her, I can

see if I can pick up any kind of trail.

Where Kanipo might have gone.

Oh, don't

Misfit/Mia: mention that
name around the lady.

She's a real man.

Aubrey/Freya: Told us to get.

I didn't think it was a big deal.

So these two definitely should
not be seen by the lady?

Pete/GM: Still

Chris/Vin: wanna say we should
If Kanipo is there and you go

Archedas/Varren: investigating.

Then I I don't mean to
tread on your idea here.

Kanipo was in Mia's
room from what she said.

I don't think it matters if we go
to the farm, if he wanted us dead,

he would appear in the middle of
the night and slash our throats.

Pete/GM: There is

Archedas/Varren: that.

This being isn't here to simply kill us.

That may be his end goal, but from
my acetations of my meeting with

Papel, the best I can tell is his
goal is to instill as much fear as

physically possible upon an individual.

Pete/GM: Mom, it's working!

Before!

Guy,

Misfit/Mia: how do I not be scared?

Archedas/Varren: That's more
introspective self evaluation.

I don't know if the Flayleaf helps with
that, but I My suggestion is starting

to avoid it, considering, again, the
madman who attempted to kill us and

alter the curse to kill everything
was in fact high as hell off of it.

It just

Misfit/Mia: kind of like,
goes into quiet thought.

It's probably the first time you've
actually seen Mia do something

rather grown up and intelligent.

I think we were just lectured.

Chris/Vin: Look, if it helps

Archedas/Varren: you Steal your heart
and not feel fear, it's going to be more

than useful in dealing with whatever
absconces this man is attempting, so.

But, fey are fey.

Just kinda patch the weapon at his
side, hop enough cold iron into

them, they all go down the same.

Aubrey/Freya: I do need to pick
up my weapon tomorrow, because

that'll be ready by then, so.

Make sure to do that in the morning.

Yeah,

Chris/Vin: fine.

We'll slip the party.

I'm going to bed then.

Archedas/Varren: Just a moment.

Just kind of starts to, like, carefully
stack pages in certain orders with,

like, earmarked flips on the corners.

Uh, there, there, there, there.

I'll have this back up at the end later.

Um, just takes him, like,
a full five minutes to get

everything back and organized.

How do

Chris/Vin: you afford all this parchment?

Archedas/Varren: That'll be with had
a lot of items from that man, and,

well, turns out that, well, people
have more than just issues with bees.

Some people have rat issues.

Kill a few rats for Shop keep and they're
more than grateful to pay impotent.

I

Chris/Vin: regret I regret asking.

Good night

Pete/GM: Vermin exterminator you all
go to bed at various hours there and

again once you are able to get to sleep
after many long hours into the night

you have that all too familiar dream of
running through snow with some kind of

kerfuffle happening beyond your sight.

Freya you again have one of
those fun daring adventures

with the Pathfinder Society.

It's pretty nice pretty cool.

Very memorable.

Vin, you are back in Tien Sha,
back at the location of where you

were taken in The Gate, but not
with Iroiri there talking to you.

As they had been with the gate.

Rather, this is just a
really nice, peaceful area.

There's birds singing, the sun is going
through the dense foliage of the jungle

with little rays that warm your skin.

You're on a hammock and just enjoying
your time away from the temple.

And there's a brief glimpse where
you see A person in a mask, very

far away, out of the foliage.

It's white and looks almost owl like.

Which is very out of place
for this particular location,

full of tropical birds.

Chris/Vin: Do I have
control over the stream at

Pete/GM: all?

Yes.

Hello?

The figure doesn't move
or acknowledge you.

I

Chris/Vin: will creep up,
grabbing like a Twig or

Pete/GM: something.

It's when you go down to grab the twig
and look back up that the figure is gone.

And again, you're just
left in a peaceful jungle.

Goodbye.

Chris/Vin: Uh, I'll try to go to
where I saw it and see if there's

any evidence of it looking where, I
don't know, footprints or tracks or

Pete/GM: something.

In fact, there are only footprints
of where the creature was standing.

There's nothing leading to,
or away from that location.

What kind of prince?

A humanoid.

A boot or a foot or something?

Boots, yeah.

Chris/Vin: Then we'll
wait to see if he returns.

Or, whatever the creature is returns.

Pete/GM: Never does.

And eventually you'll
wake up in the morning.

Mia, you have a really fun dream.

It's another one of those where you're
a fox and chasing other woodland animals

and just having a really good time
when your sleep is disturbed by this

sound, this rapping on the window.

Mia

Misfit/Mia: doesn't open her eyes because
she now believes that her blindness is

the way that she will be less afraid.

So she's starting to, like, try to
embrace that aspect, like, Oh, I'm just

gonna lose my eyesight and I won't see
anything and I won't be afraid anymore.

That's how it works, right?

And then, but she doesn't,
she doesn't do anything.

She doesn't come out of her covers.

In fact, she kind of, like, slinks into
underneath the bed covers a little more

and just tries to silently, like, try to,
tries to breathe as silently as possible.

I'm not here, go away.

Pete/GM: You do that, and outside
your window, a branch continues to

hit the glass, but then you hear a
voice coming from underneath your bed.

Mm mm.

Goodnight, my key.

Misfit/Mia: Like, all of
her fur is standing on end,

and she's just like, there I

Pete/GM: ca I can feel your
fear, this tiny blanket.

Misfit/Mia: She screams.

Mia screams so freaking loud.

What?

Ah!

Help!

Somebody's gonna eat me!

Pete/GM: enough for all of you to wake up.

The rest of you three, give
me secret perception checks.

Vin, you wake up a half second
earlier than the other two.

Just in time to see fingertips go
into the shadows underneath Mia's bed.

Chris/Vin: I Wait, let's
not do the chaotic thing.

I We'll do the semi chaotic thing.

I Try to flip Mia's bed.

Pete/GM: There's something there!

Misfit/Mia: I know!

She's like You at least wait for
me to get Flying with the bed.

Mia's like, six I would imagine, like Six
ish pounds in her fox forms, she just gets

Pete/GM: beated.

She just gets There was a

Chris/Vin: callback scene
where I threw Mia through

Pete/GM: a gate.

You flip over the bed and
there's nothing under there.

Aubrey/Freya: I believe both of you.

I mean, we know that Kniepo
is doing some strange things.

Okay, um, definitely we
need to deal with it.

It feels like it's getting worse.

Misfit/Mia: No, it's
for sure getting worse.

Is there any, like, is there any
indication that he was there?

Is there, like, uh, another
little fox or anything of that

Pete/GM: nature?

There isn't.

In fact, if it wasn't for the rest of
your group courageously believing you,

there would be no indication that what
you just experienced actually happened.

Oh,

Misfit/Mia: I'm so glad y'all believe me.

This

Aubrey/Freya: keeps happening enough
that, yeah, it's gotta be something.

It doesn't seem like the type to lie.

Misfit/Mia: I don't think she actually
understands the concept of light.

Pete/GM: It is a difficult rest of
the night, as any of you try to get

back to sleep, especially you, Mia.

Yeah, Mia,

Misfit/Mia: uh, like, curls up in one of
Freya's bags, and just stays in a bag.

Cause that seems safer.

It's not logical, but
it seems safer to her.

Small and cozy.

Pete/GM: Oh sure, if he fits, he sits.

Yep.

But eventually the sun does
come up, and it is the next day.

Day two of your search
for Kniep'o the Slim.

Where are you all going?

I think

Aubrey/Freya: that I'm going to
be going to the Thinland Farms to

try and do any kind of tracking.

And if Mia feels up to it, come along
with, so you can point out where we need

Misfit/Mia: to go.

Mia would in fact go along with me.

Not that she wants to.

In fact, she wants to do everything
that's not that, but she also

doesn't want to get dead.

So, the smartest option is to go with
the safe person for the time being.

Pete/GM: Are any of us the safe

Chris/Vin: person?

Who doesn't meet a view as the safe

Archedas/Varren: person?

Misfit/Mia: Freya is the safe

Archedas/Varren: person.

Of all the adults in the party,
Freya is probably the most adult.

Yeah.

Aubrey/Freya: Freya was the
middle child in her home.

She had to learn how to, like, grow up.

Yeah.

Archedas/Varren: Vera was
planning on heading over to

the library to do some reading.

Chris/Vin: I'm not going to the library.

Vin is going to try to be productive.

I was told to go look at this
site with the donkey going

missing or something like that.

And Vin has a headache, is drinking
some coffee, very a little uneasy,

is going to try to investigate this.

scene, or this place, to see if there's
any clues to pick up, all by himself.

Aubrey/Freya: And as, uh, as we
go, I will be like, Would you

like to hold your mingander?

Would that make you feel better?

As I hold out my small snake to you.

Yeah.

Misfit/Mia: Okay.

She just like, takes it in her human
form and just kind of like, hugs it.

This

Aubrey/Freya: little hog nosed snake.

She's just like,

Misfit/Mia: hugging me.

Like, this will keep me safe, right?

Pete/GM: It'll do its best.

Varian, your location is the closest.

You head over to the Quaking
Stacks, and see the same sight

that Freya saw yesterday.

This building has been
completely encapsulated by trees.

But more than that, there is clearly some
kind of network going on, as you can see.

Shimmering sap being shared between
all of the trees, and every nook

of this library is covered with
the same kind of birch tree.

The alcoves are made of tree, the
stairs are made of tree, and Not like

Cutwood, but folded, bent, reshapen,
and a librarian seeks you out.

What is your inquiry today?

Well,

Archedas/Varren: I've actually come
seeking some quite specific information

I was hoping you'd help me with.

Uh, pertaining to Fae, particularly
bogeys, uh, but I believe one of my

associates stopped by looking for
information on Ganybo of a sort.

Legend around the area, but
Trying to narrow things down a

bit from what that legend states.

So any information you have on Fae
of the sorts, or particularly bogeys,

Pete/GM: well I'm going to read it.

Very interesting.

A very odd inquiry.

But yes, we have made some progress.

Go ahead and make me either
an academia or library lore,

nature, arcana, or occultism.

I'll go with nature, because

Archedas/Varren: that's the
highest of any of those, and

I don't have those two floors.

I got the, uh, The end all be
all esoteric, and I don't like

that thing to come up here.

Uh, three on the die there, I think,
cause I don't wanna create fail.

Uh, we gonna go ahead and
burn a hero point on that.

Okay.

Yeah, I don't like it.

I like a 15, a 20 for total
seems pretty good to me.

Pete/GM: She reaches her hand into some of
the sap and you can see that it surrounds

her hand and her eyes start to glow.

Yes, we were able to sort
through more of the catacombs.

It's interesting.

The legends go back before Earthfall.

In an ancient elven tome, there's a
short passage that mentions the defeat

of a slender lurking creature of shadow.

They name it Kniepo.

That was over a millennia ago.

But there is also a volume of the
Pathfinder Chronicles about the First

World that contains a small footnote
about something called the Thinlands.

But it doesn't mention the
farmland slightly outside the city.

This is something within the First World.

It describes a colorless forest located in
the shadowy realm of Nighthold, someplace

that was once ruled by the Exile.

Count Renelak.

Archedas/Varren: Interesting.

Good place to start.

That does give me more to go off of.

Mind if I spend some time
here just looking around?

I don't know if all the This
kind of looks at the sap.

Are the books available to scroll through?

Or is it just the kind of
gestures of a hand still gloved at

Pete/GM: the sap?

Oh, I assure you, the sap is
far more Reliable way of looking

through our vast collection.

Archedas/Varren: I mean, I'm
not opposed to trying it.

It's, uh, not exactly, kind of
gestures to himself, dressed in

these, like, winter clothing.

Not exactly the druidic sort.

Sort of metal townist.

But I'm more than happy to give it a go.

Just kind of goes to take a hand, one
of these thick gloves off, and kind

of looks down at the spot where that
first mark had appeared on his arm.

And has since never been seen
again to his remembrance.

Pete/GM: I'm looking around.

Stick your hand in, and it's incredible.

It is like there is a sudden influx of
information going through your brain.

A little too much for you
to handle at one moment.

It's like you're going through a
series of tubes of information.

Almost like some kind of net.

I

Archedas/Varren: don't think Varan would
be the type to, like, wince back at this.

It would be more, there's something
in here I can find eventually, once

I figure out how to parse this.

It just kind of remains there, like, fully
stuck in place, not moving, very shallow

breaths, just hands in the sap, staring

Pete/GM: forward.

Okay, you do your best to tame
this vast network of knowledge.

Meanwhile, Vin, you head over to
the scene of the last Gorga attack.

It's on a lonely dirt road south of
the Seven Arches, where several days

ago, Catria Pebblesworth's body was
found on an overturned cart, and the

mutilated mule was unfortunately killed.

There's no one else on the road.

People have decided that
this is a place to avoid.

You're able to make your
investigation completely unhampered.

What

Chris/Vin: is there currently?

I'm assuming that the mo the body
of the mule is gone at this point.

Is the card still there?

Pete/GM: Is Indeed, the card is still
there, and in fact, the partially eaten

corpse of the donkey is still there too.

What?

Why would they leave

Chris/Vin: that there?

I'm saying this out loud, by
the way, to The world . Why

would they leave that there?

That's disgusting.

Where are all these flies here?

Ugh.

I would like to look at the
wounds of the meal to start.

Pete/GM: Okay.

You can give me arcana.

First world hunting or scouting.

Survival or Perception.

Go ahead and roll the

Chris/Vin: Perception check for an

Pete/GM: 11.

This is just a really messed up scene.

Yeah, and it looks

Chris/Vin: like it was mutilated.

It looked like it was eaten at all.

Can I even tell that

Pete/GM: much?

It definitely looks eaten, but
you're not able to tell by what.

Chris/Vin: Let's go look at the cart next.

The cart's knocked over.

I'm gonna try to put it
back onto its wheels.

I'm gonna look for any scratches or
any, you know, items of interest, stuff

Pete/GM: like that.

Okay, give me one more
perception check for survival.

Chris/Vin: Ugh, I'm on a hero point.

I turned my 8 into a 12.

Archedas/Varren: I mean, that sounds like
potentially not crit failing to me, so

Pete/GM: Not crit failing.

It's not a crit failure, but beyond
just the initial look, you're

not able to tell a whole lot.

Perhaps someone with better investigatory
skills could figure out more from this.

Varan!

Chris/Vin: Why am I here?

Okay, on that, I will look
for any interesting tracks.

This is my last attempt to be useful.

Go ahead.

Uh, perception again?

Yep.

Okay, can I fail four rolls in a row?

16!

12 plus 4, 16!

That's not

Pete/GM: awful.

Alright, you are looking around.

In addition to the wounds of the
mule, you do find a set of tracks.

There's a pair of large,
shoeless, humanoid footprints

further back in the trees.

Beyond that, you're not
able to find much more.

I just

Chris/Vin: give a good, I don't
know, 600 foot radius to see if

I can find any tracks pickup from
where I can no longer find it.

But, presumably, I don't.

Pete/GM: I quit.

Yeah, that was your
best effort at doing it.

I

Chris/Vin: will bury the mule to ruin any
sort of future investigations on the body.

Because I feel like that's appropriate.

Pete/GM: Alright.

Nearby, in the Thinlands.

Thinland farms, at least.

Mia and Freya again
approach these foggy moors.

There are more people here, but they
look distrustful of you as you enter.

And you are approached
again by Abilene Choi.

And listener, in real life, it
has been about four weeks since I

last did this voice, so I'm gonna
go with my gut instinct about what

is the continuitous voice for this

Chris/Vin: person.

We don't care about continuity.

We're, uh, have as much
continuity as the MCU.

I remember Scarlet Witch's accent.

Do

Pete/GM: you?

Yeah.

She approaches you dourly.

Jürgen!

I thought I told you to head off.

Looking at Mia.

And I

Aubrey/Freya: will, uh, step in
front of Mia and just say, I am so

sorry to, uh, take any of your time.

We just wanted to take a look around,
because we have been just investigating

the strange happenings in the area around
here, and won't take any of your time.

If you have the time, I wouldn't
mind sitting down and asking you some

questions, but if anything, we just
want to take a look around, see what we

can find, and then we'll be out of your

Pete/GM: hair.

Diplomacy roll.

Aubrey/Freya: decent at

Misfit/Mia: that.

Mia's just like peeking from around

Aubrey/Freya: your shoulder.

That's a 15.

Pete/GM: Whatever will get
you out of here faster.

What do you want to know?

Remembering that

Aubrey/Freya: they didn't like the name.

Trying to think of what to call him.

Maybe use his message and, and just, uh,

Misfit/Mia: like You just say, uh,
that you're, you're investigating

the claims of somebody else.

She just makes this like
face on the outside.

It's very noticeable that
she's trying to be slick.

It's not working.

Pete/GM: Give me a diplomacy,
nature, or first world lore.

Who, me?

Yeah, you, Mia.

Me, me?

Well, it's gotta be nature.

You might want to hero point that.

Yeah, I'm not As Nat 1.

I am

Misfit/Mia: not going to
die on that hill today.

Didn't you Nat 1 here?

I yeah, they do Nat 1 here.

Aubrey/Freya: Much better.

Pete/GM: That's way better.

18 total.

Mia just like

Misfit/Mia: smiles like,

Pete/GM: hey.

I know who you're asking about.

And you need to understand.

The Slim can hear his name.

It doesn't matter where you are.

He'll hear it.

And if he wants to.

Which is

Aubrey/Freya: why I'm
trying not to say his name.

But, if you could tell us anything
you know or have heard about him,

that would go a long way in helping

Pete/GM: our investigation.

Your investigation is a crime
that we have been dealing with

for as long as I can remember.

Before my grandmother and before her
grandmother, we have been dealing

with disappearances by the slim.

You see, we folk here in the Thin Wood
Farms, you see A forest surrounding us.

We see a second one.

Sometimes it's just a shimmer,
and sometimes it's more obvious.

But there are two forests, and
that's where he calls home.

The real Thinlands.

Children have reported seeing sightings
of a tall, willowy figure for ages now.

But the thing is, is
that we don't report it.

We know to leave it alone, because just
mentioning his name will make it worse.

Hope

Aubrey/Freya: that we can
do something about this

Pete/GM: in the future.

No one who's come back
to tell a tale about it.

Misfit/Mia: Like, ears block.

Just the saddest ears.

Pete/GM: Look, if you know what's good
for you, you leave this matter alone.

We've learned to live with the slim.

We expect these things to
happen from time to time.

What we don't want is for
more to die needlessly.

Because of some outsider's curiosity.

Not a

Misfit/Mia: curiosity.

I'm really

Aubrey/Freya: scared.

Yeah, we we worry that he
may have targeted our friend.

I mean, just like points to herself.

And if we can figure out how to keep
her safe, it would be any stories

about things that may ward him off.

Talismans, rituals.

Is it like the stories of most Fae?

Cold Iron?

Pete/GM: There's only one thing I
know of that keeps the slim at bay.

And she points upwards.

Sun?

The sun.

Light.

The absence of shadow.

Aubrey/Freya: Well, Mia, good news.

We're moving to Alkenstar.

She

Misfit/Mia: just like gives a thumbs up.

And then, and then she's like this moment
of like, I don't know where that is.

Aubrey/Freya: Sounds great.

There's a lot of sun there.

Far away.

You have to say, and for the
information you've given us.

And we will be on our way.

It is a start and puts
us in a good direction.

And like, as I'm doing this, I'm
looking around and I'm like, kind

of just like, where did Mia see him?

And I'm like, gonna look back at you.

Misfit/Mia: Mia like, kind of
like, pulls on your, your shirt.

Trying to be really not obvious, but
probably being incredibly obvious.

She just kind of like,
points into the direction.

Pete/GM: You go there, and
all that you see is farmland.

Incredibly fertile farmland.

Aubrey/Freya: Um, can I look around for
any kind of tracks that don't belong?

Pete/GM: Can you give a
survival check, for sure?

Uh, do you have scouting lore?

I will grant that to you.

Aubrey/Freya: It's a It's a much
better role than, uh, survival.

Chris/Vin: Who needs wisdom
when I can use intellect?

Aubrey/Freya: Yeah, for a 24.

Nice.

Misfit/Mia: I'm so glad I

Pete/GM: brought an adult.

Excuse me?

You're looking over this
terrain, and you notice something

more than any kind of tracks.

Which is how unseasonably
green everything is.

Compared to how foggy
and dark these moors are.

It doesn't look like things should
be growing here, but they are.

And you have a suspicion about them.

With everything that they have mentioned,
you think that there might be some

kind of seepage from the First World.

Something that is causing
the farms to bloom.

Interesting,

Aubrey/Freya: interesting.

Maybe there's uh, somewhere where
there's a tear between Galerion and

the First World, and that energy
is leaking here, causing growth.

Maybe something like that.

I'll have to talk to Varen.

Maybe Varen has learned something.

I'll come back here and see
if we can trace it back.

And uh, gonna stand up and Turn to
Mia, put my hands on Mia's shoulders,

and say, You were incredibly brave

Misfit/Mia: today.

Just a bunch of like, wagging tails,
and her ears like, immediately

pop up, like, I did good?

Aubrey/Freya: Yes, you did good.

This is information we can work with.

So this is just sort of, open farmlands?

Right.

Misfit/Mia: Mia is going
to just scoop up some soil.

I don't know why, just
some weird gut feeling.

She's just gonna, like, scoop
up some soil into a pouch.

Pete/GM: Okay, you have some dirt.

You got a,

Aubrey/Freya: you got
a pouch full of dirt.

Shoulda brought a jar.

I shoulda.

Well, I mean, it's something.

Well, I just

Misfit/Mia: thought that maybe
Viren would like to have this.

I don't know, he could,
like, pin it to something.

Aubrey/Freya: Are there,
like, wildflowers around?

Pete/GM: I mean, yeah.

There's always wildflowers around.

Aubrey/Freya: Especially ones that,
like, it doesn't look like I'm gonna

pick flowers from a farm or anything.

Take a couple of minutes,
some wildflowers, weave them

into a very small crown.

We'll put them on Mia's head, as I've
done that before, er, weave flower crowns.

And just being like, one, looks good.

Two, more evidence for Varin.

Pete/GM: Perfect.

It is nearing the end of the day, as
you all gather back in Seven Arches.

Aaron, unfortunately, you weren't
able to hone your mind enough to any

more specific information out of the
deluge of knowledge from this app,

but it was a pretty cool experience.

You think this could be a
valuable asset to yourself?

Doesn't

Archedas/Varren: mean
he's not going to keep

Pete/GM: trying.

Then, similarly, you were not
able to find anything that you

thought looked like footprints.

So that is six more investigation
points for a total of eight.

Did I help with that?

Uh, unfortunately, no.

Did I hinder that?

You didn't hinder it, no.

Okay.

And it's like,

Chris/Vin: that was a waste of time.

Right?

There was

Pete/GM: nothing there.

Nothing there, Varan.

Archedas/Varren: Oh.

It was worth a check.

I wanna take a look myself
at some point, but Oh, double

checking might work now, huh?

Well, to be fair, the last
time we sent you out, you went

and got a massage and smoked

Pete/GM: FLA leaf.

You never sent me anywhere.

Chris/Vin: You were gonna take
a day off and you decided to

Archedas/Varren: work precisely.

We well, yes.

As a looming threat and one
of our allies is in danger.

You put it like that,

.
Aubrey/Freya: We come back with a flower
crown and a jar and a bag of dirt.

Archedas/Varren: I've got a jar

Pete/GM: of dirt.

I've got a jar of dirt.

I

Misfit/Mia: don't know why,
it just seemed appropriate.

What

Archedas/Varren: did you find at
the uh, at the Finland's farm?

Pete/GM: Dirt.

She just

Misfit/Mia: like drops

Pete/GM: the pouch in front of you.

Archedas/Varren: Well
yes, that's, that's dirt.

Uh, relevancy?

Aubrey/Freya: Um, well it may have
Everything there is growing a little

too well for something that's a more and
very foggy and doesn't get a lot of sun.

There's a good chance that there is
some sort of rift between that area and

the Feywilds and energy from there is
leaking out and causing things to grow.

They also say they've dealt with
our friend for a very long time and

they've just kind of gotten used to
it and it's better to just ignore

Archedas/Varren: it.

Well, ignoring it's how they

Pete/GM: got the character in
the first place, as you can see.

Yeah,

Archedas/Varren: I have
to agree with that.

From the library, I don't know
if you attempted to do so while

you were there, Freya, but I need
to go back and attempt so again.

Did you engage with the sap at all?

Now, this kind of pulls a hand out
of his glove and then like sets

a single finger inside of it and
scrapes a little bit where there's

a tiny little bit of residue to it.

Their cataloging is unique.

The pages were far too many books to go
through in one sitting for an individual.

Attempting to course through it all
at once didn't seem to work properly.

There has to be a process
that I'm not understanding.

I'll see if I can compute this.

But from what I found of the The
legend is far older than we thought,

um, you're familiar with Earthfall?

Yeah, I learned about it at the

Aubrey/Freya: Arcanum Miriam.

Archedas/Varren: This legend goes
back from before the media fell.

It's beyond ancient hell.

Much of details within it is a fairly
short passage of what can only be

imagined as one of their books.

Of the defeat, supposedly this
creature is not insurmountable, of

some lurking creature of shadow.

Pete/GM: More than a

Archedas/Varren: millennia ago.

Some ties to the Chronicles about
the First World and the Thin Lands.

That's not the farm outside of the city.

Interesting.

It is, but it's not.

Aubrey/Freya: Yeah, the way
they were talking, it's like two

areas kind of exist in one spot.

There are trees where there are
trees where there are trees.

Sub

Archedas/Varren: sublimation, sub
sublimation, something of the sort.

Pete/GM: So yeah, something like that.

Archedas/Varren: Seems like he's
trying to pull I've heard legends

of the Fae attempting to pull
part of the Material Plane into

their world for whatever reason.

I don't exactly know how that would
function on our plane, what would be

left, or how it would tie together.

I don't know much, all I know
is the Thin Lands original,

the source, the start of them.

Sort of colorist forest in the
First World section of Nighthole.

An old eldest, Count Ragnolak,
uh, had ruled over it.

But I doubted the eldest of sorts
would care about one phase ambitions.

If anything, pulling our lands into his
would simply gain the favor of the Count.

Expanding his own lands
in the First World.

Aubrey/Freya: Yeah.

There's something about those lands
that are connected to him and I I

think it deserves more investigation.

We should all

Archedas/Varren: be there, just in case.

Certainly our most likely point of finding
anything of interest, uh, at least.

I believe that's where our
investigations will tie

Pete/GM: up.

Archedas/Varren: Yeah.

Find ourselves venturing through
woods there, rather than just farms.

Aubrey/Freya: Yeah, I think that
should be a big, uh, one we do next,

Archedas/Varren: when we're all ready.

Wouldn't mind speaking to
this Alder Woman, of sorts,

before we go taking a deeper.

Didn't find much on the bogeys,
but Some more digging at the

library before we head out.

Aubrey/Freya: Yeah, I also worry what
he might attempt if we dally too long.

Archedas/Varren: Cowardly as he
is, he hasn't made a move yet.

He's been tormenting, but not directing

Pete/GM: harm.

Archedas/Varren: If he dares to choose
to do so, attacking outside his domain

must be why he sends the Gorgon.

Yeah,

Aubrey/Freya: and I recommend that we
probably have a watch going tonight.

We should not.

There should always be somebody awake.

Perfectly

Pete/GM: workable.

Archedas/Varren: Timidly organized.

Plenty, uh, Seems all of us have been
having our own variety of strange dreams

as of late, so Probably if that's thin
lands, uh, Just seven arches or so.

Perhaps some after effect of the gates.

Things to process and sketch.

Chris/Vin: I'll trade for a sword.

Sounds good.

Gotta be useful for something.

Misfit/Mia: Mia's like, curled up

Aubrey/Freya: asleep.

Archedas/Varren: I'll take second, I
don't mind the interruption, we can

have Mia cut a mask, let her rest.

Pete/GM: Yeah, I'll take third.

Alright, you all watch
over Mia, over the night.

Varin, while Vin is looking over
Mia, you are still pensive at your

room of connected dots and strings.

All of the information is
sifting around in your mind when

you start to notice a pattern.

Indeed.

Canepo seems to be behind the Gorge
attacks and the disappearances

that have been happening since
the missing moment around here.

And you find a mention of a
victim named Varna, a skinny man

with a wooden septum piercing.

But then you also connect the dots
that the Finlands are a shadowy

extraplanar forest in the first world.

that are somehow bound to the
farmlands on the material plane.

And you know that Kniepo has some
method of traveling between the two.

You're looking over the disappearances
that have happened, the dates, the

locations, and you finally see it.

There is something going
on, and there is a pattern.

According to the pattern, whatever
is allowing Kniepo To come more

into the material plane, or
has caused the disappearances,

is happening on a schedule.

And the next one is going to open
tomorrow night, in the middle

of a particular potato patch.

Archedas/Varren: Varen just kind
of laying on his back, staring up

at the ceiling, not really moving,
making these connections while Vin

is still on watch, just kind of sits
himself up after that period of time.

It takes him a while to
put all this together.

Kinda, crossing all of the
strings and pages together.

This kinda does the full, like,
vampire rising up at the hip.

And just kinda turns his head over to Vin.

I think I know

Pete/GM: where we need to go.

What?

Where they'll end up going, and what
they'll encounter when they get there,

you'll have to find out next time.

On Ash and Snow.

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