My name is Irene. I play I own a starling. And she has a riff of the Shadow Dragon from Dungeons and Dragons.
Snyder’s Return:So you're working the case? So you get three. Yeah. So you also get three clues to work from? Because it's in here somewhere. Yeah, so you get three clues. So if you've got a false question on that. Trial happens when you pick so much from here, we got to find it. So yes. So who would like to work their case? First?
Iona Starling:I got all my free clothes if that's okay with everyone. Yeah, cool. So I decided, you know, I don't think she wants to interrogate the girl just yet. So more more simple questions, you know, um, so what's your father's name?
Snyder’s Return:Coronavirus, Veronica's father. Is Phil. Any last name given Chang?
Iona Starling:Chang? How long have you had your power?
Snyder’s Return:She would tell you that that before the random sort of blood tests at the school and then waking up in the in that strange laboratory. She never had powers it was it was the day of the explosion that it manifested itself. Yeah. She would she would tell you I will tie into family that her daddy's called Phil. And her mom is Monica. Phil.
Rafa:Power Story. Is that viable? So subject? Probably.
Iona Starling:Yeah. I guess I don't know if it'll count as a clue. But I guess since I'm asking her, I'm hoping you'll edit. Anything you want to know about me? Like she asked that to the girl?
Snyder’s Return:About your cell phone? Yeah. She thinks for a while and and just all connected. So you get like this, this flood of questions and doubts and second questions and things like that. And then there's a almost like a moment of stillness where all these questions are filtered through and then the one that sort of comes to mind is she asks you how? How do you control it? How do you do what you do?
Iona Starling:I know considers it a little. And she admits quietly that sometimes it still does get the better of her. But she thinks a part of it is not being so afraid of it.
Snyder’s Return:She just she very kindly, very nicely, very softly in a in a way to maintain your trust. She says, Can I show you something? Or? Yeah, effectively? Can I show you something?
Iona Starling:Yeah, she does.
Snyder’s Return:So she says this, she basically says this is what I've been able to do learn to do so far. And whereas before you were just seeing pictures, you can see that she her eyes, sort of the black pupils kind of gloss for a second, the thick black in her veins deepens for a moment as they sort of pulse and flex. And then you're not seeing you see through your eyes. But it's her, you've effectively become the meat puppet, you are looking through your eyes, through her eyes through from your body. And she begins to sort of move your form around the room. You know, she picks up a cup and puts it down a pen picks it up, puts it down and then surrenders that control of your body back to you. And again her sort of the thick black feign sort of constrict and run and her body relaxes. sort of explains that this is how she's been able to move through the city in various different guises by puppeteering people.
Iona Starling:I'm gonna blink set her shortly and says, Well, that's something else. But if you want me to be honest, I can kind of do that too.
Snyder’s Return:She gives you a it's an endearing smile like a like a kindred spirit. Smile She knows you're different. She understands that you are not one in the same even though you are linked through this through this rift effectively through this virus, but she she senses that connection
Iona Starling:and smiles back, and then says very sternly okay, but don't do that again. Please.
Snyder’s Return:She, she smiles again and hold your hand or takes your hand in hers, and she promises that she won't do that to you ever again. I'm falling for this
Dr. Henry Edwards:thing of that promise, though? Yeah. She won't do that to you ever again.
Iona Starling:I know, right? But I Oh, no, I'm not. I'm gonna say I own it doesn't recognise that. She, she's, she's, you know, she's still a bit of a naive person who sees a girl very, very much like her. And she's going to be a bit blind to her from now on. I think whether that's going to work in her favour or not, we'll see. Probably not never does, but that works.
Unknown:Oh ployed. Well,
Iona Starling:it will be exploited most likely. But that's the fun part. Hobby games.
Rafa:Can I ask a question? Or a topic of Victoria? Because I, in one of the past games, we had kind of seen from a woman looking outside the window from that house. Was it Veronica? Or was it someone else entirely, because it douchey the person sounded very alpha, Tiff, something like that words.
Snyder’s Return:It was Veronica. But she had almost fallen into the Rift. Too much at that point she had become consumed by wanting to spread and expand. And it's through owner's humility, that she has broken back and recovered some of the humanity that makes up Veronica Chang her home life family, it is a mess. Something she does confide in you, Iona with sadness as the underlying tone. Yes.
Iona Starling:We want to get help, but she kind of lets out a small laugh and she's like, man, if for any more similar, I think we're twins.
Rafa:Okay, at least for now. She's normal. She's asleep.
Snyder’s Return:She's under the Safe ish guys. protection and care of helix labs and Tobia that we will get to with Dr. Edwards. express permission and force it through would come and try anti cyst where possible.
Iona Starling:Probably he'll she can if he can. Okay, thanks. I don't actually know his power set. Does he ever confide in me what he can do? Tobia? Yeah, what do I What does? What do I know about his powers?
Snyder’s Return:You know, you can feel and you know, he cares. But he's never he's never confided in you his full potential because he's still working that out as well.
Dr. Henry Edwards:Sure enough, he has a rift of Jesus.
Snyder’s Return:Nothing quite that. However, so that was only clues. Refer? Did you? Did you have some set up for?
Rafa:Yeah, more or less? Well, the first question about the red thread would be what is it more? In what context? Would that thread kind of fit in?
Snyder’s Return:One name, and a single name is provided by one of your hacktivists who you may know each of them a little more by their sort of online personas than than actual people. The one name that comes back is Ariadne.
Rafa:Ariadne. Okay, okay, agreed me Greek mythology. Do I know that person? Personally?
Snyder’s Return:No, not personally.
Rafa:Okay. Dr. Chris, do you still want to do as I would just take my time to think about the third clue.
Dr. Henry Edwards:Do I still want to
Snyder’s Return:have you got anything left to do for your honour? You worked you gave attention to my routine? Yes.
Rafa:Okay. So just a second um Okay they came back with the name and if I okay what can they tell me more about this person or rift? Well I don't I don't know if they know about rifts but well yeah someone could I find them
Snyder’s Return:you would the information you get back from one of the activists who is a fellow rift is that she you don't find her effectively she comes and find you there is a there is an underworld that exists within the rift you know you've you've scratched the surface on some of this sort of stuff on on various levels. But this goes deeper and in some instances darker. There is a whole hierarchy that you are now scratching the surface of to discover one how deep it goes to how far up it goes. And one of the last messages you get not because it suddenly cuts off in some dramatic fashion. But one of the last sort of bits of information you're able to piece together from what you're sent is that they're an avatar in the rift underworld.
Rafa:Okay. Note to self ask if it's dangerous or
Snyder’s Return:everything about this is dangerous.
Iona Starling:Okay, you have a bomb who's currently in control of a dragon in in your car. I was nuke for walking with right now.
Snyder’s Return:Okay, thanks. Alright, so a couple of days, maybe a week passes between everything that happened in wild knock. I'm gonna your brother Tobia has with permission of helix labs, able to sort of come across from Trinity Ark hospital, under the pan Deloria healthcare sort of guys and try and advise on situation with Veronica Victor and a few of the others. They're making some some headway. Dr. Edwards while you're reporting back to your to your highest LaToya and Dr. Steve, Dr. Steven scenes coming to you over the course of this week. Letting you know that the head of security of helix Labs has instigated two new sort of subdivisions the the black ops team are very much still within your remit of r&d and clean up as required. But spire security will be taking over the external control of security outside of helix labs, facilities, both here in the industrial district and across the city. Their presence will may mostly be observation and interception as required. They're not sort of desk decks, desk sergeants or sort of internal security guards watchman they are very much doing the rounds, watching for others who may have an ulterior motive to gain access. And secondly, Latoya, who still carries around the head of Dr. Adams in a briefcase informs you that they have instigated a new computer security software from the Egeus tech support, which is a company run by Theo Crete. They have come in to revamp the internal computer networks and beef up cybersecurity. It's your MC Adam here just taken a break from the case momentarily to let you know about our great friends in the tabletop role playing game community and the TTRPG family. So the following is a short trailer for one of our many friends. Don't check them out. Follow the links in the description below to go and give their show and listen and engage with them and engage with us. We'd love to have you back as the cases continue to progress. Speaking of which, let's get back to the action.
Eldritch Buds:Prepare for adventure. Prepare for magic. Prepare for not half bad comedy by listening to Eldridge birds. Join a cast of misfit heroes as they explore the arcane world of goon Dora. Join speedy Josh will Scott and Connor on an epic Dungeons and Dragons actual play adventure. Listen to Eldridge buds now on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Stitcher and YouTube. Be sure to follow Follow us on Instagram at Eldred birds and check out our Reddit page at our slash Eldridge buddies. See, I wonder why.
Snyder’s Return:Doctor, Dr. Stevenson has come to you on a couple of occasions through the week, asking to get away early because of his son Fetty being bullied back at home. So he has left work on occasion a couple of times to go and take care of family matters. It's my son
Iona Starling:Son is being bullied. I gotta go deal with it myself.
Dr. Henry Edwards:Yes, yeah. So life is sad and embarrassing. Go home.
Iona Starling:It's exactly that it's like my dad's my, my son's being bullied. I gotta go take care of it.
Snyder’s Return:The other information that I own a you get well, maybe you and Dr. Edwards if he's there are able to get from Victoria. Sorry, not Victoria, Victor Victoria, are able to get from Veronica, is that there's probably still people sat in a crate on Pier 71 waiting to be the fried or something. So if you choose to go and deal with that in person, or if you send a team to deal with that, I will let you give me those bits of information now. Yeah,
Iona Starling:I want to go Steel's without in person, man.
Snyder’s Return:All right. So we will actually play that bear out. Okay, fantastic. No, we won't. And the reason I say that is because there's there's more coming. I was just like, so I know, you're able to use the information that Veronica has given you, you locate Pier 71 There is a thug, effectively, who runs just that one section of the pier, it's not hard to find she's able to having seen through the other interconnected people from from the virus describes exactly where the container is exactly what number you're able to go and disable, shall we say studies law and a few of his minions and free the group.
Iona Starling:That's them. Just pass them around just
Snyder’s Return:done doesn't mean absolutely. knocked them out. Probably not gonna water.
Iona Starling:Just pushes her tail around. And that's it. That's all like a large scaly cat. Yeah, exactly.
Snyder’s Return:pouring them across the ground. Yeah, so you're able to go and free these individuals. Where do you what do you say to them as the sort of pile out of this shipping container they've been held in they're malnourished there are dehydrated a lot of them.
Iona Starling:Go to the police. Alright,
Snyder’s Return:so please come down. Anonymous anonymous tip please come down. Find these these. These people. There's an investigation stand as long as arrested. It makes the news but not for your involvement. Human trafficking found at Pier 71. District Attorney King swears to, to look into it, yada yada. It makes the news for sort of a couple of days before another big story sort of completely just makes it a footnote of life. As always seems to happen with these things. Unfortunately, during during this time. There is a lot of construction work happening in the old carnival just outside of town. Dr. Drake has been moving round crafting and fabricating rails, wires, pulleys, strange contraptions, there's some carny folks that some carnival folk I'm not sure the correct way of saying that is there are some dwellers who have stayed with the carnival that have sparked Dr. Drake's interest and he begins to take interest into how to improve them in his own specific vision of perfection. Completely sort of forgetting everything that's happened in the city with respect to the the virology experiment that you guys have been dealing with the fallout of spend a bit of time Tobia having dealt with that individual that that came into the hospital first with the the viral indicators shall we say invites you by owner and then anyone else who wants to accompany you to to some some live music down at the washboard you know just a bit of music, cleanse the soul have a social catch up. A few of these work colleagues are going to going to come to the just gonna make a nice evening of it.
Iona Starling:And then she she she invites Rafa fuck the doctor.
Unknown:Well, I'll gladly come Yeah, I
Iona Starling:mean, I don't think she wants to invite the kid because he's a kid traumatised kid with unknown power and I don't think the doctor will let her out of the hospital currently. But you know, she she she promises to bring back some candy.
Snyder’s Return:All right, nice. So as as you go and go and sit in the wash the washboard it's, it's tucked away in a basement. I mean, the exterior looks, looks rundown, it's in the downtown, it's not far from the hospital, but not close to the explosion. You know, there's more than one area in downtown. But it's tucked away in a basement. You know, it's a bright, grimy brownstone kind of building, it's overshadowed by downtown sort of big skyscrapers that sort of show you where all the fun and excitement is, this is this is something else. I mean, the washboard couldn't really be located any lower into the city without sort of dropping into the sewers themselves. And you know, as you all approaches a group chatting and sort of moving through and Toby was sort of having small, small talk with his colleagues and self refer, you can hear faint cello and piano notes that echo through the alleyways and the underpasses that lead down to his front door, which is I mentioned is below street level play seems seems scrubbed, it seems study that the, you know, it's sort of coming back to life as a venue. It was all a wizard kitchen and sort of fallen out of favour for a while but but now it's, you know, it's got this shot of being like the great high spot of this part of the of the city with its sort of jazz and blues sound come sort of dancing through the air to your ears. The front door, as you get there is covered with with posters holding Martha RELLIS or Martha enlaces next gig, which is what you guys are here to watch. And as you move through, it's it's a pretty shallow, it's quite roomy, it can hold up to 200 people, there's no red, tinted light settle around. It gives it a like a almost a speakeasy, dark and seedy kind of vibe. But it's, it's, it's calming, it's comfortable. It's, it is what it is. And it's not trying to sort of sell a pretence of being an up marketplace. It wants you to revel and enjoy that little bit of grit and depth. There are two long bars that sort of lie in this main room. There's loads of smaller circular tables across the middle stage. But it's not
Iona Starling:mine, two bars.
Snyder’s Return:There's that
Unknown:some bar with some good stage,
Iona Starling:some chips about to go down. This is a map.
Snyder’s Return:This is just a visual reference. trick me
Dr. Henry Edwards:if the map is not directly proportional to how badly our buttons are gonna get kicked,
Iona Starling:you can't trick me. I know this works.
Snyder’s Return:We'll see that movie. Okay, so moving on from your suspiciousness of me using visual aids. Exactly. I was written a bit that I was done. Yeah, so it's got like smaller circular tables scattered through. You know, from the stage back through to the back there's a kitchen and there's a dressing room for the X and storage space, as well as the owner who has a an office and a back door that leads to an an alley tucked out the back toe view and and Nathan, one of the other surgeons that actually helped save the life of the girl involved in the junkyard car X incident Iona
Iona Starling:OH MY GOD THE GIRL
Snyder’s Return:Yeah, she survived is in recovery and probably therapy. They know the owner so they've been able to get sort of some some decent seats and sort of pick up a seat so you guys can you can enjoy the music and have drinks. It's not on the house, but you know, you've got the pick. And as you sit down, and you listen to some warm up x and then this this voluptuous woman you wager in her 50s is enveloped in his flowing floral dress, headdress. And with some sparkles on it, as it sort of this seems to be the the interim outfit to go from the day performances to the evening performances, her mannerisms and garbage do the sense of melancholy and drama of someone whose time has passed. But, but they're still they still want that moment of glory. She steps up and begins to sing. And it is the Room The Room is encapsulated. And as as the song and songs sort of come out her connection, almost palpable sense of connection to the members of the audiences as she begins to scan and seemingly sing to one individual and then back and then another one. Sammy comes over, just in a lull between the songs and his worse Jazz Jazz Club, comes over to the table and sort of speaks to you as a group. Whilst she's she's downtown's more soulful voice you enjoying your time here at the washboard, folks?
Iona Starling:It's nice enough.
Unknown:I personally like it a lot.
Snyder’s Return:Oh, Martha, she's. She's quite the singer. She's just warming up. You wait until man when she connects with the song. Tears across the room. I'm telling you and she's smooth and sultry. It's beautiful. For a grown man to tears. Swear, swear the man was gonna cry himself to death any moment.
Dr. Henry Edwards:Anyone ever told you you have a voice for radio? Are you here? I didn't invite you. Tell you. Did you dump me just materialises from under the table? Bitch.
Unknown:He put a tracker on me. I wanted to put it on him. But
Snyder’s Return:somehow the tables. So Martha continues her set. And on a table sort one, a couple of tables across from you all around the room from where you're sitting. You can hear people sort of dabbing their eyes really sort of feeling this this music. But Martha spends one song singing to one table almost one person in particular, there's like a connection her soulful tone. As she puts this, this the words of the song across you can see this man is is visibly shaken. So saw almost touched by the words of this, of this song that it brings this grown man to tears. As the night comes comes off. And Martha's set finishes, she moves down, moves around the tables, thanking everybody for for coming. And you'll notice she stops at this, this person's table. And you can see she sort of taps the table, taps his shoulder and sort of points out to where the back of the building would be. As you know, people start to filter through and the next app comes on and it's a bit more of a an upbeat mark, upbeat group more jazz than than sole to sort of really fill out the entertainment for the evening. There's a bit of a lull as the band sort of swap round. And this gentleman Mark goes through to the change rooms and this gentleman sort of Composes Himself stands up and moves out through the main door and round to the back of the building and we stick with him for a moment. And as we stay with with them, as he goes around the sides and into the back alley of the building, Martha steps out to speak, as she touches his shoulder again as a sigh of endearment. And then she begins to sing. And then she begins to sing He begins to cry. And as he begins to cry, she begins to sing more softly and is here away from the crowd, that we begin to see a village appearing from within an over and above as a female form of some beauty and yet horror begins to sing the voice. Furthermore, as the man begins to cry more and more, and begins to sort of clutching his chest and weep. There's a man weeps he begins to tremble. At the end of the alley, a man in a hooded sort of top appears watching. He seems to be waving and gesticulating and trying to sort of make a noise. But no words appear. As Martha continues, Bob no longer math of this This village is Banshee continues to sing. ringing out these words of sorrowful lament the man clutching his chest seems to tense up and drops to the floor. In this instance, the Banshee sort of returns to Martha she looks panicked. She turns around sees this hooded gentleman and she screams for help. screams at the top of her lungs. You can hear outside there's a massive of activity and excitement as crowds run in someone sort of just a voice in the crowd by the by the stairway down into the property. Is there a doctor in the house? So Dr. House, your brother Tobia springs to his step along with Nathan and They begin to move. He turns back to you and says only just stay here. You bought a friend it'll be alright you just enjoy the music we're just gonna go and check this out.
Unknown:No votes after recovering
Rafa:Yeah, I just take my last big goal and I go after I will never get a break halfway
Snyder’s Return:as the Tobia Nathan owner and then you a few steps behind Rafa rough you need to sort of fight through the crowd to see what's going on over on Toby's sort of tail you're able to walk on his heel, I should say you're able to move with them. As Martha's stood their heart looks shocked and horrified. Looking down at this. This man clearly sort of dead on the floor. As Tobia and Nathan kneeled down to see what medical assistance they can give at the pair of them looking up and down the alley Martha looks down at you the singer you've just watched sing a beautiful soulful rendition of some hits for want of a better description. She looks down to you owner and she says it was that man with the hood. He did it and she points up and you just see the hooded figure then run
Iona Starling:glances at more suspicious suspiciously and then and then takes off after the guy
Snyder’s Return:right as you begin to run this hooded figure begins to sprint through the alleyways I would like you to go toe to toe Rafa What are you doing as as you've had to fight your way through the crowd you can see toga and Nathan kneeling down trying to give this guy some medical attention. And I owner is gone.
Iona Starling:Oh, gone vegan running Maybe. Maybe not like that. But you know, he's gone running. Are you?
Snyder’s Return:Yeah, yeah. go toe to toe.
Iona Starling:Yeah, if I'm going to steal is that the idea I'm going to do to try and catch up to him? Yes. Can I try and Blind him then to try and get to
Snyder’s Return:know you go toe to toe okay all right. So 47 you can achieve your goal isn't take someone there hold you can get them good inflicting a TRS status where you can block dodgeball counter their best attempts,
Iona Starling:right off his feet, he catches up to him and grabs him right on
Snyder’s Return:Alright, so you achieve your goal? Or are you getting them good? Or are you blocked or countering their best attempt,
Iona Starling:I'm achieving my goal which is to catch up
Snyder’s Return:alright. So as you catch up with him, he he looks scared and confused himself. Sort of, he's running and he he's very much sort of running very quickly in the opposite direction trying to trying to get clear as you pin him down, or you grab him and pin him down. He's able to sort of roll and shed off like the hoodie he's wearing. As he gets up and and like Sprint's like mad, and he's disappears off into the city. As you sort of left to sort of square up this this hoodie that's been left behind. Or now in your grip. This individual has raced off pretty much jumped over cars and disappeared off several alleys by the time you're sort of able to sort of catch up referees or anything you're doing. Thanks for listening. You can find out more about the show, including our interview episodes via linktree or at our website at www dot Snyder’s return.squarespace.com please consider leaving us a review. City of mist as a TTRPG by some of you can find out more about city Mist by going to www dot city admist dot C Oh, music and sound effects for this episode from epidemic sounds.com. The intro and outro music were composed by Chloe Elliot You can find her on Twitter at Khloe underscore with the flow. The logo was designed by Jessie Lowe. You can find her artwork on Twitter at Akon Nomi underscore art. We're going to use our help points and be ready to investigate next time on MEDLARS monsters and madmen