Ep1. Locked In - A Grave Founder's Day

Circle Assignment #221.1 Episode I

Written by rubyodegee

Crooked Mile Valley    "> Crooked Mile Scenarios    "> Locked In Series 1 - 5      Ep1. Locked In - A Grave Founder's Day

Black Ichor Scenarios

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Black Ichor Loft Prelude


• Threats
1. Body
2. Brain
3. Bleed
4. Scenario
5. Relics
• Premise
1. What is Actually Going On Here?
2. Lightkeeper Read Aloud
• Hook
• Arrival
1. Lightkeeper Read Aloud
2. Primary Source Document
• Exploration I, Urgent Circle Meeting
1. Reveal
2. Location
3. Combat Mechanics - Resource
4. Quagmires
5. Logical Determinations
6. Primary Material Evidence
• Exploration II, Clinic Tragedy
1. Reveal
2. Location
3. Combat Mechanics - Resource
4. Quagmires
5. Deducing the Situation
6. Primary Material Evidence
• Escalation I, Sea Serpent
1. Reveal
2. Location
3. Quagmires
4. Deducing the Situation
5. Primary Material Evidence
• Escalation II, Drumkeeploch Manor House
1. Reveal
2. Location
3. Quagmires
4. Logical Determinations
5. Primary Material Evidence
• Escalation III, Fire Aftermath
1. Reveal
2. Location
3. Quagmires
4. Deducing the Situation
5. Primary Material Evidence
• Climax, Berkside Ambush
1. Reveal
2. Location
3. Quagmires
4. Deducing the Situation
5. Primary Material Evidence
• Denouement
• Theme

Black Ichor Loft

Illuminated Worlds Mechanics

Black Ichor Scenarios is a home brewed publishing company. Ruby O'Degee began writing RPG stories and scripts in 2005. Her work is still available to read or see (video productions) somewhere. A long time 3d modeler and 3d world builder 2022, she changed her focus to work on table top Fiction First narrative scenarios. These scenarios include a foundation based on the Candela Obscura Rule Book and Illuminated Worlds Mechanics. Black Ichor Scenarios and Locked In is allowed by the Darrington Press Community Gaming License.

Candela Obscura, Crooked Mile & Lumensmere's World Home

Black Ichor Scenarios

Crooked Mile east of the Bridleborne Mountains and Lumensmere, west of the Bridleborne Mountains is inspired by Candela Obscura's Fairelands and Ruby O'Degee's Black Ichor pipedream. While relationships, history and locations are shared by all three worlds, Crooked Mile and Lumensmere are built separately to expand Candela Obscura lore. Adaptations to the story of the Hale, an ancient and fallen city that is being transformed by the 1900s turn of the century, technology is a response, and often a mirror to what is happening in the Candela Obscura widely recognized city of Newfaire.

Cirsea Isles

The Cirsea Isles off the northeast coast of Crooked Mile are solely owned by the Garamund family and the geography is a cornerstone. What happens in the isles uncovers the history of every Black Ichor premise.

Crooked Mile Valley

Crooked Mile, founded by Circle Founder, Jason Garamund once a pastoral countryside dotted with a few trade routes that encouraged paranormal phenomena to flourish, is parroting its city neighbor. The Crooked Mile Circle a secret society, belongs to the Radiant Order. Candela Obscura belongs to the same order, along with hundreds of secret societies that share a mission.

Lumensmere

Lumensmere is an investment in entertainment. It is underwritten and supported by Hollydale film producers, who saw an opportunity to repurpose a war-torn piece of land that housed a military operation during the Six Year War (1898 - 2004). A young oil painter and puppet maker from Crooked Mile, Timothy Lignon, Artist and several friends, who continue to live in Newfaire, are dedicating themselves to turning their fine arts into a moving picture studio. The possibilities for money, wonder and corruption are boundless.
In between and betwixt the progress is the struggle between the past, a mix of untested science and magick that pulls apart the thinning flare. Sometimes cruel arcane past bleeds into the future of societal dreams for goodwill, equality, and prosperity. While it is a game about ghosts, ghouls, unexplained phenomena and spooky fun, the game is a method for narrative storytelling collaboratives. Player characters are given creative agency while the scenario writer provides the stage. With their Lightkeeper and/or game master, the players thread together, over the course of a few hours, days or months, a bone chilling thriller that shows and discloses a story about them. When players boast they wrote a collaborative short story, they did.

Threats

Top of Article

Body

• The aftermath of a wood building fire includes dangerous remnants scattered by an unexpected stampede. The horses that escaped during the fire are still feeling bewildered, frightened, and enraged. They are milling around, seeking sustenance and comfort. The otherwise calm cart horses go wild at the sight of a single spark.
• The Garamund Manor House is filled with arcane and man-made chemicals. Characters are both defended and harmed by tools.
• A trap is set for the investigators during the tunnel train excursion to the Fairelands.

Brain

• Stable hands were among the two fatalities in the stampede. It appears as if their spirits remain on the side of the living. The Circle’s founder, Jason Garamund, was injured during the stampede of fire. He is en route to a sanitorium for medical care. The non-player characters who belong to the Crooked Mile Circle do not trust the sanitorium administration. Their fear stems from the potential use of arcane magick (drugs, alchemist contraptions, and spells) on him, which could lead to the exposure of their secrets.
• The tunnel is used by saboteurs and smugglers.
• Hail and thunderstorms can suddenly occur at the Manor House Beach, creating an eerie atmosphere. The balance of the people is being affected by the sounds emitted by their founder's tower.

Spouter Tavern - Midnight Vault - Stout, Mead & Grog

Unexplained & Unregulated Gear

Black Ichor Printing Offices

Black Ichor Printing Locked In A Founder's Day by ROD w/Midjourney

Bleed

• There's no time for an extensive investigation preparation. It is a challenge for them to depend on their traditional bleed meters.
• If the stampede event is determined a crime resulting in three deaths and 23 injuries among Crooked Mile residents, it is probable that both known and unknown adversaries will track the Circle's every move. The flare's thinning lets bleeding seep through whenever trust is betrayed.
• 6,000 people observed the celebration's event, and the founder is a prominent figure. He is loved and loathed by visitors who attended his brother’s auction. The overwhelming bleed caused by accidents or crimes is devastating.

Scenario Persona

• Timothy Lignon, beloved artist in residence and Norma Woods, the Quincey Clinic’s top performing medical student, are witnesses to nearly every event. They have the ability to answer the majority of questions asked by player character investigators. By examining their histories, their true selves and intentions will be uncovered.
• Jason Garamund, the founder of the Crooked Mile's inaugural secret society aimed at curbing corruption and suffering, is an 87-year-old distinguished individual who fell victim to an accidental disaster or a targeted crime. Due to his status as the valley's largest property owner, he becomes a target for unprincipled developers who disagree with his reformer ideals.

Timothy Lignon, Artist, Celebrated Artist

Norma Woods, Herbalist, Medical Student

Circle Founder, Jason Garamund , Crooked Mile Circle & Manor Owner

Timothy Lignon, Celebrated Artist by ROD w/Midjourney

Norma Woods by ROD w/Midjourney

Jason Garamund, Founder Crooked Mile Circle by ROD w/Midjourney

Relics

• Without much time to pull their gear together, the investigators can expect relics that might assist them with their investigations. The offset is that these arcane tools or machines are often covered with bleed from being used to measure effectiveness or spread. The adjuvants the investigators come across aren’t necessarily approved by the governing medical authorities in the region, but they provide some assistance in making medications more potent.
• The Quincey Clinic appreciated Jason Garamund’s a specimen collection contraption. The staff is now using the machine to test solvents and gases used to spread the stampede fire.
• The decryption clocks are a gift that Jason Garamund planned to give his Crooked Mile Circle members on Crooked Mile Independence Day. It is a very useful watch that should always be worn on the arm not used for bleed detectors.

Available at Spouters Tavern Bolt-Hole Private Rooms

Adjuvant Potency Meter

Antikyalchemical Findings Machine

Decryption Wrist Clock

Adjuvant Potency Meter by ROD w/Midjourney

Antikyalchemical Mechanism - The Garamund by ROD w/Midjourney

Decryption Clock by ROD w/Midjourney

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Premise

Top of Article

Crooked Mile is hosting its inaugural Crooked Mile Independence Day Celebration. The community and its recently chosen representatives give it their all. The parade, extending two miles, is lined up on Garamund Road, named after a famous and generous valley settler. Vendors and vaudeville entertainment are at the other end of the gravel lot. Fifty extended families reserved complimentary picnic tables loaded with lemonade, watermelons, barbecue, and chocolate cake.
Lenny Garamund chooses to auction his cart horses before the festivities commence. A crowd of 6,000 locals and spectators pack into a fenced horse stable arena by the time the auction bids begin.

GM What is actually going on here?

Lenny Garamund has no intention of keeping his fire from burning down the stables. He is excessively insured and prepared to lose a few horses. Larry's brother, Jason does not know about Lenny's scheme. Lenny promised Jason that the cost of building the stables in Crooked Mile would pay for itself. He agreed to retire their Seasway Resort Hotel horses and rent out stalls to merchants who lived in Newfaire. But those plans did not earn the cash he needed to pay for his share of an auto dealership in Newfaire. The burgeoning auto business is a cleaner, less time-consuming business than the care and feeding of horses. Parked autos don't require being fed.
The stampede and calamity make for a distraction that Jason needs to investigate. With a bit of provocation from Ernest Roe, Caretaker Roe, he hurries to the Stables to save the horses. Jason is seen by ticket buying residents. Being seen means he is held responsible, while Lenny is nowhere to be found. Jason's "accidental" injury sends him straight into Lenny and his secret partner's trap.
Meanwhile, the Crooked Mile Circle is expected to meet this evening for a dinner party. Jason, injured in the fire, will not be there to officiate. Instead, he will be checked into the Grayslate Sanitorium along with other injured spectators.
Though many Crooked Mile residents are still unaware of the Flare's thinning, a group of Candela Obscura émigrés took it upon themselves to form their own Circle with the guidance of Jason Garamund, long time Lightkeeper and eldest landowner in Crooked Mile

Lightkeeper (Cyril Potter) Read aloud:

Percheron ownership is a dream come true for most proud owners. All the good and sturdy horses are sold to buyers before 11:45 am. Only a few older mares are still up for sale. It's hard to see through the thick layer of dust. The only place to breathe clean air, free from cigar smoke and manure, is between two venerable barns. There are still a few horses trapped in their stables.
Jason, who didn't know his brother sold their horses, came just in time to witness 5 teenage boys setting off firecrackers, causing the horses to go wild. He shouts for his brother to come out of wherever he was hiding and assist him in extinguishing the fire that had ignited the stable wall. Lenny does not answer. Jason attempts to extinguish the fire by grabbing a bucket of water, but stumbles over a rope attached to a horse. They drop down to the floor together.

Lenny Garamund Stables Auction

Morning of July 19th, 1907

Garamund Stable Auction by ROD w/Midjourney

Cyril Potter Cart Horse Auctioneer

Cyril Potter, Auctioneer by ROD w/Midjourney

Tom Melon Stable Hand Manager

Tom Melon by ROD w/Midjourney

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Hook

Top of Article

Locked In ~ A Grave Founder’s Day begins with an Independence Day Celebration and turns into a community disaster. A mid-morning auction concludes with a stampede of horses and Crooked Mile residents. Five days later, a collaboratively written inquiry unveils the outcome. Not only are suspects found along with their motivations, but so are the phenomena that penetrate the flare and afflict the valley's inhabitants. 
Since it’s a narrative adventure that requires players to interview non-player characters and examine artifacts to find reasonable answers, their choices and options about what and where to go are built into the stories. It is a process that provides professional characters with agency. Various options are offered and dice rolls are requested only when necessary to move the scenario or character transformation along. It is a given that the player characters investigators (storytellers) are able to resolve any issues they face.
Maps & Agency

Maps are an important part of Black Ichor's narrative fiction first process. Not used for game mechanics or a Must Use. Instead, the maps are rendered by non-player characters who use maps to verify their suggestions about where to go next. GMs and/or Lightkeepers may find maps helpful during preparation or during Game Zero. There is no rule or certainty that finding reveal can only be found in a certain place on a map, but finding a whale in the middle of a desert logically says the whale was dragged or dropped there, and the whale is struggling to survive unless the whale is a ghost.
The whale snippet might be an invited and unorthodox red herring, or an undesired distraction the GM doesn't want to fiddle with for the sake of time. Or an interesting metaphorical detour that defines something about the player's character. It is time to take out the map and annotate it for later. Revision rules say the party can call the beast Jonah's or Jolisa's whale. Homage goes to the player character who uses the illustrative Timothy Lignon map to inspire an interesting twist instead of agency restriction.
Not only maps are made by non-player characters embedded into Black Ichor Scenarios. Most landmark and non-player characters are described through the perspective of a non-player character. These informing characters are careful not to insult professional non-fictive player characters with their version of surroundings, allies, or adversaries,but non-player characters have an experienced opinion that is usually accurate. The scenario author might believe a whale is a monster, and a professional character player may decide an observed whale is a mammal protecting her offspring during a storytelling party. It’s a matter of agency by collaboration that player characters tell a story with a bit of grounding.

Any canvas worth its Perpetual Seas salt is grounded first, so say Timothy Lignon

Crooked Mile Founder's Day Art Market

Crooked Mile Founder's Day Vendors by ROD w/Midjourney

Crooked Mile Midday

Independence Celebration Parade

Crooked Mile Independence Parade by ROD w/Midjourney

June Farmsworth, Ballerina

Guest Emcee, Newfaire

Parade's Star Attraction

Drury Row Theater & Burlesque

June Farmsworth by ROD w/Midjourney

Drury Row Theater Emcee by ROD w/Midjourney

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Arrival

July 19, 1907

Top of Article

Reed Collins Read Aloud:

Crooked Mile’s Independence celebration ends in tragedy when a crowd of spectators tries to flee a fenced in horse auction. The horses not yet sold are spooked by firecrackers and smoke fills the Lenny Garamund Stables The Crooked Mile Periphery respond to the scene to find three dead and 27 injured. One of the injured is Jason Garamund, Lenny’s brother. Stable owner, Lenny Garamund, is considered missing by the family.
Resident Dr. Dr. Dean Quincey Quincey and three Quincey Clinic interns who are waiting to take part in the midday parade tend to the elder Garamund and other patients who suffer severe injuries. Besides the human injuries, the cart horses last to be sold are injured or escape through a mangled gate. Four cart and auto accidents account for another five injuries and one death when they try to exit Garamund Road. Newfaire Pheriphery investigators in Crooked Mile for the Independence Day event are unsure about how the degenerate students set off firecrackers in a guarded area.

This is a special edition. More to read at 6pm. Reporter, Reed Collins

Jason Garamund, Founder

Reed Collins, Freelance Reporter

Crooked Mile Circle

Crooked Mile Gazette News

Jason Garamund by ROD w/Midjourney

Reed Collins, Gazette Reporter by ROD w/Midjourney

Lenny Garamund

The Periphery

Stables Owner

Faraway Security

Lenny Garamund by ROD w/Midjourney

The Periphery by ROD w/Midjourney

Dr. Dean Quincey, Professor of Medicine

Briarbank College Annex

Dr. Dean Quincey by ROD w/Midjourney

Option 1: Read Aloud after Character Creation is completed. The article is distributed by the Crooked Mile Gazette Newspaper’s Special afternoon edition (scooping the competition)

Option 2: Hand out the Gazette article evidence, ask characters to read the transcript to themselves after they complete their characters' sheets.

Special Alert! Noonday Distribution

Crooked Mile Gazette

Epistolary Gazette Article Stampede by Ruby O'Degee

The Gazette Annotated Transcript - Circle's Reference Edition.

The Crooked Mile Gazette publishes a special edition the afternoon after the stampede and fire at the Lenny Garamund. The disaster killed three and injured 27 residents who watched a much anticipated cart horse auction during an Independence Day Celebration. A secret society that planned to induct new members that same evening decided their assignment to investigate what happened is imperative. One of the injured is their founder, Jason Garamund, who makes enemies with Oldfaire nostalgic politicians. His brother, Lenny, went missing, and members are concerned that horses spooked by firecrackers are suffering from other phenomenal causes. Per rumors the horses being auctioned seem listless. Other horses appear restless. They were removed from the auction block for trying to bite their handlers. The assignment is an opportunity for the Crooked Mile Circle's mission to find flare thinnings and bleed is a mystery.

To Read or not to Read?

Why Options? Black Ichor Scenarios writes worlds laden with “optional use” information for players who enjoy reading during downtime. During play using information is GM/Lightkeeper optional. Since the scenarios are structured narratively, many of the reveal are accessed through non-player characters, location descriptions, illustrations, and epistolary artifacts.

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Exploration I: Urgent Circle Meeting

July 19, 1907 Evening

Top of Article

Reveal

Once the investigators settle into having their urgent meeting, the interim Lightkeeper, Dr. Dean Quincey opens the formal process. The investigators introduce their fictive selves (determined in Game 0) in their character voices. It is assumed the Gazette article is received or read to them by now. Any other applicable questions can be answered by Dr. Dean Quincey, Ellie-Ellen Ogden or Timothy Lignon, Artist. Dr. Quincey foreshadows the stampede and fire as a crime, not an accident. Who intentionally set off the stampede and set the fire will be discovered fully during five episodes, but the July 19th episode is dedicated to where and why the crime was started? And how it is going to affect the flare?

Optional Dean Quincey Says

Thank you all for coming. I know this is not what you expected. Muriel and Ernest decorated the mansion yesterday for a celebration party this evening. We didn't plan a formal meeting this week; only an introduction for our new members. Unfortunately, their first meeting is developing into an investigation without time to prepare. While it is too late this evening to set out on an investigation, we will need to make an early morning start.
I apologize, but Timothy, Dr. Elizabeth Ogden and I agreed we must decide how to proceed. Since I accompanied Jason Garamund to the Grayslate Sanitorium by train today, and returned by tugboat ferry, I had no chance to stop by either the mansion or the stables. The newspaper article I have in hand is the only information I’ve read. The Local Periphery continues to tell me the stampede, fire, and its aftermath is an ongoing hoodlum escapade. I will need all of you to offer your opinions. Accident or intentional crime?
We also need to discuss another of Jason’s wishes that he communicated to me before he was sent to surgery under heavy sedation. But we will need to table that discussion until we can make sense of the injuries, the whereabouts of Lenny Garamund and the effects of this grave day on our community.

Location

Crooked Mile Chapter House The Crooked Mile Chapter House was founded by Jason Garamund in 1892, six years before the six years’ war.

Deducing the Situation

• I
  The Crooked Mile Chapter House offers a secure location for the Crooked Mile Circle to convene. Jason Garamund, the founder, designed it with soundproof walls, access passageways, entrances, exits, and view ports, enabling members to see out while remaining invisible to visitors or intruders. This marks the first meeting in the renovated barn built by locals whom Jason trusts. But his trust can be influenced by shifting attitudes and social conditions. Not only is the building subject to trespass, so is the Crooked Mile group. In a secret society, everyone brings their own history. Vetting is not a guarantee against members being tainted with bleed.


• II
  The morning of the 19th, Dr. Dean Quincey joined in the early morning festivities. He planned to advertise his free clinic to the residents of Crooked Mile. As he was making his way to the Garamund Stables gate, the stampede broke out. He witnessed his neighbors rushing through the fence, accompanied by delirious Percherons that collapsed before reaching the dirt road.

  
  

  Tom Melon and Cyril Potter found a horse cart to transport Dr. Quincey and the injured Jason Garamund to the Scarlet Woods Station East once the dust settled. The Grayslate Sanitorium Laboratories were their destination, being the only hospital open during the holiday. Lenny Garamund and others he was acquainted with vanished or perished in the fire. The one week opened clinic attended to 23 injured auction attendees.

III

On the afternoon, Ernest Roe delivered news of the canceled Manor House dinner party to Crooked Mile Circle's interim Lightkeeper, Dr. Dean Quincey, founders Ellie-Ellen Ogden, Elinor Dimblesome and Timothy Lignon. He let them know Lenny assumed control over his brother's unpleasant situation. The Circle should refrain from interfering with the Periphery's investigation. Newfaire's elite investigators were arriving soon.

Lydia Strese

Wesley Foyle

Lydia Strese by ROD w/Midjourney

Wesley Foyle by ROD w/Midjourney

Urgent & Rare Early Gathering

Crooked Mile Circle Chapter Meeting

Crooked Mile Circle Parlor by ROD w/Midjourney

Ellie-Ellen Ogden

Elinor Dimbleson, Herbalist

Owner Bakery & Tea Room

Briar Bank Annex Medical Student

Ellie-Ellen Ogden by ROD w/Midjourney

Elinor Dimbleson by ROD w/Midjourney

Logical Resolves

• I
  One of the founding members of the Circle could character address a focus, attune, or read actions to answer any questions related to the vetting of members. Or how Jason concluded the chapter house was a safe location to hold secret meetings? The answer could be that Elinor Dimbleson screens all former members and new members over a cup of her special herbal tea. The tea is an organic, healthy tea that turns liars tongues blue when they do not answer questions honestly. Her questions are always friendly, but informing. She is also an expert at reading body language and sensing when someone is trying to hide information from her. It is part of her medical training at Briarbank College Annex. A non-player character's tongue could turn blue. The Lightkeeper might ask a non-player character to leave the meeting. extras Wesley Foyle and Lydia Strese are available for this purpose.


• II
  Despite needing to attend to stampede injured patients the next day, Dr. Dean Quincey can reach out to Crooked Circle members to visit Jason Garamund at Grayslate Sanitorium. Dr. Quincey says

  When I left the hospital, Dr. Lionel Benton and his team were treating Jason's wounds using opical iodine and iodine ointments. Dr. Benton argued with me about Jason's concussion. Benton practices surgery. Before we proceed with life-threatening treatments, I want to assess his potential response to good care.

  
  Timothy Lignon recommends spending the next day afternoon investigating the Manor House and/or the Stables where the incident took place. Players characters decide whether to add his plan to their agenda.
  Timothy Lignon says

  It's possible to book the last scheduled train to New Faire through the tunnel. We are invited to stay at Lady Lark's overnight on July 20th. Jason's close friend loves to entertain the Circle. Lady Lark is particular about the company she keeps. She plans to take down her tent market display. We can share a train car with her tomorrow on her way back to Scarlet Woods. She has no respect for the hospital staff, but she agrees to accompany us to the sanitorium.

  
  Norma Woods is able to offer training to Crooked Mile Circle members about operating the clinic with the Astrolabe Specimen analyzer. It is possible to detect the presence of bleed and other poisons that Dr. Quincey brings back to Crooked Mile. With bleed meters and vials, they may be able to minimize the effects the staff neglects to limit at Grayslate.


• III
  The message from Ernest Roe, Caretaker was unsettling. Circle members may want to talk with him about what he knows about the stampede, Jason’s reason for attending the auction, and the whereabouts of Jason’s brother Lenny Garamund.

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Exploration II Clinic Tragedy:

July 20, 1907

Top of Article

Reveal

Dr. Dean Quincey sends his medical students to work in the field because the Periphery disregards or limits forensic work by the Crooked Mile Circle. The students experienced immense sadness on July 19, 1907. Being useful appeals to them. They are summoned to assist Dr. Quincey in performing surgery and help less injured residents or burn victims.

Whenever Dr. Quincey senses his students need of a pause, he instructs them to head to the Stables and collect fingerprints, samples of blood and hair, and any affected items they can secretly acquire. Paranormal evidence is not gathered by The Periphery. Victims consider themselves fortunate if the police find fingermarks. The police rely on word of mouth or gossip that serves their agenda. The hum of Jason Garamund's Alchemical Findings Machine is heard by investigators throughout the day. Two students under Dr. Quincey’s tutelage are part of the Crooked Mile Circle.

Location

Quincey's Clinic

Deducing the Situation

• I
  As June Farmsworth stood near the Briar College Annex parade drum major, a stampede rushed over the fence before the parade began. Upon hearing the major's whistle, hundreds of people rushed towards Garamund Road and the field where the band and floats were assembling to the north. June was the first celebrant to fall.
  Elinor Dimbleson and Ellie-Ellen Ogden found her unconscious under a pile of falling crates after horses broke through the fence. They took a saddle blanket and fastened it to some poles. It was simple to move June's body, although she groaned in agony when they attempted to bend her knees. Her breathing was weak, yet steady.
  Using a decorated mechanical tractor, the local farmer assisted in loading the makeshift stretcher onto the plow bed. He maneuvered the steering wheel, zigzagging through the crowd to escape their chaotic path. The drive to the clinic took an hour.


• II
  Dr. Dean Quincey is on his way to the sanitorium with Crooked Circle Founder Jason Garamund. At the clinic, Norman Woods is working with patients and supervising other medical students. The injured are categorized into different groups: the injured who need to be transferred to Fairelands clinics or the sanitorium, burn victims waiting for treatment, and less affected victims. The burns suffered by two victims are not a result of the fire. Lighting firecrackers caused the burns. Despite their doubts, the medical students treated the young men and allowed the police to arrest them for their mischievous actions. The culprits are the sons of wealthy Triumverate leaders.
  The impact of flare bleed was investigated in a remaining group of patients. Norma put in a lot of effort to work with these individuals and gauge their understanding of their conditions. Using the clinic's Oscillation Machines, she gathered data and made an effort to minimize the negative impact of the corruption it caused. The Antikythera Alchemical Findings Machine reached its maximum meter resistance reading, resulting in a shutdown. Tremors and a fever manifested in her body.

Quincey's Free Village Clinic

July 20, 1907

Quincey Clinic by ROD w/Midjourney

Night School Medical Students

Briar Bank Annex

Quincey Unexplained Phenomena Lab

Quincey Clinic Medical Students by ROD w/Midjourney

Logical Resolutions

• I
  The stampede's victims may interest to investigators. This allows player characters to provide information conveyed by non-player characters. They have the option to portray victims at the auction, parade-goers waiting for the floats, or families with picnic spots on Garamund Road. Vendors parked up the road and away from the original tumult they experienced trauma too.
  Meanwhile, the non-player characters in the clinic can answer questions about victim injuries and the treatments being administered. The arrival of a famous ballerina on a stretcher, captured by the Gazette, is a topic for discussion. Why is she being given special privileges? What prompted the transfer of two patients to the Courthouse?
• II
  Investigator questions about the Garamund Antikyalchemical Findings Machine can be answered by Norma Woods, the non-player character. All day long, the data collection is being computed. Based on an early assessment, she can make a couple of initial observations.
  Norma Woods says

  Many Crooked Mile residents are visiting the clinic due to fractures in their legs, arms, and ribs. It is common for impact concussions to occur. Many children and seniors are suffering due to severe bruising. Victims of the horrible accident are being transported every half hour by Berkside Trains to the west and Tugboat ferries from the port north of us. Our focus is on assisting residents, especially families, who are unable to afford payment. The most challenging part was dealing with our neighbors in Goose Landings. A horse auction was a novel experience for many. The elderly and the youth were positioned in the most unfavorable spots next to the building when they were struck by the dense smoke and dust. Their faces and arms are covered with pockmarks. Tests are being performed on the marks. The findings of 732 patients suggest that an unidentified substance is causing excruciating pain, surpassing the intensity of a typical sting. We provide minimal doses of morphine to soothe the children who are screaming.
  We are holding back other concerns we've noticed until experts study the source of this substance further. We have established communication with the Grayslate Sanitorium and its laboratory. Jason Garamund is being treated at the sanitorium. His family is actively searching for his missing brother Lenny and their gardener, Ernest Roe. In the event that you spot any missing persons, kindly inform the nearby Periphery.

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Escalation I Sea Serpent:

July 20, 1907

Top of Article

Reveal

Circle Members discover artifacts by themselves. They stumble upon a wrecked boat, a boot, skull, and blood pool. They came to engage with Ernest Roe regarding his message, but he never affords them a chance to converse with him.

Location

Manor House Beach

Deducing the Situation

• I
  Jason Garamund's preferred fishing spot is Drumkeeploch Bay. When he was a little boy, he used to fish for piranhas during the summers at his grandparent's cabin. Together with the entire Garamund family, he spent the winter ice fishing near Pingo Circle. He remained unfazed by the terrifying storms that developed over Cirsea Isle and blew into the bay.
  Investigators do not anticipate witnessing Ernest Roe fleeing from the approaching tide. He waves at them, then proceeds up the beach to where a tugboat is parked. Once the mist arrives, they see that the tug and Ernest have disappeared.
• II
  After walking a short distance, they come across Ernest Roe near a wrecked boat. It's free from the typical debris that accumulates after days at the beach. Investigators discover a skull and a boot during their excavation. The beach is littered with hundreds of dead fish. The sand is being stained by a continuous leakage of fresh blood.
• III
  A storm gathers in the distance. The members might notice there are at least 10 tornadoes and hail that is coming toward them like a sheet flapping in the wind. Back and forth resembling a sine wave. The oscillation is so strong that it pushes Ellie-Ellen Ogden over.

Logical Resolutions

• I
  Investigators can test for bleed and bag artifacts they intend to keep. Taking a photo of the scene using the camera is a possibility. The skull can be carbon dated to reveal the owner of the boot. Interviewing Muriel Lister is an option if they choose to visit the Manor House. There's a chance that Muriel has knowledge of when Jason departed for the stables yesterday morning.

Drumkeeploch Bay

Jason's Sea Nemesis by ROD w/Midjourney

Lost Shoe & Air Dried Bones

Lost Shoe and Bones by ROD w/Midjourney

II

Circle investigators have the choice to determine how they'll locate either Ernest Roe or Lenny Garamund. Elinor Dimbleson can update the group on the conflict between Jason and his brother, Lenny. Elinor Dimblesome says

Jason's brother creates family chaos. Lenny is interested in purchasing an auto showroom. Jason is aware that he can't afford a single car, let alone enough autos required to sell. Lenny discovered a hidden collaborator Jason is unwilling to meet. While I was bringing my horse cart into the parade line yesterday morning, I noticed Jason pulling up in his buggy. He made a beeline for the shed in the back, where the horses were kept. He opposed Lenny's plans to auction them off.

III

Investigators can document their weather encounter and decide to depart from the beach. They will be pushed back by the mysterious wind, as if it won't let go of them. Character players could link themselves together and pull to propel their tug-of-war team forward.

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Escalation II Drumkeeploch Manor House:

July 20, 1907

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Reveal

Upon arrival at the Manor House, the investigators discover it is locked. A commotion can be heard inside, but there's no sign of anyone being home. Dried blood stains can be seen on the porch. On the steps, there is a dead crow. Timothy Lignon makes it evident that he cannot open the doors. If the investigators decide to enter the house forcefully or manipulate the lock, they'll hear choking sounds coming from the kitchen. A tied and gagged Muriel Lister is dragging herself over an oil wet kitchen floor.

Location

Drumkeeploch Manor House

Deducing the Situation

• I
  Muriel Lister remains unable to breathe properly after dislodging a small rag from her mouth. Indicating the laboratory, she struggles to get back on her feet. Sitting beside a jarred door is a boot that looks just like the one seen on the beach. The broken oil lamp has a candle wick that is dwindling. A plume of smoke is rising from the lamp. Nails were used to seal the windows in the kitchen and hallway. Next to the closed back door, there lies a second dead crow on the floor. The laboratory is emitting a strong sulphur smell.
• II
  In the manor parlor, there is evidence of a rumpus. On a table strewn with breakfast foods, sit two cups of barely sipped coffee. Laying on the sofa are the curtains torn from the window. The furniture is in disarray, with one sofa leg and two chairs broken into fragments. Bits of human hair are covering the rug. Resting atop a dossier with ripped pages and a sticky, gluey substance are the remnants of a shattered monocle. The bottle of pills is halfway full. It's clear to see the label that reads Equine Sedative.
• III
  Jason’s Laboratory is smells like bleach, but there is no sign of a disturbance. The morgue door is a held shut with a locked combination wheel. Muriel Lister does not know the combination, but she knows Timothy was given the combination.
  In the morgue, a dirty white sheet covers a corpse on an autopsy table. Next to the corpse is a desk covered with papers and slates. On the slate is a confirmation about the door combination and a business card.

Logical Resolutions

• I
  Investigators can decide whether to help Muriel Lister to her feet and take her to the clinic. Or they discover she survived her ordeal without serious injury. They can take her to the clinic after they interview her. Muriel Lister says

  Thank goodness you’ve arrived. I’ve been locked in this room since dawn. I called for Circle Founder, Jason Garamund He did not answer. Then I heard a knock on the door. It was his brother, Lenny Garamund. I could hear them arguing about the horse’s health at the auction. Moments later, loud crashing noises ended. The door slammed, and they both left. I saw them chase after each other. I heard the buggy leave. Not too much later, Ernest came and nailed the windows shut from the outside. I thought he was coming to help me, but I should have known better. He is not an honest man. We don’t get along.

Drumkeeploch Manor House

Drumkeeploch Manor House by ROD w/Midjourney

Muriel Lister

Ernest Roe

Manor House Housekeeper

Manor House Groundskeeper

Muriel Lister by ROD w/Midjourney

Ernest Roe by ROD w/Midjourney

• II
  The kitchen wall telephone has the capability to ring. A player character can pick up the phone and barely hear a Grayslate sanitorium operator whisper that

  they are notifying the next of kin that Jason Garamund is being sent to Grayslate Laboratory this evening for emergency brain surgery. Jason's family has a three-hour window to visit him before he departs via auto-ambulance.

  — Grayslate Nurse

  Investigators can determine if they should step in as next of kin. Is it advisable to request Dr. Quincey's company on a train journey by closing the clinic?
• III
  Investigators can ask exhausted Muriel about the corpse while easing her into a buggy. Muriel Lister says

  I do not know who the dead man is. A friend of Jason’s delivered him to us a few days ago. He left his card. Mr. Garamund told me his family wanted him to do a second opinion autopsy. I was not about to let Lenny know the man who brought the corpse had come. I don’t think Lenny went into the laboratory. He is a squeamish man.

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Escalation III Fire Aftermath:

July 19, 1907

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Reveal

If investigators use the Berkside Train to get to the Stables, they'll pass by Jason's innovative transmission tower. The radio interference sound is getting louder and crackling. If the players or the GM choose a different mode of transportation, the opportunity for foreshadowing will be missed by the investigators. They make it to the destroyed stables by another means of travel. Some aimless horses are roaming around the area, searching for food and water. The color of their eyes is a deep shade of yellow. Walking through the stable, Cyril Potter and Tom Melon are documenting their findings. The stable is unguarded by the local Periphery, while the second barn is enclosed with rope and signs that warn against entering. The Newfaire Periphery started an investigation into this property.

Location

Lenny Garamund Stables

Deducing the Situation

• I
  Cyril Potter is bent down, searching beneath the auction block. Clothing, including shredded jackets, was pushed under the wood pilings by the stampede. There are two jackets that need to be tagged and bagged. Administrative paperwork covers a crate near a box of half-eaten pastries. Disgust is evident on his face. Next, he gets up to greet familiar Circle members and friends at the Crooked Mile
• II
  Lifting the rope dividing the back barn, Tom Melon retrieves a bucket covered in burns and dripping blood. The bucket appears to be crushed and twisted. Catching the scent of blood, he sniffs it from a distance. He shakes his head in disapproval of the scent. The boots that Tom is wearing are covered in mud. The color of his shirt is identical to the color of the horse's eyes.
• III
  Used firecrackers are stacked on a broken rail by the back gate. The fence and gate are cut. Fence cutting shears, still hanging from the wire, are covered with a thick glue. Fragments of a leaking oil lamp, similar to those found at Drumkeeploch Mansion, are soaked with the same thick glue. The rails bear the marks of human scratching. The gate is locked. Just a few feet from the fence, there's a campfire that is smouldering. Two horses are being enticed to dig into a hole that is filled with what appears to be rubbish. One horse runs off, while the other horse wobbles and collapses.
  The air along Garamund Road, the path to the Stables, remains filled with smoke. The vendors are dismantling their temporary markets. Lady Lark is packing up her tent and gypsy props, including a crystal ball from 1838 that is believed to have been owned by Meulistanne.

Lenny Garamund Stables Stampede

Lenny Garamund Stables Stampede by ROD w/Midjourney

Lenny Garamund's Stables

Lenny Garamund Stables by ROD w/Midjourney

Reader Lady Lark, Tent Entertainment

Lady Lark by ROD w/Midjourney

Logical Resolutions

• I
  Cyril Potter has offered his hand to the player characters, allowing them to greet him if they wish. Despite being occupied with evaluating the aftermath of the stampede and the Fairelands Periphery, he assures the investigators that he can give them a tour before the police come back. Due to his status as an eyewitness, he is allowed access to the premises. Both Tom Melon and Cyril are forbidden from investigating beyond the barrier rope. However, he ignores them. Cyril, the village veterinarian, is needed to move the ill horses out of the stable and do whatever is necessary to protect the returning Periphery.

  
  Cyril Potter speaks

  My staff is bringing the horse trailer to transport all the horses here. I want to check them all out. Farmers are bringing animals from their pastures to my animal hospital. I don't know their condition, but this strange sticky substance impacts horses. The clinic nurse in Dr. Quincey's office is conducting a test on the substance. It's combustible. During the auction, the horses with yellow eyes were being brought to the block. I sent Tom a message about their condition, but he didn't reply. My customers wanted me to lower the starting bids. As the dust cloud expanded, the audience saw the horses advancing towards them. Suddenly, they started scaling the locked fence to escape. It was a life-threatening crush. I crouched beneath the block with a shaking horse until the smoke pushed me out and through the broken fence. I inhaled a cloud of dust and smoke into my lungs. I didn’t come around until Reed Collins screamed into my face. I do not know how long it had been.
• II
  Cyril Potter can accompany investigators to the rear barn where Tom Melon is trying to lead the horses towards the gate with the parked trailers to load them. Now would be a good time to interview Tom about what he witnessed. He also noticed the color of the Percheron horse’s eyes, but Lenny told him to move the horses to the block. Just before the firecrackers exploded, he witnessed teenage boys using shears to cut through the back fence. However, Lenny assured him he would handle their mischief. Lenny was not seen by him for the rest of the day. As the fire and dust engulfed everything, he could only rescue a few horses from the crumbling barn. He was unaware of the stampede's destruction until he returned from chasing the animals into nearby fields.
• III
  The Crooked Mile Circle is associated with Lady Lark's name. After finishing packing her valuables, she plans to visit Jason at the hospital as his friend. The Circle might inquire about her observations on the morning of the stampede.
  Lady Lark says

  I don't feel it's my place to advise a community on event management, so I'm reluctant to make public statements. I'd rather not waste time with small talk, so I'll work and converse simultaneously. It's disheartening that the parade committee overlooked the young men who stopped by my tent right before the stampede. They abandoned rubbish in my merchant's lot and made a hasty exit while screaming about my supposed witch-like qualities. Just as I finished cleaning it up, a horse cart and an automobile collided. Suddenly, horses and countless parade goers were rushing in our direction. Numerous people were hurt, and a small number were being carried on makeshift cloth stretchers.
  I shut my tent door to prevent the dust from getting inside. I opted not to take the road with all the chaos and remained in my current location. When I emerged an hour later, cart drivers were headed to the clinic. I helped several individuals with burns into carts.
  In the early morning, a young man visited my tent for a reading. Among that gang of boys, I spotted him. He was interested in finding out the nature of the consequences he would face for his criminal behavior. I asked what he did? He said nothing yet.

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Climax Berkside Ambush

July 19, 1907 Midnight

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GM Options

It's up to the GMs to decide whether to incorporate a climax into this scenario, based on its duration. Ending with the midnight train climax remains an exciting option. If investigators choose not to take the train through the tunnel to Lady Lark's home and instead opt for an early start the next day, they can go back to the Crooked Mile Chapter House to complete their assessments (Candela Obscura Character and Circle sheets) and make plans for their July 21st, 1907 investigation. You have the option to exit the episode and continue the investigation from where you stopped.

Reveal

Depending on the investigators' recent whereabouts, the Berkside Transit Train System is known for being a reliable and peaceful trip. The journey on the midnight train back to the Fairelands through the tunnel is anything but tranquil. At the Scarlet Woods Station East Wood East station, many injured people are waiting to be moved to either a Fairelands hospital or a care center. The vendors are attempting to cram their goods into the luggage compartments, and the train engineer is in a bad mood. On the train, Dr. Quincey asks a bribed porter about their private compartment accommodations. The porter lies. He knows the border is about to close for the night, and the Circle will be forced off the train.

The midpoint of the tunnel lies at the border of Hale and Crooked Mile. When the halfway mark is reached, residents of Crooked Mile who do not have passports will be requested to disembark from the train and use the emergency horse and cart passageway, which was the sole route in the tunnel, to return home. Thieves are waiting for wealthy Crooked Mile property developers to exit the train in the pitch-dark tunnel. Due to their reporters' overtime work rate, the Gazette didn't release any special bulletins after 6pm. Several individuals who were forced off the train are still returning on foot from the border. The border closes for the next five days once the midnight train departs from the Scarlet Wood Station East. Even the station personnel are unaware of this prior to the shutdown.

Location

Berkside Transit Train System

Deducing the Situation

• I
  Investigators reach the clinic to find Dr. Dean Quincey, using whatever means of transportation is most suitable. Despite his exhaustion, he assures investigators he is ready to accompany them on the train journey to the Fairelands. Lady Lark encounters everyone at the Scarlet Woods Station, including Timothy Lignon, Ellie-Ellen Ogden, and Elinor Dimbleson. Ballerina, June Farmsworth, injured while leading the parade while affected by the stampede’s throng of onlookers, spent the day at the clinic, but Dr. Quincey wants to bring her with him to the hospital for further treatment of her broken foot.
  Dr. Quincey spots Dr. Lionel Benton, Jason's surgeon, in the crowd at the station through a window of reflection. At the counter, he looks back and realizes he's not there. He shakes his head and carries on booking his passage and passing other Circle members. Nobody asks for a passport. In the past, it was not considered necessary. At a glance, Crooked Mile and Newfaire exhibit shared cultural values and familial ties.
• II
  Dr. Quincey reserved a whole train car due to the Circle's privacy worries. In all previous instances, when he reserved a compartment, it was orderly. Wine, cocktails, and lager were placed on a communal table. A soft, clean blanket and a fluffy pillow are provided for use in the seats. The scent in the air was reminiscent of clean laundry. The compartment for this midnight trip was filled with food bags, gum on the seat handles, an empty liquor cabinet, and visibly used seat pillows and sheets.
  The doctor was informed by a porter that the compartments had been converted into regular passenger seats due to the large number of celebrants leaving Crooked Mile. Dr. Quincey dozed off in a seat covered in poodle hair before the porter finished reciting Reed Collins' entire article. Lady Lark pulled the drooled on sheet up over him. First the electric lights and then the emergency gas lamps went out during the ride. In the dark, the porter attempts to pick Dr. Quincey's pocket and steal his passport.


• III
  A screeching halt was made by the Berkside train at the border station between Hale and Crooked Mile. Passport checks were conducted by Porters and the Pheriphery in every compartment of the Fairelands, with Crooked Mile residents being denied entry. According to the Triumverate, smugglers, thieves, and ne'er-do-wells were mingling with everyday commuters as they entered the country. According to their records, 5,304 individuals took the train to the Crooked Mile, and by 11pm, 7,222 had returned. Without delay, they shut down the border. Due to the absence of light, Ellie-Ellen and Timothy used their flashlights and signaled for anyone leaving to do so. Dr. Dean Quincey and Lady Lark carried passports as they frequently journeyed from the Fairelands to Otherwhere. Everyone else failed to request one. Dr. Quincey and Lady Lark felt the train pulling forward in an empty train. Lady Lark looked around the compartment to see that her friend’s stretcher was gone. Lady Lark depended on the train porters' leniency to let June go to the sanitorium because June Farmsworth didn't possess a passport.
  The wood sidewalk was filled with crowds of bewildered passengers, hesitant to leave and venture onto the emergency dirt road running parallel to the tracks. The police shouted at them, commanding them to leave. A few of the victims were fortunate to be saved due to the large number of potential targets the criminals had. Upon his release, Timothy recognized a notorious cult. They were on a direct path towards him and his friends. In the darkness, the cult wielded pitchforks and sharp knives. Their eyes, a deep yellow, emitted enough light to illuminate their shadows on the tunnel walls.
  No one notices Crystal Farmsworth isn't being carried by a stretcher back to Crooked Mile.

Berkside Tunnel Chase

Midnight Train Abduction by ROD w/Midjourney

Berkside Abduction Attempt

Secret Photos - Suspects by Ruby O'Degee w/Midjourney

Logical Resolutions

Fiction First Combat Mechanics Explained

• I
  Should the investigators observe the high demand of passengers wanting to board, they might opt to postpone the ride until tomorrow morning. While waiting for Dr. Quincey to book their tickets, they may want to share rumors they heard from other passengers they know at the train station. Sharing a flashback about Berkside incidents could make the group reconsider midnight travel through the tunnel at midnight.
  Dr. Dean Quincey says

  I did not forecast the station would be this bustling late at night. I had a momentary glimpse of my college roommate, Dr. Benton, near the doorway. My concern for Jason's well-being and Lionel Benton's curiosity about him at Grayslate Sanitorium is excessive. Lionel had a distinct personality that set him apart. His behavior was inauthentic. His surgical garb provided him with a commonly overlooked disguise.
  I didn't expect to encounter him. His time was occupied with caring for the members of his church near Wrestwreck, Order of the Shadows. The Circle is an enemy of the Shadows. It might be a good time to find out who our fellow train passengers will be, in case I'm not mistaken.
• II
  Circle members could use their riding time to examine the train, converse with the porter, notice his body language, and use any tools they carried. It's an opportune time for player characters to incorporate flashbacks into their gameplay to obtain tools for predicting, analyzing, or focusing on individuals or items. When a player character notices the porter’s curious attention paid to Dr. Quincey’s pocket, he could lift the pocket’s contents. Then later return it to the doctor.
• III
  The team might utilize their unique abilities to intimidate their opponents. They have disembarked from the train. Their goal is to reach Crooked Mile and find safety before morning by either walking, boarding, or overtaking another simple form of transportation like a discarded rail worker cart. With each passing mile to the east, fewer pedestrians are spotted. Many individuals can be found sleeping on the road or in proximity to it. People are being forcefully taken, beaten, and left lying in the grooves next to the path.

  
  

  The Circle can attempt to outrun their enemies, combat disguised creatures, or outsmart the Shadow bandits. The Circle's captors could be defended against through any form of reasonable and Candela Obscura applicable combat action. If any Non-Player Character (NPC) gets hurt, they will be taken to the clinic for the entire duration of the Locked In scenario, which consists of 5 episodes. By now, it is expected that only one "extra" character remains to be sacrificed. In this stage of the game, it is probable that one additional character remains for this sacrifice.

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Denouement & Assignment 221.1

July 21, 1907 Before Dawn

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Investigator Verdict ~ How to END the day, July 19, 1907?

Option 1: They can then decide to attend a late night gathering and overnight stay at Gertrude Marvel's Palisade Garden Boarding House. They decide to hold their meeting in the locked garden. During the day, the garden is inhospitable. At night, the plants sleep and leave their admirers alone.
Option 2: They are taken to the Marvel’s Boarding House and left in the field to unfetter themselves. Delighted to gossip with a group of college students (so the Circle calls themselves), Gertrude Marvel explains Ernest Roe, Caretaker Rowe drove Lenny to the ferry stop. The tugboat ferry is making no more stops for the night, but Lenny confessed to the police that he overbooked the stampede. They arrested him, but Ernest paid a police officer to let him go. Nevertheless, they turn over what information they’ve found so far.
An investigator might realize June Farmsworth absence once Dean Quincey contacts Gertrude and leaves a message for the Circle. They arrived safely at Lady Lark's chalet in the Scarlet Woods. He didn’t mention June.

Tom Melon who lives at the Marvel Boarding House, informs the Circle that the Burkhead Transit System will be closed until the further investigation by the Periphery is completed and Lenny Garamund is found.|Investigator Contemplation.
The story’s resolution is determined by the players. They fill out their Circle paperwork (mechanics) for the day in the Marvel’s Garden by gas lamp. They will need to decide whether to visit their founding Lightkeeper the following day. By now, it is clear they need to determine whether Dr. Quincey should continue filling in for Jason Garamund?

Gertrude Marvel, Owner

Marvel Boarding House & Garden

Gertrude Marvel by ROD w/Midjourney

Marvel's Palisades Garden

Circle Considerations by ROD w/Midjourney

Review Chart and Dice Rolls

Choose Highest Dice Roll from Pool (not the total). Maximum 6 dice pool.

1d6	2d6	3d6	4d6	5d6	6d6

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Themes

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The broken promise of unconditional kinship love vs. the commitment earned through the effort to protect shared values.

• Characters: NPC information about events that lead to character discussion and resolutions.
• Plot: The founding Circle's adoration for their lightkeeper.
• Setting: The sunlight of the morning gives way to the dark night, moon and stars covered with mist and clouds.
• Foreshadow: The unexpected horror of a deadly stampede and stable fire is learned from the Gazette Newspaper Article.
• Repetition: Passwords, secret meeting places, intended isolation of Circle Members, Arcane history that lead to using arcane solutions. Amulets, astrolabes, steampunk hand weapons, prediction contraptions.
• Contrast: Use magickal arcane curiosities with technology and unorthodox insights/knowledge.

Crooked Mile Circle members find themselves involved in the heartbreak of knowing friends who have succumbed to the effects of the "bleed." Either through being further corrupted by greed or sickened with disease (mental or physical) they can manage on their own, but Circle members fight the urge to join their friends and family they miss. They also question their own actions. Are they causing the same suffering their enemies cause?

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